A/N: This is also Jacob's work, and pretty much 100% of the content except for Galen Minsta's snippet at the bottom is his.

Make sure you congratulate him.

Volus Figures of Note

MESSAGE HEADER: BEGIN HELNET ENCRYPTION STRING

NEGOTIATING ARBITRAGE HEADERS…CLEAR

HERA-ONE-SEVEN-FOUR: TIFFANY-174

CREATING HANDSHAKE…ACKNOWLEDGEMENT HANDSHAKE ACCEPTED

BEGIN TRANSMISSION: TIFFANY MINSTA

Sir,

I'll get straight to it and skip the introduction, given how much time we had to spend on fleeing for our lives. Not to mention Vigil and the entire mess with the Seeker. And Inalia T'Rome. And nearly dying.

Ahem.

I'm fine, it's just that the adrenaline hasn't worn off and I'm constantly thinking about death. My brush with death, Rasa's 'death,' Father's eventual death, Lost Boy deaths, just death in general – an expected side-effect of dealing with more death in two weeks than I had in the preceding twenty-one years.

According to Pel, fleeing for your life is a fairly common experience in the Dog, and I should get used to it.

This is not comforting. I find it hard to focus, so instead of pondering more on such weighty issues, I'll simply go ahead with the report on the various wobbly figures of note.

Zerin Ella, Cloudmaster of the Vol Protectorate, Gaur of the Ella Clan, Cloudwalker of the Path of Plenix, Proctor of the Vol Protectorate.

Zerin of the Ella Clan is an unusual woman, something of a maverick by volus standards, and certainly within the rarefied circle she operates in. Why? Because she doesn't really belong there. The Ella Clan are perfectly respectable and all that, but they're largely a bunch of stellar cartographers, astrophysicists, shipwrights, and explorers – not the usual high finance, high-technology, or logistical juggernauts who grace the glittering halls of Vol Prime. Their combine is very successful and would not be out of place on the Corporate Court of the SA, but by volus standards they're basically a hobbyist outfit run by a herd of hillbilly goobers, like the Marr Clan but with less uncouth guns.

Of course, her newfound peers would argue that all volus stand to profit most handsomely from their socioeconomic structures, that such things are clearly the most effective means of extracting net value and energy from the universe, and therefore they have a moral imperative to maintain these structures. Eloquent arguments spoken by practiced orators, men and women who are the Proctors of the Vol Protectorate, the greatest leaders and tycoons their species has to offer. None of that matters, because what Zerin hears is that she doesn't really deserve to be Cloudmaster and that she sure as hell hasn't earned it in the usual way. (Addendum: She's right, by the way. That's exactly what the other Proctors are thinking, with the exception of Gadot Kwunu, whom you'll meet later on. -Tiffany)

The Ella Clan only achieved great wealth and notoriety after securing various stellar exploration and development contracts from the Citadel and the Hierarchy after the collapse of their rivals in the assault on Noveria, and Zerin rather cleverly managed to parlay this into a seat as a Proctor in exchange for pressuring the quarians to support volus claims for a place in the Citadel Council.

She knew this bid would fail, and so did the quarian ambassador, but both of them also knew that once Zerin was a Proctor she would have the right to directly negotiate with the Migrant Fleet, thus avoiding all kinds of oversight and neutering most takeover bids from possible rivals. After that, she was made acting-Cloudmaster on account of the previous Cloudmaster suddenly becoming ill, and even then, he only named her as temporary deputy because he knew that literally no other volus in the room would see her as a serious nominee for successor, and therefore not as any kind of threat. Nobody – not the Cloudmaster, not Zerin, not any of the Proctors – actually expected his illness to worsen to the point where he had to abdicate his position.

So that's how Zerin of the Ella Clan became Cloudmaster of the Vol Protectorate. In her defence, she IS a rather clever business woman with an unnervingly steady disposition in the face of a crisis and a surprising appetite for risk. (Traditionally, Cloudmasters are tactically aggressive but strategically conservative, though of course there have been many exceptions.) The Ella Clan simply doesn't have the financial power and political influence to guarantee her lasting security, despite their best efforts, and so Zerin has been forced to make allies.

She's dependent on Gadot Kwunu, has the conditional support of the Rol Clan, and is in the good graces of the Ores Tashen, the Most High of the Cloudwalkers… but the Von and Cal Clans despise her and the Elkoss certainly aren't going to pick sides without massive concessions, so she's making a bet on the increasing influence of the VDF over the coming years and is courting the support of the otherwise middle-tier Marr Clan. Overall, a bold yet risky strategy, and if she succeeds, she'll finally have some real lasting security in her position, but at the moment it could go either way.

She's somewhat blunt and, whilst quite friendly and sociable by alien standards, is not seen as polished or adroit by most of her peers. A naval engineer by trade, she is mated, has four young-adult children, and enjoys astronomy, fine dining, and stellar photography.

Gadot Kwunu, Most High Ambassador to the Citadel and the Citadel Races, Gaur of the Kwunu Clan, First Claw of the Primarch Imperator's Favour, Proctor of the Vol Protectorate.

The Kwunu Clan have dominated volus diplomatic and cultural affairs for thousands of years, and upon meeting Gadot Kwunu, you'll soon realise why. Elegant, perceptive, charming, and gregarious, she's a great favourite of the turians and more recently the quarians. This is perhaps unsurprising given how both of those species venerate ancestry, and Kwunu's is impeccable – one of her clan was the volus who negotiated their client-status with Palaven. Even Ambassador Udina was fond enough of her to agree to share embassy space, along with the elcor. (Addendum: Watching her ham it up and flirt with Udina to embarrass him in front of his staff never gets old. -Tiffany)

Her deputy, Din Korlack, is something of a player in his own right, and is largely responsible for the wobbly outreach programs to humanity. These programs have very much endeared the little aliens to our common rabble, and his masterstroke – having volus actors feature in human sitcoms and children's shows, with guest cameos from wobbly CEOs – has only enhanced this.

Kwunu maintains close ties to the Palavanus, having received the honour sash of the Imperator's Favour, and is instrumental in their efforts to smooth things over with the more unruly cluster Primarchs, often acting as a go-between for those whose intensely nationalist constituents prevent them from being publicly seen with rival Primarchs. She's also spearheaded the recent volus investment initiative and cultural exchange with the quarian Migrant Fleet.

Her upbringing was rigorous and she was groomed from a young age by her clan elders to ascend to clan leadership and represent them on the Citadel; as far as her clan is concerned, the fact that she also happens to represent all volus is merely a bonus. Gadot received the usual classical education you'd expect from the children of the highest clans, focusing on econometrics, logistics, law, history, and xenopsychology, but what was unusual was that she chose to study and live abroad for long periods of time at a rather young age.

She spent eighteen months living in the salarian colonies of the Black Rim (the salarians are too paranoid to let any alien live on Sur'Kesh, but she did visit often), another eighteen months living on Thessia, and a full five years living on Palaven. Additionally, she's gone on several extended tours and diplomatic missions throughout Citadel Space, spending time on Bekenstein, Terra Nova, the Silver Rim, Earth, and (most scandalously) a few weeks in both Facinus Space and the former batarian 'trade' colony of Goresh III. To be fair, she spun those last two as high-level efforts to diffuse great power squabbles, plus she travelled with a small escort from the Spectre office, which carried a certain symbolic weight and discouraged most petty attempts at piracy or assassination.

Now in her late seventies – just entering the prime of her life by volus standards – Kwunu continues to reign supreme in volus high society, though she has come under intense criticism from the Rol and Von Clans for allowing the turians to sever their client-state relationship with Irune. This is mere politicking though, and she is fully aware that her rivals are, in reality, seeking greater diplomatic leverage to open alien markets up to Rol and Von-associated combines at the expense of the Kwunu.

Her greatest professional accomplishments in her current position would probably be passing the volus proposal that led to the 'Citadel Banking Reform Act of 2177' (and sneaking in tax deductions for dreadnought combat deployments, which made Fedorian the happiest spike in the Spire), supporting House T'Shora's charitable aid work in the aftermath of the First Contact War (far too many of our kind were pathetically grateful for what basically amounted to cultural subversion in the form of token handouts), and securing a joint mining development contract with the Migrant Fleet (playing on the Admiralty's suspicion of alien motives yet overwhelming appreciation for demonstrated loyalty, and the Kwunu Clan certainly made a mint on those contracts).

As you can see, something for everybody to enjoy, and she plays the game well.

In her personal life, she's mated (apparently to an art dealer) and has three children (each in the wobbly equivalent of the late teens), though this hasn't stopped her from throwing soirées on the Silversun Strip every month for the last fifteen years. This is, to a point, expected for an ambassador and clan ruler, I'll give you that, but remember that these are volus affairs and so there is never any true division between matters of business and matters of pleasure.

Kwunu's reputation as a lively and generous soul is no act, but volus cultural structures make it impossible to reach that level of volus society without being both brilliant at what you do and consistently delivering results to your stakeholders. At the moment, she's widely viewed as the true power behind the Cloudmaster. Now, that's not entirely true – Zerin Ella is her own woman – but Kwunu's immense influence on the galactic stage certainly makes her an invaluable ally, and it's anyone's guess what her ultimate goal is.

Ores Tashen, the Most High, Two Hundred and First of the Unbroken Line of the Blessed of Plenix, Cloudwalker Ascendant of the Cloudwalker Clan, Honorary Proctor of the Vol Protectorate.

The current 'Ores Tashen' – referred to as the definite article, 'The Ores Tashen' – is the two hundred and first volus to hold the title/being/personage of the Ores Tashen, the most revered practitioner and spiritual figurehead of those who follow the Book of Plenix. We have no idea what his actual birth name is, nor do we know of any clan or clannu allegiance, but I suppose it doesn't matter. What does matter is how he shapes volus society. The current Ores Tashen is a curiously bipolar figure, alternating between classically orthodox stances on some issues and extremely aggressive reforms on the other.

Orthodox: his consistent emphasis on net value creation and energy extraction, the imperative of swift and decisive action, the metaphysical nature of a closed system, and his staunch support of classical art forms like the Bolo paintings.

Reformer: a radically hard-line approach to dissent and apostasy (at least as volus see it), specifically targeting certain alien charities and religious orders (which he sees as disgustingly parasitic hypocrites who breed learned helplessness in the poor fools who follow them), as well as the Fallen (who he sees as genuinely evil agents of Entropy, leeching value from the universe and spreading suffering in their wake) – such people and organisations obviously need to be eliminated.

He hasn't called for outright violence against them, of course, having stated that they should "be defeated in the marketplace of ideas by the bountiful deeds of those who walk the Path of Plenix," but he did note that "does not the Sixth Tenet of the Path of Plenix, the tenet of the Fallen, state truthfully that we must send to the Depths those that have chosen to revel in such a place? And if so – and it is so, my brothers and sisters, it is indeed – then why does the banishing mechanism matter?" (Addendum: As you'll have no doubt read, the Sixth Tenet really does say pretty much that, so theologically speaking, he has a solid point here. -Tiffany)

None of the Most High is as clumsy or gauche as to go around blatantly shouting orders or demanding a role in business and government, and the Ores Tashen is no exception. That's not how any of these people work. Like the Priestesses of the Sun, et al, the Most High are well-off, but, compared to their species as a whole, do not control a huge amount of assets, financial or otherwise. This is the theory – in practice, their word carries a great deal of weight and rare indeed is the volus who would refuse a direct request for capital or services from those who have so well-trod the Path of Plenix. Even the most heinous of the Depthwalker criminals, who have renounced their own species and almost everything it stands for, will treat a Cloudwalker with an icy politeness.

To suggest that the Ores Tashen is some kind of charlatan or snake oil salesman is simply not true – he was something of an ascetic in his youth and actually did a series of pro bono lectures on the volus faith at the Citadel as part of a cultural exchange program. As far as we can tell, he seems genuinely committed to his theological positions and is keen to defend them before anyone who asks him. (Addendum: His 'ascetic' lifestyle is only so by volus standards. He still dined like a Manswell, but refused any personal financial interest in the clan, quite a radical choice. -Tiffany)

I honestly don't know what to make of a man who will sell his own valuables in order to raise funds to create a labour hire company for disenfranchised wildcatter humans, or offer free medical care to pregnant clanless asari maidens, and then in his next broadcast openly state that those who leech value from the universe deserve to be ostracised and left to die.

Barla Von, Chief Executive Officer of Barla Von Financial Associates, Demi-Gaur of the Von Clan, Proctor of the Vol Protectorate, suspected consigliere of the Shadow Broker.

This sneaky little bastard is a microcosm of everything volus.

Dryly amusing and studiously polite when he isn't hyper-focused or dissociative, intellectually brilliant yet philosophically rigid, alternatively risk-averse and astoundingly bold, caught up in the day-to-day running of his clan and clannu but never losing sight of the end goals, Barla Von is above all else a survivor. Frankly, anyone who manages to make it for decades in the Darwinian world of the Shadow Broker deserves a certain baseline of respect.

That Barla Von has managed to maintain his lofty perch on the Citadel, run one of the most respected financial services firms in the galaxy, serve as Demi-Gaur of the esteemed Von Clan, and serve as a Proctor of the Vol Protectorate whilst acting as the banker for the goddamn Shadow Broker is nothing short of amazing and a testament to the man's skill and audacity.

Think about this for a second. Really think about, because it raises serious questions as to the true nature of Barla Von, his operations, his security measures, and his tradecraft. Barla Von has managed to outrun C-Sec, the Spectre office (which he's literally in sight of!), the Citadel Council, the STG, Cerberus, Hades, the AIS, the Noveria Development Corporation, Aria, everyone else on Omega, the Shifter, all of his enemies on Vol Prime, and Christ alone knows who else.

You know what? I don't believe that there is a supermassive black hole at the centre of this galaxy. I'm now convinced that that space is occupied solely by Barla Von's supermassive balls.

First things first: Barla Von is the third-born son of the head of the Von Clan, one of the most powerful and well-regarded clans in Volus Space (only slightly below the highest, which even after five thousand years still pisses them off), and his early years were spent studying remotely for his doctorates in econometrics, intergalactic commerce, xenopsychology, and history; courting his mate and fathering his three children (one of whom is dead); and, finally, advancing his fledgling company's interests on the Citadel. (Addendum: And by 'interests,' I mean the most gorgeously elegant money laundering operation you've ever seen. I have to admit, he does better work than me. It's so good it's legal. -Tiffany)

He was widely regarded as a brilliant business mind in his youth, even by the lofty standards of his own clan, but (as with Tela Vasir) one can only keep the rumours at bay for so long, and once his association with Tetrimus Rakora became an open secret amongst the kind of circles he operates in, most of polite society declined to be seen in public with him – though of course these hypocrites do business with his organisation behind closed doors.

I would very much like to see the client register at Barla Von Financial Associates, given the rumours about who's on it.

I'm admittedly curious to see how the Dog deals with him in the future. His association with the Shadow Broker is problematic, of course, but it's just that: an association. A long-term one, yes, I won't debate that, but business is business, and competitors come and go. They might be allies one day and enemies the next, and surely Barla knows that the Shadow Broker is fundamentally incapable of anything approaching friendship or loyalty.

Technically, Barla isn't a part of the Broker's operations directorate, and outside of the financial side of things he isn't really in the loop on matters of intelligence or black operations, which of course is exactly how he likes it. It's possible we'll have to kill him or at least neutralise his operations at some point in the near future, but it's equally possible we can co-opt or even recruit him ourselves. He's no fool, and is far too well-protected on the Citadel to risk a direct assault, but perhaps he'd be open to an offer from a certain owner of a certain Dog at the right time?

Something to ponder, sir.

Ortu Elkoss, Chief Executive Officer of the Elkoss Combine, Director Prime of the Elkoss Combine, Gaur of the Elkoss Clan.

[Please see the Noveria Development Corporation file for details.]

Dessu Cal, Chief Executive Officer of the Special Investments Division of the Volus Defence Force of the Vol Protectorate.

[Please see the Noveria Development Corporation file for details.]

Vidon Marr, the Lance of Irune, High Executive-Marshall of the Volus Defence Force of the Vol Protectorate.

Your inarticulate rage zombie could probably tell you more about Vidon Marr than I could, assuming that the lovely Ms. Shepard is back from her latest bloodletting spree. I believe they worked together during the Benezia Incident, in the assault on Ilos, no? And before that when they were investigating Saren's activities? No matter. Vidon of the Marr Clan has been a very busy man since then. He now has a mate. His sister Bouda has just been promoted to Chief Executive Officer of the VDF's Biotic Investments Division, and Vidon himself has just been declared CEO of the entire VDF. (Addendum: Westerlund News has taken to calling him the 'Wobble Shogun,' which I suppose is what passes for wit amongst those lobotomised rubes. -Tiffany)

All in all, it's been an excellent couple of years for Vidon Marr.

I had a chat with Pel about this. Apparently, Vidon is something of a prodigy within the VDF, and he managed to earn the respect of both the Citadel and the turians as a result of his conduct during the Benezia Incident. In most species, it would be absurd for a forty-seven-year-old to be appointed supreme commander of their entire military, but volus are very much a pragmatic and meritocratic people. Say what you want, but he's been blooded in many battles for Irune, and no one can dispute his skill or courage. Since the Benezia Incident, he's mostly been involved in the VDF action during the Geth War, supporting the turian assaults outside the Perseus Veil, and is largely responsible for the VDF's remarkable military build-up and rapid research and development over the last eighteen months.

It occurs to me that – given his current status within the VDF and Shepard's solid working relationship with him in the past – well, let's say he'd be a useful ally for when humanity's champion and her Dog sponsor decide to come out to the galaxy…

Kaltoth the Depthwalker, formerly of the Rol Clan, current member of Aria's Circle of the Fallen, 'She who has walked under the Empty Gate.'

Oh, this cunt.

Am I coming across as angry? I'm sorry if I am coming across as angry, but this twatwaffle tried to have me killed.

No, no, it's fine. I'm fine. We can continue.

Kaltoth the Depthwalker needs no introduction, really. She's something of a legend in the Terminus. She is the only volus member of the Circle of the Fallen, Aria's posse of Terminus crime lords, and is also the only woman present (aside from asari). She handles the subtler and more insidious aspects of Aria's business in much the same way that Barla Von acts as the consigliere for the Shadow Broker. She's supposedly also the source of some of Aria's funding, as well as almost all of Aria's money laundering, and as such, has more input and control into how the Circle of the Fallen as a whole operates.

She was almost certainly born into the upper reaches of the Rol Clan, and has discreetly retained some kind of relationship with her sisters, brother, and a couple of cousins, but, of course, officially, the entire clan has denied this. We know that she is a confirmed full-spectrum Depthwalker, of the Path of the Original Intent, and that she owns several artefacts related to the volus War of Assassins and the Shrouded Divine itself, including, rumor has it, one of the oldest known copies of its unholy text.

Her personality? Well, we know she's cunning, manipulative, paranoid, prone to discreet violence, has a nasty survivalist streak, and does not forgive or forget any slight. In a yahg, this would be normal. In a volus, this is fucking nuts. She isn't just off her tree – she's keeled over and burnt down the whole damn forest. It's like someone stuffed the personality of a great white shark into the body of a koala.

(Addendum: Note that I'm referring to the adorable pre-Days of Iron koalas, and not to the unstoppable juggernauts that roam the Outback today, spreading only death and chlamydia -Tiffany.)

Still, like all volus she enjoys good food, good drinks, and a good party. She supposedly has a passion for mathematics and mathematical art. She was, rather hilariously, lovers with Barla Von (of all people!) when both were in their youth, about forty years ago. Given that both their current employers are mortal enemies, perhaps their falling out was unavoidable, but it's curious that both still go out of their way to avoid directly harming the other if possible.

How sweet.

Based on a few minutes of combat footage during the Burning, her suit is very heavily armoured and she favours graal spike throwers, high-explosives, and heavy (as in megawatt-range) laser dazzlers. Her personal retinue is relatively small and comprised of Depthwalker associates, but most of her actual employees are corrupt former C-Sec detectives, exiled intelligence officers and private knowledge brokers, and a small number of bionetically enhanced enforcers (mostly drell outcasts and, oddly enough, human gangsters from Hardluck, outside the NY Arcology). Kaltoth is also the largest sponsor and employer of quarians on Omega, and supposedly has an exiled former Techmarine in her service. Rumors abound of her dealings with Golo, though no one is willing to offer any hard evidence on what exactly that involves.

Can't say I blame them. Golo even creeps out Rasa.

Note that Kaltoth's people are not the private army of goons and mercenaries that most criminal figures go for. They don't need to be. Such things are an inefficient use of energy and effort. They're going to be the ones processing your data packets, reviewing your shipping manifests, representing you in court, handling your banking, hooking you up with contracts and contacts, and quietly removing problematic things and people.

Most people who go to Omega think that the obvious threat is the hard-looking batarian fucker eyeing you up on the corner, or the greensuits swaggering around with their SMGs. It's never the staid docking agent who handles all your documents, or the shopkeeper who smiles and nods and takes your money, or the pretty young thing in the bar laughing at your shitty jokes.

That's exactly how Kaltoth likes it.

Boss Logah, 'Boss of all Bosses,' Chieftain of the Logah Bloodline, Executive-Liaison of the VDF Vorcha Initiative.

Boss Logah is the smartest, toughest, and most canny of the vorcha in Wobbly Space, and so, by rights, they are the 'Boss of all Bosses.'

Note that I said 'they,' rather than 'he' or 'she.' That's because Boss Logah, whilst initially born female, has chosen to develop both male and female sex organs in order to spawn their own line of Bosses, who will in turn be able to stake out their own Bloodlines. Should you meet Boss Logah in-person, their pronouns are 'them,' 'their,' and 'they.' Their hobbies are breeding and painting.

Boss Logah was the first vorcha to formally organize the vorcha religion of fire-worship within their broods (as far as one can organize such a thing). They were also the first of the vorcha Bosses in Citadel Space to agree to the wobblies' deal – having already done breeding deals with them for years. Most importantly, Boss Logah has received several rather interesting bionetic upgrades courtesy of VDF High Command. Some are obvious, such as superior cellular regeneration and muscle strength, but others are more subtle, including several highly advanced cognitive and telomere enhancements that I've managed to trace back to a yindo of former STG scientists on Omega.

What this means is that Boss Logah is the oldest vorcha alive, at twenty-six, but possesses the body of a five-year-old. It means that they can speak Galactic Trade Asaric, Volus Trade Standard, and a smattering of turian Clawspeak and human English. It means that they are quite comfortable making adult conversation and even visiting the Citadel. It means that Boss Logah is fully capable of understanding the long-term potential of their species' alliance with the wobblies, and is persuasive enough to talk the other Bosses into supporting it (though almost all of them already do).

Boss Logah has only had to eat three lesser Bosses whilst making their case. In the art of vorcha rhetoric and oratory, this is considered an overwhelmingly one-sided sign of agreement.

I've actually seen Boss Logah from a short distance here on Vol Prime, though oddly enough we haven't had a chance to talk. They are… physically impressive. Two meters and two hundred kilograms of nightmare fuel is not something I would like to meet on a battlefield, but watching them casually talk – and even joke – with the aliens around them was honestly more disturbing. These Boss vorcha are clever, and what they lack in intellectual training they more than make up for in a kind of low cunning. They have finely honed survival instincts and an uncanny ability to read a room and perceive the pecking order, yet the Citadel still dismisses both species.

Welcome to the future of the Volus-Vorcha Initiative.

The Seeker of the Archive of All Under Heaven.

We know almost nothing of the Seeker. Nobody does. I have bribed and traced and researched and charmed and hacked – and had others doing that for me as well – and we still know almost nothing. Few volus know of the Seeker, let alone outsiders.

What little we do know is courtesy of Vigil, a burnt-out data-junkie and Wheel Priest in the Black Rim, a cryptic poem from a Citadel hanar, and a handful of esoteric religious texts here on Vol Prime and Irune itself.

The Seeker is supposedly the oldest volus alive, 'older than the other children of the Clouds as Okeer is older than the children of Vaul.' (The fact that that hanar compared the Seeker to Okeer is… unsettling, even in metaphor.) The Seeker is 'at once the Most High and the Most Low.' To look upon the Seeker is to gaze upon an answer to the volus past, and an open question as to its future – and that Wheel Priest was convinced that this was innately related to the future of humanity and perhaps of us all.

The volus religious texts are extremely strange and difficult to translate, using an extinct form of Cloudscript that relies on geometric spiral patterns that constantly twist and turn in on themselves in ways which shade meaning and context.

They say that the Seeker cannot die until the great shadows are banished.

(Addendum: Eyes only: Jack Harper: Sir, as per my private message and my… conversation, as it were, with this subject, I'll brief you in-person when (if?) we make it back to the Dog's Kennel. -Tiffany)

Niftu Cal, venture capitalist, artist, philanthropist, 'biotic god,' celebrity par excellence, Demi-Gaur of the Cal Clan, Proctor of the Vol Protectorate, Chief Executive Officer of Niftu Combine, Brand Ambassador of the Tupari Corporation.

Ah, Niftu Cal.

Legendary galactic kook, darling of gossip columnists and sixteen times cover star of GTMZ Magazine. What else can I possibly say about a man who claimed, in the same week, to have invented jeans, to be the aithntar of Aria T'Loak, to be responsible for the disappearance of the Protheans, and (this one's my favourite) having been the intimate poker buddy of one Jack Harper for the last twenty-five years? He's the only volus to have ever been given an entire Fornax spread or to have dated Aish Ashland. (Addendum: Surprised? Why? Her taint gets more traffic than the Citadel. -Tiffany)

Currently, he's romantically linked to Vexxy of Palaven, and no, I have no idea what the fuck either of them gets out of that relationship. Fame and attention? Money? Wobbly spiky sex? It's a mystery.

Moving on – Niftu also has a compulsive (and infamous) social media habit, normally either trolling his 'haters' ("if Earth First's approval rating dips any lower into the teens, Saracino will try and fuck it"), pimping his own brands ("Tupari: makes you forget you're really just a sad monkey, Earth-clan"), or just spouting Niftu-isms ("I WILL HARNESS THE POWER OF BROWNIAN MOTIONS TO USHER IN A NEW AGE OF DISCOUNTED PRODUCE"). It's working. He has nine billion followers. Each one of those comments got more likes than the entire human population. His ad revenue from social media views alone puts him in the galactic Fortune 2000.

Despite all this, or perhaps because of it, Niftu Cal is one of the most successful and active venture capitalists and artists in the galaxy. Like Dessu Cal, he hails from the Cal Clan, and is (after Dessu, his older cousin), the largest clan shareholder and a ranking Demi-Gaur, meaning he'll likely inherent joint ownership of the clan once his uncle is deceased. Niftu has pioneered multiple art styles, such as surrealcore (a visual art form, generally haptic, in which a subdued and intensely personal subject matter is juxtaposed with surrealist use of colour, form, and technique) and trapslide (a musical fusion of throbbing volus bass notes and tinkling percussion with the chord and tonal progression of outcast batarian slide-shift), and is the fourth most streamed artist of all time on the extranet. I have to admit his work is rather innovative and transcends cultural and racial boundaries.

His venture capital work is equally impressive, and he was the largest single investor in the series A, B, and C funding (and IPOs) of Sirta Medical, Tupari, Zakara Ministry of Sound, and (most recently) BenCore Enterprises. (Addendum: Guess it makes sense if he really is your poker buddy. -Tiffany)

He's weirdly popular with the birds too, having acted as a patron and booster for several turian architects and textile manufacturers (all of whom have impeccable Hierarchy credentials). His real stroke of genius, however, was in providing free medical aid and rehabilitation services to any turian who was wounded whilst fighting the Facinus. As you can imagine, the birds were (and continue to be) deeply moved by this.

Kumun Shol, Chief Executive Officer of the Shol Combine, Sanctified Proctor of the Vol Protectorate.

If Niftu Cal is the highest expression of wobbly swagger and gregarious genius, and Barla Von the peak of audacity versus caution, chaos versus order, of balance in all things, then Kumun Shol is a tragic reminder of what is left when a volus mind loses whatever balance it once possessed.

I mean, how crazy do you have to be to take on Vigil?

Make no mistake here – Kumun Shol is a genius among geniuses. The Shol Combine is an extraordinarily successful high-technology/speculative development firm (as we would see it). They have tested revolutionary technologies that have the potential to change galactic life as we know it. True superconducting materials that have the potential to almost completely eliminate energy loss over vast distances. Frictionless bearings that produce effectively no waste heat or wear. 'Intelligent' super-lubricants that require no maintenance and which actively seek out the place where they can be most useful. Batteries that can slowly recharge themselves by absorbing background energy, Brownian motions, or even the waste energy of whatever machine they're a part of.

For his role in developing such marvels, and thus maximising both value retention and energy efficiency, Kumun Shol was Sanctified in his role as Proctor of the Vol Protectorate by the Ores Tashn himself, who claimed that Kumun Shol was 'a great general in the eternal struggle against Entropy.'

And yet none of this matters, because Kumun Shol lives what can only be described as a kind of half-life. Something is very wrong here.

Allow me to explain.

The Shol Combine has lost dozens of researchers and dozens more support personnel over the last several years, and those are just the ones that we can confirm. Others have simply gone insane and been quietly disposed of. No doubt there were many more we can't account for. Now, for a research combine like this, that isn't so unusual, per se – Noverian combines have the same problem, it tends to come with the territory. The problem is that these researchers were working in some very specific and esoteric fields, things like M-theory, quantum-eezo interactions, dark matter and energy, dimensional mechanics, nonlinear mathematics, xenobiology and archaeology, and so on.

You know, the kind of things we keep an eye on.

Secondly, no one, and I mean no one, not even us, has been able to reverse-engineer any of this technology, or at least the samples we were able to acquire. Much like certain kinds of asari or hanar devices, it's almost like the technology itself is actively resisting and mocking our attempts to tinker with it. Worse still, Vigil doesn't recognize most of it, and some of the concepts are beyond Inusannon science, or at least his knowledge of it. The few bits he does recognize he thinks are Arcann – a species that predate the Insuannon by hundreds of thousands of years.

Third, Vigil has reported detecting exotic particle traces deep within wobbly territory, controlled by the Shol Combine, that are consistent with 'disjunction motion devices,' or, in layman's terms, 'jump drives,' very similar to those used by the Reapers and various precursor races.

Only, the wobblies don't have access to any of those. Or, they shouldn't.

Fourth, the Palavanus are at best deeply suspicious of Kumun Shol and the Shol Combine as a whole, privately saying (according to our sources on Vol Prime) that he has 'gravely offended the Spirits.' Relations are not violently hostile at this stage, and the Shol Combine can still move through Hierarchy Space, but the fact that Kumun Shol and the Shol Combine are now actively being monitored by the goddamned Deathwatch can't be good, and it's a development we need to take seriously. The Palavanus would not be acting this way without good reason.

I strongly suspect that at least a couple of the other Proctors are suspicious of him too, since they can't afford to ignore the Palavanus, and aside from that, a Proctor's observation and analysis skills are exquisite. They have no reason to directly move against him, but they're wary.

Finally, I actually met Kumun Shol very briefly on Vol Prime, and I'm here to tell you that that man is not mentally healthy or even stable. (Addendum: What happened after only reinforces that point. -Tiffany)

I've attached a range of independent third-party reports on his person, so you don't have to take my word for it, but that man is a such a tweaky, cuckoo-bananas mess he makes Thessial look like a Cheetos-munching stoner.

For the record, Kumun Shol is not a Depthwalker – in fact, he's so empathetic it seems to almost cause him physical pain, and he appears highly considerate of the people around him. His body language, by wobbly standards, is quite off, much more neurotic and mercurial. He has a range of tics and strange behavioural patterns: he either stares or has trouble making eye contact at all, he obsessively traces geometric patterns with his hand and enjoys feeling the surface textures of various objects, and he has some manic-depressive tendencies.

He is, needless to say, an incredibly engaging (if rather intense) conversationalist when he's stable.

He can also be quite gentle and sweet. He made me a drink and held my hand as we strolled through a meditative garden here on Vol Prime. He is also very fond of petting animals, which he finds calming and life-affirming. His current favourites are a family of rabbits he travels with.

I hope this man's story ends well for him… but I fear the worst. A being like this wouldn't risk everything to challenge Vigil unless it was of dire importance.

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Mr. Harper, thank you for the update on Tiffany. Her shuttle arrived not long afterwards here on Vansaris. She is in good health and is… philosophical about the ordeal.

Rasa, Five, and several core-program Cerberus troopers under Centurion Gregar and Medtech Keyes have been dispatched with a medical-support shuttle to bring Rasa to Shepard's base. (As an appalling aside, apparently our troopers refer to her locale as the 'Butcher's Shop.' We really must have less of these terrible puns, Mr. Harper.)

However, despite being uninjured and not catatonic from fright, I fear Tiffany is… rattled would be too kind a word. Perhaps I should have listened more when your operatives claimed she was not ready.

Having her work with Rasa and that pack of rapist, murderous, chipped up savages was sure to open her eyes to certain realities. While Rasa's mentality frightens me and the Lost Boys were monsters, I also know that Rasa is a consummate professional and does take her bodyguard jobs seriously.

So, on that count, Tiffany has a couple of light bruises, all but one of the Lost Boys are dead, and Rasa is in… well, as bad as shape as you can be and still be 'alive.' Given that I suspect Rasa found little value in Tiffany, her willingness to risk her life and lose her chosen followers is… deeply appreciated. Please convey to her my sincerest gratitude.

I am not unhappy that this occurred – although I'm hardly pleased – so much as deeply alarmed at Tiffany's belief that Vigil set some of this mess in motion.

While I appreciate that without Vigil we would all be either in a Commissariat reeducation camp or jaunty ashes decorating a shattered deep space base, and that Vigil is what is allowing us to stay competitive… I cannot help but feel concern at its ultimate goals and how disposable we are in pursuit of said goals. Furthermore, this particular incitement could have, according to Vigil, gone terribly wrong, with the destruction of Vol Prime, Irune itself, and most of the volus race. I do not have to spell out what that would have meant for the galaxy as a whole.

It would have also meant the death of my daughter.

House Minsta – my elder brother, both my younger brothers, my uncle, my cousins, and extended family – are aware of our link to Cerberus. They do not necessarily approve, but they understand the need for it, and the benefits we have gained from it over the years. That being said, no Family of the Second Rank can afford any direct links to you – especially now that we are out in the cold, so to speak.

That is why I will never inherit the House leadership, a fate I resigned myself to years ago.

Tiffany, on the other hand, should have been an unknown. Some of Tiffany's value, I had hoped, would be in her ability to not draw direct attention due to any lack of formal affiliation with Cerberus. Her low profile was likely to only be raised a touch on Vol Prime, I thought.

Massive explosions, open shootouts, anti-grain detonations and overloaded reactors that went semi-critical on Vol Prime are not 'low profile.'

I am not a maudlin man, Mr. Harper, but Tiffany is all I have left, really. My own name is in too much financial and business disgrace to ever be a force in the market, my family was displeased at the drama and media attention in my divorce, the method by which I severed ties with my university career did not endear me to anyone, and more than a few other placements have been denied me due to my link to Cerberus.

I am not complaining.

I know full well I wanted you to find something for Tiffany to do, due to her intellect and her approval of our goals. But on reflection, I think perhaps she would be better suited doing something much more… sedate.

If a trip to the Grand Salon of Vol Prime turned into nearly as bad a throwdown as we had on Ilium – with STG, Deathwatch, Broker assassins, Dancers, failed war priestesses, insane Arcann war machines powerful enough to concern Vigil, and the Azure-Fucking-Lily – then sending her to Tuchanka, Dekunna, or, God help me, Rakhana is right out.

I will be awaiting Shepard and company on Vansaris, along with the chosen Honor Guard. Tiffany and I will accompany her to the Citadel and I will be happy to accommodate Lord Windsor and his daughter as escorts. I'm hoping Eliza and Tiffany can find friendship, as most of her current acquaintances are either in debt to House Chu or besotted with asari tramps (or worse, one of the younger sons of al Saud is in a relationship with a turian female of all things).

In any event, while I would be happy to participate in any biological or physiological work that is required, I'd suggest the esteemed and skilled Doctor Sedanya (an asari who I actually like, given her own ugly experiences at the hands of that tramp Doctor Ciladya) would assist in any Cerberus File write-ups in the short-term while Tiffany recovers her nerve… and her verve.

And, reluctantly, I would also like to schedule time with Doctor Chambers and Tiffany to deal with any post-situational trauma, as her schedule allows.

-Dr. Galen Minsta