Chapter 1 Zephire
She looked out a small port window, grey with exhaustion, sliding an impatient finger back and forth along the cold seal between herself and the vacuum of space. The room she sat within was cramped, to say the least, and wreaked of stale air and even staler people. A dim red light hovering above a door way giving off an eerie glow to the otherwise dark space.
Why am I doing this again? She solemnly thought pulling her knees together and hugging them tightly. Because it's better than the military? Because it's better than doing nothing? Because it's a job?
"Right." The woman retorted her own thoughts and scowled at the endless night outside.
How boring. I thought space was supposed to be exciting. Brimming with life and adventure. Seems pretty dead and quiet to me.
A rogue snore emitted from a pile of old blankets nearby, catching the woman's bored attention for a moment, before ruffling and returning to silence. She'd been curious of the bundles occupant for some time, five days in fact, and found hours of amusement trying to fathom its species, name and story. She had come to decide it was a male, by the snoring, and probably a batarian because she knew nothing about the species and whatever could sleep for almost a week and not move was not one of the species she did know about. She also decided his name was something interesting like, Rogflurt Noriscat the fifth, and he'd escaped from human slavers after eighteen years of service to return to his home planet where he was a Prince and heir to a big shiny throne. It was also decided after breakfast yesterday morning, Rogflurt, had thirty wives, three hundred children and six monkey like pets and some magical orb.
"What are you doing?" A voice from the doorway broke the brooding silence. "You're not thinking about it again are you?"
"Rogflurt? No." The woman looked up at the doorway spotting a pair of glowing green eyes attached to a dark shadowy figure.
"Good. Its not a healthy pass time, even for a human." A turian stepped forward into the glowing red light and offered a three-fingered hand. "Oriel told me to come get you. She's starting up another board game and we need two more players."
"I see." She jumped to her feet immediately, pondering about how devilish the turian looked in the current lighting, and dusted her clothes loose of dirt before following the clattering steps of the turian into the darkness.
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"Good, good, you're here." A young asari, hunched over a table placing pieces on a board, watched as her latest victims entered the little mess hall. "I'm just setting up. Take a seat, take a seat."
"What's the game today, Oriel?" An intrigued volus already sitting around the table, queried the busying asari, hoping it was another gambling game like the night before.
"Star wars Risk! I found it in an antiques store at our last stop over."
"Does it involve gambling?"
"Hun, is that all you ever think about?"
"I am a volus."
"It's a strategy game. You need to conquer all the planets on the board and build an army."
"Finally. A game I can respect." The turian pulled up a chair and took his place around the table.
"I thought you enjoyed Dungeons and Dragons last week."
"That game was fine until the ninth hour of playing."
"I liked poker."
"Yes we know Hun." Oriel was beginning to look a little flustered.
"You also seemed to like our credits as I recall." The turian added.
"I admit, that was one of my favourite parts to the game and don't think I have forgotten about those 20 credits you owe me, Zephire."
"Don't you worry, barefaced, I always repay my debts."
The human women giggled quietly, to herself, and sat in the only seat yet to be occupied. A bright amber light hung over the table flooding their eyes and creating shadows around the edges of the room. The entire vessel felt like a ghost ship, though she never felt worried of the monsters in the dark. They were normally quite friendly after all, just lonely.
"I wish to be the pink pieces." Oriel looked up and smiled at the human opposite her, before smoothing the front of her pink cocktail dress, and sat gentile like upon her chair.
"Well there's something new."
"Oh do be quiet, Hun. Zephire?"
"I suppose I'll be the grey robots with the mortars."
"That leaves the orange earth clan or the green… uh Krogans?" The volus prodded a green monster experimentally and sighed.
"Actually, according to the booklet, those are 'The Hutts'."
"And what exactly is a 'Hutt', Oriel?"
"How should I know."
"Well you are the local earth clan enthusiast."
"That doesn't mean I should know simply everything that has popped into the human species mind. "
"Well what am I?" Zephire stared accusingly at one of his own pieces.
"'The Empire'"
"Ah, good."
"Actually, that's bad. According to the booklet, 'The empire' is lead by the villainous Darth Vader who is attempting to crush 'The rebellion'- that would be you dear."
"Oh. Ok." The human woman accepted her little orange human pieces, the volus clutching eagerly at his own green monsters.
"- and take over the galaxy." The asari finished.
"Hmm, methodical destruction of the enemies military in order to secure the galaxy. I still don't see anything wrong with my pieces."
"Good, good. Shall we begin?"
"Wait! What are the rules?"
"Ah, I knew I had forgotten something!"
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That, was fascinating.
The human woman strolled the dark corridor, able to navigate it with her eyes closed after much practice, working her way back towards the gloomy bunk quarters. She felt relaxed wrapped in the ships silence; the engines gentle hum a reassuring background noise, so much so she almost wished to never arrive at her destination. However, the stuffy smell and uncomfortable sleeping arrangements, and the lack of hot water in the shower, forbade those thoughts with conviction.
"But it would be nice to live quietly." She smiled, wrapping her arms about her chest and clutching at the opposite shoulders, sauntering on in a daze.
"What? Were you talking to me?"
The women paused in her stride, realizing someone else was with her in the pitch-black corridor. A light source came into sight, almost blinding her from the sudden change it brought to the darkness, its bearer appearing from a shaft in the wall.
"Oh its just you." The human man looked her up and down despondently before lowering the light bringing them back into semi-darkness. "You shouldn't be walking the corridors in the dark. Especially down here, there's junk all over the floor. The captain won't be happy if he gets a bad reputation for one of the passengers cracking their heads and dying."
"I see."
"No, I don't think you do."
The woman giggled quietly into her cupped hands, the male worker nodding a response to his humours appreciation, though really he meant it as insult rather than jest.
"The ships coming into dock in twelve hours, you'll be leaving us along with the rest of the cargo there I take it." The worker accepted the woman's silent nod. "Bet you're looking forward to it. Civilization again."
"I guess."
"Must have been lonely down here on your own all this time."
"Not really."
"Not much of a talker are you?" Again the man accepted her silent headshake. "I can tell. Well get back to the bunks, till I finish fixing this power line. I'll even fix the corridor lights for you, so you can exit in style."
"Thank you." The woman tugged at her sleeves timidly, nodding once more, and walked slowly towards the bunk quarters yet again.
"Don't thank me for my job. I get paid!"
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Pulling a bag down from a top bunk the woman began, once again, filling it with her life's contents. There wasn't much of it, clothes and a few books, just enough things to fill a medium sized bag. A turian would have been proud, of its sparse efficiency, and a turian was.
"You're leaving us?"
The woman nudged her head to look side long at those glowing green eyes, apart of a form shroud in darkness.
"Yes. The ships arriving at my stop in less than twelve hours."
"So soon. I was beginning to tolerate your company, human."
"I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize to me. What am I to you."
"A kindred spirit perhaps."
The turian scoffed, leaning against the door opening, and thought back the laughter.
"You don't need to be so mean, Zephire. I already know."
"You know what? That we are one of the same? Would friends be your next, incorrect, statement?"
"What happened to your Zephire?"
"Since when?"
"Zephire, I am not stupid. I know you're not here. Not really."
"Then where am I? Where could I possibly be but here? Outside in a space vacuum perhaps?"
"Is that what happened? Lost in space?"
The turian's eyes narrowed, watching her with a primal rage, his body becoming rigid as he stood up straight to his full height. A low growl filled the room; she couldn't deny the fear that crept up her spine, the hairs on the back of her neck rising sharply. For a moment she absolutely believed he would attack her, mentally preparing for the assault, but as time slowly passed the growl decreased.
Folding his arms, the turian dug his talons into his own skin, as he began to calm. Those, normally bright, emerald eyes becoming old and tired looking,
"I was a soldier in the conquering fleet of Shanxi, during the Relay 314 incident. When Admiral Kastanie Drescher brought the, System alliance, second fleet to liberate the human colony the ship I served on was one of the first destroyed. I survived the vessels destruction with a few others sucked out into space still wearing our armour. The battle went on, we waited for rescue, watching our air supplies dwindle as we floated further and further out into space." Zephire paused looking up at the human, for the first time during his monologue, her own eyes down downcast as she gripped the side of the top bunk listening intently. "The battle was over and survivors were being scooped up. All from my own ship were salvaged, but me. I floated out to far and… suffocated."
She watched as he softly touched his throat, remembering his last sensation.
"I'm sorry." Was all she could manage.
"It wasn't your fault. It was nobodies. Just rotten luck."
"Then why are you lingering here? If you have no regrets, I mean."
"Oh I have regrets, human. I spent years out there floating in endless space thinking about them, driving myself crazy. Then…"
"Then?"
"I don't know how to explain it. There was a tingling feeling, a light, and something began to pull at me or I was drawn to it as if magnetised. I found my way here, then you saw me and I simply remembered my form." The turian flourished a hand to encapsulate the general length of his current body. "It's been good to be turian again. I forgot about too much out there in the void."
"Anyone would." The woman whispered, walking slow towards the turian, draping her arms around him and embracing.
"I…" He gave in completely to her gesture, slumping his shoulders, wrapping his own arms around her like a warm blanket. "…wish I could go home. I miss my brother and our parents. I regret not taking the special-ops training when it was offered and being to afraid to court Trilvalor when I had the chance."
"You just lost your way for a long time. Home is still within reach. Go home."
Zephire stood stock-still and silent, lost deep in thought, before sighing deeply. He stood back from the human, staring resolutely into his green eyes, before nodding.
"I understand."
"I'm glad." She smiled, fighting back tears.
"Before I leave."
"Yes?"
"May… I visit you?"
"Of course. But not whilst I'm in the bathroom please, that gets quite annoying."
"Understandably so." They chuckled briefly. "I suppose this is goodbye, for now."
"Yes. Good luck."
"Thank you."
Zephire stood to attention and saluted his human comrade, giving her a cheeky wink, before fading out of sight.
I promise not to watch you undress either.
"I should damn well hope so to!"