"Love," Lyla groaned as the ship docked in the hanger bay. "Take Crystal to the med bay, ensure Wynne listens to what Duncan has to say. He seems to know more about this taint than any of us."
"You're coming with us," Leliana stated. "You're infected too, Lyla. You need help."
"I can wait. The Normandy is in trouble, Leli. After we save it, I can rest," Lyla whispered. She stood from her chair with a massive groan but shot a look to Leliana to quiet any response from her wife. "This is bigger than me, love."
"Nothing is," Leliana argued.
"Ma serannas, vhenan. Do as I ordered," Lyla commanded.
"Aye, Captain," her wife spat.
Lyla grunted as she started to walk. The cold was worse up on the ship, but she had to be stronger than the others. As Captain they all relied on her, she would not let them down.
There were much more important things for her to be doing than residing in a bed in sick bay. This was one of them, and as Lyla stepped into the turbolift, she knew she had made the right decision.
"Bridge," She growled as waves of nausea swam over her. The world shifted as she stumbled into the wall. Pain shot through her arm, her injury, and flew around her body as agony overtook her. Only by sheer force of will did she stop that red mist of anger take over.
She stepped out onto the bridge as soon as the door opened. "Captain on the bridge," she shouted. The crew jumped but parted as she moved towards her chair.
"Crewman, why aren't we moving?" She called out to Isabela.
"Waiting on your order, Captain," Bela responded curtly.
"Warp speed then, let's save the Normandy."
OoOoO
War was hell, anyone who said otherwise was either a liar or a fool. Lyla Mahariel was neither, and as the ship dropped out of warp, nothing could have prepared her for the horror.
Lothering was gone. Dust and debris were all that was left of the once well-populated planet, a billion voices all silenced by a monster she had yet to even imagine.
Her vision faded for a moment, and suddenly they were closer. Isabela was expertly navigating them through the debris field, passing destruction as though it was not there.
"The Normandy's signal is just ahead, shall I put it on screen?" The crewman asked.
"Aye, Bela," Lyla answered.
The screen flickered into life as Isabela tapped on her console.
"Mythal'enaste," Lyla whispered. "Elgar'nan, ghilama."
A monster was ahead. Bigger than any space station and moving like nothing Lyla had ever imagined. Its body was at least a dozen times longer than the Normandy, wings extending from it larger than any moon Lyla had ever seen. An elongated neck extended from the body of the monster, leading to a giant serpentine head. Teeth longer than her ship, gleaming with some strange power. And inside them, something worse than any of them could have feared.
The broken hull of the Normandy.
Plasma shot out from glands on its wings, propelling it forward as the dragon flapped them. It lazily glided through space ahead, ignoring the Griffon as it flew in the other direction.
A massive shockwave shot from it, and suddenly it was gone. Disappeared into warp.
"Bela, scan for life signs. Find anyone, anything out there," Lyla growled. "Shepard is smart, she will have sent her crew out, saved them even if it meant losing her own life. She is a hero, find them."
"Aye, aye, Mahariel," the crewman replied.
The ship slowly swam through space, scanning every rock and meteor it passed in the vain hope of finding life.
Everything was dead. Everything was gone.
"Bela, set the scan to broad range, find me something in this system. Please," Lyla begged.
She stood to get closer to the view screen, hoping to see anything at all. Instead, the world fell away as she finally lost the fight to stay awake. The taint was in her and not even the Tempest could fight it forever.
Translations
Ma serannas – I'm sorry
Vhenan – Heart
Mythal'enaste – Elvish curse
Elgar'nan, ghilama – Elgar'nan, guide me. Elgar'nan is the god of Vengeance
