Chapter 26 - Hunt
Date : 2.14.2169
Location : Mindoir
Hannah
It's been a slow day. She'd finished her work early and didn't have anything else to do today. Right now she's sitting across from Aethyta, glaring at the chess board between them. The asari woman was good and Hannah had lost half the games they'd played over the last year. She's trying to break the tie and it's looking pretty good. "You gonna make a move sometime today or do I have time to make a quick trip to the Citadel for snacks." Aethyta had a habit of taunting her any time they played. It used to work and had led her to make a number of amatuer mistakes in their early games. She's learned to roll with it, no matter how much it pisses her off. Hannah reaches for a pawn and moves it into a better position. Before Aethyta can make her own move, a spat of profanity draws their attention for the third time in the last hour.
"Goddamn little bitch!" The two of them share a knowing glance and laugh quietly to themselves. "Fucking fucker!"
"Plating?" Aethyta knows what's going on but it's become a bit of a joke between them.
"Ninth time in two months."
"Stupid fucking piece of shit!" They can't help but bust out laughing. The swearing keeps up for almost an hour, with Hannah and Aethyta trying to get themselves under control the whole time. Eventually they get back to their game. Hannah's about to win when a new bout of swearing starts followed by a tremor shaking the house. Then a piece of red plating actually stabs through the wall.
Aethyta points to the walls new ornament, "That from one of her gauntlets?" Hannah nods and the two of them head out to Jane's shop. The girl is struggling to close one of the latches on her breastplate and is failing in epic fashion. After almost five minutes of growling and swearing, Jane pulls the plate away from her chest and repeatedly slams it onto her workbench. It hits hard enough to dent the table. "Havin trouble kiddo?"
She glares at Aethyta, irritated at the asari's mirth, "I have to expand my plating. I've already outgrown the expansions...again! It's the ninth time in the last two months, thirteenth in a year! I'm getting pretty fucking tired of this. When the hell am I gonna stop growing?!" Jane has been shooting up like a weed for a while now. Pretty soon Hannah is going to have to start tilting her head up in order to look Jane in the eye.
Aethyta gets a mischievous look on her face. Hannah knows that look. She sees it anytime the matriarch decides to tease Jane about something. "Well, I know that when my people are growing up, we spend about ten years growin real fast, then it slows way down, and takes about thirty years for it to stop completely." Jane has a horrified look on her face as she imagines having to spend decades making tiny expansions to her plates every few weeks. Hannah decides to come to the rescue.
"Don't worry Jane. Most humans stop growing in their late teens, early twenties at the latest. I stopped when I was nineteen." Jane still looks mortified.
"You mean I'll have to keep doing this for another four years?!" Hannah nods as Jane drops her head onto her workbench. She hits it on her bench a few times and groans in despair. Jane had probably already known that but had been hoping Hannah would tell her it was all bullcrap. No luck. She keeps banging her head on the bench until the front door to the garage slams open and Fel bursts in. He's not wearing his usual mottled brown tunic. Today, he's in full armor, the green-gray digital pattern newly painted the day before. His sword has a fresh red tassel hanging from the hilt. His face is painted with greens and greys and he has a huge grin plastered on his face.
"It's time!"
Jane
"Can today get any fucking worse?" The thought has been bouncing around in her head all morning. She'd woken up to a new spat of flares that kept her in bed for damn near twenty minutes, not to mention the new scorch marks from the bits of energy she hadn't been able to keep in. Then she'd tried to strap her plating back on. It had been feeling a little too tight the night before and she'd decided sleep without it. That would have been unthinkable a year ago, then again a year ago she wasn't busting out of her suit and boys weren't constantly staring at her. The suit was a bit more forgiving than her plates and she'd only needed to add more material once. It had felt like she was sleeping naked and the same old nightmares hadn't helped. At least she hadn't been back in the fucking green room in a while.
Then she'd tried to strap the plates back on and found that she couldn't get a single clasp shut to close the plates around her. No amount of cursing and raging had any effect. Hannah and Aethyta giggling at her plight wasn't exactly constructive either. Jane still hadn't told them about the new flaring and with Fel's deadline fast approaching, she was still at a loss on what to say. When the two of them had come in to check on her, Jane had seriously thought about spilling right then and there. Fel had unknowingly come to the rescue, bursting in with his fresh paint and giddy smile, "It's time!"
They all stare for a few minutes before Hannah asks, "Time for what?"
His smile grows, "Time for the hunt to begin. Many months ago I told you all that I intended to wait for a chance to face a stone bear under the same circumstances as Jane. Well the time has now come! I was at the holo facility when one of the peace officers practicing with his rifle got a call. A small hamlet next to the western sea is currently suffering under the attentions of one of the beasts. From what the witnesses claim, it is a bull and in the throes of madness, lashing out randomly and doing heavy damage to the town. No one has been killed yet, but if the beast's rampage continues unchecked then it will only be a matter of time. The peace officers don't have the training or firepower to stop the creature."
"Alright, let's get going." Even Fel is surprised by her immediate agreement. To tell the truth, it's a convenient excuse to leave without talking about her flaring. Not to mention it could lead to the perfect opportunity to test her new toys. Jane grabs the black case she's keeping them in, latching it to her belt, and then she loops the strap for her back up scabbard over her shoulder. Once Abyss is in place, Jane steps up to Fel, "Well, we going or not?" Jane marches out of the garage with Spits close by and heads for Gavin's hanger. A few seconds later she can hear Fel trotting up behind her.
"You haven't told them yet, have you?"
"I'm gonna tell them." Fel doesn't push any further. He's already made it clear that when his deadline comes, he will tell them if she hasn't. The three of them walk in silence for the rest of the way. When they reach the hangar they find Gavin sleeping in his office. Jane wakes him up and they hop in Blue. She tells him the situation as the hangar doors clank open and the rotors start cycling up.
"We're going to a stone bear?" If he was more awake he might have tried to resist the idea. As it is, he barely keeps the ship steady as they fly to the beleaguered town, a place called Kestra. It had a reputation for peace and quiet. That's a reputation it is currently unable to live up too. Jane can see a couple collapsed building and some people hiding on their roofs. She can see something flailing around amidst the wreckage at the center of the town. It's the beast. When it's not trying to wreck something, the animal is swiping at empty air and smacking its head on the ground.
"Gavin," the new hull muffles the sound of the rotors and they can speak in normal tones, "land just outside the town. Once we're out go into a holding pattern." The young man sets down behind one of the wrecked buildings and as soon as Jane, Fel, and Spits are out, he pulls back into the air. The three of them move through the wide avenue between buildings until they reach the only paved road in the town. There, less than thirty yards away, the stone bear is dragging its snout on the pavement. It's a little bit smaller than Jane's but still monstrous in size. It has the same grey fur as Jane's but with black speckling on its back. One of its horns is snapped off at the halfway point. Whether during this rampage or some earlier conflict, there's no way to tell. Fel steps to the fore as the beast finally makes note of their arrival. Its huge black eyes lock onto them and it lets out a monstrous roar. The few unbroken windows in the town shatter in a shower of glass. Jane can hear screams from somewhere deeper in town. The beast starts trotting towards them so she steps up next to Fel.
The bulky krogan doesn't turn as he speaks, "No. I will face the beast alone… Just as you did. To do less would be a direct insult to the beast." She doesn't like it but she steps back and lets Fel go alone.
"Do you want Spits to fight with you? He helped me with my stone bear."
"No. He fought with you because he has bonded with you. I'll not risk either of your lives in a battle I chose." The stone bear it stalking towards them, fetid air billowing from colossal maw. It looks like it has the mange and one of its ears is missing. "Hear me beast! I am Raik Fel of Clan Raik! I have come to end your suffering!" The creature's reply is another earth shaking roar as it's stalking advance builds to a charge.
Fel draws his massive sword, a hungry look in his eyes as begins his own charge. He lets out his own roar as he and the beast close the gap between them. Right before impact Fel feints left, steps to the right, and slashes his blade into the animal's flank. The strike is clean and some blood falls from his sword as he brings it back to a guard position. The beast stumbles to the side and smacks into a nearby store wall, a shallow divot carved into its flank. Fel is strong and his blade is extremely high quality but he's done next to no damage.
Fel
He's not surprised. Jane has told him everything there was to tell about stone bears. Though his blade is excellent in its own right, it doesn't have the cutting power of Jane's dark blade. He'll need to strike at the beast's belly or throat in order to do real damage. As the creature untangles itself from the newly collapsed wall, Fal attacks. He lands a powerful lateral strike across the beast's snout. He can hear the sound of bone breaking. Instead of rearing up as he'd hoped, the beast slings a massive paw at him and connects with his chest. With the impact force of a siege hammer, Fel is catapulted across the street. His head breaks his fall and he has to force himself to stay conscious. He can hear the stomping stride of the beast approaching. As he gets to his feet, the bear swipes at his face. He jerks back, barely avoiding a crushed skull. As he falls back, he swings his blade from below and catches the beast with a glancing blow across the face. It doesn't break the hide, but it does get the creature pull back as it tries to cover its eyes.
He takes advantage of this tiny respite to load one of his special charges into the hilt of his blade. Arcs of electricity surge along the sword's length as the beast resumes its attack. He parries another massive paw and a bolt of electricity tears into the animal on impact. This time it violently pulls away, swiping and roaring in his direction. The bear smacks its paw on the ground trying to get the stinging pain to go away. Fel leaps into action, flanking to the right. The beast stumbles on a paralyzed foot as he circles. Once on the creature's flank, he leaps forward with an overhead strike. The blade is hurtling towards its exposed neck. At the last instant, the creature pivots its head and brings the intact horn into his attack angle. The blade slams into the horn and shatters the boney outcropping. Robbed of nearly all power, the strike bounces off the creature's neck. In response, the beast powers another paw towards Fel and manages to clip his left shoulder despite his attempt to pivot out of the way. He knows his arm is broken as he tumbles to the ground several feet away. This time the creature's claws have managed to sink in and he sees a lot of blood scattered by the strike.
Fel fights through the searing pain, something he's done through hundreds of battles. It's not the first time he's had to keep fighting with a broken limb. The beast doesn't immediately charge in. It's grown wary of this tiny creature with the quick reflexes and painful sting. Fel had built more powerful ARC cells purely for this battle. Jane had told him the beasts had heavily insulated nervous systems. That meant they were incredibly resistant to pain, so he'd needed to up the voltage twenty fold for it to be of any value. It did the trick but it also burned out the cell in just a few hits rather than being usable for a full engagement.
Fel quickly slots in another charge as the two of them circle each other. He can see just how badly the creature is faring. His own attacks have done little beyond surface damage, but whatever disease assails it has wreaked havoc. Most of its face is covered in tattered, rotting flesh. One of its eye sockets is grossly swollen and pus is leaking from sores scattered all over its head. It's no wonder that the creature has gone mad. Such horrific decay on a still living creature would drive most beings insane. He can practically feel the beasts soul deep suffering. It's a mercy to put the animal down.
The bear charges and Fel charges back. If he's going to kill it, he's going to need to take a risk like Jane did. As the beast leaps at him, Fel slides onto his knees under the creature. He grips the blunt side of his blade and forces the razored edge against the soft underbelly. He manages to cut deep but the animal delivers a thunderous kick from its hind leg directly onto his hump. There weren't many injuries that hurt as much as a busted hump, something he's learned from personal experience. The blow hurts but fails to puncture the soft tissue, his backplate absorbing most of the impact. Unfortunately, the plate shatters and the pieces fall from his back as he stands. The beast is not so lucky. He can see loops of black intestine hanging from the wound and a small river of blood pouring out. The edges of the cut are scorched from his ARC cell. The creature doesn't slow but its movements become more erratic. It swipes in his general direction, hitting nothing but air or rubble each time. Fel takes a few deep breaths before charging back in. That jolt isn't going to keep it confused for long.
He launches a flurry of swift slashes at the beast's eyes. None connect but that's not the point. Each slash confuses the creature more and more. Eventually he gets what he's been hoping for. The animal finally rears back to avoid the blade's sting and he surges forward. Focusing all his strength into his sword arm, Fel stabs the blade through the creature's soft belly and into it's heart. His elation is short lived as the beast slams a paw into his side and hurls him away. Somehow he manages to keep hold of his sword, his momentum dragging it out of the animal's chest. He lands hard on his back almost twenty feet away. His left arm is shattered. If he survives the battle, it'll take weeks for all the bones to set properly, even with his people's natural regenerative abilities. If. It's no guarantee. Even taking the animal's heart has failed to kill it. He's struggling to think of what else he can do when Jane's voice pierces the haze in his head.
"They have two hearts! Two hearts!" Shit! She'd told him that earlier and he'd forgotten! "The second one is half a meter lower!" He's trying to get to his feet when he feels a set of monstrous fangs fasten onto his left thigh. The pressure and pain are immense. If the beast was in its right mind, he likely would have lost the leg. As it is, the creature can't seem to focus enough to finish the job, opting to chew on him rather than clamp all the way down. He tightens his grip on his sword and stabs the blade into the creature's good eye. The shriek that comes from the animal is ear splitting. Thankfully, in opening its mouth to give voice to its pain, the beast has released his leg. It thrashes about madly, desperately trying to scratch away the stinging jolt. It falls to its side in a twitching heap. This might be his last chance. Fel gets to his feet despite his savaged leg's protestations. He hobbles over to the prone beast as quickly as he can and faces its belly. He can't get close enough yet. Those huge paws are flailing away at random , blocking his way forward, but he can't wait. The ARC charge to its head has it stunned but that won't last more than a few seconds.
Fel grits his teeth and backs up. Once far enough away, he starts building to a charge. His leg is screaming at him the whole time and that tiny voice in his head has a bit of sage wisdom for him, 'This is really gonna fucking hurt'. Fel levels his blade and leaps at the creature. It seems the ancestors are smiling on him as he gets between the flailing limbs just enough to slam his blade through its second heart. The beast lets out one last guttural roar before its chest goes still. Apparently its nervous system still has a few impulses left as it's back left foot twitched forward hard enough to throw him into the rubble nearby.
Jane
It twists her guts just standing there watching the fight. She wanted so badly to join in and help, but she trusts Fel. She had told him about the twin hearts before the fight but apparently he hadn't been paying attention. Once he'd made his final move, Jane went in. Victory or not, Fel wasn't going to be able to keep going after the pounding he's taken. She reaches the beast and is relieved to see that it's dead. It's good that the animal's suffering is over. She looks around for Fel. She can't see him, but she can hear him. He's… he's actually singing. The song is interrupted by a few bouts of coughing, but he's singing bombastically all the same.
"BEHOLD AND HEAR AND FEEL THE FEAR…" a sputtering cough interrupts. "WE RAISE A SWORD AND BURN THE HOARD AND VICTORY IS CLEAR! LIFE'S A TEST BUT WE'RE THE BEST AND SCREW THE REST!" More coughing followed by the sound of someone hocking a massive wad of phlegm up. She hears the glob smack into the ground and the song continues. "OUR HEAT SHALL SEAR AND ALL SHALL FEAR FOR ARALAKH IS HERE!" The song devolves into hysterical laughter as Jane runs up the the pile of rubble that it's coming from. She heaves debris away and finds Fel in a bloody heap. His arm is broken, his leg is mauled, and he's oozing blood, but he's smiling like a loon. Another bout of giddy laughter lets out and she can't help but join in. "Oh did you see that my friend! That was a battle I shall cherish for years to come! And these new scars are truly a badge of honor!" He tries to stand up but his injuries are bad enough to keep him down.
"Yah I saw it. You had me worried for a little bit. I though I was gonna have to drag your ugly mug back in a bag." Fel manages to put on a face of faux offense.
"Bah! Perish the thought! No beast could slay me!" He tries to stand again but it's still not happening, "Would you mind giving me a bit of help? It seems I've gone and pulled something." Jane gives him a shot of medi-gel before using a mild biotic pulse to help him stand without aggravating his wounds. She pulls his good arm around her shoulder and helps him limp over to his kill. Jane runs a quick scan over the body and sees what she expected.
"It's got the same parasitic infection as mine did. In fact, this one's a lot worse."
"Aye, it was truly mad. We'll need to... examine the infection and begin working on a counter to it. If more are infected then it's only a matter of time before another wanders into a settled area in a bout of madness. Get some deeper scans while we wait for your pilot friend. I gonna... sit down for… for a bit…" She helps him settle onto a piece of rubble then sends the all clear to Gavin. As he brings Blue in, Jane runs a more thorough scan on the animal. There are a few conservation officials that'll be interested it what they've found. As Blue takes position above them and the tow lines drop, Jane can hear cheering. The people from the town are emerging from hiding and most of them seem to have figured out who saved them. Fel looks around with a toothy grin, a grin now missing a few teeth, and raises his good arm high. Despite having the piss beaten out of him, he's still holding his sword and the people cheer even louder as he raises it high. Jane starts closing the deepest holes in the carcass before attaching the tow lines. When she's done, she turns to see a portly man shaking Fel's unbroken hand.
She catches the end of their conversation, "Again my giant friend, you're always welcome here. We can never thank you enough. If there's anything we can do just name it and we'll give it our best shot."
She knows Fel is about to say something about how the battle was its own reward and that they don't need to do anything. She'll need to head that off, "Actually there is something you can do." Fel and the older man, likely Mayor Michaels if the file she read was right, turn to her.
"And you are?" Fel points and declares.
"That my good man is Jane Shepard. The only other person to bring one of these beasts down and live to tell the tale. She's a true friend and her advice is what let me end the creatures madness." The older man looks at here with a bewildered expression. Good. People are easier to manipulate when confused.
"Oh my. Ok. What can we do to express our thanks Ms. Shepard?" Several other townsfolk have gathered and are nodding their heads at the question.
"There's a biannual meeting of the colonial board in a few months. Can you be there and make a proposal for me. I'd do it, but I haven't lived on Mindoir long enough to have any real pull with them."
"Well I suppose. But what proposal are you… well… proposing?"
"I want you to call for the formation of a colonial militia. It would help keep towns like this one safe from anymore animal attacks. Not to mention, what with the growing number of pirate and slaver attacks across the Traverse, that a militia would help keep people safe if the worst should happen." The older man pales at the mention of slavers. She wasn't lying. The entire colony knew what had happened to several of their sector neighbors, including the poor bastards at Balt's Landing.
"Well… given your compelling and mildly frightening case, I suppose the people of Kestra can certainly make the call for better defenses. You can count on our support."
Jane and Fel give a few gracious goodbyes and Jane ties the wounded krogans belt plate to the last open tow line. She climbs up and retracts the line. She's glad to see that Spits understood what was going on and has clamped his jaws onto the bottom of the line. She helps Fel and Spits up, securing both of them to their seats. The flyer quickly leaves Kestra behind. Fel spends the entire trip talking through dozens of ways they can deliver treatment for the parasites they'd found. His good spirits in spite of his heavy injuries keeps her smiling the whole way. They get back to the main colony just as the sun sets. They'll need to store the carcass in Gavin's cargo warehouse until Fel's feeling up to handling it.
Hannah
"They'll be fine. Quit pacing kid. You're gonna dig a rut in the carpet." Hannah can't help it. She knows that Jane's killed one of those things before but that doesn't stop her from worrying. After she'd found out exactly what Jane had fought that day Sira had come to see her, Hannah had spent hours fussing over Jane, asking if she was OK or if there was anything she needed help with. She'd only succeeded in annoying the girl but Jane had seemed fine with it otherwise.
"I know. I just can't help but be worried. I mean these things are monsters, real monsters. Jane's the only one in the records that's even survived a fight with one. What if this one's bigger or faster or stronger? What if there's more than one? What if Spits gets squished? What if Fel gets hurt? What if-" Aethyta finally cuts her off.
"HEY!" Hannah stops her rambling, "They'll. Be. Fine. Fel's been fighting for centuries and Jane is way more powerful now than she was the first time. It's all gonna be OK."
Hannah takes a shaky breath and tries to calm down. Failing miserably, she goes back to pacing. Aethyta opens her mouth to speak but gets cut off by the sound of singing from outside. It's horribly off key and slurred, but she recognizes it. The song is one of Clan Raik's drinking songs, one he always sang after a successful hunt. The front door bursts open as the song wraps up, "FOR ARALAKH IS HERE!" Fel is laughing like a maniac as he limps inside. Jane is right behind him, a slight yellow glow coming off her. Now that Hannah sees a bit more clearly she can see the slight haze around Fel. The girl is using her biotics to help the obviously wounded krogan walk.
"Hannah! Thyta! Tonight we celebrate! For we have been victorious!" Fel's words are heavily slurred. Jane holds up her omni-tool and shows Hannah the medi-gel dose information. Fel is loaded with enough medicine to kill a human and it has him wobbling like a drunkard. He hobbles over to the couch, trying to sit down. He gets close but trips and lands face first on the coffee table. In a stunning sign of good craftsmanship, the table actually holds up to the heavy impact. A heavy cracking noise comes from the table but it holds. In seconds, the three of them can hear heavy snoring. Fel is out like a light.
Jane sits down on the couch and looks at Hannah and Aethyta with a Grimace, "I know it looks bad but he'll be okay. A couple tertiary organs ruptured but they've already regenerated and the medi-gel has all the cuts closed. His bones will take a while to set but he made it very clear that he'll handle it. He'll need a while to get back to normal but he should be fine… eventually." Aethyta is smiling as she looks down at the snoring krogan.
"Well big guy, I hope you had fun." Fel's only response is some nonsensical grumbling.
"Urhhg, fucking klixen. Get you ugly ass over here… stab that pipe up your…" The three of them carefully shift him onto the couch and turn to leave. Just before they get to the door to the kitchen, Fel has to go and ruin it. "Don't forget… make Jane… tell them… not good to… hide it… not safe." Hannah and Aethyta stop in their tracks and fix Jane with suspicious stares.
"What's that mean kid? Fel doesn't mumble something like that unless it's a big deal." Jane tries to brush it off.
"Nothing. He's just hurt and mumbling." She tries to push past but Hannah steps into the doorway and looks her right in the eye. Jane could easily push her out of the way, but doesn't have it in her to treat Hannah like that. Her adopted mother fixes her with a withering look and her resistance crumbles. "I… I'm having… flares again. And this time they're really bad." The angry look on Hannah's face immediately shifts do concern.
"I thought the flares were done with. Are you ok? When did they start again?" As Jane starts explaining, Aethyta watches closely.
"I'm ok right now. They started about a month and a half ago. These aren't the same as the old flares. Yah those hurt and all, but these are worse. And the pain is different. The old flares felts like someone was stabbing he in the head with an ice pick. They were slow to build up and dragged on and on, but I could keep going while they happened. These come on fast and they can knock me down for a while." Aethyta has an odd look as she speaks up.
Aethyta
If it's what she thinks it is, then the situation is a lot worse than the girl probably realizes. "What does the pain feel like Jane? I know it hurts, but I need to know exactly what it feels like?"
"It's like a magma hot burning sensation mixed with with a feeling like I'm sticking my hand in liquid nitrogen." Shit. "It feels like something is it trying to rip my insides apart." This is bad.
Hannah's more worried than ever, "Do you know what it is Aethyta?"
"I gotta a pretty good idea. You need to start spending energy more often Jane. Like as much as possible. Do that and let me know if it keeps getting worse." Jane nods.
"I'm gonna eat a couple sandwiches and go to bed." She can see Jane use her biotics to gather her food and then the girl walks upstairs, her sandwiches hovering behind her. They hear Jane's door close and then Hannah locks eyes with Aethyta.
"What's going on? I know you know, I can see it. What is happening to her? You said the flares were under control."
"They are. This is something different. Every biotic naturally builds up dark energy over time. Even I do. Most end up expelling it passively after they've been trained. I'd bet my family's estate that Jane is generating too much for it to naturally filter out."
"What can we do?"
"Not much we can do here. I can do a meld with her and help set up the beginnings of some mental 'infrastructure' but she'll need a much younger asari to help her through the rest of the process."
"Why can't you just help her do the whole thing? You're a matriarch, you've got to be powerful enough."
"Being a matriarch and having the power that goes with it is the problem. I've seen a lot of shit over the years. If Jane touches on some of it while we're melded… it could make things worse. She needs an asari mind that isn't cluttered with all the crap I got up there. It'd also be pretty risky for someone as powerful as me getting in that head of hers in an actual meld. Jane's body is powerful, but given the shit she's been through, I'll bet her mind is a mess behind the front she puts up. I might accidently burn part of her mind out if I go too deep. We need an asari young enough to keep a low profile inside her mind without much effort." Hannah looks incredibly confused but roles with the situation.
"Ok, so where do we find an asari young enough but still trained in what we need?"
"Well, there's only one place we're gonna find the kind of help we need without attracting unpleasant attention. I need to take Jane to my family's colony, deep in asari space." A mix of emotions play across Hannah's face. Relief, confusion, worry, but mostly anger. She jabs a finger at Aethyta and squares her shoulders. It's amazing how much the human woman can change at the drop of a hat. Hannah might be relatively small, but she could be intimidating when she needed to.
"I'm not sending Jane away. The last thing she needs is to be locked away in some academy all alone. I will never abandon her." She positively seething.
"Woah, woah, woah. Take it easy kid. I'm not talkin about locking her away or keeping her isolated. In fact, I want you to come too."
"Huh?"
"The kind of work I'm talking about isn't exactly safe or easy. She's gonna need support. That means she'll need friends and even more importantly, family, to help her through it."
Hannah eases back, the anger bleeding away, "If it's what she needs then I guess we could do it. How long does she have? How soon do we need to go?"
"Hard to say. I'll need to see one of these new flares to tell just how bad it is. I'd say no more than a year and a half, maybe less. It'll take quite a while to set thing up at home. The sooner we go the better. If we wait too long… it won't be pleasant."
"What do you mean? What's going to happen?"
It's not the kind of thing she likes talking about. Hell even hardened commandos get queasy talking about it. "Look, dark matter is a natural force of repulsion in the universe. It's what's forcing the universe to keep expanding as fast as it is. If too much builds up inside her… it… well…" She's not sure she has the heart to tell Hannah.
"What? Well what?!"
"If too much builds up… it could rip her apart from the inside." Hannah's utterly horrified by the idea. "I've only seen it once in a thousand years, biotic after a severe brain injury. She couldn't remember how to expel the energy anymore and it just…" She can't even finish the sentence. Those days have haunted her for more than eight hundred years. So much blood. The young woman had lasted for days, begging for someone to end her suffering. "Look, right now it's apparently just painful for her. We've got time. I'll start getting things rolling back home, but like I said it'll take a while. We just need to stay calm and keep moving forward. As soon as things are ready we can go. You just need to convince Jane to go along with it." Hannah nods and the two of them sit down across from each other at the dining table, hashing out how to handle things until they can get going.
Unknown
Possible Fulcrum Locations Narrowed Due to Tertiary Agent Efforts
Possible Locations...
63 Inhabited Worlds
4220 Uninhabited Worlds
Agent Efforts Must Escalate
Fulcrum Escape Must Not Be Allowed To Slip Away
Conclusion…
Increase Attack Frequency and Severity
Addendum…
Agent's Religious Beliefs Must Be Altered to Reinforce Purpose
Subject Jortan Is Too Focused On Batarian Prosperity
Dispatching Device To Allow More Invasive Manipulation
Device Designated "Oracle" Will Arrive In 2 months