"Come on, one more round then we can carve into that wonderful beast you took down yesterday," Magnus tried to urge Tarina on after a long, grueling session of close-quarter sparring.
Tarina was panting from the intense exertion, it had been her idea to start the session but it was turning out to be a lot more difficult than she had imagined. The musty air of the storage loft that they had chosen was getting to both of them. It was the best location they could find that was out of the way and they had spent days making up excuses to slip away to clear enough space away for them to use it on a regular basis.
"How about an old fashioned, non-biotic spar this time?" she asked.
"That's defeating the point. And you've almost figured this one out."
"I can't move that fast."
"Then close the gap, take the biotic out before they can take you out. It's not magic, Tarina, it doesn't make me invulnerable to bullets or anything else. Ready?"
She nodded and regained her defensive stance, resting lightly on her talons with her legs bent ready to hurl her forward. Neither of them wore armour or carried weapons. The exercise was intended to teach maneuverability, anticipating the movements of one's opponent, and precision strikes with the fists or feet. Magnus was starting her off easy by casting highly visible area of effect powers like a singularity that were supposed to inhibit careful footwork.
All Tarina had to do was avoid being caught by the mass effect fields before they could knock her off her feet. Each time he casted the singularity, it was shorter in duration than the previous one but she had not managed to avoid any of them despite their weakened effect. To not confuse her, he remained consistent in where he placed the field. At least she had caught onto the small distortion appearing behind her though her reaction time suggested she wasn't sure of when it was coming.
He flicked his wrist and the unstable ball of dark energy manifested itself again. This time Tarina chose to dive forward, completing escaping its grasp. The mini black hole collapsed on itself and started to fade away. Tarina watched as it did so with a triumphant grin but Magnus wasn't convinced that she had learned the lesson that he wanted her to. He threw another biotic effect at the remains of the singularity, an invisible ball of a field that created a very noticeable blue explosion when it reached its target. The resulting shockwave charged at Tarina's position where she was in the middle of pulling herself back up. She was forced to rapidly drop onto her stomach while the energy dissipated harmlessly over her head.
Magnus didn't have time to savour the minor victory as she lunged straight for him. Not deterred by his surprise attack, she came at him with a ferocity he could not have anticipated. Perhaps she had been listening to his instructions all along, waiting for the right moment to enact her rage. He nearly missed getting punched in the face, her wild swings were too unpredictable for his training to keep up with.
When he thought she was giving up, she turned around at the last second and got him under the jaw with the sharp end of her elbow. The sound of cracking carapace worried him for a second. He wiped at the spot with the back of his hand but no blood came from the wound. The skin under the plating would bruise over in the days ahead but nobody else would be aware of it.
"Damn it, Tari, I said to hit me, not to break anything," he scolded her.
"You kind of deserved it after how many times you got me," she said without any hint of sympathy.
"Right, time for a break then. We don't want anyone to start asking about where we've gone off to. Though if they did, it's not hard to work out what they might think we're doing," he said with a grin as he held her by the waist. She laughed, holding him back with her arms wrapped around his shoulders. He wanted her to stop treating his lessons like a game. If they were to get serious about the training, they would have to find ways to keep their hands off each other no matter how great the temptation may be. Their training sessions were a good way to be physical without it having to mean anything substantial and Magnus still wasn't sure about Tarina's true intentions.
Several weeks had passed, the main hall was barely recognisable as the open plan room that it had been when they arrived. Sections of every room had been divided up with temporary, mobile partitions that were designed to separate the different functions of each area rather than providing any sense of privacy. The refugees were still living without most of the comforts they were used to. Much of the exterior of the building was in the process of being transformed for the implementation of defensive mechanisms as well as expanding space for living quarters and other necessary additions.
The only area that had not been touched was the garden and the courtyard surrounding it where the monks performed their daily meditations. When the space was available, combat training drills were carried out in the same area. The ramparts around the fortress were used as an extension of the courtyard, covering a distance that allowed for running and surveillance of their bleak surroundings. About a kilometre away, on another much higher peak, stood the crumbling remains of a lookout tower that had not been well maintained over the building's long history.
There was a lot of noise throughout the structure as construction projects continued and everyone was given a job to do. Magnus made a point of keeping everyone busy. Though they weren't going to be fighting any time soon, it wouldn't do for anyone to forget the importance of discipline. The children were taught the basics of ranged combat instead of the usual academia, much to their delight.
The monks helped where they could but generally stayed out of everyone else's way. It was clear that they were unhappy about the change of pace, Saidra was not thrilled about having another more competent leader taking charge. To her grave disappointment, Meekari had taken to the newcomers quite well.
"Has Marius given you any trouble?" Tarina asked Meekari once they had returned to their cramped section of the living quarters.
"Not at all, I think he's getting used to me handling him," Meekari said as she handed the baby back to his mother. She turned her gaze onto Magnus, "One of Petra's team came by looking for you. He gave me a note and took off again." She produced a neatly folded piece of parchment from one of her pockets and handed it to him. He look bewildered by the gesture, not accustomed to the old ways of passing on information.
"Thank you. Did you kindly inform him that Petra is supposed to be fixing that tower as opposed to studying.. what was it? The strange metal alloys of armour dating back almost two thousdand years and what their purpose might have been. Some nonsense like that," he frowned as he took the message.
"It's actually a fascinating discovery, that tower is one big treasure trove of lost history," Tarina pointed out quietly.
"I didn't feel it was my place to tell Eris Petra how and where she is to conduct her research," Meekari said politely, always keen to stay on the commander's good side.
"She's not supposed to be doing research, this isn't a dig site. We need to make the most of everything we have here, in case the enemy should find us," Magnus sighed and held the note up to the nearest torch, trying to make sense of the script. "This handwriting is terrible, looks like a bunch of salarian scribbles.
Look at how far we've come. A month ago we could travel from the Trebia system to the Serpent Nebula in less than an hour if we really pushed it. Today we've regressed to delivering reports on scraps of paper. Sometimes it feels like we're still digging around for those lost scientists on Invictus."
"I'd say that pen and paper is a marked improvement over graffiti written in blood and guts.." Tarina said hauntingly, having tried to push the memories of the cannibal camp far away.
"Fair point," Magnus agreed. Meekari looked at them both like they were crazy.
"So, what does it say?" Tarina asked, shifting the conversation back to the present.
"Well, I'm not entirely certain, but I think it says that Petra spotted a large group of refugees heading our way. The exact figure isn't specified but it definitely seems like it's the biggest bunch we've received so far. How about that, the lookout post has served its purpose after all.
Ok, we should assemble some people together and clear away more of these storage rooms. We'll move all of the useless artefacts into the lower levels. Next time you see Petra, be sure to tell her that," Magnus said to Meekari before he left the room.
A buzz of energy hung in the air as weary travellers made their way through the atrium. The first to enter were the injured, either pulled in on stretchers or carried alongside their comrades. Behind them, a blanket of white showed a sudden blizzard blistering outside, making it impossible to tell how many more were waiting to come in. Much of the excitement came from the established refugees trying to spot familiar faces. The newcomers themselves were quiet and awestruck by the reception.
The monks helped direct the incoming foot traffic, encouraging anyone that would listen to remove their muddy gear by the door, sending the injured to a temporary infirmary, and offered warm blankets to those that couldn't stop shivering. The smell of a small feast was hard to ignore, the meat had been hastily butchered and prepared after the previous day's hunting expedition. The travellers looked beaten down, their uniforms were battered, dirty, and in severe need of repair but food and warmth were their top priorities.
Some of the uniforms were those of medical officers, one was fitted onto a very slim build which caught Magnus' attention. The human had messy brown hair, her uniform was in tatters. He didn't recognise her at first, her usual upbeat composure was nonexistent. Dr. Tomas clung to the shadows, hanging back from the rest of the group. The doctor looked like she'd been through hell, he couldn't tolerate someone being in distress even if she was a human. He wasn't entirely sure what drew him towards her aside from the fact that she was the only alien he had much respect for. She had saved Tarina's life once and that made her ok in his book.
"Trying not to be noticed?" he said quietly as he approached her.
"It's been a long day. Well, long couple of weeks really," she said tiredly, pushing the hair out of her face so she could get a better look at him. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you again, Magnus."
"Likewise, we could do with a medic around here," he tried to smile but there was a sadness in her movements that drained the positivity out of his voice.
"I'll be eager to get to work soon," she said. She watched the medics moving about nearby, catching the eye of Cessia who was propping up her injured husband, Tiber. He had come with a group of refugees a few days prior, still unable to walk properly without assistance. Magnus could tell Tomas was evaluating him from afar, trying to figure out how she could ease his pain further. Someone led Cessia and Tiber away, freeing the human of the momentary distraction.
"Pardon my bluntness, but you don't look very well, Doc. What happened out there?" Magnus tried to make conversation as best he could. There were several other different tasks he would have preferred to be attending to then.
"Trust you to ask that. It's a long story. The short of it is that Kallium didn't make it."
"Who?"
"Captain Osirian, sorry, I should know by now that surnames are used more commonly amongst you soldier types."
"If you want to talk about it, I'll listen. Let's get you warmed up first, there's a hearth over that way that isn't being used for tonight's meal. We could have some privacy, if that's what you want?"
"That.. that would be most welcomed, thank you."
The words were coming out of Magnus before he could think them, the doctor was in need of someone that could empathise with her. He found Tarina in the crowd and told her to look after the refugees while he dealt with Tomas, she was already too busy to acknowledge his departure.
"Here, you relax and I'll go grab you something to eat. Don't worry, the asari have plenty of levo based stuff around here. Much of it is grown locally, bunch of leafy green stuff. I will not be accepting 'no' for an answer. The climb up here is no small feat, you absolutely need the sustenance. I'll be right back," Magnus trotted off to fetch a bowl of soup before the human could discourage him.
When he returned, Dr. Tomas had removed her boots and socks. She was leaning back on her hands with her bare, pink feet facing the roaring fire. He had never seen a human's feet before, the lack of natural defences surprised him. There were no talons, toughs of fur, no plating of any kind. How had the humans evolved to become as advanced as the other Council races? They lacked the innate biotics and mind touching capabilities of the asari, they were not true amphibians like the salarians or drell, they definitely lacked the physical prowess of the krogan. All they had was soft, delicate skin and a bit of hair on their heads. The best word he could think of to describe them was 'fragile'.
Quietly he sat close enough that he could offer her the food without impeding her personal space. She took the soup gingerly at first, sniffed at it a few times then began to chow down. The soup was nothing but a bunch of herbs soaked in a broth, the taste was likely as boring as the smell. The human didn't mind, the hot liquid was what she needed to defrost after a long journey.
"I appreciate the charity," she said with sincerity after a long pause. "Didn't think you liked my kind a whole lot."
"You're an exception. You've proved yourself under fire, took Tarina and I in when we had no where else to go."
"If that bit about remaining cool under pressure were true.. well, I wouldn't have lost someone so important to me. Or maybe I would have not found my way here. " her eyes went dark as memories began to flood back to her. She answered his next unspoken question, "Got lucky when my omnitool picked up the radio static. That embed message on the emergency frequency, I knew it was your voice. Kal told me to follow the signal if I found it again."
"Whenever you're ready, start from the beginning," Magnus encouraged the doctor, he was already certain of how the story may end but thought it might be helpful for her to share it anyway.
"After you left, we began searching earnestly for survivors. We would go back to destroyed towns looking for anyone who might be in need of help. Sometimes we took salvage as we went, things for the camp and mementos of value that we hoped to return to their owners. Each city was a little bit different but the destruction was all the same. It wasn't often that we found anyone.
We saw a lot more husks than living people, it was like something out of a horror film. The sounds that they make.. you never forget that. Most of the cities were empty, Kal and his men always checked thoroughly for traps or ambushes. Most of the skirmishes were fought between cities with small patrols, nothing terribly exciting but enough of a concern to keep us on edge as we went about our mission.
Often we would set up camp within the cities themselves, much easier to defend that way. Not every city turned up survivors, most of our searches were in vain. That empty feeling of not being able to help people began to gnaw at us, I guess we grew desperate. Success was measured in how long we survived, not in how many were recovered.
I couldn't believe how clinical the destruction was, every single town regardless of its size was reduced to nothing. It really eats away at you, digging through the bodies. Every now and again you'd hear a child crying out or find a couple that had managed to take shelter underground. Didn't happen often enough but things were going relatively smooth for awhile.
The one good thing about the Reapers is how predictable they are. They destroy everything in their path and move on. There's no need for them stick around. Well, usually that's what happens. When we got to the town of Portia, little more than a manufacturing suburb of a much larger city elsewhere, everything went terribly wrong.
This time there were ambushes, hundreds of husks of varying types were waiting in the shadows. They were so patient, they waited until nightfall when we thought we were safe. They struck with rapid precision, most of our team was dead within the first couple of minutes. It happened too fast for me to recall the details. All I remember were the groaning screeches of dying men, the sounds of gnashing teeth and the shredding of armour. They didn't bother to take anyone alive, for that I am grateful.
Among the chaos, Kallium and I had managed to get separated from the rest of the platoon. I don't really know how, maybe it was luck. We climbed up the skeleton of a building that had once been a skyscraper and went unnoticed for several hours. When day broke, Kallium insisted that we find a way out of the city, that we would head towards the mountains and regroup at the monastery. It all seemed too easy, should have known that the Reapers would be patient once more.
We picked a complicated path of back alleys and narrow passages that would make it difficult for the hoards to converge on us. But we knew they were out there, we could hear their footsteps around every corner. At one point, Kallium stopped dead in his tracks. He had this look in his eye, I can't explain it. A mixture of stupidity and bravery and maybe something more. The husks had us surrounded though we couldn't tell exactly how close they were. He turned around suddenly and pointed at the ground, a sewer grate was there.
So I went first, thinking maybe we still had a chance. When I got halfway down the ladder, I urged him to follow but he shooked his head. Instead he handed me his sidearm, the one he had cherished for much of his life. The one with the scratch marks and his initials carved into the stock. He said, 'I'm not coming, Sera. You have to go on without me. Keep running, don't stop for anything. Shoot whatever moves. I'll get their attention then you have to go. Now go.'
I wanted to beg him to reconsider. He was more than my friend, in all of those close battles we had grown close. We had never said as much to each other but there was no denying that it existed. I should have..should have told him right then what he meant to me. There wasn't time, the grate was closed and an army of screaming husks came bearing down on our location. I'm not sure how far Kallium got, I'll never know how it ended for him.
I did everything he said, I got out of the city through the sewer system and followed the radio signal. I don't know how I got as far as I did, I kept wanting to run back but it was a fool's notion. If I didn't get to safety, his sacrifice wouldn't have meant anything.
Eventually I ran into a group of refugees who were headed in the same direction, they were having a terrible time dealing with the cold. My genes are better suited for this sort of climate so I showed them how to keep moving. It gave my mind something else to focus on, later they treated me like some sort of saviour but I never felt I deserved that. I abandoned Kallium, the one person I loved most. Saving someone else doesn't make up for that. What's worse is I never said the words.
All I can do now is hope that his spirit finds peace because I don't think I ever will."
As she reached the end of her story, tears began to collect on her cheeks. Magnus didn't know too much about human behaviour but it wasn't hard to figure out that tears weren't a good sign, "You can't think like that. All of us have lost somebody in this war. None of us are coming out of this unscathed. What Osirian did for you.. it was the right thing to do. The smart thing. You might have done the same in his position. You lived to fight another day and that's important."
"But Magnus, I'm so alone now. What am I supposed to do?" she looked over at him.
"You keep on fighting in your own way," he said simply with a slight shrug of his shoulders. The answers were obvious to him. The human stared at him for a second then made a hiccup noise. She leaned over and rested her head against his shoulder. He hadn't been expecting her to get that close. Without thinking much, he put an arm around her to assist in calming her down.
"He was always brave, this is very typical of him," she tried to laugh but hiccuped again. "Charming and bold, he knew how to make a girl feel like she was the only one in the room. Didn't seem to matter that we were of different races. Things could have gotten really serious for us, not that I'll ever know now. If it weren't for this war, I'd have never met him. Probably would have met some other dashing turian though. Could have had quite the career out here. Wouldn't have been as exciting but stability would have made up for it. Everything is temporary except death. We can't possibly win this."
"That doesn't mean we can give up," he reminded her. "When you're feeling better, there will be lots to do around here. Take your time, Doc. I'll be around if you need me."
