Beyond the Pale: Chapter 1
By: Voodoo Queen
Author's Note: I've been on a bit of a videogame kick lately and this was the result. Please let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters & plot…but you know that.
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The rumble of the ship's power core droned on incessantly in the background. Most of the other engineers found the sound annoying to a degree, comparative to a flying insect buzzing around one's ear demanding their attention. Chief Propulsion Engineer Lamb, however, found the constant monotone sound and vibration soothing, comforting even. It gave her something to focus on other than her own thoughts and memories while she tweaked the ship's main engines. She could zone out, that numbing buzz inside her mind, and forget while her fingers manipulated the machinery with practiced professional ease. She didn't have to think. She didn't have to dwell on the ghosts of her past that continued to haunt her even after so many years spent trying to exorcise them. She just had to do.
Running from her past had gotten where she was today. Joining the Alliance Navy had been an escape and, if she were honest, a way to do her part to avenge those she had been forced to leave behind. Her family had been among those who had been callously disposed of. They hadn't ever stood a chance, really. The monsters, there wasn't really any other way she could accurately describe them, had made quick work of those humans who had resisted. They had more or less leveled the entire colony, justifying it as being a perfectly acceptable action against a lesser species. Regardless, they were predators and their efficient systematic and calculated overthrow of the colony had suggested to her, even at the tender age of five, that they were incapable of mercy or empathy. She had learned quickly to be wary of those who were not like herself…especially the monsters.
The aftermath of the liberation had been almost as horrendous as the invasion had been. Shanty towns full of orphans, herself included, and the displaced popped up everywhere, dotting the war-torn landscape. Food and resources were scarce. Crime flourished as an alternative to starving to death. The once thriving colony her family had called home had been reduced to little more than a wasteland where it was kill or be killed. Even the Alliance attempts at rebuilding after the occupation hadn't been enough to heal the damage that had been wrought. She'd grown up doing what she had to do to survive and had struggled ever since in more ways than one.
The grief and heartache she'd endured after the loss of her family to the alien forces still weighed heavily on her narrow shoulders. She tried to console herself with the fact that despite every obstacle against her she had somehow managed to make it out and make something of herself. She had saved what few precious credits she had been able to scrounge together and had bought her way out of the ruins that had been her home. She had survived and persevered but at a great cost no one but she could even begin to understand. It was their fault…the monsters. They had destroyed every good thing she had ever known and had left her an empty, fractured shell of what she could have been had their paths never crossed.
Her calm, quiet professional persona was a front. It hid away the timid, fearful young woman her encounter with the alien monsters had turned her into. Her shipmates, knowing nothing of her past but the fabricated story she had concocted to ease her own pain were none the wiser. She did her job and did it well and that's all that really mattered. Sure, she had some xenophobic tendencies but what human didn't when it came right down to it? It had never really been a problem so far as outside observers were aware. She could work civilly with the few aliens that shared her ship from time to time as alien liaisons and advisors and such. She didn't have to be their friend or speak with them outside of her duties and everyone wrote it off as a part of her introverted personality. They didn't need to know about the fear and anxiety that plagued her every interaction with non-humans. Thankfully, none of them were Turian. There was just something about the turians, their apex predator status, namely, that made her blood run cold through her veins.
"Chief Lamb!"
Speak of the devil…or xenos, rather. She ground her teeth together in order to fortify her senses and spun on her heel to face the source of the voice. Her face, a mask of indifference, hid well the fact that her stomach was tying itself in knots. She eyed the Asari tech advisor coolly and tried to keep her gaze locked onto the alien's eyes instead of the strange, tentacle-like protrusions on her head. She tried to focus on anything but the other woman's alien features. Her heart felt as though it was trying to beat its way out of her chest and her breathing hitched in her throat but when she parted her lips to speak her voice, surprisingly, was steady and strong due mainly to the years of practice she'd had to perfect her nonchalance. "Yes. What is it?"
"Commander Winslow wishes to see you on the observation deck." The Asari waited patiently for acknowledgement.
Chief Lamb nodded. "Thank you. Tell him I'll be right up."
"Yes, Chief."
She watched the Asari go with a feeling of relief and let out a shuddering breath she hadn't even been aware she'd been holding once the woman disappeared from sight. Her hands, which she'd clasped tightly behind her back, untangled themselves and dropped, trembling, to her sides. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the soothing hum of the power core. She let the familiar sound wash over her. Deep breaths. In and out. She steadied herself and straightened her spine defiantly as her pounding heart began to slow.
"You're fine," she breathed to herself as she moved to the engine room exit to meet with her Commander. "There's nothing to be afraid of. You're absolutely fine."
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"Shepard, Tali and I are perfectly capable of doing a simple core conversion in Lieutenant Adams' absence. Tali's one of the best engineers in the galaxy and I've read up on all of the Normandy's specs between missions to pass the time. Plus, I've seen Adams do it a million times. Hell, it's so simple even a husk could do it. Stopping to pick up another engineer is going to put us behind schedule."
"Tell me something I don't know. I'm not saying you two are incapable, Garrus." John Shepard eyed his friend with an amused smirk. "Anderson, however, thinks propulsion overhauls should be done by an actual propulsion engineer, not ex C-Sec officers who moonlight as vigilantes and nomad quarians."
"Well, where's the fun in that?" Garrus Vakarian sighed, his dual-toned voice harmonizing his words, and crossed his arms across his broad chest. "I'm assuming Anderson has someone in mind, then?"
"You know it." Shepard slid the personnel file across his desk where the Turian intercepted it with a taloned hand. "Looks pretty impressive to me. She's on loan to us from another ship for the duration of the repairs. I'd like you and Tali to assist since you're familiar with the ship's systems. Besides," Shepard shrugged, "I'm sure there will be some kind of calibrations involved. What do you say?"
"You had me at calibrations." Garrus answered with an amused rumble as he thumbed open the file. Chief Engineer Louise Lamb. Assigned to the Battle Cruiser Hyperion under Commanding Officer DeShawn Winslow. Possesses advanced degrees in both engineering and quantum mechanics…hmmm. Shepard," Garrus' icy blue eyes darted quickly over the rest of the file. "Most of her personal information is either incomplete or redacted."
"Yeah," Shepard nodded. "I noticed that, too. It's not uncommon to redact sensitive information but I thought blacking out basic demographic info was a little weird, myself. I like to know who I'm allowing into my crew…even if it is only on a temporary basis."
"I agree, Shepard. Working with you has made me a little leery around strangers. Being shot at all the time does that to a man." Garrus raised a plated brow in question. "Do you think she's legit or should I dust off my good body armor to wait for her arrival?"
"Anderson swears she's on the level. Best in the fleet, in fact." Shepard folded his hands together behind his head and leaned back in his chair. "He didn't know much about her personally but her professional accomplishments are pretty self-explanatory. Her commanding officer had nothing but praise for her and her work and wants her returned to the Hyperion as soon as we're done with her. He was very adamant about it and not too happy that Anderson had her sent TAD to us. Winslow did mention she is a bit on the quiet side, though. A loner, I believe, is the word he used."
"A mysterious, anti-social propulsion engineer." Garrus hummed to himself. "Sounds like a good time to me."
"I thought you liked a good mystery, Officer Vakarian," Shepard deadpanned. "Surely all that time spent in C-Sec taught you how to make people talk. Maybe you can interrogate her down in the engine room while you work on the power core."
"I'm not sure C-Sec interrogation tactics are the best way to greet a new colleague but," Garrus' mandibles shifted into a crooked grin. "You're right. I do enjoy a mystery. Helps keep my detective skills sharp."
"Fantastic," Shepard straightened in his seat and caught the personnel file as Garrus slid it back across the desk top. "That's settled then. We're meeting the Hyperion at the Citadel in three days. They're docking for a quick supply replenishment. We'll be bring Chief Lamb on board at that time and give the crew a couple days of shore leave while we work out the logistics."
"Great." Garrus pushed himself to his feet and stood tall. "In the meantime, I think I'll go ahead and polish up that body armor. You know, just in case."
"Never hurts to be prepared, I suppose."
"You got that right." Garrus nodded his farewell as he showed himself out of his Commander's quarters. "Later, Commander."
End of Chapter 1