Gamer effect Chapter 34 (Kaos and Magnus) gets starring, The General!
Liara woke up with a start. Her sleep had conjured an humongous amount of nightmarish scenarios: A massive cavern filled with magma, a cavernous chamber covered in a silky and sticky substance secreted by an immense insectoid monster, and of course, being face to face with the creature that used the spectre Vasir like a chewing toy, ready to do unspeakable things to her barely maiden body… all of this made for an spectacular clash to what her eyes found at this very moment…
"Where am I?" Liara weakly asked to no one in particular. Her eyes slowly scanned her surroundings, she was in a very large room, made of beautiful stone, with marble floors; a large wood framed window, opened, allowed both the warm sunlight and a gentle breeze to move the silky curtains in a mesmerizing pattern; The room itself was filled with furniture proper to a high class ambassador, showing luxury and functionality, especially her bed… even being the daughter of a very important matriarch, she just couldn't remember to have used such a luxurious and comfortable bed…
"What happened? I remember being carried away… then nothing…" Liara said to herself, then she got off from the bed, being thankful for being still dressed on her own clothes, that saved her a myriad of fears of being abused while unconscious… she still had fears of what was to come though. With careful and slow steps she approached the window, half expecting to see her companions just waiting for her, as if all the horror inflicted had been either a test or a harmless joke.
"By the Goddess!" Liara gasped, for what greeted her was a beautiful sight of a wonderful city that perfectly blend the ancient buildings and the technological wonders, regal ancestry and almost magical miracles of a science that was beyond the wildest dreams of every sentient being in citadel space, her eyes tried in vain to take on everything at the same time, the stone walls and forests, the vehicles hovering at different altitudes, ancient knights armed with swords and shields marching on streets where people used holographic interfaces to trade… it was what she dreamed her homeworld should be, instead of the growing technological mass of urbanization, which slowly eats away all the natural beauty and the arts of the planet. Liara's ramblings were put to an abrupt stop when a gentle knock on her door gained her attention.
"Are you awake? May I come in?" A gentle voice came from behind the door, and Liara couldn't help but to try to be friendly… it's not like that creature was the one who was to enter, right?
"Y-Yes… you may come in." Liara replied, albeit incredibly nervous. When the door opened, she was thankful to find that it was a female human, a tad bit shorter than her, white skin, dirty blond hair tied in a bun, her dress seemed a little bit on the humble side, not because the material seemed cheap, in fact, she could tell it could stop a blade without much trouble, but it looked… dingy… however, her blue eyes were another story, while her body language and clothes made her look completely harmless, those pretty blue eyes spoke of a perturbed mind, one that was in the process of healing, but dangerous nonetheless.
"It's good to see you well enough to walk, it's not common to see Lady Queelag leave her guests without injury." The woman said with a voice that, despite being kind and soft, left no room to misunderstand her situation, she had been spared, for now.
"I see… thank the goddess I found grace before your lord…" Liara stated, trying to sound as less threatening as possible, however she noticed that the eyes of the woman hardened a little bit, as if not approving her wording.
"Your goddess has no power or authority here. Everything within this realm belongs to the Dark Lord, you should do well on remember that, xeno." The woman stated, just slightly less kind than before, and a ton of respect, even worship toward the Lord of this section of the galaxy, just enough to make Liara worry for her wellbeing.
"My apologies, I meant no disrespect… I'm Liara, by the way, pleased to meet you." Liara tried to apologize, even if she really didn't mean it, and then decided to change topics before her mouth could cause her even more problems.
"Don't worry, young one, it's common for the new arrivals to not know how to pay proper respect toward our Lord. And my name is Anastacia, good to meet you. Now follow me, the Dark Lord is expecting you." Anastacia replied, returning to her kind voice, not that it eased Liara's concern, the idea of being in front of the Dark Lord again filled her with fear, last time she had a full entourage to support her, this time, she didn't know if any of the crew members would be there for her.
15h agoThis part is posted:
During the entire trek, from her room to the throne room, Liara couldn't help herself, there was so much to see, and even touch. Unfortunately, her guide didn't seem to care about her need to stop and see every inch of the building, in fact, she seemed to be in a hurry, although that didn't stop Liara from making at least one question.
"These armors are beautiful; it has to have been expensive to put so much decoration on the palace!" Liara exclaimed, she really meant it as praise, but she almost winced at the thought of it sounding like a masked question to try to measure the resources of her host. Anastacia however did something unexpected for Liara, she stopped dead on her tracks, and turned around to look at her with a face full of confusion…
"Armors… for decorations?" Anastacia asked, and this puzzled Liara even more.
"Yeah, well, the silver armors are beautiful, and they enhance the beauty of the place, but such pieces of artwork cannot be cheap…" Liara tried to elaborate, but decided to not push any further, least the guide loses her patience. Anastacia slowly turned to look at one of the armors, and Liara could almost say that she looked at them for the first time, then, she let out a short, but very dark chuckle…
"Yes… our beautiful decorative armors… the Dark Lord made them, so, they are not only expensive, but invaluable. Worth more than your life, or that of your kind." Anastacia replied, and while it had no hatred, Liara felt that she was being kept alive more for amusement than for political or moral reasons.
As the moved to another part of the palace, some of the armors turned their heads toward the retreating pair, almost as if in their limited intelligence, they had found the comments both funny and insulting.
15h agoThis part is missing too:
The first thing Liara noticed when she arrived to the throne room was that the Dark Lord seemed worried, if the way he was massaging the bridge of his nose was any indication.
"My Lord, I have brought the xeno as you requested. Are you alright? Is there anything I can do to help you?" Anastacia spoke, presenting herself first, and then Liara, although Liara didn't like the word xeno a bit…
"If everything were so simple as to solve it with a kiss…" Magnus spoke, and no one could tell if he said so to Anastacia, Liara, or himself. He had just received the message from Revan, and it had put him on edge. He wasn't worried for the safety of his quadrant, if the squids needed mass relays to reach their targets, then they would take a long time to reach his borders, and by then all the noobs would be united into the largest and most powerful army of the galaxy. What worried him was the influx of refugees, both humans and xenos that were going to bloat his home, disrupting the peaceful coexistence that he had worked so hard to maintain. Then the thought of his peaceful zone being a warzone made him see red.
"My Lord?" Anastacia asked with a voice that seemed eager to be ordered to kiss his worries good bye. Then Magnus turned to look at them, and both Anastacia and Liara flinched.
"I'm afraid that things have been complicated in the galactic stage, and I need to prepare accordingly for the meetings to come." Magnus said with a voice so serious that scared Liara, and worried Anastacia.
"A diplomatic party from my people is coming?" Liara asked, so full of hope that it may have brought a little light to the room… if only Magnus didn't know the truth.
"Indeed it does, but I'm afraid that the schedule for today has been modified to the point where I cannot attend you. Anastacia, please take her to the Duke's archives, I'm pretty certain that even with all the restrictions, she will be able to find a book to entertain herself while she awaits for the diplomatic party." Magnus ordered, and this took Anastacia by surprise, for the Dark Lord doesn't change his schedule unless it's about the direst circumstance.
"Yes, my Lord. It will be done. Now follow me xeno, do not wander on your own." Anastacia answered, and then addressed Liara, who found that warning quite unnerving, just like the warning that Vasir didn't pay attention…
15h agoThe Duke's archives, or how every human had taken to call it, The Tutorial, was what Liara could call a wet dream of the highest order, an immense tower with so many levels that she couldn't distinguish the painting that adorned the ceiling of the colossal building, and on each level, tomes upon tomes of datapads filled with hundreds of terabits worth of information each seemed to call to her, she just couldn't believe it, it made the great library on Thessia look like a news paper stand…
"Well, here is where we depart." Anastacia announced, earning Liara's attention.
"Oh… well… I guess I would be of no damage if I get a book or two, right?" Liara asked, not quite taking her eyes away from the massive quantity of information.
"Leaving a xeno alone? Here? I don't think so. LOGAN!" Anastacia shouted, and for a moment, Liara expected another giant, or some form of guard to be ordered to keep an eye on her, so it was to her great surprise when a male human of no more than 5 feet 6 inches, dressed in a large dark coat, with the largest and foolish looking hat approached them.
"What? What is it? Why do you distract me?" The man asked quite fast, almost like a salarian, yet he seemed more focused on the books he had at his desk than at the matter at hand.
"The Dark Lord ordered this xeno to remain here and entertain herself while waiting for her kind to pick her up. I assume you understand that her status demands certain restrictions on her access of the tutorial, yes?" Anastacia explained, and it was quite obvious she wanted to return to her other duties, whatever they were.
"Oh, right. Well then, return to the Lord, I'll keep an eye on her." Logan replied, although with certain annoyance on his voice.
"I'll take my leave then. Behave yourself, xeno, not many are granted such honor." Anastacia said as good bye, and then walked away full haste, Liara didn't know why, although many would have told her that no one liked to see the Dark Lord stressed, not because he would turn evil, but because to stress him, something terrible had to be at the turn of the corner.
"So, do you want to browse at random, or do you have a particular topic of interest." Logan asked while printing a badge, and Liara said the very first words she says whenever she hits a new bookstore or library.
"Do you have anything on the protheans?" Liara asked with so much eagerness, that she didn't pay attention to her badge said 'Guest', nor to the fact that she didn't notice that it had a picture of her face that she didn't remember to be taken at any point.
15h agoCurrently unnamed shipyard over Rannoch...
Rael, after finding the truth, and after seeing his daughter in danger, decided that he wouldn't be able to remain on his homeworld, so, he had hoped that any of the still in pilgrimage quarians had some hopeful report of a place to go, a place to hide from the General, from the council, and from the impending galactic war that the humans were looking to bring. So it came with great surprise when one quarian, who decided to work at the citadel, sent him a curious report about the Tranquil Water quadrant, about a certain Dark Lord. The title seemed better fit for a villain, or a tyrant, but then again, if the humans believed only in war and power, one that spoke of peaceful coexistence could be easily labeled as evil, and that filled him with hope.
"Provisions, check; antibiotics, check; large amount of credits for bribes, check." Rael was reading the checklist again, while directing the handful of quarians that like him, didn't want to side with The General, either because they suspected darker motives, or because the idea of him dealing with the Geth was frightening enough.
"Dad, where are we going?" Tali asked, she was not afraid to go, Rannoch was no longer a place she wanted to be, her close encounter with death has already left her scarred, but not knowing where they would go was equally frightening, for she heard that returning to a migrant fleet status was not an option.
"Don't worry; we are going to a place where no one will force us to enter war, and where we'll be free..." Rael started, trying to calm his daughter, but a dark chuckle interrupted him, making all the quarians freeze in terror, and Tali flee behind her father.
"And where exactly is this place? It is not within citadel space, for they treat you like thieves. It is not within human space, for there is no such a thing as neutral ground. And I doubt you'll expose her to the terminus systems." The General said, while pointing to Tali at the end, who tried to shrink behind her father a little more. Rael, sensing that everything was lost, felt no need to hide any longer.
"There is one of your kind that sings about peace, that do not treat living beings as tools, one who has gained the loyalty of his allies through good will and fair deals, he will hear our pleas." Rael answered, not that his plans could be ruined anymore, not like the General would suddenly feel generous as to let him go, at least not without reprisal.
"That doesn't sound like anyone who is strong enough to defend himself, Admiral Zorah. Just accept your fate, there is nowhere to go." The General said in a tone that almost sounded like pity.
"I heard different from the council reports, Dark Lord Magnus doesn't sound weak at all." Rael said with what little valor he had left, long gone were his hopes of fleeing now... until he saw the face of the General...
"You... want to go to The Moderator?" The General asked, his wide eyes, the twitch on his mechanical arm, and the lack of a smile pointed to something being extremely wrong. Suddenly he took the checklist from Rael's hands, and began to read it, a frown quickly formed on his face.
"You don't have enough provisions for the whole travel... barely enough medical supplies... the route is not optimal..." The General murmured, and then gave back the list, much to Rael's confusion.
"You will not depart..." The General said with commanding voice that left no room to objections.
"I knew you wouldn't..." Rael started to say with dejection, knowing that they would be punished somehow.
"... until you have more than enough supplies for the voyage, make sure your vessel is in optimal conditions, and ask for whatever repairs or supplies you need, you are only forbidden to take more quarians than those who really want to leave with you." The General finished, and turned to leave.
"You... are giving us permission to go?" Rael asked dumbfounded.
"From slaves to pets, how appropriate." was the General's cryptic response, the chuckle he had arrived with turned into a loud, even darker laugh.