Interloper: Chapter 37
"NO!" I repeated. Jenkins stood stock still in the middle of battlefield, his features clouded by a look of confusion. I charged back down the ramp, the battle around me almost forgotten. My friend started a long, slow collapse, falling first to his knees before rolling to the side. I managed to catch him by the shoulders before his head could smack into the ground. He felt heavy, limply flailing against my attempts to haul him to his feet. "Come on, Rick, we've got to get you to the doc." I heaved against the marine's dead weight. My boots scraped uselessly against the concrete floor, causing me to stumble backwards. "Come on!" I yelled. A trio of shots ricocheted off the nearby ground, making me flinch and drop Jenkins. There was a hard rap of boots behind me. Someone was tugging at my arm.
"Drop it, soldier. You can't do him any good anymore." It was Ashley's voice, stern yet ragged.
"No, I can still save him!" I clung to the man's chest, still trying in vain to haul him towards the Normandy.
"He's dead, Deputy." Ashley cried hoarsely. "Now let go."
"I won't! He wasn't supposed to die! You don't understand, I was supposed to fix this!" I tried to pull away from the chief's iron grip. Her next move surprised me. She made a fist with her free hand and brought it down on the back of my helmet hard enough to whip my head around.
"Stow it Marine! You think you're the only one who's lost someone today." I looked up at her, shocked. The tough soldier looked on the verge of tears. "Now get up, he wouldn't have wanted you to throw it all away." I nodded weakly and ceased trying to carry Jenkins' corpse. I rose unsteadily to my feet and allowed Ashley to guide me up the ramp into the safety of the alliance frigate. "This is Chief Williams, all survivors accounted for. Take us out, Joker." I gave the battleground one last look before the cargo doors clamped down, sealing in my mind the last view of a burning tower. I felt the frigate make a dash for space, heard the rumbling roar of a detonation behind us, and slipped down a nearby wall, head in my hands.
The cargo bay held nearly twenty coffins, many of them empty. There had been little time to recover the men and women who had fallen among the coves and on the sands of Virmire. They had been given a funeral none the less, a funeral fit for Viking kings, I though grimly. The white flash of fire had lit the sky behind the Normandy, wiping all evidence of the Geth, the battle, and the dead from the face of the tropical world. I stood before one of the coffins. The black oval was marked; R. L. Jenkins. I placed a slim datadisk on the shiny surface.
"It's hard to let him go, isn't it?" Ashley walked up behind me. "You'll always remember the first friend you lose in combat. I still remember every man in my squad back on Eden Prime. Troy, Mullet, Moran." The chief lapsed into silence. We stood there over Jenkins for a long time. Finally, Ashley bent and pressed her Omni-tool to the flat side of the casket. With a flash, the device lit up the shiny black with a brief orange glow. When she withdrew her hand, she left behind a short inscription in flowing script.
The stream will cease to flow;
The wind will cease to blow;
The clouds will cease to fleet;
The heart will cease to beat;
For all things must die.
"Is that Tennyson?" I guessed.
"Yes." She said quietly, "You read his work?"
"No." I stated simply. "Maybe I should, he seems to have a way with words." That elicited a weak smile from Ashley. "Chief, when you said I wasn't the only one who lost someone…"
"We were… together." The marine said awkwardly. I looked away. Ashley's face looked pained; I didn't mean to make her feel awkward. "He was a great guy, a little hyperactive at times, but funny, and dedicated. He would have wanted to go down fighting." We stood in silence again. I looked back towards Ashley. She was smiling again, as if sharing one more conversation with the fallen soldier. She looked up at me. "You're a mess, Deputy. Go get yourself cleaned up. I'll keep him company for a while." She was right, of course. I had yet to remove the stained and scratched armour. I bid her farewell and walked towards the elevator. It was a short walk to the barrack's sonic shower. The block was empty; the marines had been quick to cleanse themselves of the muck of Virmire. I peeled the hardsuit back and stepped under the showerhead and wished, not for the first time, for a real shower, with water. The sonic effect brushed the dust, sweat, and mud from my skin as well as any water could have, but lacked any of its soothing properties. I stepped out and dressed and looked to my gear. Marines were already filtering back to their bunks, chattering idly. I ignored them and headed for my bunk, hauling my bag of gear behind me. I carefully checked everything, scouring the casings. I stripped my pistol down and put it back together. I was in the middle of breaking down my rifle to its component parts when my Omni-tool chimed.
"Deputy Liddle, it's time for your debriefing." Shepard's voice said.
"I'll be right with you, Commander."
"So what is it that you saw, exactly?" Shepard sat across from me in the cavernous communications room. The rest of the team sat arrayed around the ring of chairs, listening intently. The commander was leaning forward in her chair, across the space between us. I spoke at length, the image of the end of the Protheans, the planet Ilos, and the long lost Mu Relay.
"And that's what this conduit is? The relay that leads to Ilos?" Garrus asked when I stopped speaking.
"I don't think so. I think whatever Saren is looking for is actually on Ilos, he just had to find out how to get there."
"And what makes you so sure of that?" Wrex interjected.
"Look, what I saw, is what I saw. This conduit is definitely on Ilos."
"So what's our next move?" Kaidan spoke up. "If Saren knows where this conduit is, then odds are he was on his way when we hit his base. Now that it's gone, he could already be halfway there."
"We'll have to stop him, of course. We need to stop at the Citadel as soon as possible." Shepard said.
"That may not be a good idea. If Saren's already half way there, we don't have time to travel in the opposite direction." I tried to sound convincing.
"As much as I would love to go another round with Saren," Shepard replied, her hand going to a new scar across her forearm, "the Normandy can't go toe to toe with that Reaper dreadnaught. We'll need Council support."
"Ah, Shepard, the council has been less than helpful dealing with the Reaper threat so far. What makes you think they'll send help now?" Garrus said.
"Garrus is right, Shepard." It was Tali's turn to speak. "A trip to the Citadel now will just put us behind Saren. If we could get there first, maybe find this Conduit and take it off planet before he gets there?" the quarian looked around the room for support. Several other team members nodded their heads in assent. Shepard looked thoughtful. After a long moment, she spoke.
"You're sure we can secure this Conduit if we get there ahead of Saren?" she asked me.
"Yes Commander." I said, securing the conduit would probably require blowing it up, but we had all become quite experienced at that.
"Joker, all speed to the Mu relay." She spoke to the ship's pilot. Turning her attention to us, she looked every member of the team in the eye. "This is it people, we are about to jump into a relative unknown, without support and against the orders of our superiors. If anyone of you wishes to sit this fight out, I'll be more than happy to make arrangements to drop you off before we hit Ilos." Her gaze swept the room.
"I'm with you Shepard." Kaidan was the first to speak. As her second in command it came as little surprise.
"And me," Ashley said with a touch of sadness, "Someone's got to keep this crazy little party alive."
"If it means bagging Saren, I'll follow you to the ends of the galaxy," Garrus said, "You can count me in." Tali muttered similar sentiments. Liara looked determined when she pledged her support, while Wrex simply said. "No way I'm missing out on this action." At last, all eyes fell on me.
"I'm going too." Was all I could think to say.
"Good. Alenko, I want the marines briefed by 2100. Sort out the Everest men; we don't have the authority to order them into the unknown. Ash, sort out transport for the salarians, no doubt they'll want to go home after what they've all been through. The rest of you, take the time from now until we hit the relay to prepare in whatever way suits you. Dismissed."
The door to Liara's quarters was closed. I stood outside hesitantly, hand raised as if to knock but hanging in the air still. The invitation to join her I had received between my fifth and sixth cleanings of my ad hoc battle rifle had not been entirely unexpected, but had left me conflicted. Part of me wanted to rush straight to the Prothean researcher's room and lay all my worries bare at her feet, if just to get them out of my system. Another part had grown even more guarded where it came to my secrets. Even the chance of a melding left me distinctly uncomfortable. Right now, the guarded side was winning. Before it could have its victory though, the door slid open. Liara's bright eyes and nervous face had a disarming effect that prevented me from bolting. She stood smiling shyly in the doorway, wearing her usual pale green coat.
"Michael, I'm glad you came." She said softly. She motioned for me to step through. She caught my hand as I moved past and brought me into another hug. "Virmire was… intense. It made me think. What if this is our last mission?" While her fears closely echoed mine, I tried to put on a brave face.
"Don't speak like that. We're going to get through this. Saren'll wish he never even heard of Eden Prime." I gave the worried asari a light squeeze and pulled away.
"The way you say it, I almost believe you. But I did not invite you here to make dire predictions. Well, in a way. I'm not very good at this.' Liara seemed flustered.
"Why did you invite me?" I probed. Liara let go of me and took a few steps deeper into the room.
"I wanted to talk about… I mean... Oh, I'm no good at this." Liara fumbled for words.
"Hey, don't worry, I'm no romantic myself." I said, guessing her intent. The asari blushed a deeper blue, the effect prettily dappling her face. She looked more confident as she continued.
"I fear you are still light years ahead of me. I have spent much of my life alone. I never even…" She halted, looking sheepish again. She took a step back and took a seat on her bed. I took the chair across from her and gave her a questioning look. "What have you heard of asari… unions?"
"Something about merging nervous systems, a lot like when you absorbed the Cipher?" I asked.
"It's so much more than that." Liara gushed. "It is a… spiritual process. Much more than a normal merging. The sharing of thoughts, emotions, memories, all intertwined into a single, rapturous whole. Or so I've heard, I've never participated, I mean, I would like to." She smiled at me, a small expression that made my heart race.
"Are you asking, me?" I asked quietly, unconsciously leaning closer. Liara's pale green-blue eyes grew wider.
"I didn't mean to presume." She stuttered. "I do not know how humans do such things. I just thought, from our previous meldings…" Her voice faltered. I reached for the Prothean artifact I had taken to wearing around my neck. The fragile looking metal strands still elicited an echo in the Cipher whenever I touched them. And, I realized, in my mind.
"No, I feel it too. It's just, a full union, there are things in my head…" I said, thinking of my other life, the lies I had told. They would most likely horrify the alien girl.
"You do not trust me?" Liara's eyes filled with hurt. It made me feel terrible.
"It's not that, it's just… I can't share this, not with anyone." I said weakly. Liara sat up straight, regaining the properness of the researcher. The softness leached from her voice.
"I see. Is it because I'm an asari?" she spoke plainly.
"What, no." I protested.
"Then why? You've always been so kind. I've felt us grow close. Why do you pull away?" Now the hurt leaked into her tones. She stood, a motion I mirrored.
"Liara, I can't tell you, just believe me, please."
"I thought you were different from all the others." Liara said, "I need to prepare for Ilos, please leave me in peace."
I stood blinking in the light outside the medbay. How could the conversation have gone so wrong? I stepped out onto the deserted crew deck, mind racing. Behind me, I heard the sliding door to Liara's room lock closed. For a long moment I stood stunned. Eventually I floated back towards the barracks. I lay back in my bunk, trying to clear my head, but it refused to quiet. Thoughts of Jenkins, Ilos, and now Liara floated before my tired eyes until I could bear it no longer. I sat up, activating my Omni-tool. For too long I had been happy to slowly and quietly nudge the galaxy along, this time, things would be different. I fired off a message just in time to reach a comm. buoy before the next transition. My work done, I fell into a fitful sleep.
Author's Note:
Alas poor Jenkins, unfortunately he was living on borrowed time as it is. Next chapter will begin the assault of Ilos and the final stretch of this segment of the fic. I want to thank all of you who have kept coming back, you make writing worth it. Until next time.
-Liddle Out