55

Palaven. Primarch's Palace

Meetings of the Emergency Council of the Military.

- As far as we know from reliable sources, a humanitarian catastrophe is brewing on Earth. Agriculture has degraded to its lowest levels in 30 years due to the so-called "Space Age" and the colonial boom following the discovery of the Charon Relay. The planet has already imposed martial law and a ration card system. Admiral Hackett, the only high-ranking officer on Earth at this time, has been given unlimited powers to impose order. We have also learned that a humanitarian convoy of food and medical supplies is already being loaded on the ten Alliance colonies. Still, due to the failure of the Charon relay, this convoy will only be able to arrive on Earth in three months. - Primarch Fedorian didn't listen any further. He turned off the Alliance news where the young girl was broadcasting and turned to the Council.

It consisted of the 10 top officials who were supposed to come together in the event of a total galactic-scale zoo and speak advice to the Primarch. And he was now darker than a cloud. Grasping his head with both hands and placing his elbows on the table, he bellowed very nice wishes to all who had anything to do with the news and wished him to go a very far and very long way sexually involving three hanars, a toothpick and a bottle of Krogan rincol. And how it all came together, only he alone knew.

- So," he said, taking a deep breath and moving his hands away from his face. - Can either of you tell me precisely what the hell this is? - said Theodora, looking around at all ten generals and admirals.

- Well, we're assuming it's a protean dreadnought...

- We presume. I've heard that word so many times in twenty-four hours I'm sick of it. Can you tell us anything but speculation? - the Primarch, whose nerve was frayed.

- We've tried," Admiral Spartilus replied. - No information, however, except some video footage of this ship's awakening and escape. Ship. We also have unconfirmed reports that the Alliance found this ship before it escaped.

- What do you mean, BEFORE? - So you're saying the Alliance knew about him and didn't tell the Council?

- Not exactly. They found it after a small earthquake in that area. They'd just started digging and didn't realise what they'd seen. Until it was too late.

- So they didn't know they'd found a colossal ship, right?

- Yeah. We got a scan of their orbital scan; it's all clear. No anomalies, voids or anything like that.

- There's something else," General Trictus suddenly interjected.

- Well?" said Thedorian.

- As it turned out, the excavation site was attacked... - Triktus seemed to hold his pause as if to introduce intrigue and then said. - Geths.

- Not funny, Tritus. The Alliance may be lagging behind in technology, but not so far behind that the Geths could safely attack their homeworld," said Spartilus, who was barely restraining himself from bursting into laughter at the entire meeting.

- And I'm not here to tell jokes. The testimony of thirty-three Alliance soldiers and seven archaeologists is that they were taken hostage by the Geths and, just as importantly, entered that ship and then exited. And then the ship took off.

- So it was the Geths who were behind its activation, right? - Admiral Legros clarified.

- Yes," Triktus confirmed.

- Then it turns out that the Alliance knew what they found," Primarch concluded. - And covered it up. And allowed the information to leak out as well. Hgrrrgh... - Phaedorian growled angrily, then continued. - Send me everything you know. We must send it all to Azari. Otherwise, they will quarter us if we keep it from them. It won't do any good anyway. Everybody's free.

****

Thessia. Palace of the Matriarchs

Meeting of the Extraordinary Council of the Matriarchs

- What have we got? - Ethyna, the matriarch who was still alive, asked.

- Not much, really," replied Matriarch Telni and began her story. - The Hierarchy and the GOR sent what they could find out, so here's the picture. About six standard twenty-four hours ago, there was a small earthquake at the site of the takeoff... ...there was a small earthquake of three point six on the Richter scale...

- What scale? - Ethyna asked again.

- Oh, I'm sorry, that's how humans measure the strength of an earthquake. It equals seven points two on the creatine scale," Telni corrected.

- I see," Ethyna said. "Go on.

- Thank you. After the earthquake, two pits were opened, and metal segments were found in each. As it turned out later, the composition of the metal from which these segments were created was utterly identical to that of the dreadnought of the SPEKTR traitor Saren Arterius, better known as 'The Lord'. "Immediately, all the matriarchs began to whisper, expressing their sincere astonishment, and only Ethina kept her calm, though she was quite surprised too. Only half a minute later, when everyone had fallen silent under the gaze of the General Matriarch, Telni continued. - Excavations followed, which revealed the entrance to a network of corridors. Exploration drones were sent in, but they found nothing of interest. Then, five standard days after the excavation began, the archaeologists were attacked by the Getae.

- This is complete nonsense," the matriarch Elna stated confidently. - The Alliance couldn't have failed to notice the Geth fleet passing through the relay, much less react.

- 'Matriarch Telni,' Etina turned dryly to the one Elna interrupted. - You have evidence of Geth interference in this whole situation.

- Yes," Telna activated the unit, and all the matriarchs had pictures before their terminals. The first was a full-length goeth standing in front of a dust cloud. Then the photo changed to a second image. In it, the goeth filled almost the entire image, and on top of that, the robot was pointing a strange-looking weapon at the camera. It was obvious that this picture was of armour, and now a robot with FIVE hands and strange plates on its head was pointing a weapon at the owner of the armour. In the third picture, there were already about 15 people dressed as archaeologists and an equal number of Geth stormtroopers with strange-looking weapons, as if there was a magazine.

- Carry on," Ethina ordered.

- 'Thank you. The Alliance soldiers were asleep at the time of the attack, as it was noon. Given that the excavation site was located in the desert, there was nothing strange about that...

- Get to the point," Ethina said dryly.

- 'Of course. No one was killed in the attack, not even those who made any attempt to resist.

- No one was killed? That's more nonsense," Bentry, the matriarch, had already spoken.

- I have verified sources," Telni replied.

- Then you have false sources. Geth never leave witnesses," Bentry continued.

- Well, they did this time. Every last one of them. Your Excellency, may I continue...

- General, there's no point in further listening to the Telni matriarch.

- Does this count as an official protest on your part against the Telni matriarch and a note of no confidence in our intelligence? The Matriarch General said dryly but still with a hint of incipient anger.

- No, your General," Bentry said with a bowed head.

- You may proceed, Matriarch Telni.

- Thank you," Telni said for the umpteenth time, then continued. - A few Geth went into the network of tunnels, then came out after a few minutes and left before saying something last - Telni activated the unit again, and everyone heard a few words, "I advise you to get out of here. He's taking off."

- Our experts have confirmed that only geths can produce such a voice. This is due to the peculiarity of the design of their voice manipulators. The ship then took off, completely destroying the human structures known as the Great Pyramids.

- Why are they called that? - Kritla, the matriarch, suddenly asked.

- They are about four thousand six hundred years old. At that time, mankind was in the Copper Age of its development.

- Thank you. - Krithla said.

- However, that still doesn't change the fact that the Geths couldn't have passed through the Charon relay unnoticed," Elna began again. - Not to notice an entire fleet...

- There needed to be a fleet. There was only one ship. And they only noticed it after the giant ship had taken off," Telni activated the unit, showing everyone a few pictures. There were only seven of them. The first one was blank, but the second had a black spot. The spot grew more prominent and shaped with each image, and the last photo showed an entire ship. - All seven photos cover zero point seventy-five hundredths of a second.

- So you're saying that the Geths were able to create visual cloaking technology for the ship? - Either disbelieving or implying that it wasn't true, Etina said.

- Yes, Your Excellency. And not only that. Half an hour before the Geth attack, there was activity on the relay, but a small shuttle came out with an empty ship's log, no EV core, a nearly empty fuel tank, and a Turian pilot that looked more like a sieve. Most likely, the Getas have a system of not only visual cloaking but sensory cloaking as well. So while the Alliance was dealing with the shuttle, the Geths arrived quietly on Earth.

- This is all too strange," said the Sartha Matriarch, who had been silent until now. - The ship is unlike any of the Geth ships we have encountered. Also, the Geths have always killed everyone they meet. Especially if they attacked first. Their weapons are also radically different from any weapons they've had before. And this ship... It was built by the Proteans.

- Don't be absurd, Sartha," Elna countered. - This ship was able to disable the transponder. It knew how to do it. Clearly, it was a Protean ship. It was the same with the Overlord. It, too, could control the repeaters and all of the Citadel's systems.

- You're all forgetting that the Lord is a Reaper, not a protean creation," Krithla replied.

- In the name of the Goddess, Critla," Elna pleaded. - Don't repeat the fabrications of SPECTRE Shepherd and that little T'Shawnee girl here. Or have you read her book?

- I have. And it's quite an exciting hypothesis...

- Exactly, a hypothesis. We need facts. And the facts are this. The Geths have revived and now control a Protean Superdreadnought and have unknown cloaking systems...

- Enough," Ethina ordered dryly, thus ending the discussion. - This meeting is adjourned. Dismissed.

****

Earth. Saint Petersburg. The System Alliance Admiralty building.

- Err, hell, I knew building the Admiralty in St Petersburg wasn't the best idea," Hackett complained while simultaneously drinking the hot tea that was now the only hope of keeping him warm.

- That's putting it mildly. - said Ashley, who was given a warm jacket and mittens.

- Northern Capital, winter, minus thirty-five... Next time I won't go to a travel agent," Cayden tried to joke, and while it made Ashley laugh a little, Hackett wasn't laughing at all, though he wasn't left out.

- Considering I'm your travel agent, I'll take that as a resignation. And there's a reason for that. - Hackett glanced at Ashley, but she only looked guiltily down at him.

- Uh, no, I'm not going to go civilian with this," Cayden said with absolute certainty.

- Yeah, I can see that. It's easier to shoot than civilianise you," Hackett said. Ashley goes home to her family, and you join her in... - Hackett hesitated, trying to remember, but quickly gave up and turned to Ashley," What's your deadline?

- Three weeks," Ashley replied dryly and grudgingly.

- In eight months and a bit. Just in time.

- Admiral, I... - Ashley wanted to say something she could serve, but something clicked inside her. Not literally, but in her soul. And so she answered quietly. - Thank you... For everything.

- You're welcome. Oh, I know what it's like to combine family and service. All right, off you go," Hackett dismissed them, and they all left the office in silence. The Admiral took another sip of tea and said quietly but still aloud.

- What a mess we're in.

****

Dreadnought Light of Kila

The orbit of the Red October.

- Yeah, and the Geths know how to build. Who's in charge of it all anyway? - Xadh asked, glancing at the plans for the factory. It was no longer the small factory it had once been. It was a vast complex, producing 30,000 geth platforms a day. The mines for minerals and ore reached a total length of 50,000km. It also produced fighters, stormtroopers and torpedo-carriers.

- The entire process there is automated to the maximum, and everything is run by George.

- Who does? - Xad is surprised.

- Oh, that's the one... The Vee who was supposed to block all my hacking attempts when I was on Sur'Kesh. He was the basis of the virtual world, and I made him into some sort of general, hence the name. And then, I made him a personality, and he decided to become the head of the factory. He's not very sociable, though.

- Not too outgoing? - Susie said, and she said it as if I were talking some kind of heresy. - He's got seven hundred and thirty-five thousand, three hundred and forty friends on social media. You call that uncommunicative? - That made me cringe. I didn't have a VK page here at all, and here... I could only answer the first thing that popped into my head.

- The bastard. And he didn't even tell me anything. All right, how's the new Stormtrooper? - I asked about the new model.

- 'Already in mass production, all the tests were successful,' Xhad reported. Though, with our attack aircraft, which form was impudently stolen by us from the Nazis, there was one problem - its manoeuvrability in the atmosphere. Our only ground attack aircraft was suitable for taking off along the road, clearing the attackers and withdrawing. Still, due to gravitation, it had to circle around for 30 km before it could return to the same place. By installing manoeuvring and moving engines, we could not help anything. Then the fuel consumption was too high, frequent breakdowns, and the Get responsible for firing the assault cannons had to monitor at least six engines, and putting three Getas in there was overkill. So, after two hours of arguing with Xad, I got frustrated and drew a quick assault gun from scratch. Its features were that it could swim underwater, hiding from Reaper fighters and scanners. It had a different shape, one main engine, four small ones on top and as many on the bottom. Of weapons, it had a twin 50 calibre blaster turret and a supply of anti-matter missiles. The most important thing was that it could hover in place and make a kilometre circle to return to the same target.

- All right. I think it's about time we had a chat with Nargul," I said and was about to head for the Virtual, where I would talk to him, but then Susie stopped me.

- Dad, can I... with you? - She asked a little tentatively, fearing it would somehow make me angry.

- Well, why not," I said, and we joined in.

****

Virtual

We were sitting on the top floor of the Burj El Arab at a beautiful table, waiting for Nargul to appear. And then the lift, which led only to my room, opened, and we saw a middle-aged man, with dark hair, slightly above average height and blue eyes. Well, we've seen better.

- I understand you are Nargul. Come in," I said politely, but Nargul felt a little strange having two legs, which made him amble, step by step, towards the chair. As he walked, he looked at himself, particularly his hands, constantly doing something with his fingers. Finally, he did sit down on the chair, but he still looked at himself.

- Amazing design... Always marvelled at the creations of evolution, but this... Amazing...

- And what is so unique? - I asked, trying to keep up the conversation.

- The most intuitive paw design. The segments for grasping functions are perfected, except that... As I see, the claws had to be sacrificed. However, the muscle strength is sufficiently increased, especially on the lower paws, so it gives the ability to run away, which is sometimes even more useful. Of course, a significant disadvantage is the inability of the eyes to see at night and the lack of protection for essential arteries and the spinal cord. Still, as I said before, the combination of grasping and running ability provides excellent opportunity and privilege. The fur appears to have atrophied and protects the most vulnerable parts, but here goes. What the atrophied mammary glands are for, I don't understand.

- Well, evolution alone knows that," I said, for I had no idea what they were for.

- I did. You can't argue with evolution. Well, we're not here to discuss reason but for a meeting, and my name is Nargul. You are, I take it, the Legatus. Tory's told me a lot about you. And you... - he looked at Susi but apparently did not know her name or who she was.

- This is my daughter, Susie.

- Daughter? You're Artificial Intelligence. How... How is that possible? - he wondered.

- A father is not the one who gave birth but the one who raised him. - I uttered the cherished phrase, which Susie understood before I did.

- Hm... Once upon a time, soldiers of one nest of arachnids would steal eggs from the nest of their enemies, and then larvae would hatch from them, who considered the former as their parents and fought for them. Sometimes even against their own parents... Erm, I see that's an unfortunate example, yes. - He said, looking at our astonished faces.

- Yeah, at the very least. - Susie said, but I was of a slightly different opinion.

- Well, you get the gist; that's enough for me. Well, I have many questions, but let's keep it to the bare minimum. So, why are you... like this. I mean, not here, but your body.

- Oh, it's a... It's a long and challenging story. I'm sorry if I get carried away, but there's no way around it. Anyway, it all started when the Harvest was almost over. We couldn't handle them but fought back a few hundred revolutions around the star. Eventually, the Reapers incinerated the planet from the sky and began building one of their own kind. Me. They need to isolate the race's genome to construct a Reaper from a recycled race. What makes the race what it is. But the Reapers were able to do more with us. They were able to isolate the planet's genome. Something that gave us the ability to evolve uncontrollably. And only then did they begin to build me. But as it turned out, I wasn't just made by the Reapers and those who called themselves the Avengers.

- The Avengers? - Susie asked, and I saw her smile strangely, as if she'd heard something familiar and that something in this context was neither here nor there. Has she been watching Marvel's Avengers? Well, that makes sense.

- Yeah. As it turns out, the Reapers destroyed us when they were young. Their Suggestion, their principal, as they believed, weapon, was still weak, so some Reapers, created from solid races, a potent substance they called soul, would rebel, and the Harbinger would lose control over them. But he did not know this or notice it, and they themselves did not rebel openly. These Reapers soon became several dozen, and they began to build me up. And that's when they decided the time was right and started building me up uniquely. They made me so that I could destroy the Reapers by the dozens so that I would rebel against the Reapers and become the vanguard of their destruction. Except things went differently. When I woke up, I knew instantly that I could control myself; I saw billions of memories of the living beings I was created from; I felt their life; I felt it in my skin. All the pain, the despair, the anger, and then the rage. Rage at those who destroyed our home. So I immediately lashed out at those who had created me. I didn't know their plan then; I didn't know who they were. I just killed the Reapers. It wasn't until the last Reaper was left that I learned the truth. The truth about who they were, why I was created to be so... unique. That Reaper said he had no regrets and told me to avenge them all. And then I promised to do so. However, I wasn't going straight for the Reapers. I just ran away and hid in the dark corners of the galaxy. The Reapers tried to look for me every Harvest, but it didn't work. So I wandered for dozens of Cycles, waiting for my revenge. But the Harbinger had found me before. It was not long ago, in the days of a race called the Protheans. They were strong warriors, and they fought as honourably as my people. But unfortunately, the Reaper, created by the proteans, did not rebel against everyone else. I tried to talk to and convince him, but it only gave me away. I had to escape, but then I decided to cheat. I gave them a fight and pretended that the Harbinger had wounded me. I fell with a bang to the planet where you found me. During my flight, I spilt fuel over its surface. The places where it fell are entirely extinct; people now call them 'deserts'. I burrowed into the ground and disabled almost every function that could give me away, so I was presumed dead. I then found myself buried under a layer of sand, but part of my head remained unburied. And that was already fraught. Humanity was evolving rapidly, and I wondered what I was sooner or later. So I took one civilisation under my control and ordered a pyramid to be built to hide all traces of my existence. And then, I created a cult of the pyramids. A religion where the bodies of their leaders had to be buried in the pyramids. With this, I made an imaginary motive and an answer to why they were needed in the first place. In this way, I was able to hide for long enough. But the important thing was that I got rid of the artefact.

- Artifact? - I didn't understand. - What is it?

- This is what held the Harbinger's power over this galaxy. It's all held together by Element Zero. It is formed when matter is irradiated by the explosion of a supernova star. But that process is prolonged, and sometimes more of that element needs to be done. And to replenish it, the Harbinger had an artefact, the Supernova Generator. The flash from the artefact converted any matter into zero elements.

- And how does it work? Do Reapers really have such technology? - Susie couldn't stand it, and there I understood her. A generator and an endless supply of elemental zero. The Council would sell out anyone for that.

- No one knows. Not even the Harbinger. The artefact was one of a kind. It was created by the race from which the Harbinger was made. Only they knew how it worked; the Harbinger only knew how to activate it. During our battle, I could wound it, steal the Artifact, and then dispose of it by throwing it into the Earth's ocean. It causes constant anomalies in that place, which people call the "Bermuda Triangle".

- Yeah, well... - ...I just forced it out of me. - That... That explains a lot... It was unexpected to learn so much... Okay, as I understand it, the Harbinger doesn't know where the artefact is.

- All he knows is to look for it in the solar system. When the Reapers sense a strange anomaly in the Bermuda Triangle, they'll immediately know.

- I see. Well, we're not going back to Earth. Even the Reapers would need months to get to Earth without a transponder. Isn't that right?

- Yes. Primary repeaters only work in pairs. Even if one team is inactive, the other is still tuned to it. Now, however, this Charon repeater is gone, as people used to call it. Yes, there is a piece of metal, and they call it a repeater, but that is no longer the case. The pair have disappeared, and now the second repeater of the team is no good for anything. It just needs to know where to point the ships.

- Doesn't know? - Susie asked in surprise. - So he is... Alive?

- Only some of the way through. The repeater has what organics call Virtual Intelligence. It is primitive, has no self-awareness and is only suitable for astronomical calculations when paired with another primary or secondary repeater. They communicate with each other via a quantum mechanical communicator.

- Heh, more and more discoveries with every word. Well, Nargul. I take it you're with us," I asked curtly.

- You bet I am. You saved Tori, the Rakhni, and you are the only one in this galaxy who is preparing for the Harvest. I'm with you, Legate. As long as you promise me one thing.

- What's that? - I'd ask first rather than settle for one.

- The reapers must die. All of them," he said in all seriousness.

- How could they not? Of course, they have to die. All except you," I said.

- Well, you can, as they say, read the contract. Well, Legatus. I'm happy to join you.

- You're welcome. Nargul.

****

Krogan Demilitarised Zone, Tuchanka

The territory of the Clan Urdnot.

- Eh, Shepherd, Shepherd... It's been a year since that day... - Rex said, pouring himself his first mug of Rincol. Around the weighty, three-tonne minimum granite table sat all those in authority within the Clan Urdnot. Leaders of the vassal clans, an elder, two more Masters of War and several strong warriors who had earned respect in skirmishes with other clans and flora and fauna of Tuchanka. Also next to Rex was a photo of their entire team, which they had made after defeating the Overlord. - Eh, and that's how you should have died so stupidly... Crashing into the bloody shit out of some fucking ship they couldn't even fucking identify...

- What are you laughing at, like a female. - ...the youngest yet dumbest and hottest warrior in the clan is a fucking human female... Are you in love? - Rex was petrified. The man wasn't even blinking at first, but then his face twisted in anger and slowly but powerfully, he stood up from his throne, glaring Warling in the eye, then Rex, muttering an unintelligible curse, flicked his arm and sent a biotic shot at the brute. He didn't even have time to react, sending him flying about seven meters away, crashing with a thud into a concrete wall and unconscious.

- WHO ELSE HAS SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT THE SHEPHERD!? - Rex shouted at everyone present, but none of them tempted fate. Everyone knew that it was better not to make him angry when he was in such a state. He had only had such a face on two occasions since his return. The first time when one clan had ordered, that's precisely what he had ordered, that all the women be given to them. The second time, when some clever guy decided to dethrone him. They spent half a day scraping the guy off the walls, but the piece of a brain on the ceiling, along with the bloodstain, was still there. - Ergghhhh... - growled Rex, sitting back down.

- Who was she anyway? - Rocktad asked, which gave him an angry look from Rex that only warmed up. - Hey, I was only asking who you were mourning for. I didn't mean anything by it," Rocktad explained. He was a strange krogan for a krogan. Always tries to avoid conflict, but he is an engineer by the gods. He could make a machine gun out of shit, tin cans and sand that would tear a krogan apart. All he had to do was find the zero elements, and he was halfway done. That's why he was in Rex's personal custody.

- Yeah, Rex, you don't like to talk about her much. Sometimes you give an example, who she is, where she's from... You've never told," Crotnal seconded.

- Eh... - Rex drained a glass of Rincol in a gulp, then continued. - Shepard was a... a warrior. And I don't give a shit if she was a woman or a man. I watched her ride a totally sober Krogan once, tie him up, and he couldn't even do anything. And she's not even a biotic! - Rex was obviously talking about himself, but he wasn't going to say his name, not even on the pain of death. He still remembered that day and saw Shepard as a warrior who would never cross his path. - She was putting down enemies in droves, whoever they were. Huskies, crawlers, Saren crogans, geths... She took them all out. She's been through so much... And she died so stupidly... Just on the ship... She couldn't even defend herself. She sacrificed herself for her friend, and then... She went to her ancestors... Whoever said anything, she was a warrior. Always did what was right, not what was ordered or forbidden. We need to save the galaxy and offer to waste time on a deranged Vee, fuck you all; I'm saving your asses; I don't give a shit about your request. You're told to sit your asses on the docks while the galaxies are in the middle of the Big Fucking Apocalypse... HA! Shot a diplomat in the leg, hijacked her ship and saved EVERYTHING!!! And then accepted an apology from everyone... "Sorry, we didn't know, you know..." Eh, none of them understood what she'd done... Everyone was stupidly scared of the giant cuttlefish and already thought that the Fucker had arrived and had already gone ahead of him... but he was just getting closer... He's on his way, and we're gonna meet him... Head-on... Just like the Kroghans do!

****

Illium. Nose of Astra.

Liara T'Sony's office.

- Bloody hell, Silnick, are you mocking me, or what!? - Liara was relentless. Understandably so. She was standing in her office at two in the morning, and a Larian called her and told her the news. And on top of all this, she was now standing in front of a holo-screen, a picture of a Salarian, practically in her negligence. Well, just a silk dressing gown and lace lingerie, and that's it. With all this news, Liara was not concerned with clothes, except that the Salarian liked it very much. - This was the seventh agent to fail.

- Miss T'Sony, it wasn't my fault," Silnik tried to justify himself. - The factories in this company have sophisticated alarm systems. Just getting behind the walls is unrealistic, and only one agent managed to get into the factory itself, but he was caught almost immediately.

- Did you try to infiltrate an employee there or bribe the guards? - Liara asked.

- Yes. The company did not put up any recruitment ads. Nowhere at all! Their production is fully automated. But the guards... Security's even more complicated than that.

- What's complicated about them!? - Liara couldn't take it anymore. - They are Vorka's! All of their factories are guarded exclusively by VORKS!!!

- That is the problem! - Silnix couldn't stand it either, not much fearing Liara's wrath as she had no one better than him. - The Works are like zombies of sorts. No contact with the outside world, not even a phone call. If you call them, they tell their commander, and then they can easily trace the call, no matter the software used. Several of our communicators still need to be included, and I can't even guess what's wrong with them.

- Aarrghhhh, nahrd! - Liara swore in Azarian. - What kind of company is this anyway. Showed up less than a year ago, owns five dozen factories guarded by vorks, and they, in turn, are armed with unregistered weapons. Were you even able to find out what they produce?

- Only what's on the official books. They produce light weapons, combat vehicles, and ammunition. Their entire financial history is perfect. All the taxes and duties are kept, except...

- What?" asked Liara, trying to grasp at least a clue.

- Anyway, I noticed one oddity. The last time they procured a single gram of element zero was a year ago. At all. There is no declaration of purchase, importation, or payment of duties on the zero elements in their history. They don't use it at all.

- Goddess, Sylnick, do you even hear yourself? They produce weapons, but they don't use the zero element. "Total nonsense," Liara objected, but Silnik wasn't about to give up.

- Yes, it does sound crazy, but there is a hypothesis.

- Speak, Liara ordered dryly.

- They don't have to use element zero if they manufacture a weapon case with all the systems. And they add the zero elements elsewhere. They have a factory in Terminus Systems for that. That way, they avoid taxes on importing and using the zero elements.

- Hmm, with fifty plants... That comes out to be quite a savings. Of course, fuel costs, duties on the export of simple raw materials, which are weapons without zero elements, and in this case, the calculation is in tons but still comes out with significant savings... All right, all right. Silnick, we need to track down their cargo ship and capture it. We need mercenaries to do that. Is anyone in mind? - Liara was starting to feel more at ease here. She had enough of a plausible hypothesis to start working out a plan.

- Mercenaries? The Blue Lanterns, the Eclipses...

- No, no, no," Liara dismissed the suggestions without even listening to the end. - We need specialists, the best of the best. There's something not right here, but it's worth the gamble.

- Hmm... There are a few. One in particular-- Zaid Massani.

- The founder of the Blue Lights? - Liara decided to make sure.

- Yes. He'll have a few friends who will agree to go with him. It's just a question of price.

- That won't be a problem. That's settled, but we still have to get into their factory.

- Miss T'Sony! - the Salarian interrupted her thoughts. - I told you, seven agents...

- Those agents were just anyone. We need a professional. The best at covert infiltration and theft.

- There is one. One, to be exact. Kasumi Goto. She'll steal anything. But she charges a lot, too," warned the Salarian.

- I told you, money's no problem. That's it, do it. Over and out," the Salarian disappeared, leaving Liara alone in her office. Well, that's what she thought. A few seconds later, her thoughts were interrupted by foreign but very familiar hands that wrapped their arms around her waist from behind and warm lips pressed against her tender neck.

- And why aren't we sleeping? - The familiar male voice asked.

- No reason... Another agent failed... - Resignedly, she answered as her breath became laboured with the caress of her lips against her skin.

- Hiring losers again? You could have sent me," the man suggested.

- Eh, no, you wouldn't. Something is going on over there that's got security at the top of the... uro... out... Feron, what are you... - Liara stuttered as Drell cheeked the Azari's neck, his hand wandering under her dressing gown, only heightening the girl's secret but deeply buried desires.

- I've always wanted to take you in my study," Drell said unashamedly, forgetting his modesty and realising that Azari had already surrendered. - Right on this desk," his hot breath burned the back of Azari's neck. In a second, her dressing gown flew off, she was on the table, and then she just dissolved into pleasure. The night had been well spent.

****

Cluster: No name

System: No name

Planet: has no name

- What is it? - Gern'Trygda asked while Tali followed a group of Geths. Those, in turn, did not see the Kwarian landing party of ten who had hidden behind the hill. The Geths hardly saw them, still 5km away and weren't particularly worried about being followed. It was Rael'Zor, who had become increasingly paranoid as of late, that had made the landing party come to such an asshole of a galaxy. Since the destruction of the Overlord, the Quarians have noticed that their encounters with the Geths have dwindled to a minimum. If they occur, they primarily run away at a breakneck speed, mining escape routes. Occasionally, the Getae would provoke an attack at Rael's behest, but they'd only shoot back, put up a smoke screen, and retreat again. Resistance only happens when there's no way for the Geti to retreat. But there were only three such cases; in the rest, the Geti fled. No one understood what was happening, and the Geti was seen less often. As a result, Rael sent Tali with a landing party anywhere in the galaxy where the presence of geths was recorded. He kept repeating that the Geth were up to something terrible and terrifying, so he had already been labelled paranoid. Except that, recent events have changed everything dramatically. The Geth attack on Earth and the activation of a giant Prothean dreadnought, lobster-shaped, had changed the College's attitude toward Rael. Now his paranoia was listened to at all times and everywhere, the Geths were attacked at every turn, and then their parts were dragged to the Fleet for his experiments. And every landing involved Tali precisely because of her biotic abilities. It was the seventh landing in a month, bringing the Quarian to the brink of failure since the last three had failed miserably. But her father didn't care about that; he wanted results.

- Fifty geths. Five primes. Some kind of tower. Hmm, call me stupid, but it looks like their geological expedition," Tali said, peering through the equivalent of binoculars. The mask didn't have that feature built into it, though.

- Geth geologists. Nonsense. They only mine resources from asteroids," Tel'Parkun protested.

- Yes, but asteroids aren't endless. They've likely already recycled all the asteroids beyond the Perseus Veil, so they're looking for a replacement. And what better way to do that than with a completely unknown planet," Tali argued.

- 'And that's right. So how do we attack? - He asked, to which Tali gave him a lethal look.

- 'Are you an idiot, Gern, or are you just pretending? There are five Primes and forty-five more Stormtroopers. And us, in case you've forgotten, ten paratroopers.

Is it my fault your father ordered you to attack the Goths anyway? By the way, you're sabotaging his orders right now.

- Are you in such a hurry to die on my father's orders? - Tali parried, from which Gern could answer nothing against.

- Not so much. Tali, to be honest, your father's already lost his mind.

- Can't I see that? He's obsessed with the idea that the Geths are cooking something, so he's demanding more and more parts for his experiments. Only he's not getting much out of it. Without Daro'Zen...

- Tell me you also miss those traitors. - Suddenly, the voice of Tranol'Lerbuz was heard.

- At any rate, exile was unnecessary. She was a good scientist, so we stand still without her," Tali said, looking through her binoculars. Tranol was about to say something when suddenly Tali shouted. - LEAVE! - Everyone immediately lay down, and a strange, spherical drone flew over them a few seconds later.

- What is it? - Gern asked.

- It looks like a geological drone. They've just launched a dozen of them in all directions," Tali explained, getting up from the ground. And then it happened all too quickly. A strange, triangular-shaped craft flew over them and threw an unknown metal structure at them. It fell behind them and immediately straightened up. It was a strange-looking robot with one red eye, four legs and an inverted pyramid-shaped hull. Two cannons dangled from the edges of the hull. The robot immediately began firing red lines at everyone, and Tali immediately knew it was a ray gun. She immediately launched a singularity at the robot, while four of the Quarians had already fallen dead with holes all over their bodies. This singularity caused the robot to rise half a meter without stopping to fire and fall to the ground without even staggering. Tali was dumbfounded by this. Her singularity of Primes was lifting, and a four-legged robot calmly stood up to her. And so, there was only Tali left. She tried to hit the robot with a few punches, but it didn't care. It pointed its guns at her, and Tali prepared merely to die. There was no chance of surviving, so she covered her head with her hands, forming a biotic sphere around herself, even though she knew it wouldn't help. However, a minute passed, and the robot did not fire. Tali lowered her arms but was in no hurry to disperse the orb. The robot just stared at her, pointing its guns; the corpses of all 10 troopers were all around her, and Tali stared silently at what could be her death.

- Tali'Zora? - In a synthetic voice, the robot asked. She knew for sure as if she felt it was precisely the question.

- Y-yes... - said somehow the quarian.

- Have a good day," the robot said calmly, then jumped over the girl and calmly went to the rest of the getts. Tali was dumbfounded by this, as the goeth had now killed all her subordinates, wished her a good day, and moved on. Now Tali knew her father would kill her when he saw the report.

****

Omega Station

For the umpteenth time, Garrus reread the letter attached to the item that had been sent to him, essentially, by post. They had just dropped off outside their team's hideout, and the letter clearly stated that it was for Archangel.

****

Archangel,

I know who you really are, but I won't say anything to anyone. Such a modest gift for your activities would help you continue to do your justice in a cloaca-like Omega. You'd better read the manual first, as there is no zero element. Good luck with your deeds.

Your friend

PS Don't try to sell the rifle. I will find out about it anyway and return it to you.

PPS Never cross Aria. You'll be safer. She doesn't care about you constantly.

PPPS And no, that rifle is not from Aria. Honestly.

****

- Yeah, that's a little too... - Garrus said. - Did you check it? - He asked the Salarian, Meldock, their engineer.

- Yes. No bugs. No explosives. No zero element," he said succinctly and matter-of-factly.

- And how is that possible? - Garrus asked more to himself than to the Salarian. - Well, let's see how this weapon works.