Graves of Hurt
Chapter 1: Pain
Pain.
An emotion? A feeling? A solemn sense of forgotten memories? A feeling so vile, so staggering that few words can describe it when the time comes. Its cruelty so expansive, that all borders are crossed into the delves of your mind, making you plead for mercy.
It could be a physical impalement, sticking into your skin with its greedy desires, trembling your nerves into an overwhelming submission. It could be a broken heart aching for someone to fill the hole that was made. In the worst cases it could be something deeper, within us. It can be something so dark, so hidden that we need the help of others to reveal it.
Most have felt it, most know it and for those who have not… their time will come soon.
"Citadel Control, this is Genesis Fear, reporting from patrol." The voice rang on the speaker as the pilot shifted listening in for the response. He slumped back in his chair getting comfortable, knowing that the Citadel would take a while to report back.
These past couple of months had been hell for the Council. There repairs for the Chambers had just been completed only three days ago. That was even do to the fact that they had the entire build crew work on everything else in the Citadel before placing one foot in the Chambers. They had just begun finishing the presidium as well.
Usually when you have an intergalactic war on your doorstep, some of your garden gnomes get a bit crumbled through the mess but that was nowhere compared to what had happened.
A rogue Spectre named Saren had led a geth army on the Citadel's front door destroying majority of the cities luckily not the entire station. He along with the Reaper, Sovereign, had planned to use the station to bring back the long dormant Reaper army from out of dark space. Luckily he was stopped before the plan was able to go through. It's a shame that the savior of the races had to die, however. Commander Shepard will be missed.
The pilot straightened up as static began to pierce from the comms before a deep voice came on. "Genesis Fear this is Citadel Control, your arrival has been acknowledged you may proceed, welcome back Jackson."
The pilot sighed deeply as he heard the words. "Sir I thought I told you to call me Jack not Jackson." The pilot was responded with a slight chuckle as the comms came back.
"Jack I'm just pulling your leg calm down, you're almost as bad as Jeff and his name. Doesn't matter now, that guy has been in hospice care for months." The pilot slumped back in his seat remembering what had happened to the Normandy two years ago. Some said it was an accident, some said it was an attack. Not like it matters now seeing how no one did anything in the long run.
"He was an excellent pilot sir. Some people usually don't return the same after they had watched their entire ship blow up along with its Captain." The pilot replied as he checked the systems of the ship searching for any anomalies.
"He still is a good pilot Jackson. You just need to give him some time." The voice replied as the Genesis Fear began to inch its way towards the docking bays.
The pilot maneuvered the ship precisely to align itself with the docking platform, remembering that you need to align first before docking. "Well sir there truly isn't much for us to do about it. I mean after the guy died, his team just split and…" the pilot stopped as the control panel began to flash sporadically preparing for…an FTL jump?
He began to type away hoping to disengage it but the flashing continued. "Uh sir, the Genesis is about to jump, what's going on."
"I don't know, were getting similar reports from the fleet. Something's not right here." The voice stopped as yelling could be heard from the background.
The pilot straightened up, preparing for a countermeasure when the bridge erupted in a series of shouts and orders.
"Contact, I repeat we have a contact!"
The shouting stuttered as the captain stomped on board heading right towards Jackson's station. He placed a hand on the headrest as he read the screens for any signs of the anomaly presence. "Jackson, do you know where it is?" the captain asked as he began scanning all the screens looking for an answer.
"I don't know Sir I...It just appeared, but not through an FTL jump almost like it teleported." Jackson replied as he franticly typed on the controls scanning the space in front of the Citadel.
"Jackson isn't that pretty much the same thing as an FTL jump?" the captain replied anger in his tone as he scanned through the other pilots screens looking for answers.
"Well no sir I mean that there is no FTL residuals. No scans indicate that it used a mass relay but nothing can travel that fast. It's almost going…" the pilot stopped as the XO began yelling for the captain pointing his finger out the back window.
"Sir the Valence, her hull just imploded!" the captain ran up to the deck staring out into the fleet watching as one of the destroyer ships was ripped in half.
The rest of the bridge crew slowly walked up behind the captain mouths agape watching as the Valence ripped into pieces.
"Good God." The captain stammered as the Valence's hull exploded. The rest of the crew gasped as the pieces of debris smashed in the citadel and the rest of the fleet.
"Sir, movement off our bow its headed right towards us!" Jackson yelled from his station as he franticly began to move the ship.
The captain stared off, watching as a fire ball began heading right towards them. He began calling for Jackson when a blinding light erupted from the contact engulfing the entire citadel.
Jackson held his head in his arms as he heard the hull of the Genesis rip into pieces. He quietly prayed as he felt a searing heat head right towards him. He opened his eyes however seeing that the ship had sealed itself. He looked around noticing that a chunk of the bridge had been ripped out.
"Jackson, sound the alarms! Alert the Council, the Citadels about to get hit!" the voice yelled out as the oxygen barrier opened around the bridge.
Jackson faintly heard the sound of his captain as he began typing in the emergency report. He stopped however as he looked out towards the Citadel noticing that it was all dark. "Sir I don't think they'll be worried about the contact."
The captain stood up slowly with his hand to his face trying to stop the searing pain emanating from his jaw. His eyes became wide as he looked out towards the Citadel with its lights off and the only brightness emanating from the fire ball heading right towards the Council tower.
"God help us all."
All I can feel is pain.
Whether it be flowing through my bloodstreams or through my mind as I laid there, content with the darkness surrounding me. Pain was all I could feel, it was all I could think of, it was all I knew.
The breath entered me as I opened my eyes to darkness with the only sense of light being the soft red glow at the side.
My lungs panged with shudders from each breath I took in, trying with all my might, to awaken my dormant body. My torso screamed with malice as I sat up with my arms pushing against the ground with similar consequence.
My body felt like it was on fire. From the burning of my eyes to the cool sobs of my feet, it all felt the same.
It all hurt.
I darted my eyes around drearily taking in what little I could see. All around me was black. I could see nothing except the slight crimson glow coming from ahead. My eyes darted forward taking in a soft red light beyond the dark hall that surrounded me.
I began to lift myself from the ground seething as streaks of pain crawled up my legs. My body moved slowly and painfully as I walked towards the red glow at the end.
My sight heightened as the walls around me subsided placing me in the middle of a walk way. My head tilted up taking in what laid before me.
Confusion swept through my mind as I saw a small lake red with the color from above. Across from it was burning trees in the middle of a charred plain of grass next to a metallic walk way. My eyes widened at the sight of fire on the buildings across from the lake causing sparks to shoot out from the metallic structures.
My head tilted up ward taking note towards the black sky. The darkness was empty as the only source of light being the orange glow of fire on the buildings of the cascading walls.
My mind jumbled through what I saw trying to understand where I was. My thoughts were interrupted as shouting came from the right of me.
A group of armor clad soldiers ran towards me their eyes wide at my appearance. The group surrounded me pointing their guns away, at unknown forces.
One stepped up towards me his eyes scanning my shock apparent appearance. He breathed out slowly as his mouth opened concern and shock in his eyes. "Man are you alright? You don't look so good."
The question came on deaf ears as I did not respond for I had lost all strength to speak, all strength to stand, apparently, as I collapsed on my knees.
The human's voice yelled out as he kneeled down holding me up with his hand. "Captain we found a turian. Yah he's pretty messed up. You better send a medic or were going to lose this guy and… Hey! Hold on man stay with me! Just stay u…" The words did not come as my strength failed me causing me to collapse to the ground.
All I remember was the feeling of being carried, the pain and darkness flowing through me. Then the feeling of welcomed chill came over me as a soft voice resounded from above. "You're going to be alright, okay."
The pain and hurt shuddered.
Fear had stricken them.