FicWad

The alert sirens were blaring all over the ship as Liara ran down one of it's many corridors, hoping to reach her Orion and free him before the approaching destruction of the very vessel they were aboard. But just as she turned a corner, the Asari ran into a group of six Mechs who looked at her with a blank expression that could only be read as confused. Liara though focused her biotics through her right hand and thrust it before her, which made the Mech nearest to her suddenly fly backwards into the wall.

The other robots looked back at their comrade before turning their weapons on the Asari and open fire, but Liara was ready for them and surrounded herself with a biotic barrier that covered every inch of her athletic figure. The gunfire was absorbed by it's blue energy as the young Asari launched herself into the centre of the group, and began to punch and kick at each and every one of punched straight through the chest of one robots then followed that with an elbow to another which tore it's head from it's body, exposing it's wires which flickered and buzzed before the body fell to the ground.

One of the remaining Mechs grabbed at the Liara's arm but she merely spun around and performed a biotic throw, sending it into the another one behind it and smashing them both against the wall. She turned to see the last three Mechs ready themselves to attack her, so she again focused her biotics into a shockwave which flowed across the ground and destroyed them, sending their debris flying backwards down the corridor. Liara then took a breath as she looked back in the direction of the detention cells, her mind only on one thing.

'I really don't have time for this, I have to reach Orion.' she thought as she continued down the corridor, hoping she would reach him in time.

Orion meanwhile felt aches all over his torso and face before Hock's fist once again connected with his face, earning a gleeful expression from the Arms dealer while a worried Kane looked on.

"Your friend looks worried." the Bot said back as blood trickled down his chin, earning a stare from the bald Slaver before he looked back to Hock.

"We should be going, just leave him here and let this place take him with it." Kane said, making the other man shake his head in return.

"I am having too much fun rearranging this guy's face." Hock replied before punching Orion square in the face again, which made the blue Haired Autobot spit out some blood onto the ground before grinning back.

"You….will have to do better than that." he managed to say, earning an angry look from them before all their attention was caught by the computer voice speaking through the inter-com.

"Warning, ten minutes until power-core breach."

Kane gave Hock a further worrying stare after hearing the message.

"We 'really' should get to the shuttle-bay and leave." he said back with fear tingeing his voice, but Hock gave him a knowing look in return.

"Worried that all the shuttles will be taken are you? Apart from us, Lockdown, Agent Zero, that Drell and whoever the Shadow Broker is. The only others I have seen on this ship are Mechs, so I doubt we have to worry about our place on the escape craft. Besides we have plenty of time to reach the Shuttle-bay, almost ten minutes still." he replied as he pulled back his fist, readying to strike Orion again.

"But what if they have decided to leave us and each take a shuttle?" Kane then asked with a wide eyed stare, making the Arms Dealer stop in his tracks as a thoughtful expression crossed his face.

"What do you mean?" the man asked as he turned away from the Autobot and looked back at his companion.

"Apart from the computer warning, no one has come to get us in the last five minutes have they. What if they have decided to leave us behind?" the Slaver replied, making Hock look down at the ground as it sank in, whilst Orion just watched them both with a slight grin as he felt the strength around his restraints weakening.

'The drain of power to my restraints must be down to the power-core breach. I just need these idiots to stall a little more…wait, he said…Agent Zero.' he thought as a memory came to mind, while Hock looked back at Kane.

"You really think that they would do that to us?" he asked before both his and the Slaver's attention was drawn back to Orion, as the Blue haired Bot had started to chuckle to himself.

"What do you find so funny?"

"Well, I find it funny that you are now allied with the very people who attacked you to get Liara originally." he said back with a smile, making the man narrow his eyes at him.

"What are you talking about? That was you!" he said as he stepped right in front of the Autobot and grabbed his throat.

"I admit I was there with the others and we 'rescued' Liara from you, but we weren't the only ones there. Since we ran into Agent Zero who was also after her." Orion said back, earning a confused look from the Arms dealer before he shook his head and equipped his pistol.

"Your lying, you will just say anything to stay alive at this point." he replied as he pointed his gun at the Bot's head.

"Think about it?" Orion added, not even acknowledging that a pistol was pointed at his forehead at that moment.

"No, I would rather take this Slaver's word of that of an Autobot." Hock said back as he touched the barrel of his pistol to the Bot's head.

"And I would prefer to see your blood decorate the wall behind you now." he added with a smile as he began to tighten his grip around the trigger.

"Don't you dare!" a familiar voice shouted at them, making all three look over to the doorway. And standing there was Liara with her glowing hand pointed at the pair.

"Ah, my 'Blue Rose'. It is good to see you again. Now stand down or I will put a bullet through this Bot's head." Hock said with a smile as he looked back at the Asari, who just stared back with a hateful expression.

"You do that and I will flay you alive." she spat back, gaining a grin from Orion as he quietly moved his left arm, noticing that the restraint had weakened even more.

'All I need to do is one swift strong movement to break it.' he thought while both Hock and Kane kept their attention on Liara, unsure of how serious they should take her threat.

"This Asari shouldn't be a problem for you Kane, I am right?" the Arms dealer said back, earning an unsure look from the bald Slaver in return.

"I wasn't alone the last time we subdued her…" he began to say back, but Hock then cut him off.

"But your not alone, I am with you." he said thought Kane simply responded with a gulp as he kept his eyes on Liara, who just stared back whilst her hand began to glow a little brighter.

"..plus we have an ace in the hole." the Arms dealer added as he again touched the barrel of his pistol to Orion's head, while looking back at the Asari.

"So how do you want to this to go…'Blue Rose'?"

Liara just stared back, narrowing her eyes at him as she clenched her hand into a fist before glancing at the Blue haired Bot. He gave her a slight smile while slowly moving his hand in it's restraint for her to see, gaining an ever so small smile in return from her before she looked back at Hock.

"I will shoot him if you don't stand down." he added as the Asari smiled back.

"No you won't." she replied, which made Hock suddenly narrow his eyes at her in return.

"You don't tell me what to do 'Asari, you do as I say'!" he spat back, his grasp tightening around the grip panel as he held the gun to her lover's head though the Arms dealer kept his attention on her.

"You have no way to make me do anything you want, not now…not ever." Liara replied coldly as she slowly began to walk into the room, giving both men a stare that looked like it could go right through them. This made the pair suddenly look rather fearful as Hock suddenly panicked and pressed the gun's barrel against Orion's head again.

"You brought this on yourself!" he replied in a scared tone as he began to pull the trigger, only for the Blue haired Bot to suddenly break the arm restraint on his left side, and grab the gun. Pushing it just away enough that the moment it went off, the bullet instead impacted the wall next to him.

"Wha…!" the Arms dealer started to say as Liara performed a biotic charge and slammed into Kane, while Orion pulled Hock close enough so he that could head-butt the man, making him drop the pistol as he stumbled backwards. As this happened, the Asari looked over to the Autobot and waved her glowing hand in front of her, breaking the remaining restraints on the berth. Orion then dropped off it and fell to his knees before looking over to her, an appreciative smile appeared on his face.

"Thanks Liara." he said before turning his attention to Hock who stood before him.

"Your more than welcome Orion." she replied back fondly before Kane suddenly grabbed her from behind, one hand on her arm while the other went round her neck.

"Liara!" Orion shouted as he saw the Slaver get his friend in a hold but just as he got back to his feet, Hock suddenly charged into him and pushed him up against the wall before punching him in the chest hard, winding him.

"Didn't think I was capable of that did you…" the Arms dealer sneered as the Autobot coughed hard, before looking over to see Liara in Kane's hands with the Slaver leering over her as he held her close.

"Remember Asari, I told you once I would get my hands on you eventually. That I had such thoughts of what I would do to you when the time came." he said into her ear, making the Asari feel sick as she felt his breath on her skin.

"Well first I will let you witness your boyfriend's death by Hock's hands, then with your will completely broken by that. Then I will let you taste how dark my imagination can be." the Slaver added as he tightened his grip on her.

At that moment both Liara and Orion looked up at each other, their eyes meeting as he had just heard every word of what Kane had said. Making the Bot turn his attention to Hock and grit his teeth.

"Never!" he spat as he suddenly put all his strength into a punch that hit the man so hard in the stomach that he almost keeled over, before the Autobot followed through with a punch to the face that sent the Arms dealer to the floor.

Both Liara and Kane watched this with surprise in their expressions, though the Asari had more of a smile on hers before she then made her left hand glow with biotic energy which coincided with a part of the Slaver's arm that was still around her neck, which began to glow too which earned a worried look from him.

"What the? I will break your nec…." he started to say just as Liara clenched her hand into a fist, earning a cry of pain from Kane as the bones in his forearm shattered from the stress the biotic field the Asari created around his arm. This made him let go of her, so she turned around and used biotic push to send him onto his backside,

"My arm!" he shouted before cradling his broken limb with his other while Liara stood over him, staring down at the Slaver with an expression that his heart go cold with fear.

"You talk about dark thoughts and imagination, then try mine!" she spat as her eyes suddenly went black, making Kane freeze where he sat and stare back like a statue for a moment. Then he suddenly screamed so loud and covered his face with his hands, Orion just watched because Kane looked like his head was about to explode with the way he was holding his head in his hands. The Slaver fell onto his side still screaming as he went into a spasm on the floor before going quiet, his hands dropping to floor to reveal that his eyes were still open and glazed over.

"What did you do?" Orion asked with an uncertainty to his voice as Liara turned to him, a look of fulfilment on her face.

"I gave him a taste of his own medicine, that man was a rapist and murderer of women, it was no more than he deserved." she replied, earning a nod from the blue haired Bot as he grabbed Hock and lifted him on to his feet.

"I couldn't agree more, now what do you want to do with Hock? I did tell him that either of us would kill him." he said back as the Asari nodded in return before grabbing the Arms dealer by the throat, staring into his eyes and seeing the fear reflected back, fear that was well deserved after he had witnessed the fate of Kane just seconds earlier.

"Please, show me mercy." Hock begged, gaining a look of disgust from Liara before the inter-com suddenly activated, earning all their attention.

"Warning, eight minutes until power-core breach." the computer stated, earning a thoughtful expression from the Asari before staring back at Hock.

"You are pathetic..." she said back with venom-like tone to her voice before dropping him back to the ground, making him look up with a confused face.

"...run, and pray I never see you again." she added, which made Hock get to his feet and run out of the room in almost one quick motion, gaining a confused look from Orion.

"I don't get it, I thought you would want to make him pay?" he said back, while Liara looked back with a caring expression.

"We don't have the time, and he just isn't worth it Orion. Without the power and influence he had before, Hock is just a small, pathetic individual. Plus he won't get off this ship before it blows, the shuttle-bay is in the other direction of where he ran off to for starters." she replied with a smile before looking the Bot up and down, noticing his injuries.

"Are you okay?"

Orion gave her a look of surprise in return.

"I'll be alright, all I had were two idiots hitting me. I was more concerned for you Liara.." he said back, gaining an appreciative smile from the Asari as he spoke.

"..so what about you? What happened?" he asked, making her smile disappear as a more saddened expression befell her beautiful face.

"I will tell you about it once we are out of here, so let's not waste anymore time here." the Asari replied while holding out a hand to the Autobot, who took it in his own.

"Okay, lets go." he said back with a nod, regaining her smile before the pair turned and headed for the room's exit, with Orion making sure to pick up Hock's pistol on their way out.

PRIME EFFECT 4

Vasir opened her eyes to find that she was lying on her side, and immediately the rest of her body let her feel the pain it had been enduring while she had been unconscious. Every part of her being ached, earning a grimace from the Asari as she lifted herself up onto her knees.

'That Bitch certainly has more strength than I would have guessed.' she thought as she looked back around the room, only for her eyes to fall upon the burnt corpse of Benezia, earning a saddened expression from Vasir.

'I am so sorry I failed you Benezia, your Daughter will pay.' she thought before tapping her com-link.

"Lockdown, this is Vasir. Do you read?"

"I read you, what's going on? How did the power-core breach?" the former-Decepticon replied, while the Asari kept her eyes focused on Benezia, a single tear running down her cheek as she thought about her mentor.

"We have been betrayed, the Shadow Broker is dead." she said back, earning a gasp from the other end of the link.

"..What! How?" Lockdown asked with a shocked tone.

"Liara killed him…" the Agent replied, knowing that she had to keep the pretence of who the others believed the Shadow Broker's false identity.

"..and she set off the power-core breach. How long until it blows?" she then asked.

"We have several minutes left, why do you ask?" Lockdown replied with a curious tone.

"Because we have enough time to escape the ship before the explosion, but first we will lay a trap for that Asari Bitch who is no doubt rescuing her Autobot friend as we speak. We can kill them for the Shadow Broker and then get to safety in that time." Vasir said back.

"What about Hock and Kane?" the former Decepticon replied as he thought about others.

"What about them, if they were still entertaining themselves when Liara arrived to save Orion Darby, then they are already dead." she said back coldly.

"And we should probably leave Thane and his son here too right? I don't know how long we could keep up the pretence of who really murdered his wife." Lockdown added, gaining a nod from Vasir.

"Very well, just go now and make sure you have enough Mechs with you at the Shuttle-bay. I will be….arrggh!" she said back while trying to get back to her feet, but falling back onto her backside as her leg gave way beneath her.

"Are you alright?" the Assassin said back, a concerned tone was clear in his voice.

"Just trying to shake off the after effects of my fight with Liara, I will be there as soon as I can. Just don't underestimate her or that Autobot. Zero out." she replied before ending the link, and then took a Medi-gel syringe out of a pocket on her utility belt.

'This should get me moving, I need to get to the shuttle-bay.' she thought as she injected the medicine into her leg.

Meanwhile Liara and Orion ran down the corridor, with the Bot following the Asari's lead as she glanced down at the map on her holo-tool's screen.

"Not far to go." she said back, gaining a nod from the blue haired Bot as he smiled back.

"We have plenty of time Liara, we'll grab one of their shuttles and get out of here." he said back as the pair turned a corner and stopped in their tracks, with Orion raising his pistol at the Drell standing before them.

"Him again." the Autobot said with an angry stare, earning a similar expression from their adversary who too aimed his twin pistols back at both of them, though he looked less convinced as the ship's alarms blared again around them.

"Six minutes until power-core breach."

"Orion wait!" Liara then said in a commanding tone as she stepped between both men, earning surprised looks from both.

"Liara?" Orion replied with a questioning tone.

"Your name is Thane Krios, correct?" she asked, ignoring the Bot while she focused on the Drell who nodded back, but did not lower his own weapons.

"That's right, how did you..?" he began to ask as he looked at her with a curious expression.

"Because I have access to the file the Shadow Broker had on you, and it has information on it that you must know." she replied whileusing her holo-tool to bring up a screen displaying the Drell's file. Thane walked up slowly to it, his pistols slowly lowering as he started to read what was on the screen.

"Liara, are you sure about this?" Orion asked, but the Asari ignored him while she continued to watch the Drell, whose eyes widened as he read the file.

"….Lockdown's responsible…..for my wife's murder." he said back in disbelief, gaining a nod from her in return.

'Lockdown, I have heard that name before.' Orion thought as he watched both Liara and Thane.

"Yes, the Shadow Broker figured it was the only way to gain your trust, by saying that you would get all the help in finding the killer as long as you joined the organisation."

"I have been a fool. Tell me, where is Lockdown and the Shadow Broker?" Thane replied, his face becoming stern.

"The Shadow Broker is already dead, killed by my hand. But as far as Lockdown goes…" Liara started to say before Orion jumped in.

"This ship has just over five minutes until it blows, I bet everyone else will already be there." the blue haired Bot stated while Thane's eyes widened, as his need for revenge was sudden over ridden by thoughts for someone far more important to him.

"My son, I need to find my son." he then said with panic in his voice, earning a sympathetic look from Liara.

"You mean Kolyat, I know where he is and I can get him for you." she replied, gaining the Drell's attention.

"We still need a way off the ship, can you help me secure us a shuttle while Liara retrieves your son?" Orion then asked, a thoughtful expression from Thane before he nodded back in return.

"Yes, I will help you. But if Lockdown shows up, I want him myself."

"Of course, he is all yours." the Autobot replied.

"Alright then, you two go get us a shuttle. I will meet you there with Kolyat." Liara said back, earning a nod from both Orion and Thane before they started to move back down the corridor, only for the Bot to look back to the Asari with a caring expression.

"Be careful."

"You too." she replied with a mirrored look before turning around and running in the opposite direction.

PRIME EFFECT 4

Liara continued down one of the many corridors of the ship, but she did not need to go very far to find Kolyat's location, in fact if they had more time then the three of them could have retrieved his son. But with just five minutes to go before the ship's destruction, the Asari had to do this by herself, and she turned a corner to find two Mechs standing guard at one of the many doors that lined both sides of the corridor before her. Before either of the robots could spot her, Liara took cover around the corner and reactivated her holo-tool.

'Yes, that is where Kolyat is located.' she thought while looking down at the yellow dot on the map that was being shown on her holo-tool, so she quickly turned it off and returned her attention to the two guards standing in her way.

'Got to make this quick.' she thought before and idea came to mind, earning a smile from the Asari as she focused her biotics into her left hand, gaining a blue energy glow around it. The young woman then left the cover of the wall and stood in view of the two Mechs, who noticed and immediately aimed their weapons at her.

"Freeze." they said in unison, with a synthesized tone to their voices. But Liara simply smirked before throwing a blue energy projectile directly at them, which made her entire body glow for a split second before it left her and flew across the corridor at the pair. It then hit the closest of the Mechs, causing an explosion of biotic energy that sent them both flying into the walls before they too exploded from the damage caused. The Asari then ran down the hallway and used her holo-tool to hack the door controls and gain entrance to the room, finding it to be a standard living quarters….though kind of empty from the look of it.

'Where is he?' she thought while looking around the room.

"Kolyat?" she said in a gentle voice, before hearing a scuffle like noise from under the desk that was nearby. So Liara walked over to it and knelt to find an eight year old Drell sitting under it with a scared look on his face.

"Stay…back!" he said back with a stutter, but the Asari just held out her hands in a non-threatening gesture.

"It's alright Kolyat, I won't hurt you." she said back softly, earning a surprised look from the child.

"How…do you know my name? Who are…you?" he asked with an unsure tone.

"My name is Liara, I am an acquaintance of your Father's." the Asari said back.

"You know my Dad?"

"Yes, I am here to take you to him." she said back as she held out a hand to the Drell, who looked down at it with a thoughtful expression before looking back at her face.

"I haven't seen my Dad for so long?" the boy replied, earning a kind smile from Liara.

"So come with me, and I will reunite you with him." she answered, earning a nod from Kolyat who reached out and took her hand.

"Okay." he replied before climbing out from under the desk, earning a curious look from the Asari as she noticed he had a toy ship in his free hand.

"You like star-ships?" she asked as she noticed that it was a toy replica of the Defiant, which made the boy nod back enthusiastically.

"I love this ship, I want to fly one just like it when I grow up." he said back with a smile, gaining a mirrored expression from Liara.

'He will love it when he sees the Normandy.' she thought before they both moved to the door, with the Asari taking a glance outside and noticing that the path was clear…. for the moment.

"Okay Kolyat, I need you to do exactly as I say alright. I promise you will see your Dad real soon." she said while looking down at the child, who gave her a knowing look.

"The 'other people' kept telling me that, but you're the first person I want to believe." he said back, earning a nod from her.

"Let's go." she said before she took his hand in hers and the pair left the room and ran back the way she had came.

Not so far away, Orion and Thane turned a corner into an adjoining corridor, that had on it's right side only one double door and a windows either side of it's doorframe.

"There is the entrance to the shuttle-bay, if we are lucky then we can get a look inside and see what we will be up against." the Drell said, gaining a nod from the Autobot in return before the pair sneaked up to the nearest window and took cover under it.

"I'll take a look" he then said before raising himself up just enough to peek inside, taking in the layout of the room and the Mechs he could see from their location before sinking back down into a squat.

"I see several Mechs in there right now, they are guarding two shuttles. I don't see Lockdown in there though." he said back, earning nod from Thane who looked back with a serious expression.

"He's there, I know he is. I have worked with that Decepticon long enough to know what he can do." he said back, before sighing while looking down at his pistols.

"He played me, him and the Shadow Broker. He has to pay."

Orion gave the Drell a sympathetic look while placing a hand on his shoulder in support.

"Look, if Lockdown has in fact already jumped ship. I promise that I will do everything in my power to help you find him, it's the least I can do for your help." he said back, earning a smile from Thane.

"I appreciate that Orion…." he started to say before the blue haired Bot took another peek inside the Shuttle-bay.

"…so consider this an early thank, as I clear the way to the shuttle." the Drell added regaining Orion's attention as he looked back to see that his new friend had disappeared, his eyes widening at the empty air before him.

'Where the hell…?' he thought before noticing that the door had been opened, making him ready his pistol.

'Damn it.'

Inside the large hanger-like room, the Mechs patrolled area whilst using their optics to scan everything…even themselves.

"Scan complete, nothing to report." one said with it's synthesised voice, as Orion sneaked in and hid behind a cargo container near the now open door, being lucky to not be caught in the vision of one of the robots while it looked in his direction.

"Where is Thane?" he thought before suddenly hearing metal hit the ground hard, so he peeked around the cover to see a deactivated Mech lying on the floor at the far end of the room with a bullet hole in the back of it's head.

'Impressive.'

"Correction, one of us has been hit." another Mech stated as it's attention was drawn to it's fallen comrade, it's red optics let out a beam of red light that enveloped the corpse as it walked over to it.

"One bullet hole to the back of it's cranium, alert status!" it then said, earning a simultaneous reaction from the rest of the robots as their lifted their rifles into ready positions. Suddenly just as lead Mech turned away from the corpse, Thane dropped down behind it and wrapped his arm around it's neck and used his free hand to grab its head and yank it sideward, snapping its neck.

One of the other Mechs turned around and saw this, raising it's weapon at him in response. So the Drell held onto the deactivated roBot with one hand while equipping one of his pistols with the other and fired back at the enemy drone, blowing a hole in it's chest. This earned the attention of the other Mechs as they began firing back at him.

"Eliminate the intruder!" the robots said in unison before one had it's head blown off as Orion revealed himself, rushing the nearest Mech as he activated his holo-arm-blade with his free hand, slicing through it before the roBot could react.

"This earned a smile from Thane as dropped the metallic heap on the floor and dived behind the nearest shuttle for cover, while half of the remaining Mechs focused on him with their combined rifle fire. The other half turned on Orion, opening fire on him and causing the Autobot to take cover behind another cargo container next to him. But he still managed to return fire and take down two more Mechs, earning a smile from Thane who then climbed up onto the roof of the shuttle and fire down at the enemy drones, blowing holes in a few of them before they returned fire.

But he instead jumped down into the middle of the group and used both pistols for up close damage, firing bullets into their chests and heads whilst spinning around on the spot. The other group that had been focused on Orion had took notice of what the Drell was doing to their comrades and had switched their priorities, so the Bot ran out from cover and using both his arm-blades, sliced up the remaining enemy troops until only Thane and himself were left standing.

"That was impressive Orion, just like the day we fought back on Illium." the Drell said back, earning a smile from the Autobot.

"Thanks, though I have never met anyone with sneaking skills like yours." he replied humbly before an unfamiliar voice spoke from above them, gaining their attention.

"So Zero was right…"

Both Thane and Orion looked up to see Lockdown standing on the roof of the other shuttle, hold twin holo-katanas that were being powered by the holo-tools around both this forearms.

"Lockdown!" the Drell spat as he narrowed his eyes back, as the former Decepticon performed a somersault jump off the shuttle and landed in between the pair before pointing both blades at them.

"Thane? Why are you helping this Autobot?" he asked.

"Because I know what you did!" Thane replied, gaining a knowing expression from Lockdown.

"..Ah… I see, well it was business, it wasn't personal for me." he replied before the Drell gritted his teeth and leapt at him.

"Well this is personal to me!" he spat back as the Assassin swung a katana at him but Thane ducked under it before landing a punch directly into his enemy's chest, knocking him backwards. But Lockdown used the momentum to turn his attention to Orion and he made a swipe at the Autobot, who managed to block the attack with one of his holo-arm-blades. The former Decepticon followed through with a front kick that connected with Orion's stomach and sent him flying onto his back and out of the fight, so Lockdown returned his attention to Thane.

"What are you doing?" he spat with a curious tone as he saw the Drell activating his holo-tool, bringing up the orange glowing device on his left forearm.

"This!" he replied before lunging back at his enemy, who lunged back with his right holo-katana. But Thane brought up his holo-tool and blocked the strike before giving the former Con a smirk.

"Thanks." he said back just as the holo-katana suddenly disappeared from Lockdown's right hand and reappeared in the Drell's possession, earning a shocked look from him.

"What the?" he replied before Thane took a swipe at him, scratching the Assassin's armour as he narrowly dodged the attack.

"My holo-tool can mimic any holo-weapon it touches, I think it would be fitting to kill you with your own weapon." he said before he again lunged at Lockdown, who deflected the blade with his own.

"Don't get ahead of yourself Thane, I have lived through countless eons fighting. Do you think you have what it takes to end my spark?" he said as he pushed the Drell back, separating the two again.

"I do no such thing, but I believe that my late wife will help guide this blade and bring an end to your life, finally bringing her and myself some peace." Thane replied before the two continued to fight, clashing their blades together numerous times.

Meanwhile Liara and Kolyat ran into the shuttle-bay, before stopping as they saw Thane and Lockdown fighting.

"Dad!" the little Drell shouted, earning his Father's attention as he deflected the former Decepticon's blade again.

"Kolyat, follow Liara into one of the shuttles." he said back as the Asari saw Orion getting back to his feet.

"Orion, Mechs were right behind us." she said while leading the child into the room as they ran toward the nearest shuttle, earning a nod from the Bot who readied his pistol.

"I'll cover you." he said before shooting a bullet into the chest of the first roBot to enter through the double doors, making it fall to the ground as the others took cover behind it.

Liara then opened the hatch of the shuttle before lifting Kolyat off the ground and into the small vessel's interior.

"Two minutes until power-core breach." the computer's voice spoke over the inter-com as Orion fired back at the door and killed another Mech, before his attention was caught by a grenade hanging of the utility belt of one of the dead robots lying near him.

"Liara cover me!" he shouted, earning a nod from the Asari who fired biotic blasts from her right hand at the doorway, pinning the Mechs to their cover on the other side. So Orion ran over to the body and picked up the grenade, and as Liara continued to assault the door with her biotic projectiles, even making one Mech slam back into corridor wall. The Blue haired Bot tapped the button on the top of the device and threw it through the open doorway before diving behind another cargo container.

"Fire in the hole!" he shouted, making his Asari friend erect a barrier around her and the shuttle hatch just before the grenade exploded, destroying the Mechs in the corridor. The force of the blast also knocked both Thane and Lockdown to the ground, halting their fight as both tried to recover. But the former Decepticon was the first to his feet as he laughed whilst standing over the Drell.

"Looks like your 'wife' isn't listening Thane." he said with a sarcastic tone as he lifted his holo-katana, readying to deliver a killing stroke. But just as he began to drive the blade downwards, Orion suddenly tackled him to the ground.

"Oh no you don't." he said as he began punching the Assassin in the face repeatedly, giving the Drell the time he need to get back to his feet. But his eyes widened as something came to mind.

'I forgot about that!' he thought as he raised his hand to the small device on his forehead.

As that was happening, Lockdown managed to block one of Orion's punches and grabbed his arm.

"I have had enough of you Autobot!" he spat before punching him in the face with his free hand, earning a grunt from the blue haired Bot before Lockdown followed through with a swipe of his holo-katana which made the younger man dodge by rolling off him and back to the ground into a kneeling position.

"The feeling is mutual." he said back as Lockdown got to his feet and readied himself to attack again, but Orion's eyes caught his attention as he looked behind the Assassin. So he spun around just in time to see Thane lunge at him with his holo-katana, making Lockdown swipe his own weapon in return. But his eyes widened in shock as his blade passed harmlessly through the Drell, like he was a ghost or something.

"How?" he began to say before suddenly feeling a sharp white-hot pain in his chest, so he looked down to see the holo-katana that Thane had stolen had been driven through his body.

"This is for my wife." the Drell said back coldly as he twisted the blade round in the former Decepticon's wound, making him grimace as he looked back at him. His eyes noticed the device blinking with green and blue LEDs on his adversary's forehead and smiled back.

"A 'Phase-Shifter', well…play…" he began to say with what could be described as a hint of respect in his voice, but Thane did not want to hear any more as his anger got the better of him. So the Drell ripped the katana from the former Decepticon's chest, causing blood to spill out on to the floor as he spun around and sliced the enemy's head clean from his body, and it bounced onto the ground as the rest of the Con's body joined it.

Thane stood there and looked down at the headless body lying before him, his face finally looking satisfied as he sighed with Orion just stood there and watched.

"Warning, one minute until power-core breach." the computer's voice suddenly spoke out over the inter-com, regaining the attention of both men before another voice did the same.

"Orion, Thane, lets go!" Liara shouted, earning a nod from them as they turned and ran to the shuttle before climbing in via it's open hatch.

"Okay everyone, strap yourselves in." the blue haired Bot said as he sat down beside Liara in the pilot's seat, while Thane strapped his son into one of the passenger seats before doing the same himself. Kolyat gave his Father the most warm and happy smile he had seen in a long time. But before either could say a word, Liara spoke first.

"You know when this ship goes up, there is no guarantee that we will be able to outrun the shockwave from the explosion." she said with a worried tone, though Orion merely shook his head in return as he pressed numerous buttons on the green holo-interface before him.

"We'll just have to hope for the best then, won't we." he said while activating the shuttle's engines and then lifted the small vessel off the deck, while also opening the bay doors and revealing the stormy atmosphere outside.

Meanwhile Vasir arrived at the shuttle-bay to see numerous Mech body parts lying around it's entrance with the walls scorched by what appeared to be an explosion.

'What the…?' she began to think before her attention was drawn to the sound of a ship taking off, so the Asari entered the room to see one of the two shuttles flying out of the ship.

"Damn it!.." she spat while looking around and spotting Lockdown's headless corpse lying a few feet away next to the other shuttle.

"...I was too late." she added before limping towards the other shuttle, just as the computer spoke up again through the inter-com.

"thirty seconds until power-core breach."

This earned a wide eyed expression from Vasir as she ran to the second shuttle and opened it's hatch.

A few seconds later elsewhere on the ship, Hock ran through the corridors in a panic as he looked for what he could only hope was a way to escape what was coming.

"There has to be a way off this ship!" he spat while he continued down the hallway before noticing there was only a right hand turn ahead.

'Haven't seen that one yet, this looks hopeful.' he thought as he turned the corner, only for him to stop and stare in wide-eyed disbelief. For before him was a dead end, just as the computer spoke again through the inter-com which left the Arms dealer with a sense of dread creeping through his soul.

"Ten seconds, nine, eight, seven, six….." it said in a synthetic tone, as Hock felt his eyes tearing up.

"I don't want to die." was all he could say before the computer finished the countdown.

"….one, zero." it said before the ship suddenly shook rather violently from an internal explosion, which knocked Hock to the ground before he heard what sounded like a fireball quickly coming towards him.

"No, No, No!" he stuttered in a fearful tone as said fireball shot round the corner and enveloped him before the Shadow Broker's ship exploded.

"That's it, the ship just exploded, and I am detecting a shock-wave approaching us at a speed greater than what this shuttle is capable of." Liara stated in a worrying tone as she looked down at the holo-screen in front of her, while Orion kept his attention on flying the craft while watching the clouds and storm carry on around them.

"We just have to reach the edge of the atmosphere, give me all the power this shuttle has and channel it into the engines. Take it from life support if you have too." he said to the Asari, earning a nod from her as she typed on her interface. But still as the shuttle ascended through the dense and chaotic atmosphere of the planet, the shock-wave from the now destroyed Shadow Broker base continued to gain on them.

"It's no use, the wave is still faster than we are. It will hit us in less than twenty seconds." Liara said back before looking over to Orion as she reached out with her hand, so the Bot looked back and took hers in his hand before turning his attention to the Father and Son sitting behind them.

"I'm sorry." he said with a sad and accepting tone, earning a nod from Thane who then looked over to Kolyat and placed his hand on the back of the younger Drell's head and kissed his forehead.

"I love you Kolyat." he said in a soft voice, gaining a warm smile from the unbeknownst boy who could not understand what was happening around him.

"I love you too Dad." he replied, earning a smile from Thane that he found hard to keep since he knew what was coming.

"Close your eyes my Son." he said back, and watched as Kolyat did just that. Orion could not help but feel sad after seeing that as he returned his attention to Liara, so he just looked her in the eyes and gently squeezed her hand affectionately. The Autobot took a deep breath as the Asari stared back, as their waited for the inevitable to happen.

"Liara, I.." he started to say, earning a knowing smile from her in return.

"I know…" she began to reply before suddenly a shadow was cast over the shuttle, darkening the interior and gaining their attention.

"What is that?" Liara said while Orion smiled as he looked up through the glass canopy in front of them, making the Asari give him a confused expression.

"What is it?" she asked, before a familiar voice spoke through the shuttle's inter-com.

"You guys look like you need a lift?" Jetstorm said, gaining simultaneous sighs of relief from all the adults on board the shuttle as Orion pressed a button on his holo-interface.

"Great timing, get us out of here." he replied as the Normandy descended over the shuttle as the shock-wave was almost upon them.

"Hold on." the pilot said back before the frigate scooped up the shuttle into it's open shuttle-bay, and then proceeded to ascend back up into high orbit, outrunning the shock-wave which slowly dissipated as the Autobot ship left the planet's atmosphere.

"Everyone alright." Orion asked as he looked at first to Liara and then to the two Drell, with the older one nodding back in return.

"Yes, thank you Orion." Thane replied before his son got up out of his chair and looked out of the shuttle's canopy to see the landing ramp close and re-seal itself.

"Where are we?" the boy asked enthusiastically as he held onto his toy ship, which earned a smile from the Bot and Asari.

"You know your favourite ship?" Liara asked, gaining Kolyat's attention as he nodded back.

"Yeah…"

"Well your standing in one just like it." she added, which made the boy's eyes widen in wonder as an infectious smile appeared on his face.

"Cool."

PRIME EFFECT 4

Not long after, a ground-bridge portal opens up and Orion, Liara, Thane and Kolat step through to find themselves back on Earth. The older Drell looked around to see that they were standing on landing pad on top of a mountain, which is surrounded by a desert and similar rock formations.

Where are we?" Thane asked as the vortex closed behind them.

"This is Autobot Outpost Omega One, it was the first Autobot base on Earth and has been in operation since the last days of the Cybertronian Civil war." Orion replied, gaining a smile from Kolyat who stood beside his father and marvelled at his surroundings.

"An Autobot base…wow!" he exclaimed before the blue haired Bot knelt in front of him.

"Kolyat, could have a moment with your Dad. Liara will keep you company in the meantime?" he asked, gaining a nod from the child.

"Okay." he said in an innocent tone before walking over to Liara who began pointing out sights to him, so Orion got back to his feet and looked back to Thane.

"I am sorry that we have to drop you off here, I would have liked to take the both of you back to Kahje. But with the Intel Liara gained from the Shadow Broker about the Predacons gathering around Virmire, we have been recalled to New Iacon for repairs and new orders." he said, gaining an appreciative smile from the Drell.

"I understand Orion, I am very grateful for everything you have already done. Because had it not been for you and Liara, I would still be working for the Shadow Broker and would probably never have seen my Son again. But instead I now have Koylat and I found out that Lockdown was the one murdered my wife. And he has paid for that with his life….though, I would of liked to make him suffer for a bit longer if we had the time." he replied with a hint of regret in his voice, which the blue haired Bot noticed.

"Are you alright?"

"In my life I have always strived to kill my marks in a quick and clean manner. I never questioned if they should die, instead I believed that it was fate's choice which brought them into my sights. But with my dear Irikah's murder, I found myself wanting to kill those responsible and make them hurt for as long as I possibly could. So I find myself at a loss with how Lockdown's end came about." Thane said back, gaining a nod from Orion.

"I can understand that." he replied, making the Drell look at him with a knowing expression.

"I sense that you do, forgive my asking but this is because of your Parents isn't it?"

The Autobot nodded in return as he looked out at the desert around them.

"Yes, they are the prisoners of Galvatron. As far as I know, he has tortured them both and I want nothing more but to make him pay for that…" he replied before looking to the ground with a shamed expression.

"..but I am in a position of command and cannot let my need for payback get in the way of the mission." he added, which made Thane place his hand on the Autobot's shoulder in support.

"I do not claim to know you well Orion, but I have seen enough to believe that you can find a balance between your duty and your need to avenge your parents. I know it is possible to have both." he said while looking over to his Son, who was still marvelling at the wilderness around him as Liara watched. Orion looked over too and nodded in return, giving off a sigh as he did.

"Thank you Thane." the Bot replied as he held out his hand, to which the Drell took in his own and shook while Liara and Kolyat returned to their side.

"No, thank you. You have given my back my life and my Son…" he said as he placed his hand on the little Drell's head, earning a grateful smile from him.

"…and peace of mind. For that…. I would like to offer my services to you in this war, as your enemies are now my mine." he said, but Orion smiled and shook his head in return.

"I appreciate that Thane, but like you just said, you have been reunited with your Son. So you should stay with him, we can handle the Predacons."

"Yeah Dad, I mean they are Autobots. They can handle anything." Kolyat suddenly spoke up with an enthusiastic tone, gaining the adults attention as they looked down at him and smiled. But instead of going shy, the young Drell just became more confident.

"When I grow up, I want to be an Autobot." he declared, which made Orion kneel down in front of him and place his hand in his trouser pocket.

"You certainly are brave enough, and if your anything like your Father, then I don't doubt that one day you will join our ranks. So in the meantime I want to give you this…" the Bot said as he placed an item in Kolyat's hand, making the youngster look down to see that it was an Autobot emblem, which made him look back in surprise.

"…and make you an Honorary Autobot...until you of age." he finished, which made the child's smile even wider as he saluted the blue haired man.

"Yes sir."

Thane chuckled in return as he looked down at his ecstatic son before returning his attention to both Bot and Asari,

"You've just made my Son's day, thank you. I will honour your wishes, but if you ever need help, you know how to find me."

"And me." Kolyat added, earning a smile from everyone.

"Take care of yourselves. You will need for nothing while staying at this base," Liara said, gaining a nod from Thane,

"Thank you, same to you,"

Orion then tapped his com-link.

"We're ready." he said before another green vortex opened behind them, with the pair turning face to it. The Bot though looked back at Kolyat.

"Watch the sky, you're going to like what comes next." he said with a smile, earning a curious expression from the child before stepping into the portal with the Asari. Both Thane and his Son watched as the Ground-bridge closed, when suddenly Kolyat spotted something coming out of the clouds and moving toward them.

"Dad look!" he exclaimed as the pair saw the Normandy fly up to the mountain before circling above them both.

"Wow." the young Drell said with amazement as he looked up at the Autobot ship, recognising it as his favourite. Thane just smiled and enjoyed seeing his son's reaction as the ship then took off and did a barrel roll before flying away at top speed, leaving Kolyat breathless at what he had just witnessed.

"Dad, I definitely want to be an Autobot." he stated, as his Father placed his hand on the boy's shoulders.

"We'll see when you are older Kolyat." he replied before noticing two Autobots stepping out of the elevator to greet them.

"Come on my Son, let's go." he then said while taking his Son's hand in his own, and together they walked over to and were greeted by the Autobots.

Meanwhile on the other side of the galaxy, a damaged shuttle drifted slowly through the cold void of space. The interior of the vessel was dimly lit as Vasir sat in the pilot's chair, looking out at the star-field through the glass canopy in front of her. The Asari's expression was one of deep anger and reflection as she kept her hands on the holo-interface, and even though her eyes were fixed on what was ahead. her thoughts remained focused on only one thing.

'Benezia, I swear that I will make Liara pay for what she did to us. For betraying and murdering you, and for destroying my life as I knew it. I will make you proud and rebuild what we have lost…. and even if it takes the rest of my life, I will see to it that Liara and everyone she holds dear suffers….this I swear to you.'she thought as a dark smile began to form on her lips.