Blood
28th of Zorem
Year 9293
Inarad-2
Omeel Cluster
The Prothean struggled to his feet, his breath coming in ragged gasps as the shock of the eruption beneath him lingered on. To his left he watched several of his comrades open fire at the creature as it dove back underground. Panting, he raised his particle rifle and began to run to the rocky outcropping several metres to his right. "Everyone on me!" he roared as the rest of the formation followed his lead.
Another explosion of rock and dirt sent one unfortunate Prothean flying into the air, his screams ending suddenly with a sickening crunch as he hit the ground. The ten metre long beast slithered past him, it's tentacled muzzle lifting as if sensing the air. It glided past the fallen soldier, oblivious to his presence. Pausing, it raised itself to its full height and burrowed back into the earth, disappearing from view in a cloud of dust and dirt.
The last of the soldiers had pulled themselves up onto the basalt crag, winded and fatigued from their sprint. "Tra'lek Khendas, we're all accounted for sir." a wiry soldier reported to the man waiting for them. "Everyone except for Ulawas down there," Khendas muttered as he looked to the motionless man on the ground. He turned back to his soldiers as they returned his look, awaiting their orders.
"Listen up," he barked "we won't be going anywhere until that worm has been dealt with." He stood up, shouldering his rifle and looking back down at the plateau. "I'm going to head back down there to lure it out. When the worm surfaces, I want all of you to hit it with everything you have. Biotics, warp attack as much as possible. It's a tough bastard, but that should soften it up considerably."
"Sir, you shouldn't go down there alone. At least let one of us…" the trooper from before began to protest. Khendas cut him off quickly. "No Ratek. If it's just a single source the worm will track based on the vibrations of my footsteps alone. There's no sense in risking anyone else from the company. Just concentrate on it once it surfaces and we'll take it out in no time." He climbed back down the rock face, ready to bait the worm.
He walked slowly, his pace determined and deliberate. Looking at the ground he saw the massive craters that the worm had created while surfacing. Avoiding these, he proceeded apace towards the body of Ulwas, who was breathing shallowly.
"Ulwas? Can you hear me Ulwas?" Khendas shouted to no avail. Damn it, he's out cold he thought to himself. A high pitched roar followed by a tumultuous rumble from behind him alerted Khendas to the danger he was facing. He whirled about lightning quick, his body shimmering as he created a barrier in a split second. The worm towered over him like an oversized serpent ready to strike. He felt a slight tingling sensation the acid dissipated on his barrier, knowing that he would have dissolved into sludge without it.
Beams of pure energy began to hit the worm as it reared back in pain. It gave him enough time to scramble away and join in on the attack, his particle rifle raised and firing. He created a dark channel with his biotics, hitting the creature's rock solid skin and weakening it at the molecular level. With a final shriek it fell back and hit the ground with a loud slam. Khendas smiled to himself as he watched the beast lying lifeless on the ground, but his smile soon disappeared. A deafening boom erupted from the ground beneath the worm as it caved in under the weight of the carcass. Khendas held onto a crack in a nearby boulder to support himself as a storm of detritus filled the air.
Several minutes passed and the air cleared, allowing Khendas to survey the aftermath. Ulwas was still lying prone where he fell and the rest of the squad was making their way to his position. The worm was gone, and in its stead was a sinkhole about eight metres in diameter. Ratek ran up to Khendas, his face covered in grime. "We did sir! We took it down." he said, a broad grin on his face.
"Indeed. I told you it wouldn't be too difficult." Khendas answered as he uncorked an offered canteen and began to drink deeply. There was a medic attending to Ulwas as Khendas approached and stood over them.
"What's the diagnosis Haejea?"
The medic paused a moment to finish his work before answering. "He's suffered several cracked vertebrae along with a fractured leg. Still unconscious, but all in an all very fortunate to be alive. Give him several days in the infirmary and he'll be back on the field in no time."
"That's good. He's an excellent soldier. And his jokes are funny." Khendas replied. "Faeisj, get on the comm and let headquarters know we have a casualty and are in need of extraction." The soldier saluted and gave a crisp "Yes sir."
"Tra'lek Khendas. You might want to take a look at this." a female Prothean yelled from the edge of the sinkhole.
Ratek followed him to the female Prothean gazing down into the pit. She was running scans and looked up at the two men who had joined her. "Sir, I believe there's an artificial structure beneath our feet." Khendas looked down but could see nothing but darkness. "How far does this go down Iygana?" he asked as he rubbed his shoulder, bruised during the battle. "I would say at least thirty metres Sir. It's safe to rule out the Metacon since it's lying in deep stratum. No...this is much older."
Khendas sighed, relieved at the news. "Well that's reassuring. We drove the machines out of the Cluster fifteen cycles ago."
"Could it be Zeioph ruins?" Ratek offered. "They do have those elaborate crypts on the fourth planet."
Iyagna mused for a bit. "It's a possibility since they did have a presence in this system. Still, we won't know for sure unless someone goes down there." Khendas looked down and then at the duo. "Well...how about a little excursion you two?"
XXXXXXXXXX
Khendas grunted with the effort of rappelling down the jagged wall, his shoulder making the descent arduous. He could hear Ratek hitting the ground below and looked over to his right to see Iyagna speeding down quickly. He grimaced, cursing the worm under his breath as he began to close the distance. The sun overhead began to shrink to a point of light being swallowed by the darkness. He heard a high pitched hum from below as one of the soldiers lit a strobe to illuminate the pitch black.
Khendas reached the ground below at last, his shoulder on fire as he unclipped himself from the rope. His companions were at his back, examining the worm they had dispatched earlier. "Well, it's as good as dead I see." he remarked as he joined them. Ratek prodded the remains with his rifle for good measure. "Yes sir. I swear I'll never ride one of these things again . . . even if I'm paid to do it." Khendas grinned in spite of himself, turning to Iyagna as she pointed her scanner into the darkness ahead. "This way." she said taking point. Khendas and Ratek lit strobes and dropped them at regular intervals as they followed Iyagna's lead.
Several minutes later they came upon a heavily oxidized wall, the blue metallic alloy having lost its sheen millennia ago. The rest of the complex was fused to the surrounding rock, making it difficult to assess the size of the structure. Iyagna approached the wall, her omni-tool at the ready to run her scans. Khendas's curiosity was piqued as he set aside his military duty for the thrill of discovery.
"Ratek, take a look around and see if you can find some sort of entrance. But don't stray too far." Ratek saluted, replying "Yes Sir." as he began scouting the vicinity.
Khendas touched the wall in the hopes of reading the imprints of the former inhabitants. Nothing he thought to himself dismayed. "It would be a remote hope to read anything here Sir." Iyagna said, engrossed in her scans. "Time always finds a way to grind everything into dust, including memories." Khendas had to admit her point and he strode to her side, waiting to see what she found. "Anything yet?" he asked eagerly.
"Not quite yet Sir but...there, I have it. Metallurgical analysis complete." Her fingers moved quickly over her omni-tool, her eyes moving over the data feed. "We can now rule out the Zeioph as the creators of this building. The alloys do not match those found in the crypts on Inarad-4. The age also suggests something much more recent."
"The graves on Inarad-4 are at least 700,000 cycles old." Khendas remarked. "Yes Sir they are. My readings of this structure suggest an estimated age of 60,000 cycles, give or take." Khendas was clearly excited now as he considered the implications. "It's possible that this place is either an Inusannon or Thoi'han outpost?" Iyagna closed her omni-tool and turned to Khendas, also apparently eager to learn more. "Yes Sir. It could have belonged to one or the other since their technologies were practically analogous. We won't know for sure unless we can find a way in though."
"Sir, I might have found a way in." yelled Ratek from farther away in the dimness. Khendas and Iyagna walked over his position by a section of the wall that intersected the rock. Ratek stood by an aperture in the wall, large enough to fit an average sized Prothean. Khendas smiled to himself, thanking fate for allowing such good fortune. "Well," he said "let's go take a peek inside shall we?" Iyagna held up her hand in caution.
"Sir, this facility might not be as stable as it appears. The battle with the worm disrupted the area substantially, not to mention the fact that the structural integrity has been decaying for centuries. I recommend discretion when entering."
"And there's no telling what we'll find inside there." Ratek added darkly.
Khendas nodded, aware that he was letting his emotions override his soldier's training. "Your due diligence is noted and appreciated. We will stay together at all times and at the first sign of trouble we'll double time it back here. Understood?"
"Yes Sir," they replied in unison.
Khendas took point as the other two soldiers fell in line, the light on his rifle turned on. "Do either of you have any remaining strobes?" he asked. Iyagna nodded, "I have a full complement Sir."
"About five left Sir," Ratek added.
"Good," Khendas replied "I want you to drop them every ten metres. I don't want to be running outside in darkness if it can be helped." Entering the hole in the wall, they were surprised to find the hallway they were in was dimly lit in a faint sickly orange light.
"Fluorescence?" Ratek opined.
Iyagna nodded her head in agreement. "Apparently so. However, I'm not detecting any power signatures."
The team moved warily along the narrow corridor, checking the rooms that flanked them. All were empty save for various tools of unknown design and purpose, their decay mirroring the state of the facility itself. "Sir, take a look at this!" Ratek called out excitedly from the rear. Khendas and Iyagna joined him next to the entrance of one of the rooms, which from the presence of beds and furnishings implied living quarters. Ratek began polishing the dust off a plate beside the doorway and soon flowing red script that ran vertically appeared. Iyagna ran the writing through her omni-tool and blinked her four eyes rapidly. "These are Inusannon glyphs." she announced breathlessly.
The Inusannon. To this day the Protheans still revered the ones they referred to colloquially as the Progenitors. Without them, the mass relays would not have made traversing the galaxy possible. And without them, the Citadel would have never taken form. The three companions stood silent for several moments, as if they were unwitting pilgrims visiting a sacred shrine. "What are the odds that three Prothean soldiers would chance upon an Inusannon facility, buried for ages, on a planet in the hinterlands?" Khendas remarked, smiling at his companions. He left the thought unanswered as he signaled them to press further into the structure.
Khendas was disturbed about the possibility of finding the mummified remains of an Inusannon. He was never given to superstition, but to see such a legendary being ravaged by time and degeneration would disappoint him greatly. Thankfully, and ominously enough, there were no traces of Inusannon remains anywhere. Iyagna stopped dead in her tracks. "Sir, I'm detecting a very faint energy emission close by."
"I thought you said that this facility was powered down?" Ratek said.
"It is Ratek." she answered. "The source is something much smaller and compact. If my omni-tool wasn't so finely tuned I would have missed it easily." Khendas regarded her uncertainly. "Are you certain Iyagna? Could it just be a sensor ghost that you're picking up?" She nodded her head firmly. "Yes Sir, I am positive that this is genuine and not some fluke." Khendas pondered a moment before relenting. "Very well then, lead on. But stay alert. We don't know what we are dealing with here."
They departed down a side hallway, their weapons raised and checking their corners. Before long they came to what appeared to be a central nexus. The room was circular and lined with banks of cracked computer screens, their terminals covered with the dust of centuries. They approached cautiously, mindful of any possible traps that may have been left for intruders. In the middle of the room stood a cylindrical metal column with a duplicate column extending down from the ceiling above it. Resting in a square impression on the column was a crystalline cube. It was completely transparent and at first Khendas thought it resembled a prism. "Is that…" Iyagna didn't finish her sentence before her eyes widened in amazement. She hurried to cross the distance to the cube, abandoning all caution. "Iyagna, wait..."
Khendas raised his hand to stop her but grasped nothing but stale air. She quickly began to examine it, the light from her omni-tool passing through the cube and refracting on the other end in a rainbow of colour. When nothing happened Khendas and Ratek moved to flank her, staring at the artifact. "Sir...do you realize what we just found?" Iyagna asked, her excitement palpable. "This is a fully intact Inusannon data cube Sir. In all the time that we have been a spacefaring civilization, we have only found four of these. It may not look like much, but each cube contains hundreds of zettabytes of data."
Ratek looked stunned, and Khendas had no doubt he had a similar look on his own face. This was an incredible discovery, even more so that the cube was buried under rock for millennia, unscathed and waiting to be found. "We need to bring this back to headquarters. Something this important can't be left underground forever," Khendas said. Iyagna nodded her head in agreement. "It should be safe to handle. It's made from pure diamond. I suppose the Inusannon wanted their knowledge preserved for perpetuity."
Khendas reached forward and lifted the cube gently from its perch. He was holding knowledge from a time when Protheans were huddled around campfires and hurling stones at the binary moons of Vausher. That realization humbled him, and in many ways he felt unworthy of such a task. He placed the cube in a satchel on his abdomen, securing it tightly in his armour to prevent the loss of something so priceless. "Well done, the both of you." he said. "See if you can find anything else that may be useful in here."
The trio began rummaging through the surroundings carefully, not wanting to risk any other relics waiting to be found. Khendas's communicator began to hum. "Sir...tra'lek Khendas Sir…." the voice on the other end belonged to Faeisj.
"Go ahead Faeisj…" static began to interfere with the signal. "Damn it. This place seems to be dampening the transmission."
Faeisj's voice crackled over the comm again. "Sir...if you can hear me...transporter...beginning descent."
A horrific thought dawned on Khendas. "Stop whatever you're doing." he said to his companions. "We need to move...NOW!" As if to answer his fears, the surrounding walls began to creak and groan. Dirt and dust began to fill the air around them. "You two, keep as close as you can to me..on the double!" Khendas created an omnidirectional biotic sphere that extended for two metres, Ratek and Iyagna fell in behind their superior as they ran out of the central chamber. The quaking began in earnest as they entered the hallways, the walls shuddering and cracking from the instability. A beam began to fall on them, but the biotic sphere deflected it as if it were a branch from a tree. Rock pierced the ceiling, and Khendas gritted his teeth from the effort of maintaining the field.
"Just another five metres Sir." shouted Ratek from his right shoulder.
The end was in sight and before long and they emerged from the hole in the wall in a flurry of debris. Coughing furiously, they stood well away as the facility began to implode on itself. "Let's go, this entire pit is going to cave in soon" Khendas said between heavy breaths. They sprinted to the ropes they had left behind, climbing furiously as more ground began to give way. Khendas felt like he was ready to pass out from the pain emanating from his shoulder, but he pressed forward. To do otherwise meant certain death. With a howl of effort he pulled himself up onto the surface, unhooking his rappel and running several metres before collapsing in a heap.
He opened his eyes, staring at the cloudless sky overhead. His hands went to the satchel he was carrying, breathing a sigh of relief when he felt the cube. Both Ratek and Iyagan came over and extended their hands, pulling Khendas up to meet them. "Are you alright Sir?" Iyagna asked, concern in her voice. Khendas brushed his hand in front of him. "I've had worse days than this."
"Sir..the data cube?" Ratek asked.
"Right here Ratek. It's safe." Khendas answered, patting the satchel. He rubbed his shoulder forcefully before walking to the waiting transport. "Come on, time to head home. Oh, and Ratek . . . remind me to have a chat with that pilot before we land." Ratek and Iyagna exchanged smiles before following Khendas to the vessel.
XXXXXXXXXX
Commander Pavnet sat in his chair, staring at the data cube Khendas had retrieved. Khendas stood at attention, his eyes focused on the wall ahead. He was flanked on his left and his right by Ratek and Iyagna, who also mirrored his stance. "That was quite the jaunt you took your company on tra'lek Khendas. A routine patrol turns into a battle against a worm and ends in the discovery of this relic. You seem to have outdone yourself this time." Khendas clenched his jaw tightly, the last comment delivered in an acerbic tone.
"That was not my intention Honoured Commander." he replied flatly.
"Hmmm," Pavnet muttered to himself, leaning forward in his seat. "Trouble does tend to have a penchant for finding you however." Khendas felt his anger begin to rise in his gut and his eyes narrowed. Is he insinuating that I intentionally brought my squad into danger? It wasn't a secret that Pavnet did not like Khendas very much. Talk around the base said it boiled down to jealousy. Khendas, the young upstart tra'lek barely into adulthood, had accumulated more prestige in his short career than Pavnet had in centuries. Most of the troops viewed Pavnet as a bureaucrat, not a soldier of the empire.
"Again, Honoured Commander, that was never my intention." Khendas replied, his arms behind his back and his fists clenched.
Pavnet stood, his short stature belying the authority he wielded. "Very well, debriefing complete." he said, turning his gaze to Ratek and Iyagna. "Both of you are dismissed. Khendas, there are further matters that concern you." Khendas forced himself to not look at his companions as they saluted and turned about face. He heard the door hiss close and he knew he was alone with Pavnet.
"At ease Khendas, this isn't some formal reprimand. We have a guest who would like to speak with you."
Khendas relaxed, bewildered at the notice. "A guest, Honoured Commander?"
"Yes," Pavnet replied "he's waiting for you on the observation balcony. Follow me." Khendas began to follow his commander before Pavnet stopped. "You might want to take your spoils with you. I believe he'll find some use for it" he said, pointing at the data cube. Khendas pocketed the cube and exited the office, trailing behind Pavnet. They didn't speak a word to each other as they rode the elevator to the top of the base. Leaving the elevator, they entered a room that resembled Pavnet's office, and before them lay an extensive platform overlooking the garrison. It was used as an observation point for drill inspections and, on occasion, to receive visiting officers. A lone Prothean stood at the railing, watching the day to day activity of the base unfold.
Pavnet walked over to the standing man, consulting privately for a minute before they both turned to regard him. Khendas's eyes widened in surprise. Pavnet beckoned Khendas to approach, and Khendas walked onto the balcony to face his uncle, Nisuro. Nisuro smiled warmly at his nephew. "Hello Khendas. It's been some time hasn't it?"
"Uncle Nisu…." Khendas winced at his momentary breach of protocol. "Honoured Commander, you favour me with your presence." he corrected himself, bowing deep.
"No need for the military propriety Khendas. We are blood, you and I." Khendas stood facing his uncle again. He saw a mien to Nisuro, as if he was carrying an invisible burden that he never had when they last met. "I will leave you both in privacy." Pavnet said as he bowed to Nisuro.
"Thank you Commander Pavnet, that is appreciated." The commander turned and left, leaving uncle and nephew alone together.
Khendas stood side by side with his uncle at the rail, both men silent for several minutes and studying the activity below. "How long has it been since we've last seen each other Khendas?" Nisuro asked, breaking the silence. Khendas considered for a moment. "It's been twenty cycles uncle. I had just graduated from basic in the Uylav Cluster." Nisuro laughed as he remembered.
"Ah, I remember that. If I recall correctly, you were the biggest hellraiser the camp had seen in decades. You were a blade's edge away from being expelled." Khendas cringed inwardly at the memory, shamed at the lack of discipline he showed in his youth.
"That seems so long ago. I was a different person then . . .young, ignorant, rebellious. In all honesty uncle Nisuro, I can scarcely believe that I'm here now."
Nisuro nodded, his demeanour serious again as he turned to his nephew. "Your father was incredibly proud of you that day Khendas. For what you became. It's unfortunate he is no longer with us to witness how far you have travelled." It felt like a knife slid between his ribs when Nisuro mentioned his father. Five cycles following his graduation his father's freighter had been attacked and destroyed by a Metacon patrol. Khendas turned his grief into his greatest weapon, the will to see every synthetic in the galaxy utterly obliterated.
"Unfortunately I'm not here to reminisce with you Khendas. I'm here to offer you something." Khendas looked back at Nisuro, unsure of what he meant. "An offer uncle Nisuro?" Khendas nodded his head in affirmation. "Yes. I'm offering you an opportunity to serve aboard my ship as tra'lek of my soldiers."
Khendas blinked his eyes in rapid succession, unsure as to what he was hearing. "But uncle, you must already have a tra'lek onboard."
"Not at the moment. There was an...incident several weeks ago that ended the life of my tra'lek." he replied with a sad look on his face.
Khendas still had a hard time digesting his uncle's proposition. "But uncle Nisuro, surely you have more qualified individuals on your vessel that can fill that role. I'm only a soldier serving his tour on this arid rock."
Nisuro simply smiled at his nephew. "Your brief service record indicates otherwise. There's the Oepon campaign, where you received a distinguished service citation. There's Chuvab, where your company was instrumental in lifting the siege by Metacon forces. Then there's that bit of business on Hykaed-7, where your company held out for a day against a machine onslaught, long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Now, Commander Pavnet tells me you just unearthed an Inusannon data cube that you now have in your possession. Tell me nephew...how much more qualified must you be?"
"I was simply performing my duty uncle Nisuro." Khendas said as he shrugged his shoulders helplessly.
"You still shall perform your duty Khendas. I'm not here as your kinsman, but as someone who recognizes your talents on the field. I no longer command the Beryl Sunset but a vessel called the Quickening. My crew and I respond to situations that fall outside the general sphere of regular military operations. I need someone like you on my ship."
Khendas considered his uncle's overture carefully, observing the base around him carry on as if he wasn't even there. What does he mean by falling outside the general sphere? What the hells, it's worth a try Khendas thought to himself.
"Alright uncle Nisuro, you win. I'll take the position. But, I only ask for one favour in return." Nisuro considered Khendas for a moment before answering. "And what would that favour entail?" Khendas knew he was gambling, but he had nothing to lose. "I ask that two of my company, Ratek and Iyagna, be reassigned with me."
Nisuro considered for a moment before giving his answer. "That is an odd request, but we can accommodate them." Nisuro's voice took a stern tone with his nephew. "Be warned Khendas. We are bound by blood, but you will follow my orders to the letter, just as everyone else on the Quickening. Expect no special treatment or benefits from our ties. I am no longer uncle Nisuro but Commander Nisuro to you. Understood?"
Khendas snapped to attention and saluted his uncle. "Yes Honoured Commander Nisuro. I pledge my life and service to you." A broad smile lit Nisuro's face as he held his nephew by the shoulders.
"Excellent. I suppose the next order of business is to inform Commander Pavnet that you and your squadmates are being reassigned. I'm sure he won't be pleased." They turned to approach the elevator and Khendas snorted. "I doubt that very much. In fact, he'll be throwing a parade and declaring an official holiday once we leave orbit." Nisuro erupted in laughter as the elevator door slid shut.
