Unknown time, unknown date
I'm not dead?
A haze filled Nevara's head as she opened her eyes. The room was dark and she couldn't see anything. There were no lights. The panels didn't flicker and the only noise she heard was from the generators that were now on. A breeze came out of nowhere and she shivered. She put her hand on her stomach and felt the bandages on her. No armor. Her tank top and panties were all she was wearing as protection from the chill. She turned her head around to see if she could see anything now that her eyes were adjusting to the darkness. Her head throbbed excruciatingly.
She tried to sit up but the pain stopped her. She resumed laying back down and pushed up on to her hands before making the final push to fully sitting. She raised her hands to her head to feel the wrapping around her skull. Her hand only got half way up before she realized she was cuffed. Fucking turians. She felt around the floor with her unbound hand to see what she had around her. There was nothing but concrete. She felt for what she was bound to and climbed up the pipe restraining her. She winced every inch of the way till she was standing up. She held the pole, pipe, whatever it was and circled around it. She was chained to it like a dog.
She sighed heavily for being foolish. She didn't have her omni-tool, she had no idea how much time had passed but she had the distinct feeling that she wasn't alone in the darkness.
"I know you're here. Let's quit playing games." She demanded of the pitch black darkness.
She stopped moving and strained to hear over the droning of the generators. Something was there definitely, but she couldn't place it.
"Damn it! Show yourself! What do you want?" She implored waiting for an answer.
A voice came from to the left, out of the void but she couldn't understand it. It was in turian, she knew that for certain, but what was being said, made her stop. It was gravelly and harsh. It was a rare occurrence to hear the language but it wasn't going to help her right now.
"What? I don't understand. My translator isn't working." She felt completely naked now, knowing that there was someone watching her from the dark. Before she could say anything else, the glow of an omni-tool burned a corner of the dark away for a second, and then flickered back out.
"I wasn't playing games. I was sleeping." The voice over the translator told her. It was stern but relaxed. She turned in the direction she had seen the light emanate from. Through the dark she saw the faint glow of a heads up display flickering on. It projected a dim light out and only silhouetted the figure sitting in the chair against the wall.
"What do you want? Why are you in here?"
"You don't get to ask questions. That's my job." The voice grumbled back. The floating eye piece moved now and was coming towards her. The sound of her captor's boots thudded one after another on the concrete and stopped no more than a foot in front of her. "How are you feeling?"
"Is that any of your concern? I don't need your false diligence." She reached out to push him back, but her hand was smacked away
"If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead now. I think you owe me a little bit of respect don't you think?"
"Sure. Thanks for saving me, turian. I don't know where I'd be without you now. How could I ever repay you?" She was condescending at best and biting in her words.
"Do you really have to be so obstreperous?" He questioned.
"Well, yeah. Yeah, I do." She grinned into the darkness.
She could hear his breathing quicken and she knew he was getting angry. She closed her eyes tightly expecting to be thrashed like the other turian did. She had never felt fear quite like this before. She'd endured great physical pain, but this was taken to a whole new level. Her breathing quickened and she waited awhile in the silence.
The sound of boots scuffing away gave her little comfort in the dark. The door opened and the light poured in blinding her. The shadowy figure of the turian walked towards the door. He looked back at her again and closed the door locking it behind him.
She was alone again in the darkness with her thoughts to keep her together. She slid down the pole and sat there, pondering what he had planned for her. She didn't want to know what was coming around the bend but she knew something bad was going to happen. It was only a matter of time.
Her body was aching from shivering from the cold. She closed her eyes and dozed off until the sound of the door opened again. Oh, here it comes. She opened her eyes and looked in the door and there he stood again looking at her. His arms were full, a pillow on the pile of various items. He walked over to her and set them down beside her. She looked up at him while he was kneeled there. What do you want? She looked at the little parcel of items and looked back at him questioning him without saying a word.
"I brought you some food and water. There's a pillow and blanket and Private Trezon went back to your shuttle to get some BDUs. Oh before I forget-" He clicked on and off her flashlight. "Just in case you need it."
Need it for what? It's not like I can do anything chained like a varren. She nodded at him without saying a word. She looked at the items laid out before her. He got up and started towards the door.
"Thank you." She whispered. She couldn't understand why she was doing it, but something compelled her to do so.
"I'll be back later, maybe then; we can start where we left off."
He continued through the door and turned around again. She looked at him and cocked her head, still confused by what had happened. With that, he closed the door and locked it again.
0100 06.12.2183
Commander Vakarian looked at the bloody gloves on his hands and removed them. His armor was speckled with the diluted drops of blood from the newly found prisoner. He dropped the armor off in the commander's quarters and went to the last door nearest the stairs. He didn't know what he was going to do, or what he was going to say, but something needed to be done. Things had to be made right in that moment, otherwise things were just going to keep on escalating. He didn't bother knocking he just walked in.
Lieutenat Gaeto was asleep in the bed with his back to the door. His armor was resting in a chair near the door and his weapons were lying on the desk. He closed the door and walked to the next room. Private Trezon was still awake reading something from a datapad. When he saw the commander at his door, he jumped out of bed and saluted. Commander Vakarian waved him off and came into the room.
"I need you to tell me everything that happened."
The young turian looked at the floor, ashamed to make eye contact with him. He let out an exaggerated sigh and scratched the back of his head.
"I don't know where to begin." He let out another sigh trying to compose his thoughts.
"Just start from where you two entered the main room." He urged.
"Well, we began by searching the room. We didn't notice anything at first. We both thought it was going to end up being a false alarm; until we heard a moan coming from the corner of the room." He stopped for a second and then started back up. "The lieutenant flashed his light on her, I guess. I couldn't tell really. He told me to leave and that he'd deal with the problem himself." He paused again. "I didn't know what to do. I panicked I guess. I waited outside the door till you got there."
"Why didn't you tell me over the comm?
"Because sir, he was on the same channel. I had no idea he was going to beat her like that."
"Then why did it look like you were enjoying what was going on?"
"If that's how it seemed sir, that's not how I wanted it to be represented. Maybe nerves sir."
Commander Vakarian nodded at the young private. "Alright. I have to take care of something then."
He walked out of the room and went back next door to where the lieutenant was sleeping. He snuck in as quietly as he could and took his armor out to the storage room. He returned and grabbed the lieutenant's guns and put them in the storage area too. He put a lock on the door and encrypted it. He walked back to the door and drew his sidearm and again walked into the room. He drew down on him and proceeded to load a round into the chamber.
The noise made the lieutenant stir and roll over. He blinked a couple of times and reached for his own gun. Of course, there was nothing there. Commander Vakarian pointed the gun at the lieutenant's head. One squeeze and this could all be over. He pointed the gun then at the pillow right next to Gaeto's head and squeezed the trigger. The round hit the pillow and Gaeto jumped out of bed.
"Sit. Now." The commander demanded.
"Sir?" Gaeto was perplexed but sat anyways.
"I don't know what kind of shit you are pulling here. As a matter of fact, I don't want to know. This little event that you pulled tonight is the most fucked up thing I've ever seen from someone under my command."
He was still pointing the gun at him. He so badly wanted to kill him. The dumb looks he was getting, were enough to make him want to take him and put him out of his misery. Say something stupid. Give me a reason to beat you within an inch of your life.
"Commander, what do you want me to say? If she'd just answered the question and shut up she wouldn't be laid out all over that floor. If I had to do it over again, would I? Absolutely. She's the enemy, sir, and we're at war."
"Don't give me that we're at war bullshit, lieutenant. I know we're at war. You nearly beat her to death. Do you know how to talk to a dead person, because I sure as hell don't?"
"Commander, I just don't like the idea of someone coming in here and doing whatever they want. If I see her again, I will not hesitate to kill her this time."
"Okay, fine." He pointed the gun at Gaeto's head and just before he pulled the trigger he moved the gun to the right of him and fired. The bullet grazed the side of Gaeto's head causing a spurt of blood to come out. Gaeto screamed out and put his hand to his face. The blue blood oozed between his fingers. "That was a warning, lieutenant. If I see you near that room again, I will kill you."
Commander Vakarian walked out of the room and back down the hall. I don't know what I'm going to do with her. He went into the commander's quarters and grabbed the human's omni-tool. He punched a few buttons and started an uplink with his own omni-tool. Flight reports, scouting reports, the frequency to her translator; it all went onto his omni-tool. He dropped her omni-tool into a drawer. He got up from the desk and left the room.
He walked into the comm room and walked over to the generators. He unlocked the lock and went over to a switch on the far side to turn them on. The slow hum filled the quiet room. He looked over at the sprawled out body and listened to see if she was breathing. The slow exhale and fall from her chest gave him his answer. He grabbed one of the only chairs that worked and sat in the far corner. It had been a long night for all of them.
He turned off his display and closed his eyes. The generator hum and the little human sleeping sounded like a nocturne.
0700 06.12.2183
A metallic click made Commander Vakarian stir. He opened his eyes and let them fill with the all encompassing black. It's nothing but her adjusting. He closed his eyes again and let out a sigh. Not a second later he heard a voice calling from the dark.
"I know you're in here. Let's quit playing games."
He shifted his weight in the chair and waited.
"Damn it! Show yourself! What do you want?"
"I wasn't playing games. I was sleeping." He stated in his defense. Real good there, man. Go ahead and creep the human out more than she already is.
"What? I don't understand. My translator isn't working." She spoke more confused than ever this time.
Crap, forgot to turn the damn thing on. He dialed in her frequency and repeated himself with more clarity.
"I wasn't playing games. I was sleeping." He was short in his explanation to her. He didn't need to explain himself to her. He turned on his display since it was obvious he wasn't going to be going back to sleep anytime soon.
"What do you want? Why are you in here?" Her voice trembled when she asked.
"You don't get to ask questions. That's my job." He growled back. He stood up and moved towards her. His HUD lit her up in an eerie creamy white. He was in arms reach when he finally asked, "How are you feeling?"
"Is that any of your concern? I don't need your false diligence." She put her hand up in his direction and he smacked it away. She wasn't going to be allowed that option.
"If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead now. I think you owe me a little bit of respect don't you think?" He posed to her.
"Sure. Thanks for saving me, turian. I don't know where I'd be without you now. How could I ever repay you?" She was snide and her platitudes were rubbing him the wrong way. Spirits, is she going to be this bitchy the entire time?
"Do you really have to be so obstreperous?" He questioned.
"Well, yeah. Yeah, I do." She grinned into the darkness.
He was at his breaking point with her. His heart was racing and thundered in his ears. He was growing hot and he stood there in silence analyzing the situation before he made his next move. Just leave, it's the best option for right now.
He turned around and walked to the door. When he opened it he looked back at her at a complete loss for words. He walked through the threshold and closed the door.
He opened the door to Private Trezon's room and stuck his head in. "Take the ship and find the human vessel. I want you to go aboard and grab food and a change of clothes for her."
"Aye, aye, sir. Um sir, may I ask why?"
"No, you may not; just do it."
He unlocked the storage area and walked in. He scanned the shelves looking for items he could use. He grabbed a pillow and a blanket. He knew it was cold in there and she was barely wearing anything. He walked to his room and dumped her pack out over the bed. He grabbed an MRE and water and set it aside. He went over to her weapons and wrenched the flashlight off her sidearm. He stacked everything up and walked back to the communications room.
He opened the door and peered in. The little prisoner was looking at him with an accusatory look. The light fell around him and hit her body and it accentuated the curves of her form. He stepped into the room adjusting the items in his arms. He crossed the room to her and kneeled down next to her. He put the items down near her. When he was done setting the little package up he looked at her and she was staring at him. Their eyes locked and it sent a jolt of energy through him. As quickly as it started, it ended just as abruptly. She was looking at the items scanning them for any pertinent value.
"I brought you some food and water. There's a pillow and blanket and Private Trezon went back to your shuttle to get some BDUs. Oh, before I forget-" He clicked on and off her flashlight. "Just in case you need it." You know you're an imbecile right?
She nodded at him without saying a word. He got up and started towards the door.
"Thank you." It was faint almost like a squeak. It made him turn around and look down at her again.
"I'll be back later, maybe then; we can start where we left off."
She was staring up at him confused by the gesture. He turned around again and walked out the door. He locked it afterwards and went to the kitchen.
If nothing it's to keep that jackass out. Why are you protecting her really? He was right about a few things. Don't get all wrapped up in the politics or emotions of war. We all have to do what we don't like when someone else is pulling the strings.
