DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING

AN: Sorry about the wait, been working on a few things, and my first year of uni was a little busier than I had anticipated. Hope you enjoy.

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Aria's eyes flicked over the data pad, only understanding a small fraction of the schematics before her. She didn't deign to raise her head as she spoke to the Batarian before her, "This is everything?"

He nodded, apparently too nervous to even speak. He'd almost failed his assignment to bring these blueprints back to the Pirate Queen, and he knew that she knew how close he'd come to returning empty handed.

Aria T'Loak did not suffer failure lightly, even at the best of times.

She continued to browse, until another Batarian stepped up into the booth. "Kyre is here to see you, Aria." He said after her eyes slid over to him.

A minute frown, gone before either of the four eyed beings before her could even notice, creased her brow momentarily. "Send him up." She demanded, wanting to get this over and done with, she had better things to do.

The Batarian nodded and left, returning after a moment with a shorter Advent male. With pale white skin, like most Advent, and blood red hair pulled back into a short ponytail, Kyre seemed deceptively fragile, with his almost gaunt frame, and luminous green eyes.

Still, he was efficient and to the point, both qualities she could appreciate. Traits that some of her own lackeys seemed to be lacking . . . . . .

He waited for her nod of welcome before sitting down, a comfortable distance away, but not so far that he seemed afraid of her. The Asari put the data pad beside her, making sure that she had deactivated it first.

"What brings you into my domain this time, Kyre?" She didn't bother with pleasantries, the man was taking her time, and she didn't particularly care if he took offence.

"The schematics you've received are flawed." He said, with preamble, "The cannons will overload within five shots. The shields are even more useless, they won't be able to filter the power necessary to maintain the shield matrix."

Aria's eyes narrowed, and she turned to face the now cowering Batarian, "Is that so? Care to tell me how you know this?"

He leant back, "We are always watching, Aria, you of all people should know that. We knew that the Batarians 'new' technology would get leaked, and that you would be the first to get your hands on it. Naturally, we needed to meet with you first, before you installed any of it."

Aria scowled, "Why didn't you inform me before I wasted time and resources retrieving the information?" Blue light flickered around her hands, highlighting her rage.

Kyre tilted his head, "Because we're going to modify the designs, improve them, make them functional for you."

Aria was stunned for a second by the sheer implausibility of that statement. No one in their right minds would hand over such a large tactical advantage! The shields alone would increase Omega's defensibility tenfold! Adding the improved weapons would make it unassailable to all but the largest fleets, and the major factions would have to dedicate all of their forces to make assault viable, leaving them vulnerable to other rivals in the aftermath.

That wasn't even including her personal forces, the small fleet that belonged to her alone.

"And what do you want in return?" She asked, with eyes narrowed.

Kyre just smiled slightly, "What makes you think we want anything in exchange?"

Aria's glare could have melted steel, such was it's intensity, and the Batarian informer before her flinched, eyes wide blown in terror. His time was limited, and they all knew it, it was now a question of how painful his death would be.

Running was starting to look like a better option all the time.

Ignoring the whimpering male on the floor before her, Aria continued to glare at the Advent man. His smile only grew, "We have no quarrel with you, Aria. You bring stability and order to the chaos of the Terminus systems, something that not many people could do, let alone without the bloodshed of most dictators."

Aria grudgingly conceded the point. Under the Patriarch, Omega had been only a moderate power base, one ruled by force, constantly fighting off the attentions of rogue states, alien nations and mercenary groups seeking it's resources and potential. Her usurpation had brought about great change, bringing Omega to the top of the food chain.

True, Aria was possibly even more brutal than the ancient Krogan, her enemies could attest to that. But her rule was peaceful for those who abided by her terms. She looked after her people, unlike the Patriarch, who had always been leading his forces against one enemy or another, while those who lived in Omega were little better than slaves or cannon fodder for those rare times when the ancient station came under attack.

Even the Blood pack and Eclipse didn't dare cross her now, knowing that she could oust them, although not without great cost. The Talons were an even smaller threat, not having the power base of the two larger organisations. Even the Hegemony hesitated in provoking her, although that didn't stop them from raiding her territory whenever they thought they could get away with it.

Speaking of . . . .

She rose from the couch, and slowly walked over to the Batarian spy on the ground before her. He began to babble, offering excuse after excuse to the Pirate Queen, seeking to placate her over his failure.

His excuses were found lacking.

Fingers flaring with whirling blue energy, Aria gripped the Batarians head with one hand, and pushed back until she was looking down into his eyes. "Please! I won't fail you next time, I swear! Just give me another chance!" The Batarian was almost screaming at this point.

Aria appeared to ponder the statement for a moment, before she looked back down at him.

"There are no second chances in Omega."

Her hand pulsed, and the blue warp energy suddenly expanded from her bare hand. It surged downwards, encountering little resistance as it ripped and tore apart skin, flesh and bone. The Batarians skull ceased to be as dozens of tiny swirls of manipulated gravity waves pulled it apart into fragments of bone and brain matter smaller than his killer's finger nails.

Kyre watched in fascination as the Batarians shoulders and chest were shredded by the fading warp energies. The biotic field had been overpowered to an extent he'd never seen before. It would take an extraordinarily powerful or skilled telekinetic to perform the same feat, although it would take far longer for most to muster up the necessary focus.

However, it was a true testament to Aria's power and experience in that she looked barely phased by the massive concentration and energy it must have taken to create, let alone utilise the field with such precision. Her fingers weren't even grazed, showing that the field had been directed downwards, even the rippling edges of the field had been contained and focused away from the Asari's vulnerable flesh.

They both knew it was a demonstration for him. The guards already knew Aria's prodigious strength and brutality to those who crossed her, and the Batarian could have been tortured in a much longer and painful fashion, not the instant disintegration.

She wanted him to know how dangerous crossing her would be, especially with him within arm's reach.

She sat down again, ignoring the two guards that came to drag away the already cooling corpse, trying not to leave a blood trail on the floor. Aria settled herself comfortably, "Now, what were you saying?" Having re-established the balance of power, and reassured herself, the Pirate Queen was feeling more confidant.

"As you've just shown, the safest place in the Terminus systems is on your side." Kyre stated calmly. "And the Hand of Illus is very much on your side."

Aria gave him a suspicious look, unable to really dispute the claim outright. The Hand paid their tithes, on time and sometime with a little extra.

In comparison, the other mercenary bands and thugs operating in her territory delayed as long as possible, and paid the bare minimum to avoid her retribution. While the Talons, the Eclipse and the Blood Pack were constantly causing trouble on her station, the Hand behaved themselves, not even starting bar fights on shore leave.

She frowned slightly, "I don't appreciate a kiss ass, Kyre. What is the Hand after?"

He smiled enigmatically, "What we've always wanted."

Aria waited with arms crossed, fingers tapping against her jacket impatiently, "And that is?"

"Survival." The man's eyes seemed to glow, "At any cost."

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The darkness surrounded her, crushing in on all sides. She could hear it whisper to her, slick, oily words, trying to find purchase in her mind. She had fought, and run, and screamed, but it would never let her go, never let her escape.

She could feel herself weakening, could feel the presence gaining purchase in her mind, changing her very thoughts. It was ironic, her, the top predator, the huntress, and now she was nothing but prey.

As the darkness at away at her, consuming her flesh and her mind, one last thought filled her.

'I'm sorry, Mother'

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The ancient monolith, rings spinning and wreathed in azure lightning, pulsed as half a dozen vessels blurred back into normal space, discharging more bolts of energy as they finished their faster than light jump.

A moment later, and they were contacted by a ship larger than all of them put together.

"Batarian vessels, this is the Advent Carrier, Nostralis. Under the authority of the Citadel Council, you are banned from this region of space, turn around and return to Batarian territory, or you will be destroyed. This is your final warning."

Their only answer was an attempt to upload a computer virus into the larger vessel as they maneuvered to attack. The virus was swiftly destroyed, and the Advent capital ship began to disgorge both fighters and bombers, dozens upon dozens of the psychically controlled drones accelerating towards the approaching ships.

Laser beams blossomed from the starboard and port sides of the carrier, only to meet their match in the shields of the Batarian ships. They held under the attack, and the four eyed humanoids returned fire, particle beams and disruptor missiles launched from each ship. The Advent's superior shields weathered the beams, while the missiles were intercepted the quick moving fighter drones, directed expertedly by the ship's Anima.

As the ships closed the distance, the Advent fighters began their attack, shortly followed by the bomber drones. GARDIAN lasers lashed out, never missing their targets, but not always destroying them. Advent drones were built considerably tougher than the fighters used by other species, not requiring a pilot, allowing more armour to be fitted to the craft. Use of mass effect cores had allowed even greater speed, without sacrificing armour or weapons.

The battle was won at that point, as the drones quickly wore away at the shields, and then began attack runs on the ships themselves. Assisted by the Capital ship, the Batarian forces were pecked to death, one after another.

The drones docked as the signal was sent for a recovery crew to retrieve the wreckage. It could be melted down into slag and recycled, although the Advent would need to remove the corpses left inside the fragments.

The Nostralis settled into a defensive position again, waiting for the next attempted incursion into Council space. No matter how many ships they brought, none would pass.

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"We are requesting another dozen-"

The Turian Counsellor was harshly cut off by the sound of hand meeting metal. "No! This the third time in as many months you have requested additional forces to guard the Relays, and I will not have it!" The Ambassador stared down Sparatus, "Where are the Turian fleets, hmm? Are you so incapable of guarding your own boarders that we must do it for you?"

The Turian bristled and opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by his Asari counterpart, "Unfortunately, we are spread thin, and our vessels are woefully under equipped to face the Batarians." Valern grimaced beside her.

The Advent raised one eyebrow, "And what of the plans for the particle beams we know you have? Are your engineers unable to comprehend the designs of the Batarians?"

It was Valern's turn to bristle now, "Our top engineers and scientists are working on them around the clock. We do not have enough dreadnoughts or sufficiently powerful to be able to deploy border patrol fleets, as anything smaller is useless against the Batarians shield technology."

"And what makes you think we do? We cannot and will not dedicate more ships to your boarders while our own are still being assaulted. The number of vessels currently deployed is all we can spare."

Sparatus leaned forwards over his podium, "The terms of our agreement-"

He was cut off abruptly, "Do not dictate what the Advent must or must not do Counsellor. We have more than honoured our side of the Treaty, or is your complete dependence on our fleets to protect your borders not enough?" The Ambassador practically hissed at the Turian.

Sparatus opened his mouth to argue the point before being cut off again, this time by his Asari counterpart, who gave him a warning look before turning to the representative of the Unity. "Thank you for taking the time to meet with us Ambassador. It is unfortunate you could not assist us more than you already have, but we understand. Is there some possibility that you could spare some scientists or engineers to assist with the development of the particle beam technology? Progress has been slow."

The Ambassador considered it for a second, "I will make some enquiries, but I make no guarantees."

Counsellor Tevos nodded gratefully, "That is all we can ask Ambassador, thank you." Without further fanfare, the three Citadel representatives walked off to their private rooms, eager to discuss the matter between themselves.

The Advent, however, waited for a moment, eyes resting on the Asari's podium, pondering, before he turned and slowly walked out of the Auditorium.

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There was a soft ding, signalling someone at the door. As per protocol, they were subtly scanned multiple times, for both surveillance devices and weapons. With the scans coming back clear, the doors opened, and the figure was faced by Charic, the Ambassador of the Unity.

It took him a second to identify his guest, "Councillor Tevos, to what do I owe this pleasure?" he moved aside and gestured for the matriarch to enter his home.

She did so, gracefully moving past him, and waited till he had closed the door to speak. "I wished to speak to you in private, away from my counterparts."

He lead her to his study, and took a seat behind his desk, indicating that she take a seat herself. Before moving the conversation on, he fetched a bottle of wine, horrendously expensive even for one of his prestige. He had a feeling that he may need it for this meeting. After pouring them both a glass, he leaned back in his chair, eyes locked onto those of his guest. "How may I assist you, Councillor?"

The Asari took a small sip, appearing to consider her words carefully, "The Council are faced with a dilemma. The Batarians have lost more ships than they should have possessed, even taking into account the pirates and slavers that we know they could call upon to their cause. Even the Salarians are at a loss as to how they are replenishing their forces so quickly. No one knows where they are getting the manpower or the resources to continue these assaults, yet their numbers are only growing."

She took another, longer sip of her wine, "As I said earlier, progress has been slow with the stolen plans for the advanced technology possessed by the Batarians. Even after we've learned to recreate the weapons or shields, retrofitting vessels will take far too long, let alone creating new ships based around this technology."

Charic swirled his wine around in the glass, absent mindedly rubbing his chin in thought. "A request for technical assistance might actually be easier to clear with the Coalescences than one for more ships." His gaze met that of Tevos, "Majority of our fleets are occupied in our territory for various reasons, with the remainder guarding the Council boarders against the Batarians. Plus we are far more knowledgeable about Vasari technology than yourselves. But that's not what you are here for is it?"

She hesitated, eyeing him shrewdly, "I have been given a request to pass on to you from the Supreme Council of Thessia." The Asari placed a data pad on the table and slid it across. "While the Turians have traditionally been the military might of the Council, there is a growing opinion amongst the Asari that we should no longer depend on others for our safety."

She took a deep breath, and a fortifying gulp of wine, "However, it is no small feat to build fleets and armies to defend a region of space as widely spread as the Asari, especially as quickly as we need it to be done. So, we are requesting the aid of the Unity."

Charic look at her in amusement, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you just said that you didn't want to depend on others for your safety, I fail to see how the Advent can assist you in that."

A hint of purple danced across her azure cheeks, "Tow of the more powerful groups, the pro-independence faction and the po-alliance faction made a compromise. Matriarchs Benezia and Aethyta debated the issue for many days. Matriarch Aethyta wanted the Asari to strike out on their own, even proposed building our own Mass Relays. Her popularity took a dive after that, but she rallied her support rather well. Matriarch Benezia only won their support by proposing that the Unity's assistance be used as a stepping stone, forging our independence with your aid."

She leaned forwards, "Think about it. Unity-Asari relations are the strongest out of the Council races, our views and lifestyles are most commonly aligned. Even our basic biology is more similar than any other species. Given time, we could have a true alliance, of equal partners, rather than two wary groups, delicately treading around any incident that could kick-start a war."

Tevos drained the remainder of her wine and stood, smoothing out the creases in her robe. "Let us know what the Coalescences decided. This could mean the rebirth of the Asari Republics, and a time of prosperity for the Unity." She left the room, her words hanging in the air.

Charic stayed seated, wineglass swaying between his fingers. A grin spread across his face as he began to chuckle, "Time of prosperity indeed."

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I hope I'm confusing you . . . . . . . . . not. All will be explained in good time, I promise. I'm leaving a lot of things open right now, but I'll lay some things out for you. The events of Mass Effect 1 and 2 are going to occur pretty much simultaneously, with Samara and the Advent crew of specialists dealing with some bits, and other people I haven't selected yet will deal with some of the other portions. It's gonna get hardcore quick, there isn't going to be any mercy from the Reapers, Sovereign and Harbinger are gonna go to war footing pretty quickly. See if you can guess what they've done already.

Till next time

Phoenix