WARNING: TORTURE AND NON-CONSENSUAL TOUCHING, THREAT OF RAPE IN THIS CHAPTER
Cora was tired. She had been running on adrenaline and battle high for 24 hours straight with only a couple of breaks for food and water. At least, we've located two thirds of Ryder's team but where are you Ryder? She glanced at Jaal who was trying very hard to keep his panic and fear in check. His usually expressive and open face had been a closed door since things went to shit. When exactly is that? It has been all shit for a while now.
Cora was surprised Jaal didn't demanded a immediate search and rescue mission for Ryder the moment she ordered the Tempest down to get the salarian team. It seemed he had taken Ryder's concerns to heart. Jaal was more than a soldier, he was able to see the bigger picture. The rest of the crew didn't know the deal Ryder had stuck with Jaal, neither were they informed of the fight they got into. However, Cora was there, she had seen it all gone down. As the XO of the Tempest, she wasn't sure how much Jaal should be kept in the loop. Was she supposed to treat him like a crew member? Or the eyes of the foreign species she could ill-afford to let witness a disaster unfold? She hadn't even had a chance to speak to Vetra in private.
She sighed, her breath fogging up her helmet. It took a while for the condensation to clear. The Tempest had the nav point where they lost contact with Ryder's team and with the Tempest to ferry them, it was much faster than walking. Cora saw the blackened marks on the bridge. It was a wonder the bridge hadn't collapsed under the blast. Then, it was a simple task of looking down to discover the Nomad below.
Everyone feared the worst when they saw the Nomad. With the help of the jump jets, they made their way down to the floor of the Chasm. They didn't spend much time hanging around the Nomad as soon as they found it empty. A quick scan by SAM using the Tempest's superior scanning capabilities pointed them towards several likely locations to search for the others. It didn't take long before Vetra located Liam and Peebee.
Cora glanced at her chronometer. The 48 hours were long up. It's well into the 55th hour if not later. With the salarian team safely off Havarl, absconded on the Tempest. The mission was technically a success but nobody was willing to just leave. Their damned Pathfinder was missing. The details Liam and Peebee had managed to give them were scant and it didn't make Cora feel any better. Vetra escorted Liam and Peebee back to the Tempest. Ryder had done an admirable job splinting their broken limbs but they still needed an actual doctor.
She sighed and ran her hand over the buzzed side of head. Worry had taken up permanent residence on her brow, keeping it furrowed. "SAM, is the Pathfinder authority still with Ryder?" she asked for the fifth time.
"Yes," SAM replied. "It is."
"How will you know, if your connection with her is terminated?" Cora whispered, her voice shaking at that last part. "Would you even know?"
Her throat tightened. Giving voice to her fears out loud albeit in a whisper felt at best a jinx, at worse a prophecy. SAM didn't give a response immediately as he customarily did. The silence of the pause was a loud roar to Cora's ears. It felt foreboding and it threatened to pull the tightness in the pit of her belly to her throat. She tightened her jaw to prevent it was escaping. Keep it together, Harper. You are the one who actually had training for this.
"I would know, Cora. I would just know," SAM said, his voice quiet with an undertone of anxiety.
"I'm sorry, SAM. I shouldn't have said that." Turning her attention back to the Nomad she asked, "What did the scans tell you?"
"From the blast pattern along the exterior and undercarriage of the Nomad, it's clear that the Nomad had triggered an explosive device on the bridge. It's carefully calibrated for the Nomad," SAM said.
"Calibrated? How so?"
"It was calculated to throw the Nomad off the bridge but not bring the bridge down with it," SAM explained. "Plus evidence of an EMP device detonation is clear from all the non-fuctioning electronics."
Cora glanced at Jaal kneeling down as he peered into the carriage of the upside down Nomad. One of the doors was ripped from the Nomad, the hinges bent and torn. Ryder's work probably. Then, signs of a biotic Barrier scorch marks were obvious as well. Also, by Ryder, she probably used it to stabilise Liam and Peebee as she extracted them from the wreck. SAM's explanation went on but Cora's attention was mostly on Jaal. She was afraid he might crack. The tension between him and Ryder was unresolved, everything just put on hold and left on shaky ground. Goddess, had it only been two days? Why does it feel so much longer than that? It had coiled both Ryder and Jaal up tight like a spring, and she was afraid it would snap. It would only hit the one that was left waiting.
She watched as Jaal stretched an arm into the Nomad and pulled a helmet out. It was a black helmet all scuffed and banged up with its visor totally shattered. It belonged to Ryder. Jaal handled the helmet gently as if it was a wounded person. Her jaw tightened at the sight of the helmet but she forced her attention back to SAM. "So you're telling me this was planned. It wasn't a case of wrong place wrong time?"
"Yes, that's correct, Cora."
Shit.
"Ok, let's see where Ryder's tracks lead to," Cora said. "Come on, guys, we have a Pathfinder to find."
Jaal took the lead, Ryder's broken helmet was left next to the Nomad, almost like a marker. Cora shook her head. No, not a marker. Definitely not a marker. Having something concrete to do seemed to have settled Jaal, he kept his omni tool trained on Ryder's tracks. At first it was slow going, like Ryder was trying to keep hidden.
Cora looked at Drack. He looked almost bored but Cora knew better. It's impossible not to pick up everyone's tells after working and living together in close quarters for as long as they had. Drack's claws on his shotgun was tight. It wasn't the loose relaxed hold he usually had. Though Drack would probably not admit it, he was obviously very uneasy.
Drack and Ryder seemed to have adopted each other since Drack joined the crew. Drack was the surrogate father that Ryder had not found in Alec. It's not that Drack showered love on Ryder but he cared and it showed. Ryder actually appreciated the advise she got from Drack. His words carried weight with her. She had given him a purpose that he had lacked with his clan. Cora was kind of envious of the easy relationship Ryder formed with the crew. She found it harder to do so. Professionalism was a shield she hid behind.
Cora's musings were interrupted when Jaal picked up the pace. "I found something," he called.
They picked up the pace and joined Jaal. There along the trail, there were signs of vegetation that were trampled upon. More worryingly, or maybe less Cora can't quite make up her mind, were two dead bodies. One took a headshot from the back, the other took a couple of rounds in the neck and bled out. Based on the rough trajectory, Cora found a spot among the bushes where the branches were depressed. "Come on, we've got Ryder's trail."
"Goddess," Cora whispered.
The carnage before her was grisly. Two other bodies slumped in close proximity, both down by gun fire. Biotic scorch marks streaked across the ground. Who did it belong to, Cora couldn't possibly began to guess. One human had her head burst open like an overripe fruit, brains and skull sprayed across the ground. Then blood, a mix of red and orange, human and krogan all over. Two krogan bodies, one dead from a sharp blade into the brain cavity, the other lying on its face next to the largest patch of dried red blood. Cora frowned. That last krogan body didn't look right.
Drack snorted to get the smell out of his nose. He bent and did a cursory look at the bodies. "This one was taken out with sniper rifle rounds," he pointed out. "The kid is not one for long distance killing."
Cora nodded, she turned and found Jaal staring at the darken patch on the ground. It's still obvious enough for it to be blood. He lifted his omni tool and did a scan. "Is that human blood?" he asked SAM.
"Yes," SAM replied. "It matches the Pathfinder's blood."
Jaal's fists clenched. Nobody spoke. Each locked in their own special mental cage of fears and worries. Finally Drack huffed and started to examining the ground around the blood patch. There were tracks leading away. "Turians," he concluded. "From the looks of it. Two of them. They were dragging something between them."
Cora nodded and followed Drack as he trained his omni tool on the tracks. Jaal didn't move, still staring. Cora didn't need to speak to him to feel the guilt that was radiating off Jaal. Logically, this wasn't his fault but the heart feels what it feels. Cora pushed it out of her mind. The priority was Ryder not Jaal.
Cora caught up with Drack. The clearing was about 200m away from the battle site. "The tracks stopped here," Drack rumbled, anger coming through clearly in the curt way he bit off his words. "Damnit, kid."
"They must have left on a shuttle," she said, pointed at the thruster burns on the ground.
She was disappointed and angry at the same time. What on earth did Tann get us into? We basically walked into a Goddess damned trap. He has hell to pay! "Kallo," Cora called via her omni tool. "We're headed back to the Tempest. Meet us at the drop off point earlier."
The tension on her arms were killing her. Her left shoulder throbbed with an passion that's beyond pain, beyond agony. She could feel the shattered pieces of her clavicle pressing against the inside of her skin. Her arms were stretched up above her head with her weight resting entirely on them. Groaning, she tried to find her feet but only her toes could reach the floor. Her head felt fuzzy from too much sleep but it ached in a way that felt deeply wrong.
Something was fundamentally wrong with her, something that was beyond the physical but her mind couldn't hold the thought. It just flowing through her fingers like sand, and it floated away with the wind.
She suppressed a shudder as goosebumps raised on her skin. Cold, she's so cold. She opened her eyes and looked down. Naked, I'm fucking naked. Fear rose from the pit of her stomach. Where the fuck am I? What happened? Clenching her jaw, she bit back a moan. She closed her eyes as she tried to recall. Remember! Fucking remember! What was the last thing that happened?
Opening her eyes again, she tried to catalog her wounds, maybe it would jog her memories. Her abdomen was a mess of half dried and half bleeding wounds. It looked like she had caught a blast right in the middle. How did that happened? Her head and neck felt like a massive pulsating bruise. Her thoughts were constantly slipping from her mind just as she thought them, making the entire process that much more infuriating.Did I hit my head? The worst pain of all was her shoulder. The grating feel of bone against bone sent white hot stabs of misery down her arm and back. Her head lolled forward in a bid to control her pain. as her toes slipped and her weight fell back onto her shoulder. The pain that she held back burst through her lips.
I can't remember.
The heavy footsteps of booted feet echoed as it approached her. "Waking up, I see. How are you feeling, Pathfinder?"
Ryder's pain glazed eyes didn't have searched for the owner of the voice. She'd recognised the voice anywhere. The owner had been a pain in her side ever since she had fucking held to her morals on Kadara. "Reyes fucking Vidal," she croaked, voice dry from disuse. "You think I could get a glass of water?"
"How droll of you, Ryder," Vidal drawled, his eyes raked over her naked body.
He stepped ever closer to Ryder. She could feel him looking at her like a piece of meat. She couldn't help the heat that crept up her face. Silently she cursed her body's betrayal. "Embarrassed?" he asked. "You shouldn't be. You have an amazing body."
Ryder clenched her jaw tighter, concentrating on keeping her balance on her toes. Vidal circled her, coming closer with every step. "Look at you, the famed Shield of Meridian trussed up like a pig," he laughed.
Eyes roved over her naked body. "You have amassed quite a collection of wounds," he continued without a beat. "I'm sorry that my men were a little rough retrieving you."
Apparently he didn't need a partner to have a conversation. Vidal looked at her scarred thigh, Ryder couldn't help but cross her legs. She had never ever felt more exposed than she did then. Showers on the Tempest with the crew never made her uncomfortable but the way Vidal's amber eyes scrutinised her flesh disgusted her. It made her felt dirty. "Now that's new," he said. "It looks very sensitive to the touch. I wonder if it is."
Vidal brushed a hand down her thigh and she trembled. The way his eyes were smouldering with desire sent a chill down her spine. He raised a hand and gently brushed against the faint line on her abdomen. "That looked like a stab wound." he asked. "I think I remember that one. I made this scar didn't I? Well, not me specifically but one of my people. I'm glad we didn't get you then. This is so much better."
Vidal moved closer to brush against the scar again. Ryder lifted her legs to lock against Vidal's neck but he danced away and her reward was pain that flared anew. His laughter grated against her ears, more so than his touch. Ryder's eyes met his. "Don't look so angry. You made it personal. When you warned Sloane back at the cave, it was still a difference of opinion. We could have parted ways then but no. You had to disrupt my operations, all but put me out of business."
Vidal stood with his arms folded over his chest. "Actually I should thank you. If you didn't close Kadara to me, the Collective would have never branched out. Look at where that brought me."
Ryder took the chance to study the room she was in. The room wasn't big but it was empty. Nothing around just the bare infrastructure, all furniture that had been here were removed. Ryder could still see the outline of the furniture on the ground. The interior wasn't like the usual pre-fab buildings. There was a pair of doors she was facing and there were no windows to see out of. Her head throbbed louder and harder as she tried to remember. The last thing she remembered was preparing for a mission but what was the mission?
Vidal kicked her legs out from under her. "Are you listening?" he demanded.
Ryder cried out. Gone was the desire, it's now anger in Vidal's eyes. Her arms burnt with effort and her toes were constantly slipped and giving way. Every grunt of pain lifted Vidal's mouth up, higher and wider. He smirked. "Now you will get your just reward, Shield of Meridian," Vidal all but spat the title.
"All that talking, Vidal," she said through clenched teeth. "You just love the sound of your voice don't you?"
"Defiance," he laughed. "Enjoy it while you still can."
"I take it that's a no for that glass of water."
Before Vidal could reply, the double doors swung open. "Ahhh, they are back," he said.
A mixed group of human, turian and asari came walking in, their arms laden with things. Her heartbeat loud in her ears as her eyes scanned the materials brought in. Fear gripped her heart and squeezed hard. A whimper escaped unbidden from her lips. Vidal barked a laugh so loud it echoed. "Where's your defiance now, Pathfinder?"
"Leave them here," he instructed.
Ryder watched with dawning horror. A metal bat, a large battery the kind found in the Nomad thumped on the ground along with cables and a prod, a box that was labelled medi-gel and finally a flask containing some liquid. Not water, Ryder would wager. She took a deep shuddering breath and steeled herself.
Cold, freezing water hit her skin jolting her awake. Her skin felt raw, more exposed than merely the fact she was fucking hanging naked from the ceiling. Her toes slipped again, the dull throb screamed into a raging inferno of agony. "Is that all you can take, Pathfinder?" Vidal said, his voice smooth honey over glass.
Ryder coughed and she realised something warm and metallic filled her mouth. Fuck, I bit my tongue. She spat a glob of blood onto the ground. Vidal stood outside of spit range but she had to try anyway just on principle. He cocked his head and turned to the turian holding the prod. "Go easy on the voltage, I want this to last."
The asari and human worked fast, applying medi-gel perfunctorily on her new wounds. It had been like this for how long? Ryder couldn't remember. Minutes? Hours? Surely not days? The medi-gel provided a measure of numbness but it was barely enough to put a dent in her torment. At least I am not about to die immediately.
The chains jingled as Ryder tried to keep her balance. Her arms felt cold and numb, her wrists rubbed raw. She didn't know if she could hold out hope for rescue. Did anyone know what happened? Was the mission even a success? How could anyone fucking find me? Vidal flicked his eyes to meet hers. She read smug satisfaction from his. She trembled. It's the cold, that's it the fucking cold.
Vidal shifted his weight from one leg to another and stepped towards her. "Let's change things up a bit."
Ripping the electrode from her thigh, Ryder whimpered. The electrode had left a large blackened patch right next to the healing scar she got on Ryder-01. His hand hovered her crotch for a moment, his smile hitched higher. "We'll leave that for later," he teased.
Ryder saw red and let the blood pooling in her mouth loose. Blood and spit took him straight in the face and if Ryder was right, he definitely got some in his mouth. She chuckled at the tiny victory she had, showing him her bloody teeth and all. Vidal wiped the mess off his face, his smile now a snarl of rage. Ryder watched as he took a step back before slamming his fist into her face. It's a certain kind of horror to watch it happen and be so helpless to avoid it. His fist connected with her nose and stars bloomed behind her eyes. Once, twice and thrice. She screamed as the bone cracked. Blood poured from her nose.
He stuck the electrode just under her right breast before stepping back. "I take that back. Let's up the voltage instead," he instructed.
"My pleasure," the turian sneered. "I had always approved of the Hierarchy's treatment of turian biotics let alone human ones."
Oh, he's one of those hard liners. Turians and their fucking fear of biotics.
Ryder blinked quickly to clear her vision. Her eyes staring at each and every person in the room in turns, her mind trying its best to memorise every feature on every person. The turian with the prod walked forward, leering at her body. The prod crackled with electricity and the turian stabbed it right to her chest. As white hot pain coursed through her nerves, her body shook and convulsed uncontrollably, muscles contracted and pulled in ways unnatural. What probably lasted mere seconds left like an eternality to Ryder. Her jaw locked up over her tongue again and she wasn't even able to scream.
"Dance Ryder, dance," Vidal said, watching at the prod stabbed again and again onto Ryder's naked form. Burn marks blooming everywhere it touched. There was barely any break between each stab, it felt like a long continuous torture of pain and loss of control. Ryder writhed as electricity coursed through her body. A sudden stink filed the air. Vidal laughed harder when he realised the Pathfinder had voided her bowels. Urine and shit joined the water that was used to wake her up earlier.
Then, a hint of red joined the mess on the ground. Vidal traced the trail of blood up from Ryder's leg, to her abdomen, passed her breast to her shoulder. The contraction of her muscles was so strong that it forced the bone to break through her skin. Blood from the fresh wound mingled with the old. Vidal gave the turian a signal. The turian snorted, unhappy his pleasure was cut short. Ryder's head lolled and hung down between her shoulders. She panted heavily to catch her breath as blood dribbled down her chin.
"I think you had enough," Vidal said. "My eyes are tired just from watching you."
Ryder's eyes felt heavy. She was tired, so fucking tired. What hope was there for a rescue? If she wanted out, she had to get herself out. She grunted as she lifted her head up. Ryder dug deep, deeper than she ever thought possible. Slowly she tried to gather her biotics energy, maybe just enough for a Charge to get a head start or a Shockwave to cut that smile off Vidal's face.
Vidal had his back towards her but the turian was eyeing her with suspicion. Ryder knew she didn't have much time. She had to act while she still had the strength to, if she waited too long she probably wouldn't survive the escape. The familiar flare of her amp didn't come. It was inert like it was dead. Panic seized her. That was her last line of defence, she had no ace in the sleeve. "No…"
Vidal had a syringe in his hand when he turned to face her. "I think she was trying to use her biotics," the turian remarked, laughing as he did so.
"I knew she would eventually. Luckily we have a little something to combat that," he said, holding the syringe up meaningfully.
Fuck, he has biotics inhibitor.
"Ryder, Ryder, Ryder," Vidal said as he moved closer with the syringe. "You are not going anywhere but where I want you to."
She flinched away as the syringe moved towards her but there was only so much play the chain had. Pain flared with her every movement but Ryder ignored it all. She needed her biotics if she was to get out of here. Vidal's smile grew wider, his movement just slow enough for Ryder to move out of the syringe's way. Ryder knew what he was doing. He was allowing her to avoid him enough to cause pain to herself but she couldn't stop herself. To stop was to give up on herself, she couldn't do that. Though Ryder couldn't remember, she knew she had something important to do. Then, there was a sharp prick of a needle at the back of her head, right where her amp was. A cold so intense it hurt spread from that point throughout her body. The inhibitor flooded her system cutting all hope of an escape.
"No!" she screamed.
How long was it this time? She craned her neck up, the room was empty now, her wounds again slathered with a meagre layer of medi-gel. Ryder glanced at the box of medi-gel packs, there were plenty left. Does Vidal intend to use it all up? Before he'll actually kill me? Ryder pushed that line of thought out of her mind. They will come, Jaal will. Tentatively she tried to gather her biotics but nothing came. How long do the inhibitors last anyway?
"SAM?" she whispered.
There was no reply. She wasn't surprised. Why not? Ryder frowned and made a sound of frustration. Why can't I remember?
The smell that filled the room was nauseating. Her toes stepping in her own filth. Shame crept up her face. How the fuck did this happen? No sooner had the thought came to her mind, the doors opened again. Vidal strode in, his pace quick and confident. "Good, good," he said. "You're awake."
"You managed to outlast the battery so it's move on to better things," he said.
"Vidal," Ryder rasped, "You can't even do your own dirty work? Why do you have your gang here do it for you?"
Vidal's face darkened, he glanced at the people around, a strange look on his face. Ryder frowned but the thought was quickly dispelled from her mind when Vidal took up the bat and smacked across the burnt mark on her thigh. She screamed. Then, the bat connected with her face, the blow splitting her skin and blood poured.
Ryder's voice was hoarse and her breaths ragged. Medi-gel isn't going to help this time. "Is that all you got?" she spat, laughing a little. "Are you tired already?"
Vidal dropped the bat on the ground, panting with effort. The bat rolled to a stop at her feet. Ryder laughed again. "You got shit all over it now," she said.
Vidal glanced back at the gang at his back, the same look crossed his face. Is that disgust? Ryder couldn't be sure, her vision was tunnelling. She was sure now, there was no getting out of here. She wasn't going to last much longer. "Hand me the flask," Vidal barked.
Ryder's eyes following the movements of the human who took handed the flask to Vidal. The flask was a thick walled bottle with clear exterior. The liquid inside sloshed and it looked vaguely blue but clear. "I brought something from home just for you, Ryder," Vidal's voice back to being smooth like honey.
She vaguely wondered if Vidal got whiplash from the switch he made all the time. She didn't deign to provide him with a response, since he didn't need one anyway. Vidal uncapped the flask and poured a little onto the ground near Ryder's feet. The moment the liquid touched the ground, it sizzled. Her eyes widened as she realised what that was. Her toes shifted to avoid it.
Vidal's eyes looked onto Ryder's, a smirk on his lips. "Yes, that's what you think it is," he said. "That's the acid from Kadara's lakes."
"No," she said, she no longer cared if Vidal could see the fear. "No!"
Then an asari rushed in through the double doors, breathless from running. "What is it?" Vidal asked, obviously annoyed at being interrupted.
"We got to go, now!" she said.
Hope flared in her heart. All her hurts suddenly didn't seem to bother her. The others began to pick up their weapons and left the room while Vidal grimaced. "See you around, Ryder," he said. "Let this be a parting gift from me to you."
With that said, Vidal smashed the flask at her feet. Ryder howled as droplets of the acid splashed against her legs and feet. Instantly she lifted her feet up and screamed as her arms took her weight. Her shoulder was the epicentre of white hot agony.