Chapter 7-All The Universe is a Stage
AN: This is a shorter chapter than expected, but I decided it would be best not to add on just for the sake of adding on. I never know what to say in these things, so I won't drag it out. Thanks for reading, especially to those who have followed the story thus far!
"You want what?" Irasi asked.
The shadowy figure smirked, "I want you to become an agent for me, as the departed Justicar Maelstra."
Irasi gawked. "But—I mean, other asari would know. They'd see me and figure out I wasn't actually Maelstra."
"Why?" the Shadow Broker asked.
"Well, for one thing, I'm probably half Maelstra's age. I don't think they even make justicars as young as me. And also, there's my—skin condition. Even if an asari barely knew Maelstra, they'd know she wasn't a Dichromate."
The Shadow Broker figure disappeared, and in its place an extranet article popped up. It was titled "The Dangers of Thorian Disease: Why Exogeni Really Left Feros". The now-disembodied voice of the Shadow Broker spoke, "The disease is, of course, a fabrication. A story planted in several different locations on the extranet to make it believable. I'm guessing you can figure out what the main symptom is."
"Aging in reverse?"
"Not quite," the Shadow Broker replied, "although the article says it appears that way to others. The explanation of the symptom is that it causes skin to stretch tight across the victim's face, resulting in a younger appearance while harming skin cell integrity. Another symptom is, of course, random skin discolorations."
Irasi frowned, "But how would Maelstra—I mean how would I have caught this disease?"
The hologram figure reappeared. "Simple. Justicar Maelstra was the justicar assigned to look into the asari followers of Saren after Commander Shepard made it apparent that Saren was helping the Reapers."
"Shiala," Irasi whispered. "We left her on Feros."
"Exactly. Justicar Maelstra was sent there to interrogate Shiala, and bring her back to Thessia. She—"
"Well why didn't she?" Irasi interrupted, "Bring Shiala back to Thessia, I mean."
"Once it became apparent that Shiala had been indoctrinated—that she had been tricked by Saren's ship, Sovereign—the justicar determined that there was nothing to be gained by interrogating Shiala. Also, she had more interesting matters to look into. Like another asari who had reportedly survived the explosion of Peak 15, and who hadn't been indoctrinated by Sovereign."
Irasi was confused. "But why would a ship trick Shiala into doing as it wished? And how? And why didn't it do the same to us?"
The shadow figure sighed. "I can only speculate as to the answers to those questions. I would bet that it indoctrinated Shiala because she was an acolyte of Matriarch Benezia, not one of her soldiers. Shiala had more freedom than your fellow commandos, and so was more likely to betray Saren to the Council. But you and the other commandos were bound to Benezia by duty, and the loyalty of asari commandos is legendary. Sovereign likely didn't indoctrinate you simply because there was no reason."
Irasi wasn't satisfied, "But it doesn't sound like this indoctrination thing costs the ship at all. So why not indoctrinate us just to ensure we would be loyal?"
"The effects of indoctrination—let's just say that it makes the victim less able to think on their own. Sovereign would not do it without good reason, because of the risk of losing good soldiers. The risk of one of you leaving Benezia was less dangerous than the risk of losing a whole commando squad."
"Hmm," Irasi thought, "you still haven't explained how this ship does it."
The hologram shrugged, "True, but only because I don't know. If I did, it would make my life a lot easier." It took a deep breath, "So am I to take it that you'll accept the justicar position?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Of course," the Shadow Broker grinned evilly, "you could tell me to go to hell and then try to fight your way out of here. Only, even if you managed to kill all five of my agents down here, you'd still need a code for the elevator. And the moment you tried to escape I'd flood the area with nitrogen, to incapacitate you so I could sell you back to the asari."
So in other words, I don't have a choice. "But I don't know the first thing about being a justicar."
The shadow figure laughed, "It's incredibly simple. Just act aloof and superior to everyone, and they'll assume you fill the role. You'll have Justicar Maelstra's identification, access to all her accounts, and her armor as well, once it's repaired. And no one will disrespect you by trying to do genetic scans, so there's really nothing to it."
Wearing justicar's armor felt strange. It had been customized for Maelstra, and the hips were a little too wide for Irasi's form. She was standing outside one of Cipritine's dull grey hangars, waiting for the slow-witted turian to wave her through.
After several minutes of playing with his console, the turian spoke, "Looks like you're cleared to leave. Sorry for the delay, miss—"
"Maelstra," Irasi prompted, "and the proper appellation is justicar."
The turian's eyes widened. He stammered, "O-o-oh. I'm sorry Miss Justicar. I didn't mean any disrespect."
How do I react to that? Irasi wondered. She decided that Maelstra would have been irritated by the inconvenience, "Yes, well whether you meant it or not, disrespect was given." She stepped into the hangar before the turian could reply.
The Nuevo Emepezita was much larger than Irasi would have expected. It was a frigate, but a monstrous frigate. It was large enough that two Krogan could have lived at either end without fighting. The asari captain was standing outside the frigate's landing ramp, and she introduced herself, "Greetings, Justicar. I trust you had a pleasant stay on Palaven." She winked at Irasi and then whispered, "I've been briefed by the Shadow Broker on this mission, but my crew hasn't. So while you're on my ship, you will be Justicar Maelstra."
Irasi nodded, and the captain led the way into the Empezita. She pointed out Irasi's room, the second largest on the frigate. Irasi doubted she would get used to having so much space to herself. With the commandos, she had been required to fit her entire life into a footlocker, and before that she had shared her room in the Lessus Monastery with three other children.
"Well, I'll leave you to it," the captain turned to leave, "And by the way, I'm Llastra."
"How far are you going with me?" Irasi asked, unable to contain the question.
Llastra smiled, "All the way. My ship and crew have been assigned to you by the Shadow Broker. As long as he keeps paying, we'll keep flying. And from what I hear of the man, he's not in the habit of leaving debts unfulfilled."
Irasi smiled back. You may trust him, but I never will. No one can wield that much power and still be trustworthy. Once Llastra was gone, she collapsed on the bed. It was soft and spongy, and she quickly drifted off to sleep.
