On the MFV Endaara, Rael’Zorah stepped into the quantum communications center, then opened up a window on his omni-tool, inputting the necessary commands to answer the incoming comm-request from the Admiralty Board. As he did so, his pulse climbed. Yes, just hours ago, Han had sent him the terrible news, and the Admirals had to know.

Together, they had to take action now or all their efforts would be nothing.

Soon, several crack-shwooms filled the room, and before him stood the holograms of each Admiral.

“Ah,” Khairun said, “Captain Rael’Zorah. It is a pleasure to see you again.” Khairun clasped his hands behind his back. “I presume you have a progress report for us?”

He saluted. “Yes, Admirals. Much has happened since we last spoke, including some…complications.”

“Complications?” Koron said, crossing his massive arms. Koron sighed. “I take it they involve the Silent Ones?”

“Yes, Admiral,” he said. Gritting his teeth, he huffed through his nose. “It seems that soon…they will challenge us for control over this region of space.”

“I see…” Khairun said.

Naala crossed her arms. “Well, none of us were expecting any of this to be easy.” She sighed. “But anyways, first, tell us about the humans. I’m guessing you’ve made first contact with them?”

“Yes, Admiral,” he said, “just two weeks ago, we made first contact with the humans on our new home. And they proved to be very cooperative. They are open to the idea of coexisting with our people and were more than eager to help us compare their genome with the Asari’s.”

“And the results?” Jhago asked.

Briefly, he looked at the ground, then took a deep breath. Yes, Daro had sent him the results just yesterday, but he still hadn’t told Khanah nor any of the humans. Anscestors help me, how am I going to tell them such news? “Their genomes are nearly ninety-nine percent identical, Admiral. The humans are undoubtedly the Asari’s primogenitors and their homeworld – Aerth as they call it – is the lost planet of Asari myth and legend.”

A long, tense silence ensued.

“The humans…” Khairun said. “Are they aware of this? Of the asari and the Thessian Empire?”

“I’ve told them about the asari, the Ascendant, and his empire,” he said. “But the test results?” He paused. “No, Admirals. Not yet.”

“I see…” Khairun said. “And their impressions?”

“They see the Thessian Empire for what it truly is, Admirals,” he said. “So no, I do not believe they will ever betray us…assuming the rest of their kind will react to us in the same way.”

“Very true,” Naala said, gripping her chin. “But hopefully, the rest of the humans will be as wise as our new neighbors. They will have much to gain from becoming our allies.”

“Yes,” Koron said, “for their sake, let us hope they make the right decision.” Koron sighed. “But anyways, Captain, tell us about the situation with the Silent Ones. What have they been preparing for?"

He huffed through his nose, then pursed his lips. “Yes, Admirals.” He opened up a window on his omni-tool, then input a few commands before a galaxy map came to life before him and the Admirals. “Just hours ago, one of the Captains under my command discovered this system just four light years away from the human colony of Mindoir.” He zoomed in on that system, and then onto its active mass relay. “And after sending probes through it to scout the system on the other side…” He exhaled. “She sent me this.”

Once more, he input more commands into his omni-tool, and then a window popped up above the galaxy map, displaying a view of a Silent One war fleet amassing near a blue gas giant’s moon. And amidst the fleet, he spotted one of their abominable ‘processing ships’ – a spikey, crescent-shaped leviathan of a vessel.

Inputting more commands into his omni-tool, he closed the window above the galaxy map. Then once more, a tense silence ensued.

“We must take action now,” he said. “The longer we wait, the more time the Silent Ones will have to prepare.” Briefly, he looked at the ground. “And if they attack Mindoir, if they harvest every man, woman, and child on its surface, then do the same to the rest of the humans, our people will forever have enemies as neighbors. We will never know peace.”

“Agreed,” Koron said, clasping his hands behind his back. “Whilst we have the chance, we must seize the initiative and deal them such a crushing defeat that they will never touch this region of space again ever again.”

“Yes,” Naala said, “and if we successfully drive them out, perhaps the humans will feel indebted to us.”

“And become a willing buffer between our people and external threats?” Ulaya asked. Ulaya laughed. “Keelah, how devious.”

“In exchange for at least our guidance and technological expertise,” Khairun said. “I believe such an arrangement would benefit all humans and quarians alike. But now is not the time for diplomatic hypotheticals. No. Now, we must formulate a plan.”

On the galaxy map, the Prime Admiral zoomed in on the system through which the fleet was passing. “As of now, the fleet is four days away from the New Tikkun system.” Khairun zoomed out, then onto New Rannoch. “And once we arrive, Koron, how long do you need to amass a force capable of routing the Silent One’s fleet, just as they exit this relay in human space?”

Koron gripped his chin. “Hhhm…No less than three days. And even with such a fleet, it would take at least another week for us to arrive at the right position.”

“Which means we’d most likely arrive too late to provide the humans with any meaningful assistance,” Ulaya said.

“There must be another way,” he said. “There must be something we can do.”

“There is,” Khairun said. With his hand, the Prime Admiral zoomed out, then highlighted human space, the relay, and the Attican Traverse. “Since we can not be sure exactly when the Silent Ones will strike, and since a direct assault on their territory would result in unacceptable casualties, we must take a more… indirect approach and not reveal our hand to them too soon.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“We will get them to overextend themselves,” Khairun said, “and you – Rael’Zorah – will play an instrumental role in doing just that.”

“What must I do?”

“In your position,” Naala said, “I would begin by finding a way to evacuate the humans of Mindoir as soon as possible. Undoubtedly, it will improve our relationship with them.”

“Indeed,” Khairun said. “But then comes the next part.”

“Which is?”

Khairun clasped his hands behind his back. “The Silent Ones have always been a greedy race. So let us present them with an irresistible target.”

“ Aerth? ” Koron said.

A long, tense silence ensued. During it, he looked at the ground, his eyes wide. Yes, admittedly, the Sol System was the perfect place in which to ambush the Silent One fleet. But the risks…

What if something went wrong? What if the Silent Ones attacked another human colony instead, or scattered and attacked several worlds at once? And Aerth…

If the Silent Ones managed to cause terrible damage and slaughter countless millions, how would the humans respond? Would they understand? Or would they never trust the quarian people ever again?

“Whilst you’re correct, Admiral,” he said, “I still have concerns about the risks. What if not all goes according to plan and the Silent Ones attack somewhere else? Or what if the coming battle in the Sol System goes poorly, leaving countless humans dead, and we lose the trust of our new allies?”

“Then we will rely on one of several contingencies,” Koron said, inputting commands into his omni-tool. Several virtuals appeared on the galaxy map, representing different fleets stationed at different points across human space. “All across human space, we will amass smaller fleets at these systems…” On the galaxy map, one system after the other glowed red. “all within constant communication and supporting range of each other, so that if the Silent Ones attack somewhere else, or scatter their forces and attack several worlds at once…”

“We will destroy them nonetheless,” Khairun said, “giving them no rest nor quarter, as we either rout them piecemeal, or all at once in a single battle.”

He gripped his chin. Yes, this plan could work. But still, it relied on one assumption. “Admirals, I have no doubt this plan will work. But still…what if the Silent Ones know we have the strength of the entire heavy fleet to bare down on them. Will they not risk an open battle unless they know victory is certain?”

“Yes…” Ulaya said, “how very true and observant of you, Captain. Any loss of operational security would undoubtedly ruin this plan. But if I were to lead a counter-intelligence campaign to hide our true strength and positions, to mislead them into thinking that the fleet is hundreds of lightyears away than where it truly is…then we will have nothing to fear.”

“Yes,” Jhago said, clasping his hands behind his back, “and in the meantime, my teams and I will be busy, searching for any way to disable the troublesome relay giving us such problems.”

“Excellent,” Khairun said. The Prime Admiral input a few commands into his omni-tool. “Now, we all have our tasks and duties. And soon, I will send each of you an agenda for when I expect reports on your progress. Dismissed. And Keelah Se’lai.”

He saluted. “Keelah Se’lai.”

Every hologram winked out. And in the ensuing silence, he closed his eyes, then took a deep breath. Evacuate Mindoir…

Ancestors, how was he going to do that?

He shook his head. Before answering that question, he needed to clear his mind. He needed to relax and recharge. And he knew just how to do that.

Leaving the quantum communications center, he headed towards his quarters on the same deck. Just outside the door, he let out a contented sigh, then smiled. Yes, what better way to de-stress than to spend time with the two lights of his life.

He stepped inside, only to spot Maeru sitting on the grav couch beside the viewport, humming a tune of an ancient prayer song to the ancestors, as she cradled Tali in her arms. Sleeping soundly in her E-ball, Tali was singing her heelrou, letting out a cooing hum. And his heart melted.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Soon, Maeru glanced at him.

“Oh, Rael…” she said, keeping her voice low to not wake Tali. “I’m so glad you’re here.” With her free hand, she patted an empty part of the grav couch. “Come.”

He smiled. “Of course,” he said, also keeping his voice low. He sat right next to Maeru and looked at his beautiful, little girl sound asleep in his lifemate’s arms.

“Here,” Maeru said, handing him Tali. She let out a weak laugh. “I know you’re so eager to hold her.”

He laughed as well. His chest swelled with a warm, blissful sensation, and his eyes watered. By the ancestors, how he would always cherish these moments. They were so few and far between. And he would never take them for granted. For a while, he held his daughter in his arms and just watched her sleep. He smiled. One day, you will do great things.

Yes, he had no doubt about that.

“Let’s put her in her nursery,” he said eventually. Looking at him, Maeru nodded. And then they stood up, and lay Tali in her infant-sized k’naaf (a padded, hemispherical depression in the deck) within a small, fenced-off corner of the room.

“Sleep well,” he said, “and may the ancestors watch over you.”

“May the ancestors watch over you,” Maeru said.

After closing the small fence around Tali’s nursery, he and his lifemate went back to the grav couch and plopped back on it, sitting beside each other. Closing his eyes, he let out a contented sigh, relaxing into his seat. Meanwhile, Maeru nuzzled into him and he wrapped one arm around her waist and held her close.

“You look like you’ve had quite the day,” she said.

“Keelah, yes,” he said, “today…” he gulped. “Today, has been quite the day. Just earlier, I had to give the Admiralty board bad news – developments that could destroy everything we’ve been working for.”

“And what did you tell them?”

“First,” he said, “that the humans are undoubtedly the asari’s primogenitors. And second…that the Silent Ones are amassing for an incursion into this region of space.”

“Keelah…” she said.

“I know.”

“Have you told them yet?” she asked. “The humans?”

“I haven’t,” he said. He huffed through his nostrils. “Still, I’m not exactly sure how to tell them that their greatest age of peace and prosperity, of living in blissful ignorance of the galaxy’s horrors, is about to end. That soon, both humans and quarians will face nothing but decades of war…”

Maeru shifted her position so that she was facing him. With one hand, she cupped the back of his neck, then pressed her visor to his. “The burdens you are carrying…Ancestors, they must be crushing you.”

A soothing, euphoric sensation swelled in his chest. Yes, she was always so supportive, so willing to listen. “Every day, they bare down on my shoulders, and often…” He sighed. Briefly, he remembered the Prime Speaker’s address, the Admirals’ expectations, and how he couldn’t fail. “...Often, I fear they will crush me.” He put one hand on her mask, and with his thumb, he began stroking her mask, just above where her cheek would be. “But then I think of you and Tali, and suddenly I realize that I’m stronger than I know, that I can bare the weight of the entire galaxy.”

She let out a weak laugh. “Oh…saera, I…” She took a deep breath. “Thank you. I can’t tell you how much those words mean to me. But…”

“But?”

“But given everything you’ve told me,” she said, “what will you do next? The longer we remain here, the more time the Silent Ones have to prepare. So we need to take action now.”

Briefly, he looked at the ground. “I know. It seems I have no choice but to ask the humans of our new home for help in evacuating the first colony in the Silent One’s path. But ancestors help me …what will I say to them?”

“You met their leader Khanah’Shepard, correct?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said. “For an alien, she is very friendly and open-minded.”

“Then she is the perfect person to talk to,” she said. “And if you are still wary about how she or others will react to this news, then let me come with you down to New Rannoch’s surface, so we can discuss this with her together.”

“And what about Tali?” he asked. “Who will watch over her while you’re with me?”

“Oh, don’t you worry,” she said. “A good friend of mine – a fellow Clan Sister – on this ship would be more than willing to watch over her while we’re gone.”

Briefly, he looked at the ground. Should Maeru come with him down to the surface of New Rannoch? Yes, she was one of Clan Zorah’s representatives on the Conclave and had quite the way with words.

So why not?

“Very well,” he said. “But before we go…” He opened up a window on his omni-tool, then input a few commands. “Please update the translator software in your suit and read the files I just sent you.”

“For context?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said. Yes, best if she knew at least the basics about humans, along with what had happened when he had first met Khanah on the surface. There, he did not want to risk any misunderstandings, “for context.”

“Very well.” She opened up her own omni-tool, then began typing a few commands. “Just give me a few minutes, and then we’ll head down to the surface.”

He nodded. As she read through the files he had just sent her, he looked out through the viewport, at the stunning view of New Rannoch from orbit, then sighed. Once he was down there with Maeru, telling Khanah the bad news, how would she react? He sighed. Whatever the case, he would find a way through the coming conflict regardless.

----------------------------------------

In his home, Mark Shepard was sitting at the dinner table, laughing, along with his family, Anderson, Rick, Sadie, and Jeff. “So we’re all standing at attention in the parade grounds. And meanwhile, our Sergeant goes up to Private Maskins, sees that he’s not wearing pants, and asks, ‘So where’d your pants run off to, private?’”

“Ah, good times,” Anderson said, chuckling. “Good times.”

“Ah, those were the days,” Rick said, laughing, leaning back into his seat. Rick let out a contented sigh. “A part of me still misses them. But what about you two?”

“You mean the military life?” he asked. Briefly, he looked back to the Io Station Massacre, to the dead faces of all those innocent men, women, and children. And how the Alliance had just covered it up, burying their shame. “It had its moments but right now…” He met his wife’s gaze. Under the table, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and she returned the gesture. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”

“Same, honestly,” Anderson said. Briefly, Anderson met his gaze. Yes, his good friend had been right beside him on Io Station. Together, they had violated the N7’s oath, all thanks to bad intelligence and a few promotion-hungry assholes in Alliance High Command. “After, well…uhm…you know…that fire within me just wasn’t there anymore.”

Sadie whispered something in Rick’s ear, and Rick’s eyes widened. “Oh. Oh, yeah…uhm…” Rick took a sip of his glass of water. “Of course, of course.” Rick cleared his throat. “Anyways, I can’t believe I didn’t ask you this earlier, but how about you tell us about the aliens, about that meeting you had with them two weeks ago.”

Sadie leaned forward. “Yeah, what was it like to actually talk to another intelligent being, face to face? I bet it’s something you can never forget.”

Abruptly, everyone looked at him and Hannah. His eyes went wide, and briefly, he and his wife looked into each other’s eyes. In hers, he found a mix of fear and surprise, as if she was looking to him to handle this situation. He gulped, then looked back at Rick.

“Yes, daddy,” John said. “Tell us about the aliens.”

“Tell us,” Luke said. “Tell us.”

“Y-Yeah,” Jeff said. “T-Tell us.”

He sighed. “Alright, alright. Where do I begin?”

“How about right after we stepped into that ground shuttle?” Hannah asked.

He nodded. “Well, to be honest, talking to another intelligent being felt…surreal. For a while, I had this nagging feeling that somebody would eventually pull the curtain on what was actually happening.” Briefly, he looked at the ground, then sighed. “But then it dawned on me that this was real, and I realized that quarians feel so much like us even though they’re a different species.”

“Yeah,” Hannah said, “talking to Rael felt just like talking to another person.” She took a bite of the casserole she’d made just hours ago, then washed it down with a sip of water. “So as far as we know, quarians seem to think and behave almost exactly like us.”

“I agree,” he said. He gulped down some water. “And maybe that’s at least one reason they think coexistence is possible. With it, we should be able to talk out our differences.”

Hanah sighed. “Hopefully.”

“Yes…” he said. As long as Rael was telling the truth when he said the quarians were nothing like the European colonizers of Earth’s ancient history, then everything should go fine. “Hopefully.”

“Sounds like you still have some doubts,” Rick said, leaning back into his chair. “I don’t blame either of you. Given what the quarians have been doing to the sandworms, it would be totally insane to try anything against them.”

Momentarily, he smiled. Yes, since that meeting, the quarians had annihilated over two-hundred sandworms with orbital strikes.

Hanah sighed. “You can say that again.” She poured herself another glass of water. “But on the bright side, I hear the engineers Zaal brought down here are making quite the impact.”

“Damn right they are,” Rick said. He chuckled. “Just the other day, I saw one doing his magic on a burned-out shuttle – one that was practically scrap metal – and in to time at all, he got it all fixed up.” Rick gulped down some water. “As if it just came out of the factory.”

“Wow,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “Now, that is impressive.”

“Things are looking better,” Sadie said. She let out a weak laugh. “Down in aeroponics, they’re practically pulling off miracles.”

He sighed. Are those miracles just to get our trust? “True.”

“Daddy?” John asked.

He looked at his son. “What’s on your mind, kiddo?”

“If the aliens are going to live with us,” John said, “then soon will I have alien friends to play with?”

His eyes went wide. Alien friends to play with?! Just the thought of that felt…surreal, too hard to imagine. But who was he to crush his boy’s dreams? He laughed, then put one hand on John’s shoulder. “I’m not sure, John. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. But hopefully, you’ll soon have lots of alien friends to play with.”

Luke laughed. “That would be amazing, Daddy. We’ll get to be just like Ben and Ray in My Alien Academy.”

Hannah laughed, then kissed the top of Luke’s head. “Of course, baby. Of course.”

Just then, Rick checked the time, then cleared his throat. “Anyways…It looks like it’s getting late. Jeff has school in the morning, so I guess we’d better get going.”

“Same,” Anderson said. “Have to get up bright and early tomorrow.”

He stood up, then shook Rick and then Anderson’s hand. “It’s been a pleasure having you here. Take care.”

“Have a good night,” Hannah said.

And then all of their dinner guests went out the front door.

“Well, you know what time it is, boys,” he said. “Bedtime.”

“You both have school in the morning,” Hannah said. “So listen to your father.”

“Ok, daddy,” John said.

Luke nodded. “Ok, daddy.”

“Come on,” he said, standing up from his chair. And then he lead his boys upstairs towards their bedroom. Within, John and Luke went into the adjoining bathroom, and after brushing their teeth, and changing into their pajamas, they plopped themselves on each of their beds.

As he tucked in Luke, his wife tucked in John.

“Daddy?” Luke asked.

“Yes?”

“The aliens…” Luke said. “They’re our friends right?”

“Yeah,” John said. “They would never hurt us. Right daddy?”

He smiled. Oh, how was he going to answer them? He kissed Luke on the forehead. “Yes, they’re our friends.”

“They would never hurt either of you,” Hannah said. She kissed John on the forehead. “So you have nothing to worry about.”

John and Luke were smiling, and his heart melted at the joy in their eyes.

“Good night mommy,” John said.

‘Good night daddy,” Luke said.

Smiling, he shut off the lights. “Good night, boys.”

“We love you,” Hannah said.

And then he and his wife left their room and shut the door.

She let out a contented sigh. “Now that that’s done, we can finally get some alone time.” She smiled. “Care to join me on the balcony?”

Looking deeply into her eyes, he pulled her in for a deep kiss on the lips. “I’d love to.”

She giggled. “Then come.”

Together, they stepped onto the second-floor balcony. And for a while, he just marveled the view of the small, nighttime cityscape ahead, holding his wife close with one arm wrapped around her waist.

He let out a contented sigh. “This week…it’s been quite the wringer hasn’t it?”

She let out a weak laugh. “You can say that again.” She exhaled. “Who would have thought that this would ever happen to us? That we’d live to see a turning point in history. Goodness, it’s like…”

“Like we’re living in a dream?”

“Yes,” she said. “It’s like we’re living in a dream. One day, the quarians just showed up, and now they’re fixing all the colony’s problems. Even now, a part of me still believes that all of this is too good to be true.”

He sighed. “I see what you mean. No doubt, the quarians have self-serving motives for what they’re doing for us. But for now…” He held her a little tighter. “I think we’ve made the best decision for this colony.”

“True,” she said. “And I guess we won’t see how all this culminates until the quarians reveal themselves to the Alliance back in the Sol System.”

He exhaled. Goodness, should he be scared or excited for whatever happened after that? “Oooh, yes. Absolutely.”

She looked up at him, then smiled. “It’ll be quite–”

His wife’s eyes went wide.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

Gently, she pulled away from him. “Just one moment.” She held two fingers up to one of her ears, as she accepted a comm request. For a few seconds, she looked at the ground, nodding periodically. “Understood.”

“What’s happening?”

Momentarily, she put her fingers down. “It’s Rael. Apparently, he and a guest of his want to speak to us privately about…‘urgent matters’.”

“Oh,” he said, his eyes wide. This late at night, where should he and his wife meet them? “Well, how about we invite them here? They might just appreciate the gesture.”

“Good idea,” she said. Once more, she put two fingers up to her ear. “Meet us at our home. We’ll be waiting for you.”

Again, she put her fingers down, then took a deep breath. “Come. Let’s wait for them outside.”

“Right behind you.”

Together, they went downstairs, then onto the front porch. For several minutes, they basked in the silence of their neighborhood. But then he spotted an approaching ground shuttle. Soon, it stopped right by his home. Its side door popped up with a hiss of hair. And as it slide open to let the passengers out, his wife grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Closing his eyes, he returned the gesture, then took a deep breath.

Yes, it seemed they were in for quite the visit.