Chapter 28.
Date: January 1st, 2100. Mere moments after Vodnik and Samara sat down in front of Lyna and I.
I looked up from my glass of water, glancing between Samara and Vodnik. Vodnik was wearing some new clothing. His grey t-shirt and white cargo pants had been replaced by Batarian clothing, which was the most similar thing to human clothing back on Earth. Currently, he was wearing a black long sleeve shirt and olive drab 'cargo' pants. Of course, both pieces of clothing were completely alien. Pockets were angled down on the sides of the thighs, not opening vertically. The shirt wasn't much different than the shirts back on Earth, only a few odd design choices. He had a visible scar on his right hand, one that wasn't fully healed, since it was still red. The scar went from the knuckle of his index finger to his ulna. I saw that his belt had a holster for his pistol, the same M1911 from 24 years ago.
Samara, on the other hand, wasn't much different. She hadn't changed her justicar armor from the last time that I saw her. The same amount of skin was showing on her body, the armor was still red, and she still had those gold plates at the beginnings of her crests. However, now she had a few more scars. Some were around her chest area, some on her crests. Showing much more skin than Vodnik, she was a prime example of what the two had been up to in the last two decades. Continuous fighting, while Lyna and I were off talking with alien governments and doing assignments for Aria in exchange for credits. By comparison, what we had been doing was child's play. Of course, Samara had come unarmed, as if she needed a weapon other than her biotics.
Setting the glass to the side, I rested my hands on the table, tapping my fingers together as I pursed my lips. This was my way of dealing with stressful situations, though this was more of a surprise than a situation full of stress, it didn't make it any less so. Lyna, on the other hand, looked incredibly annoyed. The joy that was in her face before was now completely gone. "What do you two want?" Lyna asked, sighing soon afterwards. She leaned back in her seat, sipping at her drink idly. She had been hoping to spend her day in this bar, partying with me. Now she was burdened with the sight of two people that she'd rather have dealt with after our celebration.
Samara and Vodnik exchanged looks for half a second before the justicar spoke up. "While you and Kyle have been forming alliances with this 'Inusannon Federation,' we've been successful in locating Morinth. Killing her, less so," she said.
Vodnik didn't say anything. I raised an eyebrow at him, to which he looked back at me with a cold stare. Breaking this gaze, I turned my attention over to Samara. "Let me guess, you want our assistance in killing Morinth?"
"It would be most appreciated if you helped us, but I can understand if you have more important politicking with the Inusannon," Samara replied, smiling at us both. "To make it clearer to you, LvB."
I raised one of my eyebrows in confusion, but the answer soon came to me. "Oh! .12.1770-3.1827," I replied, my voice fading into a whisper. This confirmed that we remembered the code, and what that meant. It meant that they were in a dire state of need.
Lyna glanced over to me for a moment. "How in the hell did you remember that? Seriously, you forgot it five seconds after we watched the message."
"See, I have this little thing called an artificial intelligence in my head. His name is Sirius, and he helps me remember so many things," I sarcastically responded.
Lyna rolled her eyes, ignoring my snarky remark. "I say anything is better than sitting in a cold room bickering about our impending doom alongside the Inusannon." Lyna set her drink down onto the table, adjusting her posture to its normal form and continuing on, "Kyle, you and I both know that we could use a very long break from all of this Inusannon varren-shit. A few years perhaps?"
Nodding my head, I took the glass of water in my hand, downing the rest of it in one go. I wouldn't hesitate. They needed our help, and I would use any excuse to get away from the continuous politicking that had occupied the last twenty years of my life. "We'll do it. I'll inform Svesa of our decision and we'll depart in the Bermuda within a day."
"Your ship would cause too much commotion and Morinth would become suspicious. We'll be taking a smaller ship, a step down from a corvette, a step up from a shuttle." Samara pushed herself up from the table, activating her omni-tool in the process and pressing a few buttons on it.
My omni-tool lit up only a moment later, the window reading out as, 'Docking Bay #1340, Zakera Ward. Turian freighter - Vakalus' I stared down at it, nodding moments later. "We'll be there as soon as I get my weapons and preferably some new clothes. Give us at least five hours."
"Very well," Vodnik grunted while standing up next to Samara. Those were his first and last words throughout our little conversation.
The pair departed soon afterwards. Lyna and I both looked at each other for a moment. Exhaling, Lyna finished the rest of her drink and slammed the glass down onto the table, "Well, at least they're still alive."
"I'd be surprised if they weren't."
[-]
Four hours later and I had a suitcase full of new clothes. Most of them were made for Asari, which fit my body a little tighter than I liked, but it was better than wearing the same baggy clothing from 2015. Batarian clothing fit me much better, but in the end, clothing was clothing. Since Lyna knew a lot of the clothing stores in Kithoi Ward. I couldn't blame her for only knowing of Asari stores. I had just told Svesa over a call of our departure, and she said that she was concerned over me leaving so soon, but she'd be taking the Bermuda back to Rannoch for when we wanted to retrieve it again. I had my backpack with me, which was beginning to show some obvious wear and tear. In it was most of my new clothes, all stuffed up into a compact mess. Lyna had a medium-sized suitcase with her as well.
Lyna was happier than she was before, as she had just purchased a new weapon for herself. It was an Asari rifle, something called the Nemandi. I wasn't sure how hard it hit, but it looked mildly threatening. There wasn't a sling for the rifle, instead it had magnetic locks, which Lyna had on her Huntress leathers. It was slim and sleek with a few angled curves on the top of the weapon, each leading down to the barrel, which poked out of the white metallic shell by about four inches (ten centimeters). The stock had a perfect bend to it, letting it rest perfectly in Lyna's shoulder when she was aiming. On the top of the rifle there was an 4x scope which carried the architecture of the rest of the gun, curved, but with a flat top. In total, the Nemandi was approximately 40in long (100cm.)
Lyna had struck a deal with C-Sec that allowed me to carry my weapons around, on the grounds that the heatsink was out of both the ISYLR and the Phaeston. I couldn't really do that with the new, more accurate, yet slightly weaker ISYLR, so the weapon had to be deactivated until we arrived at Samara's freighter. I had obtained the newer ISYLR as a parting gift from Kochinan. We were en route, with Sirius piloting the skycar to the correct location since Lyna had almost got us lost.
"So, breaking away from politics to actually fight Samara's demon-like daughter… What are your thoughts, Kyle?" Lyna asked, her arms crossed in front of her. We were about halfway through the ward and this was the first time that she had talked since Sirius took the controls to the skycar away from her. Previously, she was adamant that she would be the one controlling it, but eventually she gave up and allowed Sirius to control the skycar.
"I'm not excited about it. Seeing Samara and Vodnik come to us for help must mean that the situation is bad," I meekly said.
She stared forwards, her arms crossed under her breasts, fingers tapping on her ribcage idly. "They're desperate, but if we can be involved in killing an Ardat-Yakshi, I'm not complaining. After all, they're demons, and if they're not contained in those monasteries, then they're as good as dead."
Shrugging my shoulders, I perked up in my seat, feeling the skycar descend. We had finally arrived at the far reaches of the ward, and everything looked a fair bit dirtier. It was like the Detroit of the Citadel, still better than Omega, but less monitored than the rest of the Citadel. Sirius landed right next to Docking Bay #1340. I could make out Samara and Vodnik's freighter. It was small and compact, but at least it still looked nicer than most Quarian ships.
We touched down onto the ground not a minute later. As soon as Sirius unlocked the doors, I opened them and stood up in the middle of everything. Lyna followed soon afterwards. I picked my backpack up from out of its seat and slung it over my left shoulder. Now I had a rifle on one side of my body and a backpack on the other side. There was a lot of weight on my shoulders. Lyna had to carry my Phaeston for me, seeing as I had nowhere to put it. She put it on one of her mag-clamps. Right when we got out of the vehicle, the doors closed and Sirius re-enabled the VI. The skycar promptly lifted off the ground, ascending into the air and making its way back to the Presidium. I turned around, looking at the stairs that lead up to the docking bay.
As Lyna and I approached the stairs that would eventually lead us to Vodnik and Samara, we were interrupted by a Hanar's outreaching tentacle. It floated in front of us, blocking our path for a few moments. "This one suggests that the new one pays a fee to continue on. This one demands that the fee is paid," it threatened.
I raised a single eyebrow at the Hanar, but turned my attention to Lyna moments later. She rolled her eyes and summoned her biotics in one quick movement. "Excuse me? I'll let that slide. If you had a lick of sense, you'd go to whatever home you have and rethink your life. Threatening strangers fo-"
The Hanar interrupted Lyna by planting one of its tendrils into her open mouth. "This one strongly suggests that you pay-"
It was cut off by my sighing. I walked right up to it and yanked the tendril out of Lyna's mouth. The Asari promptly held her fist to the underside of the Hanar's glowing portions, ready to send out a warp or a dark channel. "This one suggests that you must die if you lay a tentacle on me again."
Lyna made many mistakes. She forgot that the damn jellyfish had five other tendrils on its person. Her Acolyte pistol was yanked out of her holster and was promptly pointed at my head by the Hanar. Before it could fire, two shots rang out from the top of the docking bay's stairs. It was much louder than any other element zero-based weapon that I had encountered so far. The bullets were stuck in the Hanar, visibly showcased within its gelatin 'head.' The Hanar limply fell to the ground and Lyna's pistol came down with it. I was terrified, seeing things, sentient beings, die in front of my eyes, I didn't like it. I'd definitely have to get used to the sight in the future. Here, I backed away from the now-dead Hanar, shivering in fear. Nervously, I grabbed Lyna's pistol from its limp tentacle and tossed it over to her. She caught it in one swift motion, nodding at me and turning her attention over to the docking bay.
Vodnik was standing at the top of the stairs with Samara walking up right behind him, giving him a stern look and whispering something towards him. I couldn't make what she said out, not even if I tried. He lowered his M1911 shortly after that, giving us an incredibly disappointed stare. I began walking forwards, shaking off the assault that the Hanar did. It was successful in assaulting us, but as for robbing us? That's where its luck ended. Lyna looked down at the dead body, quickly picking it up with her biotics and hovering it over the edge of the docking bay. There, it fell down many floors, eventually hitting the bottom of the Citadel after a good ten seconds. After that, we began scaling the steps. Still shaken from the death that I had just witness, I was ultimately pale once we arrived at the top. As soon as we made it to the top, Vodnik looked at us both. "Not even the first day and you almost get taken out by a jellyfish. If you can't avoid confrontations like that, it'd be wise to at least work on your close-quarters combat, Terrah," he gruffly said, holding a cold stare with me.
"They don't even have hands! It's like trying to grab onto-"
"We'll begin your training on the way to Cyone. Perhaps Lyna taught you how to shoot, how to sneak around, but those are only two skills out of many more," Samara coldly said. "Let us leave this place. The more we delay, the more people Morinth victimizes."
I nodded, following close behind Samara and Vodnik. "So she's in Citadel space on a heavily populated Asari colony? That seems a bit stupid for her."
"Cyone? That's in Citadel space… I thought she only went to the Terminus systems," Lyna repeated, saying exactly what I had said before.
"No," Vodnik grunted. "She'll go wherever she needs to. Morinth is not on Cyone. That planet is important for other reasons."
I arched one of my eyebrows as we entered the airlock of the freighter. "So there's a chance that she could find her way to Rannoch? And what other reasons? Why Cyone?"
"Yes, but when you've been inside of the galaxy, Sirius has given us information on where she may be, based on extranet records and security footage. If she went to Rannoch, we could issue an alert. Or find her outright, as far as I know, Rannoch doesn't have many Asari on it, if any." Samara told me. She depressurized the airlock and opened the door to the interior of the ship. A few boxes were scattered about. Some with weapons sticking out of them, others with food. She still hadn't answered me about the imporance of Cyone.
There were also ammunition crates, which I presumed that Vodnik was using for his AK-74 and M1911. "Vodnik, how exactly do you get the ammo for your guns?"
"Tuchanka is a wonderful place if you have enough credits and know the right people," he replied. It was a cryptic answer, but I didn't dig any further.
When we turned the corner, I noticed a figure sitting on one of the boxes. It was a clear outline of a Turian male, based on the length of his fringes. He slowly looked over to us, clicking his mandibles on the sides of his face. "Ah, so it's the huntress and the politician that'll be helping us," the Turian mumbled, setting down a green jar that had previously been in his hands. "I hope you know what you're doing, Justicar. I've seen their faces plastered all over the news while you two were out looking for them. Your daughter may become suspicious."
"In time, they'll be worthy adversaries against Morinth," Samara said. She walked past the Turian, beckoning for me to come forwards with one of her fingers.
I followed Samara, setting my backpack and ISYLR down on a crate along the way. I found myself on the bridge, standing behind Samara. "So?" I asked, looking at Samara with one of my eyebrows raised.
"If you are able to have Sirius take control of this ship that would be appreciated. An AI would be much more capable than Vodnik at piloting this freighter."
I nodded and extended my omni-tool outwards. A small stream of data hopped from it to the control console. Lights flickered within the ship and a small avatar of Sirius popped up near the panels. "This vessel is much less complex than the Bermuda. Our destination is Cyone, correct?"
"Yes, Sirius." Samara turned her head towards me. "Kyle. While in transit to Cyone, you may set up your room with Lyna. It's down the hall and to the right. Due to lack of room, you'll be sharing it. Morinth's location is currently unknown, but a contact of mine on Cyone has the name of a ship that she boarded a few months ago. He only agreed to meet in person."
As soon as Samara finished her sentence, I felt the clamps on the freighter detach, giving Sirius a green light to depart for Cyone. The humming of the element zero core now filled the ship. Leaving the bridge, I made my way over to Lyna, who had been holding a cold stare with the Turian. "Who do you think you are? Seriously, you need to calm down and stand down, bareface," Lyna growled.
"I've told you this already. My name is Jovian Falikaten. Had you been paying attention, you wouldn't be standing here and screeching at me like a dying varren," he replied. His green bottle was down on the crate next to him and his legs were outstretched.
Lyna frowned. She glanced towards me and let out a long sigh. While I was picking up my things from the top of another crate, I started speaking. "Calm down, if we're going to take down Morinth, we're going to need to cooperate. Let me tell you, it's looking bleak with every second that you two bicker like children."
"Spoken like a true politician. A shame that you use words as your primary weapon instead of your fists or rifle," Jovian scoffed.
Surprisingly, Vodnik intervened. "You can vent your anger on them when we start sparring."
Jovian clicked his mandibles twice, chuckling soon afterwards. "Hmph. I can't wait."
I rolled my eyes at both Vodnik and Jovian. I knew I needed to refine my abilities in combat, but starting tomorrow? That was going to be a stretch. Lyna could handle such things with ease, but I didn't know if I was ready.
For now, I led Lyna into our designated room. It was small and compact, having only one bed inside of it. There was a desk, as well as a dresser. "This is a far stretch from the Bermuda," I said, walking into the lackluster room. I set my backpack down on the floor, where it leaned onto the side of the desk. My ISYLR found its place right next to my backpack.
"Has living in luxury warped your mind, Kyle? At least we have a bed," Lyna replied. She started setting her own weapons down, with her Nemandi rifle coming off first. It was folded up and compact, but it still took up most of the desk. I temporarily moved it onto the ground for her other weapons and my Phaeston to lay on the desk. She sat down on the bed, crossing her legs and lacing her fingers together. Smiling up at me for just a moment, she leaned back onto the bed and let a sigh escape from her mouth. "We're going to destroy Jovian and Vodnik in that sparring match tomorrow. They think they're so tough for being around a Justicar. We'll show them, just like you showed Lera'Gerrel."
"Yeah, like I 'showed' Lera'Gerrel. Where I was full of adrenaline. After being shot by a Geth Pulse Rifle. Where you put her into stasis and allowed me to punch her. Where she was then mindfucked into a pulp by Kochinan. We'll totally win," I sarcastically replied while rolling my eyes.
Pulling a chair out from the desk, I slowly sat down into it. Lyna stretched out on the bed, looking up to me as her head remained upside down. "I think we'll do well against Voddy and the Turian." Lyna smiled at me, taking a moment to flip herself up to a sitting position on the bed. She was now leaning against a few pillows.
I paused, thinking about what Lyna had just uttered, "...Voddy. Interesting nickname, though I doubt he'll like it that much. As for Jovian, don't shove the pole any further into his ass."
Lyna tilted her head to the side, letting out a small little chuckle. "I-I'm sorry? That has to be the strangest expression for Turian behavior that I've ever heard," Lyna said, her voice full of amusement. "Well, I'm going to get some rest before we start our hunt for Morinth. I suggest you do the same."
I nodded, looking down at my ISYLR for a few moments. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be in bed in a moment. I'm just going to make a call to Svesa," I replied.
I opened my omni-tool and browsed through all of the windows that I had open, all of which were unorganized. Eventually I found the window that I needed to call Svesa, so I tapped it and waited a few moments. Svesa answered my call with an audible sigh, "Yes? What do you need, Kyle Terrah?" she asked, sounding a bit annoyed. I could hear something in the background, like scratching fingernails against metal.
"I was really wondering how the talks with the Councilors were going, even though it's just been a few hours. A few hours can contain a lot of information, you know. Since I'll probably be gone for a while, maybe even a couple of years, I'd like you to update me on… Well, everything that I need to know," I replied, gazing over my Phaeston and ISYLR once again. "I mean, I'll still be able to communicate with you, but maybe not as frequently as I, or you would prefer."
"Hmph. Very well. Kochinan and Khara are currently talking with the Turian and Salarian Councilors, trying to convince them that the Reapers are a true threat to the galaxy. Both of them are somewhat stubborn, though I've observed that the Turian is starting to lean towards believing that the Reapers exist, wanting to act on the threat immediately. I can't tell if this is a good or bad thing. Khara is currently speaking with him, telling him to calm down, as he can only prepare for the Reaper invasion at this point. Meanwhile, the Salarian Councilor has been in denial, but I've seen her sneaking off sometimes. Kochinan is still trying to convince her, but is having little luck. You also called me at a good time, I just finished conversing with Councilor Tevos. We didn't have much to talk about, since she was already on-board with our proof when you were here. Our arrival has made it to galactic news. Honestly I didn't think it would spread that quickly. Oh, and the United Rannoch Association admirals have come as well. Geth are advised to stay back for the time being, but their ships are still waiting by the Mass Relay until we've cleared them into the Citadel. Tensions are high out there. ."
"Have you brought any more Protheans aboard the Citadel?" I asked.
"Yes, but the bad news is that apparently five Protheans isn't enough to convince those two. The good news is that the Asari are allowing some of our ships to search their lesser-populated worlds for any hidden Prothean bunkers, so if we find any more in stasis, we'll be on track to stabilizing the Prothean race," she responded. I could hear her tapping her fingers against what I assumed to be a table. "In case it needs to be stated, worlds like Thessia, Cyone, Lessus. All of those are restricted. We're permitted to search Niacal and Zesmeni."
I idly started tapping as well, mimicking what she was putting out. "I'd say just focus on diplomatic relations for now. Remember, we have about eighty years until the Reapers start reaping, so there's no rush to build up fleets just yet."
"Eighty years is a short time. My people, the Inusannon Federation… They've been developing for a hundred millennia. The people of this cycle are severely less advanced than we are, so we'll be using that time to incorporate our technology into their own. To help them learn… The URA has already started this process, and with the help of the Geth, it'll be much quicker. Until the Reapers are defeated, we will stay in Novayazemira."
"And after they fall? What will you do then?" I asked, narrowing my eyebrows at my omni-tool. She couldn't see me, since we were only in an audio call.
Svesa stopped her tapping, deeply inhaling. "Explore the star systems of the galaxy that are not connected to Mass Relays, recover data that was once lost on Mertvyykamen and all of our previous colonies."
I followed in her footsteps, the tapping of my copied tune finally ceasing. "Very well. Once I'm done with helping Samara and Vodnik out, I'll come back to Rannoch."
"Understood. If you need help tracking… What was it? The Ardat-Yakshi? Don't hesitate to call me for aid. I'll be more than happy to get out of this political pit of fire." She murmured, resuming her tapping. Maybe she coped with her tapping. I'd have to ask her about it whenever we met in person again.
"What? Are you going to bombard her from orbit?"
Svesa gasped, "Oh, oh no. I'd want to be on the ground. Being aboard a ship… I've done it my whole life. I'd much rather be planetside than stuck on one of our capital ships… Too much grey and violet for my liking. Now that I think of it, someday I'd like to meet Samara."
"Really? I could have her turn the freighter around and pick you up. Though I'm not in command, I'd actually have to talk to her about that. We've not ventured very far from the Citadel, I'm sure an extra person, certainly you would help us with killing her."
"That's music to my ears. Had I not been selected to be a leader, I'd take you up on that offer in a heartbeat, but Kochinan needs me. Khara needs me. My people need me… However, I'll talk to Kochi. See if I can help out with your hunt in a year, assuming it'll last that long."
I arched my brow, clasping my hands together. Our odds would be boosted tremendously with her around. "If we don't get her within a year, I'd be happy to talk Samara into taking you with us."
I heard a knock on something behind Svesa. "I should go," she muttered before closing off the call.
I was left confused, sitting at the desk and still looking at my ISYLR. Quickly shrugging Svesa's departure off, I made my way over to the bed to lay down with Lyna, her arms wrapping around my waist and pulling me close to her. The soft humming of the vessel's drive core slowly carried me off to sleep.
[-]
Date: January 2nd, 2100, one day after joining up with Vodnik and Samara.
I tossed and turned in the bed, feeling some sort of pressure on my face, before a stinging slap planted itself right on my cheek. Bolting up from where I had laid for a good nine hours, I audibly yelled, rolling around and trying to get away from the threat as quickly as humanly possible. A blue hand was on my chest and I groggily looked up to see Lyna's face. "Oh, so a light slap on the cheek freaks you out, but not an hour of talking and trying to shake you awake. Amazing," she said, patting my chest while walking away. "We're supposed to train today, or to be more precise, spar. . Whichever works the best in this situation."
"What?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. I had slept a bit too long, so I felt like crap today. "Can't we just put it off and rest for the day? Christ, I feel like death."
Lyna grabbed onto my arm, pulling me off of the bed. She gave me a cup of something similar to coffee, dark brown in appearance, but with a flavor that made black coffee seem like the sweetest thing in the galaxy. I could've chewed up an advil capsule and I still would have something sweeter in my mouth. "I know, I know. It tastes like Varren crap, but it'll wake you right up."
I chugged the rest of the cup, almost gagging from the taste alone. Even tens of thousands of light years away from Earth, coffee still found a way to make me want to vomit. "God… Lyna, just let me shower and get some clean clothes on, okay?"
"Nah, don't bother. We're going to sweat our asses off anyways, best to wait until tonight for that," she replied, which only earned a deadpan look from me. "Look, you're only in the presence of Vodnik, Samara, Jovian, and me. A little bit of sweat isn't going to bother anyone. Just use my deodorant if you don't have any yourself. As for why I have it, I sweat as well. Maybe I don't have the putrid stench that you do when you sweat, but when imprisoned in this leathery suit, it tends to get a bit hot. I'd rather not smell myself, to be discreet." Lyna turned around, crouching over a bag on the floor and uncovering a pink cylinder. She stood up with it in her hand, lightly tossing it over to me.
Even tens of thousands of light years away from Earth, it was good to know that aliens still used deodorant. I applied it to my armpits, looking at Lyna all the while. I was wearing a light-grey t-shirt and dirt-covered blue jeans. A moment passed and I started smelling like peaches and roses. Maybe it was dragon-fruit? I honestly had no idea. I just knew I smelled much better. "Er. I guess smelling like a space flower is good enough."
Lyna smiled widely, nodding her head. She took me by my arm, leading me out into the main hall. Vodnik was leaning against a bench while Jovian was looking over a datapad. Samara stood out. She wasn't wearing her usual Justicar armor, instead donning something lighter, something that looked similar to that of Lyna's huntress leathers. They seemed to offer less protection, leaving more skin exposed, just like her actual Justicar armor. As soon as she spotted us, she calmly bowed her head. "I presume that all of us are ready to begin?"
"Yes," Lyna and I said at the same time.
A/N: The hunt for Morinth begins. Thankfully, this chapter was slightly shorter than my previous ones. This part of Bermuda will have a lot more violence in it and a lot less political bullcrap.
