Saren raised his pistol and pointed it straight at the babbling human, then he turned his head toward

Edan.

“Is this true?” he asked the batarian.

Edan shrugged. “We have copies of all his research, and I have my own team studying the artifact. Qian is brilliant but he’s become… erratic. I think the time has come for him to be replaced.”

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than Saren fired. Qian went rigid and toppled over backwards, a single bullet hole in his forehead. The metal case fell from his hands and clattered to the floor, the flash drive inside well-protected from the impact by the padded interior.

“And what about you?” the Spectre asked, aiming the pistol at the batarian.

When he’d thought there was no hope of survival Edan had been calm, resigned to his fate. Now that he saw a chance to escape with his life, the gun pointed in his direction filled him with a cold fear.

“I know where it is,” he said. “How will you find it without my help?”

Saren nodded his head in the direction of the metal case. “There’s probably something in there that’ll tell me what I need to know.”

“I… I have resources,” Edan stammered, scrambling to find another argument capable of staying the executioner’s hand. “People. Power. Money. The cost of the project is astronomical. If you kill me, how will you fund it?”

“You aren’t the only one with wealth and influence,” the turian reminded him. “I can find another moneyman without even leaving the Verge.”

“Think of how much time and effort I’ve put into this!” Edan blurted out. “Kill me and you’ll have to start from scratch!”

Saren stayed silent, but he did tilt his head slightly to the side as if considering what the batarian had said.

“You have no idea what this thing is capable of,” Edan continued, pressing his point. “It’s like nothing the galaxy has ever seen before. Even with Qian’s files you won’t find anybody who can just step in and resume work on the project.

“I’ve been involved from the beginning. I have a fundamental understanding of what we’re dealing with. Nobody else in the galaxy can offer you that.”

From the expression on the turian’s face it was obvious he was buying into Edan’s argument.

“If you kill me, you don’t just lose my financial backing, you lose my experience. You might find someone else to fund the project, but that will take time. If you kill me, you’ll be starting over from the

beginning.

“You’re not going to throw away three years of my groundwork just so you can have the satisfaction of shooting me.”

“I don’t mind waiting a few extra years,” Saren replied as he squeezed the trigger. “I’m a very patient man.”

Kahlee and Anderson were still inside the main building of the refinery when the second explosion came. The blast originated near the processing core’s vats of molten ore; a geyser of fiery liquid erupted from the heart of the facility, shooting up three hundred meters into the sky. The glowing pillar mushroomed, spreading out to illuminate the night before collapsing to rain red hot death down over everything within a half-kilometer radius.

“Keep moving!” Anderson shouted, straining to be heard above the shrieking alarms. The plant was already structurally weakened by the first two explosions, and more were sure to follow. “We have to get outside before this place caves in on us!”

He led the way, one hand clutching the assault rifle, the other clenching Kahlee’s wrist as he dragged the weakened young woman along with him. They emerged from the plant, racing for the perimeter fence, the lieutenant frantically scanning the area around them for any signs of pursuit.

“My God!” Kahlee gasped, pulling up short and forcing Anderson to do the same. He glanced back and saw her staring out into the distance. He turned to follow her gaze, then whispered a small prayer of his own.

The entire work camp was ablaze. Shielded by the roof and walls of the refinery, the two humans had been protected from the deluge of molten ore. Those outside the plant — the men, women, and children in the work camps — were not so lucky. Every building seemed to be on fire; a fierce orange wall of flames ringing them in.

“We’ll never get through that,” Kahlee moaned, collapsing to the ground, overwhelmed with exhaustion and fatigue.

Another explosion shook the facility. Glancing back Anderson saw the plant was on fire now, too. By the light of the flames he could see dark vapors crawling out from the windows — toxic chemical clouds released by the destruction.

“Don’t give up!” Anderson shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders and hauling her to her feet. “We can make it!”

Kahlee only shook her head. He could see it in her eyes; after everything she’d already been through since the destruction of Sidon, this was finally too much for her. She didn’t have anything left; she’d finally given in to despair.

“I can’t. I’m too tired,” she said, slumping back down. “Just leave me.”

He couldn’t carry her the rest of the way; they had too far to go. And with her draped over his back he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to move fast enough to get through the flame-engulfed work camp without them both burning to death.

Kahlee hadn’t enlisted to serve on the battlefront. She was a scientist, a thinker. But all of humanity’s soldiers went through the same basic training — before they became part of the Alliance they had to endure months of grueling physical ordeals. They were taught to push themselves to their limits and beyond. And when their bodies threatened to simply keel over from fatigue and exhaustion, they had to find a way to keep going. They had to break through the mental barriers holding them back and push further than they ever imagined was possible.

It was a right of passage, a bond shared by every man and woman in the Systems Alliance Military. It united them and gave them strength; transformed them into living symbols — flesh and blood manifestations of the indomitable human spirit.

Anderson knew he had to tap into that now. “Damn it, Sanders!” he shouted at her. “Don’t you dare quit on me now! Your unit is moving out, so get up off your ass and get your feet moving! That’s an order!”

Like a good soldier, Kahlee responded to his commands. Somehow she got back to her feet, still clutching her weapon. She broke into a slow, lumbering run — her will forcing her body to do what her mind told her it couldn’t. Anderson watched her for a second to make sure she wouldn’t topple over, then fell into step behind her, matching Kahlee’s pace as they raced toward the smoke, screams, and flames coming from the buildings in front of them.

The work camp had become Hell itself. The roaring of the flames rose up from the conflagration to mingle with shrieks of pain and keening cries of terror and loss. The horrible cacophony was punctuated by the occasional earsplitting thunder of another detonation from somewhere inside the plant.

Greasy black clouds rolled across the rooftops and down to the ground as the fire leaped from building to building, devouring the entire camp, one structure at time. The heat was like a living thing, clutching and grabbing at their limbs, scraping searing claws across their skin as they ran past. Acrid smoke stung their eyes and crawled down their lungs, choking them with each breath. The sickly stench of burning flesh was everywhere.

Bodies lay strewn about the streets, many of them children. Some were victims of the molten ore that

had rained down, charred husks lying in bubbling puddles of their own melted flesh. Others had succumbed to the smoke or flames, their corpses curling up into the fetal position as muscles and sinew shriveled and burned. Still others had been trampled by the stampede of those trying to escape, their limbs broken and bent at grotesque, unnatural angles; their faces smashed to a bloody pulp beneath the heedless feet of their neighbors.