Survivors

by dragondrewversion2

Four strangers; a human, a krogan, a turian, and a quarian; are stranded in London during the Reaper invasion of Earth. Forced together through strange circumstances, they'll need to work together if they hope to survive. Chapter 4: The Face of the Enemy.

10. Chapter 6: Escaping Buckingham Terrace

Chapter 6: Escape from Buckingham Terrace

The survivors raced down the hall, each with the same question on their minds: How are they going to get out of the building?

"Does anyone have a plan yet?" Alaia asked, obviously exhausted from all the running and stair climbing she'd been doing, as were the others.

"Well," Mike answered, "the way I see it, we have two options: The stairs or the elevators. And since the stairs are probably crawling with those husk things and the elevators are definitely not safe, it's pretty much 'pick your poison'."

The group turned a corner, making sure to check every angle for more husks. With his assault rifle in hand, Nepturus jumped in, "The elevators aren't an option. The building's integrity is more than likely compromised, making the elevators no more than 20 story drops."

"The stairs probably aren't much better." Tarok added, his eyes darting to every corner of the hall. "We've already had them collapse on us more than once, turian."

Alaia was about to respond to his statement when her eyes caught sight of two glowing dots behind her in the darkness. "Guys, behind us!"

All eyes went to their flank as several husks burst forth from the darkened hallway, the four survivors opening fire instantly. Mike, Nepturus, and Tarok sent out short, controlled bursts into the horde, taking out half of them within a few seconds, while Alaia simply went full-auto with her SMG's, spraying the hall with bullets. Tarok's assault rifle clicked, forcing him to knock out the used thermal clip just as one lucky husk managed to sneak through the barrage of gunfire and jump onto him. The creature latched onto Tarok's head and started battering him with frenzied punches, forcing Tarok to lose his balance and fall on his back. Nepturus quickly grabbed the creature from behind and threw it off of Tarok, allowing Mike the chance to shoot it with three precise shots to the head, killing it instantly. When all was said and done, around 20 dead husks lay on the ground, oozing blue, oily liquid from their wounds.

Nepturus turned back around and offered his hand to Tarok, who simply refused it and got up on his own. The two simply gave each other a hostile look before breaking eye contact.

"Everyone good?" Mike asked, expending a thermal clip from his assault rifle.

"I'm okay." Alaia answered, putting her guns to her side for a second to shake her hands, attempting to relieve the feeling received from the recoil of the guns.

"Yeah, I'm good." Nepturus said as he inspected the husks, making sure they were dead.

"I'd be a lot better if you idiots had covered me more competently." Tarok quipped, shaking his head to get rid of the headache he'd received from the creature. Those things are stronger than they look. He thought.

Nepturus was about to rebuke Tarok's comment when Mike grabbed his shoulder, "Just let it go, it's not worth it."

Nepturus sighed and nodded in agreement. The group then started down the hallway once more, remaining vigilant.

As they walked, they found another stairwell entrance. Nepturus attempted to open it with no success. "It's no good, the electrical grid to this door must be fried, I can't get a response out of its control panel."

"Move, turian. We don't have all day." Tarok stepped up to the door as Nepturus took a few steps back to avoid injury. Tarok pulled back his right hand, balled it up into a fist and slammed it into the door, denting it inwards and opening a hole on the side. Tarok grabbed onto the dented inlet and was about to pull the door open when a gray and blue hand shot out from the other side and grabbed Tarok's arm. On instict, Tarok pulled back with all his might, effectively tearing the husk's arm off and spraying its fluids all over the door, much the survivors' disgusts. Tarok unclasped the husk's severed arm from his just as the door started to dent back towards the survivors, the sounds of a lot of husks moaning joining the creaking of the metal door.

"We should probably start running about now." Mike said, the others silently agreeing as they hurried away from the door as the husks made enough progress to stick their arms out of the gaping holes in the door.

The hallway only grew darker as the group went further into it, the sounds of the husks not far behind them. Alaia turned on her omni-tool's flashlight as the light became too scarce, luckily stopping the survivors from running straight into a wall, the four stopping with an almost cartoonish screeching halt. "Good call." Mike said before turning his attention down the hall they just came from, where he could see the eyes of at least a dozen husks getting brighter and brighter. "Oh crap! Go go go!" He yelled before the four bolted down the next hallway.

Tarok took the opportunity to pull out his assault rifle and send a few volleys into the darkness behind him, attempting to slow their pursuers down. "Tarok, don't bother! Save your ammo and run!" Nepturus insisted.

Tarok growled in response, making his frustration known, "I'm tired of running from these things, we should be tearing them all new assholes, not fleeing like children."

"Hey," Mike added, "'He who runs away lives to fight another day.' right?" Tarok simply raised an eyebrow and huffed.

Just as the group turned another corner, they came face to face with another pack of husks, wandering over the bodies of several dead guests. "Crap! Other way, c'mon!" Nepturus yelled. Turning around quickly, they bolted down the other end of the hall, now with twice as many husks on their tails.

Just as the group got to full sprint, Alaia's flashlight revealed a dead end at the end of the hall. The group came to another screeching halt and Alaia asked, "Now what?"

The husks were getting closer by the second, the sounds of their footfalls and their moaning getting louder with each passing second. With no time to spare, Mike looked to his left and saw an elevator. "Quick, into the elevator!"

"He's joking, right?" Alaia asked, being nervous at the prospect at being in another elevator.

"No time to argue, c'mon!" Nepturus then pushed Alaia towards the elevator as several husks became visible from the darkness, Tarok opening fire to suppress their advance. Nepturus opened the panel on the side of the elevator doors to open it manually as Alaia and Mike joined Tarok in keeping the horde back. As Nepturus attempted to open the elevator doors, a shocked look came upon his face when he entered his chief engineer's passcode. "What the hell!"

Mike took notice of Nepturus' distress. "What's wrong? Can't you open it?"

Nepturus didn't answer, he simply tried to fathom why what he had discovered had happened, but quickly shook his head and said, "Alaia, I need you to hack this terminal, I can't open it!"

Alaia reacted instantly, breaking off her barrage of SMG fire and activating her omni-tool. "Okay, cover me!" With that, Nepturus stood up, pulled out his assault rifle and joined Mike and Tarok in covering Alaia.

"They just keep coming!" Mike observed, "There must be over 50 of them!"

"Quarian, hurry up!" Tarok demanded, ejecting a thermal clip.

"Working on it!" Alaia said, tapping commands into her omni-tool at lightning speed. "Okay, bypass the first firewall...enter the shunt program...nuke the main security grid firewall..."

"Alaia, any time please!" Mike yelled over the sounds of the three assault rifles firing.

"Okay okay...almost got it...what?"

Nepturus knew what she was surprised about, "Alaia, ask questions later, hack through it!"

Alaia shook her head of questions, "Uh, okay okay. Just need to use the secondary firewall to sneak through the security grid...almost there..."

The husks were getting closer and closer with each advance, getting uncomfortably close to the survivors. "ALAIA!" Mike yelled desperately.

Alaia's eyes darted back and forth as her omni-tool went crazy with commands, scrolling text going past her at light speeds until..."GOT IT!" The sounds of the elevator doors hissing open filled the hallway, to the great relief of the group.

"Everybody in the elevator, now!" Tarok ordered as he and the others backed into the elevator; the husks biting at their heels. Alaia joined the other three in firing on the wave of creatures, as they entered the elevator, kicking the 'close door' button on the holographic panel when all of them were in. As the doors closed, the survivors continued firing on the husks, their viscous bloods spraying like a hose into the elevator as the creatures crawled over one another trying to get to their prospective victims. With a final hiss, the doors slammed shut, stopping the husks in their tracks.

Just as the survivors breathed a sigh of relief, the sound of many hands pounding on the door from the other side reminded them that they weren't safe quite yet. Mike took the opportunity to press the 'lobby' button. "Going down."

Slowly but surely, the elevator eased downward, the sound of the husks desperately tearing down the door growing farther and farther away until it stopped completely. The four survivors spent the first few seconds collecting their breath, wiping the sweat from their brows and leaning against the walls to rest. After about a minute, Mike started chuckling, Alaia and Nepturus joining him. Tarok shook his head and groaned.

"Well, that was fun." Mike observed sarcastically.

"Yeah," Nepturus said, finally catching his breath, "but guys...something's up."

Tarok couldn't resist. "Really? What was your first clue, turian?"

"He's being serious, Tarok." Alaia stepped in, trying to prevent another fight. "We both noticed something when we tried to open the doors."

"What do you mean?" Mike said.

"She means that those doors weren't malfunctioning," Nepturus answered, "they were on lockdown."

For a few seconds, nobody said anything, the revelation causing questions to race through their minds. "Lockdown?" Mike asked, "You mean someone purposefully turned the elevators off?"

"That's what it looks like." Nepturus said.

"Why would someone do that?" Alaia asked, "What would it accomplish other than keeping people from...from getting out." Those last words were laced with realization.

"It was Chamberlain, it had to be." Tarok stated.

"I don't know," Mike said, unconvinced, "even though we know he's an ass, what would stopping all the elevators accomplish for him? He escaped just when the first tremor happened."

"Yeah, it doesn't make any sense. Besides," Nepturus added, "there are only two people who could possibly put the elevators on lockdown: The chief engineer, which is me, and...no...no it couldn't be..."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "What? Who is it?"

"...the hotel Manager, Marcus Tember. But, that's impossible."

"What? He a friend of yours?" Mike asked.

"No, he's an asshole, but not even Marcus would do this, it doesn't make any sense."

Mike took a deep breath and sighed, "Well, we don't have time to figure out why or how it happened. It doesn't matter now, anyway."

"I know," Nepturus said, "but if it was Marcus...I just don't know why he'd-" He was cut off mid-sentence by the elevator coming to a halt, nearly causing the four to lose their footing.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Mike yelled in frustration.

"What's going on, turian?" Tarok added, equally fuming.

"Either the power's gone out or...someone's stopped the elevator from the outside." As he finished his thought, he stepped over to the elevator panel and pressed the intercom button. "Marcus...Are you there?...MARCUS!"

He was met only with silence, until a sudden bout of static caused all the survivors, save for Tarok, to jump.

"...You...you think you can get me, don't you...think you can get to me...no...nononononono, I won't let you...you're not taking me..."

"Marcus! Release the elevator now!"

"...You're not gonna get me...not gonna get me...nononononono, won't let you..."

"...Marcus? It's me, Nepturus. You know, 'cricket face'?"

"V...Vitan?"

"Yes, it's me Marcus. Now just release the lockdown on elevator...14B, OK?"

"You...you...you did it, didn't you? You did all this...You're with THEM!"

"What? Marcus, what're you-"

"I NEVER TRUSTED YOU VITAN, I KNEW I WAS RIGHT! ...you...you and your bug faced, blue skinned, antenna headed FREAKS...you've been waiting to kill us all haven't you...waiting to kill ME...well, hehehehe, I won't let you...you hear me...I WON'T LET YOU!"

Just then, the elevator sprang to life, jolting downward with more force than usual, Nepturus realizing that Marcus was messing with the brake system.

"MARCUS! Marcus, calm down! I had nothing to do with this!

"LIAR! You killed them all...you sent those...things after me...well, you're little friends won't help you now!"

The elevator kept skipping down in short bursts, forcing Nepturus to give up on Marcus and focus and gaining control of the elevator back. "Alaia, I'll work on the wiring here, you try and hack the controls away from Marcus."

"Got it!" Alaia steadied herself and made her way to the control panel as Nepturus tore a metal panel off the wall next to it, revealing a mess of wires and circuits. She brought her omni-tool to life again and began hacking for all she was worth.

"Ah ah aaaaaah, no you don't." Marcus said over the intercom as an electrical charge surged through the elevator's wiring and out of the control panel, effectively knocking both Alaia and Nepturus back and onto the floor.

"YOU SON OF A-" Nepturus yelled out as the elevator went down again, but for longer this time. Nepturus could now hear more screeching and creaking coming from below the elevator, telling him that the breaks were wearing out. "Crap, he's wearing out the breaks. If he keeps this up, we'll plummet to the bottom."

"C'mon you freaks, DROP...why won't this stupid thing do what I tell it to, DROP EM YOU PIECE OF-...no, no, they've found me...NO, NO PLEASE DON'T- AAAAAHHHHHGah...ack..." Just as the sound of Marcus' cries began to die down, the elevator stopped completely.

Just as the four were about to breathe a sigh of relief, however, the creaking sounds beneath them didn't stop, but instead became louder. "Oh spirits." Nepturus swore as the elevator began to slowly slide down, the brakes deteriorating beneath it.

"The brakes are giving out!" Nepturus yelled, running to the control panel, only to find it unresponsive. "Dammit!"

"Hang on," Mike said, "these elevators have emergency brakes for when the power goes out right?"

"Yeah, why...oh crap."

"It's the only way, how do we cut the power to the elevator?"

Nepturus thought for a second, then figured it out. "Okay, well, no time for precision! Tarok, grab as many wires in that panel as you can and rip them out. And don't argue with me on this for once, just do it!"

Though he was reluctant to be ordered around by a turian, Tarok did as Nepturus said and made his way to the panel, grabbing a handrail to steady himself as he grabbed as many wires as he could, getting a nasty shock as he did. Gritting his teeth, Tarok yanked on the wires with all of his strength, tearing most of them out of the wall with little effort. Then, as they had hoped, the elevator began to drop suddenly, but suddenly started to slow down by the unmistakable sound of the emergency brakes kicking in as the lights inside the elevator went out.

The elevator was silent for a moment, everyone collecting their breath once more and hoping that another disaster wouldn't occur. Finally, Mike broke the silence, "Everyone alright?"

"I'm okay...I think."

"I'm fine here, no injuries."

"I hate this planet."

Satisfied that everyone was OK, Mike responded to Tarok, "Yeah well, I'm not a big fan of it right now either."

Alaia and Nepturus turned their flashlights on, illuminating the room once more. Shaking her head, Alaia asked Nepturus, "Any idea what floor we're on?"

"No clue." He replied, rubbing his shoulder.

"I know one way to find out." Tarok said, grabbing the elevator doors and slowly prying them open. With one good push, he flung the doors open with ease, revealing a dark hall with pipes lining the ceiling and no signs of the luxurious surroundings of the rest of the hotel.

"Wow, we really made that by the skin of our teeth. This is the lowest level of the hotel." Nepturus observed, stepping out of the elevator and nearly tripping, not realizing that the elevator wasn't completely level with the floor.

"Watch your step." Tarok quipped, nearly smiling at Nepturus' embarrassment. Tarok stepped off the elevator, followed by Alaia and Mike, who said, "Y'know, the first adventure we had in an elevator only made me a little sour towards them, but now it's official: I hate elevators."

"Yeah, I used to wonder why they didn't have them on the flotilla," Alaia added, "but now I know."

"If you sucklings are done whining, where do we head now?" Tarok said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, I've been down here several times, so I vaguely remember the layout." Nepturus replied, trying to remember where to go. "I think there's a flight of stairs nearby that leads to the main lobby."

"Woah, guys," Alaia protested, "are you sure we should be heading for the lobby? What if that's where those things are coming from? I'd rather not have to deal with another army of those things."

Mike thought for a second and nodded his head, "Yeah, she has a point. From what I saw, those things can't fly, so the only way they could have gotten in is through the lobby, so there may be a lot of them in there. Nep, is there any other place these tunnels lead to that could be safe?"

"Hmm...wait, yeah, I think I remember an entrance to the old tube system somewhere down here."

"Tube system?" Alaia asked.

"It's another word for subway."

"Oh. So, would those subway cars still be working?"

"I doubt it, those cars haven't been touched in over a century, my guess is they'd probably be nothing more than rusty heaps of scrap metal by now."

Mike then asked, "Any chance those husks could get in those tunnels?"

"I don't know. The tunnels were sealed off a while ago until the city figured out what they wanted to do with them."

"Well," Mike said, "It seems like our best bet to getting across the city without drawing too much attention."

"As long as it gets us there, I could care less." Tarok stated, barely listening to the other three.

"Alright, the subway it is. Which way, Nep?"

"Hm, down the east tunnel I think."

"He thinks?" Alaia asked, concerned.

"Like I said," Nepturus replied, "I haven't been down here in a while, so I don't remember where everything is by heart, but it'll come to me."

"I'm warning you, turian," Tarok threatened, "if you get us lost down here, I'm going to use your mandibles to chip my way out."

Nepturus said nothing, he simply stared back at the krogan before turning to head to the east tunnel. Tarok soon followed behind him, with Alaia and Mike next to him. Rolling his eyes, Mike leaned to Alaia and joked, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Alaia chuckled a bit and said, "I love Casablanca."

Surprised, Mike said, "Wow, I'm impressed. When did you see Casablanca?"

"Well," Alaia started, "I first saw it when I was 12. That's when I saw a lot of old films from Earth. Gone with the Wind, The Godfather, Rain Man, Jurassic Park, that one was my favorite."

"Jurassic Park?" Nepturus questioned, "I think I heard Sam mention that movie once, I never saw it though. Is it any good?"

"It's a beautiful movie!" Alaia answered excitedly, "It's about humans from the 20th century bringing back creature's from Earth's past called 'dinosaurs'. They're these reptilian creatures that ranged from bird sized to the size of a small cruiser. In fact, some of them kind of look like Tarok."

"Hrmph." Was Tarok's only response.

"So you like the movie because of the dinosaurs?" Mike asked.

"Partially, but the rest is because it's such a beautiful movie. The way they made the dinosaurs look in the movie, the way they filmed some of the atmospheric shots, the music...oh Keelah, sometimes back on the flotilla, I'd listen to the music from the movie to cheer myself up whenever...whenever me and my dad had problems." Her voice trailed off from passionate to depressed very quickly upon mentioning her father.

Understanding her change in attitude, Mike tried to change the subject. "So...have you ever seen Indiana Jones?"

Her head tilted a bit from the name, "I don't think so."

Mike reacted with mock surprise worthy of a Shakespearean actor, "Are you kidding me? You've seen some of the greatest movies humanity has to offer but you haven't seen Indiana Jones?"

His exaggerated outrage made Alaia laugh, "Ha, I'm sorry, I've just never heard of it. What's it about?"

"It's about this archaeologist named Indiana Jones, who goes around the world finding lost treasures."

"Wait a minute," Nepturus asked while stepping over a powerline, "isn't he the guy with the weird hat and the whip?"

"Yeah, that's him. You've seen the movies?"

"No, but last year I came to work during Halloween and one of the bellboys was dressed up like that. I asked Sam about it and she just told me, 'He's Indiana Jones.'" Nepturus did his best impression of Samantha when quoting her, making both Alaia and Mike burst out laughing.

"What was that?" Mike attempted to ask between bouts of laughter.

"What? You didn't like my impression?" Nepturus replied.

"You sounded like a gargling vorcha." Tarok said, making Mike and Alaia laugh even harder.

Mike wiped a tear from his eye, "That was good Tarok. And here I thought you didn't have a sense of humor."

"I wasn't kidding. I've actually heard a vorcha gagging on his own blood. The resemblance was uncanny."

The laughter stopped abruptly at the disturbing imagery, Alaia clearing her throat. For the next couple of minutes, the group kept silent, Nepturus leading the way through the many twisting tunnels, the darkness around them making traversing the tunnels harrowing at best.

"How much farther, turian?" Tarok asked, nearly banging his head on a dislodged pipe.

"It can't be too much farther, we've been walking for a few minutes now so we must be at least a couple hundred meters from the hotel." Nepturus responded, doing the math in his head.

"So," Mike started, "once we make it to the old subway, where do we go from there?"

"The tunnels lead to almost anywhere in the city, we just need to know which tunnel leads to what area."

Just then, a sudden shaking disturbed the walls in the tunnels, causing some dust and small debris to dislodge from the ceiling. The shaking, accompanied by a loud, thundering boom, lasted for nearly 30 seconds, until the tremor slowly dissipated. "What was that?" Alaia asked.

"Well, we're about 50 or so feet below ground level, so the only thing I know of that could shake the tunnels down here like that is...a building collapse."

The tunnel once again fell silent, Alaia rubbing her hands together nervously.

"You sure?" Mike asked.

"Pretty sure." Nepturus answered, now watching the ceiling closely.

Alaia shook her head, one question plaguing her mind. "Why are they doing this?" She asked aloud. "What are they trying to accomplish?"

"It doesn't matter." Mike responded, smacking dust from his jacket. "What matters now is finding Chamberlain."

"Ha," Tarok laughed, "that's the first thing you've said that I completely agree with, human."

"Aw," Alaia added, tapping Tarok on the should teasingly, "I knew you guys would start bonding."

Tarok wanted to rebuke her comment, but decided against it. She'll just find some way to turn it around on me. She's clever like that. Shaking the unexpected compliment from his mind, he returned his gaze to the front, where a fork in the tunnels was coming into view. "Ok, where to, turian? Which way?"

Nepturus looked down both tunnels, bringing a hand to stroke his chin in thought. After a few seconds, he turned to the group and said, "No idea."

"TURIAN!" Tarok yelled, ready to strangle Nepturus in frustration.

"Hey! I haven't been down here in a while, we're lucky I got us this far." Nepturus defended himself. "Besides, there are only two ways we can go from here, and I'm sure one of them leads to the subway entrance."

"Okay, let's split up again." Mike suggested. "Same teams as last time?"

Alaia leaned on Tarok, and though he couldn't see it for certain, Tarok could tell there was a cheery grin on her face. "Ugh, fine. I'll take the girl."

"Alright, Nep and I will take the left tunnel, you and Alaia can take the right tunnel. If one us finds the entrance, we'll give the other a call." With that, Mike set his omni-tool to be ready to communicate at a moment's notice, as did the others.

Mike and Nepturus started down the left tunnel as Alaia and Tarok started down the right. Turning his flashlight from left to right, Nepturus scanned the tunnel for any movement, still cautious of any 'visitors' the tunnels may have hidden within. Breaking the silence, Mike said, "Man, I really thought Tarok was going to kill you there, or at least rough you up a bit."

"We shouldn't have bothered with him, he can't be trusted. Why did Alaia insist on bringing him along?" Nepturus replied.

"Maybe she sees something in him that we don't. Women are weird like that."

"I hear that. I swear, sometimes I feel like Sam could tell exactly what I was thinking at all times. It's kind of creepy."

"Yeah, Narala's sort of the same way. Actually, she was like that just before I left for Earth."

That statement elicited an curious look from Nepturus. "Really? How so?"

"Well, I live on the colony where her group is headquartered. A planet called Tamaris. So we see each other pretty much every day, so on they day I was packing for the trip..."

Tamaris, 2 days earlier

Mike stuffed several shirts into his suitcase, as well as some pants and undergarments, making sure to keep as lightly packed as possible for convenience's sake. His closet was filled with almost identical shirts and pants, the only unique thing in there being his grandfather's jacket. The entire time he packed, the same question raced through his mind, Why the hell am I doing this? In the ten years he'd worked for Eses Ventures, Mike had never taken a vacation, something he'd felt a certain amount of pride over. Some people, including Narala, called him a workaholic, but Mike saw it differently. He enjoyed working for the group, not so much the miniature wars that would start up with pirate bands or slavers, but the ability to explore new worlds and the exercise. To him, this vacation just seemed to be an excuse to veg out for a few days and gain some extra weight. Great, that's all I need, Narala and her crew pointing out how chubby I'll be, I'll never hear the end of it. Mike joked in his head, a small chuckle escaping his throat. Just as he'd gotten halfway done putting his clothes in his suitcase, he heard the familiar sound of someone ringing his doorbell. "It's open!" He said, inviting whoever it was in.

When the door hissed open, he was greeted by the unmistakeable image of Narala. At just around 6'1, Narala was taller than the average asari, giving her an imposing stature to some, but to Mike, it only made her as tall as he was. Even as far as asari were concerned, Narala was gorgeous, with a face that most men would find irresistible, a fact Narala had used several times to her advantage when dealing with uncooperative colony heads to gain access to dig sites. Her body was also not something to sneeze at, though Narala never flaunted it, she always wore a loose fitting dark blue jacket with her company's logo, two hands grasping a stone tablet, emblazoned on the right side of the chest and a pair of run-of-the-mill pants of the same color; though her curves were still very noticeable. The tentacle-like folds on her head held her natural blue skin color, something that was uncommon with most asari of her age range, who mostly preferred having it dyed with artistic patterns.

Narala walked into his room, a datapad in her hand. "Okay Mike," she said, "I've finally gotten permission from the salarian head of colony affairs to explore the ancient burial grounds on Mannovai, so we should be able to start the expedition in about two week-" She cut off her thought when she noticed Mike packing his bags, her brow lifting in curiosity. "Don't tell me, you were listening in on my conversations again and decided to pack early?"

Mike laughed, the first time he'd done so since he'd gotten back. "No, actually, uh...you know all those vacation days I've been saving up since I started working here?"

Narala's eyes widened. "No...you? Going on vacation? Somebody call a doctor! The man is ill!" She shouted in mock panic, though it was laced with genuine shock.

Mike rolled his eyes and smiled, "I know I know, stop the presses."

Narala's sarcasm quickly turned to genuine concern. "Seriously though, why the sudden decision to take a break? ...Did something happen at your father's funeral?"

"Yeah, you could say that." Mike answered, a hint of frustration evident in his remark.

"Well," Narala asked, expecting him to have told her already, "what happened?"

"Long story short, after my mother scattered his ashes, she told me about how he'd been saving up all this money for years to take us all to Earth one day. So she gave me the money and asked me if I'd go to Earth to keep it from going to waste."

Narala picked up the subtle signs that Mike wasn't very happy about this, and not just because he didn't like the idea of taking a vacation. "So, what's bothering you about it?"

Mike hesitated for a second, then said, "I just...don't want to waste my time on Earth, that's all."

Narala's intuition blared, causing her to put her hands on her hips to show she wasn't buying it. "Uh huh."

After several seconds of being stared at, Mike asked, "What?"

"I've known you for too long not to know when something's bothering you on a personal level. That, and you're doing that thing where you tap out the theme from those movies you like with your teeth."

How does she notice these things? Is she spying on me or something? Mike thought, trying to keep his composure as he finished packing his bag. Finally, realizing she'd keep pestering him about it until he talked, he relented. "Ugh, I don't know, I just...I just don't like being sent to do something I don't feel like doing just to 'appease my father's spirit'." With that last phrase, he did the quotation sign with his hands.

Narala knew better than to get Mike talking about his father, but she also didn't like seeing him upset. "So, you don't feel that your father deserves to send his son on vacation?"

"No," he answered, a disdainful tone lacing the word, "I just don't want anything from him. Who knows where he got that money. Knowing him, he probably stole from turians' bedside tables for years." Though the remark sounded like a joke, his tone implied otherwise.

"C'mon Mike, I know you and your father didn't exactly..."

"Narala, please don't start with the whole, 'Your father wasn't such a bad guy' bit. I already get that enough from my mother, I don't need you trying to shove it down my throat too." After finishing his sentence, he leaned his head against his closet door, resting it on his arm. After a few seconds, he realized how much of an idiot he was being. "I'm sorry, Narala. You didn't deserve that. I know you're just trying to help."

"It's alright," Narala answered, "I've had people talk to me in a worse tone than that. Remember that hanar I tried to negotiate excavation rights with a few years back?"

Recollecting what she was talking about, a bout of laughter escaped him, "Oh man, I never knew before how colorful a vocabulary some of them had."

Narala joined in his laughter for a minute before saying, "Look, I'm not going to try and fix the problems you and your father had. All I'm going to say is that he may have been an ass, but at least he's giving you an excuse to go on vacation. I know you don't think so, but you definitely need one."

Rolling his eyes, Mike responded, "Are you sure you mean I need the vacation, or do you mean YOU need a vacation?" A sarcastic grin formed on his face.

"Well, now that you mention it," Narala joked, "it would be nice to have a few days off from seeing your shed hair all over the place."

"You ass." Mike joked, another chuckle escaping him. "Well, anyway, my transport to Earth is leaving in an hour, so I'm glad you stopped by. It saved me the time of tracking you down to tell you where I was going. I would have sent you a message, but you never read them, so..."

Narala shook her head and smiled, "I know, I'm trying to work on that. Anyway, make sure you get back before we head out for Mannovai, I've been waiting for years to have a chance to catalogue those burial grounds."

"Don't worry, I can't get back soon enough." With that, Mike grabbed his jacket out of the closet and put it on before picking up his bag. "I'll see you when I do." He and Narala shook hands before he made his way to the door.

"And Mike!" Narala said before he left.

"Yeah?" He responded.

"Be careful, okay?"

"I will, don't worry. I've been taking care of myself for years, you could say I'm an expert." He finished with a friendly wink and left the room for the spaceport.

Narala exited the room and watched Mike head down the hall, a frown forming across her face as she thought to herself, I'll miss you...

London, Underground Tunnels, Present Day

"Huh." Nepturus said aloud as Mike finished his story.

"What?" Mike asked, curious as to his reaction.

"She asked you to 'Be careful' huh?"

"Yeah, so? What's the big deal?"

"Oh, nothing?" Nepturus replied, returning his attention to the tunnel ahead of him while a smile formed on his face, or the turian equivalent thereof.

"No, what?" Mike asked again, this time more insistently.

"I was just thinking...that's a pretty concerned thing to say for someone who doesn't have feelings for you..."

Mike's eyebrow raised a bit before realizing what he was thinking. "What? Narala? No...I mean, she just wanted me to be careful on my way to Earth, that's all."

"...Uh huh." If Nepturus' face were human-like, he'd have a grin from ear to ear.

"Oh shut up, Nep. I mean, I'll admit, she's an attractive woman...very attractive even. And she's intelligent and funny and...But she and I are just friend's and co-workers is all. She's my boss for crying out loud. She doesn't care about me like that."

"Again...uh huh."

"Ok, you want me to start making fun of your relationship with Sam?"

"Huh, what? Hey, that's different. We are both clearly just friends."

"Uh huh." Mike remarked ironically.

"Just keep looking for that subway entrance, human." Nepturus did his best impression of Tarok on the 'human', laughing as he did.

Right Tunnel

For the last several minutes, Alaia and Tarok said nothing, too busy looking for the subway entrance to start up a conversation, though Alaia admitted that Tarok wasn't exactly one for conversation. However, after a while, she got tired of the pregnant pause and asked Tarok, "Seen anything yet?"

"If I had," Tarok responded, not turning his gaze from the tunnel ahead, "I would have said something wouldn't I?"

"Yeah, I guess so." I'm glad we had this talk. She thought sarcastically.

Tarok saw the look on her face, seeing how she'd expected more from their conversation. He finally asked, "Can I ask you something, girlie?"

Alaia was surprised, usually Tarok wouldn't talk to anyone unless he needed something or if someone talked to him first. "Uh, sure."

"Why are you so determined to talk to me?"

The question caught Alaia off guard. "Well, I don't know. I guess I just want to get to know you is all."

"There's nothing to know," Tarok replied, a sort of self loathing behind his words, "I've fought wars, I've made mistakes, and now I'm here. That's all you need to know about me."

Undeterred, Alaia decided to ask him, "You mean to tell me someone like you hasn't done anything interesting in their entire life?"

"I never said that. I just said it's not something you need to know."

"Well, excuse me for trying to make friends."

"I neither want or need friends, quarian. All they do is get in the way."

"So you're telling me you've never had friends...at all?"

"Again...that's not what I said." Remorse filled his remark.

Realizing what he meant, she decided to drop it. "Sorry, Tarok. But just remember, if you ever change your mind, I'm here." Her statement was half joking, half serious, making Tarok raise an eyebrow.

"Hm, you never give up, do ya, girlie?"

"Nope. It's one of my endearing character traits. At least, that's what my dad calls it." Again, mention of her dad brought a hint of dread in her voice.

"You and the human should join a club," Tarok said, "you both can't stop complaining about your fathers."

"Hey, I have good reason to be mad at my father right now. I mean, all my life I do my best in everything I try to do; school, training for my pilgrimage, practicing my computer skills. And yet no matter how well I did, it was never enough for him. He always wanted more from me, sometimes more than I could give him. If I hacked a terminal in 20 seconds, he'd ask why I didn't hack it in 15 seconds. If I got the best grades in my class, he'd ask why I didn't get the best grades of any child in the entire flotilla. He wants a perfect daughter than can impress everyone on the Migrant Fleet, but instead he got me, so he's never satisfied!" Her ranting echoed throughout the tunnels, causing even Tarok to stop and stare at her. Unable to speak any further, she just sighed and brought her hand up to her mask rubbed it as if it were her temples before continuing down the tunnel ahead of Tarok, who followed her from behind.

Despite the fact that Tarok didn't enjoy emotional talks, he realized that Alaia was truly upset. Also, he felt that he somewhat understood what she was talking about. "Y'know, girlie," He started, "you remind me of a krogan child I knew back on Tuchanka."

"Oh yeah?" Alaia asked, wondering if he was simply going to turn this into a 'suck it up' story.

"Yeah. As he grew up, his father demanded that he be the best at everything he set out to do and be perfect at it as well. During training, if the boy were injured, his father would simply tell him that pain and suffering was expected of all krogan, so he expected him to go without treatment to toughen his resolve. He would also pit his son against larger krogan children to train him to fight enemies larger than himself, even if it meant he would be beaten severely. That child grew up to be one of the clan's finest warriors, and yet the father was never satisfied, always telling his son to never fully accept anything other than perfection, even into adulthood."

"Let me guess," Alaia interjected, believing she knew where the story was headed, "that krogan child was you?"

"No...it was my son."

Alaia's eyes widened at the realization. His...son? Why would he...

"You know why I treated him like that?"

Alaia didn't say a word, she simply listened.

"Because my own father was not as concerned with me. I wasn't trained by him at all, as any krogan child should rightfully be. I was trained by the clan leader, Jorgal Glovenk. All my father ever did for me was set a bar for me to live up to. He was the clan's second in command, the one krogan, next to Glovenk, that no one wanted to mess with. The stories told about him were so overblown that I'm fairly certain most of it was made up, by him nonetheless. And yet, despite the fact that having a child is one of the most honorable things a krogan could do, especially after the genophage, he didn't care. He disowned me completely, saying he wanted nothing to do with 'a runt like me'. Hmph, there were times in my rite-years that I dreamed of proving him wrong by plunging my dagger straight through both of his hearts. But I never had that chance. So when my chance came to rear a child, I made sure to show him that I cared in the only way I knew how, by pushing him as hard as I could, making sure he was as great a warrior as there had ever been." Throughout the story, Tarok showed no obvious emotion, no tears, no anger, no regret, he simply told the story as if he were talking about someone else.

Alaia's mind was wracked with questions, all stemming from the fact that the story fit almost exactly with her relationship with her father...minus the fighting bigger kids part. "So...did your son hate you for it?"

"Of course he did. To him, I wasn't his father, I was his master. Nothing more, nothing less. That was probably for the best anyway, as I was never good at being a 'heart to heart' person. But despite that, I had accomplished what I'd set out to do, he turned out to be the toughest young warrior in the clan."

"What was his name?"

"Garod, an old krogan word meaning 'stone'." That last word was said with a hint of sadness that Alaia had never seen in him.

"So you're saying that my dad only treats me like crap because he cares about me?"

"I'm saying, girlie, that when it comes down to it, the main job of any parent is to prepare their child for the galaxy they've been born into. And sometimes that means making them hate you."

Alaia didn't say anything for a while, she just walked along side Tarok for the next minute or so, deep in thought. After a while, she lifted her head up and said, "Tarok."

"Hm?"

"...thanks. Really, I mean it."

At first, Tarok said nothing, but a few seconds later he replied, "I was just sick of hearing you complain, quarian. That's all."

For the first time in the last 10 minutes, a smile formed on Alaia's face, "Ok, Tarok. Whatever you say." Just then, she realized that they'd come to a T-intersection, with what looked like metal beams lying parallel to one another and spanning the entire length of the tunnel, far past their line of vision. "I think we found it." She said.

"Finally." Tarok added, "You'd better call the idiot twins and let them know they wasted their time...again."

Alaia chuckled and rolled her eyes before turning to her omni-tool. "Mike, Nep, we've reached the subway tunnel."

"So have we..we..we."

"Huh?" Alaia was confused by the echo, until she looked down the tunnel to see Mike and Nepturus sticking their heads out from another tunnel exit. "What the?"

"You've got to be kidding me." Mike remarked, "Both tunnels led to the subway?" He turned his attention to Nepturus, who simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Ok, so my memory wasn't that great. But at least we finally found it." He said, defending himself.

"Leave it to a turian to over complicate things." Tarok said as he stepped down onto the tracks.

"Don't start with me, Tarok."

"Alright alright, let's just figure out which way to go from here." Mike interjected, wanting to avoid another argument.

"How are we supposed to do that? It's not like they left directions down here." Nepturus quipped.

"Hang on a sec." Alaia said, turning on her omni-tool. She scrolled several books she had stored on it, mostly books about artistic styles, great painters and earth cinema. Eventually, she stopped at a book on London that she'd downloaded before coming to Earth. She opened the book and scrolled through it until she found what she was looking for. "Aha! Here we go." She tapped her omni-tool once and an image on its screen enlarged to show a series of winding lines, letters and names of city streets. "Gentlemen, one map of the London subway system."

Mike shook his head, impressed. "Alaia, what would we do without you?"

"Probably starve to death in some old abandoned subway tunnels." She joked.

"Okay, so where are we right now?" Nepturus asked.

"Hm, well, Buckingham Terrace was on Caledonian Road, so the only subway entrance for that area is...here." She then pointed to one of the curved lines in the upper right corner of the map. "And the area where I found Chamberlain's signal is here, near Gunnersbury Park." She then pointed to the complete opposite side of the map, in the lower left corner.

"Crap," Mike said, "by the looks of it, this tunnel won't take us directly there. We'll have to leave this tunnel eventually and get onto the...District line or the London Overground."

"According to the book," Alaia corrected, "the London Overground was demolished in 2163 due to structural concerns and lack of need due to the discovery of mass effect drives. So it looks like the District Line is our best bet."

"Enough with the history lesson! Just tell us which way to go." Tarok said, growing tired of the discussion.

"Okay...hm, that way, to the left."

"You sure?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, the curvature of the tunnel matches this area here, so we need to head this way."

"Okay, let's get going." Nepturus concluded. The group started down the tunnel, flashlights leading the way. Just as they were under way, Nepturus decided to have some fun to pass the time. "Hey Alaia, did you know Mike has a girlfriend back home?"

"Really?" Alaia said with a teasing tone.

"SHUT UP, NEP!"