"Ease up, you can't hold it like an AR. There you go, your stance is good but your aim is completely off. Why are you so tense, Orso?" Magnus was standing behind the boy, keeping a close on eye on how he held the sniper rifle.
"Because I don't want to get it wrong," he said without turning to look at his instructor. Instead he raised the scope to eye level and tried to line up one of the stationary targets.
Magnus remembered saying the same thing when his mother had shown him how to fire an SR for the first time. The scope had thrown him off at first and the lack of spatial awareness was disorienting. His father had been showing him the basics on how to carry and hold it, how to keep it clean and how to change the clips, how to best conserve ammo and generally be efficient with his weapon. But his mother had shown him precision, accuracy, the importance of patience and how to get the most out of each shot.
"Relax, you can't shoot straight if you aren't focused. Try to keep both eyes open, it won't feel natural for awhile but it'll help put things in the right perspective," he continued to advise him. "Take your time, shoot whenever you're ready."
Orso lacked discipline but he made up for it with an overeagerness to keep trying. They had been using the Phaeston for the first hour but Magnus saw how Orso kept eyeing the Valiant. It wasn't a bad rifle to start a beginner on, considering how easily it could be reloaded. But Orso was already used to the larger clip on the AR and didn't know how to accomodate a clip that left no room for error. His accuracy wasn't that great to begin with but would get better once he was fully grown and more sure of himself.
He let go of the trigger and grazed the first tree, throwing bark on the ground which showed that it had actually hit something. The lack of recoil caused him to stumble forward as he had been bracing himself for it after the shot was fired.
"You'll get used to that, it's not like Mantis or a Viper," Magnus said as he came over to steady the boy and help him hold the trigger properly for the next shot.
"I've never used one of those either," Orso said while Magnus repositioned his hand.
"You will soon, I started when I was about your age. Now, show me how you look down the scope and keep your shoulders back," when he was satisfied he let him fire again, still holding his hands in the right place to keep the barrel steady. "Does that feel different?"
"A little," Orso conceded. "She's too light at the back, hard to keep her level."
"That's what makes her great for quick-scoping and shooting on the run. I know it's a bit odd, it's a human gun after all. Ok, I'm going to let go this time, see how you go with a full round, that's three shots per reload," Magnus moved back to Orso's blindspot to watch. The first two shots hit the same tree, the third hit the furthest target that they had marked. "Good but try to get all three to hit the same one, reload and try again."
They kept at it until Orso got bored. He enjoyed the louder, faster shots of the Phaeston far more. When he handed the gun back to Magnus, he was nearly shaking from the training.
"You should tell me when it's too much," Magnus said with concern.
"But I have to get better if we're going to rescue Dad and the others so it doesn't seem right to complain," the kid said as he stretched his arms.
Magnus wasn't sure how to explain to him that he couldn't rely on Orso the way he could on the rest of his squad and knew they'd have to figure out a safe place for him when the time for fighting arrived. He wasn't going to like missing the action but a kid couldn't understand that war wasn't a game without consequences. Not even a turian child could appreciate that, they still had their innocence to enjoy.
Orso changed to a new topic, "Are you really a biotic? You don't look like it."
"And what do you think a biotic is supposed to look like?"
"I don't know, maybe pretty like the asari, all blue and stuff," Orso said with the complete seriousness that only a child could muster.
"Sorry to disappoint but we look the same as everyone else. You can't really see the actual biotics either, only the results and effects each power creates."
"Show me something, I bet I can see it."
"Ok, see the Phaeston leaning by the pile of wood there?" Magnus pointed and Orso nodded. He then created a biotic pull field around the object and flicked his wrist to send the object flying towards Orso who leapt up to grab it from thin air. He looked around for a wire or some other mechanism to prove it was a trick but came up empty handed.
"What about something bigger, could you pick me up?" he said daringly.
"Hm, you're probably too big for a pull effect. It's really hard to show biotics in a vaccuum, maybe when the others get back we can show you some things. Riona's really good with her barrier and Lucien can teleport. Quintus does a nasty singularity, it's basically a miniature blackhole that creates a vortex and does all sorts of damage," Magnus tried to explain something he took for granted to someone who probably thought he was some kind of sorcerer. Orso's eyes lit up with wonder as he tried to make sense of something that he couldn't actively see.
"And Sarge has a mean warp field that tears cannibals inside out, you should have seen it the other day," Atreides contributed as she she joined the pair of them.
"When did you guys get back?" Magnus asked.
"Just now. Kasamir's preparing lunch, if you want first pick, Orso," he didn't need to be told twice and went back to camp leaving Atreides and Magnus alone again. She gave her report once he was gone, "We definitely got them all but the camp has been taken down. All that was left was the clearing across the ravine. Kasamir couldn't believe how many dead bodies there were. Whoever came back to take the camps down didn't seem to care about their dead. So we buried them properly. Felt like the right thing to do, which is why we're a bit later than expected. Any word from Krysae and the twins yet?"
"Not yet, which I'm hoping is a good thing. Shouldn't see them for another two days at least. The sooner they get back here the sooner we can go on the offensive. I'm getting damn tired of this detail, too complicated for my tastes," he enjoyed being able to speak his mind in front of her.
"Looks like you and Orso are getting on a bit better," she noted.
"Oh yeah, now that he knows space magic isn't going to kill him, he can't get enough of it," he responded casually.
"I bet you could have picked him up," she said slyly.
"Didn't want to show off," he said coyly which caused her to laugh. He was starting to really appreciate her smile.
"The kid is starting to really looking up to you but I'm sure you're used to that," she went on in a more serious tone.
"I guess so since I have a younger brother," he went quiet as he tried to think of a way to avoid going into more detail on that subject. "Care to join me for a patrol around the base?"
"We've been walking for hours today but ok, since you asked so nicely," she agreed and let him help her up.
"You don't have to," he said in what he hoped was a neutral, professional sounding tone.
"It's nice having someone to talk to on a regular basis, keeps me sane out here."
"Yeah."
"So what is it like, having a normal family?"
"It's normal. And relatively boring. But there's never any surprises to worry about, well, not often anyway. We look out for each other, during the good and the bad times. Family first, duty second."
"There must have been a lot of pressure though to live up to your parents' standards. What did you used to dream about as a kid, when you were under the illusion that anything was possible?"
"Oh there was pressure alright, from my mom mostly. She's still not satisfied that I'm happy with where I am in life. She always wants more from her troops. Nothing less than the best.
Hm, as for your second question.. I don't think I was ever under such illusions. From a young age, I was pampered more than I ought to have been. My parents had been told that I had an active gene for some sort of cancer that was hard to treat unless caught early. Mom was suspected of developing it too because of the eezo. There's a romantic story in there about how she met Dad, I'll have to tell you that sometime.
Anyway, when it became clear that I was developing biotics, things calmed down. That all happened during basic training. I think my brother might have resented me during much of our childhood but I didn't notice until much later. Once I was sent to the cabal, I didn't really care much about what happened in the future as long as I was doing my duty. And here we are today, nothing has changed."
"It's a lot easier to let the Hierarchy tell us what to do than it is to think for ourselves," she didn't seem as upset about it as the words hinted at. He couldn't decide if he wanted to agree or argue that it wasn't quite that simple. He was starting to realise that they weren't as different as he had first thought. Despite their upbringings, neither of them knew what to do with themselves.
Their conversation was interrupted by static on their squad comm frequency. The radio only worked at short range so it was likely Krysae and the others trying to announce their return but were too far away to get the message through. Kasamir poked her head around the corner to ask if they could make any sense of it but they shook their heads.
"Please..tell..me.. you're receiving," was Krysae's frantic voice between the static. "Might be..bringing unwanted company.."
"They should be approaching from the northwest within a couple of minutes if they can transmit. Grab your guns and be prepared for anything," Magnus ordered the half of the squad that was at camp.
"Negative, I think we lost them," Riona clarified in a much clearer but equally frantic voice. "Be there in fifteen, get a med kit ready. Lucien's been hit bad, not sure what. Maybe poison, some sort of dart to the neck. We're carrying him over as fast as we can."
Kasamir and Atreides were waiting by the entrance when they arrived to relieve them of carrying their comrade. Lucien's body was half limp from whatever had struck him. Neither Krysae or Riona were gravely injured, they only had a few cuts and bruises from the jungle's thornier shrubbery.
"He hasn't spoken since yesterday and his pulse keeps dropping," Riona tried to explain. She was frantically pacing back and forth waiting for Kasamir to take a blood sample with the kit and deliver a diagnosis.
"Calm down, Riona, we're going to need more details than that," Magnus tried to take charge of the situation.
"Calm down! I told you we should get out of here while we have the chance. These orders aren't meant for us," she was beyond agitated or annoyed, she was angry and hysterical.
"Pull yourself together, Marcell," Magnus was becoming equally irate with her attitude and had to shout to be heard over her.
Atreides came out of no where and pulled Riona away from him. In the most calm and serene voice, she reassured her comrade, "Riona, please. This way, I'll help clean you up. You don't have to tell me anything, just relax. Everything will be alright, Lucien's in good hands."
Riona nodded and let Atreides lead her away from the others without any more fight left in her.
"That woman has the patience of a saint," Kasamir remarked when they were out of earshot. "Tarina's going to make a great mother some day. Don't..don't tell her I said that."
"I won't but I agree," he wished their conversation hadn't been interrupted, there lots of other things he wanted to tell Atreides. Kasamir's casual comment got him to see her in a new light altogether. "How's Lucien?"
"Stabilising, he's going to need a lot of water and rest while this diagnostic test runs. I sure hope it isn't poison, that's not something we really went over in basic first aid."
"Orso, go with Quintus and refill the canteens at the river. Kasamir, make sure you don't bother Riona until that test is done. Krysae, I'm still waiting to hear what the hell happened out there," he gave the orders and everyone jumped to.
"We got to the camp without incident but the way back was trickier. I don't know why there's so many of them now, we had to elude several patrols. When we were going through the river, Lucien complained that something had stung him but we didn't think much of it until he collapsed suddenly. They couldn't have been close enough at the time to reach us.
Riona's been freaking out the whole time, she keeps pointing out bad omens and warding off evil spirits. Or so she says. Sounded kind of crazy to me. Even Lucien was worried about her. We didn't fight any of them on the way back, just kept running as fast as we could but it felt like they were always nearby."
"I didn't realise how bad she was getting," Magnus thought out loud.
"She's more superstitious than the rest of us and very protective of her brother," Krysae tried to rationalise.
"What of the camp, find anything interesting?"
"Yes, sir," Krysae pulled a pouch out of his pack full of computer chips that had once been used to display omnitools on the arms of their users. "Most of them aren't functionable any more but Lucien managed to activate one of them. These were cut from their victims recently. And they all carried serial tags associated with scientists. We could get basic data like the names of the users and their last coordinates. The one Lucien cracked had some interesting recordings. We'll have to wait for him to be awake again to get it to work.
Paraphrasing, one of the scientists had determined via DNA testing that the cannibals were direct descendants from the first settlers on Invictus. They were thought to have contracted incurable diseases and were actually abandoned by their peers, left to die. But they survived, somehow. They didn't adapt to the jungle very well and resorted to killing each other to fend of starvation until more settlers came. Over time they gradually de-evolved yet still developed their own culture and language.
It doesn't make a lot of sense and I'm no scientist but if these guys are still alive, they could probably explain it way better than some recording. And we might know where to find them. We could see the main village that Orso talked about in the distance, it was massive and some of the buildings were built from old ships and parts that are definitely not from the area. That's about all we could tell though, glad we left that camp when we did."
"You did good, I think it's about time we gathered our strength and prepare to move out as a full squad soon. We may be able to use that camp closer to the village as a new base of operations. But for now, let's try to take it easy. Can't do much until Lucien is feeling better anyway," Magnus decided. Everyone agreed that they were ready for whatever was to come next.
Several hours later, Kasamir let Riona see to her brother and delivered her analysis to the rest of the squad over dinner, "He'll be ok in a few days. The toxin is a well-known sedative used by batarian slavers when they're, uh, trying to subdue more unruly victims. It's technically a poison but not in the traditional sense, a combination of pheromones and synthetic compounds that usually comes in the form a powder. I imagine the dart they recovered was coated in it.
Normally the effect would wear off after an hour or two but the concentration in Lucien's blood indicates it was a very high doseage. Moreover, it was designed for levo-based organisms so part of his reaction to it makes sense because we don't have the right proteins to respond to something like that. With lots of liquids, it will pass through his system on its own. We just have to wait."
"That's good news, I don't think Riona would have stayed sane if it had been a more fatal diagnosis," Atreides said with relief.
"I'm really not getting the sense that these cannibals are de-evolving when they can adapt so quickly to things that ought to be quite foreign to them," Krysae said.
"Must be another wonderful gift from more unwanted offworlders," Magnus tried to figure out where they were getting all these materials. He wasn't the biggest fan of aliens in the first place and seeing their influence firsthand disrupting the natural order of things on his beloved homworld was not helping him to change his mind.
"Seems likely," Kasamir agreed. "No telling what we'll find in that village, best to be ready for anything."
"Yeah, I'm going to check on the Marcells then turn in early. We can start taking the camp apart tomorrow, see what can be carried with us and do another hunt. Once Lucien is awake, we can go over the recordings and see if there's anything useful there.
All I really need now is a good look at our target before drawing up the final battle plans. It's unlikely that we'll be able to get in and out without being forced to fight a legion's worth of these bastards. And we'll be in their territory.
This won't be like anything you guys have ever been through before and it wasn't supposed to be something you had to deal with until legion assignment in another year. But orders are orders and I'll do everything in my power to make sure we make it through this unscathed. Remember your training and rely on your instincts and we'll be back at the barracks in no time," he outlined what was to be expected over the next day or so and started to remind them that they needed their heads to be in the right place before the battle to come. Hopefully he wouldn't have to give any grand speeches later.
"How are you feeling?" Magnus asked Lucien the next morning after Riona had excitedly awoken them all with the news that he was concious.
"Like shit, sir," Lucien said honestly. His sister was doting over him and keeping his forehead cool with a damp cloth. She barely let anyone else get near him and he kept trying to brush her away.
"You'll be right. Take it easy, there won't be any more missions until you're fit for duty," he promised him.
"Thank the spirits for that," Riona whispered.
"If you're looking for something to do until then, see if you can get anything out of those omnitool chips. I'm getting tired of running into surprises," Magnus handed Krysae's pouch to Riona. "You'll take good care of him right?"
"Yes, sir," she said proudly.
"Please make her leave me alone," Lucien pleaded.
"Too bad the only girl that gives you any affection is your sister," Quintus joked.
"You're just jealous," Riona responded with the first smile she had given since leaving the base.
"No way, I've seen Kasamir giving me that look. She's totally into funny guys," Quintus pushed on as Kasamir, completely oblivious to the conversation, brought more water to the hut where Lucien was recovering. Orso made a gagging noise some where behind them all since he was still of the age where girls were considered to be gross.
Magnus was glad to see them all getting along, especially Riona who he wasn't sure would be ready for the mental punishment that came after prolonged combat engagements. He put them through training drills while they waited, pitting the biotics against the non-biotics, the biotics against each other, and testing their marksmanship. Orso watched in awe as they prepared themselves and often asked to join their spars. Krysae eventually came up with a solution on how to keep Orso out of the fighting.
Luckily Orso found learning how to drive an all-terrain vehicle as exhilirating as inacting revenge against the barbarians responsible for his parents' murders. Magnus didn't think it was the wisest decision but there was no alternative way to keep the kid safe. They still hadn't received word that their distress signal had gone through and even if things went smoothly there would still be need of extra troops to clean up whatever mess the squad managed to produce. The cannibals had numbers on their side, they had had over 200 years to learn the secrets of the jungle and to spread their influence. A squad of seven individuals could only do so much against those odds.
The day before they were set to move out, they said their goodbyes to Orso and made sure he had everything necessary for his journey south. It would take them two days to get into position and at least five for Orso to reach his destination. Assuming he got their on time and the garrison mobilised immediately, they still were going to have to hold out for a week at best for reinforcements.
Ideally, they would try to engage small groups of the enemy outside of the village and work there way slowly towards it. But nothing had gone to plan since they had left the cabal and there was no reason to suspect they would start to. The cannibals were too unpredictable with their mixture of ancient and modern technology, their use of biotics, and their blind fanaticism that drove them into frenzies. And nobody knew if the scientists were still alive.
Magnus was reluctantly forced to develop a strategy for taking and controlling the village instead of discretely extracting prisoners. He couldn't rely on his previous field work and tactical planning with the cabal for inspiration. If he could have called anyone on the comm to assist, it would have been his parents, not for reassurance but for ideas on how to engage a much larger force without taking unnecessary risks. They were the type of people that should have been sent on a complicated rescue mission, not his experimental training squad.
He kept going over what little information they had available. It should have been easy, guns versus spears was a no brainer. But he didn't have a team of specialists that could operate on their own discretion. Their week long survival training had turned into two weeks of reconnaissance and over the course of those two weeks he had watched his biotics gain better control of their powers and his non-biotics knew how to fight against them. He had watched his squad of rookies turn into something much greater, they cared about one another and he would be damned if he would let any of them be hurt on his watch. In all his time as a sergeant, he had never grown so attached to his squad-mates.
When everything was said and done, he couldn't wait to tell them how proud he was. And if his mother ever gave him a hard time about his lack of career ambition, he would point to his squad and boast of their achievements. A promotion wasn't necessary, he was already in the right position. He was a damn good teacher and he knew it. Part of him regretted that the squad would disband in the coming months and he'd have to start again with new green soldiers.
As the thought crossed his mind, he watched the sun begin to set on the horizon, casting the village across the field into darkness. He could make out fires being lit around it's border to light the paths of its occupants. Sometimes he couldn't remember what year it was, the scene before him was so archaic. Instinctively he turned on his omnitool to see its familiar, orange glow, the holographic interface hovering with maps and notes that he had written during their journey. He was so ready to return to civilisation.
"It's almost peaceful, isn't it? The calm before the storm, as it were," Atreides said as she climbed the rocky slope to the spot he had selected to keep watch from.
He had a good view of the squad's camp tucked into the hillside several metres away as well as the village on the other side of a large open meadow. That particular night he had chosen to keep watch alone, to give himself enough time reflect and gather his thoughts. They didn't have to go on the offensive right away but he was itching to get the job done and over with. He had a small fire of his own and a bedroll, comforts that he wasn't ready to indulge in. The fire was nearly out by the time Atreides reached him.
He didn't let her presence distract him, still looking for movement before the daylight was completely lost. She added a fresh bunch of branches to the fire and stoked it, not wishing to disturb him but clearly angling to have a chat when he was ready. Once the stars were out, he turned to acknowledge her.
"You really should get some rest, Atreides. Tomorrow is a big day, possibly the biggest you'll ever have," he said the words as he picked a spot near the fire to sit. He thought he might meditate when she left, he missed his daily routines.
She didn't take the hint, "That's why I'm here. I figure you're the best person to talk about.. well, I don't know how to put it exactly. I keep thinking about what might happen and it just feels all "this is it". When I fought the chimearus, I knew what I was up against. I didn't like it, but I knew what to do. This assault in the middle of the jungle, this isn't the same as fighting a wild animal. It's war, it's what we spend our whole lives planning for. And we're not fighting some alien invaders, we're fighting turians like us. Well, not like us, but you know what I mean. It's all so surreal."
"It's not your first battle, we fought lots of them the other day together. Just you and me and we did pretty well," he reminded her.
"Yeah, but that was different too and we got lucky. I don't want to make a habit of relying on luck, it's never really worked well for me," she stared into the fire and shivered as some old memory crossed her mind.
"You're nervous, that's ok," he said softly, trying not to offend her. It was hard to remind troops that fear was an acceptable emotion, many had to learn it for themselves over time.
"I just don't want to be the girl who died to a spear wound, you know? That's not very dignified," she tried to laugh but he saw the fear in her eyes.
"I'm not going to let that happen, promise," he said seriously and put out his hand to pat her reassuringly on the shoulder. She leaned toward him as he did so, causing him to touch her hand instead. She didn't jerk it away so he didn't either.
"Nothing scares you, does it?" she said quietly, staring intently at him. What was she hoping to see in his eyes?
"Plenty of things scare me. Letting people down, especially my family. Not doing my job well enough. Taking on the responsibility that comes with a higher rank. The list goes on, but dieing due to a spear wound is not one of them," he tried to smile but her eyes captivated him and he wasn't sure what to do. He hadn't listed his number one fear.
Her hand gripped his and he squeezed back without a second thought. Her free hand touched his cheek and reflexively he pulled away, never having been comfortable with personal contact. He wished he hadn't moved.
"Only one thing really scares me," she whispered. "But I know what I want. And I know what you want, though you won't ever admit it."
"Atreides..Tarina, I'm not sure if this is a good idea.." he didn't mean the words, he only felt obligated to give her an out before she committed herself to an irreversible course of action.
She responded by putting a finger to his mouth to signal him to be quiet then proceded to lightly touch his mandibles, her touch was like a whisper on the wind and he leaned in closer. His heart was pounding, his mind screaming to pull away. But his hands weren't listening and she was so close. Close enough to be held and comforted, to be embraced. She let go of his hand and began to search for the buckles on his chestplate. He noted that she was already out of armour, wearing her casual tunic and pants, maybe this had been her plan from the start.
He was glad at that moment that she was such a bold woman because he had little idea of what to do when someone less than half his age was determined to get him out of his gear. It had been so long since he had even thought about sleeping with someone, not even when Viatrix had tried to entice him did the thoughts enter his mind. He fumbled helplessly as she pushed against him and eventually settled on holding her as she went about the process of undressing them both. There was just enough light to make out her red markings against her tan, uncracked carapace, her wild green-yellow eyes locked onto his dark brown.
He half expected her to push him to the ground but instead she pulled him onto her. Their mandibles touched as they nuzzled one another intensely. He knew the bedroll would provide no comfort against the hard ground but she didn't complain. Her legs wrapped around his, spurs occassionally scratching his legs and he hoped his weren't doing as much damage as hers. They went slowly, for he had to remind himself of how to treat a woman's body and she was in no hurry to see it over.
When it was over, he fell asleep from exhaustion and confusion. He half expected to awake as if it were all a fantastical dream. But she was still there beside him, laying naked on the bedroll in his arms as he had opted for the bare ground. He was freezing, even in the tropical air of summer and reached out to pull his tunic on. She handed it to him and said nothing until he laid back down on his back. She rolled onto her side and let him put an arm around her for warmth.
"Well, wasn't expecting that," he said mildly. "I'm sure you could have found someone younger and more fit if you just wanted a good time."
"You weren't that bad," she smiled. "I wasn't looking for a 'good time' as you call it."
"So what was your number one fear?" he tried to make conversation since they were both still wide awake.
"Falling in love," she said simply. It was the same for him but he didn't want to say so.
"Ah."
"But don't worry, this was a one-time thing. We both know it can't lead to much else."
"Right, of course."
"That's a large scar on your back, care to share the story?"
"Only if you promise we'll go to sleep afterwards and make the most of this point in time before it's over."
"Yes, sir."
"I was once a very young and reckless boy, if you can believe it. When I was about Orso's age, I had a friend from school who wasn't quite as popular and well-liked as he wanted to be. I'm not sure what he hoped to gain from spending time with me but maybe I was less quiet back in those days. Maybe he saw my family's rise in status as something that could give him a boost, who knows. Anyway, we had been friends for awhile, always getting into mischief together.
One day, he boasted that his father had returned from active duty with a treasure trove of relics compensated from various pirates or whatever else he had fought. Most were decorative trinkets with little value but there was a sword with a slightly curved edge that had absolutely fascinated him. It wasn't quite the same shape as the practice ones we used during melee training but the size was close.
And as any turian child would do when they found a new weapon, we didn't see the harm in testing it. So after school one afternoon when his parents were away, that's what we set out to do. I'm sure there was some game involved, maybe a dare and a bet too. We duelled several times, taking turns using the real blade against a metal practice one. You can guess what happened eventually. The practice sword wasn't very good against the real thing and I wasn't as quick on my feet as I am now.
He got me with a horizontal slash when I was trying to pivot around to parry. It happened too quickly, and I hadn't failed to block his advances before that point. I would have bled out had my brother not been secretly following us that day. My so-called friend panicked and refused to talk to me after that, never heard from him again. But little Andronicus, only five years old, he called for help immediately and helped stopped the bleeding with his shirt. He saved my bloody life and was so proud of himself.
Of course, I got berated with a lecture about not setting the right example. I'll never forget it. Now the scar serves a reminder to always be cautious, to never let pride get in the way. I'll never rush into something unless I'm sure of the outcome now," he looked over to make sure Tarina was still awake when he finished. She was and leaned over without a word to press her forehead gently against his, kissing him goodnight. All their worries regarding the impending battle had drained away.