A Matter of Race and Character
RISING TENSIONS
Velarus Station Outer Compound, Anapondus, Gellix– 17:05 UTC – 5th February 2183 CE
It was shortly before the storm hit that Pella decided she hated snow.
It had been a hard day. Pella was by the Anapondus forward logistics facility examining the raised structure's five supporting legs for metal fatigue - Alone, thanks to D'Ceni and Daniels being placed on light duty. No such luck for her though.
She glanced over at the main base, past the group of sappers wrestling to secure the damaged weather station, and spotted the two aliens through the garage window, working in the relative comfort of the main hanger.
Pella scowled and shivered as the wind whipped up her coat's hood. She deeply resented this assignment. She was supposed to be keeping the aliens under surveillance, but in the last few days she'd been chased by walking flame throwers, dive-bombed by a worm-neck, and nearly blown up by a batarian booby trap! And, despite the fact the base was crewed by engineers, no-one knew how to fix the bloody heating in this place!
She closed her eyes, trying to calm her mind and fight back the growing feeling of rage. It had been building for a while now, and she was shocked by just how angry she was getting. It was becoming an effort just to keep it contained. She'd read up on the effects of cold temperatures on turian physiology, but she'd never experienced it first-hand until now. It was frightening!
The cold penetrated into her very being until it was all she could think about – It was like a cancer eating away at her insides. She prided herself on how controlled and reserved she was, but right now all she could think about was how much she hated this place and everyone in it!
Every morning she would meditate in an effort to suppress the feelings of hate and rage. But it was becoming increasingly difficult. She was struggling to find a reason not to blame those visiting aliens for this.
If it hadn't been for them I wouldn't have been chosen for this stupid mission to this wretched world. I'd be warm and comfortable on Arcadias right now. Bloody asari! Bloody human!
Pella scanned the structure's casing with her ultrasonic transducer, testing the metal's integrity, when a gust of wind almost blew her off her feet. She looked at the black clouds looming from the west. Another storm was coming in. Deciding her work was done, she started towards the base, only to come upon a couple of sappers, their backs towards her, who were brazenly gawking at D'Ceni and Daniels.
"…There are better ways to keep warm," the first one grumbled. "Just need to find a willing body to curl up with."
"She's not bad to look at," the other said, nodding his head towards the two alien engineers.
"Yeah, the asari's attractive, I'll grant you," the first sapper agreed. "Especially with those colony markings. Skin colourings not bad, either."
"No, I meant the human," the second man said.
The first sapper stared at Daniels, and then turned to his friend, leaning away from him. "Spirits, I didn't know you were into that! You got mammal fever or something?"
"Shut up! She happens to be very pleasing to the eye," his friend insisted.
"So is my rifle, but I don't wanna sleep with it!"
"Why not? It's probably the only action you're gonna see!"
"Gentlemen!" Pella interjected. The two men stiffened at the sound of her voice. "Am I interrupting?"
"No, ma'am!" they answered together, turning towards her.
"Is the view to your liking?" Her tone was almost as icy as the planet.
"We were… admiring the alien's work ethic…" the first sapper began in a misguided attempt to explain himself.
"Save it!" Pella cut him off. "I know what you were admiring."
"We just think it's good to be working with different species, ma'am," the second man said.
"You get this through your thick crests – Stop fantasising about sex with aliens! You focus on your job or I'll make sure you don't get to 'curl up' with any warm body for a very long time! You get me?"
"Yes, ma'am!" The pair saluted, and bustled off to assist the other sappers.
Scowling, Pella continued back to the main hanger. A howl was building in the air. She pulled her coat tighter around her armour.
"Get down!" a voice suddenly yelled behind her.
Pella turned just in time to see the loose cover of the weather station whirl through the air and fly at her. She threw herself flat into a snowdrift and the silver metal sheet whizzed overhead, to be whipped back up into the atmosphere and then fall again, landing with a distant crash on the far side of the compound.
Pella lifted her head from the drift, spluttering, her face caked in snow. She spat out a chunk of freezing ice and blinked away the flakes stinging her eyes. The wind had risen to a shriek now, but she could make out the crunch of several pairs of feet hurrying towards her across the snow.
"Artificer Vettiill! Are you alright?" someone called out.
She coughed and nodded… then she noticed the broken component in her hand. Her ultrasonic transducer had snapped in two.
Pella let out a sharp, fierce obscenity.
Spirits, I hate snow!
"Daniels! You have a vid-link. In the comm-room."
Gabby looked up from the portable generator she was repairing to see Commander Joric's XO approaching. The man motioned for her to follow him. Gabby replaced her tools into her pocket and left Erata to repair the generator while she trailed after the sour-faced turian.
The atmosphere in the hanger was tense. The turians had been jittery all day and were noticeably strung out. Several arguments had already erupted amongst the crew. The XO was just escorting Gabby through the main doors when a screech exploded from their left. A scuffle had broken out. Two female sappers were locked in a death grip, seemingly intent on trying to twist off each other's mandibles.
"Belay that crap!" the XO bellowed. But the pair were too occupied to listen. He waved vaguely in Gabby's direction, "Down the corridor, door to the left," he told her brusquely, then hurried over to break up the fight.
Gabby left him to it and walked along the corridor, the sounds of the fight receding into the distance. She was speculating who was calling her. Only Kenneth and the Alliance knew she was on Gellix, and she wasn't expecting either of them to contact her today. Certainly, Kenneth wasn't scheduled to call her on the link until tomorrow. Maybe there was some sort of emergency? Gabby quickened her pace.
The comm-room was a plain, modular chamber attached to main hanger corridor. Managed by a single comm-officer, the turian looked up from his computer screen and glared at her as she entered, as if her very presence was an inconvenience.
"All communiqués must be arranged in advance," he announced officiously.
"The XO informed me I had a vid-link. It wasn't scheduled. I don't even know who's calling," Gabby pointed out.
"Oh! Well, just for future reference, then." The man closed down his computer. "I suppose you'll want some privacy?"
"If it's no trouble?"
The turian grumbled as he stood up and bustled towards his private office at the back of the room behind the main comm-screen, slamming the door shut behind him. Gabby shook her head. She moved over to the vid-screen and clicked on the flashing incoming signal. The link opened.
A pair of slitted, cobalt blue eyes under a red frontal head plate stared back at her.
"Chaill!" Gabby exclaimed, her brows arcing in astonishment. "This is a surprise."
"A pleasant one, I hope?" the krogan asked.
"Yes! Like you wouldn't believe." Gabby eagerly sat down in the vacant chair. "It's been so cold here; the turians are all on edge, everyone's at each other's throats… I've really needed to talk to a friendly face."
"That's the first time anyone's described my face as being 'friendly'. Or any krogan's face for that matter," Chaill reflected. "Guess my smouldering good looks are finally working their magic. Either that or you've got a concussion!" He chuckled heartily.
Gabby smiled at the grinning krogan. "I'd describe your features as 'well-worn', Chaill."
"Well, that just makes me sound like a pair of old boots! You know how to charm a krogan, don't you, Gabby?"
"As I recall you had no trouble attracting more than a few admirers after our last dance together."
Chaill looked doubtful. "You didn't see me dance the rumba with the elcor ambassador's wife… It did not end well!"
"I don't know; you certainly impressed me with your talents. Any chance I could book you for an encore?"
"Speak to my agent!"
Gabby laughed. "Are you checking up on me?"
"Now what kind of message would it send if I didn't make sure you were safe? I contacted Arcadias and they said you'd been reassigned. Bloody pyjak answering my call wouldn't tell me where you were. He didn't take to my sunny disposition."
"Then how did you find me?"
"I'm on a ship crewed by the most meddlesome race in the Galaxy! I mentioned the turians refused to tell me where you were and the crew almost fell over themselves trying to figure out where you'd been sent. Took the winner all of forty-seconds to trace you to Gellix. Damned impressive. I tell ya, you don't want to get into a pissing contest with a salarian!"
"That's never actually been an ambition of mine, Chaill."
"Glad to hear it!"
They laughed again, the chuckles slowly subsiding. Gabby stared at Chaill for a long moment, her expression thoughtful "You know the Hierarchy is likely monitoring this call?"
Chaill's grin faded. He nodded. "Yeah. And the Salarian Union too, probably. One of the benefits of being a krogan, I guess. And a krogan engineer, at that. That's practically an oxymoron. I'm a freak of nature, Gabby."
"I wouldn't change you for the world," Gabby assured him.
Chaill smiled, regaining his good humour. "So, how's the winter retreat?"
"Oh, Gellix is a paradise, Chaill. You'd love it. You should swing by sometime."
"I hear the sub-zero blizzards are so nice this time of year! Sounds like you're in a similar situation to me, though… Working alone with a different species?"
"Yeah, but it's not just me and the turians, there's an asari engineer here too."
"An asari? How are you getting on with her?"
As if on cue, Erata strode through the door, wielding a slim device in her hand. "Hey, Kitten, any chance I could borrow your neutron scanner? Mine's buggered!"
Gabby hadn't bothered turning round. She was still looking at Chaill. "She's a character, that's for sure!" she confessed to him.
"Stupid Elkoss model… Lifetime guarantee, my blue ass!" Erata muttered as she approached Gabby. "Never should have trusted that volus. Oh!" Erata looked up at the screen and saw Chaill – Krogan were hard to miss. Her demeanour changed instantly. "Why, hello there, handsome," she preened. Gabby rolled her eyes. "Kitten, you didn't tell me you knew such a strapping specimen of kroganghood! I don't believe I've had the pleasure."
"Chaill. Aralakh System Aerospace Engineering Volunteers and Citadel Reservist," Chaill replied, bowing politely. "And you would be..?"
"Available!" Erata stated with a grin.
"Erata, we were in the middle of something, actually. Do you mind?"
"Not in the least." The asari drew up a chair and sat close to the screen. "So, tell me about yourself…"
"That wasn't an invitation, Erata."
"I'm just making conversation," the asari replied. Gabby folded her arms; her expression like thunder. Erata actually pouted like a naughty schoolgirl. "Alright, you can't blame a maiden for trying!"
A low snigger escaped Chaill's throat. "Asari maidens. Always so bracingly candid and self-assured. Always so single-minded in the pursuit of what you want, until the next big passion comes along."
"Sounds like you've had lots of experience with asari. Am I right?"
Chaill smiled, but shook his head. "Oh, I've been approached by asari many times, but I'm afraid I've rarely been tempted by your species many obvious charms. My tastes are more specific and my affections lie elsewhere."
"Oh, that is a shame," Erata said with a sly grin. "Sooo disappointing."
"I'm sure you'll bounce back," Gabby muttered.
"Unusual to see a krogan engineer, though. And a volunteer…"
"Yeah, we were just talking about that before being interrupted," Gabby pointed out.
"Aaah! I know a subtle hint when I hear one," Erata said.
"Good. I was worried I'd have to give a blatant one!"
Erata stood up. "Nice to meet you, Chaill. Always a pleasure to greet a fellow engineer." She patted Gabby on the shoulder and winked. "I'll leave you two alone. But if there's anything else I can do…"
"Just a little privacy will be fine…"
Pella burst into the room.
"Spirits, that's cold! How the hell did it get in there?" The turian was tearing frantically at her armour. She unsnapped the fasteners and started stripping right there in the comm-room.
"Pella, what's…?" Gabby began.
"Huge chunk of ice! Right down my back," Pella yelled as she tore off her breastplate. She shrugged the remaining body armour off her shoulders, the metal hitting the ground with a dull clang, and jumped up and down, trying to dislodge the ice from her white undershirt. A fist sized chunk of frozen snow dropped to the floor from beneath her shirt. Pella let out a sigh of relief and turned to the other occupants of the room, finally noticing the three pairs of eyes gazing at her – And one of them belonged to a krogan! She froze.
"Afternoon," the krogan offered cheerfully.
Pella squeaked and quickly covered her chest with her arms.
"Interesting company you keep, Gabby. Wasn't expecting a turian striptease! Maybe I should call more often?"
"I'd be happy to show an asari routine…"
"No!" Gabby said firmly.
"Only as part of a cultural exchange," Erata added. "Maybe he could even show us a few moves?"
"Run while you can, Chaill!"
Chaill was laughing with enthusiasm now. "I'll let you get on, Gabby."
"Call again, Chaill."
"Count on it."
The screen went black.
Gabby turned to her colleagues. "Doesn't anyone knock on this planet?"
"Was that him?" Pella enquired.
"That was Chaill," Gabby confirmed.
Pella reached down for her breastplate. "Wow, you were brave," she said grudgingly.
Erata's eyes flitted between them. "Okay, what am I missing?"
"They danced together!" Pella declared as she slipped her armour over her head. "At a human party…"
Gabby rounded on her. "Thank you, Pella! That's the last time I trust you with any personal information. What part of 'in confidence' didn't you understand?"
"She's an asari, she doesn't mind," Pella fired back, refastening the straps. She turned to Erata. "You've probably done the same thing yourself, haven't you?"
"Not with a krogan, no," Erata admitted, "never really had the opportunity myself." The asari suddenly grinned like the proverbial Cheshire Cat. "But, I'm a little delighted by this; it seems that our little Kitten has a wild streak. Tell me, you two just danced, right?" Her face was a picture of leering innocence. "That isn't a euphemism for something else?"
"Ewww!" Pella exclaimed, screwing up her face in disgust. "Don't put me off my lunch!"
"Actually, Chaill happens to be a good friend," Gabby stated in his defence. "It was a while ago on the Perugia at the Hogmanay hootenanny – That's a…" she began to explain, but Erata interrupted her.
"I spent nine months in Edinburgh. I know what a hootenanny is. What kind of dance was it?"
"The tango," Gabby replied.
"That sounds a little improbable, to be honest. A krogan knew a human dance just like that?"
"Of course not. Chaill, believe-it-or-not, has an interest in dancing, and was keen to pick up some local moves. So I taught him what I knew from dancing back home. We practiced in secret for a few days before the party and then we surprised everyone at the hootenanny."
"I bet that really did surprise everyone!" Pella stated.
"It was very successful, actually. It helped him bond with the crew. I think that's why he likes dancing. He works with so many different species I guess he wants to gain some cultural perspective – And dancing helps to break the ice."
"I don't imagine he'll learn much from the salarians," Pella added.
"Don't be so sure," Erata put in. "Some salarian dances are so energetic they can cause cardiovascular stress!"
"Guess its lucky Chaill's got two hearts, then," Gabby said, grinning.
"And speaking of cardio workouts…" the asari probed obsessively, "He's a charming guy. Dancing can lead to something more in my experience. After your performance you weren't tempted to take it further with him? Perhaps get a little new year bedroom action?"
Gabby was slightly distracted by the sound of Pella making retching noises behind her. "We just danced on the Perugia, okay?" she answered truthfully. "There was no 'new year bedroom action'. Besides, the Alliance doesn't exactly encourage that kind of thing."
"Oh, Goddess, don't I know it! The number of rules you humans have prohibiting fraternization. The Alliance certainly has an aversion to the Beast with Two Backs! That's a shame." She sighed theatrically. "Well, I think you missed a trick there. My sister tells me krogan can be energetic lovers. They have plenty of stamina, apparently."
"Your sister is with a krogan?" Pella asked quietly, her expression registering something akin to shock.
"Thalia, yeah. She's a comedienne back in Armali. They've been together for a decade now. They're very happy. She's expecting her first child in a few months. I've met him, he's a nice guy; respectful, just not very talkative." She turned back to Gabby, an expression that could be termed 'sympathetic' on her face. "It might have been for the best, Kitten. A krogan in a confined space can be dangerous. From what Thalia tells me they can get so excited there's a good chance he'd have taken out a bulkhead!"
Gabby reddened at the comment, a little uncomfortable with her personal life being scrutinised so openly, and with relative strangers at that. The asari attitudes towards sex were well documented, and their open-mindedness with other species was commendable, but Gabby still felt that certain things should remain private, if only to respect the privacy of your partner.
Pella's face twisted up in obvious distaste. "I don't want to be insulting to your sister's choice of bond-mate, but… doing it with a krogan? Yuck!"
"It's not the race, it's the individual…"
"…Says the woman who can procreate with anyone," Pella interrupted. "Look, I've got no problem with turians and asari together, or asari and hanar, humans with asari, or even turians and humans for that matter, within reason, but krogan is where I draw the line! They're nothing but ugly, hulking, barbaric, callous animals. They've got no place in Citadel society, and certainly not in the bedroom!"
"You can't generalise like that, Pella," Gabby stated firmly. "Chaill's one of the good guys. I've known humans who were more monstrous than a rabid varren, and there are almost certainly turians out there who are complete jerks. Don't condemn the whole species because of the actions of a few."
"Too late," Erata muttered, "the genophage saw to that – Reduced an entire civilisation to the level of scavengers!"
"Oh please, krogan were little better than vorcha to start with! No offence to your friend, I'm sure he's very polite, but he's still a krogan. You were brave just dancing with him. At least you were on an Alliance ship. Who knows what he might have done otherwise!"
"He isn't like that!" Gabby said hotly. "I've known him for two years, and he's been nothing but entirely respectful and a consummate professional. Don't judge him just because he's…"
Pella cut her off. "I don't want or need a lecture on why we should all get along. The krogan proved they're dangerous and had to be controlled. That's why they were expelled from the Citadel. Until they learn some restraint, which doesn't look like it'll happen any time soon, they won't be accepted back in." Both Gabby and Erata fixed her with accusing glares. "Alright, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe in the future attitudes will be different and we'll all live together in one harmonious federation of planets, but I doubt it. The history of the galaxy is one of conflict. The first time our two species met it started a war."
"I thought turians referred to it as a 'police action'?" Gabby retorted, raising her voice.
"It was a damned war!" Pella snapped; the level of her voice elevating to match Gabby's. "And we were mobilising for full scale invasion towards the end. Earth was this close to becoming just another occupied colony before the Council stepped in. But what you won't hear from the Hierarchy is how much that war scared us. Your military comprised, what, 3% of the population? And you still managed to hold us off. You'd be surprised how much of a threat to galactic security humans are seen as."
"Pella!" Erata warned.
"It's true, why deny it?" The turian was practically shouting now. "At least here we can keep an eye on you."
"So, Programmes like this, they're just for show?" Gabby's voice rose to match Pella's.
"No. The Republics began these Programmes," Erata stated, trying to calm the situation. "They're a genuine attempt to interact and cooperate; with everyone, krogan included." But the turian and human were on their feet now.
"The krogan broke away from the Citadel first. They started the rebellions!"
"And who started the war between us?" Gabby fired back.
"That… was a misunderstanding," Pella admitted.
"That led to the death of 1,300 people and three decades of animosity. We could do without those misunderstandings."
"Humans are expansionist! Look at how you kicked out the batarians. And now we're busy sorting out the attacks from that mess. A human mess!"
"That's not the Alliance's fault!" Gabby protested.
"No, it's never the fault of you humans, is it?! But it's always grunts like us who have to clean up your bloody mistakes!"
"That's enough!" Erata yelled. Her voice held such unexpected authority that the argument was immediately silenced. The human and the turian were glaring at each other, their noses mere centimetres apart. Gabby's fingers had clenched into a fist. She exhaled unsteadily, her breath condensing into vapour; she hadn't realised just how close she'd come to nearly hitting Pella.
The awful silence lingered, until, without another word, Pella turned on her heel and stormed through the open door.
Gabby rocked back on her heels, not meeting Erata's gaze. It had been a while since she'd felt quite so angry. Maybe the cold was getting to her too?
She finally noticed the howl of a full-on blizzard raging away outside the base.
The storm had arrived.