Standard Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Harry Potter, Star Wars, or Mass Effect. All properties therein are those of their creators. I am only a writer working on my skills with worlds and characters that I love.

Note: The universally positive response to the way I ended the first part of this story brings a huge smile to my face. Thank you all for the great reviews and words of praise. It means a great deal to know that my work has been appreciated as much as it was.

Note: I've been a huge fan of the Mass Effect Universe since I was a teenager. I hope I can represent it well here.

Note: Species translators are a thing in the ME universe and that is how I'm explaining the character's ability to understand each other. Just throwing that out there.

Note: Because Fanfiction notifications have been so spotty lately I'll just notify you all here that I have updated Prince of Darkness and Lord of Night. What is more, I've also published four chapters of a Harry Potter / Wednesday crossover as well as publishing the first few chapters of my Harry Potter / Sons of Anarchy crossover.

Note: Gonna be playing around with the order of events in this story, but hey, that's the fun of Fanfiction.

Chapter One - The Galaxy on the Other Side of the Relay

Lily Potter, daughter of Harry and Shaak Ti, and First Princess of the Free Empire of the Sith, was currently staring out the viewport of her commandeered cruiser and taking in the sight of the mass effect relay. It was finally time to begin making her own legend. Years ago she'd overheard exactly what this device was supposedly used for and ever since she'd begun planning how to actually employ it. This vessel was the first step, a craft 'borrowed' from her father's R and D department, augmented with a generator that replicated the energy emitted by the relay itself. The second step was actually traveling through it. For all the study and research no one had actually made the journey yet to the place this portal would lead. If she did it first, then her name would be recorded in the annals of history alongside that of her father.

It was her greatest dream, to be remembered with the same love and reverence he experienced from his people every day. Rache, Dark Lord of the Sith, Harry Potter, her daddy, the greatest man the galaxy had ever known. The breaker of chains and the liberator of a galaxy at war. He'd earned every bit of renown that he'd ever received, and now it was her turn.

Turning in her command chair to see her companions at the ship controls she couldn't help but smile. All of them had come with her because she'd asked, trusting in her and her vision. It had been that way since they'd met as preteens at the imperial academy on Zygerria. They were each at least one year younger than her, but she'd entered the academy later than normal because of her advanced strategy lessons taking up her time. Shan Kenobi was at the helm, Leia Skywalker at the navigation, and Kit Windu was sitting as copilot. Of course a dozen Nightsisters were staring disapprovingly on in a line behind them all, but they four were trying very hard not to notice them.

Just because they were loyal to Lily, and sworn to defend her life, didn't mean they had to agree with her that this was a good plan. Honestly they were acting like exasperated older sisters, not countermanding her orders, but simply waiting for her to make a mistake so they could say they told her so. It had been that way her entire life, them waiting for her to make her own mistakes, and picking her up when she fell down. The Dathomiri were firmly of the opinion that one learned by doing, and learned even more by failing.

"Coordinates locked?" She directed the question to Leia, who nodded.

"As much as they can be. We've inputted the translated data from the relay, but without knowing where it will send us we're kind of in the dark."

"We all know the risks, Leia." The Togruta female acknowledged. "Last chance, people. Anyone want to get off? We have escape pods if you do and I promise not to judge you."

"This is a bad idea…." Shan muttered under his breath. He was always the voice of reason in their little friend group.

"What was that, Shan?"

"Nothing, nothing." He gave her the most 'innocent' look imaginable and she had to force herself not to groan. He was also the most sarcastic one in their group.

Listening to the broadband network, Kit grabbed their attention, "Guys, the theft has just been noted in R and D. If we're gonna go we need to go now."

"Right." Lily noted, putting on her command voice (the one Thrawn had taught her in his tactics lessons), "As Leia said, the coordinates are locked, no one wants to leave, and we're ready. Initiate the jump on my mark. Three. Two. One. Jump!"

The cruiser banked over to run parallel to the massive transporter, and as their vector locked into their systems, a tendril of azure light seemed to flash out from the relay's core to encompass their ship before they all found themselves pulled taught to their seats and 'yanked' for lack of a better word forward. Moments later the inertia lessened and the cadre found themselves hurtling through a multicolored tube of space that reminded them of a more cylindrical version of lightspeed travel.

"Well, this is new." Leia noted, her Alderaanian hair buns bouncing as her face moved rapidly from left to right, cataloging everything visible in the viewport. She'd taken her sense of style from her mother. In contrast, her twin brother Luke had definitely taken after their father, even going so far as to request schooling primarily on Tatooine in hopes of someday being elected the next Primarch.

"Indeed." Lily noted, already pulling up her flight recorder. "Let's all take notes about what we're seeing here. We don't know how long we'll be in transit for, but this could all prove useful to our scientists when we return.

Shan spoke up, "You mean it could prove useful when you try to convince your parents not to kill you for coming out here? Your dad will fold the moment you give him the sad eyes, but your mom and aunts? Oh, they'll tear you apart."

The Togruta blushed at that reminder. "I'm really trying not to think about that. My dad never let what others thought about him stop him though, so I won't let my overprotective family stop me. I will be remembered as more than just the emperor's daughter, even if it kills me."

For the next two hours they cataloged everything they could about their flight through the intergalactic tunnel. The sights, the sounds, the effects of the journey on the structural integrity of the hull, everything.

Finally though, the journey came to an end. The group found themselves crushed back into their seats once more and the spiraling glow of mass relay flight faded around them, leaving their ship floating above the glowing expanse of a blue world unlike any they'd ever seen before.

Lily could only gasp at the sight. "By the force." She eventually muttered. "A new world."

"Uncharted." Shan noted.

"We found it first." Leia whispered.

"Our names will be famous." Kit agreed.

Their musings were interrupted however as their viewport was suddenly filled by the view of a new gunship, rising up from below them. The crew scrambled to disengage and run but a shrill alarm alerted them to the fact that the other craft had locked weapons onto them. At this close range they'd have to be fools to miss.

"Trouble in paradise, little sister?" The foremost of the Nightsisters drawled.

"Not helping, Bastila." Lily grumbled as she thought back to all her training up to this point. With weapons locked they could not move. Furthermore, it was likely the other ship would be able to tell if they started to arm their own as well, so fighting back wasn't a viable option either. That only left diplomacy.

"Kit, open a channel to that ship. Send it broadband, if we're lucky they'll pick it up."

"On it, Princess."

The signal went out, and a few seconds later static crackled before an older male voice completely flooded with military authority spoke. "This is the SSV Normandy, in service to the Citadel of Council Races. Foreign Craft we demand that you identify yourself at once."

Steeling herself and donning her 'princess' persona, she answered, "This is the Cruiser class vessel Servitor of the Sith Navy. I am speaking as its captain, Princess Lily Potter. I wish to know why you have elected to detain us with a weapon lock."

Aboard the Normandy, Admiral Anderson and Commander Shepard (freshly awoken from her nightmare vision fueled coma) were staring at the remarkable craft in stunned silence. Every scanner they had running on the thing was coming up with countless new alloys, materials, and weapons beyond anything the citadel had ever released or acknowledged. And then there were the classifications. 'Servitor', 'Sith Navy' and most importantly 'Lily Potter'.

"Admiral…" Shepard spoke up, "doesn't that name sound human?"

"Yes." The dark skinned older man agreed, having no idea what to make of this situation. Though there was one way to figure it out. "Alright people, listen up." He addressed the bridge as a whole. "This is an unknown entity, on an unknown craft, claiming to represent an unknown organization. This has just become a first contact situation and I know that none among us want to handle it as badly as the Turians did with us."

A general muttering of agreement came from the crew at those words. Though they were technically allies now, no human would ever forget the First Contact War, or how quick the birdlike aliens were to open fire on unarmed civilians. The idea of acting like them was practically anathema to their species.

"I want each of you at full alert at your stations but lower the main batteries to standby. We don't want to appear any more intimidating than we already do. Then I want us lined up next to them with a boarding ramp extended. We will be diplomatic even if it kills us." That said, he waved to the comm station again and addressed the foreign craft. "Attention, Servitor. My name is Admiral Anderson of the Alliance Navy, in service currently to the Citadel Council as previously stated. We mean you no harm, but find ourselves needing to meet with you to understand your intentions. As a sign of our goodwill you will notice that our weapons have powered down. A boarding ramp will be extended to you shortly, and when it is connected I will be waiting to meet your captain in the middle. Please reply with your confirmation."

"Confirmed, Admiral. Potter out." The line went dead.

Beside him Shepard spoke up, "I'm coming with you, sir."

"I was just about to suggest it, Commander. Come on, we don't want to keep an apparent princess waiting."

Back on the Servitor, Lily was starting to freak out a little. She'd joined her father on many a diplomatic mission in her twenty-two years of life but this was her first without him to lean on. Luckily her Nightsisters seemed to sense her trepidation as they all rushed to her side to aid her in preparing. In short order Lily found herself stood tall, her black and red robes straightened with her hood pulled up just enough to fashionably cover her montral horns without hindering the view of her face, and her friends soon done up in the same manner.

Taking the lead as she always did amongst the group, Bastila cupped her face in her hands to stare into her eyes. "Be calm, little sister. Be wise as your father, and open as your mother. Listen, speak, and learn, and all will be well. Should worst come to worst we will board and kill them all."

"L-Let's make that the very last resort, Bastila. I don't think we want our first meeting with a new galactic body to end in mass bloodshed."

"Asajj would disagree, but that is neither here nor there. We will of course do as you direct." Behind her two of the other Dathomiri women rubbed an ointment on their faces and hands, and slowly their forms shimmered in the dark ship light before becoming naught but shadow. Along with their black outfits it became very difficult to see them. "These two will be standing behind you the whole time with bows ready should the admiral become violent or disrespectful."

"Thank you, Bastila." Lily said with pure gratitude in her voice. These women had been with her since she was an infant, and she'd not know what to do if they ever left her.

"It is nothing, little one. Now go to the hatch and await the ramp."

Ten minutes later they were all gathered. Lily at the head of the group with her arms folded in her sleeves before her in the posture she'd seen her mother stand in at her position beside her father's throne. One of regality and poise. Behind her stood her friends, and behind them a line of Nightsisters. None were openly armed, but their weapons were holstered within easy reach. It was time.

Apparently the boarding ramp was actually a circular tube with a central walking platform that was extended from the other ship's airlock to their own. They could already see two figures waiting for them in the center, with three other armed figures waiting at their ship's end as backup. The two waiting were… human. Now that was surprising, but Lily supposed it really shouldn't have been. Her dad had come from another place after all, even if he didn't talk about it much, so her galaxy couldn't be the only place humans came from. She saw an older dark skinned man and a red headed woman that was…. striking. Tall, beautifully muscular, and damn but she wore that uniform well.

She shivered and shook her head. She swore she got her taste in potential partner's directly from her aunt Bo-Katan. Gently placing her palm on the scanner by the airlock she acknowledged the entry authorization, and with a hiss of compressed air the portal opened, baring her group's visage to the strangers. They seemed surprised at her appearance, and she let them remain that way. That shock could throw them off balance and work to her advantage. She motioned her people to stay a few steps behind her and approached the duo, trying hard as hell to keep from staring at the redhead and thanking the force for galactic translators.

Strangely enough, though, the closer she walked, the stronger she felt pulled in their direction. The Force seemed to be telling her that they were important, and that she was meant to meet them. Stopping five feet away she stared them both in the eyes. "I am Princess Lily Potter of the Free Empire of the Sith. I bring greetings on behalf of my father, the emperor."

"We are pleased to meet you, Princess." The older man spoke. "I addressed you earlier on the comms. I am Admiral Anderson and this is Commander Shepard. Your ship and titles are unique to us and thus you are a first contact species. It is standard procedure to investigate what we can and bring our findings back to be analyzed further. Would you mind answering a few questions?"

"Only if I might do the same."

"Of course. Might I ask how you arrived here?"

"We recently translated the activation codes for our mass effect relay and decided to test it. We arrived here."

"Here? Not at another relay? That is unusual."

"Perhaps. We don't use the energy source it emits, and had to make our own substitute. Perhaps that altered the trajectory somewhat. Of course, our sensors picked up a unique energy reading at the same time, so perhaps that had something to do with it?"

Anderson and Shepard shared a look at that, wondering if perhaps their sudden arrival had something to do with the beacon.

"You mentioned a citadel and a council? What is that?"

"The council races are those that govern the mass relay system. They include Turians, Salarians, and Asari, though humanity has taken great leaps into the fold as well since we discovered and learned to use our own relay. The Citadel is the center of galactic civilization, and is where the Council, the three heads of the government, reside and operate. We'll be taking you there shortly to meet them."

Lily blinked. "Taking us? It was my understanding that this was to be a friendly conversation, not a kidnapping." Behind her the Nightsisters all drew their bows and the humans on the other side cocked rifles in kind.

"Stop!" Shepard waved the men down and stepped in front of Anderson, ending up coincidentally even closer to Lily in the process. "Please, Princess, this is not meant to be a kidnapping or disrespect, but standard procedure states new contacts must be brought forth and introduced to the council."

"Are not introductions taking place here?"

"They will not believe the words of humans alone. They actually look down on us quite a bit. But if you come yourself and make it clear you mean no harm or violence to citadel space, then there will be no problems. I'm sure even some trade deals between Citadel Space and your empire could be established there."

"I am expected back soon, Commander. The emperor will not take my continued absence well."

"Maam, the council will review our records and video and if they see a first contact meeting that is not brought to them then they will assume hostile intent. We are here speaking to you now to try and prevent that. They assumed hostile intent with us and it led to one of the bloodiest conflicts in our history."

Lily thought all of this over and groaned internally. There were no good options here. If she disengaged and went home she could appease her no doubt worried dad, but conflict would follow from this 'Council'. However, the problems continued as there was no mass effect relay on any of their scanners nearby, so she wasn't even sure she could go back since she didn't know where to find another one. Going forward would give her the chance to ensure peace, but would terrify her parents. As she continued to ponder, a thought came to her. These were humans, her dad was human, and this was a new place. What was the planet he had said he came from?

"Commander, what is the name of your home planet?"

"Earth, why?" The redhead suddenly found herself confronted with a dazzling set of teeth as the red skinned being smiled wide.

"No reason. I will accompany you in my ship to this Council of yours, provided you give me your word, both of you, that we will not be detained any further, and will be allowed to leave after the meeting is concluded."

Breathing a sigh of relief, the older man said, "You have it. As I said, all of this is specifically meant to avoid conflict. We would not wish to detain you any more than necessary."

"Hm… Would you be willing to prove that?"

"How so?" Shepard raised a brow.

A smirk began to work its way onto Lily's face and she said, "Well, Commander, we'll follow your ship to the citadel if you ride with us in ours." Behind her, all of her friends cringed at just how blatant their leader was being. They knew well that she had a type.

Shepard blinked at that request. "I hardly think that's a good idea-"

"You have more questions right?" Lily asked innocently, stepping forward into the commander's personal space. "I could answer oh so many more of them while we save time on the trip, and I would never dream of demanding an admiral leave his vessel for my own."

Behind them, the admiral was nodding. "The faster we get back the better for all involved, Shepard. We need to report first contact, and the council needs to know about Saren. The faster we move the less time he has to come up with an alibi for his actions."

Sensing defeat clear and present, Shepard finally nodded. "Alright. It makes sense. I'll draft a report for you on what I learn when I have the first opportunity."

"I know you will, Shepard." Anderson looked back at the robed stranger, and only then took notice of the humans behind her. To be fair, they wore hoods like their leader, casting their faces in shadow, and the red skinned woman was a huge attention grabber. He leaned in close to whisper in his commander's ear, "Try to find out how there are humans in her crew."

The redhead blinked at that statement and for the first time she too noticed the hooded figures in the background. "I will."

"Good." Anderson went back to a position of attention before the strangers. "We will send your ship the coordinates to the citadel via the same broadwave we used to contact you before. Please follow us to the nearest mass effect relay and we will lead you through."

Of course, Admiral. Come along, Commander Shepard, we have a trip to begin after all." Lily turned and, maintaining the same regal air as before, strutted back into the depths of her ship with her followers.

The redheaded soldier gave her superior officer one last look, as if begging to be given a different assignment, but when none came, she squared her shoulders and followed, suppressing a shiver of disquiet when the portal hissed shut behind her. She found herself in a large bridge with the princess sitting at a large command chair, where she noticed a smaller seat had been placed beside it. Ahead of her the others were in ready positions at what she assumed was the comm and navigation pit.

A hooded woman with ash colored skin directed her to the clearly new seat, and as she took that position at the red skinned woman's side, the ships disconnected.

"Kit," Lily addressed the dark skinned man, "have the coordinates come through?"

"Yes, Princess, and they are in English." Kit sounded shocked, but Lily only smiled. Her father had once commented how similar his old language was to galactic basic.

"Perfect. Enter the vectors and follow the Normandy. Set our course, Jedi Windu."

The dark skinned man smiled and nodded. Quite contrary to his father, Mace, Kit loved a random adventure.

Under Shan's hand at the helm they smoothly took off and with the Normandy leading the way they reached the nearest relay within the hour to make the jump. Then, once again, they were in the relay tube that so reminded them of lightspeed travel.

"Alright, crew, on about your business." She sent a tendril of the force to her people that clearly implied one word. Scram. Each one knew what that meant and smirked happily at each other as they left. Only the Nightsisters remained.

"You have questions, Commander." Lily purred.

"Yes."

"Perhaps… you ask one, I ask one?"

"Okay. I'll start then." Shepard wasn't too worried. The transit time would take perhaps two hours at the most, and how bad could this trip truly be? "You have a very human name for an alien, and you seem to have humans on your crew. Everything we can see of you and your ship implies a completely foreign entity, so how is it that you have such… human aspects in your empire?"

Lily had been expecting this question and decided on a simple answer. "Earth is not the only place humans grow."

"What?"

"There are many human occupied worlds and civilizations in my empire. To my understanding, many are even older than your planet."

"How do you-" Shepard began, only to be interrupted.

"Naw, uh, aw, that isn't how this works." Lily wagged a finger and winked flirtatiously at the redheaded officer who seemed to take no notice of her actions. "I want to know about Earth. What is its current year, what is it like?"

Shepard was more than a little surprised by that, but she answered regardless. "It's the year 2283. Earth is… Earth. We have one unified government, and we focus heavily on outward expansion, but the planet itself has fallen into disrepair almost everywhere except the major cities. Global warming took its toll on all of us."

At the commander's suddenly bleak look, Lily reached out with the force and grasped onto the feelings and impressions the other woman was giving off. "You come from one of those bad places don't you?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Call it my intuition."

"Alright then. Yes, I was a survivor. The streets of Chicago raised me, and I entered into a life of crime just to be able to eat. I was strong though, and soon enough I managed to carve out a bit of territory from the gangs all for myself. The moment I turned eighteen I enlisted in the Alliance Navy and got the hell out of there. The rest is history."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"It's nothing. A lot of people had it worse than me. But now it's my turn. I can buy into the idea of humans existing elsewhere, the cosmos are a big place after all, but your name is most assuredly similar to an Earth name. Why is that?"

"Oh, well, my father is human and he came to us from Earth originally."

"Excuse me!"

"Oh yes, it was a freak event that transported him across space and time. He is going to be oh so thrilled to find out we've rediscovered his old home." Under her breath she added, 'if he doesn't overreact to my disappearance that is.'

"What was that?"

"Nothing at all."

"What is your favorite color?"

Shepard scoffed, "Why would you need to know that?"

"I want to know more about you. Humor me."

And so the conversation went. Back and forth they asked questions of each other for over two hours until the warp tube closed in around them and they were left staring at the massive view of the citadel out the viewport window. Shepard always felt a sense of awe at the sight when she came to visit, Lily was noticeably not impressed.

"When most people see the Citadel it takes them a minute to come to terms with the scope of it." Shepard noted, seeing the calm visage of her host.

Lily shrugged, "I've seen crazier things than this in my empire."

"Such as?"

"Ever see over a million men at once that all have the same face?"

"I-I cannot say I have."

"Compared to that, this place is simply a footnote. So what now, we just fly on in and march up to the council chamber?"

"Not quite." The commander noted. "But I'm sure Admiral Anderson will have the particulars for us once we arrive."

"Perfect, then let's get to it.

The Citadel

Lily was joining Shepard and had ordered the majority of her crew to stay and guard their ship, as none of them knew what to expect in such a strange place. Even the Nightsisters were affected as only Bastila was allowed to join Lily as her personal bodyguard. They descended the ramp to the platform below and beheld Admiral Anderson being chewed out by a slip of a man with a mean face.

"What is going on here?" Lily spoke up as her trio arrived. She rather liked Anderson and didn't enjoy some random dude laying into him.

The slip of a man glared at the strangely robed alien woman and sneered, "So, this is the anomaly you encountered while fleeing the wreckage of Shepard's SPECTRE tryout? I must say I'm not impressed."

At once the Dathomiri's hand shot to her belt knife but a raised hand from her mistress stopped her cold. Turning to look the stranger in the eye she said, "In my culture, it is considered rude not to introduce yourself before giving snide comments without the proper information to target them. So, just to educate you, I am Lily Potter, First Princess and heir to the Empire of the Sith. Who the hell are you?" The last sentence was spoken with such pure sarcastic sweetness that she was sure she'd have made Auntie Zannah proud.

With an even uglier sneer, the man answered, "Ambassador Udina. I represent the Human Race on the Citadel. And thanks to you, the Council was more interested in a first contact meeting than our allegations against Saren. They insist on meeting you before even considering our grievance and allegations."

Lily nodded, that did sound like enough to anger anyone. Especially with what Shepard had told her about what had happened on the ground at Eden Prime before her ship had arrived. Forcing herself to channel her mother's political calm, she said, "I hear your frustration, Ambassador, and I feel it even more." Indeed, the force was practically writhing with his impotent rage. "What if I bring up Saren's actions myself at our introduction and, as a royal, demand he be made accountable? It was his doing that sent the Normandy in my direction after all, and if we can present some evidence as well, then who knows… we might kill two birds with one stone."

The ambassador actually looked taken aback for a moment before narrowing his eyes, "Why would you be so willing to help us? Your temporary displacement cannot be that much of a driving force."

Lily chuckled deeply at that statement, her montrals quivering with delight. The look on this man's face was going to be priceless. "Believe it or not, my father is human. It is only right that I help his former people." As the ambassador started gaping like a water deprived fish, the princess swept around him with the ease of a dancer and strutted up to the deeply amused pair of Shepard and Anderson. "Apparently the Council wants to meet me. I would like to help you nail Saren at the same time." She leaned forward and captured the Commander's arm in her own. "Walk with me and let's go meet them."

"What?!" Shepard squawked as she found herself bodily dragged across the atrium floor with her admiral laughing heartily behind them as he hurried to catch up. The alien girl was surprisingly strong. Behind them, Bastila glided on silent feet, always keeping a weathered eye on the group.

"Princess Potter-"

"What did I say you could call me?" The princess arched a white eyebrow.

Shepard sighed, not used to a lack of formality in the military. "Lily, surely the council wanted to speak to you alone."

"Yes, and then they would have rushed your group in after and simply brushed your issues aside. The way they played this was to make the most interesting new thing their priority so anything else would seem tame in comparison, and sorry to say, but a SPECTRE accused of anything by a human seems tame compared to me. But I'm going to make you stand beside me, so they'll all be forced to associate me and my empire with humanity. Oh the looks on their faces should be hilarious."

"Behind them, Bastila could just be heard muttering, "You take too much after your Aunt Asajj."

That comment had the redhead quite curious. "That's yet another aunt I've heard mentioned in your presence. Is your family truly that large?"

"Oh by the force yes." Lily nodded. "My father absolutely could not keep it in his pants."

"What?" Shepard gulped.

"Huh?" Anderson eloquently noted.

"That's absolutely true." Bastila agreed.

Lily shuddered, "You have no idea how hard it was to go anywhere in the palace without accidentally walking in on him and one of them."

"Could you please elaborate?" Shepard grumped, annoyed at the way her face was starting to heat up at all these subtle statements almost designed to function as innuendos in her opinion.

"Fine, fine, my father has several wives. There. All of my aunts are of their number. And yes, I have a great deal of siblings as a result. Most of them are still in the academy of course but a few are still young enough to live at home."

"H-How many? And are multiple relationships like that the normal standard in your empire?" The Commander was almost afraid to ask, but the Admiral was deeply interested.

"Well, they aren't abnormal. Though most relationships tend to be just two people, or three to four at the most. Over the course of his eventual dominance of our galaxy my father gathered a total of five wives to his side. He's above average."

"In sooooo many ways." Bastila lasciviously smirked.

Blushing deep into her red cheeks, Lily rounded on her shadow. "Bastila, please! Could you just for once not remind me that you and the rest of the Nightsisters have seen my old man naked? It's just creepy."

"Not for us." The Dathomiri smirked before going back to her usual practice of sweeping the surrounding areas with her eyes.

At the others interested stares the Togruta reluctantly elaborated, "Apparently my Aunt Asajj 'claimed' my father as her mate in front of her entire clan. That, for some reason, involved mating with him in front of all of them. Don't ask me why. A lot of my aunts are kinky in some way."

So it was that the group of four made their way through the main atrium and the Presidium Commons, over to a rapid air transport that carried them to a massive elevator that stretched into the sky, and rode said elevator up into the main Council meeting chambers. It was as they were leaving the lift that they took note of a blue armored Turian arguing with the receptionist at the base of a wide set of stairs. Their overall physical make up still astounded Lily when she saw them. They appeared distinctly avian in quality with a strong bipedal design. Her father had once drawn a picture for her when she was little of something he called Velociraptors, and she wondered if these would have been what they evolved into had they not gone extinct.

"Saren's hiding something. I know it, give me more time!" He tried to argue.

In contrast, the receptionist seemed deeply annoyed at this interruption to their duties. "Stall the Council, Garrus? Don't be ridiculous. They've made it clear that your investigation is over. Get used to it."

"But I wasn't even given the proper amount of time to investigate at all! Almost as soon as the order came across my desk it was followed with the cease and desist. This is just like all the rest of Saren's civilian complaints. Are we ever going to hold him accountable for-"

"Garrus." The other Turian's voice was deceptively calm, "This isn't Palavan. I know it grates on you, but this is the way things are here. Get used to it or you might find yourself out of a job soon enough." With that, the receptionist left his fellow, returning to his place at the head of the stairs. Most likely to announce anyone new who arrived.

It was then that Garrus saw the new group from the elevator and made his way over to introduce himself. "Commander Shepard, I recognize your face from the case file I was given. The name's Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren after your allegations were sent to our office."

The redhead nodded, "Sounds like you really want to bring him down." Her eyes slid to the other Turian, making it clear that she'd overheard that conversation.

Folding his arms over his chest, Garrus said, "I've been after Saren for years now. I don't trust him, and he's had complaints from everyone he's ever worked with, including me, about incredibly violent behavior, abuse of his position, and shady practices over the course of his 'sanctioned' operations. The man is a monster, and a disgrace to the Turian race, but he's protected by the Council because he's their monster. The entire thing makes me sick."

"What did you find?"

"Nothing but conjecture. He's a SPECTRE, so everything he does and touches is classified. Hard evidence has been impossible to find."

Lily spoke next, her voice curious as she listened to this strange being's feel in the force. He was calm, organized, capable, and he had a very strong sense of justice. "You have been ordered off his investigation, Mr. Vakarian. What do you plan to do now?"

He turned his black eyes on her and said, "I'm going to continue. Even if they fire me. It's beyond time someone took that monster down, and I'm going to do everything I can to see it happen. You say he killed another of his Turian brothers, and based on what I know of Saren I believe it. That has to be answered for."

The Togruta nodded, a smile gracing her features as she did. "You are a man of great honor, Mr. Vakarian. I am pleased to have met you."

Before the Turian could respond to that, the receptionist called out, " The Council is ready to meet you, foreigner." The tone of his voice was snotty and clearly not impressed.

Cringing a bit at that display from his countryman, Garrus said, "I apologize for whatever is about to happen next. Especially considering that a fellow Turian is on the council itself. Here," He waved a hand over his omni-tool and Shepard's own lit up in response. "That is my contact information. Call me after your meeting is finished and I might have something more concrete you can use."

Shepard thanked him for that, and once more the group took off, heading up the stairs where they were announced and sent to walk over a long platform stretched over an abyss and annoyingly several feet below the dais at which the aforementioned Council stood. It further annoyed Lily that she was simply referred to as 'The alien anomaly'. Regardless, she walked forth to stand before the three strangers with all the regal bearing of a queen. It was clear these leaders thought themselves superior to her, and she would not have the name her father had given her so besmirched.

Before the Council could no doubt begin a prearranged speech that would paint them as the superior race inviting the newby into their domain, she decided to make it clear who the real big fish in the room was. "Greetings, I bring to thee tidings and welcome from the Empire of the Sith." She began in a loud and regal tone, "I am Princess Lily Potter, Heir to the throne, and on behalf of my father, the Emperor, I am proud to make your acquaintance. He is always interested in new neighbors."

The council was clearly nonplussed to have been denied their own introduction and welcome first, and the Turian and Salarian looked angered enough to say something that could have led to bad relations, so the Asari (the coolest head amongst the three) moved to their head and addressed their guest first.

"We also bring greetings and welcome to you, Princess Lily, as the Council of Citadel Space. We are not aware of your species, or your empire, and as such it is our desire to know of you and it, and form peaceful diplomatic relations."

The clicking of the Turian's mandibles behind her made it clear how little he really cared about 'peaceful relations'

"Of course, but first, as my human companions found me and offered answers when I needed them, I would request their grievances be addressed before any diplomatic issues can be raised. I find it remarkably insulting that the crimes of one such as Saren can be allowed to go unpunished."

Blustering in rage the Turian representative shouted, "There is no evidence that Saren performed any wrongdoing."

"There was an eyewitness." Lily responded.

The Turian, who Lily believed was called Sparatus, continued to quiver with rage and said, "The faulty words of a human smuggler mean nothing to us. Clearly he cannot be trusted to speak the truth or even understand what is happening. Besides, Saren was set for another mission nowhere near the world in question."

Lily smirked at that, a look decidedly sinister beneath the shade of her hood. She'd been hoping for that bit of rope to hang these fools with. Pulling out her comm she called her ship. "Potter to the Servitor."

Her comm crackled and the holographic image of Leia Skywalker came into being. "Servitor is reading you, Princess."

"Can you expand the readings we took from the time of our arrival in this galaxy?"

"Of course. Standby."

A second later the hologram shifted to show two graphic readings that took everyone's attention at once. Lily explained, "The first of these was taken by our sensors the moment we exited the mass effect tunnel. Upon further examination it shows that we were pulled out prematurely, in line with a sudden cosmic burst of energy. This burst, according to records we've hacked from the Normandy, happens to coincide with Shepard waking from her vision filled coma. Thus, her claims of a connection to the Prothean beacon can be extrapolated to be correct or at least verifiable. At a minimum they should be investigated. However, this second reading is more relevant to the issue of Saren. You see, we picked up another foreign craft leaving the system around the time the Normandy docked with us. It was of a make and model that we have never seen before, but the readings of its pilot came through clearly and can be easily verified with the new data we've obtained since. It was a Turian meeting the exact physical specifications of Saren that you hold in archives that we have also hacked. You should really work harder on your digital security. Now tell me, how many mysterious Turians, that are a perfect physical match, would be in the area with such obviously advanced and mysterious tech? Certainly a SPECTRE would have access to such materials."

The humans were staring at the spectacle their guest was providing with awe, and even greater shock came when the Asari representative started nodding along.

"I am not sure I believe that Saren is guilty, but this argument does offer some worrying correlations. I move that we contact Sarena and make him verify his current location."

Sparatus guffawed at that. "If he is on a mission then that location is classified."

Tevos, glared at her fellow, her head tentacles quivering at his stubbornness, "Then we will unclassify it. Allegations are being made, serious ones, against a SPECTRE, our arms and voice in the galaxy, and with what we have just heard I would have them put to rest."

The others grumbled out paltry arguments but the Asari was set in her decision. So it was in short order that the chamber's holo-comm was activated and the visage of a surly looking Saren came to be before them all.

"I trust there is a good reason I have been pulled away from my mission so abruptly." Saren growled in his throaty voice.

"There is, Spectre Saren." Tevos intoned. "Please provide us with your current galactic coordinates."

"I cannot do that, Councilor. It could break the parameters of secrecy."

"We are rescinding those parameters. Allegations of a serious nature against you have been made, and circumstantial evidence has been provided. We need those coordinates to discount them."

At those words Saren's eyes spanned the room before falling squarely on Lily. "This is your doing isn't it, you alien filth. Yours and old Anderson behind you. Funny how he seems to always be present when I am accused of wrongdoing."

Lily bristled at the tone and insult directed her way and said, "Do all SPECTRES refuse to follow direct orders? I believe you ordered him to provide his coordinates."

"We did." By this point even Sparatus was starting to grow weary of the argument before them. "Saren, just do it. Ping this transmission through the comm on your ship and once we can verify that you are nowhere near a location that could place you at Eden Prime in the timeframe reported we can be done with this mess."

Saren was quiet for a moment as he surveyed all three councilors, finding that the order was unanimous and he would receive no arguing opinions. "I cannot do that."

"This is an order, Saren."

"I don't care. My mission is too-" The Turian agent was cut off as the lights in the chamber suddenly dimmed and a massive azure face with crimson eyes came to life with fresh holograms over the ceiling.

The moment she saw it, Lily groaned, having a pretty good idea what was coming. Her father was never known for subtlety.

"Greetings, strangers of a new galaxy. I am Grand Admiral Thrawn of the Sith Empire. It is my understanding that you have absconded with our crown princess. Such an act can be considered an act of war." As he spoke, the outline of space visible through the chamber blast windows was suddenly blotted out by the arrival of tens of thousands of vessels from hyperspace. One minute they were nowhere to be seen, and then they were present and powering up their weapons.

"N-No fleet in the cosmos is that large…" Admiral Anderson gasped.

Meanwhile Lily was folding her hand over her eyes in embarrassment. "Geez, he brought a fourth of the fleet with him."

"A fourth!" Shepard exclaimed as her new friend strutted to the head of their small bridge and shouted up to the massive head.

"Hey, Thrawn!"

The cranium turned, a strange gesture for being based on the ceiling, and took in the sight of the uninjured princess. "Ah, Princess Lily. You had us all worried when the Servitor disappeared from its hanger. When neither it nor you could be found your father mobilized the Eastern fleet."

"Dad's here?"

"Oh yes, and he's a raging mess of the dark side right now. In fact, he's making it clear that should you not be returned to the Rancor at once, the fleet is to open fire."

"I'm here willingly!"

"He has no proof of that, and you know how unreasonable he is in regards to your safety." The last was said with an eyeroll full of their shared sense of sarcasm. "Please Princess, simply come and explain yourself before he brings the Iron Rain down on these people. From what I can see they are clearly too primitive to survive it."

By now Saren had cut off his feed and the Council was scrambling. They'd never seen a naval force this large and they'd not even tripped a single one of their sensors. If they attacked now then the Citadel was done for. Taking charge Tevos said, "We of course have no problem returning the Princess to her people. Kidnapping her was never our intent."

Thrawn provided a look of deep satisfaction at that statement. "Good, good, but there is more. The emperor requires your presence to answer for this insult."

"Ours?"

"Or at least a representative. He wants to know how his daughter was taken."

Sensing an opportunity, Anderson stepped forth and bowed, "With your permission, Councilors, I would be happy to go in your stead." He remembered Shepards words about her conversation with the princess. If this mystery emperor was indeed a human from Earth, then he wanted to see him with his own eyes.

Tevos gazed at the others and they shared a brief conversation before she stepped forth onto a floating disk that took her to the humans side. "You will be my escort, Admiral, and I will represent the council."

"Excellent." Thrawn practically purred. "Now please, hurry. The Emperor is not a patient man. Though I will of course hold him off as long as I can." At the conclusion of the last word his face disappeared from sight, and the impromptu party raced for the nearest lift. None of them wanted to see what would happen if they were not fast enough.