***Please note - this is based off a fan theory that the Ardat-Yakshi DNA carriers are either placed in work environments or leave to live in monasteries. I suppose this makes this a slight AU version of the ME universe, but hopefully everyone will enjoy it!***
Chapter One
A furrowed brow was all that showed over the current project: scones. These oddly shaped little treats were from the intergalactic cookbook, nestled in-between recipes for Hanar mulled wine and a Krogan Pyjak roast. Neither one sounded particularly appetizing that afternoon, but the triangular pastry from Earth seemed like it would be a wonderful thing to try. Ayla T'hirah was no stranger to the intricacies of interstellar cuisine, but actually cooking the stuff was a whole new game to her. Still, there was time to kill here in abundance.
The moon was a small one, an Asari controlled rock on the far fringes of Outer Council Space. It was one that few people knew of, and the Asari council made sure of that, taking care to mark it off the maps and charts. Captains and navigators were taught that this particular planet was not one to be trifled with, and with good reason. A moon full of Ardat-Yakshi was something that very few people, Asari or otherwise, wanted to come near for any reason.
No one who came here to live ever left again. It was just the way of things.
This was a sanctuary for the Asari that were either of the cursed bloodline or carried the potential DNA, which made them a possible threat. There were more of the first and less of the second kind here, which made Ayla a bit of a singularity. So far, there were only two other Asari like her in the sanctuary, and they generally kept to themselves. Both had come in together only a year prior, unknown to each other but having become friendly on their trip in, though they had yet to become very congenial with anyone else. Ayla aimed to remedy that; after all, she had been putting it off for too long.
Warm vapor was swirling up from her little creations, and a single blue finger poked at the crispy outer crust. A few had turned too-dark brown, some were perfectly tinged amber, and all of them had something in them called cho-co-late chips. Whatever the little things were, they smelled divine, and left muddy stains on Ayla's bright blue fingertips. She licked the remains off with a contended hum. Maybe this would do the trick in making her some new friends…after all, most of the other Asari in the sanctuary liked her well enough, so trying to make friends with the others shouldn't be too hard. She plucked up the prettiest of the bunch, wrapped them in cloth napkins, then took off for her new neighbor's apartment.
The peachy-purple sunset was just beginning to appear in the sky, finger-painted in with the bright aqua they were treated with daily. She could hear the ocean crashing in with rhythmic tones. Even though she spent every evening down on the coast, it still made her smile to hear that calming sound. It soothed herm relieved the distress of not being home on Thessia where she belonged. She missed being able to go to some of the parties and events, but here she was able to at least live a life of luxury among the outcasts. Being a carrier of the gene, but not an actual Ardat-Yakshi, plus the niece of the Consort, gave her a great deal of freedom and a life of privilege.
Ayla walked a good half mile down to the apartment. She paused. There was a good possibility that this plan could backfire on her, but she was going to give it a try anyway. A steadying breath and she knocked on the door.
No answer.
Another timid knock and she rocked back and forth on her toes. Warm dirt squished pleasingly under her toes, and the sweet, citrusy tang that this particular moon's dirt happened to be flavored with wafted up with an intoxicating aroma. A few moments later the door finally creaked open and a pair of bright emerald eyes peeked around the edge at her.
"I just wanted to bring you a gift, and invite you over to visit for dinner soon." Ayla held up her gift like it was an offering to the Goddess.
The girl creaked the door open a few inches wider, then cautiously reached out and took the proffered gift. She opened it up and a small, crooked grin crossed her lips, though she seemed confused by the pastry.
"Thank you…and we will see. I don't know that I can make it to dinner any time soon, but perhaps…" She tried to look as hopeful as possible, but Ayla knew that it wasn't going to happen. An understanding smile was offered back.
"That's fine. When you feel ready, just let me know, and I will be happy to have both of you over." With that, she gave a polite nod, then turned and headed back for home. She turned to wave at them once more, a light giggle escaping when she saw that there were two sets of bright blue heads peeking out from behind the sheer curtains at her. Ayla waved at them again and the two heads disappeared out of sight. Oh well…you can't win them all.
Instead of heading back home, she veered off to the right and headed down to the beach. Might as well enjoy the last bit of the warm evening while she could. The soft beach grass tickled her shins as she moved, prickling at the bottom of her feet and shifting under her heels with the oncoming sand. The surf was ebbing in, the white bubbling foam and deep blue-green a vivid mirror for the evening sky. She wandered through the pebble and shell-strewn sands, picking up a few and tossing them nonchalantly into the eddies and swirls. The satisfying plunk brought a bit more joy in her life when it was already hard to think too cheerfully about being trapped on a planet for the rest of your very long life, with no one to share it with.
Ayla picked a particularly sandy spot to rest on and plopped down, scooping up a small handful of the light brown particles and letting it fall back through her fingers, piling up into small pyramids beside her. She swirled her fingers through the sand, staring at the stars that were just beginning to come out in the deepening sky. Something was different tonight though, as the silvery stars weren't the only thing in the night sky. There were bright red dots sparkling in among the stars weren't normal, and Ayla blinked at them, her brow furrowing in confusion at the scarlet lights. As she watched them, her deep violet eyes widened in shock as she realized the lights were coming closer and closer.
The girl scrambled to her feet, her lavender gown fluttering behind her as she slipped through the sand dunes and sea grass toward the buildings. She turned to glance back at the lights, but she didn't have to look far; the bright red globes were shining down from many different angles, coming in from several places above. Her bare feet slapped along, speeding her back up to the small encampment where the guards and the residents were coming out of buildings and into the streets to gawk at the sight above them.
A terrified scream came from one of the Asari, but it was drowned out by a much louder sound: the grinding whine from whatever the red light brought with it. A rumble came through the earth, shaking the very ground and knocking Ayla off her feet. An explosion blew through the town. All around her, the buildings were crumbling, and she slowly got to her feet. Only a few feet from her lay the body of one of her friends. What the hell was going on? She stared, but only for a moment. There were loud booms coming from behind her – she had to get up and move, now.
There was something moving in and out among the buildings, creatures that she had never seen before, but that rang eerily similar of Turians, just with cords and lights and something much more inherently evil about them. They were running in and out of the houses, grabbing the Ardat-Yakshi or those that carries the genes and dragging them from their homes, but killing and leaving the guards. Screams filled the air and blood covered the ground. Ayla felt her gut churning, and she ducked down behind a pile of rubble, trying to calm her breathing and thinking of what on earth she could do to get out of this mess she was finding herself in.
She glanced around, looking for a ship, seeing if there was something at all that was still workable to get her off of the planet. There was a dock a half mile out of town that should still have something available, and she would have to make a run for it and just hope for the best. With a deep breath, Ayla grabbed her skirt and took off. A deep shriek sounded behind her, and another joined it as two of the creatures began to chase after her. Ayla wove her way through some of the rubble and bodies, trying to put some large obstacles between herself and her pursuers.
Ayla shoved a barrel over and kept on running. Maybe this would give her just a few more seconds to get away. She could only hope. Where was everyone else? Had they all been taken? Were they all dead?
Don't look back. Don't ever look back.
The pain that radiated from her feet could only mean that she had torn them up on the rubble. She had to push through the agony and keep trying for the docks. It was all she could focus on, all she could think about. If she could just get to a ship, she could make it off this rock.
As she scrambled over the top of a roof, Ayla nearly choked. One of the intruders, its back to her, was standing barely a block from her. She half-slid, half-crawled down the other side of the roof, cringing at the sound of falling debris; the cacophony was surely going to alert the creature, and she would have to find somewhere to hide. She glanced around, the fear gripping the middle of her spine, threatening to break it. A dumpster was close enough that she might be able to crawl to it, if that thing would just keep looking away.
But, her luck wasn't that good.
It started to glance around, searching for the source of the clattering.
Ayla cursed, crawling along the dirt and stones, desperate to get out of the line of sight. How many times had she been up and down this street when it looked normal? It looked so different now. So very, very different. Ayla glanced around the edge of the dumpster, the smooth, white plexi-glass offering an opaque hideout. She scrabbled her way into the trash-filled receptacle, gagging and burrowing herself into the muck to keep from being seen.
Steps come close, paused, and Ayla held her breath. The papers and fruit peels stuck to her skin, trying to help her keep hidden from sight, as if they would be of better camouflage for her. Whatever it was only stood nearby for a moment, then took off, leaving Ayla there, tears rolling down her cheeks, her dirty hands clasped over her mouth, keeping the scream from dribbling out.
How long she sat there in the filth, she wasn't sure. When she was sure that the danger had passed and it was safe enough she could get out, Ayla slowly, cautiously peeked her head out. There wasn't a thing nearby, but she could hear distant screams even still. Without more hesitation, she clambered out of the trash bin and took off at a limping run.
The dock was empty, thankfully, and most of the ships were left in lovely little rows. From one to another she ran, trying to get the doors to open. No luck. She didn't even know what the damn things were called. It seemed that quite a few of the panels were short circuiting, making it impossible to open these up. She cursed again, grabbing at the ends of her crest, turning to look at the end of the dock.
There. There was another transformer, buzzing away, and attached to it was one last ship, its VI interface still up and running. The last little flicker of hope sparked in her chest, making her heart ache. A guttural scream, tinged with a metallic twang made her halt all her thoughts. The mist that swirled around her only added to the eerie sound. It twisted into her gut, setting into the very corners of her mind, like a haunted memory that you couldn't shake. She took off for that last ship, refusing to die on this Goddess-forsaken planet.
The shuttle looked so welcoming, so warm and inviting. The VI crackled and snapped in the fog of the evening, but it was just enough to see by. Her fingers shook and trembled so terribly that she almost could not push the button to open the door. Thankfully, with all the chaos going on, she didn't need an override code to get into the ship. She could get out of here. She could leave this death trap.
A terrible thought struck her.
What if there were survivors? What if she just left them here, alone, to die, on this wretched planet?
Ayla punched in the coordinates for the one place she knew would be the safest harbor, and paused, fingers hovering over the buttons to jettison her ship out of the atmosphere. She watched, carefully scanning the mist for any sign of movement, praying silently under her breath for one of the other Asari to come stumbling toward the only means of escape they had left.
But no one came. No one ever came.
No one, except the monsters that were hunting them.
They came dashing through the rubble and the fog toward the dock, looking as if they were in the middle of a terror filled nightmare. Ayla felt the grip of fear twist around her back and plant a firm hold on her neck. Without wasting one more moment, she slammed her fist down on the auto pilot button, and the shuttle took off, engine roaring to life. The screams of the creatures were lost in the thunder of the ship.
Ayla stood there for a moment, watching the map, making sure it was all correct. Yes, the Citadel. She would go there and meet up with the one person who would take her in without hesitation. But before she could even think of any more plans, she felt her knees buckle, and she crumpled to the floor, the cool metal a welcome to her hot skin. Tears roiled up and spilled over her cheeks. Sobs made her choke and turned her from the woman who had escaped an attack to a child weeping for her mother.
What in the name of all things good and holy had just happened?