The Red Moon Collection - 1 - Starside
Chapter 8
MSV Hyperion, Father System, in orbit over Lorek
Eleena leaned up with a sigh and wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. She was perched on her knees atop the crippled Kodiak with her eyes locked on the thruster that had taken a beating from the creature on Lorek. She glanced over to her satchel of tools and pulled a thick set of mechanical metal shears from it before returning to work. In the cabin below her Kallux was busy tossing bags and boxes of his supplies out of the opened side hatch. Each one gave a loud thump or clatter as it landed on the cargo bay floor a few feet away. Will watched from the doorway to the forward hall as they worked and shook his head in slight disbelief that the shuttle had operated long enough to be loaded onto the ship. He could hear footsteps behind him and glanced over his shoulder to see Shansa approaching from the cockpit.
"We'll stay in automated orbit until you say otherwise," she stated as she stepped up beside him and leaned against the bulkhead, staring at the Kodiak and their new ally.
"Good. Hopefully Tul finds something in those security vids that can help us." Will hid his worry as best he could. If they didn't get something out of those vids they'd be at a dead end.
"So... a krogan, huh?" Shansa eyed Kallux as he stepped out of the Kodiak and shut the hatch.
"He seems trustworthy enough," Will responded. "And he definitely levels the playing field."
"No arguments about that. I saw that thing you guys killed from the cockpit."
Will cleared his throat and raised his voice. "Hey, Kallux. Come meet our helmsman."
The krogan looked up from his pile of boxes and satchels with a nod and started walking toward Will and Shansa. Kallux looked to the humans as he stopped a few feet in front of them.
"Kallux of clan Raik," the krogan stated as he extended his hand.
Shansa smiled and accepted his hand with her own. "Shansa Fischer. Pleased to meet you."
Kallux shook her hand once and nodded. "So you're the pilot?"
"I sure am," she replied. "And you're the muscle?"
The krogan grinned. "Sure."
"Look at that, everybody's getting along," Will quipped as he peered beyond them to watch Eleena work.
Kallux motioned back toward the Kodiak. "Ever flown one of those?"
Shansa peered to the dropship and shook her head. "Na. But how hard could it be?"
The krogan laughed. "I like you."
Shansa grinned and looked over to Will. "I'm gonna go check on Tul and see if he's found anything."
He nodded in return. "Good idea." Will watched as Shansa turned and headed back to the crew's quarters before looking back to Kallux. "So what's the status on the shuttle?"
The krogan turned to face the Kodiak and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. "Your engineer is working on the damaged thruster. Said it won't be more than a few hours. The structural damage, though..."
He trailed off, and for good reason. It was obvious that the damage to the front of the shuttle would have to be worked on in a shop. The shattered viewports might have been fixable if they could get the parts, but the disfigured frame around them would require a specialist.
"I'm sure we can find someone on Omega who can get it back into flying shape," Will assured him.
Kallux nodded as he watched Eleena working diligently with the thruster. "I know I a guy. We can take it to him when when we have time."
Will nodded. "Sounds good." He looked over to the krogan's pile of supplies. "So what's all the gear?"
"Weapons, explosives, survival gear." Kallux stood up from the wall. "Give me a hand with it, would ya?"
Will followed the krogan as he set off before getting a response. As they approached the pile he and Kallux flanked either side of a rather large crate and knelt down to hoist it up between them.
"Got anywhere I can keep this stuff?" Kallux questioned as Will started walking them toward the forward hall.
"Yeah... I think so," Will replied.
Will guided them to the wall next to the door where they had been standing a minute earlier and motioned for Kallux to lower the crate with him. The container made a deep thud as it dropped a few inches to the ground and Will stepped over to the wall. He tapped a button that activated a small control panel by the door and with a touch of a few buttons a long workbench began folding out from the wall. The sturdy workbench was at least ten feet long and in the recess it had folded out from were dozens of shelves and drawers completely empty and open for use. Will stepped back with a grin.
"I know we'd find a use for this thing someday," Will commented.
"What the hell? Thanks a lot for telling me about that!" Eleena called from the Kodiak. "I've been storing all my tools in my locker!"
Will turned around to see her looking up from her work and shaking her head. He stepped over to the other side of the door and with a few quick taps of his fingers made an identical bench fold out on the left side of the door. He looked back to the Kodiak to see Eleena still shaking her head, but now with her palm covering her face.
"Hey, you never asked!" He shouted. "Enjoy your new workspace!"
Will grinned to himself and walked back over to Kallux. The krogan was leaning down before the crate they had carried over and began unlatching the locks. Will watched as the lid slowly opened to reveal the massive cannon that had been slung over his back on Lorek. Various replacement parts surrounded the weapon in bins and containers. Kallux reached in and pulled the gun from its holding and lifted it onto the workbench.
"I've gotta clean this thing out," Kallux commented. "Lots of blood in the barrel."
Will chuckled. "That's a problem I'm okay with at the moment."
The krogan grinned. "True enough. Let's move the rest of this junk over."
Over the next fifteen minutes Will and Kallux hauled all eleven boxes and bags of equipment that had been in the Kodiak to the workbench. The krogan slid most of them under the table and pulled the large crate that his cannon had been stored in to the center. He began methodically moving each piece of spare hardware into the bins and shelves that lined the wall behind the workbench. Will crossed his arms and watched in silence for a few moments before speaking again.
"So, you're a bounty hunter?"
Kallux grunted and shook his head as he lifted a heavy looking replacement barrel out of the crate and shoved it onto the table. "Not exactly. I do more than just bounties."
Will raised a hand and stroked his chin thoughtfully. "So you're a merc?"
The krogan shrugged. "If you want to give it a name."
The human eyed the red and silver logo on Kallux's chestpiece. "Is that mark on your chest part of your merc band's getup?"
Kallux stood and examined the cooling dampener in his hand carefully before deciding it was in poor condition and tossing it to the end of the workbench. As he turned his attention back to Will he looked down to his chest and paused.
"It's not really a merc group," Kallux explained as he resumed his work. "I belong to a small organization called the Red Moon Collective. Though, calling us an organization implies much more structure than there really is. It's more or less a group of like-minded individuals with a certain... skill set... who've agreed upon a creed that dictates the work we perform."
Will's brow was furrowed in intrigue. "Go on."
The krogan pulled the final components from his crate and tossed them into a bin. "We're all skilled mercenaries who have a certain distaste for the exploitation of innocents."
Will nodded slowly. "So how does that work? I imagine a lot of people who would hire a mercenary don't necessarily care about the exploitation of innocents."
Kallux smirked as he pulled his weapon over and pressed a button on the underside causing it to expand into its full, combat-ready form. His massive hand gripped the base of the barrel and gave it an intense jerk of his wrist, unlocking it and letting him pull the heavy barrel from the body of the gun. He set the barrel on the table and looked over to Will, now ready to reply.
"You're not wrong. But the greatest asset our organization provides is a name for those who have been wronged to call out for." Kallux turned his eyes back to the weapon on the table in front of him. "Even so, we do our research. We perform checks and reconnaissance on the subject of any assignment before taking action."
Will recrossed his arms and shook his head. "I've gotta admit, Kallux... you're shattering all my preconceptions about krogan."
Kallux snorted in amusement. "The overwhelming majority of my people are exactly what you think they are. I'm the only krogan member of the Collective."
The human let a bittersweet smile cross his lips. "So, you said you do your own research on your targets. What've you got on our friends?"
The krogan slid open a compartment on the side of his cannon and reached in to retrieve a heat-sink the size of Will's fist. "Unfortunately," Kallux began as he set the component aside and peered into the cavity, "nothing helpful to us now. I was hired by a wealthy turian businessman who had his family abducted about a year ago. Millions of credits to the Shadow Broker later... he got the names of the two batarians who led the raid on the transport his family was on: Jall and Narek. More importantly, he got the name of their boss. Nox Ag'aren."
Will leaned slightly closer and nodded. "So you think this Ag'aren guy is the one who's running their operation?"
Kallux picked up the heat-sink and slid it back into his gun. "Don't know for sure. All I know is I'm getting paid to bring him in."
"Hey, Will."
He looked over his shoulder to see Shansa leaning though the doorway and raised his brow. "Hm?"
Shansa motioned back into the hall. "Tul found them. He found footage of the batarians."
Will uncrossed his arms and glanced to the roof of the Kodiak where Eleena was still kneeling and watching them. Will nodded for her to come with them as Kallux stepped up to his side. Shansa disappeared back through the doorway and Will hurried into the hall to see her darting into the crew's quarters. He followed her through the door and stepped up to the dining table where Tul sat with his holopad. Will, Shansa, Kallux and Eleena all circled around Tul's chair and peered over him to see the screen.
Tul glanced over his shoulder. "Full house. Excellent," he noted dryly.
He tapped the screen and the still image that was currently displayed began moving. The vid showed the entrance hall where the two security guards stood with a human scientist between them. In front of them the door to the security checkpoint opened to reveal a group of four armored figures standing around a crate similar in size to the one that carried the artifact. Their armor was identical to that worn by the batarians who had confronted them on Tul's station. All wore helmets but one.
"You made incredible time," the scientist stated.
"We always do."
Will recognized the voice and looked to the neck of the batarian not wearing a helmet to see a black, striped tattoo. It was Narek.
"I'm Doctor Tokagi. Are you Captain Hume?"
Narek chuckled and shook his head. "No no, he's on the ship. I'm his first mate."
The Doctor nodded. "Well, let's confirm the shipment and get it down to the research lab."
The two security guards holstered their pistols and stepped toward the doorway that separated them and the batarians. Before they could take more than three steps, however, Narek and the soldier at his side whipped their pistols up and fired multiple shots into the guards' chests. They fell to the ground, motionless, in front of a screaming Doctor Tokagi. Shansa gasped and raised her hand to cover her mouth while the others remained silent. Will felt his jaw clench in anger at the killings but continued to watch as the batarians all drew their rifles and stepped into the entrance hall.
Screaming could be heard in the background as Narek motioned the others forward. "Sweep and clear. Round them all up."
The batarians marched out of frame and began a methodical search of each room. Tul switched to different camera feeds and they watched as over the next fifteen minutes the batarians swept the entire facility. They checked drawers and cabinets to no avail before checking each terminal to download and wipe any data on them. Narek stood in the entrance hall silently as the two dozen researchers and lab techs were rounded up and brought before him. Tul switched back to the feed of the entrance as the four batarians reconvened by their commander.
"What do you think, sir?" One of the batarians asked to Narek.
Narek looked over the group. "Diverse group. We'll bring them to Logasiri and see what we can do with them."
The lower ranking batarian nodded and turned to the hostages. "Everybody on your feet and follow me."
The group stood, their hands on the back of their heads, and began walking after the batarian through the security checkpoint. The audio feed gave them the sound of sobs and frightened whimpers that Will wished he could unhear. One of the batarians standing guard raised a hand and the group came to a halt. He stepped up to Narek and motioned toward the victims.
"Twenty four here, sir. We can only hold twenty at most."
Narek nodded and pointed to the end of the line. "You four stay. Everyone else keep moving."
The others continued on out through the security checkpoint. Tul switched to the landing pad camera to see them boarding two shuttles before returning to the entrance hall camera. The four remaining members of the research staff glanced to one another before an asari finally worked up the courage to speak.
"You... you can't just leave us here."
Narek nodded solemnly. "I know."
Without another word he raised his rifle and unleashed a burst of gunfire into them. All four were hit multiple times and fell to the ground in a bloody heap. Shansa let out a short scream and turned away from the vid.
"Fuck." Eleena lamented as she exhaled in shock.
Narek slid his rifle onto his back and nodded to the remaining soldier by his side. "Cut the power."
Narek stood patiently in the room with his six dead victims at his feet as the other batarian rounded the corner to the security room. After another few seconds the lights, along with the vid feed, cut to black. Will stepped back and raised his hand to his lip as the others turned and formed a semicircle facing him. He thought to himself quietly for a few seconds before realizing the others were waiting on him.
"Right... Captain," he reminded himself. "So what did we get from that?"
"That we're dealing with some cold bastards," Eleena replied.
"One of them mentioned Logasiri." Kallux stated. "They said they were taking the scientists there."
Will raised a brow. "Are you familiar with Logasiri?"
The krogan shook his head. "It's a planet in the Omega Nebula. That's all I know."
"Same here," Eleena added. "But I've heard of cargo ships heading to or from it so there's gotta be some kind of industry there."
"Well that's something." Will let out a sigh. "Tul, you said you had a month's worth of security footage, right?"
The quarian nodded. "That's correct."
"Think we could listen through the security footage to see if the researchers ever talked about the artifact?"
"Most likely not," Tul responded. "Unfortunately, the only security camera that recorded audio was the one in the entrance hall. And I don't think they would spend much time talking about the details of their research there."
Shansa cleared her throat and held up her omnitool. "Nav chart says Logasiri is in the Batalla System. That's only a day or so away."
Will nodded. "Alright... here's the plan. We head to Omega and drop off Kallux's shuttle for repairs. If it's gonna take a few days to get the Kodiak operational we leave and head to Logasiri. I don't want to stick around Omega for any longer than we have to."
Kallux nodded. "Agreed."
Will looked to the others. "Any objections?"
Shansa, Tul and Eleena shook their heads.
Will gave them a small smile. "Good. Let's get moving."
Narek winced as he applied a fresh layer of medi-gel to his blistered and burned skin. The left side of his face and neck had been nearly melted by the flamethrowers on the quarian's space station. He gritted his teeth in pain as the application ceased and he lowered the omnitool from his face. Narek felt like a fool. He had underestimated the capabilities of his enemy and he had paid the price dearly for it. In time the pain would lessen, but he did not expect it to happen soon. The soft green light on his vidcomm system that prompted the dose of medi-gel continued to blink in anticipation. He straightened himself in his chair and activated the device. The screen flickered as the image of a small, familiar office and stoic batarian appeared on the screen.
"Director Ag'aren. How may I be of service, sir?" Narek barely flinched as burning pain engulfed his skin as he spoke.
"Commander. You look terrible."
Narek drew a tight breath. "I underestimated them as Jall did."
"So I see. And the artifact?"
The commander averted his eyes briefly. "I don't have it."
Nox Ag'aren looked downward. "Commander Narek, I don't need to tell you how important it is that we recover this device."
Narek nodded quickly in response. "Of course, sir, and I have a plan. One of our scouts in the Sahrabarik System scanned a ship jumping in from the Hourglass Nebula that matched the MSV Hyperion's silhouette."
"And where are they now?"
"We're unsure. But our scouts report that they have not returned to the relay yet. My ship will remain on standby at Omega and intercept them whenever they appear again." Narek swallowed nervously. He knew very well that his plan was tenuous at best.
"That is... discouraging. But I don't see any other options." Ag'aren sat back in his chair. "Find that artifact, Narek. Sommesh cannot continue if you do not."
