"How many of them can we make die?!"

(a rallying battle cry from eagle faunus Sobieski Hussar, later founder of Hussar Academy on Europa)

Unknown System (Nova Prospect)

It was day four of the expedition in the ruins of the unknown alien world. Most of the shock and fright Liara had had all but diminished by now. Different teams would be surveying and studying different areas of interest on the planet. Liara thought they would be studying an area of the destroyed city, but she was wrong. Her group was studying a large compound next to the city.

Progress was painstakingly slow, but for good reason. The first and second days were spent waiting for the fleet to secure the system and establish a planetside base. The third was spent just setting up the forward outposts. That process took up the entire day. The next day, today, they started searching the closest buildings. Liara ended up in front of the group, right beside Mordin, as they approached the large building.

"Is this the structure?" She heard someone ask behind her.

"No, it's the other large building behind it," someone else sarcastically responded. That earned more sarcastic comebacks from the friends and some snickering all around. Liara even let out a soft chuckle as well before turning back to Mordin after he let out a curious hum at his omni tool.

"Something wrong Mordin," she asked.

"Not wrong, odd. Planetary communication working normally. Communications out of atmosphere is a different story," he said.

"Wait, what? Still?" She questioned puzzled.

"Correct. I could call anyone on the planet regardless of location no problem. But, no one can call the ships directly above us, and vice versa."

"Is it because of the earlier theory of atmospheric disruption?"

"Assumed most likely the case, at first. But I have been on planets like that before. If it was atmospheric, all comms would be affected in some way, with mild static at the very least. But here, nothing," he explained as his omni tool blinked away.

Liara thought about what he just said for a few moments. "I don't understand what else it could be then," she admitted.

"Makes it more exciting, doesn't it?"

Liara turned to her friend and saw his cheery smile. He really was excited to be a part of this. There wasn't a single, traceable ounce of worry anywhere on his expression or posture. That had an effect that calmed her on the matter as well. If the professor with much more experience than herself wasn't worried, then why should she be? Besides, there was a logical explanation for this, there had to be. It could be that this atmosphere was just unique and they haven't encountered one like this before. It was a big galaxy after all. What they've seen so far in the universe was only a single drop in an ocean.

They arrived at the building's entrance. The floor was littered with broken glass but many sharp shards still hung to the frames of the walls and supposed doors. They were easily avoided as the team made their way in, the crunching of glass echoed throughout the interior of the building. Everyone activated their flashlights as they entered, taking in the sight before them.

The team split up into smaller groups and began exploring, oblivious to a hidden observer shadowing them.

In the station above the planet, artificial gravity and atmospheric stabilizers were applied slowly and in sections on the station, which was planned to eventually act as the main base for the expedition. While scans showed the station was clear and safe, several areas still needed exploration before proper artificial atmospheric equipment could be installed in certain areas.

Tali was assigned to one of the teams assigned to one of these teams. "Come on, come on, cooperate with me you bosh'tet," she growled as she hit the side of the panel.

"Language young lady," Wrex said from his spot leaning against the wall.

"Oh hush you. I don't see you trying anything," Tali retorted.

"I did, but you didn't like my suggestion."

"Shotgun to the panel is not a good suggestion."

"Yes it is, it solved a lot of my problems."

"I… you're unbelievable sometimes." Wrex chuckled and Tali rolled her eyes with a smile. That was her uncle Wrex in a nutshell.

"Seriously though, brute force could open that faster than your hotwiring attempts," Wrex said. "Why don't we try that?"

Tali turned to him. "Because I don't think everyone would appreciate it if everything either has bullet holes in it or was warped because you went too hard on it., which means we can't salvage or learn anything from it. And besides, I want to see if I can actually hotwire this door open instead of forcing it open like the others."

"You just want bragging rights on cracking alien tech."

"... that also would be a bonus," she admitted sheepishly.

"Hehehe, that's the little Quarian I know. Hurry up though, I had to get an old helmet for this and it's not exactly comfortable."

"Sure thing," she said after a short chuckle and got back to fiddling with the control panel.

Wrex leaned back against the wall, arms crossed and looking at Tali so his helmet flashlight would help a little bit. After a few moments, the door suddenly beeping rapidly before a holographic red light on its center blinked before turning green, signaling it was open just like the other doors on the station.

"I did it?" Tali sounded surprised. "Er, I mean, ah yes there we go! Told you I could do it."

"Whatever you say," Wrex smiled behind his helmet, proud of his favorite little Quarian.

Tali walked in front of the door and put her hand on the holographic light to open the door. She changed her stance and braced herself for a [ossible sudden gust of air to hit her from the change in air pressure from the sealed door opening. While some doors did than and others didn't, it was good to prepare for it.

However, neither her or Wrex were prepared for what happened next.

As the door opened and the gust of air hit her, something else came flying out of the room. A black, red, white creature sprang out and slammed full force into Tali. Bare teeth pressed against her visor and limbs wrapped around her body as the force of the impact forced her to the ground. Tali screamed and tried to get the heavy creature off to no avail.

Not even moments after she hit the ground, Wrex already had his trusty Claymore shotgun out as he rushed forward. He roared as he bashed the creature off of her, and fired a blast right into the creature's belly. It flew back a fair distance before hitting the ground.

Wrex waited a moment to see if the creature would move before turning back and kneeling. "Tali! Are you ok?! Is your suit breached?!" Tali hyperventilated, staring at what just attacked her. "Tali?!"

"Wha? I- yeah. I…" Tali's breath, still fast and heavy, started to calm down as she padded herself down and felt several areas of her helmet. "N-no, nothing's breached. I'm ok, I'm ok."

"Your hands are still shaking, but that's good at least," Wrex said as he helped her back up to her feet. After making sure she wouldn't fall back down, Wrex turned his attention back to the creature. Shotgun up, he walked over to the corpse with Tali right behind him. He stopped right over it as Tali kept her distance, gagging slightly at the sight. Wrex couldn't blame her. He wasn't an expert in biology, but the corpse was definitely decomposing. It's been dead for a long time, and he just blasted some of its guts all over the floor.

"All teams check-in. Was that a weapon discharge?" Someone called over their omni tools.

"This is Wrex. That was my weapon discharging. We uh... have a situation."

"A university? Hmm, my guess would have just been a library," Mordin offered his opinion with a cupped chin.

"I would have too, but have you heard from the other teams?" Liara asked.

"Not yet, haven't had the time to check yet. What did they find?" Mordin asked.

Liara opened her omni tool and showed Mordin some pictures. "Several of the other teams found many large meeting rooms with chairs and desks pointed towards one side of the room, where clear boards and screens are located. Others found small rooms with multiple beds, like dormitories. And another team found a large cafeteria, no preserved food I'm afraid."

"Darn, would have liked to see some alien food," Modrin commented.

"I doubt you would be able to eat it, or that it would be fresh for that matter," she teased back.

"True, but looking at one's cooking and drink gives an insight to culture."

"Hmm, I suppose you're right."

Mordin's omni tool beeped and he quickly checked the message. "It appears I'm needed elsewhere. Catch up with you later Liara."

"Take care," Liara responded as he bowed and left. She then went back to the main table in the center of the library. Before she took a break to talk with Mordin, she was studying objects of keen interest.

Books. Actual, physical books. Liara had only seen physical books in museums and at her university, though you needed the proper clearance to see them at the school. Liara never got the chance to look at them, but here she did. She took a drink of water from her canteen and grabbed a book from the pile, bringing it down in front and started flipping through the pages.

The paper, at least paper is what Asari used for their books long ago, was an odd feeling as she flipped through the pages. Every now and then Liara would photograph a page of the book. She would record everything if she could but knew she didn't have the data storage or time.

Liara took a moment to admire the page, to observe the alien texts printed on it. There were so many different symbols. Was each symbol a letter like most of the other languages of the Citadel? She wondered how each letter was pronounced. Her imagination ran wild thinking of possibilities of what this book was. Was it a novel? A biography? A fictional story? A historical text?

"Goddess, if only I could understand their language," Liara wished in a whisper. She skimmed through to the last page and took a final picture of the front and back covers. She placed a book on top of the 'read' pile and grabbed another book to look over. However, before she could open it, disaster struck.

Liara wasn't stacking the read books in a neat pile, the many different sizes of books made it a haphazard uneven tower. She never noticed, her concentration and excitement distracted her. She was unprepared when the top few books toppled over and knocked her canteen over. The lid popped off and water spilled out.

Liara quickly brought the canteen back up, but the damage was already done. She turned back and picked up the book she was going to do next. The pages dripped of excess water as she opened it, confirming her worst fears. The book's pages didn't age as well as others, and the water messed with the ink, practically washing the letters away and turning the page into an ink blob mess.

Liara stared in disbelief. She couldn't believe who own stupidity and ignorance. She just destroyed history, something ancient and valuable. She just committed a great sin in archaeology, with an amateur mistake too!

"Son of a..." The frustration in herself grew and grew until she lashed out. "Damnit!" She chucked the canteen. She listened to it clack on the ground as she cupped her head in her hands with a groan. But as the clanking died down, another sound suddenly reached her ears.

The sound of crushed metal immediately followed by quick-moving footsteps. Liara was brought out of her self pity and went to investigate. "Hello," she called out. "Who's there?" There was no response. "If someone's there and this is a prank, this isn't funny." The canteen ended up bouncing around a bookshelf, and when Liara wounded the corner she gasped. The canteen was crushed in the center as if something bit down into it.

A pang of fear crawled up to her as she quickly turned around to the sound of footsteps echoing around. It sounded like it came from behind her but she couldn't tell. Her heart beat faster as she backed away. She brought up her omni tool to call for help, but before she could type a single command, her body stiffened. There was growling behind her.

"Unless we can determine what the atmospheric pressure of the room was before it was opened, getting an accurate idea of the rate of decay is impossible, unfortunately," Mordin stated.

"We figured as much, but I at least wanted to see if I could get a second opinion," Jondum said over the call. "Though if you had to take an educated guess, what would you say?"

"Depends. If absolutely no atmospheric pressure, decades. With pressure, weeks to a few months. Species' biology also a major indicator. Speaking of-"

"The autopsy's still going on, at least it was before I came down here," Jondum interrupted. "All we can really confirm is that the alien's skin is a brown color, it had black fur on the top of its head and face, and its facial structure is similar to that of Asari and Drell. The skeletal structure is also theorized to be similar as well, with some possible similarities with the Batarians."

"Hypothesised that from the images as well. Amazing how similarly life evolves."

"Indeed. Ok, that's all I can spare for now. Take care Professor."

"You as well." With the call concluded, Mordin decided to head back to the library. He was curious to see if Liara found anything interesting in those books, like some illustrations. He entered the library but could see that she wasn't at the table. He was about to call her name when a growling sound echoed throughout the room.

Mordin's hands instinctively reached down to and hover over his pistol. That didn't sound good. It was an animal of some kind, local, and it didn't sound like a herbivore. "Li-" Mordin's callout was halted when he heard a terrifying scream. It was Liara.

His pistol was drawn and he sprinted as fast as he could towards the screaming and animalistic growls. The sound of biotic discharge reached his ears, at least comforting him that she was fighting back. Mordin saw Liara trip out from the isle and get dragged back into it, screaming for help all the while.

Mordin quickly reached and rounded the corner. Liara was looking behind her at her attackers, desperately trying to kick the animal that had its jaw clenched on her leg off to little effect. The animal had a black hind, white bone armor, two legs, and a tail. A second one was with it and leaped into the air, no doubt wanting to strike at Liara's head for the killing blow.

Half a second after rounding the corner and processing the situation, Mordin opened fire. He squeezed the trigger as rapidly as he could, getting direct hits on the leaping animal and caused it to veer off course and land next to Liara. The creature howled in pain and backed up. The second one still greedily held on, but Mordin quickly snapped to it and opened fire, forcing the animal to let go.

Mordin's pistol beeped, signaling it overheating. He dropped it and Liara's reaching hand while quickly activating his omni tool and launching an incinerate towards the closest beast and hitting it dead center. He then drew his smg as he dragged Liara out of the aisle and to the side, sitting her up against the bookshelf.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Mordin turned to see one Asari and two Turian soldiers sprinting towards them.

"Predators, two of them! Attacked T'soni! I got her, go!" Mordin shouted quickly. The soldiers ran down the aisle he pointed down to get them. "Liara, are you ok?" He asked with genuine concern, putting his smg away and looking over her leg.

"Y-yeah," Liara said between a hiss while she tried to calm her heavy breathing. "I'm ok…. I'm ok."

Mordin rolled up a pant leg to get a better look at the wounds. "Hmmm, wounds not that deep, barely deep at all. Managed to get a barrier up," he stated more than asked as he ran his omni tool over the wounds.

"Yes, actually. I didn't manage to get it up before… whatever that thing was bite me, but I managed to at least stop it from biting all the way through I guess," she explained. She looked down when he didn't respond. "Mordin?"

The Salarian studied the reading from his omni tool intensely. "No no, that can't be right," Mordin muttered before running it over her wounds again.

"Professor?"

"Hmmm….. just in case," he muttered again, and Liara hissed at the burning sensation of disinfectants. "Sorry Liara, just scanning to make sure no venom or the like infiltrated. No venom thankfully, but readings are confusing."

"Confusing? Why?" She asked as Mordin applied medi-gel, feeling instant relief.

"Was scanning to make sure there wasn't venom in the wounds. None thankfully, nothing there. But, that's the confusing part. Nothing, not even any bacteria."

"That… is odd," Liara admitted as she thought about it. When it came to bacteria, one's mouth was the most contaminated area of the body by a long shot. But then again she wasn't a zoologist and these were alien creatures.

"Annnnnd there we go," Mordin's omni tool blinked away and be pulled her pants leg back down. "How do you feel?" He helped her back to her feet.

"A lot better, I don't feel a thing. Thank you," she looked down at her leg. "Though I will need a new pair of pants now."

"Out of my expertise, unfortunately."

"Professor Solus," they turned to the returning soldiers. "You said there were two of those things correct?"

"Yes. Shot at both, hit one with an incinerate," the Salarian replied.

"When we went into the aisle, we saw one running and ash blowing, so we assumed that one burned to death."

"That quickly, hmm, must be extremely flammable with weak skeletal structure then. Didn't hear any gunshots, last one got away," he stated more than asked.

"Unfortunately, it had a head start and managed to evade us. We did manage to contact the base and warn the other teams about hostile wildlife. Oh, and I assume this is yours?" He held out Mordin's pistol.

"Ah yes, thank you," Mordin thanked him as he took his pistol back.

"We'll keep searching for the thing in case it tries to come back, stay alert," the Asari trooper said before the soldiers left. Mordin looked over the pistol to check for any damages, saw nothing wrong, and paused for a few moments before holding it up to Liara.

"Mordin?" Liara asked in confusion.

"Take it," he insisted. "We now know there are predators here. You could run into more, and I or someone else might not be close to help in time."

Any counter Liara may have had died when he stated that fact. "... I never used one before."

Mordin smiled and started giving her a quick rundown on how it worked.

Space, unknown regions

"Rannoch." The word left Salem's lips as the memory came back to her. The planet she was at was named Rannoch, once home to a people named the Quarians.

Her ship, escorted by several Wraiths, arrived and was met with a massive fleet of wingless wasp-like ships. Salem wasn't a fool, but before she could give the order to turn around, the Grimm moved forward and the ships… parted out of the way.

Salem ordered the Grimm to halt, curious as to what was happening. The massive fleet split into two, forming somewhat of a path. One ship turned around and slowly started going down the path. Salem thought for a moment and left her ship, bringing some Beowolfes with her in a shuttle to follow.

The ship led her to the surface and deployed two buglike smaller ships, acting as an escort as they led her to the outskirts of a city. They approached a landing pad and Salem could see many humanoid figures rushing together around the platform.

Her ship landed and she exited, flanked by her Grimm. Salem could now tell that the humanoids were actually robots. One strode forward and stood in front of her at a respectable distance. Salem knew what they were: Servants.

...no. 'Servants' was the word in humanity's language. In the Quarian's tongue, Khelish she believed it was called, the word was-

"Geth," she addressed the being in front of her. The aperture in its eye widened only slightly.

"Queen," it said back in the alien language and dropped to one knee. All of the Geth followed suit, kneeling before her.

Salem smiled. "Rise," she commanded with a raised hand and the Geth followed. "I have need of you."

A/N: And there we have it.

Apologies for the wait, but and college take priority

So, some discoveries are made, close calls are had and… Salem can speak the Quarian language and knows the Geth? And they're bowing down to her?! What is happening?!

Questions that will be answered another time… or in a quick WoR chapter, we'll see. Also don't worry, something you've all been waiting for will happen next chapter.

Oh, and shout out to KegiSpringfield for the new cover art.

Thanks again for reading, have a great day :)