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Here we go. Valeria nodded at Dakka and waited for her to wrench the warped and sprung hatch open. Dakka braced one palm on the wall and pried at the door with her other hand, and after a few seconds it swung inward with a grinding shriek.

A startled cry came from the room beyond, followed by rapid, almost panicked breathing. Valeria suppressed a sigh.

Great. If whoever's in there is scared enough, they'll probably start shooting at the first thing they see moving. She motioned for Dakka to back away from the opening, stepped past her, darted into the next room, and aimed her Mattock toward the breathing.

A young human and a batarian sprawled on the floor, the former holding a Carnifex pistol in his shaking hand and sliding in front of the latter, placing himself between his companion and the Sulaco's crew. Both of them wore masks attached to emergency breather packs, though the batarian's wasn't on quite straight.

“Put the gun down," Valeria said softly, “and we won't hurt you." She flicked another glance at the batarian, who lay limp on the floor, either unconscious or dead.

“Don't come any closer!" The kid's hand trembled even harder and he clamped on with his other in an attempt to hold his aim steady.

Chula, Dakka, Quint, Lia, and both geth platforms entered the periphery of Val's right eye, surging in behind her and covering the stowaways with their guns.

“You can't shoot all of us," Quint said. “Come on, be reasonable and put the gun down."

Dakka narrowed her eyes and stared at the kid. “Hey, is that who I think it is?"

“Dunno. Who do you think he is?"

“Hard to tell with that mask on." Valeria stared at the kid for a few seconds. His hair looked kind of familiar, but she couldn't get a good look at his face though his visor. “Last time I'm going to say this, kid – put the gun down now."

He glanced around at all of them, let out a soft groan, and tossed the gun away. He leaned over, put one arm over the batarian, and reached up slowly to pull his mask off.

“Please, just don't hurt her!"

Chula leaned forward slightly and cocked her head. “Scott?"

Captain Bailey's son? Valeria drew in a quick breath and lowered her rifle. Oh, terrific.

Dakka glanced at Chula, turned back to the stowaways, and her jaw dropped. “What the fuck are you doing here?"

Scott's face turned red as he dropped the mask and took the breather unit off. “I … we, uh … aw, hell."

Val shook her head and clipped her rifle to her back. The others put their guns away and followed her over to the kids.

“Is that …?" Lia motioned at the batarian and hesitated, as if trying to recall the name.

“Garusha," Val said.

“Or 'Sixpack,' as Bailey calls her." Dakka chuckled and crouched beside the girl to remove her breather pack.

Lia scanned Garusha with her Omni-Tool. “She's still breathing. Just unconscious."

Scott stroked Garusha's cheek and then held her hand. He sucked in a few ragged breaths before speaking.

“There was a horrible roaring sound, like an explosion, and then the whole ship just sort of … slammed sideways. Garusha hit her head on the ceiling. We tried to get out, but the bulkhead doors had sealed us in. I could hear air leaking out and I was sure we were both done for." He flicked his free hand at one of the open cabinets along the wall. “I managed to find a pair of breather packs, but I had trouble getting hers on because the ship was tumbling and we didn't have any gravity. The mass effect field generators must've been knocked offline." He drew in several more quick breaths. “What the hell happened? Did someone fire on us?"

“Yeah." Val poked at her Omni-Tool interface. “Kal'Reegar?"

“Here, ma'am. What's your status?"

“We've found the stowaways. They're non-hostile. The batarian is unconscious and might have a concussion and other injuries. Do your medical facilities have room for one more patient?"

“I think we can manage that, ma'am."

“Thanks. We're coming out momentarily." She aimed a hard stare at Scott. “While they're examining your girlfriend, you're going to tell us what the hell you were doing on our ship."

---

Lia stared out the viewport for a few more seconds, watching the salvage crew mopping up what was left of the Sulaco, and then turned away. The Moreh, like all quarian ships, didn't have much room to spare for guests, but the captain had offered them the use of an observation lounge. The room had been occupied by a few other quarians, but the sight of Weyland and Yutani had cleared them out in only a few seconds, even though the geth had made no threatening moves.

Lia trudged across the dimly lit room to one of the seats near the rest of her crew. She noticed Chula staring at the floor and rubbing her left wrist.

“Something wrong?"

“I think I sprained it during the fight."

Dakka, seated behind her, leaned forward and nudged her shoulder. With a chuckle that sounded forced, she said, “Repetitive motion injury?"

“Nah, I use my other hand for that." Chula shrugged and motioned at her side, where Tela Vasir had kicked her during their sparring match in the Spectre headquarters. “I keep telling myself that I'm getting used to being hurt, but the truth is, it never stops being unpleasant."

“That's not a bad thing, though," Lia said. “If you do get used to it, you've probably got much bigger things to worry about."

“Heh. True enough."

Valeria leaned over to pat Chula's shoulder before turning back to Scott. “Okay, kid, spill it."

“There's … well, there's not much to it. We realized we'd left some of our stuff in the room you let us use on the way back from Chasca. Headed back to pick it up, then we … started fooling around. Y'know the old saying, one thing led to another, and all that." He blushed again. “Afterward, we were just cuddling – and the next thing we knew, the docking umbilical retracted and your ship launched."

General Kurakova pressed her lips together and looked as if she were trying not to laugh. “Why didn't you contact the captains or Chula? If they couldn't go back to the Citadel, one of us could've given you a ride back in one of the shuttles."

“Well, at that point, we were just afraid of getting in trouble, so we put our clothes back on and just stayed in our room." He shrugged. “We figured we could sneak off the ship once you got wherever you were going. Garusha knows some of her father's contacts in the Blue Suns, so we figured we could get one of them to pick us up."

Valeria shook her head again. “Your dad is gonna be so pissed off when he finds out about this."

Scott's face turned pale. Val held up a hand before he could say anything.

“We can't keep this from him, and you know it." She laughed softly. “It'll be tough for you to deal with, but don't forget that he'll also be relieved to know you're okay."

“Especially once word about our ship being blasted into scrap gets back to him," Chula added. She turned back to the large viewport, stared for a few seconds, and let out a quiet sob. “Valeria was right – that ship was our home."

Dakka put her arm around Chula and rubbed her back. “Since that whack-job admiral gave the order to blow the Sulaco up, I'd say the Fleet owes us a new ship."

Yutani stepped forward. “The Migrant Fleet cannot spare any ships, nor do they have the resources to purchase one."

“Fair point." Dakka shrugged. “I think they owe us some sort of compensation, though. After all, they damned near killed half of us, plus two kids who had nothing at all to do with any of this."

Lia turned back to the viewport, pondered the faint flares from the salvage team's thrusters, and a sudden burst of anger came out of nowhere. She clenched her fists until it faded enough for her to form coherent sentences.

“You know, I'm tired of this. I started my Pilgrimage thinking it would be an adventure – difficult, sure, but not impossible. I ended up stranded for months with no hope of getting back on track because no one was willing to hire a quarian for anything. Then I got so desperate that I sold myself into indentured servitude just so I could continue my Pilgrimage someday, and I nearly died in the process. When I finally caught a break and found crewmates and friends and a place to call home, it got blown out from under me." She shook her head slowly. “I'm just fucking tired of all this shit."

“I'm sorry," Valeria said softly. “This was my investigation, and it cost you your ship and almost got several of you killed."

“It's not your fault. None of that would've happened if Daro'Xen hadn't popped her cork.“ Before Lia realized she'd made a decision, she stood and strode toward the door. “I'm going to find the nearest guard and have him escort me to Xen's quarters. I have a few things to say to her."

“Whoa," Sidonis muttered as she strode toward the door.

“That may not be a good idea." Valeria watched her storm out the door and sighed.

“Damn. I've never seen her lose her temper before." Dakka laughed. “I'm sure as hell not getting in her way."

---

“I should go with her." Valeria heaved herself off the chair. “I still don't know who among the crew we can trust. All it'd take is a small handful of people loyal to Daro'Xen and Lia could end up hurt – or worse." She glanced around at the others and her gaze settled on Irving.

“Go on," he said with a smile. He nodded toward Dakka and Chula, and smiled. “We'll be fine. If they try anything, our friends will mop the floor with 'em."

Dakka grinned and waved a hand at the door. “He's right. Lia's much more vulnerable than we are." She turned back to Chula and patted her shoulder again.

Valeria hesitated again, but finally nodded, nuzzled her husband's cheek, and hurried out the door. When she caught up with Lia, there was already a guard walking beside her. Lia glanced over her shoulder.

“Figured I'd tag along in case you need moral support." Valeria put her hand on Lia's shoulder. “I'll stay outside if you want, but I'll be there if you need me."

“Thanks. I'll try talking to her alone. If she feels threatened, she might get defensive and stop listening to me."

“Good idea. Her feeling threatened might be why she had the Sulaco blown out of the sky."

They walked on in silence as the guard led them down corridors, into an elevator, and then through several more corridors. Finally they reached the door to Xen's quarters. Two more guards stood outside, one on either side of the door. One of them notified Xen of the visitor, and the door slid open a few seconds later.

“Link your Omni-Tool to mine and leave the comm open," Val said. “I want to hear everything she says to you. If it sounds like she's going to attack you, I'll kick the door down and throw her a beating so savage, her descendents will feel it."

“Thanks," Lia said with a soft chuckle before linking her Tool to Val's and stepping into Xen's quarters. The door closed and Val focused on her Omni-Tool. She turned the volume up to be sure all three guards could hear the conversation.

“Well, this is a surprise," Admiral Xen said. “I was expecting the Spectre or Chula'Raalga."

“I had something I wanted to get off my chest and it couldn't wait." Lia paused for a few seconds. “You really fucked up. What were you thinking?"

“Be careful how you address me, child. You're speaking to the commanding officer of this ship and a member of the Admiralty Board."

“Not anymore. After what you just did, if there's any justice in the universe, you'll spend the rest of your days cleaning the waste recycling systems of every ship in the Fleet."

“Now, you listen to –"

“You destroyed my ship and almost killed a half-dozen of my friends, and you expect me to show you the slightest respect?"

Whoa. Valeria had to hold in a laugh. She's hell on wheels when she gets cranked up enough.

“Your ship was a clear and present danger to the safety of the Migrant Fleet."

“No, it fucking wasn't! It was unarmed! There were civilians onboard!"

“And geth."

“They stayed on our ship because they knew their presence here would make the situation even more tense than it already was. But they're not the ones you need to be afraid of. Valeria Terakkis is the one you should worry about."

“Special Tactics and Reconnaissance has no authority over the Migrant Fleet."

“Spectres have authority wherever the hell they go, whether you want to recognize it or not. Whatever action Valeria takes here, she won't face any repercussions when she reports to the Council. Especially since the rest of the galaxy couldn't care less about us or our fleet."

Uh-oh. Valeria glanced at the guards and caught them flicking a nervous look at each other. Dial it down, kid, or you'll just make things worse.

“I'm not worried about a single Spectre," Daro'Xen snapped. “If she gets out of hand, she won't leave this ship alive."

Valeria sighed and shook her head.

“You really have no idea who you're dealing with, do you?" Lia fired off a derisive snort. “I checked Valeria out when I heard we were going to be working together. Well, most of her record is classified, but I saw enough to know you don't want to piss her off."

Val narrowed her eyes at the hard-light interface around her left arm. What are you getting at?

“That woman is a stone-cold killer," Lia continued. “The three biggest mercenary corporations in the galaxy are absolutely terrified of her. The Blood Pack call her 'The Terror.' To Eclipse, she's 'The Army.' And do you know what the Blue Suns call her? 'The Goddamn Nightmare.'"

What? Val kept watching the guards from the corner of her eye. Now I'll have to look into that and find out if they really do call me those things.

Xen remained silent. Lia waited a few more seconds and dropped the spike.

“And you almost murdered her husband. Roll that one around in your twisted little mind for a moment."

Oh. So that's where she was going with this. Valeria waited for a reply from Xen, but the admiral said nothing.

“You want to be on your absolute best behavior from now on," Lia continued before the door opened. She stepped into the doorway, turned back to Xen, and delivered a parting shot. “You'd better hope our crewmate in your infirmary pulls through. If Magnum doesn't survive, I have a feeling you'll be getting a visit from the Sulaco's entire crew."

She pushed past the guards and strode back the way she and Valeria had come. Val walked past the door and glanced into Xen's quarters before it slid shut. The admiral flinched and took a step back. Val suppressed another laugh as she caught up with Lia.

“Hey, Lia, about the nicknames you said the three big merc corporations gave me." Valeria cocked her head. “Did you just make that up on the spot? I've never heard any of that before."

“I looked you up when Sidonis and I were in the lobby of Huerta Memorial. Didn't have much else to do while we waited for an update on Kenn's condition." Lia shrugged. “Found a few reports and a lot of rumors from mercs who have survived battles with you. Commander Shepard scares them even more, but you appear to be running a very close second-place."

“I am?"

“One comment from a krogan running a penal colony kind of jumped out at me. One of his inmates was a batarian who used to be a major player in the slave trade in the Terminus Systems. As soon as he found out you were coming, he shut his operation down and ordered his entire crew to run like hell. I guess he was afraid you'd slaughter them all if they tried to fight you. He stayed behind to buy time for them to escape. The krogan telling the story seemed to get a kick out of it."

“I remember that guy. It was three or four years ago. My investigation of a sex-slave operation led me to 2181 Despoina. He'd set up shop there because no one else had colonized or even explored it. As far as I know, the planet was discovered by humans a few years ago, but no one has done more than a few scans. I guess the slave trader figured his operation would be safe since no one seemed to be interested in that planet. I always wondered why I found him alone, but he never spilled any information about his crew. I just assumed they'd abandoned him for whatever reason."

“Huh. He seemed to care about the safety of his people. I'll give him that much. But if he was involved in the sex-slave business, then I'm glad he's rotting in prison."

“So am I. I managed to track down a few of the people who worked for him, but I never found them all." Valeria sighed and shook her head at the memory of that mission. “At least all the people they'd abducted were there. Some slavers would've killed the whole lot to prevent me from getting any new information, or just out of spite. At least this guy didn't go that far."

“He probably thought it would've only made things worse on him."

“He would've been right." Val's mandibles quivered for a few seconds before she recovered her composure. “Most of these slaves were kids. A lot of them were teenagers, but quite a few were … younger. It's disgusting that there are people who put kids as young as them through that kind of abuse."

“I can imagine." Lia rubbed her upper arms as she turned another corner. “Makes me glad that no one on the Citadel was interested in quarians for that kind of thing. With the immune-system issues we have, I wouldn't have lasted long. And if these kids were in as bad a shape as you're implying, I may not have wanted to."

“It was disturbing. They were bruised and battered, and they'll probably need psychological therapy for years to come, or longer. I don't like to think about it." Valeria stepped through one more hatch and found the door to the observation lounge at the far end of the corridor. “Anyway, that guy really did say he was that afraid of me?"

“Yes. I kept checking around and found out that all three of the big merc corporations call you by those nicknames."

“Huh. This is the first I've heard about it." Valeria held in another sigh as she and Lia entered the observation lounge. While having an intimidating reputation could prove useful in many situations, she wasn't convinced it was a good thing, overall.

She glanced around the room and found everyone except her grandmother-in-law gathered near the viewport. Her nana was on the floor on the far side of the room, doing one-handed push-ups. Val raised a hand to wave at everyone, but stopped at the sound of boots on the floor behind her. She turned and found Kal'Reegar and his nephew Skru walking through the door.

“Ma'am." Kal nodded at her and turned to greet the others. His gaze landed on Nana and he stared as she switched to her other arm and continued her push-ups.

Irving glanced over his shoulder to see what had grabbed his attention, and grinned. With a shrug, he said, “She got bored."

“Ah. Um … alright, then." Kal shrugged and turned back to everyone else.

“I hope you have good news," Valeria said.

“I do, ma'am. I was just informed that Magnum is going to pull through."

Val and Lia both let out a relieved sigh. Chula also released a long breath and slumped back in her chair. Dakka and Quint grinned and embraced each other. Nana stopped her exercises and hurried over to the rest of the crew while Kal continued.

“I've seen people die from lesser wounds than the one she has, so she's exceptionally tough. She'll need to be moved to medical facilities that are set up specifically for non-quarians as soon as possible, but the Moreh's medical staff were able to save her."

“We're glad to hear that," Chula said. “Thanks."

Scott darted to the front of the group. “What about Garusha? Is she okay?"

“She's fine," Skru said, reaching out to put his hand on the kid's shoulder. Kal nodded and glanced around at the others.

“Your stowaway's got a few bruises, but no concussion or other internal injuries. They're planning to run a few more thorough scans just to be sure, then they'll give her something for any lingering pain and turn her loose."

“Good," Valeria said. “Her father seemed like a reasonable guy, so I'm relieved that his daughter wasn't critically injured on my watch."

Scott took a step forward and said, “When can I see her?"

“She's been wanting to see you, too." Skru motioned at the door. “I can escort you to her room, if you want."

“Let's go." Scott rushed into the corridor and out of sight. Skru glanced at his uncle, laughed softly, shrugged, and hurried to catch up.

“Heh." Kal turned back to the Sulaco's crew. “I was also asked to tell you that the Admiralty Board is ready to speak with you on the Rayya. The meeting will be in the chamber where they conduct most of their official business, and a large number of civilians will be there to watch. The chances of another incident like the one with Admiral Daro'Xen happening will be minimal."

“That's good to hear," Chula said. Her glowing eyes narrowed and she added, “For the sake of anyone who might want to take another shot at our captains."

“Admiral Shala'Raan said she wants to apologize to you and do whatever she can to make amends for you being caught in the middle." Kal'Reegar glanced at the door. “The meeting is set to take place this afternoon, so there'll be time for your stowaways to join you, if you want them there."

“I'd feel better if I can keep an eye on them," Valeria said. “Their fathers would never forgive me if I let anything happen to them."

“I don't have any kids myself, ma'am, but I can imagine how they'd feel. I've got two of my most-trusted people guarding Garusha's room and another pair watching over Magnum, and I'll bring a small team to accompany you to the meeting with the admirals." He turned to the door. “A shuttle is being prepped and should be ready to launch by the time Garusha is released. If you'd like to board the shuttle right away, I'd be happy to escort you."

“Sounds good." Valeria clasped Irving's hand and headed for the door.

“Well." Chula stepped up behind them and pushed her hat into an angle that somehow made her look more aggressive. “Here we go."