A Matter of Race and Character
COLD AS HELL
Gabby awoke shivering.
The cold was all-encompassing, leaching away heat from her skin and seeping into her very bones. There was the sound of chattering in the dark. It took her a moment to realise it was her teeth. Gabby's curled fists felt like blocks of ice. Her hands shook; her teeth rattled, and her whole body was shaking uncontrollably. She opened her eyes to get an idea of where she was; it didn't seem to do any good. Darkness surrounded her. There were no lights or shadows, no contrast to the all-encompassing black shroud. For a moment, she was afraid she'd gone blind. Slowly, her other senses took up the slack. She could feel something covering her; a course fabric pressed down on her front and around her body, making her back itch – A blanket of some kind?
The ground was uncomfortable beneath her (at least she now knew she was lying down). She shifted position slightly and a jagged pain flared in her side. She cried out; the raw shout echoing in the dark. She could feel something pulling around her abdomen. Something was wrapped around her chest, beneath her clothing. Her breathing was laboured in the chill air. A sharp pain dug into her ribs.
Are they broken?
Gingerly, she moved her hand across her torso to check. She could feel under-garments: thermal leggings, a thin shirt. There were holes in the garments. Patches of her shirt had been torn away while the edges of other holes felt smooth, like they'd been burnt. Confusion engulfed her mind; she was too groggy from the cold to remember what had happened.
Something else stirred beneath the blanket. She could hear a faint rustling coming from her right. Suddenly wary, Gabby snuck a tentative hand across the cold ground sheet. It had barely left her side when her hand brushed against an arm wrapped in fabric. She moved her hand down, along the material until her fingers touched the bare skin of someone lying next to her. The skin was scaled and ridged under her fingers, yet supple to touch. She recognised it as a carapace – It was the exposed hand of a turian.
Gabby exhaled sharply and remained still.
Unbidden, it all came flooding back to her – All the memories of the attack whirled around her head; the shouts and confusion; the harsh chatter of gunfire; the snow stained blue with blood; the awful shrieks of pain… She suddenly remembered where she was, what this place was. She was imprisoned; confined! There was no way out and no way of contacting the ship or anyone left alive on Gellix. She had a moment of panic as the crushing feeling of claustrophobia threatened to chase away all reason from her mind. She had no clue what time it was; no idea how many hours or days had passed. It felt like she'd been here for weeks, although, as her mind calmed, she realised it had probably only been a few hours.
Gabby shut her eyes tight and, despite the stabbing flare of pain, turned over on her side. She drew her legs up and curled instinctively into a protective foetal position. The feeling of seclusion almost overwhelmed her and, for the first time since she was fourteen, she silently prayed.
Oh God, please don't let me die here! Let me see the sun again.
She recited the Traveller's Prayer in the hope of quashing the unrelenting sounds in her head. She didn't want to remember. She didn't want to be here in the confinement of this freezing prison. There was glorious, wonderful heat back on Arcadias. She wanted to see her family again – She wanted to see her parents. And Kenneth's stupid, smug grin; or the friendly face of Officer Severan, and also…
She retreated into herself, her mind seeking out happier memories; from a time before the attack, before the bitter chill of Gellix. She mentally sought out the warmth of Arcadias, when she was back amongst friends, before she'd become trapped in this frozen hell…
Shuttle Bay Two, Hierarchy Vessel 'Arcadias' – 07:30 Zulu – 1st February 2183 CE
Gabby watched the Arcadias cadets hover around the visiting asari as she struggled to get to the shuttle, while two of the cadets were arguing like errant children over who should carry her bags. Gabby shook her head at the absurdity of it all. No matter the species, men never change, do they? The crew Commander Joric had assembled for the mission to Gellix seemed to have come from several different turian ships and, Gabby noticed, a few of the male passengers in the shuttle suddenly perked up when they spied Erata approaching.
If there was one thing she had learned over the past couple of days, it was that turians were just as interested in asari as some humans were. Strange really considering they look nothing like turians, she observed. Physically asari were closer to humans, but despite the passing likeness Gabby always felt slightly uncomfortable being near them. She never knew what to say to an asari. They were always so poised, so glamorous and self-assured that Gabby felt distinctly plain and dowdy in their company. During shore-leave, whenever she was at some trendy bar on the Citadel trying to fit in with the stunningly exotic women around her, she always felt like an outsider. It was like being in a clique in high school. At least the Arcadias engineer – Pella – had been friendly. They'd hardly worked together at all over the last week, but after speaking to each other in the CIC had hit it off immediately, mostly, it appeared, because the turian seemed as apprehensive about the coming assignment as Gabby was.
Kenneth, on the other hand, was being typically puerile. He hadn't appeared to show much interest in the asari (which she found surprising), but Gabby was so preoccupied with the mission that she was only half-listening to his verbal diarrhoea.
"Safe journey, Engineer," Kenneth said behind her, "be sure to wrap up warm, it's gonna be cold down there. Do you have thermal underwear?"
Gabby turned to face him. "Like I'm gonna tell you what underwear I'm wearing."
"Well, if you won't indulge me, at least give a call when you get there. You will remember to write, won't you?"
"Kenneth…"
"And play nice with the other kids. I don't want to hear from their parents while you're away."
This was exactly what she expected from him: typical juvenile behaviour! He could never take anything seriously.
"You are such a dick!" she spat with disdain.
"I'm merely playing to the crowd." Gabby turned to get on the shuttle but was held up as Kenneth suddenly grabbed her arm. She was half-tempted to turn and yell in his face, but stopped when she saw his sombre and earnest expression. "In all seriousness, Gabby, be safe. Just… Take care of yourself. I don't know how I'm gonna cope without you..."
Gabby blinked. She was a little taken aback by his display of genuine concern. This wasn't like him at all. "Don't worry, Kenneth, I'll be back before you know it."
"And try to get friendly with Erata – I think she likes you…"
That was more like him. Gabby punched Kenneth on the arm with as much force as she could muster. "Ass!" she spat, then turned and stomped onto the shuttle.
Pella had been watching the pair's odd exchange and looked up as Gabby approached, a knowing smirk spreading across her face. "Trouble in paradise?" she asked.
"We are not a couple," Gabby hissed as she stowed her bag below the tilt seats lining the shuttle's inner hull. "Kenneth only wanted to know what kind of underwear I'm wearing. He's a motor-mouthed chowdahead at the best of times; I couldn't be dealing with him as my other half. And it's not like he thinks of me that way."
Pella stole a glance at the human standing in the shuttle bay. "I don't know, he seems to care a great deal for you."
"You should get your eyes checked," Gabby muttered, taking her seat next to Pella. "Trust me; the only thing he's interested in is whether or not I've seen Erata naked in the shower room." They both turned to watch Kenneth wave them off. "I bet you even money he asks me to record something."
"Be sure to take pictures!" Kenneth yelled cheerfully.
"There we go," Gabby muttered as the closing doors obscured him from view.
The shuttle's passengers swayed in their seats as the vehicle lifted from its rails and accelerated out into the cold depths of space. Gabby turned and peered out of the small viewing window, watching Arcadias shrink in size as the shuttle powered away. She'd hadn't seen the alien cruiser from the outside when they'd first arrived (she'd been too busy arguing with Kenneth), and now savoured the exterior view of the turian designed vessel. The ship was elegantly simple: interlocking leaves of gleaming white armour plate covered a long, cylindrical-like hull housing the main gun in its bow; powerful thrusters jutted out like turian horns at the stern, while heavily armed variable geometry 'wings' could be unfurled on either side of the ship during combat. The ship's design resembled the turians to a degree, and Gabby couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness as Arcadias dwindled to a mere speck against the black horizon. She wasn't certain if the feeling of sadness was because she was going to miss working on the ship, or miss working with Kenneth…
Arcadias was finally hidden by red flames as the shuttle hit the upper atmosphere of Gellix. The shuttle bucked in the turbulent air. Gabby turned away from the viewing port to see Commander Joric, her earnest expression framed by stark white colony markings against a dark brown carapace, standing at the front of the cabin to address her new crew.
"How many of you have worked on an alien world before?"
Everyone raised their hands.
"How many have worked for prolonged periods in sub-zero conditions?"
Only Gabby and Erata kept their hands up.
"I see most of you are in for a shock, then!" Joric stated without humour. "It's no surprise the asari and the human are the only ones with any experience in this matter." 'The human?' Gabby repeated silently. She could tell immediately that this was going to be fun assignment. "Both species have similar ecosystems on their own planets, so the conditions will be familiar to them," Joric continued. "The Hierarchy does not actively encourage prolonged work in the environment you'll be facing. But I know you will all rise to the challenge and accomplish everything expected of you. That is assuming you follow all my orders to the letter. You'll be living practically on top of each other; getting to know each other's habits, so some tension is inevitable. However, as long as I have your complete obedience during this assignment you'll be fine. But be warned, the environment on Gellix is hostile. Not simply physically, but mentally. The cold affects emotions, personalities. It impairs your judgement to the extent that you will start to hate each other.
"And that hate is very real, make no mistake. I've seen life-long friends reduced to assaulting and very nearly murdering each another in this kind of environment. Some have even succeeded. Last year, two Hierarchy scouts were convicted of involuntary manslaughter after killing their colleagues on planets similar to Gellix. I guarantee that after a few days trudging through the snow you will start to fantasize about driving your ice-axe into your comrade's head."
"Not exactly the pep-talk I was expecting, ma'am," Pella half-joked.
"I'm being honest with you, crewman. This is hazardous work, and I take the safety of my crew very seriously. There's no room for doubters or shirkers who won't pull their weight here. If you have any concerns about this assignment we can power out of the atmosphere right now and return you to Arcadias. I'm sure your captain would understand."
Yeah, right! Gabby thought.
"No, ma'am!" Pella said firmly. "Wouldn't dream of it, ma'am! I'm looking forward to this assignment."
"Well, you'd be the first," Joric muttered.
The shuttle descended onto the landing pad, fighting against the strong cross-wind that blew chunks of ice horizontally into the path of the craft.
Two of the Gellix ground-crew, encased in thick protective armour, crouched low as they moved out to intercept the incoming transporter. The shuttle doors opened and Gabby's world was suddenly dominated by the howl of the wind and the sharp sting of ice on her face. The snow blew around the cabin, coating everything it touched in a fine powder. Gabby pulled the fleece she'd been given tighter around her as Commander Joric led from the front, stepping out from the craft and standing resolute against the onslaught as if it was nothing more than a light breeze. Lifting her hand to protect her head, Gabby struggled out onto the planet's surface. It was only a short distance from the shuttle to the main building but she found she could hardly stand up against the wind. The other passengers reluctantly followed her out and the group made their way quickly across the open pad to the safety of the main building.
"What a wonderful climate!" Pella said with a wide grin as they made it into a small auditorium. "I must remember this place for my summer vacation!"
"Reminds me of home," Gabby moaned. "It's a freakin' wind tunnel back there, too!"
It was only marginally warmer in the auditorium. The groups settled into the room and the main doors shut automatically behind them, muffling but not completely eliminating the sound of the storm outside.
Joric was busy talking to a small detachment of her troops. "What happened to the heating?" she demanded of a shorter male underling.
"The storm may have knocked out the generator, sir," the man replied.
"Not unless the storm can rip up underground power lines," Joric countered. "Get the generators back online." She turned back to her new team as the subordinate scurried away. "This is the Anapondus Velarus headquarters, main base of operations for the turian Hierarchy on Gellix. Jerash here will show you to your billets," she announced, indicating the turian woman standing next to her. "Get settled and then familiarize yourself with the layout of the base. Your assigned squad and duties will be allocated tomorrow. We can't do much until the storm clears, so I advise you to acquaint yourself with the planet's history and read up on the local fauna. It's not just the cold you'll be coming up against. I would prefer my perfect record of zero casualties to remain unbroken and not have some incompetent crewman blunder into a nest of hungry nathak!"
With Joric's stirring words still ringing in their ears, the group were shown to their rooms. The base was surprisingly large and comfortable by turian standards, despite the freezing temperatures. Gabby's quarters was a sparsely furnished room with a large cot set against one wall. Gabby set down her kit-bags on the cot. She didn't bother to take off her coat and set about unpacking various essentials from her bag, including several pairs of thermal underwear, which she had a feeling she was going to need more than ever on this assignment.
Gellix was an odd place. It was owned (grudgingly) by the turian Hierarchy, who had gained possession of the planet following the defeat of the krogans at the end of the rebellions. But, despite being a levo-amino world and unsuitable for turian habitation, they were unwilling to part with it.
Local time was seven hours ahead of the time on Arcadias, and the planet's rotation period didn't help matters. Having a day that lasted less than 20 hours played havoc with Gabby's body clock. As far as her mind was concerned, it was zero-eight-hundred, but according to the local time, it was three in the afternoon and already nearing sunset. But, if the situation was tough for her, it was worse for the turian crew.
'Turians don't like the cold', Pella had warned Gabby the night before, and now she was finding out why. It wasn't that their bodies suffered in the cold – On the contrary, turian physiology adapted extremely well to icy conditions, in some cases even better than most humans – No, it was their psychological response that was the issue. As it turned out, 'don't like the cold' was putting it mildly. They absolutely loathed the cold! Turians got extremely ornery (for want of a better word) in chilled climates. Where most turian officers were friendly and welcoming back on Arcadias, the resident Gellix team were surly, brusque and irritable.
Gabby knew humans became cranky to icy conditions, but it was much more pronounced in turians. Within three hours of arriving, Gabby saw her first fight break out. It was between two service-men who'd already been on active duty for the last month, and whose tolerance was stretched to breaking point. One crewman had simply nudged the other accidently with a piece of equipment as he walked past. That had been enough to start an argument; an argument that quickly descended into a brawl as simmering tensions rose to the surface.
Security quickly stepped in to break it up and the two crewmen were hauled off to the Commander to explain their actions.
"Had to happen eventually," a Gellix officer standing nearby muttered. "Those two have been at each other's throats for days."
"Is a breakdown in discipline like that normal?" Gabby asked.
"Not usually. We have one of the best commanders in the fleet. All disputes are normally handled in the sparring ring, but just recently some of the crew have started fights without official challenges. I blame the conditions. We, umm, well… we don't like the cold."
"Yeah, I'm beginning to see that."
Author's note: Firstly, I hope you won't object to the sudden change in protagonist; it was always my intention to tell Kenneth's side of the story first and then Gabby's side of the tale second, with both stories running parallel to each other. I assure you, everything will come together at the end.
Secondly, a quick shout-out to Atreyu429 who, in a review for chapter 18, pointed out that some of the alien characters were using British colloquialisms, which is very true. The reason I've come up with for this is that we were hearing the story through Kenneth's translator, and all the turian dialogue was being translated into British idioms. Consequently, for the rest of the tale, you'll be hearing a few Americanisms coming from the alien's mouths in Gabby's story – Reviewers do indeed inform and change the story – Thank you Atreyu429 and everyone who is reading. Please keep reviewing; everyone's opinion is important to me.
Finally, and most importantly, there was no question in my mind of saving Valni. After all, if I killed her off, how would she appear in a sequel? J