Mass Effect: Equivocation

Chapter One

Halifax, Novia Scotia, Canada, November 9th, 2161, 911h

The autumn cold swept many deciduous trees' leaves all around the grave site. The funeral was not large for Maggie Longoria; only a dozen people stood huddled around the casket. Russell Longoria kept his six year old daughter Serena close to him for warmth. As the minister spoke from a passage of the gospel of John and of the Lord Jesus' resurrection, the words did not bring him comfort. Instead, they only angered him. His wife had been taken from him-she had a sudden brain aneurysm. There was no time for him to even react. She had been making dinner at the time and cursed at a piece of minced onion that had fallen to the floor. As Maggie bent down to pick it up, she held her hand to her head, and fell over.

Russell had rushed over to the kitchen to see what had happened. She had not cut herself-he couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. She wasn't even breathing. After the autopsy, the medical examiner gave his official cause of death, which made Russell even more furious. He knew that Maggie had been suffering from headaches, migraines even sometimes. But they had gone in for a CT scan-she had no tumors at all. The coroner said that unfortunately, this can be hereditary, especially if either of her parents had suffered from strokes. He also said that this may show up in his daughter later in life depending upon her lifestyle, and that as her father, he should warn her of it. Russell didn't know about Maggie's family history; he didn't care. His wife was gone.

He recounted this event in his mind for the past three days-over and over again. What could he have done to prevent it? This was North America, the finest continent for medical care! And best of all, Canadian healthcare was free! But what if the doctors that had taken her CT scan were wrong? What if they missed something because they had another case to move onto that was more important?

Serena tugged at her father's coat and held up her gloved hand. She was probably cold, and snowflakes were just starting to fall. Russell picked his daughter up and held her tightly. She was all that he had left of his wife, but it didn't matter. Maggie was stolen from him. "Dad…" she said and nuzzled her face into his shoulder.

"Not now," he pushed her away and put her down onto the ground.

The minister finished speaking and all of the Longorias' relatives and friends passed their flowers onto the closed casket. "Mr. Longoria, would you like to say anything?" he inquired.

"Lower her down before the storm gets worse," Russell replied coldly and stared at the empty hole soon to be a full grave. "I paid good money for that casket."

"Yes, Mr. Longoria, as you wish." The minister bowed his head and activated his omni-tool.

The pearl-white finished casket went down into the ground with the help of a mass effect field seconds later. The crowd dispersed, and only one party member remained left to speak with Russell. "Got any plans tonight, Russ? We could drop Serena off somewhere to stay for the night and go have a few drinks," the man offered.

"Can't drink tonight, have to work tomorrow. I've made arrangements for Serena to stay with Maggie's sister for the next few weeks," Russell answered him. "I might take you up on that offer after I get back from the job, though."

"How much longer are you gonna keep sawing those trees down by yourself? You should hire a couple of guys to help."

"I plan on starting my own company really soon, actually. With the money I get from this latest job, I should be able to afford a downpayment on a space in Toronto."

"You're moving, eh?"

"Can't stay here anymore, not in that house, not in this city. Halifax's been real picturesque and all, but metropolitan city life is good, too."

"I don't blame you, Russ," the man shook his head. "Not one little bit. Take care of yourself."

Longoria Lumber, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

November 9th, 2167, 1832h

"Dad? Can I come in?" Serena's eleven year old voice called across his office.

"Yeah, go ahead," he said and unlocked the door. This was a complete inconvenience; he had work to do. Hopefully, this wasn't just another question about a math problem. That's why he had hired a tutor for her. "What do you need, Serena?"

She approached his huge desk timidly. He looked so buried in his work that he barely even lifted his head away from his monitor to look at her. "Well, um, it's been five years since Mom died, and um…-"

"What did I say about the word um, Serena? If you're gonna say something, you better think of what you want to say first before you come out with it. Don't waste my time; I'm extremely busy," Longoria answered her sternly.

"Sorry. Are you busy enough to take a trip up to Halifax? I mean, I wanted to go see Mom."

"You can see Mom anytime you'd like through the extranet. I had that web cam installed for that reason. You can even take a look at some of those holos at home. You know where they are on our server."

"But I meant, can we actually go there?"

"You've got school tomorrow."'

"Can't I get a sick day? You've got people who take sick days all the time and aren't really sick."

He rolled his eyes and finally glanced at her as if she were a bug. "I've got work to do, Serena. And I'll probably fire those people soon for doing so."

"But Dad…-"

"I hope you're not about to whine at me," he raised his voice in volume. "Do you know what I do with whiners?!"

She swallowed and took a step back from his bureau. "Yes, Dad. I'm sorry, I won't do it again."

"Good. Now, go downstairs. I've got a car waiting for you to take you home. I'll be there in another hour. Heather will have your dinner ready for you then." Serena clenched her teeth and turned around with a dour look on her face. She would obey her father now…for the last time.

Longoria Residence, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

November 9th, 2168, 2141h

"Mr. Longoria!" his chauffeur yelled through his intercom. "You've gotta get down here to the garage, quick! I've called the fire department, but I don't know if they can get here in time!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm getting outta here, this place is gonna go up in smoke!"

"Turn on the foggers and the halo system!"

"I can't, they're not responding!"

Longoria left his den and rushed down the stairs. He forced his way into his daughter's room, and she was nowhere to be found. "Serena!" he called out, but there was no response. "Serena!" He searched as much of the house as he could, but she was not in it.

Half an hour later, the fire department put out the flames, but unfortunately could not save all of his cars. Most of them were destroyed beyond repair, but thankfully, the garage's structure was just fine.

"Mr. Longoria," the captain motioned towards the lumberjack, "you should know that your halo system would have gone off if somebody hadn't tampered with it. The network cables leading to the controls were cut, probably with a pair of side cutters."

"I see. And how did the fire start?"

"It was no accident, that's for sure. It looks like somebody opened up some of those paint cans and threw a match in." He pointed to the charred remains of the canisters. "That'd be my guess."

"You know that I love working for ya, Mr. Longoria, right?" the chauffeur held up his hands. "I'd never do something like this! I want my job!"

"No, I know you better than that, Bernard. I think I have a good idea of who it was, and she'll likely come back to visit the scene of the crime soon."

One hour later, in the garage…

"I knew it was you," Longoria announced as he turned on the lights. She was trying to sneak back in and put the cutters back on the pegboard. "You've got a lot of explaining to do, young lady."

"Do I? What if I don't have anything to say?" she crossed her arms defiantly.

"That's it, Serena. I'm done. I don't care what time of the year it is." He threw a piece of broken glass at one of the walls. "Tomorrow morning, you're going to Vancouver. Alone. And you're gonna stay in that school, or so help me…" Russell threw another piece, but this one was bigger, and it landed right at her feet.

Harper Boarding School, Vancouver, BC

June 12th, 2169, 849h

As the bell rang to end another class, Serena's history teacher finished her last sentence. The students began to file out of the classroom noisily like most thirteen and fourteen year olds. Serena stayed behind to collect her things, and her teacher approached her desk. "Miss Longoria, we need to talk," the woman began.

"About what?"

"Twentieth century North American history may not seem quite interesting to young people, but I don't think that you're not doing well in this class because you don't like history."

"Your point?"

"I don't like your tone, Miss Longoria. Reconsider it carefully." The teacher folded her arms in front of her chest. "I'm concerned about you. You don't seem to have too many friends, and you seemed to be wrapped up in those e-zine articles. I hope those articles aren't about anything violent."

"Worried that I'll blow up the school? Gun down my classmates?"

"I wouldn't joke about something like that if I were you."

"Please," Serena chuffed. "You are so not worth my time." She picked up her knapsack and left the classroom.

Serena walked outside of the historical and arts building across the greens to the dormitory for girls. She hated her life here. No one was interested in anything except fashion, pop stars, and makeup. But it was better than being at home where her father could have complete control over everything she ever wore, who her friends were, or what she did. She dug into her knapsack for something to eat, not looking where she was going, and suddenly, she ran into a boy. The sack fell to the ground. "Oh, excuse me. I must not have been paying attention to where I was going," a young man apologized and retrieved it for her.

He had deep brown eyes, slightly wavy chocolate hair, and the kind of complexion a young puppy might have while playing fetch with his master.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, too," Serena nodded, taking the backpack from him.

"I've seen you around here before a few times, walking around like…well, I don't know…the world's not right."

"What do you mean?" her face was a question mark.

"I'm Kaidan Alenko. It's nice to meet you," he smiled genuinely and held out his hand.

"That's kind of an odd thing to say to someone who just plowed right into you," Serena's eyebrow rose, but she did eventually give in and shake his hand. "Serena Longoria."

"Was I right, though?"

She shrugged but didn't reply.

"What subjects do you like?"

"Anything but history," she finally opened up a little.

"Right…nobody likes Jones. She words her tests really strangely-if you want to do well, read ahead," Kaidan suggested.

"How'd you know I had her?"

"She teaches all of history, but I noticed a couple of books in your backpack. She's the only teacher who makes everyone still use 'em. Makes sense, I guess, in an ironic way."

"Oh. Yeah, it does."

"Look, I've got to get going, but it was good to meet you. Want to talk again sometime?"

"You talk to me? Aren't you older than me?"

"Just by a couple of years, I think. Why, is there a law where you came from that forbids it?"

Serena snickered through her nose and grinned. "No, of course not, well, at least in Ontario. Who knows about someone from Alberta or Winnipeg, though?"

"They're interesting people. But at least they let us start to drink earlier; can't be all that bad, can they?"

"You're right. Guess it was nice to meet someone that seems like a real person here. See you later, Kaidan." She turned to leave.

"Look forward to it, Serena," he called after her.

Author's Notes:

So if you've read my first published novel here, which was "Vindication", it's likely that you might remember a character of my own creation by the name of Serena Longoria who is a Shadow Broker agent. At first, she was going to have a really short supporting role as just being someone that Liara spoke to for intel. But then, I wanted to make a character who was nearly a synthesis of Ashley and Miranda. As I did some brainstorming for ideas about stories, I wanted to do something really original. Many people have done some backstory for Miranda and Ashley. I kind of wanted to do the same thing but thought that perhaps the Mass Effect writers would be doing that in ME3 at the time.

This novel is finished, but you'll just again see small parts being posted at a time because I'm editing it now. I hope that everyone will enjoy it.

Destination is still in production-I'm reposting this because it has anachronisms in it, so, many apologies for my errors. This was written before I had a beta reader, who happens to be on vacation right now. I also just wanted to fix a few of those errors as well as generate a bit more publicity for my self-published novel called "The Edge of Obliteration". You can find this novel on Amazon dot com as well as Barnes and Noble on paperback for $14 plus shipping and handling fees. It is also available in e-book format and also on Trafford dot com. There is a free preview on Trafford as well as the version made for the Kindle. This book is set in the future and revolves around a sci-fi conspiracy. It's not a Mass Effect novel; however, the video game series has helped me come back to writing. So if you enjoy my style, please do take a look because I am planning a sequel.

Thank you in advance to everyone for reading this story as well as perhaps even buying the original novel. It's been my hope and pleasure to entertain everyone as well as myself. As the thief Kasumi would say: "I do what I do for the love of it".