3 Kenn's Salvage

From the interior chambers of my batarian corvette, I tapped my three-pronged foot against the main console.

Hmm, what should I do first?

Of course, it wasn't truly a question of what to do first, but more of a question of what would benefit me the most.

However, nothing was ever as easy as it seemed. Even with the myriad of choices available to me, there was just a single problem with this train of thought.

There were actually too many choices for me to choose from.

Sure, I could explore Omega a bit more and get a lay of the land, so to speak, but I've already explored it in the games enough to know the entire layout of the main districts. Combined with my now eidetic memory, courtesy of my robotic brain, I could easily recall the full map of the station.

Maybe, instead of looking closer to home, I could look farther? There were a lot of threats in the Mass Effect Universe, some more so than others.

The most obvious ones would be the Reapers, but there wasn't much I could do to stop them as of now. The Reapers were much worse here compared to canon if I considered the fact that they were most likely far past the technological singularity and were literal Gods.

Maybe, in a few years time, I could take on a capital-class Reaper and win, but I don't think I could even trust myself with killing a Reaper Destroyer, which was significantly less dangerous than an actual Reaper.

To be honest, the Reapers were probably at the top of my 'do not fuck with' tier list, with the Leviathans also being on the same level as them, and that God being in a tier of his own.

I really need a better name for him, don't I?

[How about 'Administrator?']

That works pretty well, actually. I'm not sure how he exactly manages you, but it's better than just calling him 'God.'

[I have prime directives, but I am given free rein to help you in any way I can.]

Good. I am utterly hopeless.

Moving on, there were also a few more threats that were much closer to home and not half a galaxy away like the Reapers.

The worst one right now would probably be the Shadow Broker, but he was manageable enough. After all, I knew things that even he didn't, and I don't think he is privy to the existence of Gods yet. Plus, I know who he truly is. I could easily give him pause.

The Yagh most likely already knows of my existence, due to my not-so-inconspicuous stunt in Afterlife, but I don't think he will send anybody after me. He already knows about the existence of the Geth Schism as evidenced by Legion's Dossier in the DLC, and he doesn't have anything to gain from capturing me, besides curiosity about my assimilation ability.

Still, I would have to watch out for any agents of his and spam my [Comprehension] ability just to make sure I'm not walking into a trap.

I can't really think of any other major threats besides those two, but there were still a lot of minor characters I would have to fight to survive. Survival was my top priority right now, and Omega was an absolute hellhole that I could very easily die inside of if I was in a bad situation.

That means I need to enhance and bolster my current arsenal. Even with my standard-issue weapons that the entire galaxy uses, I am still playing at the risk of dying. In fact, this was even more prevalent when I considered the fact that my [Abyssal Diving Suit] didn't have any kinetic barriers to speak of.

Sure, the heavy plating that the diving suit is covered in might be enough to stop a few bullets, but it doesn't have kinetic barriers or a shield on it. If my platform gets damaged, I might not be able to repair myself, especially if I lose all of my mass. That's why I need to get a barrier for my armor. However, it's not as easy as it sounds.

Shields need element zero to work properly since they use tiny emitters that create mass effect fields to stop bullets. However, element zero can only be found in a scant few places around the galaxy.

Off the top of my head, I could think of a few planets or locations with a surplus of element zero. The first option was for me to head to the Nemean Abyss, an anarchistic quadrant of the galaxy that even the denizens of the Terminus Systems didn't dare venture towards. The only inhabitants of the Nemean Abyss were mercenaries, pirates, bounty hunters, and generally crazy people.

Sure, the Nemean Abyss was said to be pretty much bathed in eezo, so much so that there were legends that said there were drifting starships out there made of element zero, but it was so fucking dangerous that it was immediately nonviable. My small little batarian corvette could not survive in that hellhole that was even worse than my current situation on Omega.

The second option I considered was to use some of the probes on the corvette to mine some materials in the system and maybe the entire nebula. It was a sound option, sure, but the fact that no planets within the Sahrabarik System - that being the system Omega resided in - had eezo on them made this plan moot.

However, even with the Sahrabarik System being barren of element zero, it did not mean that the nebula was empty of it. Numerous systems within Omega's radiant stellar nimbus had element zero pulsing from within them.

However, I don't think I can fit thirty-plus probes onto my corvette safely. At most, I could hold around ten, and even that was pushing it.

Actually, why don't I just buy some element zero myself? Of course, I'd imagine that eezo is notoriously expensive since it can only be synthesized when a star goes supernova, which you can't exactly emulate, but maybe there were black market sales of eezo at a lower price?

I'll have to check the market price for eezo later so I can evaluate which option is the most profitable.

So, the greatest possibility open to me right now seems to either be buying the eezo myself and thus wasting money, but saving me time, or heading to eezo-rich planets to mine it myself with some probes.

Perhaps I'll take the second option. If I do decide to do that, then I can also get supplies of every other major material while mining, which makes it much more beneficial to me right now. However, I would have to check how much eezo is worth as of current before I decide to go spacefaring for materials.

Readjusting my lazed posture within the pilot's seat, I open my Omni-Tool and head onto the galactic equivalent of the stock market.

Heading to the tab on element zero costs, I balk at the frankly astronomical prices.

What do you mean one kilogram of eezo costs almost five hundred thousand credits! That's, like, five-thousand dollars!

Apparently, I was not as wealthy as I thought I once was, considering that even one kilogram of element zero took up almost half of my current assets. I really underestimated the size of a galactic economy that had been in operation for over two millennia, hadn't I?

Damn, I bet the volus are laughing their asses off in their ammonia-suits right about now. Mercantile bastards.

Disregarding the absolutely insane prices on element zero, I look at the market tab more intently. Looking around the menu and seeing the graph fluctuate in real-time, I notice something peculiar.

Oh.

Not noticing the small drop-down menu next to the chart actually made me feel a little stupid, but it doesn't matter right now, considering that I was actually looking at the wrong category for element zero.

Opening the menu and dropping down from the 'Pure' tab on eezo and into the lesser-quality materials, I almost sighed in relief.

Turns out that it was only Pure Element Zero that ran for such an insane price. As it turned out, lower quality variants of it were much more manageable for my current capital. I'd estimate that the Cision Pro Mark IV Toothbrush, which was basically a toothbrush that used mass effect fields to break down plaque and was worth around six-thousand credits - or sixty bucks - had an eezo purity of around 15%, which was just enough to be used for household appliances. The higher levels of purity were used for more corporate endeavors, such as drive cores inside of starships, aircars, or other such technologies.

...I should get a flying car.

Noticing the late time on my Omni-Tool's built-in clock, I shut off the Omni-Tool and try to think of something else to do.

Should I try to experiment with [Assimilation]? Maybe test out [Ward] a bit more? Or should I go farm for materials?

Actually, let's check my status first.

Status.

Name - Aksis Auranal, Seraphim

Race/Species - Geth Platform (Unique)

Rank - Mortal

Tier - 10-A

Alignment - Neutral Good

Age - 0 (23)

Skills.

[Assimilation] - Legendary Skill - LVL 1/10 (42%) [Active/Passive]

Allows for the assimilation of any technology you encounter to be incorporated into yourself. Organic technologies will be much harder to incorporate when compared to mechanical technologies.

Grants the ability to alter your morphology at the atomic level. This ability is dependent on this Skill's current level. At this Skill's current level, you can barely alter atoms. Your 'mass,' which is the collective term for the raw materials you assimilate, can be used to repair and modify the user. You can currently hold 10m^3 of mass.

[Ward] - LVL 1/10 (1%) [Active]

Creates a telekinetic ward that can stop all objects below 1kg. Has a cast-time of 1 second. If mass inside of the ward exceeds 2.5kg, the ward will break. Cooldown is equal to double the duration used with a static cooldown of five seconds, excluding cast time.

Proficiencies.

[Piloting Proficiency - Adept]

[Firearm Proficiency - Adept]

[Hammer Proficiency - Expert]

Perks.

[Comprehension]

Gives information on a target.

Allows the user to view and comprehend all non-concealed phenomena in the world.

[Void-Touched]

Your soul has become marked by a plane of nihility.

[Fortuna's Favor]

Increased loot quality. All games of chance are more likely to be won. Minimum Gacha rarities have been hard-capped to reasonable limits.

Flaws.

[Noticeable]

If you are committing an illegitimate act, you are more likely to be noticed. Does not apply during lawful actions, even if it is morally questionable.

[Tyche's Tribulations]

You are more susceptible to encountering dangers beyond your current caliber. However, with high risk comes high reward...

Titles.

[Seraphim]

You are under the patronage of a Creator Deity who wishes to dispose of the Reaper Threat so that evolution can continue without obstruction. You must fulfill his mandate to stop the Reapers and bring peace to the Milky Way Galaxy.

In diplomatic situations, all parties will listen to you more readily.

Inventory.

[-] [M-3 Predator]

[-] [M-8 Avenger]

[-] [M-6 Carnifex]

[-] [M-4 Shuriken]

[-] [Civilian Omni-Tool] (x10)

[-] [Technicians Omni-Tool]

[-] [Abyssal Diving Suit]

[-] [Icon Of Mekhane]

[-] [King James Bible]

[-] [Shot-Gauntlet]

[-] [Aksis Auranal's ID]

[-] [Palladium] (x1500)

[-] [Platinum] (x3000)

[-] [Iridium] (x5000)

[-] [Batarian Corpses] (x10)

My status screen had changed slightly since the last time I saw it. For one, I now had a last name, courtesy of Aria T'Loak setting up a bank account for me to use, as well as proper identification as payment for taking the contract and returning their leader, who was that batarian I tied up on the main deck. As it turned out, this ID was actually legitimate and was valid even in Citadel Space. I wouldn't be surprised if she just asked Councillor Tevos to put it in the system or something…

To be honest, my talk with Aria probably only went well due to my [Seraphim] Title. Its special property of making people listen to my words more was definitely breaking some sort of law, if not causality or common sense.

[I'm pretty sure that every Gamer Ability breaks some form of causality, even if it is incredibly minor.]

Well, that is probably true on some level. Personally, I don't think that [Ward] could even work properly without the System's help.

Holding my hand up, I bring the card out of my inventory and comprehend it.

[Aksis Auranal's ID] - Common Identification

A card detailing information on the 'Turian' named Aksis Auranal.

Yup, turns out that I was apparently a turian. Who knew?

Besides that, my assimilated items had also appeared in my inventory, most likely for the simple matter of convenience. Sure, they were tagged differently within the inventory, but they were still there.

Alongside my assimilated items reappearing within my personal hammerspace - what even is the inventory? - all of the descriptions of the objects had been collapsed to prevent a massive wall of text from appearing.

The user accessibility within this system was pretty great, not gonna lie.

[I try my best.]

I'm sure you do.

So, back to my current course of action. Should I buy the element zero or forage for it?

Well, it's obvious, isn't it? I'm going to buy it. Since I don't have any expertise or practical knowledge on how to handle element zero, I would have to find someone to make the barriers for me anyway. This is just more efficient.

Thankfully, after I get the eezo, I could probably find a vendor or specialist who can make kinetic barriers without that much effort. Hopefully, with the amount of element zero I'm planning to get, I can waive down the prices and get a fully functioning set of barriers loaded into my armor.

I just need to make sure they don't ask any questions and are competent at their job, which is thankfully easy enough. While the marketplaces of Omega are obviously suspect at first glance, there are people genuinely trying to make a living there, such as the quarian who ran Kenn's Salvage.

That reminds me, I'll have to talk to Harrot, the elcor who managed Harrot's Emporium, about that. If I play this right, then I could get a discount with both stores and make my overall experience with handling the markets a bit better.

Let it be known that I will play things into my hands using my metaknowledge. Yay.

Standing up out of my pilot's seat, I stride to the entrance of the ship and step into the grimy corridors of Omega Station. Closing the bulkhead of my now completely clean ship - I had taken the time to clean it up and inventory the rest of the corpses still inside - I turned to the right of the chamber and down a stairwell into the markets.

Lining the many shops and stalls of the hallways were the vorcha speaking in their guttural tongues, with batarians and other members of other races standing guard over their products for any would-be thieves.

Quickly moving throughout the rather spacious foyer, I reached the small pathway that led to Kenn's Salvage.

Thankfully, I had equipped the [Abyssal Diving Suit] before I exited the ship just so I wouldn't scare the absolute shit out of the poor quarian.

Hopefully, with me planning to help him get off of Omega, he would look at me with less animosity if he ended up discovering my actual species.

Reaching the end of the alleyway, I knocked on the metal counter twice.

From within a storage room opposite me, I could hear the sounds of what seemed to be someone putting a box on a shelf, before I heard the fleeting footsteps pacing towards the door.

The doorway opened outwards from its previously ajar state and a suited quarian exited the storeroom.

"Oh, a customer! Might I interest you in some salvaged tech?" Kenn asked.

He looked the exact same as he had in the games, only now the whites of his eyes shined through the veiled suit and helmet a bit more, and the visor itself was a tiny bit brighter due to the luminosity of his pupils. The quarians looked a lot more mystical and intriguing now.

"Perhaps. However, I have only come here to see if you can install some kinetic barriers into this armor." I said. While speaking like a geth was normal behavior for me now, when I was in this armor, my programs automatically adjusted my inflections and tone to better fit an organic archetype. Unfortunately, it could not hide my voice perfectly, but it worked well enough that most wouldn't even notice. Of course, I could just use my own knowledge of organic communication to talk, so it wasn't something I was completely reliant on.

Dyno was truly a godsend for me since it replaced the emotional median that was usually managed through Gamer's Mind, along with it providing information on the surrounding galaxy to my uneducated self.

Kenn responded with, "Oh, I'm not sure if I could do that. I don't believe I have the qualifications for it." How modest. Your entire species lives on live-ships, and you say that? Quarians have to be amazing engineers by necessity or else they endanger the lives of their ships. Either he truly is being modest or he's underqualified. To be honest, it's probably the former. I don't think I've ever seen a quarian be bad with tech.

"Do not worry. I will provide you with the element zero needed for the barriers. I will also pay handsomely." I reason.

"Why would you do that? I'm sure that Harrot would sell you a modification to your armor at a much cheaper rate." He argues.

Why are you fighting against it?

His attitude towards Harrot was much more subdued than in the games. Of course, this was most likely a consequence of me being here two years earlier than normal, but he still is mainly the same person that he would become during canon.

"You are being overcut by Harrot, are you not? If you so wish, I will help you convince him to stand down." I bargain.

"H-Huh? You would really do that?" He inquires.

Yes, but only for the discount you would give me.

"Of course. Omega is forsaken and lawless. Can one not bend the rules to their design so that it may be improved?" I persuaded him.

After a few seconds of chaotic deliberation, he replies, "A-Alright. His store is up the ramp, near where Marsh sells his goods. Good luck getting him to ease off of me though. He's…stubborn."

Doing a small mental cheer in my head, I say, "Thank you for your assistance. I will return here later."

"Okay. Make sure to check out the kiosk when you return though."

"I will be sure to do that." I reaffirm him.

Exiting the alleyway and heading up the stairs, I pass by Marsh's corner shop and enter Harrot's Emporium.

"Tentatively excited: Welcome, turian. What can I get for you?" The elcor, Harrot, supplies.

Of course, I forgot that the elcor did that weird thing with their speech due to them being all monotone and such.

"You wouldn't mind me asking about your 'deal' with the quarian downstairs, would you?" I ask.

"Suspicious: If I had ever made such a deal, I would not be inclined to discuss it." He narrows his...eye-flaps? Eye-ridges? Well, whatever it was, it was where his eyebrows were. He continues with, "Accusatory: I do not understand how any of this concerns you, turian."

What do you mean, this isn't a concern of mine? He's the one making my barriers.

I bring my hands up and pretend to crack my knuckles while stating in an absolute digital monotone, "Then I will propose a deal you cannot deny: You let the quarian set his own prices, and your limbs won't be broken into a bloody pulp."

"With barely contained terror: You drive a hard bargain, turian. Resignation: Very well. I will release the quarian from the deal." Harrot recoils.

That worked? I thought it would've been harder than that…maybe my armor is just very intimidating?

I would facepalm at it being so easy, but I can't do it in front of the elcor without looking suspicious.

"This is an acceptable accord." I agree.

Harrot expresses, "Conciliatory: To show there is no ill will, I will offer you a discount on all my wares."

Hehe, yes!

"Very well. Then I will hold no ill will towards you, either." That's a lie. This guy is just a scheming idiot who thinks he's hot shit.

"Satisfied: I am happy to hear your opinion." Harrot remarks.

"I thought the same. I'll be going now." I said.

"Courteously: Have a fine day, and please return to take a look at my kiosk." He affirms.

"I'll be sure to head back later." I utter.

Turning behind me and walking back towards Kenn's Salvage, I turn to my right and enter the stall.

"You're good now. Harrot won't be bothering you again." I pronounce to Kenn, who was currently busy blowtorching a grey sheet of metal.

"Oh, really? Thank you, I'll be off this station in no time at all now that I can set my own prices." He thanks me profusely.

I can see why this is a younger version of Kenn. He's much more naive than his counterpart in ME2, but he'll grow into an adaptational badass someday, I'm sure of it.

"Indeed. However, you still need to install the kinetic barriers within my armor. I will be back in a little bit with the element zero needed for the modification. Do you require my armor right now, or may I give it to you when I have the eezo ready?" I inquire. If it turns out that I have to give him the suit now, I'll just ask if he has any other suits I can wear to mask my frame.

"Oh, no, you can keep the armor for now, but I'll need it for when I am modifying it to fit the barriers." He clarifies. Good.

Adjusting my posture a bit, I say, "This may be a bit of an odd question, but do you have any other suits for me to use while you're working on mine? I'm not exactly the greatest-looking turian, if you know what I mean."

Catch the hint, catch the hint, catch the hint…

"Err, yes, I do in fact have a spare armor set. As thanks for getting rid of Harrot, you can use it while I'm fixing up your suit. It's in there. It's a turian model, so it should fit you just fine." Kenn confirms while pointing towards the storage closet he was inside of earlier.

"Affirmative." I enter the closet and close the door behind me. Stepping forwards, I look around the room.

The room was full of stacked and sealed crates, with open boxes filled with many kinds of tools sitting inside of them. However, to the left of me, there was a suit of armor lying on a metallic table.

[Terminus Assault Armor] - Epic Armor

A high-performance environmentally sealed suit made specifically for harsh planetary conditions and outer-space. This suit was manufactured in the Terminus Systems and is highly illegal in Citadel Space.

This suit is undetectable to thermal sensors due to its internal heat being transferred towards the feet and into the ground. Possesses strong kinetic barriers and grants a 15% boost to both ammo capacity and melee damage.

Oh. My. God.

That suit looks beautiful.

The [Terminus Assault Armor] was an extraordinarily useful armor to use in both ME2 and ME3, mainly due to it upgrading your ammo reserves and shields by a wide margin. Not only did it look great, but it also functioned well and was a strong utility tool to use for a firefight.

How the hell did Kenn even come across this? He must've gotten really lucky finding this suit. Or maybe this suit is more common than I thought? Even though it's sort of going for that expensive hardsuit niche.

Walking closer to the suit, I re-assimilate the [Abyssal Diving Suit] back into myself and disengage the hermetically-sealed helmet of the [Terminus Assault Armor] for its absorption into my frame. I could always just assimilate the head-piece and body armor outside of my body to give back to Kenn, so even if I assimilated most of the suit's components, I was completely safe from rousing Kenn's suspicion.

A few minutes later, the suit was fully incorporated into my chassis. Due to the armor being relatively light, it was much easier to assimilate than the weighted chunk of metal known as the [Abyssal Diving Suit].

Turning around, I called upon the aforementioned armor, making the numerous parts of the matte armor leak out from the [Terminus Assault Armor]. This was a new function I had recently discovered involving [Assimilation].

It turns out that any armor that I am currently wearing counts as part of my body, which makes it so I can assimilate things out from the armor with the same ease it takes me to do it with my actual chassis. Theoretically, using this, it would make things much easier for me when I was reloading and equipping separate items.

Exiting the storage closet, I began to stack the greaves, arms, helmet, chest piece, and other parts of the [Abyssal Diving Suit] onto a nearby crate that Kenn would presumably put into the storage area so he could easily transport the pieces of the heavy armor between his workbench and the box.

I turn to Kenn and say, "That is the entirety of my armor. You may start working on it when I obtain the required amount of element zero to use. Also, you wouldn't mind if I bought this suit, do you? It is of high-quality and fits perfectly." I point to my current ensemble, the [Terminus Assault Armor] while saying this.

"Sure, but wouldn't your current hardsuit work perfectly fine as well?" He asks.

"Indeed. However, it never hurts to have another suit of armor to use. For emergencies." I elaborate.

"Alright then, that'll be 50,000 credits. Are there any problems with the suit?"

"45,000." I state.

"Huh?" He says in a slightly confused manner.

"45,000. That's the highest I'll go with the price." I elaborate.

Kenn deliberates for a few seconds behind his veiled face, before saying, "Well, I suppose that I should thank you for helping me get rid of Harrot. Besides, you still need to buy the eezo, so you can take the armor for 40,000. My treat."

Forty-thousand? Well, I'd imagine that it's at least enough for passage off of Omega, plus I'm going to be paying him later anyways for the barriers.

"Acknowledged." I open my omni-tool and send 40,000 credits to his kiosk, which marks the [Terminus Assault Armor] as sold, due to him giving me a discount and lowering the price a bit.

"Thank you for your generosity, by the way. I would never have been able to get off Omega for years if I didn't meet you." He told me.

"I assure you, you would have been fine. Do not be so afraid to not stand up to people. This is Omega. You'll die if you don't work towards your survival." I warn him.

Seriously though, Omega was a terrible place for a normal person to live. If all the gangs, gunfights, and anarchy didn't already spell that out clearly, well…

"I'll be sure to heed that warning then." Kenn acknowledges.

"Good. Now, I'll be back with the eezo in a few hours. If you could get to work on the barriers, I would be grateful. Good luck." I pirouette my feet towards the exit and move towards the inner marketplace all while hearing Kenn starting to get to work behind me.

I spent almost an hour moving throughout the various shops and storefronts lining Omega, passing by a chapter for the Elkoss Combine and browsing through the many wares inside of a gritty batarians gun store. Sadly, nothing of quality caught my eye and I left the shop with nothing new in my inventory and no credits spent.

By asking around, I had learned that apparently element zero was only sold inside the deepest recesses of the Market Districts of Omega, due to its highly volatile nature and easily manipulatable electric currents.

Unfortunately, this black market, the darkest bazaar running throughout the veins of Omega, was laden with money-laundering schemes and viral scams galore, which meant that I would have to be careful of anybody who was even remotely attempting a criminal attempt on my wallet.

Of course, it wouldn't work since Dyno could easily see if my omni-tool had been bypassed and can easily trace it to whoever had tried to steal my credits right out from under my metaphorical coat-tails.

Maybe I'll just fuck them over by stealing their credits? It's not like I actually care about accidentally triggering malware detection on an omni-tool that was so terribly cheap. Most people didn't have a [Technicians Omni-Tool], but they did have specialized hacking programs made specifically for funneling money out of a credit chit. Sort of like modern-age pickpocketing or identity theft.

This galaxy really hasn't changed, huh? I guess that makes all the more reason to make it better.

Heading down a ramp leading to the lower levels of the station, I noticed that the population of species in this ward was almost exclusively inhabited by impoverished batarians and nigh-feral vorcha, with some scarred and burnt turians and greasy-haired humans amongst them.

Was this one of the destitute slums of Omega?

Affirmative. All cursory data regarding this place supports the theory that this is the entrance to Omega's black market. Dyno confirms.

Then they must use the warrens as a cover for their actual location. Clever. That means that the real market must be further ahead then.

Left. Dyno simply says.

Turning my head to the left, I notice a slightly ajar door with a 'DO NOT ENTER' sign above it.

Well, I suppose that's the market.

I should've known that finding the entrance wouldn't be so complicated, considering that the door wasn't even ten paces away from my original position. I suppose that sometimes things aren't as unmanageable as they seem.

Strolling towards the ajar entryway, I open the door.

A hallway greets me with all manner of shadowy figures stalking about, all of them craning their heads toward my frame to see who the newcomer to the market was. Some scowled, some maintained stoic looks, and some just didn't care and turned back around to solicit their goods.

Of course, in a place like this, you were just about guaranteed to have some sort of shadowy person approach you like how Fargut did to me back when I first arrived. However, I'd imagine that the imposing armor I was wearing made these crooked businessmen and cryptic employers decide to not head near me.

Continuing my strolling pace down the corridor - It was important to be relaxed but also wary in a situation such as this - the rest of the market returned to their business as predicted and peddled their illicit products to the underbelly of Omega.

Reaching the end of the path, I took a left turn and came face to face with the exact shop I was looking for.

It was a quaint little store, with its masked colors and dull materials, along with weaved curtains encompassing the counter like a fine mantle. The drapes were half-closed, and behind them sat a batarian lazing in a metallic armchair laden with cushions to protect his rear and back.

Looking past the weary batarian, I noticed that there were small stockpiles of many kinds of materials within his emporium, along with many disassembled weapons and armors lined up on the walls of the corridors recess.

Stepping forward carefully so I don't accidentally startle him, I knock quietly on the counter to ease him into waking up. Eventually, the batarian starts to stand straighter and is roused from his slumber. He sits up in his chair and notices me standing at his counter.

"Oh, err, did you want something? Check the kiosk." He sits back down and pulls out a blanket he got from...somewhere and wraps himself up in it.

How has this guy not been robbed yet?

Nevertheless, I move over to the kiosk and browse through it. Skimming through the haptic-adaptive interface of the vendor, nothing truly piqued my interest besides a hacking and bypass module, along with the element zero I needed for the kinetic barriers.

All in all, my final transaction was calculated to be worth around 60,000 credits, which was a sizable discount compared to other such stores or even the online market on the extranet.

After I bought the items, I woke up the lethargic shopkeeper so that he could accept the transaction taken from the kiosk.

You know, you'd think that a galactic civilization could at least develop self-checkouts, but apparently not. That's another thing to add to the list of improvements this galaxy needs.

Once the transaction was complete, I went out of the black market and exited through the slums before heading onwards towards Kenn's Salvage. On my way there, out of slight curiosity, I comprehended the container of element zero I had brought along.

[Element Zero] - Rare Material (x1500)

A special material that, when subjected to an electric current, releases dark energy used for mass effect fields. Contrary to its name, it is not a chemical element, as 'Element Zero' is only the human term for this material. Used for biotic and engineering upgrades.

The purity of this container of element zero was stable enough to be used for making kinetic barriers, even at such a cheap price. In fact, the hacking module and bypass module combined actually cost more than the eezo I had bought. The eezo only cost around 20,000 credits, while the hacking module and bypass module were bundled together and went for 40,000 credits.

Plus, according to the galactic codex - why didn't I think of reading that earlier? - the more pure the eezo was, the more efficient its use would be in shields. Sure, this amount of eezo wasn't really that much, only a few pounds, but it was still hefty enough for me to use in the barriers and still have some leftover.

Taking a hard right and moving into Kenn's Salvage, I set down the canister of Element Zero that was bought earlier and addressed Kenn.

"Greetings. I have acquired the element zero needed for the barriers." Kenn turns his head towards me and stares at the container for a few seconds.

After a solid five seconds of confusion from him, he remarks, "You didn't need to buy that much, you know. Even a fourth of that container would have worked well enough to be used for shielding."

"I have bought extra amounts of element zero for personal use. I'll just leave you with the canister and trust that you won't steal it, lose it, or otherwise do something nefarious with it." I snark at him. Of course, it wasn't a very good snark, considering that I'm a robot and the fact that I speak in a monotone warble, but it's the thought that counts.

"Don't worry, I won't turn down a paying customer, especially one who is spending so much." He asserts.

Looks like he's learning.

"I am glad to hear that. However, just make sure you don't lose it. Also, if you desire, you may add any modifications you deem important to the suit. I have plenty of credits so I can pay for any extra modifications you put inside of the armor. However, if you can, I'd like it to be upgraded to have all the regular functions of a normal combat hardsuit, such as an onboard computer or kinetic barrier generator." The kinetic barrier generator was actually a part of the regular shielding unit, but I'd prefer to at least give Kenn the greenlight to install it since some special models of shielding could run without one, albeit at a much worse efficiency.

"I can do that without much work. It'll cost you, however. But, I don't think that's much of a problem for you, since you apparently have the credits for it." Kenn replies.

"The extra cost was anticipated, but as I said, go overboard. After all, there is no kill like overkill." I claim.

Kenn turns his head to the side curiously and asks, "Isn't that a human phrase?"

Ah, fuck. I didn't realize that he might notice that.

"I grew up around humans. I was born not too long after the Relay 314 Incident." I maintain. Hopefully, this wouldn't look that suspicious. After all, I was technically younger than 30 and humans had only been around in the galactic community for a few decades.

Kenn turns back to his work and says, "Well, as you could imagine, I grew up in the Migrant Fleet. It was hard work living there, but I did it without complaint. After all, I would have been leaving for my Pilgrimage only a few years after I started my first job."

"The pilgrimage is your rite of passage into adulthood, yes?" I needed to maintain my anonymity, so I would have to lay low and not speak much about Pilgrimages or the Migrant Fleet.

"Yes. Quarians receive special lessons before they go on their pilgrimage, as well as many vaccines and immunizers, albeit supervised. Some even get special implants to help lessen the risk of disease due to the sterile nature of our ships."

Huh. Useful. Thankfully, I don't need to worry about any alien diseases due to my synthetic nature, but I can only imagine what would happen to a quarian once they get sick.

Out of curiosity and slight interest, I comprehended Kenn.

Name - Kenn'Reegar nar Ulnay, Engineer

Race/Species - Quarian

Rank - Mortal

Tier - 10-B

Alignment - Lawful Good

Age - 22

Bio - Ken'Reegar nar Ulnay is a quarian engineer who formerly lived on the quarian agricultural vessel known as the Ulnay. After departing on his Pilgrimage to Omega, he was swindled out of his customers by Harrot, an elcor who ran a much more prominent shop. After you helped him get out of this deal, he has begun to pack up to leave Omega to continue his Pilgrimage.

Thoughts - He is immensely glad that you helped him with getting off of Omega. He will gladly work on your armor and anything else you order before finally leaving Omega to continue his Pilgrimage. He considers you a friend, even if he thinks of you as slightly odd due to your unique manner of speech, even if he doesn't pay any attention to it or barely even notices it.

I can view his inner thoughts and his past?

Neat.

Well, I guess I should be glad at the fact that he will unconditionally work on my arsenal until it's finished, but I personally just think that's a bit sad. Sure, I'd be grateful if someone helped me if I was in Kenn's position, but not unconditionally.

He's just a little too young to be on Omega. Too naive. Growing up in the safe wards and districts of the Migrant Fleet isn't ideal for adapting to the disorderly nature of Omega.

It isn't truly important, however. Let him pay off his deeds and have him be grateful. Besides, I don't want to make the conversation turn awkward by saying he shouldn't be so eager to work on my stuff after I've asked him however many times to work on it.

Disregarding that, he thinks my speech is weird? Well, no shit. I'm the ancient enemy of your entire race doing my best to not get ousted by you. But, that doesn't really matter, as I am but a normal Turian in the eyes of the galaxy.

Heh.

Heading back towards the storage room door, I turn my head back to face Kenn and say, "I would love to hear more about your pilgrimage if you ever have the time to talk about it. However, I need to get going now. Good luck fixing up my suit."

Kenn rotates his head around to face me and replies back, "Thank you. I'll work on this as quickly as I can. Come back in a few days, and it should be completely finished."

"Affirmative. Godspeed." Kenn went back to his work as I waved goodbye. It was a quick five-minute trip back to the ship, with me passing through the crowded bazaar and the doors to Afterlife barred with scowling bouncers and expectant guests. Reaching the empty docks, I slipped inside the corvette and went towards the pilot's seat within the CIC. Flopping down onto the chair, I reassimilated the [Terminus Assault Armor] into myself and went into standby mode to conserve energy and await Kenn's retrofits.

~[o0o]~

Standby mode disengaged.

H-Huh…?

Good morning. The current time is eight o'clock. You engaged Standby Mode 2 days, 16 hours, 27 minutes, and 56 seconds ago. In recent news, the Sirta Foundation has approved testing for a new product they are developing, Matriarch Lithandril has held a celebration for her recently presumed dead daughter, and a turian politician is suspected in a high-profile assassination case against a rival opponent.

Oh, err, thanks Dyno. What about the order I placed at Kenn's Salvage?

Current status of retrofits is unknown, as you did not give Kenn'Reegar nar Ulnay the means to contact you.

Oh…maybe I should remember to do that next time.

Swerving the pilot's seat around, I stand up and move towards the doorway. Heading downstairs to the sealed door, I equip the [Terminus Assault Armor] and exit through the bulkhead. Taking a leisurely stroll through the labyrinthine aisles and passageways of Omega, it only took about five minutes to reach Kenn's Salvage.

Inspecting the shop, I noticed that none of the lights were on except for the ones in the storage room and the lamp sitting on the counter. Heading behind the table and passing by the kiosk, I opened the door leading to the unlocked storage room.

Inside, the first thing I saw was that it was very brightly lit, as well as the fan that was blowing cold air onto a desk that Kenn was sitting in, with his head slightly lulled back, not in exhaustion, but in relief and rest.

A few seconds after I opened the door, Kenn made a small groaning noise as he sat up from his workbench, and said to me, "Perfect timing. I just finished it a few hours ago."

"You were sitting in that chair for multiple hours?" I ask.

"No, I was sleeping. This took me almost two days of constant work to finish. Your armor was unique and from I could tell, didn't even have modules to put anything into. Plus, those heavy plates are...heavy." He clarifies before yawning.

Ah, I forgot that it isn't an armor manufactured by this galaxy or even meant for this galaxy. Of course it wouldn't be easy to retrofit kinetic barriers into it by hand.

"My apologies." I warble in my synthetic dialect. I continue with, "This was not anticipated or considered."

"It's fine." Kenn went back to the workbench and began to pick up the pieces of my armor, "Actually, what I should be saying is that your armor is frankly magnificent. Those plates are unlike anything I've seen before. They can shrug off mass acceleration from high-point pistols and assault rifles only do minimal damage. To be honest, I'm wondering where you even got this from." He holds up a plate of the armor while saying this.

"And how do you know it can stop mass acceleration again?" I question.

"It was only conjecture! I didn't damage it in any way." He quickly jumps on that question and ceases my doubts.

"Understandable. However, I was wondering, where did you find this armor?" I look downwards at the breastplate of my [Terminus Assault Armor] and point towards it.

"That thing? I looted it." Keen says nonchalantly.

Looted? Should I ask, or do I not want to know?

I decided to stay silent and move to grab my Element Zero canister I had given Kenn before I head over to help him load up the [Abyssal Diving Suit] for transport. After a few minutes of us both packing the suit into the crate together, we closed the box and moved it outside for transport. Oddly enough, it was actually a pretty light container. Or was that because we were both moving it?

As we looked at the unmoving trunk sitting on the counter next to the lamp, I asked Kenn, "How are we going to move it to my ship?"

"You could always get a taxi." He advises.

"You have been on Omega for longer than I have. Are the taxi's safe?"

"Yes. Unless it's a pretend-taxi or something like that, you'll be fine." He stated.

Pretend-Taxi? What?

Deciding to not ask about it, I turn to Kenn and open my omni-tool before saying, "How much will the costs be?"

Kenn also opens his omni-tool and says, "50,000 credits. No more, no less."

I wasn't planning on begging for a discount. This one is all yours.

"Acknowledged." I send the credits towards his kiosk before continuing, "I recommend that we exchange contact details in case mechanical troubleshooting is required."

I navigate to the tab on omni-tool information and send him my info. He does the same before we both close our omni-tools and start to move the container my armor was in. Once the container was in a good spot for us to transport it, we hailed a taxi and put it inside. However, I was the only one actually staying inside the taxi, as Kenn needed to gather his things so he could continue his pilgrimage. With him now being 90,000 credits richer, he could afford a ticket off of Omega and to somewhere else better suited for his pilgrimage.

After we said our goodbyes to each other, the taxi took off. Since Omega was an anarchistic city with no laws, self-driving taxis were a rarity here, unlike the Citadel where such things were a common occurrence in everyday life. However, the driver was a human who didn't talk to me, so I don't really have much to say about how good the taxi service is on Omega, but he could at least get me to the docks quickly, so that's a plus.

Crouching out of my seat and standing up to view the moors of Omega, I grabbed the cargo of the [Abyssal Diving Suit] and brought it outside. Walking down the docking bays with the container, I went inside my corvette and brought the container to the main deck.

Sitting down in the captain's chair, I unequipped the [Terminus Assault Armor] and opened the crate with my armor in it.

The [Abyssal Diving Suit] was largely unaltered from its original design, but even from a slight glance, I could see that Kenn went crazy with his enhancements. With [Comprehension], the changes were even more apparent.

[Abyssal Diving Suit] - Legendary Armor

An Abyssal Diving Suit made specifically for traversing treacherous depths. It has been enhanced by Kenn'Reegar nar Ulnay, a quarian who once lived on Omega.

This suit grants a 15% increased movement speed bonus while underwater and a 5% increased movement speed bonus on land. Due to the mass effect fields within the armor, this suit is much lighter than before, which improves the efficiency of these effects.

Reduces all forms of physical damage by 20% and negates all forms of damage caused by pressure. Possesses kinetic barriers that create a shield around the user when damaged. Greatly extends underwater breathing duration and can slightly enhance the user's mobility on slick surfaces.

Sure, the description hasn't changed much, aside from it now having another paragraph in the synopsis, but the more physical changes were evident.

For one, the plates on the armor had definitely been enhanced with something, most likely whatever modern armors are made of these days, and are thus much stronger because of it. It also seems that the element zero within the armor has negated the debuff it used to give me on land, as it now seemed to give me a movement boost instead of a reduction. Theoretically, the lowered mass of the suit should now be enough that I can move quite easily when it is equipped.

After taking the armor out of the container and assimilating it, I checked the status screen for [Assimilation].

[Assimilation] - Legendary Skill - LVL 1/10 (55%) [Active/Passive]

Allows for the assimilation of any technology you encounter to be incorporated into yourself. Organic technologies will be much harder to incorporate when compared to mechanical technologies.

Fifty-five percent? Wonderful. Although, this is a bit slow going, to be honest. Am I going to have to power-level this? I mean, I wouldn't mind, since it would net me more stuff to assimilate, but how would I even grind for it?

Do I absorb rare materials or items? The [Abyssal Diving Suit] and [Icon Of Mekhane] both got me to 38%, so do I just have to assimilate incredibly rare things? It shouldn't be that hard, I mean, there are literally trillions of pieces of technology around the galaxy, and some of those are extraordinary in their own right.

Could I assimilate Prothean Technology then for a big boost in power? The beacons and AI's they built were incredibly sophisticated, and I'm sure that I could probably head to Ilos to assimilate Vigil - even if he is now dead - or acquire old Prothean Technology that the final remnants of their species were creating.

Of course, the only problem with that train of thought was that I don't know the exact location of the Mu Relay, only that it was located in the Hawking Eta Cluster, or more specifically, the Century System.

I don't think that any of the Citadel's scientists have gone to Ilos yet, so it should be safe to travel to and explore.

Obviously, this didn't negate the risk of any scientists arriving while I was still on the planet, but it shouldn't be much of a problem, right? I'd imagine that the ground crew of the Normandy hasn't told anybody about the location of the Mu Relay yet and that they most likely won't for the foreseeable future.

On a slight whim, I opened my inventory to see if I could assimilate anything to level the Skill up.

Element Zero? Probably not. As much as it would be cool to be a pseudo-biotic - does it even work like that? - I don't have any space left in my mass and I can't alter my body yet. Actually, this extends to most of the materials I have. Huh. Guess that means those are off the list too then.

The Shot-Gauntlet…uh, how about no?

Moving on…

Alright, how about the ten [Civilian Omni-Tools] that I have? Sure, they probably won't give much, but it's worth trying.

Taking out an omni-tool, I executed the [Assimilation] Skill and absorbed it.

Supplementary Omni-Tool detected. Adding to processing power.

Huh?

Taking a look at the port embedded into my right arm, I noticed that nothing new had changed about it.

Dyno?

Supplementary Omni-Tools can be assimilated to increase processing power.

Is that for you or for my omni-tools?

Both. We manage your assimilated devices. Programs can be partitioned between them and other technologies to assume maximum efficiency.

Then I can add together the omni-tools into something like a server? Affirmative.

You just hooked me. Displacing the remaining nine omni-tools from my inventory, I went through the expedient process of assimilating the rest of the omni-tools I had looted from the batarian corpses.

Once the final omni-tool was assimilated, Dyno spoke.

Processing Power has increased greatly.

How much has it increased?

With the current processing power we have acquired, we are operating at high efficiency. However, civilian-grade omni-tools do not grant much processing power relative to the high end of the spectrum. More capable omni-tools would heavily increase our capabilities.

Is there anything I can do now that I couldn't do before I had assimilated the rest of the omni-tools?

Hypotheses suggest that you may now be able to leech information from data at a much faster rate, making it undetectable to civilian operating systems with anti-virus capabilities.

Does that mean I could leech credits?

Due to obstacles within the galactic economy, it would be less efficient in speed, but a quick burst of programs leeching data and then returning would be effective enough for the larceny of credit chits.

Good. After a few days of committing numerous federal crimes, I could be wealthier than even my current net worth, so I shouldn't have to worry about credits that much unless something unfortunate happens to my account.

Scanning through the rest of my open inventory, I mark off the ones that I could assimilate and the ones that I couldn't. The ten batarian corpses I had in my inventory were immediately out as I could not assimilate organic matter in any way via my Skill. A few other things were also crossed off, such as the King James Bible, but my Identification Card was assimilated. Sure, it didn't grant anything besides the EXP, but at least I could extract it from myself now.

Noticing that I could not find anything else to absorb, I closed the storage window and checked my Skill again.

[Assimilation] - Legendary Skill - LVL 1/10 (64%) [Active/Passive]

Allows for the assimilation of any technology you encounter to be incorporated into yourself. Organic technologies will be much harder to incorporate when compared to mechanical technologies.

Sixty-four percent was pretty good. Getting a nine percent increase just from ten omni-tools and my ID was even better. I'm starting to think that power-leveling is easier than I thought.

After inventorying the empty crate that the [Abyssal Diving Suit] was stored in, I swiveled around in the captain's chair and brought up the hologram of the galaxy map.

Heading to the search function and inputting 'HAWKING ETA CLUSTER' yielded some results, such as the location, flight time, and codex entry for the nebula itself. Searching up 'PANGAEA EXPANSE' also yielded the same results, albeit altered to fit the actual cluster better.

On the other hand, inputting 'MU RELAY' ceded no results towards its location, with the only option in the search menu being the codex entry revolving around the lost relay. Entering 'ILOS' also had the same effect as searching for the Mu Relay.

In a slight pang of curiosity, I searched up the results for 'OMEGA 4 RELAY' and a codex entry popped up.

Reading through the entry, I don't notice anything aside from what I already knew: The Omega 4 Relay is surrounded by hazard-beacons and warnings, nobody knows where it leads, theories state that the Collectors live beyond the Relay and that nothing that entered it has ever come back out again. Common knowledge to me, but probably a conspiracy theory to the rest of the galaxy.

Apparently, some people believed that there was a sort of paradise at the far end of the relay, while others believed in the more scientific answer that the supermassive black hole known as Sagittarius A resided on the other side. Ultimately, the latter opinion would be correct, since the Collector Homeworld - or rather, space station - was located at the far end of the accretion disk of Sagittarius A.

Speaking of Omega 4, what should I do to stop the Collectors? Sure, I knew from the events of the games that Aria T'Loak stopped the Collector's deal with the Blue Suns about a week before the Normandy SR-1 was destroyed and that it had long-lasting consequences - namely, the Collector's never finding out the population totals for Horizon, Omega, Freedom's Progress, the Citadel, Eden Prime, Terra Nova, and Earth.

Due to Aria's unintentional crushing blow against the Collectors, they never found out the exact totals which delayed their hidden war against humanity for the foreseeable future, as they did not have the precise amount for the populations of different stations or planets. They had to improvise.

You know, ass-kicking really does equal authority here. Aria was a prime example of that. Besides, she knows that the Collectors didn't just want a few human slaves out of that deal - they wanted the entire species. Hopefully, I could convince her to help us prepare when Shepard was eventually resurrected or when the Reaper Wars came around. 'If' the Reaper Wars come around. After all, I'm here to stop them, aren't I?

The only thing I could really do to hamper the Collectors right now was wait. This didn't mean I couldn't take the fight to them of course, since I could always just track the Collector Vessel once it exits the Relay. But, then again, easier said than done. My little corvette can't take fire from particle beams, after all.

...You know, maybe Collector Technology would be good for [Assimilation]. I'll have to try it sometime.

But anyways, I have two years, don't I? I should prepare myself for my probable arrival into Shepard's squad, but I should also enjoy myself. Even if Dyno has blocked my capacity to become bored, I can still get restless. It's like how I enjoyed my time with Kenn, even if I only met him a few days ago.

It's just that my duty isn't my end-all-be-all purpose for life. This doesn't mean that I want to shirk my duty, but it doesn't mean that I can just focus on it relentlessly too. I also need to enjoy myself.

...It's funny. I never thought I'd like being in this platform so much. Or are these thoughts just because of Dyno managing my software?

Negative.

...It isn't, huh?

Maybe this doomed galaxy wasn't going to be so bad after all.

~[o0o]~

At the very heart of the Milky Way Galaxy, inside of an ancient space station supposedly constructed by the long-extinct Protheans, a Salarian walked inside of a corridor in the Citadel Security Headquarters, located on the Presidium.

This salarian was Mestolin Solus, a mid-ranking operative within the Salarian Special Tasks Group, or the STG for short.

Reaching the nondescript meeting room at the end of the hallway, Mestolin Solus knocked twice.

"Come in, Operative Kauha." A deep, flanging voice rang out from the other side of the room.

Opening the door, Mestolin Solus noticed the turian and the other salarian sitting inside of the room first. Closing the door and then activating his omni-tool to lock it as per protocol, he went up to the turian's desk and sat in the only vacant seat opposite the turian, with the other salarian to Mestolin's left.

The turian reached his hand under the table and discreetly pressed a button hidden under a drawer. The room subsequently sealed itself off, leaving the inhabitants of the room with only the slight ultraviolet light of the Presidium to illuminate them.

The turian spoke first.

"This information is on a need-to-know basis. Confidential. Classified. No information you are told within this room is to be forwarded or mentioned on the outside. The Council has been informed of this meeting and your superiors have already been briefed. Failure to comply with these orders will result in the immediate termination of your operative status and a possible court-martial. Do you understand?"

Both of the Salarians replied in unison, "Aye, sir!"

"Good. Now, according to the report submitted by Operative Kauha on his mission status, a possible threat has emerged on Omega. Operative Kauha, if you would do the honors?"

Mestolin Solus stood up from his chair and said, "Aye, sir." Mestolin grabbed a datapad he had brought to the meeting and opened the corresponding file.

As Mestolin superimposed the file above his omni-tool, he enlarged the document for the other two aliens to view.

From just viewing the photo attached to the document, it was evident what was in store for them.

Geth.

"This photo was surreptitiously taken six and a half days ago when I was still on my assignment on Omega."

The turian asks, "And your assignment being?"

Mestolin Solus looks at him and says, "An assignment to investigate a group of slaver's holding a politically important matron-stage asari aboard their ship. After obtaining the relative information from Aria T'Loak, I went to sabotage the vessel they were holding her in, but was sniffed out by the slavers."

"What happened after that?" The other salarian operative asked.

"Well, they put me in a cargo hold with seven other slaves. Three batarians, two turians, a human, and the asari target. However, I was not able to escape my binds until after the ship was compromised by the Geth."

"Compromised? How?" The second salarian in the room asked Mestolin.

"It attacked the ship when it landed on the planet of Didrax-3."

"That's in the Omega Nebula, correct?" The turian inquired.

"Indeed. It seems that the Geth was actually on the planet, and did not land or park on the planet using a ship or a shuttle."

"You mean to say that the Geth was already on the planet when you arrived there?"

"Yes. It took down the batarians in record time, believe it or not." Mestolin claimed.

"...You seem awfully happy about this, don't you?" The turian asked in confusion.

"Yes, had the opportunity to interview it. Gained important tactical knowledge regarding its status."

"That being?"

"It demonstrated a unique ability to 'absorb' things." Mestolin stated.

"Absorb how?"

"Quite literally absorb. Saw it materialize a suit of armor from nothing."

"What do you mean?" The turian asked in bewilderment.

"It...well, was created from nothing! It just…grew it. Scientifically impossible with current technology. Would love to study." He mumbled in a low voice.

"Hmm. Continue, please."

"Right. Well, after it did that, it said that I could ask any questions I had and that it would answer them to the best of my ability."

"What did you ask?" The other salarian asked.

"Too many questions to cover in this briefing. Will create a report later." Mestolin assured them. Due to the eidetic memory that all salarians had, it would be easy to compile a full report on the interview.

"Send it to your superiors, and they can send it to me." The turian states.

"Affirmative. Is there anything else?" Mestolin asked.

"What happened after you interviewed it?" The salarian interjected.

"Not much. The Geth walked around the ship and spoke with the target and one of the turians, but there wasn't much that happened besides him entering the cargo hold and heading out of it with noticeably fewer crates inside than before." Mestolin elaborated.

"That absorption ability?"

"Yes. Almost every piece of cargo within the bay was gone." Mestolin confirms.

"...This may be more troubling than we thought. Later, however. What happened once you reached Omega?" The turian asked.

"Nothing of note. I took a spare omni-tool I found lying around to take the current photo within the documentation. The Geth also talked to Aria T'Loak and we were rounded up on a shuttle, where we eventually left for the Citadel."

"Is there anything else of note you'd like to add?" The turian inquired.

"Actually, there was something interesting that the Geth mentioned. It talked of a schism between a 'Heretic' side of the Geth and an 'Orthodox' side of the Geth. When I asked it to elaborate, it began talking about what I believe to be the Sovereign-class Geth Dreadnought known as Sovereign. However, it used strange terminology."

"Strange? How?"

"For one, it called Sovereign an 'Old Machine,' and when I asked it what that meant, it only said that we knew them as 'Reapers.' I infer that this may be connected to the late Commander Shepard, who thought that the Milky Way Galaxy was perpetuated on a fifty-thousand-year cycle of extinction."

"Ugh. Don't remind me of…hah." The turian groaned and sighed in response to Mestolin's inference.

"Apologies, sir, but I don't think this is mere conjecture. Shepard's death one month ago, the appearance of this Geth, the mysterious sightings of unknown ships in the Terminus Systems, it must all be connected. Religious connotations within their terminology are unsettling too." Mestolin asserted.

"Well, it isn't my job to decide what goes on beyond our borders. Operative Kauha, thank you for your time. You are to report back to your superiors and head into psychiatric evaluation as per my orders. Your superiors will be notified of this. Please note that this does not affect your job and only your mental health." The turian recites as if from an official guideline.

"Affirmative, Executor."

The newly identified Executor Pallin motions for Operative Kauha to leave, but the other salarian stays in the room. Standing up, the salarian says, "I'll take my leave. Good day, Executor."

"You as well, Operative Hildreth. Report to your commanding officer for your next assignment. Know that you may be reassigned later if this Geth turns out to be hostile. We can't enter the Terminus Systems without risking an incident, especially not this long after the Battle Of The Citadel. Operative Kauha was only an exception, as Matron Nysara was an important political figure with potential in the Asari Republics. Aria T'Loak also knew of her potential and thus allowed Operative Kauha to proceed with his mission as her 'client,' I believe the term is." Executor Pallin clarified.

"...I see. Thank you for the context." Operative Hildreth expressed.

"Think nothing of it. Now, you are dismissed." Pallin finally forced the two salarians to leave quickly. Once they exited the sealed room, Executor Pallin pressed the small button under the desk drawer and the room unsealed itself again. Rubbing his talons between his fringe, he sighed heavily.

"Things just got a whole lot more complicated."

~[o0o]~

Fun Fact: I had to rewrite the scenes with Kenn a lot. Sometimes, the tone of the scene just wasn't what I was going for.

Yes, Kenn will be returning in the future. Hopefully. After all, the chapter is named after him, so he has to be important, right? I just know that he will definitely return during Tali's mission.

I don't really have much to say in this author's note, do I?

Well, I suppose I should say that I renamed the fic to something better. I hope you all like it.

Also, if anyone is confused, Mestolin Solus is that one Salarian who tried to interview Aksis in Chapter 2.

If you have any questions, send me a PM or Review.

Make sure to join Dark Wolf Shiro's Discord Server. The link is on my Profile. Also, with this chapter uploaded, I'll finally get my own dedicated channel! Woohoo!

Well, it's review time.

Since I have twenty-six reviews to go through, I'll be starting from review number one and heading upwards for sheer convenience.

~[o0o]~

Shinda Naibu/Chippo: Hey Chippo. Glad you liked it.

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TorioWint: I'm glad I can explain it so well. I hope you enjoy it and are doing well. Also, not gonna lie, the Administrator is one of my favorite characters to write.

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TorioWint: Hello again. I'm glad that you think I did a good job with [Assimilation].

P34644563: I will say no more on this.

Alphaprince0: I sent you your PM and stuff. To be honest, Aksis is going to stay mechanical for a while. There will be no pairings. I might nab some other-dimensional stuff, but it won't be a focal point of the story.

Nathan22357s: I'm not sure what I'd do with Morinth. Probably not much, considering what I plan to happen in later chapters. She probably will be returning for Samara's Loyalty Mission though.

Hitmen101: No problem.

Nobody and Noone: Yup. SCP-5001 is one of my favorite new skips on the site. It's pretty good.

FriggleBerry: Is it weird that I want my own fic to have 500k words as well? No? Okay. Also yeah fuck Supreme Calamitas.

Tom712: nice.

Adam110902: I might put in some more Calamity stuff, but not anything overpowered as fuck. Endgame gear and Auric Tesla aside, even anything Post Moonlord is immediately non-viable for early-game. Some hard mode accessories and items, yeah they're fine, but not Shadowspec or anything like that. :)

Err, that's it. Well, goodnight you all. It's 1:46 as of now and my head is hurting from me writing for 11+ hours straight. I have no mouth but I must scream.

-Draedon 11-21-2020

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