Thessis-2192
To say it plainly, Fulcrum penitentiary was not a nice place to be. The rumors of corruption, torture and unjustifiable executions did not fully express the true depravity of the prison. The Matriarchs who sentenced Thessia's worst criminals to Fulcrum had no idea about what really went on inside the walls. But it's inhabitants were not the most sympathetic lot. Serial killers, slavers and other women of ill repute were locked away and watched over by a guard force of sadistic Commandos.
So it wasn't hard to understand why Felina was shaking as she trailed behind Aethyta. The two asari made their way into the facility. Aethyta tightened the grip she had on the back of Felina's neck. The dampening cuff the Matriarch had put over the veiled asari's wrists were already chaffing her skin.
"Remember to sell it." Aethyta whispered.
"I'll t-try."
"Lose the stutter, you gotta act like a killer not some maiden losing her virginity."
"It's a speech i-impediment. I cannot help it." Especially when she was afraid or nervous which Felina most certainly was. But she wasn't about to back down, Miranda and Liara needed her help and she was going to give it.
"Then keep your mouth shut. These people will eat you alive if you appear weak."
They passed through the main entrance and into the entryway processing lobby of Fulcrum. In front of them sat a desk secured behind a glass barrier. Two asari sat next to each other grunting in effort as they arm wrestled. The guards were more focused on their game then the two new arrivals so Aethyta had to tap on the glass.
"Hey, if you girls are done I got a prisoner who needs to go through processing." Aethyta said.
The taller asari with purple markings looked up and her distraction cost her the arm wrestle. "What are you talking about, lady? We weren't told of any new prisoners."
"Consider yourself told then. We need to lock this one up and fast. Girl's an animal."
The purple marked asari grinned. "Really?" she looked over the Matriarch's shoulder at Felina. "She doesn't look so tough. What's up with her face?"
"Her face?!" Aethyta repeated like it was a joke. "You should see what she did to the other girl. Goddess, she looked like the backside of an elcor when this one was through with her."
Felina tried to put on her best scary face and bared her teeth instantly feeling ridiculous as she did.
"You take her, Koami." The second guard said.
Koami rose from her seat. "Fine." she huffed. "This girl better be fun though. We've run out of good fighters." she opened the security door next to the desk that led into the processing room. "Take her in."
Aethyta led her into the processing room and the big metal door sealed behind them. Inside there was various medical equipment. Aethyta looked up to the corner of the room where a security camera was situated. The camera was deactivated with it's lens pointing to the ground.
Koami noticed how the cam caught Aethyta's eye. "We like our privacy here at Fulcrum." she said, sounding sinister. She grabbed Felina around the neck and yanked her from Aethyta's hold. The bandaged girl yelped in pain and surprise.
"Come on, we need to make sure you're clean."
"Clean?" Aethyta questioned.
"Uh, yeah. What is this your first drop off or something? We need to make sure she doesn't bring anything inside that could cause trouble."
"I searched her myself. The girl doesn't have anything on her."
Koami reached for a large sterilized needle on the counter and forced Felina into a seat. The bandaged girl whimpered in fright with her eyes locked on the large needle.
"Some fearless killer." Koami chuckled. "And it's not just about weapons. We gotta check her medical. Could you imagine how screwed we'd be if we locked up something like an ardat-yakshi in there?"
Felina's heart began to beat out of her chest. She hated needles, but most importantly she couldn't let Liara's father discover her secret anymore than she could let this guard find out. While she might like Aethyta she knew the second her disorder was discovered she'd turn on her like everyone else. Well, everyone but Marion. The problem was that they still needed to get further into the facility for Aethyta's plan to work.
"Her medical is clean." Aethyta assured her. "Just bypass all this crap. I have places to be."
"Then leave. I don't need you breathing down my neck." Koami said and grabbed Felina's arm. She forced it out and scrunched up the sleeve of Marion's jacket. "Don't worry." she said when Felina whimpered quietly trying to keep up her fake persona.
"It won't hurt?" Felina asked trying hard not to stutter.
The guard chuckled. "Oh it's gonna hurt like a bitch. But there's not a damn thing you can do to stop it." she plunged the needle into Felina's arm and the veiled asari cried out.
Aethyta shot her an apologetic look from behind the guard. Felina bit her lower lip as her own purple blood filled the syringe. Koami removed the needle when she got enough.
The guard inspected the blood sample. "Alright time to clear you for entry into our own little slice of paradise."
Terrified and at a loss for ideas Felina did something stupid. She kicked her legs up and knocked the blood sample out of the woman's hands. It shattered on the floor and seeped hot purple into a little pool around it.
"You little bitch!" Koami screamed and drew her fist back to punch Felina in the face.
Aethyta groaned and drew the pistol holstered to her hip. She stuck the barrel of the gun against the back of the guard before Koami struck Felina. "Wasn't supposed to go this way."
"Shit." Koami hissed.
"Here's the deal. We know you're keeping Liara T'Soni and...what was her name?" Aethyta asked.
"M-Miranda Lawson." Felina said.
"Right, her. We know you're keeping them here for Matriarch Aquilla."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Koami said.
Aethyta smacked her in the back of the head with the butt of the gun. "You better tell me where my daughter is. And you don't want to test me...I'm half krogan." she said proudly in that rough voice of hers.
Koami sighed. "Fine. Yeah we got her in solitary lock up with that human. The way I hear it they got messed up real bad though. Might not be anything to save really."
Aethyta seized the woman by the throat and slammed her against the wall. "If you've hurt her, by the Goddess I will make you wish you never slithered out of your mother."
"Ease up! I didn't touch either of them. Aquilla pays us to hold on to people sometimes. We don't ask questions."
"How do we get them out?"
The guard laughed. "That's not gonna happen."
Aethyta smashed the butt of the gun into her face and broke Koami's nose with a loud crack. "How do we get them out?" Aethyta asked again.
"Fuck!" Koami cried. "You can't! Aquilla sealed them off and coded the unlock to her biometric. She wanted to save them for later. The only way you could open the cell would be to activate the emergency fire response and override the cell barriers. But that'd open every cell in this place. You'd never get out once the animals we got locked up down there are loose."
Aethyta shrugged. "We'll take our chances." she kept her gun trained on the guard as she nursed her broken nose. The Matirarch unshackled Felina's wrists and used the cuffs on Koami before holstering her pistol. Aethyta shot a stern look at Felina. "That's not how we planned this. Are you trying to get us killed?"
"I'm sorry. I wasn't t-thinking clearly." Felina lied.
"Uh-huh." Aethyta grunted. "You better get your head on straight then. We only got each other here. When were finished with this...we're gonna talk about what you didn't want me to see just now." Aethyta shot a look at the blood on the floor.
"I...I have nothing to hide." Felina said fearfully.
"Right. I just hope it's not what I think it is." Aethyta turned back to the guard with blood pouring down her face. "Take us to where we can shut down the barriers."
"Or what? You'll shoot me?"
Aethyta shrugged. "Wanna find out?"
Koami sighed. "Fine. Not like I give a crap if this place burns."
"That's the spirit. Lead the way, gorgeous."
Koami lead them out of the processing room and into a large rotunda with green sloped walls. Along the sides of the circular room were barrier doors that lead to different areas of the prison. As they followed the guard Aethyta noticed more deactivated cameras. A rich enough prisoner was able to buy themselves out of any sentencing in Fulcrum, so any kind of surveillance was shut down unless the matriarchs themselves came for inspection. It allowed the guards to escort any prisoners who paid their fee to freedom. But now the prison's corruption would be it's downfall.
"It's just down here. We keep it as far away from the cells as we can." Koami said.
It was more than just dumb luck that they didn't come across any other guards on their way to the security control. While the prison was fully staffed, many guards found more interesting places to be then their posts. Not that it mattered, Fulcrum was equipped with the most state of the art automatic defenses and detention barriers. Unless someone payed off the guards they weren't leaving the building alive. In fact the prisoners never left their cells unless the guards wanted to organize fights between them. It was a practice which left many of them on the brink of insanity.
Their captive opened up the metal door that lead to the security control. Felina and Aethyta funneled inside before they sealed the door behind them. They froze when they found two other guards manning the consoles.
"Hey Koami." One of them said before giving their new arrivals a second glance. "Oh shit!" she cried and reached for her pistol. Aethyta was too fast, she blasted the two guards back with her biotics causing them to strike their heads against a steel wall. The two asari fell to the ground unconscious.
"W-What now?" Felina asked.
Koami tipped her head back as more blood poured from her nose. "If you two idiots really want to get your friends out of here you just follow the red line on the ground out there. That will lead you to solitary, they're in cell three. I might work here but keeping two innocents locked up didn't sit right with me. Even if it was for Aquilla. We put the prisoners through hell here but they all deserve it. As for opening up the cells well...I can do it. To be honest I've thought about doing it every day I've been stuck in this miserable place. Thing is, every turret, guard and prisoner in here is gonna tear you apart in seconds. You didn't think this through."
"Thinking only ever gets me in trouble." Aethyta said. "Felina, go find them. I'll stay here with our friend."
Felina nodded. "O-Okay."
"And be careful." Aethyta said. "Wouldn't want you getting yourself killed when I'm starting to actually like you."
The bandaged asari smiled. "I'll do my best."
"If we get split up after the shit hits the fan. Meet me back at the prothean's house with them. Now go!"
Felina ran out back int o the hall and made for her destination. Aethyta turned back to Koami as she went to work on the security system.
"Didn't think we'd find someone so eager to shut this place down." Aethyta said.
"You kidding? This place is a cesspit. I've hated working here since day one. I mean sure, it's fun to rough up the more deserving prisoners but I've thought about this day for a long time."
"Sorry about the nose." Aethyta said.
The guard shrugged. "Eh, I would have done the same thing. I do this for you though and this whole thing goes bad, you can't tell Aquilla I was the one who helped."
"Why is everyone so afraid of that nut case?"
"Get me out of here with you and I'll tell you everything I know about her. It's not much, but it's more than she would want you to know."
"Deal." Aethyta said. "Now shut this place down."
Koami smiled. "Gladly." after a few more minutes of work the guard flipped a switch and suddenly every light in the facility went dark. A second later the light returned when the emergency back up kicked in and bathed the prison in red light as thousands of alarms sounded.
"Warning! Facility wide emergency! Prisoners, remain in your cells until told to do otherwise. All who refuse will be executed." The Prison's VI's voice echoed throughout the whole building but soon the sound of thousands of freed prisoners rushing from their containment drowned it out.
Suddenly the sound of gun fire began to erupt all around them.
"We better move our asses!" Aethyta said. It was time to rescue her daughter.
Komami raised her cuffed wrists. "You mind?"
Aethyta was hesitant at first, but she figured she could use the help and Koami was clearly not on Aquilla's side. She uncuffed the woman and they ran back into the rotunda.
The guard pointed to a nearby doorway. "They're being kept in there. Your friend must already be there by now."
"Alright w-" Aethyta was cut off when the sound of the large entrance door behind them cut through the air.
Liara's father turned around and froze when the massive door lifted and revealed Matriarch Aquilla herself. Aquilla narrowed her eyes as she marched into the circular room with one guard behind her carrying a pistol.
"Lady Aethyta." Aquilla said warmly. "How long has it been?"
"Not long enough." Aethyta hissed as she reached for her pistol and drew the weapon.
Aquilla chuckled. "Are you going to shoot me, Aethyta?"
"Thinking about it."
The Matriarch raised her unarmed hands. "Now would be the time."
Aethyta gritted her teeth.
"No? Very well I'll deal with you second. I see you've made a friend, Aethyta."
Koami struggled to find her voice. "P-Please Lady Aquilla, I didn't..."
Aquilla snapped her fingers and the guard beside her unloaded a shot into Koami's face. The asari's head popped and her lifeless body crumpled to the floor. Aethyta acted fast and fired her own gun but the bullets were stopped before they met their target by a pulse of blue energy.
Aethyta's heart rate was steadily increasing as she stared at the women who ruined her life and the guard aiming her gun at her. Suddenly Aquilla broke the tension.
"Leave us." She said.
The guard looked over. "M'am?"
"Do as I say. She deserves better than a bullet."
The guard holstered her gun and retreated back outside.
"Awfully thoughtful for a smug bitch." Aethyta said.
Aquilla smiled. "I never hated you, Aethyta."
"I sure as hell hated you."
Aethyta's enemy began to circle around the rotunda as the sounds of the riot ensuing in the cell area's around them grew increasingly violent.
"Have you dreamt of this day?" Aquilla asked. "When we'd meet again after all these years."
"Maybe." Aethtya admitted.
"How did you know I had taken Liara here?"
Aethyta didn't answer but kept her aim trained on the circling asari.
"Felina I presume. I'm curious, how is my daughter?"
"Takes after her father. Seems like a good enough kid."
Aquilla smiled. "A shame about her affliction really. She had such a bright future."
"Affliction?"
The Matriarch continued to circle around Aethyta but was slowly growing closer and closer. She ignored Aethyta's question. "As a courtesy to Benezia I'm going to let you leave here."
Aethyta grunted. "Nezzie didn't give a crap about me."
"Is that what you think?" Aquilla asked.
"Aren't you worried I'll open my big mouth and tell everyone just who you really are?"
"Not in the slightest. Your reputation among our people is nothing short of a joke. Nobody will listen to you, they never have."
"You think I'm just gonna walk away and let you hurt Liara? Not gonna happen."
"You'll die for the girl? She hardly knows you. She's barely even your daughter."
"She's Nezzie's. And I'm not letting you touch her."
"I was more a father to Liara than you ever were. I watched her grow and loved her as my own. This is truly an unfortunate situation. But hardly the hardest thing I've done in all my years."
"You're not hearing me. You're not gonna get within a lightyear of my girl."
Aquilla grew closer to Aethyta. "You truly believe you could stop me?"
"You've always been a bitch. Ever since Nezzie first introduced us. I never knew what she saw in you."
"Call me names all you like but do not call into question my affection for Benezia!" Aquilla snapped. "It was a privilege to know her and I loved her more than you could know."
"She wasn't yours to love!" Aethyta cried. "You took her from me. If it wasn't for you she probably never would have gotten herself killed over that Saren asshole! She'd still be with me."
"I didn't take anything from you, Aethyta. Benezia made her own choice."
Aethyta holstered her pistol. She didn't want to deny herself the satisfaction. "Doesn't matter. I'm still gonna enjoy kicking your ass."
Aquilla sighed and crossed her arms behind her back. "Very well."
It was Aethyta who made the first move. She lunged at Aquilla and threw a hard punch at the woman who gracefully ducked under the blow. Aethyta responded by bringing up her knee but Aquilla dodged that as well as she spun around her enemy.
Liara's father turned on her heels and cried out in anger as she threw rapid punches at Aquilla. The Matriarch moved unnaturally gracefully as she avoided every attack. When Aethyta got in to too close Aquilla pushed her back with a small biotic pulse.
"Is this what you really want, Aethyta? Now is not the time for arrogance."
"Shut up!" Aethyta screamed. "I'm gonna take you down and drag your ass in alive to the Matriarch's myself. I'm gonna end all this crap you've started before it goes any farther!"
"You may try." Aquilla invited her.
Aethyta charged at her again throwing punch after punch with no luck every time. She was no commando, but she had a thousand years to fight dirty so Aethyta decided it was time to start. She brought her knee up between Aquilla's legs and at last made contact.
The councilor stumbled back, caught off guard enough for Aethyta to smash her fist into Aquilla beautiful face. The bitch didn't make any attempt to fight back as Aethyta pummeled her face with punch after punch, splitting open her knuckles in the process.
With one merciless backhanded slap Aquilla fell to a knee before Aethyta. The councilor frowned as blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. She wiped her chin clear with the back of her hand.
"So be it." Aquilla muttered.
In a flash Aquilla's hand glowed bright blue and she brought her fist up in a powerful uppercut that hit it's target dead on. Aethyta's jaw broke with a loud crack and a few of her bloodied teeth littered the floor. The foul mouthed matriarch stumbled back clutching at her broken jaw and crying out in pain.
Aquilla stalked towards her slowly. "My apologies, Aethyta. But even my love for Benezia will not stop what you've brought upon yourself."
Aethyta threw herself at her again wildly but Aquilla caught both her fists. As Liara's father struggled to free herself Aquilla kicked down as hard as she could and broke Aethyta's leg at the knee. The old asari fell to the ground crying out in pain unable to hurl any protest or swear at her attacker she reached for the gun holstered on her hip. Aquilla slapped the weapon from her grasp with her biotics and reached down to wrap her hand around Aethyta's throat.
Aquilla lifted the woman up in the air and tightened her stranglehold. Suddenly the councilor's eyes swirled black. "Embrace Eternity!" Aquilla said as their minds joined.
In an instant Aethyta's agony suddenly vanished. She reached up to her face and found her jaw mended and the bone in her leg no longer protruded from her flesh. She looked around and found herself to be in nothing but total darkness.
"What the hell is this?" Aethyta asked before Aquilla suddenly appeared next to her.
"I wanted to share something with you." Aquilla said. "A memory of mine."
"Why?" Aethyta grunted.
"To make this easier for you." Aquilla answered.
"Make what easier?"
"You said Benezia did not care for you." Aquilla sighed as if reluctant to say the rest of her sentence. "Would you like to see the truth?"
Aethyta didn't need to speak for Aquilla to know the answer.
"This was the last time I saw Benezia alive." Aquilla informed her.
Suddenly the darkness that surrounded them transformed into a hazy replica of Aquilla's old manor. Aethyta saw the bitch herself sitting behind the desk of what appeared to be a private office when the door slammed open. She couldn't stop herself from smiling when she recognized the face of her long gone lover.
"You lied to me!" Benezia screamed. Her voice sounded hollow and left behind a strange dream like echo.
"Lied to you?" Aquilla questioned. "Whatever do you mean?"
"Enough of your games, Aquilla! You've lied to me for all these years!"
"Benezia, do calm down. What is it that has you upset?"
"Felina!" Benezia cried. Her face twisting and anger and betrayal.
"I see. What about her."
"Our daughter is not dead! I have to find out second hand from some agent of that Shadow Broker?! Instead of the woman who I have known and loved since I was a child?!"
Aquilla sighed. "I withheld the truth to make things easier for you. You have a hab-"
"Don't you talk to me like I am some maiden! I love both of my children. Which is more than could ever be said about you."
Aethyta smiled as she watched the scene unfold.
"I understand why you are upset." Aquilla said.
"You're unbelievable. Did you ever have any shred of respect for me? Aethyta was right about you. I went after the wrong woman. I loved her...I still love her, and I threw it all away because I trusted you!" Tears were streaming down Benezia's face. "Because I thought you loved me. But I guess I'm just another one of your pawns." Benezia turned to leave before Aquilla stood up.
"I do love you." Aquilla said.
Benezia looked over her shoulder, shocked at the woman's uncharacteristic admission.
"I always have." she added.
"Too late, Aquilla. I'm leaving with Saren, at least he trusts me. Perhaps I can actually do good with him. Certainly more than I ever could with you." Benezia slammed the door behind her and suddenly the memory dissolved.
Aethyta was silent, she had spent so many years thinking Nezzie hated her for what she had said to her on that night all those years ago. It was a mercy to know now that Benezia had still felt the same way about her until her end.
"Why show me that?" Aethyta asked with tears budding in her eyes.
"She'd want me to."
The scene suddenly changed to a grassy hill with a tree at it's apex. Under the tree sat an asari dressed in yellow with a smile on her face. She lifted a small child up into the air with her biotics and the toddler giggled in delight.
"You recognize her of course. Not the child I imagine." Aquilla said.
Aethyta was crying now. "Liara."
"Indeed. I like to remember them like this. They look..." Aquilla tightened her jaw. "Happy. Don't they?"
"Yeah." Liara's father sniffed back more tears. "Why are you doing this?!"
"To make this easier for you. I'm not a monster, Aethyta."
"You already said that! Make what easier?"
Aquilla looked over to the sobbing woman. "I'm afraid I just killed you."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I gave you the chance to walk away. You always were stubborn."
Suddenly a burning pain began to stir inside Aethyta's mind. She screamed in agony. "Fuck!"
"I must thank you actually. It's been some time since I last fed. And I was growing...hungry."
Aethyta fell to her knees as the meld began to diminish. She screamed herself hoarse before she choked out a few words.
"Y-You're...an Ardat-Yakshi?"
Aquilla chuckled. "Many in your place have made that misdiagnosis. I have no disorder, I am not like my cowardly daughter. I have a gift. A gift which has given me life for thousands of years. Unfortunately it requires life to be taken in return."
The meld grew even weaker as Aethyta began to feel her life being sucked from her. She never imagined pain like this. "My...kid...Liara is gonna beat you, Aquilla. You're gonna get what's coming to you. And I hope she makes it hurt."
Aquilla shrugged. "Perhaps she will. But I have my doubts. Goodbye, Aethyta."
The joining suddenly ended and Aethyta was thrown back into reality. The pain of her broken leg and jaw were forgotten in an instant as an unimaginable agony continued to burn across every nerve ending in her body. Her brown eyes widened in fear as she stared into Aquilla's black gaze.
As she felt more and more of herself get swallowed by Aquilla Aethyta's brown eyes began to fade and turn ghostly white. Purpled blood erupted past her lips and streamed from her nose and eyes. Her body spasmed wildly as Aquilla held her in a firm chokehold. And then all at once Aethyta's mind went blank. Her chest fell still and her limbs collapsed down at her sides.
Aquilla's eyes returned to their normal blue. Her whole body tingled in euphoria and extreme pleasure as she tossed Aethyta's empty corpse to the ground.
"Apologies, Benezia." Aquilla said to herself before heading for Liara's cell.
She still had things to take care of.
Notes- Sorry. I've always loved Aethyta ever since I first met her in ME2 but unfortunately ever since she first appeared in this story this was where she was heading. I hope you found Aethyta's death fitting. I couldn't imagine her going out any other way but giving her life to protect Liara.
Like the chapter before this I had to cut some things to keep the word count manageable. In fact Aethyta's final flashback was left out but I decided to publish it over in "Tales From The Normandy" as a one-shot. And I have not forgotten about Felina's first person one-shot. I've just decided to space those out a little more so that will be coming soon. We'll catch up with Miranda, Liara and Felina next time we're on Thessia. Until then tell me what you thought in the reviews!