Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we do about peace, more about killing than we know about living.
Omar N. Bradley
Liara T'Soni's head hurt like she never felt any type of pain before in her life. Not just hurt, but throbbed with an intensity that dulled her sense and made her forget everything around her. It sounded and felt like a concussion, but she couldn't be sure; she wasn't a doctor, she was only an archaeologist of Prothean artifacts who was brought along to help in excavating a Prothean site that was recently discovered.
That was why she was out here, after all. A Council ship that had gone through a recently activated relay had found Prothean ruins on a planet and had sent out a call for anyone who was capable to help them. Evidently it had been a big discovery.
But the ship carrying Liara and a dozen other scientists had been damaged by pirates, causing them to crash onto the only garden planet in the system. Liara doubted that the distress call had gone out, which meant that the turian patrol that was dispatched to safeguard the ruins probably didn't know what had transpired.
Now she was trapped on some unknown planet, where she would no doubt die unless she could get the distress signal working. Even then, the turians might not come to save them, instead choosing to leave them to their fate. After all, the planet was covered in radiation, no doubt from the former owners war, and the only signs of life were in old satellites in decaying orbits. Everything on this planet was, is and will always be dead.
Rolling over, her eyes looked into the eyes of a dead turian, his neck bent at an odd angle; no doubt he was dead. Liara fought the urge to throw-up at the sight; instead, she unbuckled her seatbelt, causing her to crash to the floor in a heap.
Crawling to her knees, Liara made her way to the back of the ship, where she slipped into the emergency EVA suits. She had no idea what was to be seen on the outside, but she was fairly certain that it was not good. Even so, protocol demanded that the suit be worn until they could determine the makeup and the dangers of the planet. With the preliminary scanners showing large amounts of radiation, it was something that she was planning on doing anyways.
Sealing the helmet on her head, she made her way back to the front of the ship. Fiddling with the console, she attempted to find out the final minutes or to at least send off a distress signal. She doubted that anyone would hear it, being so far from anywhere, but she had to try.
After several minutes of manipulating the console, nothing was happening and Liara had no idea as to how to fix it. She knew it was bad, as with no distress signal there would be no rescue, and with no rescue she would die here. Alone.
She shivered at the thought, but that couldn't stop her. She was going to die here on this unknown and backwater planet, away from everything and everyone she loved.
She shuddered at the thought, but she didn't let it stop her as she made her way to the airlock. It was open, which meant that something got in or someone got out. She hoped that it was the latter as she made her through the airlock and into the world at large.
Her helmet automatically shaded itself to block out the light while a warning about radiation levels popped up on her HUD. Liara took note, but since the armor and filters on her helmet blocked out radiation it wasn't a concern unless she removed her helmet.
Looking around, Liara was awestruck at the scene around her. Crumbling buildings overgrown with plants, rusting out chunks of metal that once served a purpose, piles of mud and dirt and rubbish that clogged roads and pools of odd-colored liquid that glowed slightly. The sky looked angry and violent, with thick gray clouds rushing past with business more important than staying in the 'land of the dead'. And everywhere she looked, piles of bones were scattered about, all that was left of the creatures that once called this land their own.
Looking at it all, Liara could tell that whatever cataclysmic event that killed this planet had to have happened recently; how recently should could not tell.
'Perhaps this is what's its like on Tuchanka,' she wondered, not that it would help her. Dwelling about places beyond her reach would not help her survive her.
"Liara! You're alive!" a stacco voice said. Liara turned and saw a salarian. Joanik Renasurn, she believed.
"Joanik! How did you-" replied Liara, the shock clearly in her voice.
"Survive? I'm not quite sure, but I thought that I was the only one. Nice to know that I was wrong." Joanik covered the distance between them in a matter of seconds, before he handed her a pistol.
"Here, take it. You'll need it, as this planet isn't as dead as we thought. Found signs of life. Temperament unknown."
Liara took the pistol and studied it in her hand. "How do you know all of this?"
"Brother is in STG's. Know things. You've gone through basic weapons training?"
Liara nodded. "Yes; my mother made sure that I knew how to use a weapon before I left to go on research trips,"
"Hmm... a blessing, though I doubt she knew it would end like this. Now, we must hurry. Storms coming in fast. Unknown variables. Extreme danger."
"Wouldn't it be safer in the ship? I mean, the ship has food, water weapons,"
Joanik shook his head. "No. Too dangerous. Drive core and power plant could be damaged. Much safer to strip the ship of need parts and build distress signal in safe area, away from possible dangers."
"So you've scouted the area?" Liara was still looking around at the crumbling buildings. Some of them were… beautiful in their own way; Liara wondered what the creatures that once inhabited them looked like.
"Yes, in here. Should be fairly safe, though it only has one way out; unless you go deeper into the tunnel," replied Joanik as he turned on the built-in light on his helmet.
Liara grimaced a little at the sight in front of her. As bad as it was on the surface, down here in this artificial tunnel it was worse. The same bones and mud and trash was everywhere, but this included webbing everywhere, proving that at least something had to be alive.
Tiles, broken, grimy and otherwise old, covered the walls and roots hung low from the ceiling, crowding her vision and making it difficult to know where you were going.
"Liara, in here." yelled Joanik from a small, dark room. Liara questioned the wisdom of using the small room as their hideout, but she didn't have any military experience so her opinion went unsaid.
Bringing her light up, Liara peered into the room. A small table was pushed up close to the far wall, covered with small debris and other stuff that Liara had idea as to what it could be. A skeleton of the rooms' previous occupant was shoved in a corner, scraps of clothing barely hanging off of the bones.
Liara struggled to control her urge to throw up at the sight; she wasn't meant for this, she was supposed to simply be a archaeologists. This was just too much.
Joanik noticed, and moved to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry Liara; not much longer before we get off planet,"
Liara simply shrugged at the thought as she crawled into a corner, too tired and scared to do much of anything.
She was awoken, hours later, by Joanik shaking her awake.
"Huh? What's going on?" she asked.
"Get up, now. We need to get out of here, now, it's too dangerous; must move now." replied Joanik as he roughly shook her awake.
"What…? How? Where?"
"Found life. Aggressive, deadly, need to leave now." Joanik started grabbing up the small bits that they had brought with them, desperation in his actions.
"What did you see?" Liara asked as she quickly stood and made her way out of the room with Joanik following.
"Not quite sure, but big, dangerous. Must leave now, get back to ship." But before Joanick could do anything, a massive, hairy creature jumped him, sinking its fangs deep into the salarians neck. He screamed and bucked, reaching out to Liara for her to help him. But she ran instead, ran far away from Joanik and his screaming form, ran ran ran.
Until she tripped and the creatures caught up to her, their many legs pinning her to the muddy ground, fangs trying desperately to break into her armor. She struggled to throw the creature off, her fists bouncing off of the creatures soft underbelly, the attacks simply making the creature even angrier.
A sudden loud noise, like a gunshot, broke both from the attacks. Though for the creature on top of Liara, it was a killing blow, causing it to go limp and pin Liara to the muddy ground.
Liara tilted her head up and stared at him, this strange creature whose face was hidden behind a mask; it reminded her of the quarians a little, though this was certainly not Rannoch
He covered the steps between them in a matter of seconds, throwing off the giant bug creature of her before helping her up.
"Паук ошибок не выходят на поверхность для что-нибудь; свет больно им. Но для вас они сделали исключение, означает, что вы один быть один вкусной еды для них."
Liara had no idea what he was saying, but his accent had an odd sound to it, deep and powerful with a command behind it.
Pointing his gun at her, he talked again. "Итак что делает ли это вам? Ты не мутант, это точно, но вы не человека и вы определенно не темный один. Так что же вы?"
Liara mimed not understanding what he said, hoping that he wouldn't take it as a threat of violence. He responded by pointing his gun in her face as if he was testing her. Liara didn't move, didn't even breath as the person behind the mask considered what to do.
He lowered his gun, but Liara still felt his eyes on her. No doubt he was still trying to figure out just what he wanted to do with her, but he was interrupted by a weird, high pitched growling.
Turning back towards Liara, he motioned towards her to follow him. Liara wasn't quite sure why, but she wasn't complaining; he saved her from those creatures that would have ripped her to shreds, which made him her only way to survive in this world. At least until she contacted the turians.
It was then that she heard it, an animalistic cry that chilled her blood. The masked creature, however, simply brought his weapon up and looked around.
"Сторожей! Мы должны сейчас идти!"
Liara had no idea what he told her, but he started running, so Liara had no other choice to follow him around a building, its interior massive with a flight of stairs in the middle going down. Liara followed the creature down the stairs, which ended in front of a giant metal door that had to be double her height.
'No doubt this is some sort of bunker or something' Liara though as the creature ran up and started banging on the door.
"ОТКРЫТЬ! ОТКРЫТЬ ВЫ УБЛЮДКИ ЭТО Я, АРТЁМ! ОТКРЫТЬ!"
The growls and cries were becoming louder, the creatures were getting closer. Turning around, Liara saw their silhouettes. They were big, about the size of a varren, and shaggy, with drool dripping in sheets from their gaping mouths and large, sharp teeth.
The sound of gunfire broke her stupor, as her 'friend' started shooting the beasts. They did not take kindly to that, charging down the stairs with blood-lust in their every fiber. Liara knew that this would be her end, her every muscle freezing in fear.
The gunfire echoing throughout the tunnel, the animal cries mixing with the scraps of the claws as they made their way down the stairs, the buzzing alarm and screech of metal on metal, all of it washed over her in her fear and stupor.
'Wait? Alarm? Metal? That could only mean-' but her train of thoughts were cut off as she was roughly pulled back. From the corner of her eye she could see two others in big, bulky armor with low slung weapons breathing an open flame. She heard the cries and screeches of the animals as their flesh was burnt.
Despite the filters of the helmet, she could still smell their rancid skin and hair burning; it nearly made her choke and throw up in her helmet. It would be a smell she would remember long after she left this planet.
Before she could, rough hands grabbed her and threw her down to the ground. Rough hands that grabbed her helmet and ripped it off her head. Several bright lights shined into her face as a boot pressed down on her chest. Another gun was pointed at her face, the cold steel barrel pressing into her cheek.
"Перемещение одной мышцы и я убить вас, прямо здесь, прямо сейчас. Теперь что ты?"
Liara still had no idea what was said, but she knew it was about her; but without any way to know what they were saying she could quite possibly kill herself.
"My name is Liara T'Soni and I'm a member of the Citadel Council."
Well hey there! Thanks for reading the story, you readers of story you. Now, onto the goods, which are lacking since this is a new story and all. Still, the usual stuff.
Read, review that will make me better, and favorite it if you really want to. Also, I have other stories out there:
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