A/N: Hello again, friends, and welcome back to this fic! Let's get going with it, shall we?
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Valentine leaned forward, looking right at the hologram. "Um... away?" the pilot answered.
The hologram chuckled. "Well, that's one way to put it," it said. "But it's too bad: you're coming with us."
The ship then lurched forward, Valentine starting in his seat. Legion and Kasumi were likewise quite surprised, looking around as the ship moved of its own accord.
Kasumi immediately opened her omni-tool. "Hey!" she said. "I think there's only one person here who-"
"You can put your hacking subroutines away," said the exion. "Even if you somehow eject me now, there are ten others ready to take my place. And anyway, I know your tricks now, so do you really think you can do the same thing twice?"
Kasumi frowned. "Well, that wouldn't be any fun," said Kasumi. She nevertheless closed the omni-tool. "But fine, you got us. So where are you taking us now?"
"A place you can't run away from," the hologram replied.
Legion tilted its head plates forward. "We can predict the statistical probability of that upon our arrival," it said.
The hologram turned to the geth, blinking in surprise. "W... what?" it asked. "That thing is here?"
Valentine sighed. "Believe me, I didn't ask for that," he said. He shook his head, looking at the geth. "But I guess this thing's coming along with us too."
"Hmph." The holographic projection shook its head. "It's no matter. We'll deal with it as we go." It then looked out. "I guess you'll figure out pretty soon where we're taking you."
"You're planning on getting us to jump through the mass relay?" asked Valentine. "Good luck with that."
"No," said the hologram as it turned back to Valentine with a smirk. "You didn't think we checked to see if our mode of FTL could work here, did you? There are some things physics here can do that we can't, but with a few adjustments, we can make ours work."
The ship then moved forward of its own accord, Valentine looking out as the remaining ships broke their cage and moved into a formation. The ships quickly pulled away from the mass relay, Kasumi and Legion watching with a look of dismay as their only real hope of escape vanished. Valentine kept his gaze forward, looking at the other ships.
"And what does that mean?" Valentine watched.
The hologram pointed up at the front-most ship in the formation. "Why don't you see for yourself?" he asked.
The pilot leaned forward, following where the hologram pointed. There, he saw some kind of strange canon underneath the ship, Valentine frowning as he looked up, seeing the cannon charge underneath that ship. Kasumi and Legion also looked up, watching as the charge took on a strange purple light that lit nothing underneath it.
And then, the purple light was transformed into a ball of light, this ball launched forward into the space in front of the ship. Valentine watched as the ball gained some distance from the ship, before he then saw that light spread out across a large area, the area seemingly solidifying into a large violet mass, the mass forming like a large disc held vertically in the air. Valentine leaned forward, watching the mass intently.
And then, the mass peeled away from the center, revealing a starscape that was rather similar to the stars that surrounded them all. However, he saw that there were certain stars that were not placed right. As the mass peeled away, he also saw a planet appear, or at least part of it: as the violet gave way to this starscape, he immediately gasped, recognizing the planet in question before realizing too that the planet had not fully materialized. The violet hovered around in a small ring around this image.
"Holy shit..." said Valentine.
Legion's headplates moved forward. "Note: no data available on anomaly," it said.
"Oh, you'll see," the hologram replied as the ships all began to move forward. "Just watch."
Kasumi looked at the other two occupants of the cockpit, leaning forward. "This is gonna be interesting," Kasumi said.
And then, the ships advanced towards the ring. Valentine's heart pounded in his chest, the pilot slowly taking his sunglasses off as the other vessels passed through this ring. The Lying Bastard inched ever closer to the edge of the ring, everyone keeping an eye on this ring as they skirted the edge of it.
Their vessel passed through with no incident, but what they saw on the opposite side of the ring startled them. The planet Valentine had seen earlier suddenly took on its fully spherical shape. In addition, Valentine noticed they were no longer right by a mass relay, and that all the stars around them had switched positions. The pilot paused, turning his attention back to the hologram.
"We're... we're not in a different star system, are we?" he asked.
"That, my friends, is the marvel of the hyperspace bomb," said the hologram. It then turned. "It's how we travel without the relays..."
Kasumi whistled. "Imagine what the Council could do with these toys," she said.
The hologram immediately turned on Kasumi. "They will never get their hands on our technology," it said. It then turned around. "Now... We're taking you someplace you'll never escape from."
Valentine frowned. "And what is that, Alcatraz?" he asked. "Because I could take a cue from Sean Connery and figure out a way to escape. And hey, I'm sure Nicholas Cage is around here somewhere."
The hologram frowned, Legion turning to the pilot as well. "Sean Connery," said Legion. "Human actor. Status marked as: deceased. We note the same status applies to Nicholas Cage."
"It's... never mind." He shook his head. He then frowned, looking ahead. "But this is in our galaxy."
"We can use the hyperspace bomb to go anywhere in this galaxy, but we can't travel from this galaxy to ours," the hologram explained. "For that, we need to go to the wormhole."
Valentine breathed in heavily. "And where are we going?" he asked.
The hologram smirked again, turning to Valentine. "We call it the Obschesto."
And then, the ships moved towards a patch of space, Valentine squinting as he held his sunglasses in his lap. "Wait, is that...?"
The hologram smiled, and before anyone knew what had happened, they found that the stars around them were remapped. Valentine also felt a very strange tingle at the edge of his fingertips, and then he suddenly found that everything seemed to become a little less colorful. Additionally, the stars seemed a little brighter, and something about the air inside the pod seemed to get just the slightest bit thinner.
Valentine breathed in, the pilot increasingly aware of the tingle running through his body. "What... What the hell am I feeling?"
"We detect... odd things in our calculations," Legion said. "Some physical phenomena seem to be calculated differently in this place."
The hologram nodded, Valentine noticing that it was just a little brighter and a little less colorful. "Welcome to our galaxy," said the exion. "Don't worry about all the things you're feeling. Our physics are slightly different from yours."
Kasumi frowned. "Huh." She looked around. "This is going to kill us, isn't it?"
The hologram laughed. "And that's the first thing you think?" it asked. It then shook its head. "No, you're not going to die here. If you were in any danger of dying in this galaxy, we'd never be able to set foot in yours." It then paused. "Besides, some of your kind have already stepped through that threshold."
Valentine nodded. "Right," he said. "Not easy to remember when you suddenly feel completely different for no reason."
"As we thought," the exion replied. It then looked out of the ship again. "Well, you'll see our Obschesto soon. You will know it as soon as you see it."
The pilot turned his attention back to the frontmost ship of the formation, watching as it fired another of those hyperspace bombs. The light around this one was a diffuse combination of violet and some color he had no name for: the light was disorienting to look at, and after a little bit Valentine placed his sunglasses back on his head.
However, the sight that greeted the group on the other side was something that caused the whole group to look forward.
Before them was a large place, maybe just under the size of the Citadel. It was a large sphere, defined as such by the way five little strips of metal seemed to meet up at two ends. Inside one of the points of the sphere were all five of the rivulets met, the pilot could see a tower that stretched up, perhaps about an eighth of the way up the sphere's radius. He leaned forward, seeing the large mass of ships that moved about the airspace.
"This..." Valentine blinked.
Legion's flashlight head moved. "Our calculations suppose this to be this galaxy's equivalent to Citadel," it said.
"You would be right," said the exion. He then gestured to them. "Hope you like the way it looks. This will be your home for the rest of your life."
"I'd like to see you try to keep me in one place," Kasumi replied.
"I'd like to see you try to escape," the hologram fired back. "Now... we will dock, and there will be officers present to arrest you. You try anything funny, you're dead."
Valentine growled. "Why not just kill us and keep your secret safe?" he asked.
"You have valuable information, of course," the hologram replied. "We know someone sent you to investigate the crash site. We want to know who it is that sent you."
"Good luck getting that out of us," Kasumi replied with a wink.
"Cocky," said the hologram. "You'll eat those words, human." The exion then turned. "We'll be docking in about ten minutes. And until then, we can't have you looking around the rest of the ship."
And with this, the three heard a mechanism tick behind them. Valentine looked back, seeing the door into the rest of the Lying Bastard locking behind them. All three of the cockpit's occupants turned to see the door panel turn red, before Valentine shook his head, looking back at the hologram.
"Aw, and here I thought we'd get to enact the escape plan!" he said.
Legion turned to the pilot. "This platform was not aware there was an escape plan," the geth said.
Kasumi frowned. She opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it, before she turned to the hologram. "We'll get out of here somehow," she said.
"No you won't," said the exion. "I thought I told you that already."
"Well, funny thing about humans," said Valentine. "We don't give up."
The hologram chuckled bitterly. "We know that all too well, human," it replied, its voice suddenly tinged with anger. "We know that all too well."
And then, the hologram remained silent. The Lying Bastard cruised on, Valentine watching as they approached the large sphere.
They docked about ten minutes later. Valentine stood up, looking over at Kasumi. The thief gave a stretch, leaning back as she moved her hands as if to attempt to touch the bulkhead behind her.
"Well, here we are," said Valentine as he glanced out the window at the harsh painted metal outside the viewport. "Looks like we got here way sooner than expected."
"You don't say," said Kasumi as she pulled herself back to an upright position. She then glanced over at the hologram. "Are you sure we should be talking too much in front of that guy?"
"It won't make a difference," said the exion.
Legion looked over at Valentine. "We detect several life signatures outside of this cockpit," the geth replied. "The exact number is unknown."
"I bet they're just as unknown what they look like." Valentine scoffed. "I never thought I'd get locked up with a damn geth."
"Alert: we have reached the same conclusion," Legion noted.
Before anyone else could comment, however, the door pane to the airlock turned green. A split second later, the door opened. Valentine and Kasumi gasped in shock at what they saw, Legion's head plates moving instantly.
The beings that stepped into the cockpit looked rather familiar to Valentine: in appearance, they were a species that looked rather similar to the velociraptor. The curved toe claw, the dark scaly skin of varying colors, the shape of the leg, even the contour of their unusually long tails screamed of an older dinosaur. And yet, they looked more humanoid, the arms a little more fully built and the eyes a little less feral. They walked in, wearing simple grey armor; they had assault rifles trained on Valentine and Kasumi. In total, two of them entered the ship, but Valentine saw a third of these lizardmen inside the airlock.
This third one stood in the airlock for a couple of seconds, before he stepped in, standing completely upright. This one was dressed in the same armor as the other two, but Valentine noticed that there was an ornate metallic badge melted onto the armor on his breast. It seemed rather similar to most medals he saw on the Alliance, if it relied on stars rather than the strange seven-pointed staff that was featured on the lizard's badge. This being held himself proudly, his snout turned up and his hands held behind his back with no tension in his arms. His gaze was directed down at them, and Valentine could vaguely hear this third one's toe claw tapping against the floor.
The pilot almost spoke up to mind the floor of the ship, but he thought better of it as soon as he saw this raptor's annoyed gaze.
"Here they are, Admiral Kalpalan," said the exion. "These're the guys."
The admiral scoffed mirthlessly. "And they even have one of those geth toys," he said. "First Saren, now you?"
"I'll have you know this one sprang up on us," Kasumi replied.
"Affirmative," said Legion. "This platform formed an alliance with this group. We are not the heretic geth."
The tall lizard immediately frowned. "Heretic geth?" he asked.
Valentine chuckled. "Right?" he asked. "I found it hard to believe too."
"Based on our data, we have reason to believe that the pilot of this vessel does not believe it now," Legion added.
"I can't blame you," said the admiral. He then turned to the two humans. "But I digress." His features settled on a frown as he leaned forward. "You have been a pain in our side. You among all others have managed to discover too much about our information network, and according to the timing of your arrival your affiliation is suspicious."
Kasumi glanced to the side. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said. "I'm just here for the free jewels."
The admiral whirled on Kasumi, his teeth baring slightly. "Don't play coy with me, human," he snarled. He then stood proudly, looking down at the two of them. "I normally don't like to clean up the messes the DGI has left behind, but this time they've left me no choice. We're the only ones with the facilities to hold all of you." He then frowned. "And don't deny there are more people on this ship. We know there are others."
Valentine frowned. "Really?" he asked. "I wouldn't be too sure of that."
Legion turned to Valentine, pausing as it took stock of Valentine's stance.
"Of course I wouldn't be," he said. He then stepped back, looking to the lizardman behind him to the right. "Private! Search the ship!"
"Yes, sir!" The soldier saluted, stowing his assault rifle before pulling a small device from his utility belt. He then stepped through the door into the rest of the Lying Bastard.
Valentine frowned, looking at the lizard as the doors closed behind him. "And what was that?" he asked.
"Thermal scanner," said the admiral. "Your people can't hide behind anything with that thing."
Valentine swallowed, but otherwise he gave no indication of his worry. "I see..." he said, his voice trailing off a little. He then glanced out the window, before looking back at the admiral. "So... what are you?"
"Hmph, you have to ask?" the admiral said.
"Yeah, actually," said Kasumi.
"Hmph." The major snorted. "I doubt humanity would forget the face of the praetorin so easily."
"Praetorin?" Kasumi looked at the lizardmen, breathing in. "Huh. Guess that's more to add to the bestiary."
The admiral frowned, his gaze turning to Kasumi. "You do not remember?" he asked.
"Well, I wasn't involved in whatever happened," said Kasumi. "So no, I can't remember what I never heard about in the first place."
The admiral's frown deepened. "Interesting..." He then tapped his toe claws. "I guess I know what to look forward to in the interrogation, then." He then turned away, his long tail brushing the floor beneath it. "No matter. We'll get you to talk eventually. The DGI will be handling the interrogation, and if they fail then it falls to me to interrogate you. And we have our ways..."
Valentine chuckled nervously. "That... does not sound terribly comforting," he said.
"It shouldn't be," the admiral replied. He then crossed his arms behind his back. He then remained silent, a cold sweat travelling down Valentine's brow.
And then, after a minute that seemed to drag on longer than it actually did, the door to the rest of the Lying Bastard opened. The praetorin private stepped in, a confused look on his face.
"Uh... sir?" the private asked. "The DGI counted... five others in that group, right, sir?"
The admiral turned, his brows creasing in concern. "They did, private," said the admiral. "Why?"
"Uh... Well, sir..." The private nervously shook his head, offering the thermal scanner. "We can't find them anywhere. Even with the thermal scanner." The admiral moved towards him, but even as he stepped back the private held his hands up defensively. "And before you ask, sir, I ran a diagnostic. The system is clean, as far as I'm concerned!"
Valentine blinked, before he then smirked right at the admiral. "Hm," he said. "I told you not to be so sure that there were others here."
"Quiet!" The admiral turned to the private. "Search again!"
"I did that, sir," said the private.
Kasumi shrugged. "Hey, what do you know?" she said. "They just vanished. Like mist."
Valentine turned to Kasumi. "Funny," he said. "I don't remember you being able to make people disappear like that."
"I have my ways," the thief replied. "You were too busy driving this thing to notice."
"Quiet!" The admiral turned, looking back to the private by the airlock door. "Private, report back to the office. Tell the DGI to sweep the area this ship was captured at, and tell them to sweep the area this ship was carried through."
"Yes, sir," said the private, as he turned towards the airlock while opening a strange little device that was clipped to his utility belt.
"Sir, there was no reported break-in to my data," said the exion as his hologram phased in above the control panel. "They sat here like obedient children. There's no way they escaped through the escape pods."
"And there's a shuttle down there as well, sir," said the private at the door to the rest of the Lying Bastard. "That is still there."
The admiral growled, before turning back to Kasumi. "Then you must have had some way to get them out," he said. He then shook his head. "No matter. We'll get it out of you." He then turned to the private by the door to the rest of the ship. "Private! Arrest them."
"Yes, sir," said the private, stowing the thermal detector on his belt and walking forward. Valentine watched as he produced some handcuffs, before forcing Valentine to his knees and cuffing him.
He smirked. "Kinky," he said. "I always did like to get led to bed in bondage."
The admiral wrinkled his brow in disgust, before turning to the exion hologram. "Your work here is done, Operative Aethon. Report back to the DGI."
"Of course," the exion replied. With this, the hologram petered out, before being replaced with the regular ship controls of the Lying Bastard.
The private had moved on to Kasumi by this point, but as soon as he finished handcuffing Kasumi, he lifted Valentine to his feet. Valentine stood there as the private quickly handcuffed Legion, before he felt the barrel of an assault rifle dig into his back.
"Move, prisoner!" said the private.
"Hey, hey!" said Valentine as he moved towards the airlock. "Watch the back, I have very delicate back muscles!"
The rec room was silent, and for quite some time nobody entered the room. The silence seemed to hang, everything in the room remaining still.
And then, after a few seconds, one of the floor panels shifted. It was then gently pushed out of the way, revealing a hidden compartment underneath. From this compartment, Jodie Holmes emerged, Kalo and Ashley emerging behind her. It took a few more seconds, but Kolyat also emerged, the young drell still remaining crouched.
"And you're sure they're gone," Jodie said as she turned her attention to the air above her.
Aiden clicked rapidly, a sound followed by a soft whoosh. Jodie nodded, climbing out of the floor compartment. The others slowly doing the same thing.
"That was a close one," said Ashley. "I'd really like to avoid any close calls like that in the future."
"I think that sentiment is mutual," Kalo replied. He then turned to the young drell, who had just lifted his feet as Jodie slid the floor panel back into place. "And what of Sura and the prisoner?"
As if on cue, the door opened, Sura gently leading the aqueron into the room. "Accounted for," the cop said. "You know, for a second there I wished Valentine was there with me. I could've made the obvious reference to someone who would actually get it."
Kolyat frowned. "Obvious...?" He shook his head. "What the hell is going on?"
Jodie smiled. "Well, we got into their galaxy," she said. "Not the way we wanted to, but it's better than nothing." She then frowned, crawling to the window and peeking out to see that there were armed soldiers standing guard outside the gangplank to the Lying Bastard. She watched them, motioning to Sura to get on her knees as she looked at the lizard-like guards. "Those don't look like any guys I know."
Kalo peeked over the edge of the window as well. "You do not exaggerate," said the quarian.
"It's a little difficult to, considering the circumstances," said Jodie. She then turned to the others. "Well, the shuttle's untouched. They searched it, but they haven't done anything to it."
"You think we can use that to escape?" asked Ashley.
"Probably, but..." said Jodie. "The second we leave this ship, they're going to come after us. We need to find a way to get out of here without them noticing..."
"And then we go home, right?" asked Kolyat.
Sura shook her head. "No one gets left behind," the asari replied. She then looked to Jodie. "I suppose now's the part where we try and figure out what we need to do to rescue them, where they'll be, and how we'll get in." Sura then turned to the aqueron. "Now if only we had a place to start..."
The aqueron returned Sura's remarks with an unamused glance. "I was never a fan of sarcasm," he replied. "Always seemed childish."
"Sure, because you've never used it before," said Kolyat. He then turned to Jodie. "Can you finally explain to me what the hell is going on here?"
Jodie looked back out the window. "First, we need a plan to get out of here, and we need it now," she said. "But if you want the short version..."
"Aiden is a thing that exists..." Kolyat breathed in, his arms a little shaky. "Ashley... Ashley told me. And..." He looked up. "This is crazy. How is there a whole galaxy that we don't know about?"
Jodie nodded. "That's part of what we're here to find out," she said. She peeked at the guards, before turning back to the aqueron. "They'll be watching us, right?"
"Yes," he said. He then looked out. "This does not surprise me, that they've brought us here."
"You know your way around?" asked Ashley.
"Everyone knows their way around this place," the aqueron replied. "And I have some idea of where they may have gone."
"And you're just going to cooperate with us like that," said Sura.
"If I had my way, I would be dead," the aqueron replied. "But as it stands now, my fate is not in my own hands, and you have elected to keep me alive."
Ashley shrugged. "Well, he's not wrong," she said.
"That he isn't," said Sura. She then nodded. "First things first, though. How are we going to get out of here?"
Jodie rubbed her chin, looking back at the aqueron. "We'll have to get in past wherever customs takes us, right?" she asked.
"Yes," said the aqueron.
"And we don't want to be noticed, right?" asked Jodie.
"Security will swarm you, yes," the aqueron replied.
Jodie then paused, rubbing her chin. "And this place..." Jodie then looked outside. "Are all the parts of that sphere inhabited?"
"Yes," said the aqueron. "They are."
"Do you think..." Jodie paused. "Is there any empty space where we can evade customs? Like, anything underneath this dock, for instance?"
"There may be," said the aqueron. "And if not, there are other holes. You will see this place up close soon..."
Jodie nodded, turning to everyone in the room. "I think I might have an idea." She turned her attention to the door. "Kalo, you're good enough to jury-rig some kind of tether, right?"
"I can certainly try," Kalo replied.
"Then we'll need to raid the science lab," she said. "Save whatever data we can, get everything we can, and then find stuff that we can jury-rig a contraption with."
Everyone's gaze followed Jodie to the door. After a second or so, Ashley turned back, her brows furrowed as she crossed her arms.
"It's a crazy idea, isn't it?" asked Ashley.
Jodie shrugged. "Crazy ideas are the only ones that'll get us out of this mess," she said. "Here's what I'm thinking..."
Kalo knelt down, seeing all of the objects before him. He nodded, grabbing the toolbox and opening it. "Yes," he said. "I could make something out of what we have..."
"Can you make what we asked for?" Jodie asked as she knelt next to him.
"I'd need a little help," Kalo admitted. "Perhaps the gunnery chief can help?"
Ashley shrugged. "Well, you'll have to keep in mind I don't know this tech that well, but if I explain some things I have to trust you to fill in the holes," she said.
"I should be able to do that," said Kalo.
Ashley smiled as she knelt next to the quarian. "Then there we go," she said. "Come on, let's build this thing."
Jodie looked over at Sura as she counted out the rations. "Is there enough?"
"Plenty," said Sura. "It'll be able to tide two people over."
"Excellent." Jodie's gaze turned out towards the window. "Just make sure those guys don't see you, right?"
"Oh, come now, I'm sure the boys would appreciate the view," she said.
Jodie's gaze narrowed. The asari paused for a second, before shrugging. "And that fell flat, didn't it?"
"I would say so." Jodie shook her head. "Make sure to count the rations. Save some for us, but don't give them all away!"
"You think you can find levo food around here?" Sura asked.
Jodie nodded. "I've had to live off the streets before," she said. "I think I'll manage..."
"And this place is completely impenetrable."
"I didn't say that. Only that it would be difficult."
Jodie nodded. "So they have scanners that can detect Aiden."
"And force fields that can keep a spirit from following you into a chamber," the aqueron replied.
Jodie breathed in, remembering what had happened in the underwater base. "Right..." She nodded. "So I'm going to need to bring more than one person if I break in."
"Technically, you would have to coordinate with someone from the inside," said the aqueron. "But two of your hackers are already inside the prison. If they can crack the code..."
"But they'd have to know we're coming for them..." said Jodie as she rubbed her chin. She sighed, before turning back to the aqueron. "We'll have to gather more information. You said the government building is that giant tower in the center of this place, right?"
Ashley handed an OSD to Jodie. "And there it is," Ashley said. "All the research we've managed to compile in this lab."
"On this one disc?" Jodie asked as she took it. "I'm still shocked at how advanced technology is around here."
"No kidding," said Jodie. "And to think, now we'll need to get used to another galaxy's tech!"
Jodie chuckled, smiling at Ashley. "Yeah," she said. She then pocketed the research. "We're taking things with us, of course."
"I'm handling that," said Ashley, patting the approximation of a lightsaber where it was attached to her utility belt. "Good thing we didn't really have anything else."
"Yeah," said Jodie. "It'll make our lives a lot easier." She then looked around. "Anything else?"
"No," said Ashley. "Kalo's almost done with the jury rigging."
"Good," said Jodie. "We'll be able to set off soon, then."
Jodie stepped into the bottom of the ship. After all the hustle and bustle that was happening upstairs, she needed a moment to herself to catch her breath. It had been hectic, mining whatever information she could from the aqueron and making sure Kalo was working quickly. There was also the matter of Sura taking stock of the ship, and Ashley getting as much data from their lab as she could.
Thus, when she went downstairs, she expected there to be some peace and quiet.
However, when she stepped onto the shuttle, she blinked in surprise. There Kolyat was: the young drell sat hunched over on one of the chairs. His head was hanging, his eyes were closed, and his hands were clenched in front of him. The drell shifted uneasily, Jodie noticing that he hadn't flinched upon Jodie entering the shuttle.
Jodie stepped forward delicately, her hand reaching out to him. "Hey."
Kolyat looked up, his eyes a little wet. "Oh," he said. "It's you again."
"Yeah," said Jodie. She then stepped forward, standing in front of the drell. "Hey, you all right?"
The drell paused, his gaze turning to the floor. "I... I don't know..." he said. He leaned forward, his elbows settling on his thighs. "Gods, I don't know..."
Jodie nodded, walking up to the young drell and placing her hand on his shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.
Kolyat sighed. "What would there be to talk about?" asked Kolyat. "You're here, I'm here, we're about to go into hostile enemy territory most of us didn't even know existed, and I've just been taken away from home because apparently some secret galaxy nobody knows about is going to come after me now..." His brow furrowed, and the drell gave a quick, violent flick of his hand. "I'm just gods-damned perfect right now."
Jodie sighed sadly. "I'm sorry you're involved in all this," she said.
"No you're not," he said. "You pulled me deeper into this whole thing, and now I'm going to get chewed up and spat out!" He then held his arms close to him, his expression shifting as his eyebrows softened slightly. "Shit... I don't know how to process all this..."
"It's tough on everyone, kid."
Jodie and Kolyat both turned to Sura. The cop stepped into the shuttle, looking at Kolyat softly.
"Oh," said Kolyat. "It's the cop."
"Yeah," said Sura. She then stood next to Kolyat, holding her hands out in front of her. "I guess you're scared."
"Well no shit," said Kolyat. "What clued you in on that, the fact that I got taken away from my home because you all said I had to go? How the hell am I supposed to take that?" The drell sighed, leaning forward as his expression fell. "And now I'm out in the middle of some place where nobody can find me if I go missing. How the hell am I supposed to take that?"
"I can't say I blame you for being angry and scared," said Sura. "It happens whenever you've been uprooted completely."
Kolyat nodded, closing his eyes. "I just... what if I never see anyone back home again? My friends, my family... And all the places..." He hugged himself, taking a shaky breath in. "This is so fucked up..."
Jodie nodded. "It's tough," she said. "Well, to get uprooted. You're not the only one it's ever happened to." She sighed. "But then, you don't get uprooted into this kind of situation, most of the time."
"No kidding." Kolyat replied, resting his chin on his hands. "I'm so scared..."
"It's okay to be scared," Jodie said. Kolyat looked up at her as she shrugged. "I'm a little scared myself right now."
Kolyat's second set of eyelids nictated. "Really?" he asked.
"We all are," said Sura. "We don't show it, but I think we're all nervous. This plan could fail in so many ways..."
"And if we fail..." Jodie then bit her lower lip. "I try not to think of the worst. You plan for the worst, and hope for the best."
Kolyat breathed in. "Do you really think we can do this?" he asked.
"No," said Jodie. "But until we actually try it, we'll never know, right?"
Kolyat nodded, his eyes closing once again. "Fuck..." Jodie watched as a tear trailed down Kolyat's cheek. "Please, don't let them get me..."
"I won't let them," said Jodie. "Trust me."
And with this, the three occupants of the shuttle bowed their heads. They stayed still for some time, Sura and Jodie standing by Kolyat as he sat hunched over his knees.
And then, Jodie heard Aiden click rather loudly. She looked up, Kolyat and Sura stirring.
Jodie nodded. "Aiden says we're ready," she said. She then looked to Kolyat. "Can you do exactly as I say?"
The drell stood up. "I'll try," he said.
Jodie smiled at him, patting him on the shoulder. "Then come on," she said. "Let's get out of this ship."
Jodie looked over at Sura. "And you'll keep him under wraps, right?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am," said Sura. The asari saluted Jodie and the others as Ashley was helping Kolyat into what would've been Valentine's space suit. The suit was a little big on him, but everyone knew they really didn't have much of a choice.
Jodie checked her helmet one more time. "Good," she said. Now, the issue is, I don't know if I'll be able to help you if they come back."
"They won't be back," said Sura. "Not if I have anything to say about it."
Jodie nodded. "Just be careful," she said. "And watch the prisoner well. He may be cooperating, but he's not really on our side."
"Shame, too," said Sura as she crossed her arms. "He seems like a nice enough guy."
"Perhaps..." Jodie nodded, before turning to Kalo, Ashley, and Kolyat. "Are you all ready?"
"I'm scared, but..." Jodie could see Kolyat gulp. "I'll do my best."
"And we're right behind," said Ashley.
Jodie nodded, looking to Kalo. Next to him was the device he had jury-rigged. "Okay," said Jodie. "Let it go, Kalo."
The quarian nodded, opening his omni-tool. Immediately, the device hummed to life, and before anyone could react four beams of blue energy shot out. Jodie then looked around her, the indigo light surrounding her as she took a step forward. This step seemed to be a little stronger, and she experimentally jumped up to find that gravity worked a little differently inside the bubble: she seemed to float up, her hand reaching out and gently touching the ceiling .
"Well, it's a good thing mass effect technology still works in this place," said Jodie.
"Yes," Kalo agreed as he stood up. "Come. We should not test our luck. Let's go."
Jodie nodded. "Right behind you," she said.
Ashley then knelt down, popping a hatch right in the floor in front of the shuttle. She nodded, seeing the small space between the armor hull and the inner hull. She slipped in first, Kolyat following immediately after. As soon as Kalo was through, Jodie turned back to Sura.
"We'll be back with the others before you know it," she said.
"You better," said Sura. "I don't want to have to kick your ass."
Jodie chuckled, before turning and crawling through the hatch herself. As she did this, she looked around, seeing Kalo crawl through to her right. She followed suit, looking ahead as she turned her omni-tool's flashlight on.
Up ahead, she saw Ashley at the next hatch already. She popped that hatch open, Jodie knowing it opened out underneath the belly of the ship. As soon as Jodie saw Ashley slip through, she picked up the pace, crawling right behind as Kolyat and Kalo both passed through. Finally, she got to the open hatch herself, looking out into the vast void of space beneath her.
She took a breath to steady herself, before crawling out.
The sensation of crawling out was like jumping into a pool: Jodie felt completely weightless, and she would have drifted away if not for the mass effect tether keeping her rigged to the device. Jodie looked to the others, Kolyat grabbing on to Ashley for dear life as Kalo turned his head about.
"Well, this is a new sensation," said Kalo.
"You think?" Kolyat shouted back. "How the hell are you guys sane enough to do this?"
"We're not," said Ashley. "We just stay mostly sane." The gunnery chief turned to Jodie.
Jodie nodded, looking past the docking bay to see a giant curved wall up ahead. The dock was not far away, but there was also a large hole about one and a half times the size of Sovereign just to the right of the dock. Jodie nodded, looking over at Kalo. She then gently brought her hands up to the underbelly, crawling along as she grabbed Kalo's hand. Kalo grabbed back, and they both looked out as Ashley and Kolyat did the same.
"Well, let's do it," she said as Kalo opened his omni-tool. "We engage the mass effect in three... two... one..."
And then, the quarian tapped a button on the omni-tool. The mass effect field suddenly brought all four people lurching forward, Kolyat letting out a scared squeal as the tether launched them. Jodie saw the blue aura around her dissipate immediately, and before long she saw they were approaching the hole.
"Let's hope we calculated this right..." Ashley said as they grew closer.
Jodie nodded, Aiden chirping as they moved closer. The hole approached faster and faster, and Jodie looked over as poor Kolyat huddled even closer to Ashley. Kalo floated along with ease, the quarian turning around to look at Jodie.
"And we should be passing through..." Kalo looked up, Jodie doing the same as well to see they were passing the walls opening in front of them.
"Now."
And then, they passed the first walls of the Obschesto.
The sight took Jodie's breath away. All across the sphere, the five arms opened out, and though Jodie could not see the whole of it she saw that there was all kinds of civilization peppered around. Buildings seemed to rise up all along the five curves of the Obschesto, and Jodie could make out shapes of cars and beings flittering about everywhere. Jodie had to suppress the urge to gasp, the stark white of the buildings contrasting with the greenery that was planted all along the place. Along one of the curves, she could even make out an artificial river that tumbled up towards the top of the sphere.
She blinked, her mouth open wide. "Wow..." she whispered.
"Wow indeed..." Jodie turned to Kolyat, seeing that the drell had let go of Ashley. "Holy shit..."
"This place is huge..." said Ashley. "Wow... Have you ever seen anything like this?"
"No," said Kalo. "And I doubt I ever will again..."
Jodie nodded, before turning down to look at the bottom of the sphere. "And there, exactly as their prisoner had mentioned, was a large, wide tower that seemed to rise up out of the point where the five curves met. It was imposing, bleach-white walls glinting in the light as she noticed the way the regularly-placed windows reflected the light that came into the Obschesto. Jodie blinked, wondering if there was any movement in there at that moment.
"And that's where they are," Jodie said as she pointed to the tower.
Ashley nodded. "The Tayurmya..." she said.
"Gods..." Kolyat said.
Jodie nodded, turning back to the direction they were headed as they approached one of the curves. "And there it is," she said. "The ra'ken district."
"Our hiding spot for now..." Kalo looked to Jodie as they approached. "Do you think we will be able to set up there?"
"We'll have to try our luck," she said. "If our prisoner's information was correct..."
And then, the group approached. From a distance, it was not readily apparent, but as they got closer Jodie began to see that the grand-looking buildings actually had quite a bit of wear and tear. Some buildings had large splotches of vibrant blue rust, and she could see a few dead trees amidst all the living ones that peppered that arm of the Obschesto. As they got closer, she even saw papers littering what walkways were around, and that very few people were around.
"Perfect..." said Jodie. "Aiden, slow us down."
Aiden chirped, before Jodie felt a force act on her. She suddenly slowed down, her hand reaching out for a tree branch as she approached. As soon as she grabbed a hold of this tree branch, she felt the Obschesto's artificial gravity act on her, and the inexorable pull downward caused her to nearly lose her grip on the branch.
She willfully let go, landing on her feet and squatting. However, she then fell back on her butt, though the soil underneath her was able to cushion the impact. She then looked up, seeing Kalo land gracefully on the soil next to her. A second or so later, she heard a loud thud, turning her head immediately to see that Kolyat had faceplanted onto the ground next to them. Ashley then landed next to him, getting to her feet quickly while shaking her head.
The gunnery chief took her helmet off, shaking her head as she clipped it to her utility belt. "I told you not to be too overzealous," she said.
Kolyat shook his head, standing up. "Whatever," he said. "I guess this means nobody saw us."
Jodie stood up, looking around and seeing nothing around her. She then nodded, taking her helmet off. "That sounds about right," she said. She then nodded, looking to Kolyat as Ashley removed his helmet. "Now let's make sure it stays that way."
"Of course," said Kalo. He then looked out, seeing a pathway covered by decaying buildings. "Come. We should move."
Jodie nodded, and then all four of them left the patch of soil they had landed in. They walked down, seeing an alleyway that moved out onto a street. As they moved slowly, they noticed that the alley ended perpendicular to this street. Nobody else was really out, except for maybe one odd-looking being.
As they crept up to the exit of that alley, Jodie had to swallow in surprise. Ahead of them was a beetle-looking creature that walked forward on four limbs. Its whole upper body seemed to be bent forward at about a 40 degree angle, and everyone noticed how this being's short antennae flitted to and fro. Jodie frowned, before noticing the ridges on its forearms and the eyes, red like those of a fly.
She recognized it from her dream, but could not place a name to its species.
She nodded, noticing the being walking away. Jodie nodded, turning her attention back to the others. She glanced behind them, seeing that the other direction out of the alley was clear.
"This way," she said.
She then rushed out, her footsteps quiet as she left. She glanced around the street, seeing another alleyway. She ducked into it, the others following her very quickly. As they ventured deeper into this alley, Kalo glanced in the direction they came from. They moved deeper into the alley, the rust on the walls popping out at them as they moved further in. They followed the alleyway as it twisted between buildings, Jodie keeping one hand on the walls as they moved about.
When they exited the alley, they found it opened out into a circle, in which nobody else was present. Jodie hesitated upon hearing Aiden trill softly, however. She then looked around, glancing at the buildings they were in. Years of decay had caught up with them, and she noticed for the first time that some of the buildings in question looked completely abandoned.
Before Jodie could move, though, Aiden trilled loudly. Jodie blinked, turning in the direction that Aiden had trilled. She then gasped upon seeing a strange craft hovering above the ground. It shone a spotlight directly on the ground, and Jodie even noticed it ducked into the alleyways. The light was also headed straight for them.
Jodie immediately looked around the alley. "Quick!" she whispered. "Hide!"
The others immediately looked out the alley to see the same thing Jodie saw, before they scrambled to find a hiding spot. The alley was littered with all sorts of discarded trash, some of which Kolyat immediately dove under. Jodie shook her head, hoping for the best as she herself ducked behind what looked like a discarded couch. She pressed her back against the side, breathing in as she saw Ashley and Kalo both hide behind the remains of a toppled appliance. Jodie breathed in, Aiden trilling in fright.
And then, Jodie watched as the light shone past them. Jodie pulled her feet in closer, holding her breath as she chanced a glance over at Kalo. She remained perfectly still, even as the light seemed to dwell over them. Jodie turned her attention to Kolyat, and she shook her head as she saw the drell press himself up against the object as much as he could.
Thankfully, before anything could happen, the spotlight pulled away. When Jodie peered past the edge of her hiding spot, she saw the craft continue on. She cautiously crawled out, her limbs relaxing as she moved back towards the mouth of the alley.
Everyone else was beside her in a second. "Well, the area's patrolled by these things," Jodie said.
"Well, to be fair, our prisoner did say that," said Ashley.
"Doesn't stop it from being bad," said Jodie. She looked up. "Come on. I think I know a spot we can set up shop in."
And with this, she crossed the street ahead of them, the other three people following her with quick footsteps.
The door slowly slid open, Jodie admiring how much like a door back in her original galaxy it appeared. However, before she could ponder further, part of the door ground loudly, the right partition of the door coming to a halt.
Kolyat blinked, walking towards it with a frown. "Even the door slots are rusted over," he said. "Does anyone check on these things?"
"Probably not, otherwise all that rust outside wouldn't be there," said Ashley as she stepped through the opening.
Jodie stepped in after her, looking around. There was abandoned furniture strewn all about the single room they entered, and they briefly noticed that the windows were boarded up. She unclipped her helmet from her utility belt, setting it down on a half-destroyed couch.
"Wow..." said Kalo. "From the grandeur I saw outside, I would never have envisioned... this." He shook his head as he stepped through. "Even the Fleet seems to be in better shape than this."
"Well, nobody's been attending to it for a while," Jodie mentioned.
"True..." Kalo said. They heard the door shudder closed behind them. They looked around. "Well, there seems to be no holes any patrol can see through."
"Except the window," said Jodie. "But we should be able to steer clear of that."
Kolyat looked around, sighing as he held his arms together. "Well, I guess we're stuck here," the drell said.
"This does seem to be our base of operations," said Jodie. "I think we'll rest here for a bit, and then I'll go ahead and scout the area. Even if our prisoner's information has been accurate so far, we'll need a bit more of an idea of how to do this. Always see things with your own eyes first."
"But that won't come until morning," said Ashley.
Jodie shook her head. "A lot has happened today," she said.
"No kidding," Kolyat replied. He chuckled mirthlessly, before he looked to the side. "Anywhere I can take this thing off? It's itchy."
Ashley nodded, seeing a door off to the side. "You could try in there," she said.
Kolyat nodded. "Okay," he said. He then walked over to the door, and surprisingly that door opened much quicker.
As soon as Kolyat disappeared, Jodie popped a seal on one of her suits, walking over to the window. She stared out of it, shaking her head at what she saw.
"I didn't think we'd be in another galaxy today," she said. "Holy shit..."
She heard someone come up behind her, and before long she felt a three-fingered hand place itself on her shoulder. She looked up at Kalo, the quarian also looking outside. "We have work to do," Kalo said.
Jodie nodded, crossing her arms as she looked out. "That we do," she said. "That we do..."
And the two of them remained standing at the window, Jodie wondering what would lie in store for them on the Obschesto.
"Young master Sa'lem... Do you truly believe...?"
"Well, it's probably not going to last for long. But you know me."
A young body stood perched over the edge of a balcony. Right at the door to the balcony, a beetle-like creature stood, the man regarding the youth with an apprehensive gaze.
"I do..." The beetle glanced to the ground. "You fail to understand, young master."
"What's there to understand?" the youth asked. "He's a damn coward, Druvak. You know this as well as I do. I just... I can't stand it anymore."
"Then why do you run away?"
"Because I need to get away." The younger man draped his legs over the edge of the balcony. "You can stay. But I'm ordering you not to follow me."
The insect raised a hand, before pausing. He then stepped back, his antennae drooping as he looked to the ground. "Then I cannot stop you, young master," he said.
The younger man smiled. "Thank you," he said. "You'll see me soon enough."
And with this, the young man pushed himself off the edge. As soon as he hit the ground, the youth ran, never once looking back as he climbed out into the rest of the Obschesto.
