*ILOS*
REFUGEE SYSTEM
PANGEAN EXPANSE
"Well, there it is then." Solana's shoulders slumped and her head bowed dejectedly. "This whole trip has been for nothing."
Ha'nah Shepard scratched her head absent-mindedly. "He thought I was Oma Hannah, then he thought I was my mom," she said slowly. "He even thought my mother was the Shadow Broker!"
Solana let out a snort of amusement. "Yes, your mother: an intra-galactic crime lord and information broker."
The two friends and pseudo-cousins shared a chuckle at the unlikelihood of such an absurdity.
"We'll get the Normandy repaired, and we'll return back the way we came," the turian said at last. "The Protheans and Mira will surely help, if only to get us off their planet."
"I will take full responsibility," Ha'nah stated resolutely. "I'll tell them…"
"That you kidnapped the ten of us and made us help you steal a ship?" Solana grinned mirthlessly, her mandibles flaring in amusement. "No, little Ha'nah. We both known it won't work that way. We'll face the full consequences of our decisions together. as a crew. As a family."
"Or at least as cellmates."
The two friends turned and made their way back to the campfires, where the rest of the crew could be seen sharing the food of their respective peoples: Kram from Tuchanka, Lola gourds from Palavan. Andrew was introducing two Prothean to Terran Pineapples, while Ha'nah also saw Jeso melons from Thessia on another nearby table. Just on the edge of the firelight, she could see the metallic figure of Mira, looking on at the festive group, smiling. She slowly made her way over and sat down on the turf next to her.
"The machines..." she said finally, more to break the silence than anything else, "You said they are yours?"
"They are… as close as I will ever get to having children," Mira nodded. "I created them to disperse seeds, bacterial cultures, whatever needed to be done to repair this planet's broken ecosystem."
"And a fine job she has done with it, too."
Mira and Ha'nah both whirled to see the dreadlocked figure approaching the campfire. Mira's face broke into a beaming smile and she stood to her feet to hug the figure, now clad from head to toe in golden armor, rather than drab black of before.
"Hello, Ko'le," she said warmly.
"Hello, Mira," the Seneschal of the Prothean Empire answered. "It has been a long time."
"Eight months," the synthetic nodded. "Kevin said you were out looking for Beast."
"And so I was," the now-serene figure bowed at the waist, "Though Kevin tells me that it would seem he beat me back here."
"So it would seem," Mira nodded. "I had to use the Master Words."
An amused scoff escaped the scarred lips. "He will not thank you for that."
"I didn't thank him for trying to kill us, either."
Mira's face suddenly grew concerned.
"Is… is Kevin…?"
"He is here with me," reassured Ko'le. "Would you like to speak to him?"
"Please."
The figure stiffened as a white flash came across his eyes. Then he relaxed into something… familiarly nonchalant.
"Hello, darling," Kevin's voice stated. "I'm here. It would seem that the whole gang is back together."
Ha'nah was surprised that she was getting used to the confusing ebb and flow of the multiple personalities, while Mira cupped a hand on the human's cheek.
"You're wearing your armor again," she said, letting a finger drift down the golden plates covering the Seneschal's chest.
"Yes… Ko'le's idea, you know," nodded Kevin. "Still fits, believe it or not."
"That's because it's an adaptive body-suit, darling," smiled Mira, "You could gain a hundred pounds and it would still fit."
"Gee, way to make a guy feel better."
The white flash came across the eyes again, and then the golden-armored figure gave his full attention to the young asari, something Ha'nah found much more unsettling than she thought she would.
"So… Kevin tells me that you are Ha'nah Shepard, and that you brought the children of the Normandy crew."
"Some of them are, yes," nodded Ha'nah, and then she extended a hand. "It's… good to finally meet you. The real you, I mean. I mean…"
Ko'le lifted a hand to stop the nervous babbling.
"It is quite alright," he soothed, and then turned his head towards the fire. "May I ask you to make an introduction to your crew?"
The Protheans were the first to whirl towards the approaching figures, rising to their feet before crossing their arms over their chests and taking a knee before the golden figure. The Normandy crew, somewhat confusedly, rose to their feet. Ha'nah made introductions, and polite nods were exchanged all around, except when the young Raloian was introduced.
"It is an honor to meet you, Wing-Father of my Name," Korro'le stated, bowing low at the waist.
His namesake smiled, genuine happiness creeping into his expression for the first time since Ha'nah had met him, and returned the gesture. "The honor is mine. Your father was…is… a true friend and wing-brother."
Then the golden figure waved a hand absent-mindedly, and green biotics floated an apple into his hand as he sat down on a nearby crate.
"So tell me, Captain Shepard," he said to Ha'nah, taking a bite of the Terran fruit, "What has become of my Conclave?"
Author's Note: Happy New Year, everyone!
This little snippet was intended to be a Xmas present to all of my readers/reviewers, but then my daughter decided to make her grand entrance to this world, and threw my carefully-arranged schedule to the four winds. :)
Even now, I am holding this little treasure, typing single-handed (which is harder than you think it would be), and I am overwhelmed with gratitude for each and every one of you who has stuck it out with me.
My sincere thanks to all those who have DM'ed me asking for more of the Ko'le saga, and in answer to all of you: I will continue writing as long as people will read it. Right now, I'm still fleshing out my Skyrim Fanfic, as well as trying to edit Beacons' Effect into an actual stand-alone story that might possibly head towards publishing. *fingers crossed.
But in the immediate future, I'm dedicating the lion's share of my time to raising my daughter as best as I know how, and doing my part to introduce her to all these wonderful fandoms when the time comes.
EE-RAH, brothers and sisters!
-Tusken1602
