A/N

Hi everyone! I don't have much to say and am in a bit of a rush right now. I will say that the next seven chapters are already available on my pat-re-on if you want to read ahead. All my side stories will be published there first too, with the winner of the April poll to be published in the next few days. Look up Bored Peasant's Written Works.

Special thanks to Arrimar26, Austin, Ben wanless, BuzzGrave, Cesar Montemayor, Doglore63, Eligah Moreno, Ezoz, FallenMetalGod, Freeman, Hyaaa B1tch, Jermaine Key, joshua scruggins, KO. Dragon, liam Darrell, liquidpotato, MathTheOriginal, Patiflops, Paul Fischer, Proxy, r4p16, Robert Tipton, Sith_Paladin, sonic, Thane, Tristan d'conceicao, UtopiaKnight39 and Will Turner for your patronage. Your support means so much to me. Thank you all.

On with the story!

…

CHAPTER 42 – A MISJUDGED SITUATION

(Shepard POV)

The airlock hissed open and we all stepped out into the docking bay of the Citadel.

"All right people," Jane called out to the group. "We have forty-eight hours of shore leave. Until then, you are free to do anything that doesn't cause any trouble for us or the Alliance. All your orders for gear will be delivered before shore leave is up and you can sort it out when we get back."

The group made various affirmative noises as they moved together down the ramp towards the public aircar. Jane had a feeling that they were only half paying attention at this point, which she could understand; most of the time soldiers on shore leave were mentally on shore hours before they actually got to disembark, meaning that getting them to pay attention was nearly a lost cause.

As they reached the doorway, a small shadow launched itself out of a vent at the group. Jane reached for her pistol, seeing Wrex and Garrus doing the same, until she saw that the shadow was actually a small salarian, a child, if she was any judge, dressed in ratty clothes. While she knew that salarians didn't live as long as other races and actually grew to maturity faster as a result, she had no idea how old the kid was, though if she had to make a guess, she would just have said ten to say something.

Judging by the dirtied clothes and overall hygiene of the salarian, she assumed that the child had been playing in the ducts for a while.

The child skidded to a stop in front of Nielson, who she noticed didn't look surprised at all to see the salarian.

"Hello young one," Nielson said, leaning forward to greet the kid. "How are you today?"

The child didn't say anything verbal, but held up a scrap of paper, which was a little unusual to see, seeing as most of the galaxy didn't rely on paper all that much anymore. Nielson reached down and took the paper, reading whatever was on it.

"I see," he said, ignoring the curious looks of the rest of the group. "I am making my way there now. Are you going to come with me?"

The salarian shook his head and took off, sprinting back to the air vent that he had come out of and disappearing out of sight.

"Well," Nielson said, straightening up and looking at the group. "It seems as though I have an appointment to keep. I will see you all later."

With that, he headed off at a fast walk to the fast transport aircar, Torrin marching along at his side.

"What was that about?" Kaiden asked, frowning after his fellow human.

"I have no idea," Jane replied. "Maybe it has something to do with why he was so agitated on the ship."

"It's a common practice for criminals on the Citadel to use the homeless kids to pass messages along," Garrus said thoughtfully. "Maybe Nielson has someone he knows doing the same thing?"

"There's homeless kids on the Citadel?" Ashley asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah," Garrus confirmed easily. "Plenty of them and from most of the races too. They are mostly called duct rats because they tend to live in the ventilation systems and ducts to avoid being captured by slavers or CSEC. As I said, criminals tend to use them to pass messages because they can get around through the ducts undetected. The only other things that go in there are the Keepers so they are useful. You often find an older duct rat taking charge of a few younger ones and running information or acting as lookouts for gangs that offer them food. Other times, they just disappear. Either someone took them out or they fell down a chute they didn't know about. Happens all too often, sadly."

"And one just happened to be waiting for Nielson," Williams murmured.

"I have a bad feeling about this, Shepard," Alenko spoke up. "Something isn't right here."

"I highly doubt Brock is doing anything illegal or unsavoury," Liara objected.

"Still, it might be a good idea to check it out," Alenko rebutted. "Just in case."

Jane considered it for only a moment. Her recent conversation with the Australian about Cerberus was making her feel paranoid and she didn't like the casual admission that someone she was working with had been contacted by them. This information about duct rats was another thing she needed to sort out in her mind. "I'm going to check it out," she declared. "Alenko, Williams, with me."

"For the record," Garrus spoke up. "I don't think that's a good idea. I doubt that Nielson is running a criminal organisation through homeless kids."

"That does seem off with everything that we know about him," Tali spoke up, rubbing her arm.

"Doesn't matter," Jane said firmly. "You can all enjoy shore leave. If you are not back in forty-eight hours, I am assuming you have chosen to stay off for the remainder of the mission."

Was she being harsh? Maybe, but she was also drawing a line. She was in charge as the Spectre and if she made a decision, then she would see it through.

She led Williams and Alenko to the nearest fast transit terminal, only to see Nielson and Torrin climb into an aircar. Luckily, there was another aircar in line waiting to go. A turian couple were approaching it to climb aboard. Jane decided to act quickly and ran over to the aircar.

"Halt!" she called out, making the turians face her. "Spectre business. I am commandeering this vehicle."

The turians protested, but Jane marched past them straight into the aircar, the Alliance soldiers following right behind her. She could barely see Nielson's aircar in the distance but quickly tapped out the instructions to follow it. The aircar took off with a jerk as soon as the door closed.

They trailed behind, the distance being had to close with the delay between Nielson leaving with his aircar and her getting in her own. Thankfully, he wasn't flying in the middle of traffic, making it easier to spot him as he flew towards an area of one of the Wards. Jane sped the aircar up slightly, making sure they wouldn't lose track of them as they got closer to the buildings.

One a couple of minutes later, Jane could see that Nielson's aircar was pulling in to land. She slowed right down, making sure that she didn't land until her quarry's aircar had taken off. She kept a visual on Nielson and Torrin as they left the area, moving into the buildings.

Once they touched down, she led the two Alliance soldiers after Nielson, sticking close to the buildings to lessen the chances of standing out. Though, Jane could admit to herself that wearing armour and carrying weapons, she stood out far more than the average citizen, but the number of soldiers and authorised paramilitary operators that wore armour on the Citadel meant that she hopefully wouldn't stand out too much.

After a decent walk that ended up being a kilometre away from the aircar terminal, they finally arrived at Nielson's destination.

It was a building that looked like it had been the scene of a crime. The front of the building was scorched and there were chunks in the front that looked too much like gunfire damage. The windows had been smashed and boarded up. The whole building gave off a 'criminal hangout' vibe.

Apparently, she wasn't the only one to think so.

"I don't like this, Shepard," Alenko said, his hand moving towards his holstered pistol. "This place looks like the sort of place that gang members would meet up as a drug sale, or for human trafficking."

"Yeah," Williams concurred. "This whole place gives me the creeps. Even with the orphanage sign out front."

Jane looked around, noticing the sign briefly before continuing her inspection of the area. "Do you see any security around the place?"

They both spent a few moments looking. "I can make out a couple of cameras that are overlooking the street," Alenko said. "Nothing on us here but we will be visible when we cross the street."

"Not seeing any guards either," Williams said. "In fact, I'm not hearing anyone at all. That seems odd to me."

Jane looked around. Sure enough, the whole area seemed dead. As in, unnaturally still. If she hadn't seen Nielson walking into that building ahead of them, she would have believed that this whole block had been abandoned and quarantined.

"Maybe there isn't any because there are no problems?" Jane said carefully, not really believing her own words, but feeling the need to play devil's advocate. "It could just be an innocent building that was attacked by someone after Nielson."

"I don't think so, Shepard," Alenko replied immediately. "There are too many things that aren't adding up here. Between the information that Garrus had about using street kids and the battle damage here, not to mention some other things about Nielson that have come up, I don't think that this is nothing."

Jane blinked but considered that carefully. She wasn't sure what he was referring to but he had spoken up rather quickly. So, either he knew that there was something wrong that she didn't, or he wanted there to be something wrong, and was trying to convince her of the same.

Suddenly, from the building, there was the faint sound of high-pitched screaming, like that of a child.

"Let's move!" she ordered, pulling her assault rifle off her back and expanding it to the deployed position.

They charged across the street, straight to the front door of the building. Jane took position on the left side of the entrance, while Williams and Alenko took the opposite side, Alenko in front. Jane looked at him and nodded. He nodded back, then moved to stand in front of the door and keyed it open, running inside the instant it did.

"Freeze!" he bellowed. "Move and I'll shoot!"

Jane came running in right behind him with Williams bringing up the rear, weapons raised and at the ready. It was the reception area of the building with a single asari sitting behind a desk with her hands raised. There were doorways to both the right and the left of the entrance.

The sounds of screaming came from the right side and Jane immediately turned in that direction, going through the doorway with Williams right behind her.

They found themselves in a wide but short hallway that only went left. There were three doors, two on the right-hand wall and one at the end of the hallway.

"Ready on your call, Shepard," Alenko said, having clearly come up behind Williams.

"Right," Shepard said. "Standard room clearance procedure. Right side. Williams take right, Alenko you take left, I will have centre. Move."

They quickly moved straight to the first door, which was luckily made of wood. Williams and Alenko took positions on either side and Jane stood straight in front of it ready to go, her assault rifle aimed straight at the door. She took her hand off the trigger to give the signal to open the door…

Only to freeze as she flashed blue, unable to move as she was caught in a biotic stasis.

She saw another biotic stasis attack freeze Alenko. Williams jumped and turned around, almost bringing her weapon to bear, only to freeze herself. Not from a biotic stasis, but from the oversized shotgun held by a krogan that was less than a foot from her face.

"Go ahead," the krogan growled. "See how it works out for you."

Williams hesitated, looking over at Jane before she slowly dropped her Avenger to the ground.

"Smart choice," the krogan said, kicking the weapon back down the hallway.

"Indeed," the smooth cultured voice of an asari came from right behind Jane. A purple hand grabbed Jane's shoulder and turned her so that she was facing down the hallway, away from the one who could see her. "Though, I never imagined that running an orphanage on the Citadel would be so dangerous. Perhaps I should ask for a raise."

"I'm sure that Brock will happily give you one for watching the children," another cultured asari voice said, probably the asari that was holding Alenko in stasis. "Hazard pay should be negotiated in your contract."

The door straight ahead of them opened cutting off all chatter and Nielson came out… holding a tray of cookies and wearing an apron over his suit. "Who's ready for some cookies?!" he called out loud, clearly for the children in the next room. He stopped the instant he saw Jane and the two Alliance soldiers.

For an instant he seemed surprised, but it quickly morphed into the most disappointment she had ever seen since she was caught stealing one of her dad's beers when she was fourteen. There was anger too, as his eye twitched. Jane couldn't help feeling sheepish, though she wasn't entirely sure why.

"Well look at what we have here," he drawled, something dangerous in his tone. "Armed privateers breaking into an orphanage, only days after the orphanage was attacked by slavers. It makes me think that I need to clean house and find somewhere else to put the kids for their own safety."

The door opened, letting out a wave of noise from happy children playing. It was a human girl, about eight or nine years old if Jane was to judge. She had dark brown hair that went down to her shoulders. And she froze the instant she saw Jane and her two soldiers. Behind her, other kids could see through the doorway and the screams turned from happy to scared.

That confused Jane. The kids had been screaming, but were happy? Did kids do that? She felt her stomach drop slightly, feeling like she may have misjudged the situation.

"Hey Klara, honey," Brock said softly. "It's fine. I'm taking care of this, alright?"

The girl just looked at him before staring back at Jane and nodded slowly.

"Could you be a dear and take these cookies in for the others?" Nielson asked the girl.

The girl looked back at him and nodded, taking the tray and disappearing back into the room beyond. After a few seconds it became apparent that the girl had told the other children something because even through the door, Jane could hear the noise behind it drop.

Jane felt impotent and foolish. She still couldn't move because the stasis that was holding her hadn't faded yet. In fact, it had flashed twice, indicating that the person holding her was refreshing the stasis to stop it failing and letting Jane free.

"Polisa, Jurt, Malaea," Nielson said, speaking to the people behind Jane. "Take them to the conference room. Hold them there until I get back. I need to go calm the kids down."

Jane felt herself being lifted off the ground and wanted to moan at the indignity as she was carried like a child through a building that had mistakenly judged.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Williams being shoved along and from the other side she couldn't see Alenko but she could hear him being carried along like she was.

"You know," the cultured voice of the asari carrying Jane spoke up, "it is such a pity. Brock had thought quite highly of you and your competence. He seemed to think that you are destined and capable of great things. To think that he was wrong is one of the very few times he misjudged someone."

That surprised Jane. She hadn't realised that Nielson thought so highly of her. He seemed far more interested in annoying her and spending time with the aliens in the crew. She winced internally. Somehow she thought that his opinion of her being negatively impacted would be worse for her than she realised.

Of course, Williams wouldn't be Williams if she didn't open her mouth. "So what?" she growled, clearly unhappy with being held at gun point. If Jane was able to speak she would tell the woman to shut up. "It doesn't matter if he's some hotshot billionaire, he can't just hold us hostage!"

"Hostage implies a ransom," the asari rebutted, as they entered what seemed to be the conference room, judging by the long but rather plain wooden table surrounded by chairs. "I can guarantee there will not be one."

That sounded ominous, but it didn't do anything to stop Williams. "The hell does that… Ugh!" A solid thud was heard from where Williams stood as the krogan clearly hit her somewhere.

"You should learn to watch your mouth," the krogan rumbled. "Next time you open it, I put my shotgun in it."

"Now, now, Jurt." Nielson's voice came from behind her. "There's no need for that. I'm sure that Shepard here has enough ability to put a muzzle on her bitch here. Though clearly I have been wrong before, or we wouldn't be here now."

Jane felt a pang of guilt and indignation as Nielson stepped into view and took a seat at the conference table.

Jane was rotated so that she was looking directly at Nielson who had removed his apron, leaving him in the business suit he had left the Normandy with. He stared straight at Jane, his face so blank it could have been carved from marble.

"I am going to have my people release you from your stasis," Nielson said softly, but there was something dangerous in his voice again. "You will sit down at my table, with all of your hands laying flat against it while they remove your weapons and put a biotic collar on Alenko. You will do nothing to this except contemplate the phrase, 'quiet as the grave'. This is not the time for you to be 'cute' or think of being a hero. If any one of you so much as twitches, all three of you will die. Understood?"

His eyes slid over to where Williams was standing, being the only one not trapped in a biotic stasis. That disappointed look in his eye came back again as he stared at her. "That means you too, Williams. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Williams bit out.

"Good." He made a gesture with his fingers and Jane found herself released from her stasis. She slowly sat down at the table, complying with Nielson's instructions. She wasn't sure if he would follow through on his threat but considering how angry the man was, she wouldn't bet against it.

A few seconds later, all three of them had been disarmed, and Alenko's collar had been placed around his neck, though none of Nielson's people left the room. Only then did Nielson lean back in his chair.

"Well," he said calmly. "Let's hear it, Commander. Why are you here, at my orphanage, gun drawn and threatening my people?" Commander? Didn't he tell her that if people call her commander that they would really be insulting her? Though if she guessed right then she hadn't really acted like a Spectre, so maybe he was justified in doing so.

Jane was a hardened warrior, trained and experienced in resisting torture and facing down enemies much more powerful than herself. She had stared death in the face so many times that she hadn't even thought about being scared on a mission in so long. Yet this time, she had no desire to not answer the question put to her.

"When you left us at the docking bay," she began, "Garrus told us that criminals will often use the homeless kids as messengers or patsies in their dealings. Between that and… our discussion earlier, I felt the need to follow and check things out. Then, when we got here, we heard a kid screaming and I thought it was best to come in."

"And I would bet a great deal that the person that convinced you to follow me, probably by using words and phrases like 'something doesn't feel right here', or similar such nonsense, was the average lieutenant here with you," he said sarcastically. "So, tell me Commander, do I have to put an Alliance uniform on before you'll trust me? Or do I just need to simp after you because I want to put my dick in you like the lieutenant does?"

Jane blinked and looked over at Alenko, who was scowling at the businessman. Huh, she had sort of thought that he was a little too agreeable with her but she hadn't really thought that he was that hung up on her. Or rather, she had been deliberately ignoring it at the moment, with everything else she had to focus on.

"Now," the Australian continued, "I don't actually want to put my dick in you. I would rather hump a cactus than go for someone who has so little trust in me when I have done so much for you already. I mean, seriously, I go on missions with you, I help you out in a way that no one else seems to be able to do by telling you how to do the job that you are so very unprepared for, I buy you and your whole ground team weapons and armour, and gave you information on something that mattered a great deal that no one else could help you with. Honestly, what else do I have to do to get you to trust me when I say that I am on your side and not a criminal?"

Jane couldn't help the shame bubbling up in her. She really did sound ungrateful for everything the guy had done for her. And he was right. Though the small womanly part of her did feel indignant about losing out to a cactus, even if she wasn't wanting to have sex with the man.

"That doesn't mean that we can just trust everything you say," Alenko objected. "We still know barely anything about you!"

The deadpanned look came into Nielson's eye again. "Yes, because everyone on the ship has been so forthcoming with their personal histories," Nielson said sarcastically. "Isn't that right, Mr Murderer?"

Alenko jerked back like he had been struck. "Wh… what? I-I don't…"

"Oh, save it," Nielson spat. "I know all about how you murdered your biotic instructor, the racist turian. Newsflash for you, just because the Alliance swept it under the rug, doesn't mean that the Hierarchy would be so accommodating. So maybe think about that before you keep running your mouth."

Jane watched in concern as Alenko withdrew into himself as she considered the new information that Nielson had so casually thrown out. Even Williams was looking at him, a heavy frowning marring her face. Though Jane had no idea if she was concerned for him or because of him.

"Got anything you want to say, Commander?" Nielson said archly, turning back to Jane.

She never claimed to be a genius, but Jane certainly knew when it was time to suck up her pride. "You're right," she said. "I made some assumptions based on half-baked information and some people talking in my ear. I was wrong and I apologise for coming in guns drawn. I am sorry." She even meant it too. She hadn't meant to scare the kids like that.

Nielson looked deep in her eyes, as if he was trying to read her mind. Finally, he sat back in his chair.

"Fair enough," he said. "Is this going to lead to more conflict going forward? Will you have issues with me being on your ground team?"

Jane shook her head instantly. "While I might be… selective, with who goes on certain teams," she shot a look at Alenko, "I still would rather have you on my mission and part of the ground team. You've earned your place there."

He narrowed his eyes at her then nodded. "Very well." He sat back in his chair. "Unfortunately, while I wish that this is where it could end, I am afraid that there must be some form of punishment."

Jane blinked and frowned in alarm. "What?"

Nielson raised an eyebrow. "Something every child learns, Shepard, is that actions have consequences. Even those of a Spectre." He started to tap away at his omnitool. "I am afraid that your actions, and that of your lackies, means that I must show that I am a serious business and will take full care of those under my charge, including and especially children. Any action that has been committed that will drive unnecessary fear in their hearts, or undue stress, is action that must face repercussions."

He finished tapping away at his omnitool and sat back. Less than ten seconds later, Jane's draw dropped as Councillors Tevos, Valern and Ambassador Udina's holograms all appeared over the conference table. It was beginning to dawn on her just what influence Nielson must have in the upper echelons of the Citadel.

"Mister Nielson," the asari greeted him with a nod. "And Spectre Shepard. This is an unexpected call."

"Yes," Udina said. "I had not expected to receive a call from you directly, Brock."

"And I had not expected a Spectre and two Alliance soldiers to come charging into the orphanage I run with weapons drawn to threaten my people and scare my wards," Nielson replied stiffly. "I am going to just say that I hope that this was not the idea of one of you three?"

Jane blinked and looked at him. He already knew that it wasn't, so why was he making this accusation? It must be one of those political things that she hadn't paid attention to. She decided to keep quiet, and hoped beyond hope that Williams did the same.

"Certainly not!" Valern said immediately, sounding concerned. "We are aware of the attack that has already taken place on your orphanage several days ago that was successfully repulsed. We have no reason to organise a raid on it."

"Councillor Valern speaks true," Tevos said, her hands raised as if to ward off the accusation physically. "I know of no planned assault on your property." The asari turned to face Shepard. "Do you have a reason or excuse for doing so, Shepard?"

Jane stiffened, knowing that this could go bad if she said the wrong thing. "No, Councillors," she replied formally. "I was operating on faulty information and heard a child screaming while we were investigating, leading me to charge the building with Lieutenant Alenko and Gunnery Chief Sergeant Williams. When we entered, we directed the secretary not to move and did proceed with our weapons drawn, believing that we were saving children. Immediately after we realised that there was more to the situation than we had been led to believe, we were apprehended by Mister Nielson's people before we could withdraw."

"Tell me, Spectre," Valern said in his quick tone. "Did the orphanage sign at the front of the building not give away what the purpose of the building was?"

Jane shook her head. "We did notice it, but proceeded once we heard the screaming."

"Children scream, Shepard," Udina said flatly, sounding supremely unimpressed. "If you had spent any time around them, you would probably know that."

Jane shook her head. "As I said, the reason we went there in the first place was due to faulty or incomplete information. That impaired my judgement. I take full responsibility."

"She is just lucky that my people know the meaning of the word 'restraint'," Nielson spoke up. "If not, you would be looking at a dead Spectre and two dead Alliance soldiers. It wouldn't be the first time that my people have been attacked due to false information."

"Quite," Valern agreed, making Jane wince internally. "Very well, Mister Nielson. As the injured party, how would you like to proceed?"

Jane looked over and saw Nielson staring at her, before scanning his gaze to Williams and Alenko. "While it is unfortunate, I can understand why the Spectre acted as she did. And while consequences are required, I believe a verbal warning, unrecorded on her file, shall be sufficient for the Spectre. I am also aware of the politics tied up in this and wouldn't want to undermine the Council, or prevent the Spectre from performing her mission.

"At the same time, I was less than impressed at the threat levied at my people by the Lieutenant, even though I am aware of the delicate nature of having the Alliance involved in this mission. Such a threat demands a consequence. As such, Udina, I will be issuing a notice that the Alliance shall have to pay for two weeks wages for the crew of the Normandy that I was going to cover under our agreement."

Udina grimaced but nodded. "I shall let the appropriate people know. I am assuming that everything else shall be the same?"

Nielson nodded. "Yes, I shall still pay for the gear of the ground team and I shall still be on the Normandy personally."

"Acceptable," Valern said. "Though, while we do applaud the idea of trying to save children, Shepard, we will expect better of you in your information gathering in the future."

"Yes," Tevos said, somehow sounding amused. "Consider yourself warned, Spectre Shepard. We chose you because we believe that you are the right person for the job. We would be most disappointed if we had to dismiss a second Spectre."

Jane flinched and nodded. "Yes, Councillors," she replied. "I won't make this mistake again."

"See that you don't," Udina cut in. "We don't need any more costly mistakes like this right now, Shepard."

With that, all three of the holograms flickered out, leaving an eery silence hanging about the room.

"Now," Nielson said, standing up and breaking the tension. "While you are here, you are going to come and play with the children. It will be the easiest way for them to know not to fear you."

Jane felt blindsided, while Alenko and Williams looked incredulous. "What?"

Nielson gave a grin. "You heard me," he said. "I will have to introduce you, of course, but you will be paying a personal penance by helping the kids feel less scared. Lucky you."

Jane found herself following unwillingly, feeling as she got closer the sounds of children laughing, like this was going to be tougher than nearly all battles on she had faced so far.

…

(Beau POV)

Beau looked at the report again, shaking his head at the information it gave.

Hectar and Ely had come through magnificently, and in record time. One of the turian slaves that they had freed in a raid a few months ago had previously been a member of the Blue Suns and been sold into slavery after he had stolen from his comrades. He had been giving up Shieldstar's raiding information in the hopes of rejoining the mercenary group. He had been easy enough to capture and was now being held in one of their facilities to prevent him being able to escape or share information.

Still, Brock had been told of this development and now Beau was just waiting for the response. He was fairly certain that the turian was about to face the Blood Eagle, but something like this would probably engender a more specific response.

A beep on his desk warned him of the incoming message and he wasn't surprised to see Brock was the sender. Beau took a quick read though, stopped, then read the whole thing again slower to make sure he wasn't imagining it.

It was an order to attack Blue Suns bases on Omega. The message included a list of Aria-approved targets too. Beau had no idea how Nielson managed to swing that but he knew that there was something likely to come of it that was going to be a headache in the future. Still, knowing Brock, he probably had a plan for it. The guy had plans for nearly everything under the sun.

Still, after all the deaths that had come their way from the Blue Suns, Beau was happy to give a little payback. He gave a tight grin as he started bringing up files on the ground teams they had left that hadn't been sent to the Citadel, feeling a vicious sense of satisfaction as he did. If he was going to get payback, then he was sure as hell going to send a message with it.

…

1 film, 4 reviews

Ready Player One

Thessian Suns Publication

By Helia Mis'audis

This was bright and fun, but overall it was filled with far too many old human references for me to fully engage. If you are familiar with old Earth history, centrally the late twentieth century by the Earth calendar, then you will definitely enjoy it. If you don't care and just switch your mind off, you will likewise enjoy it. Otherwise, prepare to be confused.

Sur'kesh Leaf Script

By Silarn Moduk

It was a fascinating concept, with a society of people preferring to live in a virtual world rather than going through the forced drudgery of the real world. It is almost a way of uploading a normal conscience into a computer and creating a networked reality. However, due to the heavy reference of what is considered 'retro pop culture' which I am not well versed in, I clearly missed a great deal of the references and details. Still worth a watch.

Palaven Daily Call

By Marticus Lossus

The concept of video games for entertainment and not some form of patriotism or education is an odd one to a turian. Everything must have a purpose, but escapism isn't considered to be a satisfactory one.

While there is action, it is cheap and plastic without any real-world consequences and everything relies on the anarchy of the so-called protagonists to get things done. I would see it once, but not twice.

The Krogan Word

By Ognut Grax

Huh. This thing was… colourful. Gotta say though, being part of fights where you can just die, then respawn… not sure how I feel about it. I mean, sure if you were the one to die, then you get the chance to come back and kick ass. But if you win, you don't get the satisfaction of knowing they stay dead. I guess you can take whatever spoils from your enemy's corpse, but it just doesn't feel the same.

Doesn't mean that I wouldn't win though. Nothing stopping me.

…

A/N

Looks like people are still stumbling about in here. Poor Brock just can't get Shepard on side. Alenko still being antagonistic and casting doubts and Williams being the same as she was in the beginning of ME1.

For those that say I am too hard on Williams and Alenko, they were like that at the beginning and in ME2 and 3, depending on who you let live. They did have redemption moments though. Don't forget that this story has a long way to go.

Thank you all again for your support. You all mean a lot to me.