Dakira watched as the cameras were analyzed by the best team he could afford. Standing next to him was Bardon, who looked at the inner workings of what could only be described as a Batarian Forensic Unit. Bardon didn't know much about this, or at least how Batarians did this. He may have been a master slave, but he was still a slave before being consumed by Blacklight.
He looked to Dakira who was rubbing his own head as if in pain. Bardon winced.
"Rough Day?"
"Normally my speech given wouldn't have given me much more than a slap on the wrist, the whole point was to get the council to talk about the slavery issues I presented. Really this whole message sent through the radios has only made the situation worse. It's an embarrassment to the Hegemony, and since I was the one who pushed for reform, well, I think you can picture my situation. I'm on thin ice Bardon."
"I suppose we're all slaves in our own way."
"Not quite as literal, I… have been paying attention to the slavery issues as of late. I don't think that's a fair comparison in any way for one like me."
Bardon didn't show it, but he was smiling on the inside. That was exactly the reaction Blacklight was hoping for. Sure he was in a less than stellar situation, but at least he could be counted as an ally.
"Most don't see it that way," said Bardon.
"Perhaps they should. Regardless, my seat on the council may be taken away from me if we don't can't get this situation settled."
Blacklight… did not know that.
"Really?"
"You'd be surprised just how fragile power really is when it's shared between several dozen others."
'That is unexpected.'
'Perhaps we can turn this around… The question is how.'
The thinking was cut short when one of the lab workers came up to Dakira and handed him the results of their observations.
"It's the strangest thing…", said the scientist. "… Either whatever those cameras were taken out with was made of the same metals as the camera, or those who attacked it used something sufficiently dense enough that it didn't even leave even a minute trace of what the projectile was."
Dakira hummed as he looked over the results.
"The Camera's metal is made of titanium correct?"
"The outer casing is, they were built to last. Either way, there is no trace of what the projectile actually was, and whatever did this did it without being caught. This was very well coordinated."
"Any suggestions?"
The forensic scientist nodded.
"I would work under the assumption that the rod that destroyed the cameras was titanium. It might not be, but it's more plausible. Still this is too well coordinated for a slave revolt, or anyone trying to send a message. If this was done by slaves, I'd keep a look out on those with military training. Very good military training at that."
Dakira nodded.
"I appreciate the effort. Hmmm, I think the next course of action will be to look into Salarian slaves around at the time. At least one of the voices was identified as Salarian. Could be ex-STG."
"Good look, Councilor Brorcomon, we've done what we could, as little as that was. If we find anything else, we will be sure to let you know."
"Thank you, every little bit helps."
Dakira walked off, waving at Bardon to follow. The once Batarian trailed behind him.
"There must be some lead I can follow; whoever did this was good… I am beginning to question if it was really slaves."
That got Bardon's attention.
"Sir?"
"We've been working under the assumption that this was caused by slaves, which it may very well have been. However Bardon, that is not the only possibility. They could be a slave sympathizer who is within our own military, or it could be something else. I have time to work, but not much. Bardon, you think you can keep an ear out for me?"
"I promise, if I hear anything, I will come to you immediately."
Dakira smirked.
"You really are too good to be a slave. After this blows over, I hope the people take my message to heart. It may need some revisions, but at least I think my heart was in the right place. I'll see you tomorrow Bardon."
And like that, Dakira left, while Bardon and Blacklight planned.
"Wrex old buddy old pal, how have you been?"
The Krogan looked at the screen projected by his omnitool.
"Alex, that you? Where are you?"
"I'm a lot of places; sorry I can't be there in the flesh, still not allowed on the Citadel and all that."
"Yeah, I heard about that. So there must be some reason you called… Rematch?"
"It does sound tempting and destructive, which equates to fun in my book, but sadly this is a business call."
"Don't see how I can help."
"We're looking for an old Krogan, name's Okeer."
Wrex sneered at that name.
"I'm not surprised at all you are after him. Not exactly the most well liked guy among my people, and that's saying a lot. Lucky you, I have heard about him recently. He's not exactly the kind of guy you ignore, safer to keep tabs on the crazy ones just in case, especially if they are too damn smart for their own good. Last I heard, he was working on something big, rumor has it it was a cure for the Genophage, and as a result I kept an eye out on it. I don't know the full story, but the guy who told me about it is a… let's just call him a friend. His names Barla Von, he's a Volus information broker. Very good at what he does. If he doesn't know anything, he can point you in the right direction."
"Thanks Wrex."
"You can thank me when we have our rematch. See ya around Alex."
Ashley and Shepard were in the process of cleaning a certain shop while Kaiden found himself sweeping with a broom that really was his own arm shifted to look like a broom. However what really fascinated him was the conversation going on between Shep and Ash. Especially when someone within the hive mind saw a Krogan reciting poetry to an Asari for some reason. Ash decided to be sarcastic. Shepard decided to be annoying.
"Romeo and Juliet was not a romance." Said Shepard.
"I know Shep. I was being sarcastic."
Shepard shook his head.
"It's about two hormone-crazed teenagers who want what they can't have and everyone is a moron. You can't tell me it's a romance. It's a tragedy. I hate seeing it held up like some paragon of love when it really isn't."
"I Know Shep." said Ashley.
"I mean they have an unhealthy codependent relationship, proven by the whole suicide thing. Neither Romeo nor Juliet ever thinks about the consequences of their actions, and all it does is lead to a lot of dead people on both sides of their families. Plus there was Escalus' speech at the end. He says himself that the whole thing was just a big mess caused by everyone being an idiot. I bet that when humans were still around and some teen compared their relationship with their significant other to Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare would roll in his grave."
"I KNOW! Man Shep, remind me never to sarcastically compare anyone to Romeo and Juliet again."
"Eh, I'm sure that Krogan guy and Asari will do fine. It's kinda cute. Most adorable Krogan ever. Hands down."
"How did we get here again?" asked the ever exacerbated Kaiden as he mindlessly swept the exact same spot over and over again.
Looking around at the shop they were attempting to fix, it was barely done even after five hours of work.
"I think it was around the time you said no to turning into a raptor for cleaning. Then we started discussing that Elcor rendition of Hamlet that we tried to get going. Eventually it just devolved from there when we saw the adorable Krogan. This never would have happened if you just said yes to be a raptor mount for cleaning this place. Raptors were known for their cleanliness."
"…I'm in your head right now Shep, and I understood exactly none of how you came to that conclusion."
"If they can open doors they can use a broom."
"I worry about you Shepard."
"Thanks Kaiden, love you to."
"So should we actually clean this up?", asked Ashley.
"Think we can work dinosaurs in there somewhere?"
Kaiden could only sigh.
If this was the result of Blacklight finally finding aliens to alleviate the boredom, then all he could do was hope this was the extent of the madness.
As they began to clean the mess, someone decided to come up. It was rather surreal as well.
It was a Turian, following behind him was of all things one of the Coolant Breed.
"Thought I would run into one of you eventually. Looks like this trip wasn't a waste of time."
"Uhhh, hi. Names Shepard, how can we help you Mr…"
"Garrus Vakarian, this is Frosty."
"You named one of the Coolant breed?" asked Kaiden.
"I did. We were delivering some of these little guys to a lab for study. I got attached to this little guy, now he follows me around and, well, I decided to keep him. Problem is, I have no idea how to care for one, and there weren't any of you Blacklight guys on the Citadel to ask, and Frosty's been acting strange. I was hoping you could help me out."
Kaiden saw a look on Shepard's face, a look Kaiden knew well. It helped that he could also read her mind, and unfortunately for the Turian, he was just eccentric enough for Shepard to label him as a friend. With all the terror that implied.
"So, what's wrong with Frosty?" asked Ash.
"He's not been moving around as much, I usually use a modified space heater he likes to cool off, but he hasn't been quite as active lately."
"Tell you what Vakarian, you help us clean, and we'll see what we can do about little the little Gloop Gleep." Said Shepard.
Garrus nodded in agreement.
"Sounds fair. I'm in C-Sec these days, so I'm used to cleaning up after messes… Just not quite as literal."
"Heh! You know Garrus, I think we're going to get along very well."
Kaiden felt extreme pity for the poor Turian.
Frosty seemed to slither and undulate in agreement.
Alex looked up at the screen to the Volus.
"Either way, we need to find this Dr. Okeer."
"I do happen to have some information regarding that individual, but information is not cheap. I propose an exchange of information."
"And what is it you want to know anyway?"
"I assume that the real reason you want to meet this Okeer is classified?"
"You could say that."
Barla Von nodded.
"Then how about this, There is much on your species that is unknown. I have always wondered, was the Blacklight virus really natural as you claimed when you were introduced to the masses or was it made in a lab?"
"Natural."
"You don't need to lie to me."
Alex rose a brow, the day a Volus got the better of him was the day he ate his own hoodie.
"I'm not."
"Then no information was gained on my part. Perhaps something else. There are whispers of a rumor that you have been up to something big. Supposedly it started after the incident on the Citadel. Are you at all curious to the exact reaction that had on the galaxy? Your kind has been sticking to your own space and the Terminus Systems, you must be curious as to how Council space sees you."
"I feel like I'm being talked circles around. Get to the damn point."
"Very well. Did you know that the reasons we didn't go to war were twofold. One was the general fear your kind evokes, the other however is most telling. The council vetoed the idea. Called it an unfortunate incident brought on by something VERY classified that caused a psudo-Rampancy similar to the Rampancy that caused you to absorb all life on your planet. The council said you went into a self-imposed exile of sorts. It isn't known to the Public, but a few of us information brokers have collected very interesting information from that incident. Such as…"
The screen cut to an audio file. Alex, against his better judgement played it.
"What are you?"
"...Blacklight."
"Bullshit. This isn't Blacklight behavior. This is something else. What the hell are you?"
"Did I not consume your friend? My dear Caemus. Is this body not made of that which is called Blacklight? What else would I be. Do you remember dear Caemus when your friend, Tilon, came back and told you tales of us. Did you truly believe we considered you more important than our hunger? Do you truly believe the only reason we did not destroy you all was as simple an answer as boredom? We feed, we consume, we grow. We are the spreading cancer among the stars, the sickness of the galaxy. We are pestilence made flesh. In the end we only consume."
The file ended and Barla Von was back.
"Care to explain what that was? I have to agree with this Caemus individual, that was not typical Blacklight behavior. It also didn't seem like Rampancy, in fact if I didn't know any better, I would say that it seemed like something hijacked your entire species for a period of time. The fact that the individual being hesitates for just a moment when asked what it was is telling. It had to think for its answer. This is big, and has been the number one goal of every information broker in the galaxy to find out Mr. Mercer. We know something very powerful is out there, and you are doing something to fight against it. If it really is so dangerous, we would be very interested in finding out what it is."
"I'll call you back." Said Alex.
"I'll be waiting with baited breath."
The call cut. Alex shifted his mind through the hive to find himself standing on Shanxi where Legion was working in coordination with several other Geth programs building Geth Hubs across the landscape. The Geth turned to Alex.
"I need you to compile everything we have on the Reapers, apparently a certain bowling ball shaped individual is too damn smart for his own good."
Legion's flaps rose as he began doing just that.
"Acknowledged."
Alex nodded.
"Who knows, we might get another ally after they find out."
After a long and detailed description of what a Reaper was, What Morinth was doing, what had happened to her, and what Blacklight did to her, Samara just kinda stood there staring at Morinth with a blank look on her face.
"…And the worst part is I now know the exact mechanics of sex, and it really lost its luster after you realize exactly what is going on down there on a microscopic level. I mean yeah, for me it usually doesn't get that far, but there was this one time with a cute Turian girl and a…"
"Too. Much. Information." said Samara forcibly.
"That is exactly my point. I mean it used to be so much fun but now, I get these weird flashbacks to memories I never had. I mean I thought I was kinky, but you should see some of the fucked up shit humans were into when they were alive I mean have you ever seen vo…"
"Stop… I have heard enough Morinth."
"Yes Ma'am." said Morinth a tad but sheepishly.
Morinth felt very uncomfortable with the tone she used when she said that, and hoped that surprise time travel powers would pop up to take it back. Alas, they never came.
Samara blinked at the tone her daughter used before shaking her head.
"I'm going to ignore everything up to the end of your little rant." said Samara.
Morinth felt intense relief from that declaration and visibly calmed down. Samara, who was talking calming breaths, looked to her daughter for what felt like the first time. This was not who she hunted across the cosmos. This girl was so much like her child in so many ways that it actually hurt, but at the same time she was so different. It was almost alien the girl, no, woman before her. Samara felt an odd sensation. She always was proud of Morinth, more so than she would ever admit to anyone save herself, but there was something else, something difficult to place.
"I can't just let you go Morinth."
"I know."
Samara stared at her daughters face, a face she knew very well, a face that she had not seen is such a long time. Ever since taking her vows, Samara knew that Morinth wouldn't have a happy ending. She was just so free. It was what Samara admired about her daughter most of all. However it was that freedom that caused so much pain in the galaxy.
Samara saw the mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers of the victims of Morinth's trek across the stars. She had seen the pain of loss that Samara knew well. Pain that Samara knew with all her soul she would feel when she finally met her daughter.
This was not how she imagined it going.
For many many years, Samara expected the end to be her and Morinth going all out for one final battle. Samara wouldn't pull any punches, Morinth deserves her all. Samara had seen mothers cry over the results of Morinths deception. She couldn't hold back. If Morinth won, Samara could accept that. In fact sometimes, she hoped her daughter would win when they fought.
Now though, within a single evening, Morinth had once again surprised her mother. And Samara couldn't help but feel proud of her for it. Samara never thought she waivered, yet here she was, seeing not a monster that killed indiscriminately but her own flesh and blood.
And seeing such a drastic change, seeing what her daughter was attempting to do, to save the galaxy itself from something that tore worlds apart.
Samara found that she.
Just.
Couldn't.
Do.
It.
Samara however let none of this show. Instead she lowered Morinth slowly to the ground, much to Morinth's shock.
"Wha…?"
"Don't."
Morinth stood there, just looking at her Mother for what could have been forever. Without so much as a word she turned around and took off. Samara just watched her go, wondering the whole time if she was doing the right thing.
Bonus Scene
Conrad Verner was an interesting member of Blacklight, very enthusiastic about damn near everything and such a child at heart that many wondered if he was made from memories of children or a particularly excitable dog, maybe even a Shetland pony.
No one knew for sure, mainly because genealogy was very confusing among the many within Blacklight's ever growing Hive Mind.
Today Conrad was very happy. Not at all unusual, but today marked an interesting day if for no other reason than he was a part of an idea Blacklight had of studying Prothean Ruins. Which is why he found himself smiling happily at the Asari before him.
"You want to help us excavate?"
"Oh yes, I mean this looks like such fun, archeology is fun."
Liara found the man a bit excited, but also endearing. Maybe a bit annoying, but not by much.
"Well, I suppose we could use the help, and someone like you could prove very useful. Alright Mr. Verner, welcome to the team."
"Thank you miss… OH! I almost forgot. I got you a present. Consider it a peace offering."
Liara watched as Conrad produced a fair sized package from… somewhere and handed it to her. Confused but no less Grateful she accepted the gift and opened it.
"A… Hat?"
"Yes Ma'am, that is a Crushable Wool Felt Fedora, I made it myself."
Liara took out the Fedora as Conrad called it, and examined it. It was a natural dark brown color and had been made to fit well over her head fringe. Not wanting to seem ungrateful, she put it on her head, and found it fit like a glove. Even better it was very comfortable.
"It's a nice gift. Thank you Mr. Verner."
"Please call me Conrad."
Liara smiled as she adjusted her new hat. She actually kinda liked it.
"I bet this would go well with that old Leather Jacket."