Chapter LII – The Sea Charted
Hundred Waters - Thistle
xxxx
I woke up with my face smeared against my forearm and the dashboard by the copilot's seat. Woke with a jerk and a bit of drool on the corner of my mouth. Stars outside the Ortona windows. Out of FTL.
Jarka was in his usual place, a holo-feed of Galactic Enquirer in unashamed sight. He glanced over his shoulder and nodded at me before going back to reading. "Commander. Currently coasting one relay jump from Illium."
"Great." I mumbled, feeling the temporary dent in my cheek where my armor had dug in. There were better pillows. "Any sign of the Ravers?"
"They must have been happy with the meal we left behind. Despicable or not, you made a good call in leaving those Contractors unharmed. That's blood we saved from our own hands… at least once."
"Sure." I was still waking up. Didn't know how long I'd slept, but it didn't feel like long. Didn't feel that rested.
"Also, Sanya and Tierna wanted to meet with you at some point. While we're coasting might be a good chance to do so in person. And Kyvin, of course. I nearly forget about the Turian."
I stood up and stretched my shoulders. Three commanders on one ship… we should probably fix that one of these days. "Alright. Hail Sanya and them. Can… can we dock up out here?"
"Easier than saying that it's done." The pilot nodded, running wild through haptic controls. "Should be but a few seconds."
"Thanks Jarka." I tapped the back of his chair and then headed down towards the airlock. Didn't have any getting ready to do; I already had my armor and pistol. So I stood in front of the airlock and waited. Sure enough, it wasn't any longer than a few seconds. There was a quiet thump of the other ship and the link, and then the haptic went green. I stepped into the decon field.
It was quiet in between the two ships, and I wondered to myself why we had the need for decon when transferring ships. Not like it was the replacement for a load screen or anything.
When the airlock on the other side opened, it wasn't Sanya or Tierna waiting. It was a young human that I didn't recognize. A chick, probably five years older than I looked, with buzz-cut black hair. Wore medium Lancer armor and smiled even as she looked startled to be face-to-face with the cyborg in Reaper armor. Stood there with hands clasped behind her back. "Commander Jackson. I'm Eva Langley, ground trooper on T'Jaras's squad."
"Eva." I nodded. "What's the word?"
She lost most of the fear from her eyes after hearing me speak, then started to lead down the bridge. "Sanya, Tierna and Kyvin are all going over munitions inventory. From what I've heard, we're good to go for Illium. But we've been running low on rations."
"How low are we talking?" I wondered, realizing the bridge was a lot longer than that of the Ortona.
"Well, we're out of the protein bars from TIER. We've been running on bandit MREs for the last few weeks."
"You were a part of TIER?"
"Yeah. It was a contract for me. Just work. Things are a little different now."
"A little bit." I agreed, realizing there was quite a crowd in the room ahead. Eva was silent as we made our way into the combat center of their ship, where along all the walls there were Lancer troops leaning back or squatting, even one human with a bearish beard laying flat out on his back. Jam packed with Turians, Asari, and Humans. One Batarian. Three Salarians. And in the middle, around the holo-projector, were the three field commanders.
Sanya was standing there, leaning against the holo-projector with the side of her hip, arms folded and grinning with an unlit cigarette stuck in the corner of her mouth. She stayed that way till I got closer. "Commander Jackson. Welcome to our cozy little ship."
I nodded, glancing to Tierna and Kyvin. "Y'all could use more space."
Kyvin, who was a little bit behind the other two, nodded his head in definite agreement. Crowded plus being stuck with Sanya and Tierna was likely enough to test someone's sanity.
"We just need more beds." Tierna shrugged. "Right now there's a rotation for the few bunks we have. I've slept on the floor for the past three nights."
"Steve doesn't seem to have problem with it." Sanya motioned towards the human asleep by the wall.
There were a few chuckles around the room. Eva had left our sides, and was leaning against a bulkhead.
"So. You're faring alright?"
"All things considered, we're doing great." Tierna took a deep breath. "Nothing's ideal, but we're making it work."
"Eva said rations are running low." I pointed out.
"There's that." Sanya grumbled. "Hopefully we can pick something up on Illium."
"Make a point of it. Guns, armor… how ya doing there?"
"Good." Kyvin spoke up. "After the last few missions, we've got plenty of weapons. And a few sets of spare armor."
I nodded, noticing that the three field commanders all carried their Kavarshii weapons – Tierna the orb blaster, Kyvin a Disintegrator rifle, and Sanya a Striker rifle – while the rest of the crew wasn't bad off. I saw quite a few Vindicators, a Model 687 Vintage, a couple Mattocks. Hell, all the troopers I saw looked in good shape. Tired, sure. Armors were clean, eyes clear. They all looked ready for a fight.
"It helps that we haven't had a proper fight since Omega." Tierna noted with calm in her voice. "Zavalon and that station both… you took the heat and we only had to do minor cleanup. Nobody on this ship got hurt since the last Contractor assault on Aria's rock. Well, except Kevla – he cut himself sharpening knives."
A Salarian raised his bandaged hand and waved sheepishly.
"Then you're faring pretty good." I nodded, stared at the holo-projector. "So you're ready for Illium?"
"Ready as we can be." Kyvin noted quietly. "We'll need to resupply quickly either before or after the first fights. If we get trenched in… well, I made sure we left Omega with a good supply of mortar ammo."
"So you're ready for an all-out ground war?"
"Forrest, do you think it'll come to that?" Tierna wondered. Stood there with a hand on her hip. On the detcord that she'd taken to carrying around.
"I don't know. There's a pretty high likelihood."
About then there was a click. Sanya's lighter. Didn't even get the chance to light her cigarette before Tierna spun around. "Sanya! Not in here!"
The Asari with the speckled fringe paused, lighter in one hand as she stared down Tierna for several seconds. Finally killed the flame and tucked it back into her belt without looking down. "I forgot."
Kyvin watched the whole thing with his talons under his chin. Looked awful ready to have his own ship.
The two Asari commanders both shook their heads and sighed. Looked back to me. Tierna spoke first. "If it comes to ground combat, we'll be ready. We've got strong squads."
"Agreed. Our troops are as competent as any commando unit." Sanya shrugged. She'd kept the cigarette in the corner of her mouth.
"Just remember…" Kyvin made a click. "Mortar support."
"I figure it goes without saying, but be ready for anything." I glanced around at all the troopers watching us, even Tierna's former Blood Thorns huddled in the back corner. "We might have to infiltrate, and we might have to dig in and hold ground."
"We've had to do both." The explosives tech shrugged. "I'll just make sure we have extra explosives."
"Yeah. And I think somewhere TIER had satellite images of some of the Illium Badlands. I'll see if we can dig those up."
"Say." Sanya began, absentmindedly tapping a finger on her arm. "That Contractor station was right where I said it would be, huh?"
Tierna sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Yeah. I was meaning to ask… how'd you figure that one out?"
"It was a good location. Low traffic, out of the main routes between relays. Yet still close enough to be a good shipping point."
"Sure, but space is big. You had exact coordinates." I wasn't suspicious, even if I should have been. I was curious. Maybe she'd emulated the Contractor's though process well enough that…
"I guessed."
"We pulled it off somehow." I shook my head. "Next time I'd like a little more evidence."
"I'm sorry, commander." Sanya actually looked down. "I thought there would have been more useful storage there."
"Hey, at least it wasn't a complete waste of time." Tierna deadpanned.
Sanya didn't even seem bothered.
xxxx
It didn't seem like a good idea for me to go aboard the Retryna while we were still coasting. But I was going for it anyway. Standing there in the airlock with my right fist clenched and my left loose, making sure all my systems were good to go, with kinetic plating active and fully charged, all processes ready to overclock at a single thought, and in the confined space I wouldn't need a the needle revolver on my hip if things got rough – I had biotic blades, and my armor alone was probably enough to take down three commandos with brute force alone.
Sad that I had actually thought it through that far – that I thought I might have to fight the commandos and Rana. Rana or Tyva; I wasn't sure which I'd see on the other side of the decon field. I stood and waited.
The haptic went green and the door opened.
A single Asari in grey and yellow light armor, head slightly bowed. No weapons. Hands clasped in front of her hips. And the face I knew – navy blue markings and brown eyes.
I realized I might have gotten a tad too close when I could make out the reflection of my cybernetic eyes in hers, but we both just stood there as the door shut behind me. "Hey."
"Hey." She returned, looking me over and nodding slowly. "I'm grateful for the opportunity to talk in peace."
"Might be the last time for a while." I snorted and made some effort at a smile. Finally got my eyes off of Rana long enough to suss up the bridge of the Asari ship. Definitely Asari – rounded edges, a more flowing feel to the bridge than that of utilitarian ships like the Ortona. Reminded me of Thessian architecture. No sign of trouble.
"It may be. Illium is going to be challenging." She shook her head, then turned and took slow strides down the bridge. Left room for me to walk to her right.
The bridge stayed a narrow hallway. I realized about twenty paces down that the ship itself widened out, with a medbay on the left and a mess hall on the right, but they were enclosed. Close access for resupply, maybe. Not a whole lot of room for conferences like in the combat centers I was used to. "How long you had the Retryna?"
"Since… Since Tyva." Rana replied while looking ahead. Stopped at the next door to the left and activated a small holo off to the side. DNA recognition. Then the door opened.
A bunk cabin. Well, there was only one bed at the far back. A short divider wall, then a desk with two chairs closest to the door. Humbly furnished. A statue of Athame on the table, a weapon rack near the bed. Unfurnished metal walls. Got closer and noticed a picture frame on the table too – small, but of Rana and a Turian I didn't recognize. Looked like it was from some formal event, but older. I kept my eyes moving around the room, but damned if I wasn't curious about the Turian in the now-Spectre's arms.
"I'd offer you a drink," Ran chuckled quietly as she gestured to one of the seats as she took the other one, "But I'm afraid we don't have anything interesting on this ship."
"It's fine. Best I get away from Delina's influence for a little while." I joked quiet as I sat down half sideways in the chair, keeping one foot under me in case I had to move in a hurry.
"I'm only surprised that she didn't kill you."
"Oh, she nearly did. Kept reminding me for a while, too."
"After… After the Citadel, she'd keep muttering about the things she'd do if she ever saw you again."
"Yeah…" There was that bad feeling in my gut. Didn't take long. "Kaira was pretty chill about the whole thing… considering I mutinied on her."
"So you've seen her."
"Yeah. A Justicar now."
"Oh goddess. I believe I know what you are talking about – the one creating a storm on Omega?"
"None other."
"Does she know what you're doing?"
"What, the assault?"
Rana nodded.
"I asked if she'd assist." Snorted and shook my head. Looked down at my hands.
"I never told a person about the demise of the 517th. It's almost fortunate that you weren't there to see – not as though… that came across wrong."
I was staring at the transition between wall and floor next to the door. No telling how she meant for it to come across. "Well… things probably would have been different."
"Perhaps, and perhaps not. If… I do not like this hypothetical, but if you survived alongside us – what would have happened then? With all four of us knowing that you were a Sentinel, even partly Azarith?"
"I don't know."
"I don't believe you would have hurt any of us."
"On the Citadel, didn't I nearly put a blade into your neck?"
Rana stared back at me for several seconds with a look that shielded her thoughts all too well. Then she shook her head. "Forrest… That was a long time ago, but I'm certain I would remember that. The thing I remember is… you telling me to leave while you turned a pistol over in your hands."
I stared at the Asari sitting across the table, trying to sort my memories out. Had I really let my imagination weave in that easily, or – wait. Was that the corruption Azarith talked about? The first signs of decay from the two of us bickering over limited hardware? But I remembered the Citadel, all right. Sitting there on the steps to the Presidium chambers with Rana there next to me and a revolver in my right hand. "I… yeah."
"You would have ended yourself, wouldn't you?"
I nodded slowly. Remembered my logic of self-termination. The thought of sending a shaving through my head made me sick – no, somewhere so far beyond I couldn't even quite tell what it made me feel. And that was nothing compared to the thought of killing my team while a Reaper pulled my strings. "Sorry. The whole blade thing… It's the same nightmare over and over."
The engineer didn't say a word.
"It's on Hyetiana. The old Contractor base. The fighter docks. I'm on my way out of the place, just about to get a ship. Then you step out in front, trying to stop me, trying to talk some reason. And I go for my combat knife." I paused staring at the floor, leaning over tight-woven hands, wondering why I was telling her about… something my imagination created. "There's just one swing with the knife, then… Then I keep walking. And it ends with this hollow thud behind me."
By the time I was done and looked up, Rana was staring at the corner of the table with the back of her hand over her mouth. Silent for a second. "You would probably be able to answer this to the best of anyone. Did… Did Azarith intend to hurt any of us? Of the 517th?"
"No." I breathed out and looked up. Met Rana's gaze. "If anything… well, he admitted to actually liking you."
Rana must have tried to show no expression. Almost worked except for the way her brow jumped. "And you're certain he's dead?"
"Contractor engineers deleted his runtimes. So yeah."
"What?!" She barely stayed in her chair. One hand grabbed the side of the table like she was going to leap up. But she stayed sitting.
"We went up against the Contractor himself. And he kicked our ass. Took me with the intent to make another Mk.25."
"Goddess, Forrest…" Rana seemed a little paler as she leaned back in her chair. "Why didn't you mention this earlier?"
"Other things going on." I shrugged. "But… yeah. Azarith got wiped. Just when we were on the same page."
"You saw eye-to-eye with ...him?"
"Finally, yeah."
"Then you tell me: was he protecting us?"
I nodded.
Rana shook her head slowly. Absorbing new information.
"You're right, though." I stared at the bottom of the door as I spoke. "Azarith isn't fully dead. We spent too much time on the same hardware."
The engineer called softly. "Azarith."
And I looked up as though it was my own name.
There was a hint of a smile on the Asari's face. She'd proven the point, but her reaction wasn't the one I expected. It wasn't fear like on the Citadel when things came down back in the day, and it wasn't even spiteful. Almost seemed like…relief. "Just think… where would we be if it weren't for the Reaper Azarith? If he had not meddled with us?"
"Still on earth." I snorted. Sure beats the hell out of the way things could have been… I always wanted to see the stars.
"Goddess… The 517th would have been another border unit that faded away."
"Probably still would have been a Contractor. Yippy-ky-aye there."
"And… No Riva."
I held down laugh because that seemed strange. But it was true. "No Riva."
Rana was silent then. Staring at the table with a distant glaze and what almost looked like a smile still.
"Every time I talk to her about…your falling out, more details pop up. Like… what'd she say you were – hyper-controlling and delusional?"
Rana let a sight and then… chuckled. "I remember too well. Her exact words were; 'a hyper-controlling, overtly delusional bitch bound for long-overdue disaster."
"Wow. That's got a ring to it."
"Her father was a poet, I suppose."
I laughed to myself, and decided not to make a snarky comment about her blaming everything on me.
"I'm afraid there's a lot she doesn't know." Rana admitted, sitting there perfectly still. "Mostly on the accord that I didn't want her to know, but there were things that… I didn't know how to explain. Maybe I still do not."
"Like what?"
"For the entire time she was growing up, even well past when she should have been traveling through the Traverse, High Command had her labeled as an 'avoidable security threat.'"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Since they knew her father was a non-classified alien… it meant they feared her. At least the prospect of her venturing off and falling in amidst pirates or worse, becoming a terrorist. In order to keep my rank, much less advance, they made me keep her 'safe.'" Rana bit her tongue for a moment. "Goddess, I shouldn't have tried so hard – not to appease Command. At the time I believed they had a legitimate concern."
I snorted. "So is she still a whatever threat?"
"No, and hasn't been for nearly thirty years. There were several scandals that tore up High Command, and in the fallout they did away with listing potential threats on such insubstantial grounds. The Council actually drove the reform."
"Huh." Shaking my head, I sat there and tried to think how that would have translated to Riva's world. "So that why she ended up pinned down?"
"Mostly, but in truth it was my fault directly. I truly did want to keep her safe and help her in creating a life that was different from my own. I thought that if she understood the toll of being a commando she would reconsider. Yet I was never able to communicate that. I was deployed most of the time, and the few days we got to spend together were between major assignments."
"I think you told her enough to just get her interest up."
"Oh, I'm well aware. There was a point where I even tried to convince Command to let her into basic, on the pretense that she would be less of a 'threat' within the system." Rana scoffed. The conviction when she said threat was enough to make my neck-hairs stand up. The bitterness was new.
"Well." I guffawed. "She's definitely a threat now. Little bit of training went a long way."
"Seeing her fight on Zavalon… goddess, she's more adept at fighting than I could have imagined. You and her understand exactly where the other is and what they're doing. It's been decades since I've seen that in any team."
"That's kind of all the Lancers, though. They all know what to do when shit gets real."
"You still do not like to take credit. Even after all these years."
I chuckled and shrugged it off. "So you know she changed her last name after joining the Lancers?"
"Delina made a snide remark about there being two Jacksons on the squad. If RIva believes that is the distance she needs…" Rana in turn shook her head. Then looked to me with a smirk. "So long as that wasn't your doing."
"Uh-uh. Wasn't my idea."
"You seem less than thrilled. Wouldn't you find it an honor – your long lost daughter taking on your surname after only a month?"
"I liked that part. It was the symbolism that I didn't like. The part about trying to spite, ya know?"
"I know all too well. It may be excessive to ask, but I hope that your influence brings her to at least speak with me again."
"Yeah. I'll see what I can do." Ended up glancing over at the picture of her and Turian again, and gestured towards it. "So, who's the Turian?"
Rana went silent, shifting her gaze over to the picture as her face went blank. "That was Lanyr. A black-ops commander, and the first person I knew to be killed by the second Contractor."
Recognition dawned on me then, and I silently formed the word "oh…" as I stared at the picture. The transition from rising jealousy (or something close to) and understanding was fast. "So what happened?"
"He did what you or I would have done. Explored strange leads, and ended close to uncovering the Contractor in 2168. Of course, he didn't know what he was routing from the den and it never crossed my mind that the Contractor would reemerge.
"We were walking along a Thessia plaza and he was explaining what he had found – a mining site propped up with radio signals and every possible sign of life, but not a person there. He didn't know what to think, and neither did I. Not a few seconds later, he fell dead. A sniper round to the back of the fringe."
"Oh god."
"That was why I started venturing further out and looking for obscure signals. And that was exactly why Rana disappeared with the AMF Nehulia."
"And Tyva started working her way into the system."
Rana nodded slowly, staring at her armored hand sitting there on the table. Not quite melancholy, but not quite right either. "So, what is our course from here?"
"Illium's not that far out. Do some raiding there, and move on before it gets too crazy. With any luck we'll be able to push as far as New Citadel. Break up whatever's happening there. Or at least piss 'em off."
Rana giggled and shook her head and she looked down to hide a smirk. "Apologies. I wasn't referring to the current assault."
"Oooh." I realized. "I dunno. Where do we go from here? We pretty much got the band back together, Rana."
"So we have. It's still so bizarre to have you back."
"I'm not complaining."
"No, I can't say I am either. I missed you for many years."
"Did having Riva around make it harder or easier?"
Rana paused as she looked at me. "Perhaps easier for me, but it also burdened her. She reminded me so much of you that at times… I treated her with that image in mind."
I nodded, impressed with how well she seemed to handle the entire situation. Like the Rana I used to know.
"About what Delina said…" Rana got noticeably uncomfortable, shifting in her seat and fiddling with her hands on the table. "…That I messed up the meld our night on the Citadel. I… well. It wasn't accidental. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, because I knew what I was accomplishing."
"Huh." I'd figured the link that night felt different just because of the pretense. And I thought it about it there – we fought both the Contractor and a Sovereign-controlled Banthor after that. All of us, Rana included, took some serious blows. "Riva didn't get an easy start."
"I reinforced my armor and added shock buffers." She admitted sheepishly. "I know it was stupid to bring a daughter into the world at that time, but I wouldn't steer from the prospect. The thought alone would make me giddy at times."
"It's not stupid. It's just… you did a really good job of hiding all that. When were you going to tell me?"
"I feared that if I told you before the Contractor fell, you would worry more than was feasible. So on Hyetiana, after you left saying you were checking on Ryala… I followed but a minute later. I was to tell you then. As it was… I never told anyone else."
"So you gonna tell Delina all that now?"
"Goddess no. I doubt I'll hear the end as it is. I need not give her more artillery."
About then, the door beeped. My hand dropped to my pistol on first instinct, but I had to soften as Rana answered. "Come in!"
Both of her commandos. One right in front of the open door, and the other a meter or so off. The first looked to Rana and nodded. "Sorry to interrupt. You've got a transmission from the Council."
Rana let out a long breath, then turned her head towards me. Almost looked like she was in pain from the thought.
"You should probably take that."
"I'm sorry to cut our meeting short."
"Eh. At least we're on the right track." I shrugged and then slowly stood up. Wincing a little on the way – my shins hurt from sitting too long.
The second commando in the doorway had been staring the entire time, but when I rose the first shifted back and looked me over once. Alarm in her eyes as she stared at the Berserker armor. "That's… that's Reaper-made, isn't it?"
"What, me or the armor?" I joked as I started forward, Rana ushering me out of the room. The two commandos didn't say another word, but made plenty of room to let me down the hallway. For a split second, as I passed between the two, I wondered if they were going to strike. Sure felt like they wanted to.
"I will let you know if I continue to have Council support." Rana mused.
"Yeah. Good luck." Maybe I was paranoid, because the two commandos were looking to Rana for direction and still not attacking me. Maybe the planted agent left a real bad taste.
Rana stopped there by one of the doors, leaving me to the bridge ahead. "I will see you soon."
I paused and looked back. Dipped my head to agree. "Hell yeah."
And with that, Rana turned into a side room to receive the transmission and I turned and headed on up the bridge. The two commandos stayed there in the middle of the hallway, their whisperings fading as I made it up the bridge and finally to the airlock.
Standing there as the decontamination field did its work, I let out a long sigh of relief. We were on the right track. Rana was – well, talking to her the second time wasn't nearly as disheartening. I actually… felt good about the whole deal. Like I wanted to spend more time with her again.
And then my omni-tool pinged.
One text from Sanya. I wondered what the hell she could have wanted, and I opened it despite my best judgment.
Commander – The next time we're docked, we should take a walk and discuss a matter. No, it's not another Contractor base – but close.
-Sanya.
I closed my omni-tool and shook my head. That was going to be an interesting walk.
xxxx
