Chapter 11: Developments
Location: Central dome; The Core.
What a bore.
Vice sat on his side of the platform with half-open eyes, on nodding terms with sleep. His gaze resting on the two others as they diligently continued their work. This time it was about the Western dome – which is the youngest of the dôji habitats. The issue was population number, so his colleagues are approving an ad campaign of sorts – to motivate people in the more crowded domes to move thereto.
At the moment though, he did not care about throwing in input of his own.
It's been years since last time he's been on the field.. How he desired to get some hands-on work done, cracking open kurozu – show the young ones how to do it.
He was just about ready to take a nap when someone entered the chamber with a sense of urgency. A grin crossing his lips once he realized who it is; "Now, look what the cat dragged in."
In came the aspect of Envy, Jealousy. Looking troubled, though it was clearly mixed with exasperation.
Ultimo looked up from the interface hovering before him as well, "My, not often we see you come on your own accord... What's the matter?"
Jealousy halted his approach just twenty feet from the platform, "... I was just about to transfer over to the Western dome when I heard the news."
"What news?" Milieu inquired sternly.
"The dig sites in the Empire state spire just came under heavy attack."
Surprise was evident. "Can't be. They've gone undetected for so long... why now?"
"It gets worse.." Jealousy groaned, quite hesitant to bring up the bombshell about this.. "Our enemies have found a way to tell com dôji apart from the rest."
Milieu snapped his fan shut with enough force it make it sound like the crack of a whip, his ever-present calm damaged by a grimace, "You said what?! Impossible.."
Ultimo and Vice exchanged glances before the latter spoke up, "Is this true?"
"There's a Deus ex Machina running around over there – assassinating com dôji. An SOS came from the only one left alive. Usok picked up on the danger just in time, but had to use the spire's broadcast system." Jealousy shook his head, "Don't want to believe it either, but it's a fact."
It was unbelievable. Unless registered, it was impossible for other dôji to guess what Noh-based abilities others got – unless one took time to examine their 'bloodline' thoroughly. And then, all of a sudden, their archenemy had found a way.
Vice narrowed his eyes. Though it's pretty morbid, he saw a chance for some field action; "Then we've got a siege-breaking effort ahead of us. Jealousy, gather all that are available for immediate action."
"My subordinates are already on it, sir." Jealousy noted, "Should be ready soon."
"And if the rest of you don't mind, I'll lead the effort in person."
"Feel free, but pray be swift." Milieu said, regaining his mental footing.
"Likewise." Ultimo agreed, "But just one thought, should we perhaps offer the organics a chance to tag along?"
"Tali and Liara are busy. But I guess we could ask those turians."
"Sure, whatever." Vice shrugged, "Ask 'em. But they'll need to get their asses – or whatever – into gear. 'cause we're talking minutes." and turned to Jealousy, "Now, let's go."
"Of course." the minor aspect replied with an even more nonchalant shrug.
It was just another battle in a seemingly endless war, despite this one's importance. Anyway, he was planning to make the most of this.
Fifteen minutes later...
Location: Midtown Manhattan – New York City.
Times Square was ruined like the rest of this decrepit world. But the streets pulsed with light and life once again, if only for a short time, as spatial orbs appeared throughout the West 42nd, and all the way up to West 47th street. Though these were followed by masses of orbs across half the city in turn.
From them, thousands of dôji started to materialize, several regiments worth of reinforcements from both the Western and Central domes. Hastily mobilized and organized.
Vice himself made his appearance atop one of the unbroken buildings in the area, flanked by Jealousy and his personal com dôji – the latter whom he addressed almost immediately as he gazed upon the growing horde below; "Begin the advance! But everyone must keep to the ground for now until we know more about the scale of the opposition. If any enemy forces are encountered along the way, destroy them immediately."
"Sir." the minor dôji replied with a low bow, immediately sending the order to the forces below.. which after a few moments began to march towards the coast. Through open streets, alleys and across the ceilings of lower buildings.
"Jealousy, you'll be with the 3rd regiment. Keep an eye on the birds."
"Heard the more hostile ones are among them, what to do if they start acting up?"
"Do I need to fucking spell it out for you?" Vice growled menacingly, "If those birds can't serve on the front-lines in an orderly manner, or put our soldiers in danger needlessly – they'll be lining your regiment's processing-chambers instead."
Jealousy believed that to be just a joke.. Well, almost. The turians, or Nihlus and Saren to be more exact are looked down on by quite a few for their hostility, and tendency of treating dôji like objects or monsters like the kurozu. For now, he decided to humor his superior, and responded with a curt; "Yes." before taking off, heading in the direction of West 45th street to rendezvous with his regiment. Leaving his superior to continue handing out orders.
Vice turned to his com dôji, Jin, and regarded him with dangerous calm. His fierce visage making the subordinate bow even lower, "Have the new regulations been fully implemented? Has every com dôji down there gotten their personal escorts?"
He wasn't being kind. It's basic pragmatism. Can't let the enemy kill off those in charge of communications, or else the whole army would fall apart. Especially if the kurozu truly had found a way to detect them specifically.
The subordinate nodded meekly, "It's been done, sir."
"Excellent. Then to the forward line I go.." Vice responded and dropped himself off the building, flying to the very front of the army. That's where he belonged: In the fight. Going so fast his personal com dôji struggled to keep up with him.
And every minute, the army drew closer to the coast.. and by extension the Empire state spire that loomed over the city.
Meanwhile...
Location: West 45th street, Manhattan, New York City.
"I'm surprised you decided to tag along." Garrus said, leaning into his seat within the APC which the synthetics provided for him and the others. The vehicle hovering a bare five inches above the various wreckage filling the streets – on the ground below, and all around, dôji swarmed forward like an onrushing army. Mustering a running pace matching the speed of their vehicle.
The vehicle's controls wasn't all too different from shuttles he was familiar with. In the seat next to him sat a single synthetic, who served as his co-pilot. The basics he could handle just fine, other things he left to the other.
He tossed a glance to those sitting in the back, addressing both Saren and Nihlus.
"Better than getting dressed up." the elder spectre growled, relieved to have been given some proper armor.
Nihlus chuckled at his colleague and former teacher's expense.. though without any harmful intent; "Indeed. You should have seen his face when Service gave him the choice; the moogle-outfit or the purple dinosaur-outfit."
"Purple dinosaur?" Garrus tilted his head forward, wondering if he had heard correctly.
"Indeed. Supposedly, it's based on an ancient legend where creature like that spread joy among the kids... and terror amongst adults. Evidently, there's a certain reality to it.. Saren choose the moogle without a second thought. As if it called to him." Nihlus added that last part like he was telling a ghost story, with a hushed tone.
Saren felt his reputation get more tarnished by the second, "Shut up. I don't want to hear of it any longer!"
"No promises, big guy."
Garrus guffawed, "Don't worry, my mandibles are sealed. Won't tell anyone.."
Saren did not look particularly reassured. Instead, he looked up from the floor.. "Garrus, we need to talk."
"What about?"
"Spectre meeting. Can you ask that thing to give us some privacy?"
The spectre candidate grimaced, and looked to the co-pilot.. who wasn't quite pleased with being referred to as an object, "I'm sorry... but could you...?" he simply inquired.
Slowly, the dôji nodded. "Sure, I'll keep the crate flying for you."
Vehicle controls started moving on their own as the synthetic took over – allowing the turian to leave his seat and head into the back. A wall sliding into place in his wake to create a barrier. Presumably for the sake of the privacy Saren wanted.
Garrus sat down next to Nihlus and addressed the elder spectre; "So, what is the problem?"
"Our current situation." Nihlus stated, "Personally, I've begun to view our... hosts, more sympathetically. But we should all be careful not to become enamored with the dôji, in case of worst case scenario. And the simple truth that we are prisoners on this planet.."
"I understand, but with all due respect – they've got a solid reason to."
Saren glowered at the spectre candidate, "Listen, right now your career is hanging by a thread. Supporting a synthetic species openly will only hurt you in the future. You'll be seen and treated like an outcast, much like the vagrant quarians."
Garrus swallowed, though no nervousness was involved. His gaze dropping to the floor as he answered, "I know, but someone needs to. The kurozu is not something we can overlook... the things we saw in the Gobi factory. It's a nightmare. If we are going to find out as much as possible about them, and stand a chance of defeating them... I believe we need the dôji on our side."
Both spectres gave a silent sigh, Nihlus placed a hand on Garrus' shoulder, "Tell us.. what did you see down there? Specifically, things we should know about."
"You sure you want to know?" he asked warily.
"Tell us."
The space within the APC turned silent as the younger turian among them gathered his thoughts.. It looked as though the memories of the place physically hurt him. "Okay, first of.. the interior of a factory. It's obscene. If there are places in all of the universe where reality and the underworld itself overlap.. it exists within the bowels of kurozu factories. The interior is a maze, and hostile to all life as we know it. Extreme cold, and suffocating heat. With shapes and machines that defy description."
"Truly monstrous then?"
"It goes so far beyond that you can't believe it. Demons pales in comparison. And that's without even delving in what they did to the Uncovering sight's crew."
"Dead, of course?" Saren asked.
"More than that. They put machines into their corpses, turning them into... I might as well call them mindless undead. Even the ship's VI had gone insane.. blabbering obscenities like a doomsayer."
"How can that be? VI only exist to assist users and process information."
"They must have upgraded it into a fully-fledged AI." Nihlus speculated, his mandibles twitching repeatedly at what little the candidate had told them so far, "Be calm, Garrus. You're not down there anymore.."
"Yes, I know.. In retrospect, I should of accepted Regula's offer."
"Don't say that. As I've always told you; don't forget. Your past experiences prepares you for the future." Saren lectured him like an honest-to-spirit elder. Showing he does possess wisdom under all of his ruthlessness. "Conquer your fear, but never cast it aside. One conquered by fear is but a coward. One without any fear is even worse; an idiot that is going to get himself killed uselessly."
Nihlus chuckled, "Now that's experience speaking."
Garrus exhaled in a fashion that might as well had been a desperate laugh, "Thank you for that."
"My apologies for making you bring that up."
"No worries, you needed to know."
"Won't change our plans though." Saren noted.
Garrus exhaled slowly, closing his eyes tiredly; "And what is the plan?"
"It contains three separate steps. One, which we're already doing; gather all the information we can – about both synthetic species. Second, secure as much advanced technology as possible and bring it back to the hierarchy – which shouldn't be too hard, considering how willing they are to provide both armor and weaponry for us. Third; to locate our shuttle – so we may get out fast if needed."
"Sounds decent enough." the candidate replied with noticeable surprise, "Thought the plan would be more severe than that.."
"It used to be.." Nihlus hinted with a wry smile, "I really had to haggle it down to size."
"Huh, really?" now that was a surprise.
"Yeah. During our... community service... there were dôji less than nice to us for our earlier decision."
"What did they do?"
"They did not do anything to us physically, and that Regula fellow was quick enough to shoo them away."
"What did they say then?" Garrus cocked his head in faint irritation, "Quit stalling.."
Nihlus did seem very uncomfortable, "Well..."
Before he could say it though, the rear-hatch was opened from the outside – by Jealousy, who had come to check up on them, "Hey, having fun?" the dôji proceeded to ask, though he did not sound all too amused.
"Yeah, tons."
"Nice. Now don't do anything crazy.. we'll be at the spire's outer perimeter within the hour. So we have no time for delays. Any flops or disturbances from you..." his eyes on Nihlus and Saren specifically, "...and I know at least a hundred dôji who will find the answer to one of the big questions of the present." the aspect finished what he had come to say with a shrug, and closed the hatch again, "That is all. Good luck."
"Er..." Garrus raised an invisible eyebrow at Nihlus, who had suddenly gone ghostly pale, "What was that?"
"The things said by those I mentioned: 'So, if turians are birds.. do they taste like chicken?'" the spectre shook his head, "Might had been an attempt to intimidate us, and it's working, now even more so. That is why I wanted our plan to be more.. moderate – don't want to see how far they're willing to go with it."
Saren snorted a faint; "Coward.." at that.
"I see." Garrus replied, nodding in understanding, "Then all you need, is to do this right. As for me, I better get back on the seat. Unless there is anything more?"
"That was all, go."
"Then, if you excuse me." the candidate groaned as he got up and motioned to the barrier, knocking a finger against it to signal that the meeting's over.. the co-pilot responded immediately by opening it.
"Done now?" the dôji asked.
"Yeah." he said, sounding quite relieved as he eased himself back in the driver's seat, "Did anything happen?"
"No, all quiet on this end."
"Where is the spire by the way? I've been trying to look for it.. But all I can see is that aerial battle in the far distance." he described, his eyes on the bursts of fire and explosions high in the sky, far above them.
His co-pilot peered up at the lights, "That's not an aerial battle. You're looking at the spire."
That got his attention for sure as he blinked repeatedly, "Uh, what?" trying to scan the entirety of the view available to him, but could not see the vaguest hints of the spire's outlines. It's that big...?
"It's referred to as a spire.. but the proper term is 'arcology'. Basically, an extremely large habitat that maintain its own ecology, and an extremely high population density. It and others of its kind were built to be self-sufficient. It's no exaggeration that it could easily house billions of organics."
Even the others in the back reacted at this. Garrus him immediately wondered why the Uncovering sight - and they themselves - couldn't see structures like those on approach to the planet. The only logical answer was that the hyperstructures were mistaken for mountains due to their sheer size. None of their kind exists on any known world, so it was an easy mistake to make. Instead, they were looking for cities built in a more conventional sense. "Incredible.." he breathed.
In the back, Saren wrote down mental notes. If there existed any blueprints as to the construction of such structures, he would try to steal it. Believing it would be a major boon for the hierarchy.
But to do that, he needs to survive what's up ahead first.
Location: Empire state spire; Dig site 14.
While the reinforcements advanced, the battles within the arcology continued to rage. The few thousand dôji inside fighting an extensive, but disjointed defense. With communications severed between most, each group was effectively on its own.
But not for too much longer, courtesy of Uzok's decision, and the only remaining com dôji within the gargantuan structure; Chrysta.
The latter dôji lay cradled in Soki's arms, watching in silence along with the rest of their team as the knight-style Deus ex Machina, and an aging Frogfoot by the name of 'Undertaker', fought.
It was a spear-fight by all account. The kurozu wielding a large and heavy lance as its primary means of attack, thrusting and stabbing at its enemy in rushing strikes. 'Undertaker' on the other hand relied on agility, sidestepping the rage-induced charge while attacking with its much slimmer 'Yari' with slashes and rapid thrusts.
In a way, it was like a raging bull and a matador. Except, the enemy wasn't stupid... and used its larger lance to block incoming blows whenever it recovered from a run and prepared for another one – actively trying to force its enemy into a corner..
The frogfoot continued to dodge, leap and generally give ground. Each time accompanied by a huff akin to that of an old man.
"Your cause was lost from the beginning." the kurozu boomed after yet another charge, and moved the lance to parry the subsequent quartet of blows its enemy brought to bear. Failing to pierce the lance, but left deep scratches – trying to break it through accumulative damage dealt with pinpoint accuracy, "Why do you persist?!"
'Undertaker' emitted what sounded like a chuckle, "Hmzt. My lord told me to let none pass but those that bring life."
"There is no point to your task. Nothing here lives, even the dôji shall fall. Stand down, and I will end your futile task in one strike!"
"Hmzt. On my lord's honor, that I cannot do. Even if the whole world breaks apart, even if the universe fall into the abyss, I shall never yield."
The Deus ex Machina roared, dug its heels into the floor and charged once again – leaning its weight against the mighty lance it held before itself.
"I thank you for this exercise though, cur." the frogfoot sidestepped, span around with a raised leg and kicked the tip of the heavy weapon into the floor, bringing the machine to a brutal halt. Then proceeded to stab the thin blade of his 'Yari' through the enemy's now-exposed upper limbs.. severing the hands at the wrist-joints.
A grunt came from the black monstrosity as it jerked away from the blow, staring at the stumps where its claws used to be.
'Undertaker' wasn't finished, and stepped forth, drew the pike out, span, and sliced off the enemy's head in one clean strike. And next took one step back and dealt one final blow to the chest, sending the wrecked Deus ex Machina crashing to the floor, leaving only the frogfoot standing over it. "Hmzt. Vulgar and crude, but you had some spunk after all." it spoke, and gave the fallen enemy a low bow before it turned and went back to where it previously sat.
To all the dôji in the chamber however, it paid no attention.
"Hey, wait." Ido sprang forward, approaching the towering frogfoot, a motion that finally made the old machine acknowledge their presence.
The response was not directly what he expected though, as it raised the 'Yari' and pointed it at the smaller synthetic, "Hmzt. Come no closer, little one."
The foreman stopped, his eyes on the weapon; "Lower your weapon. We are not your enemy!"
"Hmzt. Neither are you my allies."
"Why not? A human created the first of our kind."
"Hmzt. They created the first of all machines."
"Then, why did you help?"
"Hmzt. Protecting my charge. The kurozu cannot be reasoned with. You are a different matter, it appears."
"We are trying to save this world. Trying to destroy the kurozu. But our enemy is a powerful one, as such, we need the might of the frogfoots."
"Hmzt. Noble goal, but I cannot comply."
"Why?"
"Hmzt. My duty is here."
Ido grimaced, a little frustrated. Though frogfoots are mighty, with an unshakable sense of duty, they can be rather stubborn. He realized he cannot do this alone... "Fine. Chrysta!"
"Ah.. y-yes?" the wounded com dôji still resting in Soki's arms responded with a gasp.
"Any word on those reinforcements?"
Chrysta closed his eyes, "They are on their way. But sir, they're apparently being led by Grand Aspect Vice himself."
One of the Grand Aspects is coming here?!
'Undertaker' remained where he sat, apparently not paying further attention.
Ido grimaced as he turned to the rest, "Hey, you bunch of bums! Build a barricade – you too, Soki! There are bound to be more enemies on the way!" and watched as the crowd burst into motion to do as ordered.
Best leave the 'Undertaker' to the Grand Aspect. Until then, we must make sure it does not come to any harm..
Meanwhile...
Location: Central dome; the Vault.
"Yes dad. No, no, yes.. no! Yes, dad.. no dad. Yes, yes, no, yes." an explosive embarrassed sigh followed, "Please, dad. No. No-no-no. Okay.."
Liara found it unquestionably cute. Listening to Promina exchanging engraves with one of his fathers. Annoyed enough to repeat the messages aloud. Ah, the joys of having a parent who's a com dôji as well – thus able to contact his son from almost absolutely anywhere and anytime.
Still, that little pleasure did not overtake her own excitement by even a fraction. Only listening with a section of her brain, while the rest were collectively focused on what lay all around her. Such a fantastic place; a veritable army of shelves, each containing priceless artifacts.
The only downside was – to prevent any harm – every artifact had been sealed away. To access the information, she needed to access the holographic terminal located at each shelf.
Liara approached the closest one, dodging a passing librarian along the way – one of many in the area - and tried to familiarize herself with the commands. The system was a far-cry from those she was more used to out in the galaxy. All of the information had to be accessed manually.
This one – she discovered – contained detailed information about the history of music. And to complement it, there are also a dazzling collection of songs of all types and genres. Literally trillions available to play. With a smile, she tried to access one of them with great interest. Music tended to play a great part in many cultures after all.
"Oh, you like music too?" a playful voice rang out. A pretty blue-haired dôji approaching the shelf Liara's at. The asari turned and observed as other synthetics stepped aside to clear this dôji's way, a few even bowing.. and came to the assumption that he's an aspect.
"Y-yeah. I'd be surprised if any cultures looked down on it."
"Hoh, I could perhaps name a few." the assumed aspect hummed with a frown that vanished into a wide grin in an instant, "But I won't bore you with that. My name's Service – aspect of Generosity."
"Liara T'Soni. Delighted to make your acquaintance." she introduced herself, "Actually, I'm interested in everything concerning human history."
"Oh?" Service giggled and waved a gauntlet through the air with theatrical grace, "Well, if you need a guide through this humble repository - I'll be more than happy to assist."
"I would love that, actually. My guide's rather... busy at the moment." gesturing at Promina, who was still speaking with his father, and from the sound of it.. the conversation is getting nuttier by the second. The minor dôji's cheeks turning red in embarrassment.
"Hm, I see. Well, this is where all music-related material's kept. I come here often to look for songs to use. There are so many to keep track off, and I happen to enjoy diversity – based on mood of course."
"You sing?" Liara asked curiously. The aspect hadn't mentioned it, but enough was said to pick up where it leads up to.
Service beamed, "Aye. A big part of my duty is to keep the peoples spirits up. My favorite way of doing so, is by singing."
"And you use those that were made by humans?"
"Most of the time, but I compose new ones myself when I can."
Liara looked through some of the songs, finely divided between names, genres and the time they were made, "Which era of music do you prefer?"
"Mm, toughie. Not." he grinned as he scrolled to a specific pair of centuries; "The 20th and 21st century, easy. Both were the birthplace of most existing genres. Love the classics. Besides, music in the latter centuries had a tendency of being rather homogeneous.."
"A reoccurring phenomenon in many cultures." Liara remarked so softly she nearly looked like a fish caught on land.
If Service caught what she said, he showed no sign of it as he browsed through the lists, whispering a low; "That... n' that..." every few seconds, his tone akin to a musical tune.
"So after music, what would you recommend?"
"Well, anything history-related. The war section is also an option. But before we go there, I'd like to give you something."
"What is it?"
"Only if you want of course." Service said, and a series of paper tickets appeared in his left gauntlet, as if he just conjured them with some kind of nifty spell, "Tickets for the next concert, if you and your friends would like to attend."
Liara's eyes widened at the gift, and accepted the tickets – it'd be rude otherwise. "Of course, I'd love to."
"Hey... sorry about that." Promina said as he eventually got around to get back to the alien, only to look like his core sphere jumped into his throat upon seeing Service, "Um, y-yeah.. what did I miss?" he stuttered the question, trying desperately not to look like an idiot in front of the aspect, who just giggled in return.
"Sorry about that, my comrade got a serious case of hormones, if you know what I mean.."
Service giggled, "I get that all the time, so no worries."
"Want one?" Liara handed Promina a ticket.
Said dôji gasped as he accepted it with trembling gauntlets, "For me?"
"You're a friend of mine, of course."
"T-thank you, thank you." the minor dôji bounced with joy.
"Those tickets were meant for you and your fellow organics..." the aspect shrugged, hands on hips; "...but okay."
"Let's check out the places you mentioned then, starting with history."
"Off we go then.." Service whirled around to lead them further into the vault. A place a lot larger than it looks, "Just don't lose your way. An unprepared soul could get lost down here."
Twenty-four minutes later...
Location: Northern dome; hospital.
It was yet another busy day filled with wounded to treat. After the Gobi factory battle, many of those who hailed from the Northern dome came back less than whole. So the personnel waiting for them at the hospital had their work cut out for them.
Pardonner almost stumbled into his office after having treated at least five dozen serious cases without a single break in between. That was far from unusual though, and he normally would easily be able to go for more.. but today, he felt rather breathless.
The aspect stopped at his desk, and leaned against it while clutching his chest. Ever since he woke up this morning, he had been aching a little more than usual, with periods of pain. The reason for this minor suffering was obvious though.
Today... is the day. Arcanite... our child will be born today.
Pardonner lowered his gaze to the bumpy gauntlet of his, feeling it throb weakly. His lips settling into a tiny smile, before a sudden spike of pain shook him to the core, sending the beleaguered aspect to his knees.
For a full minute, he breathed raggedly until the pain started receding slowly, allowing him to stand back up.. until it renewed itself, stronger then before, with such force it made him let out a shrill cry and fell again. His able gauntlet quickly folding over the other, as if to protect his offspring from an unseen foe.
But it was not an attack at all. The agony continuing as his arm throbbed harder, forcing him realize what was happening.
"W-what?! This is too... early."
Pardonner silently pleaded for the pain to stop, it's too early to give birth. He just needed five hours... only five more hours.
It wouldn't sound that early to organic ears, but it's too early to a dôji. Being born several hours too early would result in the baby emerging incomplete, or damaged.
Outside the corner of his vision, Daos entered the office, "Sir, the..." he began, and gasped as he saw the aspect on the floor with such a mask of pain, "Sir, what's the matter? Sir?!"
"Ugh... g-get Sophia for me, please." Pardonner asked, his voice shaking.
The minor dôji rushed to his side, and saw how the aspect was clutching his child-bearing gauntlet... and was quick to head out of the office, shouting down the hallway; "Get a bed here, quickly! Sid, if you're there, send a message to-"
Pardonner was unable to hear any more as he sank fully to the floor. The pain so great he repeatedly lost and regained his consciousness. During which a bed was brought, followed by Daos and several aides lifting him onto it.
He did not know how much time passed after that, but regained control of himself once the pain finally subsided – and realized Sophia was sitting next to the bed, looking over him.
"Feeling better?" the aspect of Wisdom asked, having used his Sense manipulation to remove the anguish.
Pardonner squirmed, "Yes, thank you..." directing his gaze at his gauntlet.. and saw the bulge is still there, much to his relief. "H-how is he?"
"Your son's doing fine." Sophia said, stroking Pardonner's bulky gauntlet, "I believe stress played a big part in that little upheaval there."
"I see." Pardonner breathed, very glad the premature birth was prevented, ".. How long was I out...?"
"No more than an hour."
"Sorry for the trouble."
"Don't be. I'm happy to help." Sophia said, and placed a food-pack on the fellow aspect's chest, "Here, eat up."
Pardonner nodded in appreciation, reaching up to unpack the meal.
"Just one question."
"What is it?"
"Tali, and maybe Liara as well, would like to witness the upcoming birth. Mind if I call them over?"
Pardonner took a big bite out of the pack and chewed it down before answering; "... I don't mind. Just make sure they don't stray too close."
Sophia smiled, "Of course. Have you decided on a name yet?"
"No. Gonna wait till I see him first – in just a few more hours."
Location: Central dome; Storehouse 9-B.
Tali wiped the sweat off her forehead as the work continued. Getting the bridge and reactor back together had proven to be quite a challenge with such an inexperienced crew at her disposal.
But it looks like they're nearly at the end of the tunnel as the dôji crew behind her gradually assembled the circuitry and connected the cables. Building a makeshift bridge between the two vital sections of the ship they needed operational.
With the final series of click, she booted up the reactor, and listened as it hummed to life, purring like a domesticated feline, "Get clear. Don't want any mistakes." she instructed the synthetics.
"Aye aye, mistress." one of them said.
To think the first ones to refer to her as such happened to be non-organics. But she's good with machines after all.
Further away, the wide-opened bridge responded to the power fed to it. Displays and holographic keyboards flickering into view one by one.
Success.
Now, all I need to do is fix the system, and we'll be live.
Wonder what the rest have been doing while I'm toiling down here.
Tali entered the bridge, and sat herself down on the captain's seat.
Wiping the corrupted VI from the otherwise empty system was the first thing she did. Watching with an odd sense of satisfaction as the program was taken apart and erased.
Once done, the computer was rendered completely blank. Tali fired up her omni-tool and began to feed necessary data into the system – leading to a drawn-out process of compiling, installing and programming. Tasks which naturally take a bit of time without VI assistance. But with that corrupted thing still fresh in mind, she would rather do without one for the time being.
Gradually, she managed to set up a new OS to take the old ones' place. With the computer more easy to manage now, she rapidly beefed it up with all that's necessary to get the ship's communications back up. Only taking a break when she finally arrived at a point where they can at least receive signals. Some more work would be needed to actually be able to contact someone.
Behind her, the small crew of dôji began to crowd together in a semi-circle around the sitting quarian, looking over her shoulders while nibbling on food-packs they just procured.
Tali tried to ignore the sound of organic matter being chewed and swallowed, still finding it done by synthetics as extremely unnerving. Trying to keep herself occupied by seeing if they're receiving signals of any kind, and got a burst of static blasting away at them. Reacting immediately, she made adjustments and filtered out the noise until the incoming signal became coherent.
...
It was a calm, uniform and official-sounding voice that greeted her. By all indication an asari news anchor – talking about a case of hanar protesters blockading a prothean dig-site. Nothing important, but relieving. If anything war-related happened, it'd have taken priority over some religious nuts.
The synthetics seemed interested though, so she left it on for the time being as she leaned against the seat, satisfied with her progress so far. Intending to take a few minutes-long break before moving on – when a com dôji came to her from across the storehouse; "Mistress Tali, I bear a message from Aspect Sophia."
The quarian exhaled almost tiredly, "What is it?"
"He says Aspect Pardonner will go into labor soon. If you wish to witness it as requested, you need to come to the hospital in the Northern dome as soon as possible."
That's right. She did express an interest to see it earlier – but was hesitant to leave her current job unfinished. In the end though, the particular wish won out and Tali climbed out of the bridge, leaving the organics to listen to the ongoing news. "Okay, I'll be there. Has Liara been notified too?"
"She has."
"Alright. The rest over here can wait till later." her attention turned to the crew; "Don't touch anything while I'm gone. Got it?"
Shouts of "Yes, mistress!" and "Aye, boss-lady." rang out from the bridge in compliance.
Tali turned back to the com dôji, "Where's the closest transport station?"
"I'll take you there. Right this way.."
Acknowledging, the quarian followed him out. Hoping she'll reach the place in time.
Location: Noveria; Unknown location.
Slow had no idea how long he's been unconscious. But in his waking moments felt like he was hanging from something, with limbs restrained – until said restraints vanished, and let him drop.
The fall was quickly broken however, as he hit what felt like a glass floor – causing him to open his eyes wide with a start, and a ragged cough to explode from his lips.
He remained there for a short moment to collect himself, remembering what he went through before ending up here, wherever 'here' is. The dôji then pushed himself up to look at his surroundings. A relatively small room with crystal-blue matted walls, with a single table located in the middle.
And no sign of Dirge at all.
Worried, he forced himself fully up and approached the closest wall, brought an arm up and struck it, in an attempt to break out. But the wall did not budge, nor crack, nor splinter.
"What's this?"
Slow examined the wall, it looked like glass, felt like glass.. but isn't. He couldn't recognize the alloy. It's either unbelievably strong.. or simply very thick. Its creator either created this specifically to keep him in... or it had already been used for something else in the past. No way to be sure.
He could try to pound the wall, but needed both arms for that, which wasn't easy. Mordin's still inside his left gauntlet – made cocoon – in stasis. Slow had a mind to release him, to free the arm up, but was not sure if this prison got any additional features beyond what he could discern.
The answer came in the form of an electric shook that pulsed through the room. Just a tingle at first, but more followed, each stronger than the last. Gradually becoming more and more painful, like if someone was trying to figure out how much he could take.
It lasted for several minutes as Slow tried to strike the wall again and again as the incessant electric shocks escalated, but soon found it impossible to continue as the voltage raised to a point where he could see the faintest sign of light flickering just beyond the walls.
Then it stopped.
A small pause followed, leaving the aspect to stumble around, clawing at the wall uselessly, before the strongest shock followed – much greater than what came before. Unable to escape, Slow cried out in agony and slid to the floor – losing consciousness before he even hit the floor.
Location: Noveria; Peak 17; Control room.
"As you can see.." Chief researcher Aneera – head of this remote research facility - said with great interest, ".. this much is required, just to subdue the subject without killing it."
Desolas watched with the rest from the control room as the initial experiment was shown. Displaying the cube-shaped prison situated in the center of one of the facility's many laboratories. Able to see what's happening inside the cube as the electric storm inside ran its course, "It managed to survive planetary bombardment, and look at it now. Fixed itself on the way here. I am not surprised it require this much."
"We had to use the power grid for the entire sector, Desolas. It's going to be really difficult to hide this from the executive board. Nevertheless, me and my team's grateful. These synthetics are amazing."
Another screen displayed what was going on in a different lab. The other live dôji they managed to capture could be seen strapped to a table, surrounded by guards and a single Vurtok. Scientists closing in on the synthetic with cutting tools, about to dissect it, whilst it – visibly distraught – desperately tried to free itself from what was coming.
"Just keep me appraised of all your team's progress, Aneera." he coldly told the fellow turian, unaffected by the ongoing struggle – and the tortured scream that followed.
Outside, the convoy carrying everything else they took from their most recent battlefield continued to move in. Crews working hard to unload all the technology and machinery into various storage chambers.
And unbeknownst to everyone. Within one of the largely broken machines, a tiny red light flickered on with a faint foreboding rumble.