III. Days and Days, Nights and Nights
" 'For a while' is a phrase whose length can't be measured. At least by the person who's waiting."
― Haruki Murakami, South of the Border, West of the Sun
The room was dark. A ruby glow from the holo-lock illuminated the barest of outlines; caressing the furniture and the figure of her guard. The turian, from what she could tell, was fast asleep. He was impossibly still, and the only thing telling her he was alive was the fluttering of his mandibles every so often and a soft snore resounding from his chest.
After assuring herself that the alien was still unconscious, Jane turned back to a little portside window placed on the wall beside her. The same dark abyss of space she had seen repeatedly for the past few hours greeted her gaze. Every so often a ship would pass by, breaking the monotony of the billions of stars hanging suspended outside the window, but other than that, it was a sight Jane was growing to distaste. Every time she peered through the window, a small stab of longing would shoot through her, reminding her that somewhere out there was Earth, her home. The large expanse of stars only managed to further remind her of that fact.
The redhead heaved a tired sigh. Her body shifted until she was laying horizontal on the couch, allowing her head to rest of the couch's arm. Her eyes lidded themselves and her hand came up to rake through her hair in frustration.
A soft growl rumbled in her throat, personifying her restlessness. For the majority of the time since arriving in the sparse apartment, she had been still and watching. Those two things were almost taboo for the youngest Shepard. Constant movement and continuous noise were normal for her. This sitting and waiting while twiddling her thumbs was making her antsy.
She supposed she could've taken to the bait of conversation her guard had laid; she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of hearing her speak though. In her mind, that would have been one more tiny victory for the blue-faced male snoozing in the chair adjacent to her.
A sudden whirling sound followed by a gasp of air from the door caused Jane to bolt into an up right position. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she observed the red turian from before entering the room. In his grasp was a large and bulky bag.
The turian seemed to glide in the room, not at all hindered by the bag in his hands. Jane watched him, mistrust showing clearly in her emerald irises. Her previous captor did not acknowledge her though; instead he made his way to the kitchen and plopped the bag onto the counter. The male then proceeded to reach into the bag and grab at its contents, putting the items on the counter.
"I was wondering when you were going to come back."
The woman grew even more tense than she already was as she listened to the blue-faced turian to her right rise from his chair. Her eyes flickered over to watch as he made his way to the other alien.
"I see you brought food for the human. What is that? Some asari cuisine?"
The russet turian glanced at Jane's guard, his sea foam eyes appearing bored as he replied with a simple yes.
"How long will this last?"
"The asari I bought it from says a few weeks... 2 or 3 at the most. She'll have to eat once a day though if she wants it to last that long."
The blue faced turian nodded. "I'm guessing you'll be back around that time then?"
"Most likely."
The sound of rustling filled the apartment, signaling the end of the conversation.
Jane listened intently to the sounds of movement just beyond the couch, refusing to relax. Her hands gripped at the leather-like material underneath her, causing her knuckles to turn white at the force of her hold. She only relinquished her grasp when the russet alien murmured his goodbyes and the gray one returned to his previous post.
Her eyes trailed the turian warily, her jaw clenched as the male made himself comfortable and raised his azure gaze to her own. He observed her for a few seconds before he turned to one of his arms and tapped at something. Jane's eyes widened when an orange glow engulfed his arm. The turian, oblivious to his surprised ward, started to tap at some buttons on the orange thing.
"What is that?"
The turian's head snapped up at the sound of her voice, and Jane suppressed the urge to flinch at the sudden movement.
"This?" His double toned voice asked as he tilted his head to the device on his arm.
Jane nodded.
"It's an omnitool."
The woman pondered his answer for a few moments before opening her mouth and asking,"What does it do?"
Her guard contemplated his answer before he replied,"It's a device that...has multiple purposes. Communicating, researching, hacking...anything really."
"Ah..." Jane was unsure of what else she should say, so she turned back to the window, watching space once more unfurl before her eyes.
Days passed. Or that's what it felt like anyway. There was no way of telling time, so Jane couldn't precisely say how long she had been sitting in the room that had become her new prison. Hours appeared long and unending though, from either boredom or anxiety she couldn't tell.
Over the last few days, she had tentatively started to talk with Vakarian, her turian warden. A word or two would be mentioned, and sometimes full-fledged conversation sparked. It filled the long gaps of boredom when Jane was not brooding, but every time they spoke to one another she felt a stab of guilt. She was fraternizing with the enemy of her entire species, and it made her feel traitorous. But she was a social person, and not talking to anyone for a prolong amount of time was almost painful for her. Besides, she reasoned to herself whenever her guilt pricked at her, I need a way to pass the time.
And pass the time they did. It was astonishing at how relaxed she was becoming around the alien. True she still jumped and flinched at his sudden movements, and she still felt nervous around him, but she was making progress. She was unsure how she felt about the prospect of feeling comfortable around a turian; to be honest, she didn't really want to know.
Jane was snapped from her thoughts when the same being she was thinking of walked past her. She watched in silence, quickly she realizing her guard was leaving when he reached the door. Vakarian hadn't left the apartment since they had both been stationed here, so she was a little caught off guard that he was leaving now.
The turian paused from punching in the code that would unlock the door and looked over his shoulder to give Jane cursory glance. "I will be, uh, right back. Don't move." He didn't wait for an answer. A few seconds later and the door was swishing shut and locking once more.
The woman stood slowly from her perch and took a few uneasy steps toward the kitchen. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind at that moment. Her steps were light as she made her way to a window hanging over the sink. When she reached the it, she placed one hand on the counter and reached the other to move aside the curtain hanging limply in front of porthole.
The window overlooked a stretch of hallway, and she was able to see Vakarian as he made his way down the opposite way they had originally come. His sharp edged form was soon out of sight, and Jane waited a few heartbeats to make sure the blue-faced male had truly left before letting the curtain fall back into place. Her mind drew a blank as it processed that she was finally alone after so long of constantly being monitored.
Her hand came up to comb through her tangled and greasy hair. A faint feeling of disgust at her lack of cleanliness fluttered through her mind, but it was soon overrun with a certain sense of freedom she had not felt before.
Jane quickly made her way to the door, only thinking of how she could get out. She was no technological expert; she had to try to open that door. She just knew she had to get out of there.
The redhead strained her ears to hear anything but her faint breathing and footsteps. She was relieved that all was silent and crouched before the lock. She reach out a hand and forced herself to try to remember the motions that Vakarian had used to unlock the door. The wrong combinations caused the lock to buzz almost too loudly, and Jane cringed at the sudden noises. After every mishap, she took care to make sure nothing was coming to check on the locked door. When she heard no rushed running or anything else that would signal her turian or others were coming, she would continue to try to unlock the door.
It seemed like an eternity had passed when finally the ruby holo-lock turn emerald. Jane stood up with unconcealed joy, a large grin tuggingat her lips. She admired her handiwork for a few seconds. Remembering that she was on borrowed time, she hastily opened the door and took a step outside.
The floor beneath her shoeless feet was much colder than she remembered. A sharp hiss caused her head to turn and she watched the door slide shut behind her, the lock turning a pale orange instead of the red she had grown accustomed to.
Jane then felt adrenaline spike through her veins at the sudden realization that she was out in the open in a hostile environment with no protection. Her chest grew tight with fear, her heart beating faster than it had been previously.
Swallowing down her fear, she turned her head to the right: the way to what she could guess was the docking areas for ships. A quick plan formulated in her mind. Her eyes swept down the other side of the hallway to make sure nothing was coming towards her before she pressed herself against wall and padded silently toward her destination.
When she got to a junction, she held her breath and peeked around the corner. A soft breath of relief exited her lungs when she didn't spot any turians, and she quickly scurried down to the next corridor.
She kept going onward in this manner, mindful of her every movement. Surprisingly Jane only saw the occasional guard (she guessed they were guards considering the wore a uniform and had a firearm hanging from a belt strung to their waists) stationed around the corner, and no other aliens stalking the halls. She figured it was the ship's night cycle, or the slew of turians she had seen before were no longer aboard the station. Whatever the case, the redhead thanked God for her luck, and prayed it would continue.
Many twists, turns, and dead ends later, she arrived to the place she had been looking for.
The docking bay was much more crowded than the halls she had been in. Turians of all shapes and sizes crowded the large expanse just around the corner. The sudden sight of the rabble of beings caused Jane to quickly jerk back behind the wall the hid her from their view. Her resolve faltered at the thought of sneaking past potentially dangerous aliens.
Just as she reinforced her will with the desire of freedom, something wrapped around her mouth and waist, yanking her back into an armored body. Jane gave a muffled shriek and started to flail in the tightening grasp of the being holding her.
A sharp hiss brushed past her ear, causing her to go still and the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. "What do you think you're doing?"
She bit her tongue to keep herself from making anymore noises as the male she had grown familiar with for the past few days dragged her further back into the shadows. When they were completely out of sight from the docking bay, Vakarian twisted Jane around and gripped her upper arms.
"Do you know how stupid and reckless you were being?" demanded the blue-faced turian, his mandibles fluttering.
Jane, still pale from the fear of being caught, shakily replied,"Really reckless and stupid?"
"Exactly! Do you know what could have happened if you got caught? Not only would you be taken to the high-security Prisoner of War cells, you'd be locked up in solitary for escaping and roaming the station! Not to mention Nihlus would have my head for not keeping an eye on you! Spirits, Jane, I told you to stay put, and yet I find you out and about, heading to one of the more populated areas on the station. Do you not realize what could've happened to you? Not just with the solitary, but with those turians out there? They'd most likely attack you; with no mercy. Not everyone is as mild tempered as I am, and many of those people out there have lost brothers and sisters- in-arms from this war; many are most likely holding grudges against your kind."
The human stayed silent through Vakarian's tirade, a sudden annoyance surging through her. She shook off his hands and squared her shoulders, standing up as straight as she could. A glare set itself upon her face as she prepared herself for a rebuttal. Often times when she had gotten in trouble as a child and was reprimed, she tended to slouch and duck her head. Most of the time her parents would berate her for this behaviour and tended to bark at her to straighten her posture. She could just hear the approval in the ghosts of their voices as she stared Vakarian straight in the eye as he doled out his scolding.
When his speech was finished, Jane swiftly spat out,"I understand that, Vakarian, but I know exactly what I was getting into. I may appear naïve, but I am far from it. I know I was risking my life. I know I was being extremely reckless. You know what though? I'd rather take my chances and die than just sit by and let an opportunity like the one you gave me go by. Besides I had a plan; it's not like I was going in unprepared. You should remember that you're not the only military raised person. Now are you done scolding me? I'd like to go back to my prison since I've already been caught."
Vakarian looked startled at her outburst. Jane gestured for him to hurry up and start walking, causing the male to snap out of his brief stupor and make his way back to the apartment. The walk was tense, but they did not encounter any other people, which Jane supposed could be counted as a good thing. When they entered the apartment, Jane made her way to the couch, and Vakarian to his chair. The alien said nothing as he made himself comfortable and started to fiddle with his omnitool, ignoring everything but the orange device around his arm.
Jane glanced at the male, realizing that he was acting more distant than she could ever recall him being. She sighed and turned to prop her elbow on the couch's arm, cradling her cheek in her cupped palm.
A bleak though crossed her mind. She probably wasn't going to be left alone ever again. And she probably won't have another chance to escape.
The beeping was starting to become intolerable. It had started earlier that night, and yet it was still going strong ten hours later. It didn't even seem to be taking any breaks, and if it has been, Nihlus should couldn't tell. He had suffered from the irksome sound all through the night, and the paperwork he had been working on did not improve his mood.
He was sitting at his desk, two of his claws tapping against the wood as he stared at the device sitting oh so innocently before him. His tapping was in tune with the beeping that stubbornly clung to the device, and the red turian was inches away from crushing the infernal thing. But he couldn't. It was something he could use. Or that was the excuse he had made earlier. He was starting to doubt that though.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
"Will you just shut up?" growled Nihlus as he glared at the device.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
If looks could cause explosions, the annoying tool would've rivaled something close to the aftermath of an atomic bomb. The white-faced male breathed roughly through his nose, and turned back to the report he was currently working on.
Beep. Beep. Bee-
It stopped.
Nihlus froze and turned his head to stare suspiciously at the tool. When nothing else sounded from it, he reached forward and grabbed at it.
He studied the device, mentally scoffing at the almost primitive technology it possessed. After searching for it, he found a button that activated the device. A short beep sounded followed by a voice that caused the russet turian's hackles to rise.
"Jane, are you there? Jane don't worry. I'm gathering a team, and we're going to find you and get you out of whatever mess you're in, you hear me? I-"
the transmission broke off and Nihlus stared blankly at the communication device, the gears in his head spinning at a rapid pace.
It seemed he didn't have as much time as he thought he did.