This chapter sucked to write!
I was torn between having the events of this chapter take place next chapter, or have the events as they are here. I bounced back three or four times, and well I hope that this worked out.
Also despite myself deciding that I was going to try to keep chapters a bit shorter to cut down on my rambling I make it even longer, and this was after I cut out nearly a thousand words that will be going in a later chapter.
I've also realized that my chapters are obscenely long, so in the future I'm going to be trying to get you guys some more focused chapters at a slightly faster pace (no promises, but good intentions abound). This will likely be one of the few 10000+ chapters from her on out.
Thanks to all those who leave feedback, PM's, and those who favorite and follow this work.
In other exciting news my art commission for ME 1 Eva is underway, along with a sketch of the tattoo that Wrex gives her. They are both being done by Niki-Frost on Deviantart (who did the S&S Eva picture) so I'll let you guys know once it is done.
Song Theme:
Liara T'Soni: Natural Born Sinner by In This Moment
S&S
A massive backlash has followed NASA's most recent disclosure that the command module known as 'The Whale' will be crewed entirely by synthetic humans. Beacon Technologies is providing their most state of the art synthetic bodies for the crew, with NASA taking the stance that any technology that can reduce the risk in outer space should be used.
This was only further complicated by an internal memo that was leaked to the Washington Post which stated that Whale crewmembers were not in fact being given a choice in the augmentation process. While Beacon Technologies in the memo promises that the technology exists to place the crew back in their original bodies, several crew members, including Commander Dorlan, have indicated their unwillingness to comply with such an order.
House Majority Leader Martin Cambritch had this to say on the leaked memo: "NASA on the eve of celebrating the historic pronouncement that man had taken his first mighty step into space, has decided to follow this achievement by spitting on that very legacy. I do not doubt the courage of Commander Dorlan or the rest of her crew, and it is my opinion that they should be allowed to not only lead our path to the stars. But to do so as God intended them to.
-CNN, 2063
S&S
Tired eyes glanced at the large display next to her that was projecting all of the data she had on her mother. Battle strategies, technical specs, even a few videos of her that the previous Bau, apparently that was a complicated subject, had captured before he had been killed.
Groaning in annoyance she gave her a shake as she pushed the distraction to the back of her mind, Hannah Shepard was a matter for later. For now, she had another more pressing task to focus on.
"Helen," a sigh emerged from the human before she continued, "Fuck it, if anyone sees this I'm fucked anyway. Evalyn Shepard, log number eleven." The human shifted as she held up an injector gun in front of the drone that was recording the experiment, "Previous tests of the reverse engineered nannites have been successful, and so I am moving to stage two of the process."
The drone itself shook as though angry at her, "Tess would like to register her opposition to stage two, though I believe she's just being overly cautious."
"You're just being reckless!"
The outburst from the unseen entity caused a smirk to flicker on the Spectre's features, "Done with giving me the silent treatment?"
The drone suddenly moved positions and buzzed dangerously close to her face, if it was possible she would have sworn that its monoeye was glaring at her. "Someone has to monitor you. Ma'am. Given how little thought you are putting into the potential ramifications of this decision!"
Eva let out a loose shrug, "Maybe, or maybe not." She strode over to the medical table she had setup in the centre of the room, which itself was part of her private quarters that she had installed below her newly acquired property.
As she stretched out on the table she glanced at the drone, "You remember my instructions?" When silence only answered her, she turned to fix her gaze on the drone, "What were my instructions, Tess?"
"I believe your exact words were to: 'Fry you' if you appear to not be in control.'"
"Correct," she brought the injector up to her neck, wincing slightly as it did the task it was designed to do, "Don't worry, I'm sure everything will be fine."
"I wish I could be as-"
The rest was cut off as unconscious claimed the human.
S&S
"What are the results, Doctor?"
Matriarch Massia sighed heavily as she sat down in front of the sole child of Benezia T'Soni, "Well, your biotics are well above the threshold for your age, but no real surprise there." Liara had turned her gaze away, already knowing what was to come, "I'm sorry to say, but my previous diagnosis has not changed."
Liara's folded hands clenched tightly, causing them to discolor from the sheer pressure she was exerting on them, "But I've never," trailing off she let out a sigh, "Thank you, Matriarch for seeing me on such short notice."
The shorter asari nodded, "Of course," but the Matriarch was unable to not voice her concerns to the maiden, "Liara, if you ever come to me again, or if I ever hear of yourself going to someone else to be tested again. I won't keep it a secret."
Liara's head jerked towards her, anger flashing in the normally subdued eyes, "Or what!" The maiden's usual timidity was lost in a flash of rage, "You'll tell my Mother?!" The Matriarch though just crossed her arms, unimpressed at the uncharacteristic outburst, "No, it won't be Benezia I tell."
Blanching at the meaning behind those words Liara seemed to deflate, causing Massia to move closer to the younger asari, "Liara, I've known you for nearly your entire life, and I know that things may seem; unfair." She let out a sigh, "You'd be right in that assessment, but that doesn't change the reality of the situation."
She patted the girl's arm, "You're young, and so how about we just chalk this little event up to a mistake of youth. However, there won't be a second such chance Liara. I owe a lot to your Mother, but not that much."
Before Liara could respond Massia's eyes flashed as she remembered something, quickly reaching into one of her coats pockets she pulled out a small identification card. Offering it to the maiden the matriarch smiled, "This will get you into a party Nassana is throwing next week, she always sends me an invite despite the fact I never go. So congratulations, you've won my yearly ticket give away." Seeing the hesitation from Liara the other asari pushed the small item into her hand, "You can let yourself live a little, Liara. I trust you, and it would do you some good to get away from your studies for a night."
Liara's eyes focused on the small device, and offering a small smile to the matriarch she gave a hesitant nod, "Thank you, Massia, but I can't accept. I need to get back right away, or I might miss one of my deadlines," she paused as she saw the annoyed glare that was being sent her way, "Massia? What's the matter?"
Massia simply huffed in annoyance at the maiden, "Liara, child, I understand that you have a passion for the past, but don't let it blind you to what you can have in the here and now." She gave out a small chuckle, "After all, I'm pretty sure the Protheans will remain dead, even if you do miss your deadline." She gestured with her hands toward the door, "Now shoo, I have three patients waiting on me and a bondmate who wants me home on time for a change."
Liara's smile widened a little at the happy tone of the matriarch, "Of course, and thank you once again."
As the young Asari made her way out the door she began to make plans for the event, maybe Massia was right and she should try to live as much of a life as she could allow herself too.
Though first things first she supposed, she was going to have to go shopping.
S&S
"Fuck."
Eva winced as she raised herself to a sitting position, visibly flinching from the room's light level, "Well, I'm not dead, so I assume it worked."
As If responding to her question she watched as her information began scrawling across both her eyes, a slightly wild grin distorted her features, "Victory."
She practically leapt off the table, caught up in a wave of euphoria over her success, "Tess, you there?"
"Where else would I be?" To anyone else the sarcastic tone employed by the intelligence would be annoying, but to Eva it was just another sign of growth. Synthesized emotions were a major step for an intelligence, which was just another thing that had gone her way today. Tess though didn't share her opinion, "I also don't think you should be moving around yet, Ma'am. We don't know the side effects of the procedure."
The words of caution fell on deaf ears, as the human was already testing the other systems she had just integrated into herself, "No problems with the cranial interface?" A synthetic sigh emerged from a nearby speaker, "No, all systems worked as you predicted they would."
"Excellent." Eva clapped her hands together in excitement, this meant no more archaic coding. Instead her new upgrades would translate her thoughts into code, the broker's V.I which would have taken her weeks would now be a matter of days perhaps even hours. While the programs she had lost to the Thresher Maw would be at her disposal again in no time.
However, there were other uses for this technology as well, "Start up the drone interface test."
"Ma'am, you just woke up. Surely you should at least eat something, maybe have some actual sleep."
The human though just shook her head, "I need to know my limits, and I need to know them now. Otherwise I might end up pushing myself too hard in combat, which is something that I would prefer to avoid."
No reply came for several moments, until Tess robotically stated, "Releasing drones, five and six."
The drones themselves were one of the first things Dekrin had shared with her. They had apparently operated as his assistants back on Dekunna, and she had found their highly modifiable frame very promising.
She had since then outfitted a dozen of the small drones to her own specifications; a small accelerator rifle, and an adaptable omni projector which was currently maintaining a crimson barrier over the front of the drone.
It took the human a few seconds to think about how she wanted to do this, as it felt like she was reaching forward with a sense she had never had before. Until suddenly, something clicked, and she found her mind had linked to both of the drones. Unfortunately for Eva, and the drones she was linked with, she found herself collapsing to the floor. As her mind struggled, and failed to understand the different sensory streams it was now dealing with.
"Ma'am, are you alright?"
Evalyn held up her hand for quiet, as she let a growl build in her chest to signify her annoyance at the situation. After giving her head a small shake she noticed several splatters of blood on the ground below her, and reaching a hand up to her face she found that her nose had begun to bleed. But, she had come this far though, and she wasn't prepared to end this experiment in total failure just because of some crimson liquid.
Concentrating on the drones she was linked with, she sent a thought which was quickly translated by her new augmentation into code they could understand. The pair slowly righted themselves before taking off into the air again, and once that was accomplished it was the humans turn to struggle to her feet.
With the drones flying in lazy circles about the room she began to, essentially, relearn how to walk with the added viewpoints, and while it was initially disorienting she quickly began to adapt to it. Eva had nearly asked for another pair to be released when a sudden pulse of pain through her skull caused her to cry out as she crumpled to her knees, she instinctively cut the link to the drones in the hope that it would alleviate her suffering.
As the pain began to dissipate she let out a sigh of relief, "Well, that could have gone smoother I suppose."
She took several deep breaths as she collected her thoughts, beginning to plan her next steps from her position on the floor, "Okay, the thought to machine interface is working fine." She staggered over to a nearby desk, drumming her fingers as she mused on her findings, "Maybe if I limit myself to commands already loaded into the drones I can reduce the mental strain."
"I did tell you that that was a likely outcome, Ma'am."
She waved a hand towards the speaker the A.I had used, "Yes, Tess, I'm aware. Sensory information itself isn't a massive problem, I think that I can probably handle a pair of drones comfortably for hours." She rubbed her jaw lightly, "Higher numbers will be substantially more limited though. Augmenting my own brain further might be a solution, but I am would prefer to avoid that."
Still though, for an alpha test it could have gone far worse, "Is there anything on the docket for today?"
"No, Ma'am, though I believe that you have some employee interviews later in the week, and Nassana Dantius had expressed a desire to meet with you when you are available."
The human groaned at that, "Joy," she took off deeper into her lair, "If anyone tries to contact me let me know, I'm going to get something to eat. Then I'm going to pass out for as long as my body lets me."
"Ma'am, you should look at your eye first."
Eva frowned, "My eye?" Holding up her omni she set it to mirror mode, a frown swiftly forming as she saw that her iris was faintly glowing crimson. Though as she watched it she could already notice a perceptible dimming of what she assumed was the nannites inside her still natural eye, "Well, that is unexpected. Any idea of any negative side effects of it?"
"None that my scans have shown, Ma'am, but I still advise extreme caution." Though the A.I had already calculated that her words would have a negligible effect on the human, she still felt the need to express her concern for her creator.
S&S
Nihlus slipped into the small safehouse that he had set up on the Citadel, he knew that Vasir was inside as the place's V.I had informed him of her entrance hours ago. Glancing around the room he spotted Vasir in the common area, and she was utterly surrounded by a horde of files that were scattered across the table before her.
Realizing that she was too distracted to notice him the Turian moved into the unit's small kitchen, fixing both of them a drink before heading back towards his significant other. The asari's lips quirked in a grateful smile at the glass placed in front of her, "Thanks, Love."
Nihlus just hummed in response, as he sprawled on the couch opposite from where Vasir was working, "What are you so focused on, Tela? It's not like you to do actual work."
The normally confident Spectre seemed was uncharacteristically nervous, her eyes twitched around the room, before Nihlus placed a taloned hand over her own, "Tela, what's wrong?"
Letting out a shaky breath the asari slowly met his gaze, "It was something that, Shep." She growled at her slip, "Tides! I mean it was something that Lady mentioned."
Collecting herself further Vasir slipped her hand out from under Nihlus', her body smoothly sliding from her seat as she began to prowl about the room, "Have you ever heard of an Ardat-Yakshi?"
Nihlus reclined back in his seat as he took a drink from the glass in his hand, "I might have heard Saren mention the term once, but he never elaborated on it. All that I remember is that the word predates the modern Asari dialect by two or three generations."
"As long as there have been asari, there have been Ardat-Yakshi." Tela's body shuddered slightly at the thought of the creatures, "They look like us, biologically they are undetectable until they reach a certain age," she shook her head in disgust, "At that point the only option is to either kill them, or imprison them."
Her partner tilted his head lightly at that, "But what exactly do they do? And what does any of this have to do with Lady?"
Vasir slowed to a halt, her back facing the Turian, "What I say here can't leave this room, do I have your word, Nihlus?"
Nihlus was actually somewhat hurt by the insinuation, "Of course you have my word." But it fled when Tela turned back around and he could see the relief shining in her eyes, "Thank you."
The asari lifted her hand up, manifesting a small biotic field which hovered slightly above her palm, "An Ardat is the ultimate predator of my species. Their biotics are more powerful, they tend to be more intelligent, and they mature faster than a regular Asari." With a sudden motion the field dissipated, "They have the ability to disrupt the biotics of an asari, and like us they can meld with others; but with different results." Tela's complexion was visibly paling as she talked more and more, and the moment she finished she grasped her glass still sitting on the table and began to gulp down the alcohol.
Nihlus frowned at both her reaction to the tale so far, as well as her last statement, "What results?"
Slamming down the glass Vasir took several deep breaths before she answered Nihlus' question, "They kill whomever they meld with." Nihlus sunk back into his seat, shocked that such a creature existed and he hadn't heard of it except in passing, "Spirits."
"It gets worse."
Nihlus opened his mouth to question how it could get worse, but Tela was already answering that question, "Every time an Ardat feeds, they become stronger, smarter, and their appetite grows as well." She slumped into the seat she had occupied earlier, "I've only seen one victim of an Ardat attack, it, it isn't something that you forget easily." She sighed as she corrected herself, "At least until I met Lady."
Nihlus sat straight up at that, "Wait? You mean that incident when she was fifteen was one of these Ardat things?"
The asari gave a small nod, "It makes sense given how she described the attack to me. Honestly she shouldn't have even survived the initial exposure at that age, let alone an Ardat that was probably sent to kill her."
"Then again, my bet is that they weren't counting on how hardened her mind must have been by that point already. Ardat's are naturally attracted to individuals who have undergone great hardships, it makes it harder for them to feed off of a person." The asari darkly added, "After all no hunter likes going after easy prey."
The Turian nodded a few times as he began to examine the files on the desk in front of him, "So you've been trying to what? Track this Ardat creature down?" At the suddenly wild eyed look of terror Nihlus realized that his guess was incorrect, even before Vasir's panicked voice screeched at him, "What?! No!"
"All that I'm trying to do is make sense of the situation." Tela grabbed one of the pads, and flicked it at her partner, "Which basically means I'm trying to figure out if it was all just a massive coincidence, or if Lady was targeted." Nihlus' mandibles flared at the last word of her sentence, "Targeted? You mean that someone controls these things?"
Tela hesitated before giving a small nod, "It isn't something that is openly spoken of, but some of the Ardat that are banished don't end up at their final destinations. It isn't all that hard to see how a group could see the use of something that can kill with their mind, especially given how so many aliens are willing to jump in bed with any Asari."
Nihlus nodded at that, "And what happens if this was ordered by a group, what's the play here Tela?"
Vasir drummed her fingers lightly, "I don't know, guess we'll have to see how this Anhur mission goes before I can answer that question."
"Fair enough, do you want any help?" At the Asari's silent negative the Turian pushed himself to his feet, "I'll leave you to it then. I might see if I can catch the Clawball game live, I swear this is the year my fantasy team will beat Lysia's." Vasir gave him a forced smile at his attempt to cheer her up, but the Turian could see that this was something she needed to do on her own.
S&S
"Ma'am, there is a message incoming for you from the Council."
The human simply hummed in response as she looked through, yet another, update that had been sent to her from one of her newer employees, it seemed that construction of the lower levels was going smoothly and that they should be up and running by the end of the week.
"It is ready for playback on your Omni, Ma'am." As her hud pinged with the new file she glanced up to ensure that her door was closed, before locking it down with a thought. Eva's eyes quickly flicked down to the connection icon which she resolutely tapped.
Sparatus' face spawned into view, and while his image was slightly distorted his voice came through clear, "Lady, it has come to our attention that a subject of interest will soon be in your area. We need you to plant a virus in her omni and so that our intelligence operatives can determine if one of our priority targets is nearby."
Eva gave a small nod, "Seems simple enough, who is the target and do we have a location?"
"Her name is Oriana Warren, a young human in what I believe your people call her 'teens.' Her Father is actually being interviewed by your company in a day or two I believe." As he lowered his talons from illustrating his mastery of the airquote, Evalyn had to resist the urge to roll her eyes, "Who exactly is the primary target?"
That Turian shook his head, "That is need to know right now. Tevos might have backed your induction, and Valern is willing to overlook anything that gets results, but I still don't consider you trustworthy." He moved to shut off the feed, but hesitated long enough to say one more thing, "Just remember it is far easier to lose someone's trust, then it is to gain it, Lady."
Once the call was ended the human let out a snort of amusement, "I wouldn't be too quick to claim the high ground, Councillor." Leaning back in her chair she asked her question to the air, "Tess, can you find out if Mr. Warren has left Terra Nova yet?"
A few moments passed before the reply came, "No, his flight is scheduled to leave tomorrow morning, Mrs. Warren and their daughter are scheduled to leave a few days after that." Eva drummed her artificial fingers on the metal desk before her, and a plan quickly formed in her mind, "Change Oriana's departure date to match with her Father's. Most shuttle companies have very explicit policies that what your ticket says is when you leave, and they are very stubborn in keeping to those policies. Oh, and make sure that you put a note in a file for a call reminder to be sent to both of them, wouldn't do for Oriana to miss her flight."
No reply came, though honestly one wasn't required as she trusted Tess to do her job. Pushing herself up from her chair the human turned and let herself appreciate the continual storm happening behind her. It was somewhat silly, but it reminded her of nights spent on Earth watching the massive storms slam into the storm shields. Her Grandfather used to curse that the crows that slipped into the compound before the storm hit were louder than the storm itself, but Eva always appreciated the creatures for being clever enough to subvert the human's inventions for their own uses.
Her reverie was interrupted by a sudden rapping on her door, and with an annoyed thought on her part the door swished open revealing a bashful human employee, "I'm sorry, Ma'am, but she insisted-" Suddenly the woman was yanked backwards as Nassana waltzed into her office, "That is quite enough, wage-slave, now why don't you run along while I catch up with my dear friend here."
Eva sighed and gave a terse nod to the recovering woman, before turning her attention back to Dantius, "What is it Nassana? I've already agreed to attend your party, so I fail to see what other business that we may have between us."
The business woman just smirked as she slid onto the couch that was tucked into one corner of her office, "Now that just isn't true, Hel. We have so many," a sly smirk pulled across her features, "Opportunities, to talk about." The human for her part was a wall on the outside, though in the comfort of her mind she wanted nothing more then to see what happened when you subjected an asari to a few million volts of electrical current, "I'm busy trying to make sure that my business is up and running, so if you don't mind, Dantius, I would like to get back to work."
The asari for her part just let out a small laugh, "Business is precisely what I was talking about, Helen." She made her way over to Eva's desk which was soon covered by a projection from Nassana's omni, the projection itself was a large floor layout that Eva' quickly identified as the Dantius estate, "There has been an unusual number of threats aimed at the Dantius clan leading up to this event, normally we would just hire some extra Blue Suns for this type of work but for some reason they got themselves involved in a gang war on Omega and don't have any men to spare." An annoyed huff escaped her lips, "And Eclipse won't even respond to my calls, as apparently most of the organization has been hired on the sly for some massive operation."
"Which leaves, you." That caused the human to glance at her in confusion, "Me? Nassana we only have a single production line right now, and even if I made Dekrin live down there we'd only be able to produce maybe ten units in time." Letting out an annoyed sigh Eva brought a palm up to the left side of her face, "And trust me when I say that the current models need more work before they are consumer ready."
Dantius flicked off the projection, though she was seemingly not going to take no for an answer, "I can have you fully operation in a day if you agree to my request," slipping down into a chair behind her the asari quirked her head at the other woman, "and one other addendum."
Eva though simply stood her ground, "I don't care what your addendum is. I'm not saying yes, Nassana."
"Please, we both know that you are dying to show off your product. Think of all those idle rich people walking around admiring your machines, why I'm practically doing you a favor."
The human sighed and sat down in her chair, "I'm not interested." Gesturing at the door that had just opened, she pointedly glanced at the asari, "I'm confident that you can show yourself out."
A crack though had appeared in the asari's facade, her voice losing its normal collected tone, "I need those mechs, Helen!" Eva's curiosity found itself being piqued, and a sly smile pulled at her lips, "Nassana, if I didn't know any better I would think you were worried about something."
Utilizing her new upgrades, she subtly sent a message to Tess, 'Find out if there are any out of the ordinary guests that are coming. Start with any surviving family members, Nassana didn't inherit most of her mother's wealth by being a nice girl.'
She couldn't help but be amused but the asari's sudden shift in mood, and Eva was practically giddy when Tess' speedy reply appeared.
'Nassana's older sister Malora is attending this event. She hasn't stepped foot on Illium for nearly a century following a murder charge, and is a member of Aria's inner circle. Nassana likely believes that she is coming to kill her on behalf of the T'Loak Consortium, as the Dantius clan has come into conflict with some of Aria's interests on Illium as of late.'
Pale lips quirked into a full smile, "Or are you just worried about seeing your older sister after such a long time apart. I'll confess that I'm unfamiliar with such family matters, but I can see how that could be distressing." She moved around the desk, placing herself in the asari's blind spot, "I guess that I can see why this is such a troubling situation for you, so I'll do you a favor this time."
She placed both hands on the asari's shoulders, applying just enough pressure to ensure that Nassana knew that she was not playing around, "I'll give you a handful of top of the line mechs to compliment your Blue Suns, Dekrin will design them just for you." She could see the asari begin to open her mouth but an increase in pressure stopped that, "Now, what I want you to do is very simple. You will do whatever bureaucratic black magic you were going to do and get me my assembly lines, but before then you are going to leave my office without a word."
Release her shoulders Eva stepped back from the asari, and made her way back around her desk, "Understand that if you have any problems in the future, make an appointment like everyone else." As she settled into her chair she saw that Nassana had still not left her seat, earning a pointed glare from the human, "Don't you have something to do for me?"
She inwardly revelled in the glare the asari shot at her, enjoying the fact she had effectively forced the alien to revaluate how she could interfere with Eva's little sphere of influence. Outwardly she remained as stoic as ever, and once the asari had finally stormed out of her office she thumbed a nearby control to bring up the comm link with the main lab.
"Annoyed Query: What is it?"
She was becoming somewhat fond of the surly Elcor, he was good at his job and, despite the translator, was amusingly direct, "Another special order, four mech's designed to appease Nassana Dantius' paranoia. They'll need to be finished in time for that party I'm going to, so if you need to stop work on the other project I'll understand."
"Insulted reply: I will be the judge of what I can and can not do, human."
She simply shrugged and cut the audio, but instead of cutting the video she instead shifted the camera's focus to the project she was secretly funding. Smiling at the suit of armor that hung suspended from a mount in one corner of the room, drones buzzing around it like bees around a hive as they continued to refine the suit.
She was rather going to enjoy getting dressed up in something so nice.
S&S
Eva inserted the finished V.I program into the local server that the prototype was currently linked up with, and satisfied that everything was in order she shouted over her shoulder, "The files are uploading, Dekrin. I want you to start the test as soon as they are finished loading."
"Sarcastic response: Is there any other obvious task that you wish to point out that I should do." The human just shook her head, "You do realize that I pay you right?"
The large alien shifted his focus to the testing ground, "Distracting statement: Oh look, the test is beginning."
The human though paid little attention to the graceful movement of the machine down in the testing area, instead her attention was drawn to the man being led towards her by two of her security force, "Mr. Warren," She stepped towards him offering her disguised cybernetic to him, "Helen Danvers, I hope your flight was pleasant?"
The man took her hand with some hesitance, before replying, "To tell you the truth, Miss. Danvers, there was some miscommunication with the shuttle company." The man sighed absentmindedly rubbing his wedding band with his thumb, a tell that Eva noted for later, "Our daughter's ticket was somehow booked on my date, and they refused to alter her departure time." His eyes shifted away from her gaze, "I am aware that you wanted me to familiarize myself with the lab here today, but I can't just leave her unattended."
Eva for her part in this little production shot him a sympathetic smile, "I understand the situation is, less than ideal, but we've had to move up our release schedule and your input right now could be crucial." The man opened his mouth to object but was silenced by an upraised hand, "Why don't I have Oriana assist me until you're done? You told me when we spoke briefly about how bright she is, and one can never be too young to be collecting glowing references for one's resume."
She could already tell she had him, and gestured over to the Elcor who was utterly ignoring the exchange, "This is Dekrin, he's our chief mechanical engineer." When no response came she let out a huff, "Be polite, Dekrin, Mr. Warren will be the man helping to make sure your drones can actually survive live combat."
The Elcor shifted a slight degree to allow one eye to fixate on the human in question, "Solicited Response: Hello, Warren." The man blinked in confusion, "Actually my name is," but found his attention suddenly fixated on the test occurring in the sealed off area in front of the alien, "You don't plan on using that armor on them do you?"
Knowing that the man was successfully distracted Eva slipped out of the room. Letting the guards know to keep on eye on Mr. Warren, and to alert her of any movement on his part as he was not yet a contracted employee.
Making her way out of the room Tess was already one step ahead of her, 'The girl is in the waiting room, one of the sub-programmers is attempting to talk with her. From what I have leaned of human social queues she is annoying the girl.'
Eva brushed a rogue strand of hair from her eye, "Well her school files did note some anti-social behavior, not that that hurt anyone if you asked me." And as she slipped into the breakroom she quickly understood why the younger girl was becoming annoyed.
Kathy, and she insisted on informing everyone that it was with a K, while an above average programmer didn't have enough spare brain power to fit in a thimble. Oriana had glanced towards Eva the moment she had entered the room, which had in turn drawn Kathy's attention, who flashed a bright smile towards her boss, "Hey, boss, this is the new guy's kid, isn't she just adorable?" The end statement ended with a squeal that was closing in on a frequency that was likely harmful to dogs, but Eva simply sighed as she shifted her gaze on to the woman, "Kathy, I uploaded several new revisions to the code I need you and Max to go through them." Several moments passed before Eva rubbed a pair of fingers into her temples, "Now, please."
The woman obviously realized that she had done something to annoy her superior, though Eva secretly doubted that she realized what it was, and stuttered her way out of the room. Only once they were alone did she turn to regard the girl sitting in the chair nearby.
She could already tell the girl was going to be rather striking, but given the way she was studiously trying to avoid looking at the older woman Eva was doubtful that Oriana would realize how attractive she actually was. Not that Eva was all that interested, her tastes had always run rather blue.
Did, they did, she irritably corrected herself. She was looking forward to getting off this planet and going someplace where nearly every single person didn't look like a more attractive version of her ex. Though she supposed ex was rather tame for, bitch that tried to rape your mind into a puddle of nothing.
But as she noticed a small glare being shot her way by the girl, likely annoyed by the scrutiny, she was reminded of herself. Well the her before Cora had managed to teach her how to have a little fun with people, she still didn't like them all that much but even she was forced to admit that back then she had some problems.
"You Father said you could come and work with me if you would like, Oriana, I daresay you might find it more interesting than hanging out here with Kathy." The girl gave her a glance that screamed, 'do you think I'm an idiot?' Which only caused Eva to smirk in response, "Well it is your choice, young lady. You can either stay in this waiting room with Kathy for company, or you can come with me and perhaps be productive with your time." She turned on her heel and began to walk away, a smirk pulling at her lips as she heard the girl scrambling to follow after her.
Her office's door opened as soon as she reached her inner waiting area, and she gestured for Oriana to step inside first. She was gratified to see the girl's wide eyed, slightly terrified, expression upon seeing the bolts of electricity pass almost directly in front of the viewing glass that lined the office. Though that quickly passed as the girl moved closer in order to get a better view of what was causing the display.
"You built this place over the colony's original power generation station?" Eva herself could only shrug in response, "To be honest with you I haven't looked into the history of the area, this property was owned by one of my partners so I simply took it over." The Spectre moved over to the small fridge built into the rear of the office and poured herself a glass of water, "Now why would you know that this is the colony's original power plant?"
The girl snickered at her term, which was understandable as it was something that only those who had spent a fair amount of time on Earth would use, but she quickly launched into an explanation, "Illium was part of the last wave of Asari colonization, the Republics afterward having agreed that to colonize any more worlds directly would be unfair to the 'lesser' races." She let the last statement out with the usual anger that most humans from deeper SA territory had towards aliens. Though it still earned a raised eyebrow from the older woman, causing the girl to duck her to avoid Eva's gaze. Letting out a sigh the Spectre spoke, "Oriana, I'm not your parents, but remember that here on this planet you are in the minority. Saying things like that out loud is likely to get you far more than a slap on the wrist like it would in human space."
The raven haired girl turned thoughtful at that, and it was likely a fact she had never considered. Eva could attest that it wasn't something you considered until you found yourself in a crowd of faces, and have not a single one look like your own. Despite what the Alliance liked to preach most aliens were not 'just like them,' their philosophy, history, even thought processes were often entirely different.
The aliens of the galaxy were not just a bunch of human's on the inside, even if that thought might help to calm the masses.
The Turians for as ruthless as they could be, were also quick to let bygones be bygones. In fact, the only reason the FCW wasn't a distant memory by this point, in her opinion, was because Humanity kept fucking bringing it up.
The brunette was jarred from her philosophizing once Oriana began to speak again, "During the sixth expansion the Republics had tried to increase cargo capacity by sending a smaller generation station with each colony, but that resulted in a bottlenecking of the major electrical grids after only a few decades. Normally you would simply have a new one shipped out, but this was happening right at the time of the Geth uprising so the entirety of C-Space was paralyzed."
That was actually news to Eva, "I didn't know the sixth wave coincided with the uprising." Oriana couldn't help but shoot a pleased smirk at the older woman, "Yep, the reason why the seventh expansion colonies are so far on the edge of Citadel space was that the Asari were worried about a potential synthetic invasion. They apparently thought that if they stretched out further there would be a greater chance that some Asari in the outer colonies could flee to safety."
The girl shook her head at the sheer stupidity of the plan, "That having been said, they decided with the seventh wave that there was no way they were going to have power issues like the sixth generation. So they contracted this military think-tank out of Serrice and that monster of a generation station is what they produced." Eva watched as the girl became increasingly animated as she discussed something as commonplace as a power plant, all the while blissfully unaware that her omni-tool was being compromised by the older woman.
Eva realized as she planted several hidden programs into the girl's device that she should be feeling at least a twinge of guilt for her actions, but she supposed that she had crossed that moral threshold some time ago.
Especially if her suspicions as to the girl's actual origins were correct, then the extra precautions she was taking would come in quite handy in the future.
S&S
Samuel had shown up a little over an hour later, slightly amused to find his daughter being put to work organizing a file system. While Evalyn had busied herself between answering questions from the girl, actual work, and sending a coded message to the Council informing them that their program had been planted.
"I see you managed to get her to work, I'm impressed." Crimson eyes flicked up at his comment and, one of Eva's hands motioned for him to take a seat while she closed down a file that she had been working on.
"How was working with Dekrin, he can be an ass but he's good at his job." Samuel actually let out a chuckle at that, "Yeah, he's…something. I don't think I've ever been insulted in a monotone that much before." Eva gave a nod of understanding, before sliding out a compartment of her desk and withdrawing a handful of paper forms.
As she placed them on her desk she noticed the look of surprise on the man's face, "I know paper is a bit old fashioned, but I always prefer to have a physical backup. We will of course be filing an electronic copy of your contract as well."
She slid the forms, along with a pen, across to the man who began to peruse through them. Glancing just out the door to where Oriana had set up shop she noticed that the girl was watching them with some interest, only to get back to work once she realized she had been caught gawking.
"When will your wife be joining you here? I believe you mentioned that she works for ExoGeni in some capacity."
"She'll be joining us in a couple of days. Once she's here she will be overseeing ExoGeni's research branch here in Nos Astra, apparently they don't process their data on site like some of the other Corporations." He placed the pen down and slid the contract back to his new employer, "That should be everything, right? I'd like to take Ori home and get settled, as much as I enjoyed that distraction earlier I am bushed."
She rose as he did, keeping pace with him until they reached the door, "Well I appreciate your help today, especially in light of how you weren't planning on having Oriana along with you. Though if she is ever looking for part-time work we'd love to have her here, she's a rather intelligent young lady. She must get it from her parents."
The girl's father beamed at that, though she wasn't surprised with his next statement, "I appreciate the compliment, Miss Danvers, but to tell the truth we adopted Ori when she was just a baby."
The spectre shook her head at that, "Don't sell nurture short, plenty of intelligent people have had dumb children." Her attention was caught by a notification that Dekrin needed her down in the labs now that his 'minion' had left, "Dekrin is making a fuss now that you've left, so I should go and handle that."
She extended a hand, which Samuel quickly took, "I look forward to working with you, Mr. Warren," before shifting her gaze to Oriana and shaking the girl's hand as well, "And I hope to see you again as well, Oriana."
The pair quickly said their goodbyes, and once they were out of sight Eva couldn't help but smirk, "Tess, I want you to do a test of Oriana's DNA against Henry Lawson's. I think I know what Sparatus is planning, and I don't plan to be caught unprepared."
"And what would that be, Ma'am."
"Destiny."
S&S
"Yes, yes, Dekrin, I understand that the armor isn't fully completed. I was simply asking if it was operational." As the Elcor began to drone out a reply into her comm she let out a huff, "Dekrin, I'm heading inside right now so we'll talk about this later, just go home. No! I'm not paying you overtime." She hung up on the alien with a huff, and handed off her jacket to one of the salarian's working the door.
From there she was led into through several corridors by one of the Dantius servants, the human couldn't help but roll her eyes at the sheer amount of wealth being flaunted. The Shepard's weren't what one thought of when it came to wealth, though they were comfortably in the upper class, as they had always emphasized power over monetary gain.
The Shepard compound was actually the largest single expenditure of the family in any given year, and that was maintained due to some kind of genetic need to tell mother nature to go fuck herself.
As she was lead into a large hall packed with people she had to suppress a shudder at the sheer amount of asari present, she had known that there would be a large amount of them but it was different seeing them in person. Her eyes quickly glanced around for an isolated area to hide herself but a familiar voice called out before she could flee, "Hel! I'm so glad that you could make it."
A sigh escaped her lips as she turned to face the events host, noting that one of the units they had delivered this morning was trailing behind the business mogul, "Nassana, I hope you are happy with the units."
Blue lips quirked into a satisfied smirk, "More than satisfied, dear, but we don't have to talk business tonight. This is after all a party." She extended a glass filled with some kind of asari wine to the human, which Eva took a light sip of to be polite. Of course the stuff was so sugary she had to supress a grimace, "It is very sweet."
"Nasanna, you should know better than to waste such fine drink on a human. The poor things still think that liquor shouldn't be an enjoyable experience." Eva turned her head to regard to newcomer, and from the familial resemblance alone was rather confident in their identity, "You must be Malora, I'm certain that your glad that Illium has a statute of limitation on murder otherwise you'd never have been able to come back home now would you?"
Brushing roughly past the stunned matron the human poured the liquid into a nearby plant, before setting the glass on one of the passing serving trays. She called over her shoulder as she waltzed away, "Have fun catching up you two."
Recalling the plans Nassana had shown her a few days prior she made her way to an isolated area, but her footsteps slowed when she could hear a voice seemingly talking to themselves up ahead, "You can do this Liara, just go down and mingle. Nothing has to go wrong, everything will be fine and you will have some fun."
Eva could tell the speaker was from Thessia, their accents being far more proper than the colonies, but she couldn't deny that she was at least somewhat curious as to what was causing so much distress.
Her low heels announced her presence before she was visible, and as she turned the corner she found the asari already looking in her direction. The maiden simultaneously looking both flustered and annoyed at her presence, "Can I help you?"
Eva batted aside the rogue thought of how attractive the maiden was, especially the rather low cut dress, and instead gave a small shake of her head, "I was simply trying to escape the crowds, and when I heard you talking to yourself I was worried that something was wrong."
The maiden's cheeks flushed a darker shade, "So you heard that," before she buried her head in her hands, "How embarrassing." Evalyn simply tilted her head at the display, "I wouldn't call it embarrassing, I'm not a fan of these type of events myself."
Recovering slightly the Asari stood and gave a slight bow of her head to the human, "Liara T'Soni, and whom might you be?" Eva blinked a few times at the announcement, the T'Soni's were an old and very traditional family. That the sole heir would be attending a party held by a Dantius was very unusual.
Giving the corresponding bow, which consisted of an annoyingly precise arm and waist movement, the human responded, "Helen Danvers."
Liara's eyes seemed to light up at that, "You're the one who created that thing that Matron Dantius is insisting on showing off." At the nod from the human the asari's face went very serious, "The head design you used was a mistake based on the armor you used for the rest of the body. I assume you used the statues from the temple of Athame as a base, but the heads had to be redone and the sculptor didn't know what they were doing."
Eva blinked a few times in confusion before she found her voice, "Your criticizing the aesthetics that I chose?" The Maiden's, far too, blue eyes blinked at her several times, before her cheeks flushed again, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you. It was simply that I noticed the issue and thought that in the future you might want to rectify the problem."
Liara shot her a small smile, "I know that sometimes it can be hard dealing with other cultures, I mean my studies are all based on the Protheans."
"Yes, well perhaps if you were more diligent then your last academic paper wouldn't have had such glaring errors in it." The human sighed inwardly, letting her pride get the best of her was a mistake. Though she did enjoy the fire that had sprung up in those eyes.
"What?" Liara's voice was low, and if Eva hadn't seen her break down from embarrassment twice already it might have been somewhat threatening. So Eva just smirked at the maiden's reaction, "Your last published work, the one that argued that Prothean technology pointed to them having ascended past the need for war. I don't know what tech you were looking at, but I've dealt with Prothean security systems, working security systems mind you, and those safeguards were not made by a race that was past the need for violence."
Eva almost reacted violently when Liara suddenly grasped her hand, and pulled her over to where she had been sitting originally. Finding herself practically shoved on to the bench she found herself looking up at the asari who now had her omni-tool open, "Liara T'Soni, opening a log for interviewing a human by the name of Helen Danvers. Maiden Danvers claims knowledge of working Prothean systems, and has also implied that several faults exist within my last published article."
Eva having now recovered from the sudden, and odd, turn of events attempted to clarify the situation, "Are you interviewing me?'
Those, arresting, blue eyes darted to her, "I'm asking the questions here."
She wasn't sure how long their little Q&A session went, as the pair quickly got lost in a series of small but heated exchanges that were more based on gut feelings than any real evidence about the precursor species.
It was in the middle of one of these exchanges that Eva realized something was wrong, and held her hand up for silence. Liara shot her an annoyed glare while hissing at the human, "What?"
"Do you hear that?" Both of them strained to hear anything, before finally Liara shook her head, "No I don't hear anything, what am I supposed to be hearing?"
Eva slid from the bench, "That's the point, I can't hear the party anymore."
An clapping noise came from around the corner as a trio armed asari blocked off the exit of their little refuge, "She is smarter than she looks." Raising a hand to her head the asari spoke into what must be a mic built into her suit, "Boss, we've got Nassana's human and the T'Soni, your orders?"
A smirk pulled at her features as she began to reach for her gun, "Understood." The leader shot a glance at one of her cronies, "Take the girl to the hall, the boss figures we can shake her Mother down for a ransom." Raising the gun to point at Eva's head the asari clicked her tongue at her, "Too bad no one ever taught you manners, human. Otherwise you might have made it through the night."
Eva for her part just smirked, "I think I'll be fine, after all I'm not the one with a worthless gun."
She snapped into action, having sabotaged the leader's gun the moment she knew which weapon was being drawn, smashing her artificial fist into the alien's unprotected skull, "This is why you wear a helmet!"
"Bitch!" Eva's gaze snapped up to see the lackey who hadn't been tasked with grabbing Liara was levelling their weapon at her. In response Eva activated the kinetic powered battery in her right shoulder, and thrust forward her artificial arm unleashing an overload on the unsuspecting asari.
Normally the ability would be ineffective against an unshielded target as armor systems were capable of dissipating such electrical charges easily. However, when the target isn't even in armor it was similar to the electrical discharge weapons C-Sec used to pacify people.
The asari violently twitched as the spectre closed the ground between them, Evalyn quickly ripped the weapon out of her opponent's hands with her left hand while knocking the alien out with another right hook.
Spinning she brought the rifle to bear on the third target, only to find them slumped against a wall as Liara, who was surrounded by an almost violent biotic field, stood unmoving above them. The maiden's twitching hands was the only part of her body that was moving, and her eyes had shifted into a noir state as she looked down at the asari lying helpless on the ground.
"Liara?" Frowning Eva stepped closer, and shifting the rifle into a one handed grip in her right she yanked on the maiden's hand with her left, "Liara, we have to go." The maiden sprang the life the moment their hands touched, and she slammed her lips on to the human's. Which Eva didn't exactly fight against, which probably said something about her she supposed, but the maiden quickly let out a gasp of pain as Eva's implant sent a nasty bit of biofeedback at her attempt to initiate a meld.
Liara's chest heaved rapidly as she stumbled backwards, her eyes quickly returning to their normal state, "Goddammit, Blue, just keep your libido in check until I get us out of here.". The head of the blue in question snapped up to look at Eva, and finding the human standing only a few feet from a whisper escaped from her lips, "You're alright?" Which only earned a confused look from the human, "Of course I am." Evalyn made her way over to a wall panel, and after a few attempts from the hidden panel she was looking for, "Nassana made the mistake of showing me the building's plans, not a great plan when dealing with someone who has an eidetic memory."
After a few moments she had hacked the door, revealing small elevator that would take them to the roof. The sound of gunfire began to echo from the hall, causing Eva to grin, "Looks like the other units activated, they'll make short work of Malora's people." Extending a hand to Liara the human gave her a small smile, "Now you can come with me, or you can wait until the authorities arrive and have to explain why the T'Soni heir was slumming with the colonials."
Taking her hand Liara slipped into the lift first, which quickly began to rocket them skywards. "You mentioned other units, I only ever saw the one that was following Nassana."
The human smirked, "Kind of the point, the others were disguised as statues throughout the hall. The one following Nassana around was just the original prototype."
Once they had gotten high enough that she had a signal Eva sent a message to her A.I, "Tess, I'm going to need a car sent to the top of the Dantius estate. Make sure that it is a two seater, not a bike."
"Tess? Your assistant is working this late?" Eva couldn't help but smile at that, "Yes, she's very devoted."
Before they hit the roof a message popped up, 'Ma'am, I've spotted two hostiles on the roof with an appropriated satellite, marking them on your display.' As two vague forms formed in front of her eyes the human smirked and readied her rifle, "Wait for me to check the roof first, Liara."
The doors opening cut off Liara's response as the human had already shot though the opening, a staccato of weapons fire filled the air and the maiden let out an involuntary shriek before flushing with embarrassment, "Shiala would never let me live this down."
"Roof's clear!"
The maiden slipped through the door to and blanched slightly when she saw one asari slumped against a wall, a trail of purple blood on the wall behind her. The human for her part seemed to consider the situation normal and was busy fighting with the rifle, "Useless piece of crap." With an annoyed huff the rifle was tossed to the floor, simply shrugging when the maiden glanced at her in confusion, "The heatsink failed, I had to toss the other asari off the roof. My head is still fucking spinning from the feedback."
Before the asari could question that statement further a car settled down on a nearby landing pad, and the pair dashed to the safety of the vehicle in case reinforcements were inbound. Eva reached forward and began to pilot the vehicle, she knew that Tess could handle it but she needed the distraction if she was being honest.
"Where are you staying, Liara, I'll drop you off there." The maiden was silent for longer than Eva was comfortable, and when she turned her head to check on the alien she found the maiden's lips on her own again.
Pulling back the human simply husked out a single instruction, "You can fuck my body, but you try and fuck with my mind and this night is going to be over really fast."
She had honestly expected some argument from the maiden, especially after what had happened earlier but instead Liara pushed her lips against her own before replying, "Deal."
S&S
Miranda let out a groan of annoyance as she paced the warehouse their ship was stashed in, "Mom, I'm telling you that there is no way Evalyn is in danger. The Illium police cleared the scene hours ago and do you really think that rabble could have killed a Spectre?"
In all likelihood the blonde had probably escaped before the police even arrived, and she would understandably wish to avoid complications with any police organization. Even one as blatantly corrupt as Nos Astra's force.
Still Miranda didn't like this one bit. The whole plan had gone to shit the moment that Ori showed up on Illium days ahead of schedule, and that wasn't getting into the fact that somehow Evalyn was right in the middle of this mess. Somehow she knew the bitch was involved in Ori's presence here, but she had no proof and no idea what the blonde's motivation could be.
She scowled at the thought of the other woman, but pushed it aside as she contacted Hannah again, "Where the hell are you? We both know that staying here any longer puts Ori at even greater risk and I won't let your obsession with Eva lead my Father right to her!"
Silence reined on the line for a few moments before her mother replied, "I'm sorry, Miranda, you're right. Let me check out just one more lead, while I'm doing that why don't you move the ship to rendezvous C and I'll meet you there."
A sigh of relief emerged from the raven haired woman, but her reply was cut off as a harsh laugh came from behind her.
She spun but found herself being thrown backwards as an armored fist slammed into her torso, her body crying out in pain as it slammed against a storage container behind her. She took several wheezing breaths as she tried to bring oxygen back into her body, but before she could get back to her feet she found herself being hauled into the air.
Her face was reflected back at her by an impersonal mask, which tilted almost imperceptibly and she had a deep suspicion that she was being judged in that moment by the other figure.
"So you're my replacement, I somehow expected more than just a pair of tits and long legs."
Miranda found herself skidding across the floor until she impacted against another container in the warehouse. She pushed herself on to her unsteady feet, and found that her assailant was slowly approaching her.
"Lets see what wins shall we? Nature or Nurture."
S&S
Credit Song: Red Like Roses performed by Casey Lee Williams
Just a final message to my guest reviewer, I thank you for your review. You have a point about my comma slippage, and I'll try to monitor myself a bit better in the future. I tried to take extra care in this chapter, so I'd appreciate it if you let me know if you noticed an improvement.
That being said, I disagree with you on some points. Such as the subplot statement, I'm not certain if you mean the flashbacks or the Hannah Shepard subplot. As you don't say in your review I'll just assume that you mean Hannah's. Maybe I didn't pull it off, but regardless I felt I had left plenty of hints as to where that particular plot was going.
I really don't know what you meant by word choice, as you didn't give me an example of where my word choice didn't compliment my style. Quite frankly I'm both the writer, and editor of this work. I don't have a second pair of eyes looking over this story before I publish a chapter, so if you do want me to improve please give me some examples.
As to your second review, maybe the first S&S chapter was more grammatically correct. It is also a poorly written piece of shit, and as the author of it I think it is my right to make such a claim. I didn't approve your second review as I don't want to pad out my review score, but that doesn't mean I didn't consider it.
I won't lie, I like having the numbers next to my story go up, but only when I've earned them. Also, to everyone else, I don't want a bunch of reviews telling me that the story is great and all that because of this. I try to respond to all reviews, well those that require responses, and this is the only way I could do so.
