Mass Effect: Event Horizon
A Mass Effect Fanfiction
By Drussius
Chapter Fifty-Five: Accusations
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Approaching F.O.B. Delta-1…
Selura sat silently in the copilot's chair, watching through the viewport as the shuttle soared over the trees toward the Alliance base. The camp was barely visible as they approached, seen only as brief glimpses of lights or of the sun glinting off of metal. The base was located in sparse woodland, and the twisted trees had large, umbrella-like canopies that hid much of what was beneath them from view. Only the landing field was completely clear of impediments, and they were rapidly approaching that gap in the foliage.
Selura glanced sidelong at her girlfriend, and had to smile at the expression on the quarian's face. Not for one moment thus far did she regret using a clearer visor in the helm of Neela's new suit; she would have been denied such wonderful sights with anything more opaque. The pilot was smiling a serene little smile as she guided the shuttle low over the trees, clearly finding some measure of peace while at the controls of the transport. After all of the misery, frustration and loss that had been heaped upon the poor girl over the past week or so, it filled the asari's heart with warmth to see such a simple expression of joy on that beautiful face.
When they departed from the Prothean ruin, Selura had been assigned to ride in Zaeed's shuttle with the rest of the 'Support Services' unit, which included the engineers, the civilian explosives technician, the geologist, and the doctor. Despite how much she had teased Neela about wanting to ride in the other shuttle, when it actually came to pass, she'd been upset. Thus when they'd touched down on the rooftop during their little diversion to rescue the civilians and soldiers in the city, she'd quickly switched shuttles, joining Neela in the cockpit for the rest of the journey. At that moment, she was very glad she had done so.
"Unidentified vessel, this is Surveillance Unit One, Forward Operations Base Delta-One," a voice announced over the cockpit frequency. "Our spotters have your shuttles tagged as Cerberus aircraft. Divert from your current flight path or we will be forced to open fire."
"Illitha, you should come up here," Selura called over the intercom to the passenger compartment of the shuttle.
"Hold your fire," Neela was already responding to the transmission. "We're not Cerberus. We are an allied unit comprised of independent mercenaries and rescued Alliance personnel. We're carrying civilian refugees. We came to join the offensive in the city. We're requesting permission to land."
"You're in Cerberus shuttles," the voice returned. "We cannot allow you to pass over our airspace for security reasons. Circle around to approach vector 129 and hold for further instructions."
"Acknowledged," Neela turned the shuttle, and Selura watched as the other shuttle banked and followed suit.
The door opened, and Illitha stepped inside, looking at Selura curiously. Selura simply shrugged. She assumed the engineer had heard the entire exchange, and she had no idea what to say. She had never even imagined that they might be turned away because they were in Cerberus shuttles, and apparently no one else had considered it either.
"Surveillance Unit One," Illitha spoke up. "This is Illitha T'Zari. I-I am in command of the forces in these shuttles. These vessels were seized from Cerberus forces at a facility to the south. I am… uh… We are allied vessels carrying Alliance forces. W-We are requesting permission to land and are willing to be met and searched by base security if necessary. Please inform your commanding officer of the situation."
Silence reigned following the transmission, and Selura glanced from Illitha to Neela, trying to guess what they might do if the Alliance wouldn't allow them to land. Joining this big battle the Alliance had been organizing was their only real option for helping the people of Terra Nova. If they were turned away here, would they decide to go seize the Cerberus cruiser and just leave the planet behind? She could see both Zaeed and Captain Nisaria being fine with that choice, but something told her Illitha would not want to go. The idea didn't sit well with Selura either, but she would go wherever Neela decided to go in such an eventuality.
"Permission to land granted," the voice finally returned. "Circle around and approach the landing field from the south. Be advised that anti-aircraft defenses are locked on and tracking. Any deviation from your assigned flight path will be met with defensive fire."
"Understood," Illitha said softly. "Thank you."
The engineer disappeared into the passenger compartment, and Selura exchanged glances with Neela. The quarian looked a little nervous after this unexpected wrinkle, and in truth, Selura was feeling the same way. Something about the start of their introduction to the Alliance forces here did not bode well for the meetings to come.
Selura waited anxiously to get a look at the base, which was only really possible once they were descending upon the airfield itself. The F.O.B. was a compact maze of shipping containers, stacked three-high to form walls that separated various areas from one another. There were signs of permanent structures among the prefabs, and the ground through most of the area was concrete, with a road leading south through the trees, leading the asari to believe that this had been some sort of preexisting complex before the Alliance had chosen to occupy it. A plaza at the end of the road was being used as the airfield, and the Alliance seemed to be using the road as a runway for their fighters to take off and land, judging from the way a few stray fighter craft were parked along its edge. Trucks sporting racks of missiles served as anti-aircraft artillery at the edges of the airfield clearing, and heavy turrets were posted atop the shipping-container walls to give the base added security.
The thing that stood out most to Selura as they descended into the base, however, was the lack of soldiers and vehicles in the area. Given that a major offensive was planned, she had expected to find hundreds or thousands of troops milling around, along with a large number of vehicles and fighters. As she looked around the camp, she was beginning to think that the delay involved with stopping to rescue the civilians and soldiers in the city might have cost them the chance to participate.
"I expected more people," Neela muttered. The quarian had obviously been thinking the same thing.
"Maybe they already started the fighting," Selura suggested.
Neela activated the communications system and opened the preset frequencies Rachel had provided so that they could monitor the assault and work with the Alliance forces during the fighting. She figured that if the fighting had already started, there would be transmissions to prove it.
"Spearhead Alpha in position," a voice on the Alliance frequency announced.
Selura listened as more Alliance teams announced their readiness. Spearhead Alpha through Delta, Bulwark Alpha through Gamma, Overwatch Alpha, Warcry Alpha and Bravo, Whisper Alpha, Wing Alpha through Delta, and Armor Alpha and Bravo were all among the teams to report. As they listened to the radio reports, Selura was both surprised and pleased. She hadn't been sure how much military might the Alliance would have left, but depending on the number of people in each group, it sounded like there could be a sizeable force preparing for the assault to come. The downside was that they had apparently missed the deployment.
Her attention was drawn by a group of Alliance soldiers that was walking out to meet their shuttle. It seemed that this was the security team sent to meet them. She counted eleven people in total. Ten armed marines, with a man in a somewhat disheveled dress uniform at the front of the group. Rising from her seat, she slipped past Neela's chair and headed into the passenger area, weaving her way through the troops that were gathering near the door and joining Illitha and Captain Nisaria at the hatch. The moment it popped open, the three of them hopped down and strode out to meet the advancing soldiers. Beside her, Illitha pulled off her helmet and tucked it beneath her arm. She knew that it was merely a convenient place to keep the helmet while the girl was talking, but the gesture still struck her having a rather military feel to it, and she had to smile.
"Lieutenant-Commander Kosar," the lead officer introduced himself, holding out a hand toward Illitha as she approached. "Are you in charge of this group?"
"Illitha T'Zari," Illitha introduced herself in turn. "Y-Yes. I am the commander of this little group. This is Captain Nisaria," she gestured toward the elder asari in introduction before turning to Selura. "And this is Selura Leneur. W-We rescued some of your men and a few civilians on the way in."
The lieutenant-commander's eyes turned to the shuttles, and he studied the group that was gathering in front of them as the two vehicles emptied of their occupants. After a moment, he nodded his head, a look of satisfaction settling over his features.
"Good work, Ms. T'Zari," he finally said. "I count twelve of our people. We'll get them folded into our command structure immediately."
"What?" Illitha turned to look over her shoulder, and Selura did the same. After a moment, she realized that the man was counting everyone in an Alliance uniform as part of the Alliance forces they had rescued… including Rachel and the marines that were under Illitha's command. Apparently the engineer came to the same realization. "N-No… Only five of those men were rescued. I-I brought the rest. They are my people."
The officer's expression shifted subtly, and he studied them speculatively. Illitha stood still as a statue under his gaze, and Selura resisted the urge to smile. She could tell by the tension in the engineer's posture that she was suppressing the urge to fidget. Even after commanding men in combat, she was still clearly uncomfortable with attention.
"What are you? A Merc? Asari Commando? What?" Kosar finally demanded. "How does an asari come to be fighting on Terra Nova, gathering human forces under her command?"
"D-Does it matter?" Illitha asked. "We came to assist in your offensive. These men and women have all been with me f-for at least a week. S-Some for much longer. We work well together and we trust each other."
"All our battle groups are already getting into position. Deployment for Operation Clarity commenced an hour ago. Why don't you and your people come with me? I'll introduce you to Captain Shirakawa and you and he can discuss the matter of your 'command' over our personnel."
Illitha glanced back at the group, and she nodded slowly. "We need… I-I want to leave some of my people here with the shuttles. Can you authorize refueling?"
"Yeah," Kosar nodded. "Regardless of the decisions that might be made about your Alliance personnel, we've been resupplying everyone who comes to join the offensive."
"Then you can assist with equipment as well? Grenades? Food? Perhaps some armor and helmets for those of my people that do not have them?"
Selura's brows rose at this last request. She hadn't even thought of it. But if the Alliance could supply them with additional weapons and gear, it would be a great help, she knew. They were running very short on supplies. Especially food.
"The munitions prefab is right there, on the edge of the airfield," Kosar pointed to a large structure. "Send your non-Alliance people over there to pick up what you need."
"Thank you," Illitha smiled.
"Talk to your people. But bring our soldiers with you to the meet with the Captain. He'll want to talk to them."
Illitha nodded and turned, walking over to the rest of their group. Selura, however, lingered near the lieutenant-commander, clearing her throat uncertainly. She wanted to ask about dextro-based supplies, but she wasn't sure it would even be worth the time.
"Something I can help you with, Miss?" Kosar asked.
"Uh… We have a quarian in our group. And dextro-based supplies are getting really scarce. I don't suppose you have any dextro-based food in your stockpile?"
"A ton of it," the man said without hesitation. "Help yourself."
"Seriously?" Selura was shocked. "But… How?"
"We were supposed to be hosting a Turian Spec-Ops regiment next month for intercultural training and war games. When the Reapers hit, we cleaned out our storerooms during the evacuation. There wasn't time to sort through it all and take only what we needed," Kosar explained. "That dextro stuff is just taking up space. Take it."
Selura didn't have to be told twice. She glanced toward the munitions prefab, and then back at the rest of her group. Illitha was talking to the people there. Selura smiled at the marine and thanked him, and then hurried back to the gathering by the shuttle. She planned to get Neela's help and stuff the cargo area of the shuttle with as much dextro-based food as it could fit. And finally, she would be able to put to rest her fears of watching her girlfriend starve…
Hills East of Dotterstown…
Aida kept low as she crept up the rocky hillside, keeping a firm grip upon Candice's small hand as they approached the crest of the hill. A thick plume of black smoke was drifting up from the other side of rise, and she had no way of knowing what they would find waiting for them. Harper was just ahead of her, moving swiftly up the incline toward the top of the rise. The human had insisted on taking the lead, and since he was the only trained soldier present, Aida hadn't argued. They had no weapons or equipment, so they had to avoid conflict at all costs. While Aida's biotics could provide limited offense, she knew she didn't have the energy to fight off any significant Reaper force.
It had been a long walk toward Dotterstown from the city following their escape, and Aida was exhausted and starving. They'd been surviving on the occasional handful of berries and some raw root vegetables that grew in the low spots between hills, but it was not nearly enough to make up for the days she'd spent in a cell without food. They had experienced a small bit of luck when they found a couple of water bottles among the ruins of a collapsed building before they left the city behind, but over the course of the journey, the water had been used up. They were now into their second day without water, and thirst was proving a difficult thing to ignore. Harper assured her that they were only a few hours from Dotterstown, but there was no telling what condition the city would be in. Aida thought it unlikely that they would find food or water.
"Keep low!"
The hissed warning from Harper brought Aida's thoughts back to the present, and she dropped to her knees on the rocky hillside, which prompted her small blonde companion to do the same. She crawled slowly up to where Harper was crouched at the hilltop, and she peered down into the valley on the other side of the hill cautiously. As soon as she got a look at what lay beyond, she turned and told Candice to stay down and keep quiet.
An armored transport of some kind was in the valley below, and the rear portion of the vehicle was smoldering. This was the source of the thick column of smoke they'd first spotted. The bodies of Alliance soldiers were spread across the ground, and a handful of Reaper cannibals were feasting upon the corpses. Aida's stomach lurched at the sight. A single Reaper turian was with the group, and it scanned the surrounding hillsides while its fellows enjoyed their meal. Aida ducked low when the turian glanced their way, holding her breath and hoping it hadn't seen them.
"They'll move off eventually," Harper hissed. "When they do, we need to go down there and grab whatever weapons and omni-tools are still intact. If I can get the emergency fire-suppression systems in that transport operational, I might be able to get her running. With a vehicle, we could be in the city in fifteen minutes."
"What if the Reapers do not leave?" Aida asked. Even as she asked the question, however, she got the strange feeling that it was unnecessary, because the Reapers would indeed be leaving. She puzzled over the feeling briefly before shrugging it off. She hoped her instincts were correct.
"They'll leave," Harper assured her. "There's nothing to be gained by standing guard over a burning transport."
Aida nodded, and the trio remained on the hillside, waiting patiently for the Reapers to vacate the area. Every so often, Aida would raise her head and peek over the edge to see if they'd yet moved off. When she finally saw them trudging southward, she smiled. It seemed that luck was finally with them. She just hoped there would be intact canteens among the possessions of the dead soldiers. However, when her gaze turned to the grisly remains of the soldiers below, her smile faded.
Candice does not need to see that, she realized.
"Candice," she turned to the child, smiling reassuringly. "You stay up here, okay?"
"No," the child shook her head. "I wanna stay with you."
"We need you to be our lookout," Aida told her. "You stay up here and keep an eye on the hills to the south. Make sure those Reapers do not come back this way. We will go down and gather the things we need, and then I will come right back up here to join you."
Candice frowned at first, and Aida was sure she would refuse. However, the child finally nodded. Aida smiled, pointing toward the southern hillside, where the child would have a clear view to the south, but no sightline to the gore in the valley below.
"You sit on the south side of the hill, and keep careful watch, okay? If you see anything coming this way, you have to warn us."
Candice nodded and hurried off toward the southern face of the hill. When the child moved off, Aida and Harper exchanged glances and smiled, and the two of them started down the hillside into the valley. The engineer went directly for the transport, opening an exterior access port and studying the panel within. Aida carefully threaded her way among the piles of shredded flesh and bone that were all that remained of the bodies, swallowing her disgust at the sight. She gathered up rifles, pistols, omni-tools, and especially canteens wherever she found them. Once she had an armful of salvaged items, she gave one of the omni-tools to Harper, and she took the rest up to the hillside, sitting down near Candice to sort through it all.
She was delighted to find that most of the canteens were at least half full, and she took a single gulp from one of them, passing a second canteen to the child at her side. She had never imagined that simple water could bring as much joy as it did at that moment, after days without it. She knew that they needed to make the water last, so she cautioned Candice to drink only a little bit, and took one more gulp for herself before closing the lid on her container.
With her thirst lessened for the moment, she picked up an omni-tool and started going through it to see what she could access. It was password protected, but fortunately it had been active when its owner was killed, so the protection was already bypassed. She quickly adjusted the settings, removing the need for the security code, and took stock of the programs on the device. The only combat software installed was an EMP generation program, but that was good enough for her. Any form of offense to supplement her biotics was an improvement, especially in combination with a pistol. Her attention turned to the other installed programs, and she paused when she saw the most recent addition to the list.
"Communications Enhancement Filters?" she muttered. "Did the Alliance figure out how to breach the Reaper jamming signals?"
Curiosity was gnawing at her, so she immediately activated one of the Alliance frequencies stored in the omni's memory. She hoped it was a commonly-used Alliance channel, and that she could gather some information about the situation in the city.
"This is Warcry Alpha," a deep voice greeted her. "We are in position and prepared to make our diversionary assault on the Reaper forces at the water purification plant. Waiting the go signal."
"This is Whisper Alpha," another voice followed the first. "In position, five blocks south of the embassy building. Preparing to advance and make our incursion. Waiting for go signal."
"Spearhead Alpha here," a third voice announced. "Spearhead and Bulwark forces in position on Warcry's south flank. We are ready and awaiting go signal."
"Sounds like a serious offensive is underway," Aida muttered, listening as the reports continued to come in. A few of the units seemed to be out of position, but all of them passed along estimates of their time to position that were under ten minutes. The medic smiled to herself as she listened. Whatever the Alliance was planning, she hoped it went well.
"Do you think the Alliance will beat the Reapers?" Candice asked.
For some reason, that thought filled the asari with disquiet. While she understood the urge to defend their planet, she was sure the humans were making the wrong choice. If they just withdrew from the cities, stopped fighting and went into hiding, the Reapers might spare them. She herself just wanted to find the captain and her friends and get off of this horrible world. If only she knew where to find them…
Wait! These transmissions are clear as can be! Maybe I can contact Lith!
The thought brought tears to her eyes. She had been away from her best friend for so long that it had been painful. The thought of speaking to her right then and there was so comforting that she immediately started to set up a channel to Illitha's omni-tool. However, just when she was about to open the link, she paused.
She could be in danger. A sudden transmission might distract her and cause her to be hurt. Maybe I should just wait… Perhaps I could track her somehow…
She nodded to herself. It was definitely safer to simply track her friend down. She knew Illitha's ID cipher, and Selura had proven on Noveria that such knowledge could be used to trace her to a specific location even through auto-rejections by pinging her omni. She worked to set up a similar system, even though she could barely see what she was doing through tears of longing. She had missed the shy engineer tremendously.
To her vast delight, the initial ping against Illitha's omni-tool indicated that she was somewhere to the west, a short distance south of Dotterstown. It would be an excellent point to travel toward if Harper could get the transport running. Perhaps Illitha was with the Alliance. Or even with the captain! Aida grinned excitedly at the prospect.
"We're in business!" Harper called, and a moment later, the rumble of an engine filled the air.
"I have a destination in mind," Aida called back. "Bring the transport around, and let us get underway!"
F.O.B. Delta-1…
As Illitha returned to the group that waited near the shuttles, she struggled to get her frustration under control. The idea that the Alliance might take the men under her command away from her had occurred to her before, but now it seemed much closer to a reality than a mere possibility. She knew that she had no right to keep them under her command – they were sworn to service in the Alliance, after all – but she cared what became of them. She felt like she owed it to the group to try to keep them together.
"Illitha, what's wrong?" Rachel walked out to meet her as she and the captain approached.
"Th-The lieutenant-commander said they wanted to fold the Alliance soldiers into their command structure," Illitha murmured to the two, hoping that no one else would overhear her. "He… I… I am going to discuss it with the captain in charge, but I am afraid they'll remove you all from my command. The colony security people in our group seem nice, but…"
"You don't really know them," Rachel finished for her.
"Exactly," Illitha nodded.
"Then you have to convince this captain that your team must remain intact," Captain Nisaria told her. "If you really consider these men and women to be under your command, you have to defend your right to lead them."
"B-But they are Alliance soldiers…"
"No excuses," the captain's tone was firm. "Do you command them or not?"
"I do," Illitha's answer was immediate.
"Then defend your right to do so."
Illitha glanced past the captain and Rachel and to the group of soldiers and civilians, all of whom were watching them. She nodded, resolve filling her. These were her people. She had rescued them, led them, and come to trust them. She wouldn't see the Alliance take them from her. Not without a fight. She stepped forward, addressing the crowd.
"The base commander wishes to see me and all of the Alliance soldiers under my command," she announced, forcing herself to sound calm and collected. She glanced at the faces among the crowd, and then at Selura, who was just returning to the group. "Neela, Selura, Jay and Elliot, I want you four to stay with the shuttles while they are refueled. Zaeed," she turned to the mercenary. "W-Would you take the rest to the armory over there?" she pointed out the building in question. "See that our people get armor and grenades, please? And ask about food as well?"
"I'm on it," the mercenary nodded.
"They have a store of dextro-based food here," Selura spoke up. "Once the shuttles are fueled, Neela and I will take as much of it as we can fit into the cargo area."
"Good," Illitha smiled, and her smile only deepened when Neela threw her arms around the young scientist, obviously happy to hear the news. She pried her eyes away from the couple and forced herself to concentrate on the business at hand.
"Those of you in the Alliance, follow me," she instructed, and then turned and led the way toward the waiting lieutenant-commander, who guided them through the camp.
"Everyone will have to leave their weapons with the sentries outside the CIC," Kosar informed them. "Absolutely no weapons are permitted inside the command center."
Illitha understood, and didn't argue. While they were all wearing Alliance gear and presenting themselves as allies, it was an understandable precaution to prevent a newly-arrived group from going into the command center with weapons. If they were indoctrinated spies, they would be able to assassinate Alliance leadership. Of course, if they were indoctrinated, letting two armored biotics into the CIC would be just as disastrous. But the Alliance couldn't exactly disarm her or her captain of their natural abilities.
Within minutes they were all gathered outside of the CIC, where a quartet of sentries began relieving them of their weapons and grenades. Illitha frowned as she handed over her captured Carnifex pistol. She wanted to be sure she got the modified weapon back. The phasic ammo mod had proven useful, and she wanted to keep it. While they were all handing over their weapons, the lieutenant-commander stepped inside to speak to his superiors.
When she was finally ushered inside, Illitha looked around the CIC curiously. The walls of the room were lined with monitoring equipment, communications equipment, and various other forms of data-processing gear. The center of the room was dominated by a huge holo-projection table, which sported a three-dimensional view of the city, with positions of Reaper forces highlighted in red and allied forces highlighted in green. Before she could really get a look at the situation, however, someone disabled the projection and the table went dark.
"Ms. T'Zari, this is Captain Shirakawa," Kosar introduced a rather short human with an intense gaze and a stone-faced expression. "Captain, this is Ms. T'Zari. She is in command of our new arrivals."
Illitha recognized the human's features and the name as being of the human Japanese ethnicity. While the man was shorter even than she was, something about his intensity made him intimidating all the same. She smiled softly and bowed her head in greeting. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Captain."
"Likewise," the man's voice was deep, and he had a very slight accent. Illitha had heard him speak over the radio, but in person, there was a much more authoritative cast to his tone. "I understand you arrived in Cerberus shuttles. Where did you get them?"
"Oh… Uh… I-I…" Illitha hadn't expected the question. She had expected the first order of business to be discussion of her Alliance followers. She struggled to adjust to the unanticipated topic of conversation. "C-Cerberus had a few teams in operation on the planet. We liberated a Prothean ruin from them and took possession of their shuttles and some of their weapons."
"There are no Prothean ruins on Terra Nova," Lieutenant-Commander Kosar shook his head.
"There are, actually," Illitha smiled. "I have footage of the ruin's interior if you wish to see it. I left five Alliance soldiers and a large group of civilians there. We are using the ruin as a shelter for those who cannot fight."
"Upload the data to our computer," Captain Shirakawa instructed.
Illitha uploaded the footage of Crawler's search of the facility to the Alliance computer, along with a nav-point for the ruin's location. As far as she was concerned, this was a human world, and if anyone had the right to know the location of the ruins, it was the Alliance forces protecting the planet. Within moments, the footage came up on the holo-table's projection, and the two Alliance officers were studying the display.
"An archive!" Kosar exclaimed when the footage reached the main archive chamber. "Perhaps we can find some information there that-"
"The archive is dead," Illitha interrupted the man before he could get too excited.
"We can restore it to functionality," Kosar suggested, but Illitha shook her head.
"A-A pair of indoctrinated salarian agents is working with the Reapers on this planet," Illitha informed them. "One of them has a pistol that fires technology-devouring nanites. He used it on the archive. A-According to my specialist who tried to repair the archive, there are billions of microscopic holes bored into every component of the system… The damage is irreparable."
"Unfortunate," Captain Shirakawa said simply. "Is this specialist present?"
"Uh… no," Illitha shook her head. "She is with the shuttles on the airfield."
"And you have been in command of these men and women as well?" the captain was scanning the assembled group of soldiers. Try as she might, Illitha couldn't read his expression.
"W-We rescued five of them on our way into the city. The rest have been with me for a week or… or much longer," she finished with a sidelong glance at Rachel.
"Thank you for returning them to our command structure. Lieutenant-Commander, see them assigned to the appropriate units and-"
"You cannot do that!" Illitha protested. "Th-These are my people. I trust them all. We work well as a team. They are my responsibility."
"No longer," the captain shook his head. "They are Alliance soldiers, sworn to defend Alliance interests. Their duty demands their return to our command structure. You are not Alliance. You have no authority over them nor cause to deny their return to us."
"I saved these people," Illitha stepped forward, resting her hands on the edge of the holo-table. "They have been happy to follow me until now. W-We can be an asset to you as an independent unit."
"Enough," the captain barked the word. "I have no time to argue with you, T'Zari. Operation Clarity is underway. Within minutes, the fighting will commence. I cannot be further delayed by this discussion."
"You do not understand-" Illitha started to protest further, but Captain Shirakawa cut her off.
"The rest of you, follow Lieutenant-Commander Kosar. He will see you assigned to Alliance units here on the base."
"I will not let you-" Illitha renewed her protest, her hands clenching into fists, but before she could say another word, two things happened. Rachel cut her off by speaking, and a door at the far side of the room opened.
"I refuse to be reassigned," Rachel raised her voice to be heard over all of the talking. "I am staying with the Spectre."
Illitha winced when she heard that word. She hadn't wanted to be labeled a Spectre in front of the Alliance commander. However, her attention was upon the door at the far side of the room, and the figure that was entering from an adjacent area. As soon as she saw the stern, clean-shaven features of the new arrival and saw his eyes narrow, her heart sank.
"Captain Tarrislav," she murmured, suddenly feeling nauseous.
"This woman is no Spectre," Tarrislav sneered. "She is an indoctrinated Reaper agent. Just look at the dissension she is already causing here. Trust me. Disaster follows her everywhere. Arrest her now."
"You son of a bitch!" Rachel started to lunge past Illitha, but the asari quickly wrapped her arms around her, keeping her from attacking the man.
"She is a Council Spectre," Corporal Rivera spoke up. "She's not indoctrinated. She's been fighting the Reapers ever since we met her."
"A Spectre… Oh please," Tarrislav's tone was icy. "When I met her, she was a simple refugee rescued from a crashed asari cargo vessel, crying and begging to help us because she was scared and needed a distraction. And she has challenged my authority and tried to set my people against me almost from the minute we met."
"You're a liar!" Rachel growled.
"Enough!" Captain Shirakawa roared, bringing silence instantly to the room. His eyes fell upon Illitha, and he regarded her intently. "Are you a Council Spectre?"
Illitha closed her eyes. She had never been forced to answer that question directly before. The few times someone asked, it had been Rachel or another person to confirm it on her behalf. Her head told her to lie and say that she was, but a wave of guilt rose up over that instinct. She shook her head. As soon as she did, murmurs ran through the soldiers behind her. She could hear the disappointment and anger in the tone of some of them. She glanced at Tarrislav, and saw an infuriating look of smug satisfaction settle over his features.
"What is your claim to command then, exactly?" Shirakawa asked calmly. "Are you an asari commando? Special forces of some kind? An officer in the citadel fleet?"
"No," Illitha murmured the word. "I am a starship engineer."
"So you do not even have military training," the captain persisted. "And yet you want me to leave my soldiers under your command? You can understand my hesitance."
"Sir," Corporal Rivera spoke up. "I am… shocked and disappointed to learn that she is not the Spectre she claimed to be-"
"I never claimed that," Illitha interrupted.
"Well… You didn't deny it," the corporal muttered. "But… If you'd seen her in action, you'd know that she is a capable commander and strategist. And she is not indoctrinated. She has saved dozens of people from the Reapers…"
"Which would be an acceptable sacrifice for the Reapers if it placed an indoctrinated agent in a position to hurt the Alliance by betraying their surviving command structure," Tarrislav pointed out. "She saved you all just to ingratiate herself to you and find a position of authority from which to cripple us…"
Rachel renewed her struggles, screaming at Tarrislav over his accusations against the asari. Several of the Alliance soldiers were shouting as well, and Tarrislav continued to rant about Illitha's past confrontations with him. The sentries that had been stationed outside pushed their way through the crowd, obviously drawn by the commotion. Captain Shirakawa shouted for order, and eventually brought the crowd under control, but not before Rachel had threatened to kill Tarrislav. Illitha glanced at Captain Nisaria, begging her to say something… anything…
"I have heard enough of this!" Shirakawa growled once order had been restored.
"Captain," Tarrislav was glaring at Illitha, who still had her arms securely locked around Rachel. "I suggest imprisoning the asari and their non-human companions. They are a security risk."
"He is the one that is indoctrinated," Illitha shot back, her frustration finally boiling over. "He has led his men to one devastating loss after another. If you allow him to take part in this operation of yours, it will end in disaster."
"Enough," Captain Nisaria finally spoke, laying a hand upon Illitha's shoulder. "These accusations are getting us nowhere."
"And you are?" Captain Shirakawa prompted.
"Another indoctrinated asari traitor no doubt," Tarrislav sneered.
"Captain," Shirakawa turned to glare at Tarrislav. "Not another word."
Tarrislav lapsed into silence.
"My name is Julisa Nisaria," the captain introduced herself. "Former commando, now retired from service. I was the captain of the Sileya, until it was destroyed in orbit by the Reapers. Illitha was under my command."
"If you intend to plead for your subordinate to retain her command over my troops-"
"I do not," Julisa interrupted him. "These arguments are accomplishing nothing, and you have an operation to coordinate. However, I object to the insinuation that we are a security risk. We have been fighting the Reapers since we arrived here. They destroyed my ship. We can help. And you cannot afford to turn away two skilled biotics, a gifted quarian pilot, and the mercenaries and civilian security we brought with us."
"What are you suggesting, exactly?" Shirakawa regarded her expectantly.
"You put out a call for all allied forces to assist you. Surely there must be other units of irregulars participating in your operation? We have two shuttles and a handful of men remaining once your soldiers are removed from the group. Put us to use. We can shuttle out to any zone necessary."
"Captain…" Illitha couldn't believe what she was hearing. The captain had urged her to fight for her right to command the soldiers, and was now refusing to support her. She felt a little betrayed.
"Captain," Tarrislav shook his head. "It's too great a risk. I am telling you… the asari are working with the Reapers."
"The operation is already commencing," Shirakawa frowned. "I am not prepared to imprison potential allies, but neither am I willing to trust you with operational details, given the accusations against you."
"Then we will leave," the former commando shrugged. "Allow us to take a few days' rations with us, and we will remove ourselves from your base and the city. We can harm no one if we are not in the area."
Illitha was staring at her captain, as were most of the other people in the room. The young engineer was simply stunned. They couldn't just give up and go hide in the wilderness while the Reapers and the Alliance continued to fight each other.
"Permission granted," Shirakawa finally said. "Take enough food to feed your people for a week. We can spare that much. You're cleared to depart in one hour, provided your flight path takes you away from the city. Until then, you will be kept under guard. You and your people are barred from any secured area of the base. That includes communications, the armory, the perimeter walls, and the CIC."
"Thank you," Julisa bowed her head, and her hand tightened upon Illitha's shoulder, firmly urging her to follow.
"The rest of you will be broken up and assigned to units here on the base," Shirakawa continued.
"No way," Rachel shook her head.
"Private, you will report for duty where you are assigned. That's an order," Shirakawa glared at her.
"I won't serve in any unit on a base where an indoctrinated agent is in command," Rachel growled, her eyes upon Tarrislav. "I'm staying with Illitha. She's done more on her own to fight the Reapers than this asshole's entire command has done since this war started."
"You little bitch," Tarrislav growled. "I'll see you court-marshaled for this!"
"Don't bother! Consider this my resignation!"
Illitha had loosened her hold upon the blonde when things started calming down, so she was unprepared for what was coming. Rachel suddenly lunged free of her grasp and rushed Tarrislav, slugging him in the jaw before anyone had a chance to react. The captain staggered backward into a console as a result of the blow, and Lieutenant-Commander Kosar quickly tackled the blonde to the floor. Chaos erupted through the room as Illitha hurried forward to try to pull Kosar off of her friend, and sentries quickly moved to break up the fighting. Illitha was pulled away from the others by her captain, and she was dragged outside despite her best efforts to resist.
"What are you thinking?" the captain hissed once they were outside of the CIC. "Your friend just assaulted her superior officer. Getting in the middle of that will only get you jailed."
"She is my friend! I cannot let them arrest her!" Illitha protested, struggling against the elder asari's grasp.
"Illitha, stop!" the captain reprimanded her.
"Why should I listen to you?" Illitha whirled around, glaring at the elder asari. "Y-You told me to fight to keep my command and then you all but begged them to take my people away from me!"
The captain's expression hardened, and she frowned at Illitha. The young engineer swallowed at the dangerous glint in the older asari's eyes, but she stood her ground, waiting impatiently for an explanation.
"Were you paying attention in there?" the captain demanded. "When that second captain challenged your claim as a Spectre and you admitted the truth, the majority of the marines in that room looked either angry or embarrassed. They were not going to follow you against the orders of their superior. And then your hotheaded friend started threatening to kill a higher-ranking officer."
"What is your point?" Illitha demanded sullenly, though she was unhappy at the revelation that she had been too focused on Tarrislav to realize that she'd lost the support of most of her group.
"The point is this: You were not paying attention to the situation. If I had not stepped in and attempted to diffuse the situation and placate them in some way, we might have found ourselves imprisoned as suspected spies."
Illitha's shoulders slumped. She didn't like it, but the captain was right. Things were quickly spiraling out of control, and had she not introduced a calming influence to the situation, they might well have been arrested. Just as Rachel was no doubt going to be. "They will arrest Rachel now," Illitha hung her head. The knowledge that the blonde had been defending her honor was flattering, but the fact that Rachel had likely thrown away her career on her behalf made her feel miserable. "She has been a good friend to me, and now may have destroyed her career because of our friendship. I cannot let them imprison her."
"She removed that choice from your hands."
"Maybe I could speak to them… Convince them-"
"Illitha, do not be foolish. That man Tarrislav obviously hates you. If you go back in there, you risk ending up imprisoned with her. What did you do to him to make him so angry?"
"I… I may have insulted him a few times… o-or a dozen," Illitha admitted, unable to meet her captain's gaze. "B-But in my defense, he was making idiotic decisions…"
"I get the idea," the captain shook her head.
"What do we do now?" Illitha asked. "I do not want to leave the base and let Rachel languish in a cell…"
Illitha felt miserable, and she knew that misery was written all over her face. When the door opened at that moment, and she saw Rachel being escorted out in restraints, bleeding from a cut on her lip, her misery only increased. She felt the captain grab her wrist and tighten her grip, silently urging her with the contact not to interfere in the arrest. Illitha's eyes followed the blonde as she was led away.
"You want to help your friend?" Julisa asked her.
"I have to. She has been with me through almost all of this. I owe it to her. A-And I… like her," she said softly.
"I appreciate the fact that she was so vehement in her defense of your character. Getting her off of an Alliance base will not be easy," the captain murmured. "But it can be done. Go to the shuttles and tell the rest of the humans the truth about yourself. They will hear it eventually anyway. It would be better if it came from you. And tell Neela to prepare the shuttles for launch while you are there. Then meet me at the edge of the airfield. I will find out where they are taking your friend and get a look at the security there." As she spoke, the elder asari loosened her hold upon the engineer. "But I have to go now, while things are still disorganized because of the commotion. Once they make good on their threat to assign guards to watch us…" the asari trailed off.
Illitha turned to look at her, eyes widening in realization. The captain actually meant to break Rachel out of the Alliance holding area? While the elder asari had explained her earlier deference, Illitha had never expected her to advocate such a blatant violation of the peace between them. If they were caught, they would end up imprisoned, just like the captain had been trying to avoid in the first place.
"You never meant to actually leave as you promised," Illitha said softly.
"The Reapers threaten us all," the elder asari shrugged. "We may not be able to participate in the operation, but we can still find a way to assist. Meet me at the west edge of the airfield in ten minutes. Now go and talk to the others."
Illitha watched as her captain turned and walked off to a point from where she could see the path the Alliance military police were taking with Rachel. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm her nerves for the conversation to come. While she knew most or all of the civilians would abandon them when they found out the truth, she was looking forward to finally being free of the title of Spectre. She was sick of pretending to be something she was not. It hurt her to know that she'd lost the support of so many good men because of the lie, but it would still be a relief to leave it behind.
Once the men were dealt with, she could concentrate on freeing Rachel and finding a way to contribute to the war once again. Nothing had gone the way she hoped it would thus far, and she felt sick now that she knew Tarrislav was involved in the Alliance offensive. It seemed clear to her that there was a disaster coming. She just hoped they could find a way to keep things from falling apart completely.
"Hey," a voice drew her attention.
The soldiers she'd brought with her were leaving the CIC, and she turned to find Corporal Rivera, Privates Olimar and Tandis, and Engineer Rowan standing nearby, all watching her. Illitha took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh, trying to keep her head up and meet their gazes. She couldn't tell by looking at them whether they were angry or not, but they all looked uncomfortable.
"I am sorry," she said without preamble. "I did not mean to mislead anyone. It was just… once p-people thought I was a Spectre…"
"You don't have to apologize," Corporal Rivera cut off her explanation. "I get it. I admit, for a second I was kinda pissed, but when I thought about it, I remembered how it went down. Someone said 'Spectre' and we all jumped at the chance to follow you. You did what you had to do to keep the team united. You let us believe what we needed to believe to give us hope."
"Fuck, you played the part to perfection," Olimar offered a faint smile. "I never doubted it for a fucking second."
"We can't stick with you against the orders of our superiors," Rivera sounded almost apologetic. "You understand, right? It's not that we don't wanna support you…"
"I understand," Illitha said softly. She was actually rather relieved to know that she hadn't lost the respect of the men she'd been leading. Or at least not all of them.
"We just wanted you to know that some of us remember how hard you fought for us," Private Tandis grinned at her and nodded his head once. "Tarrislav is an idiot. Don't let his bullshit get to you. We're glad you're on our side."
"Fuckin' A," Olimar grinned.
Illitha could only smile at the sentiment. Though it embarrassed her on some level to think she was worthy of the respect and admiration of real soldiers, it still bolstered her confidence to know that she had earned their respect, and that she didn't need a false title to keep it.
"We have to report for reassignment," Rivera sighed audibly at the announcement. "Stay safe out there… Spectre," the corporal extended a hand.
Illitha nodded, shaking Rivera's hand, and then that of each other man in turn. As they walked away, she felt some of the weight lift from her shoulders. She still had a difficult conversation ahead of her, but at long last she felt the burden of the deception slip away. Whatever else might happen, she'd made some friends. She silently wished her entire "command" the best of luck. She hoped to see them all again in the future.
Detention Area, F.O.B. Delta-1…
Rachel stood as if in a daze while the security detail removed her restraints and ordered her into the small cell that would serve as her home for the foreseeable future. In the heat of the moment, while Tarrislav had been assassinating Illitha's character, she had been enraged. The asari was the best person she had ever known, and to hear her former commander accuse the girl of being in league with the Reapers had been infuriating. Now, however, with the adrenaline and the anger fading, she was slowly coming to the realization of what she had done…
Her career was over. Joining the Alliance was the only good thing she had ever done with her life, and by assaulting Tarrislav, she had just guaranteed herself a dishonorable discharge, after which she would probably struggle to find even a low-paying job at a store kiosk somewhere. She certainly couldn't go home and face her mother and her sisters. She would be a disappointment to her family, as she had been all through her adolescence. She slumped to a seat on the bench in the cell, and felt tears trickle down her cheeks. She didn't even bother to wipe them away.
I could become a mercenary, I guess… she mused, but the idea of fighting for whoever would pay her didn't fill her with the sense of pride she'd always felt while serving in the Alliance. Mercenaries were little more than glorified thugs in her eyes. At least if she was pushing a sanitizer around some space station somewhere, she would feel like she was earning an honest day's pay…
She could hear the men in the security detail talking to the sentry on watch, but she couldn't hear what was being said. She blocked out the sounds and curled up on the bench facing the wall, sobbing softly over the stupidity of the choice she'd made. Tarrislav was an ass, but he wasn't worth the price she'd paid to hit him, no matter how satisfying it had been to do it.
"Hey, is it true that you hit Captain Tarrislav?" a male voice intruded upon her misery.
"Yeah. So what?" she murmured.
"Damn," the young man chuckled. "Striking a captain… That took some serious guts."
"I'm gonna be court-marshaled, so you can stop rubbing it in," the blonde snapped.
"Whoa there, killer," the young man laughed. "I'm not rubbing anything in. I'm trying to express admiration. I knew that guy was a dick ten seconds after I met him. Just tell me you broke his nose… Bloodied his lip? Gave him a black eye? Something?"
Rachel rolled over, glaring at the young sentry suspiciously. She was almost certain that he was making fun of her. However, when she saw his face, she could detect only sincere amusement and perhaps even admiration in his expression. The fire slowly faded from her eyes, and she shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm not sure. I hit him hard enough to knock him into the console behind him. But someone drove me into the floor pretty fast after that, so I didn't get to see his face."
"Man… I'll be looking at chow time. I swear, if he's sporting bruises, I'll smuggle some powdered cocoa back here for you. You look like a cocoa girl…"
"What's your name?" Rachel asked. The young man was… odd. But there was something charming about that oddity. She hoped that he might help her.
"Desmond Kieting. Nice to meet you, Rachel," he grinned at her, and then quickly added, "Your name was listed on the file security gave me."
"Forget the cocoa. Would you do something else for me?"
"I can't let you out. So don't ask."
Rachel rolled her eyes. "I wasn't going to."
"Okay, then name it. I'll see what I can do."
"There are a bunch of asari in the camp. Find the one with pale blue skin… she's the most petite one of the bunch by far. Tell her to get out of this camp as soon as she can. Tarrislav will do anything he can to get her thrown in here with me. She needs to leave."
"Petite asari with pale blue skin. Got it. She your girlfriend?"
"No," Rachel snapped.
"Okay, okay," Desmond held up his hands in a placating gesture. "No offense intended. But I wouldn't blame you. Asari are damn sexy. And something about asari and other girls together…" he trailed off, grinning and staring off into space. "Well, you can't blame a guy for being curious."
Rachel put her head in her hands. While there had been a small bit of initial charm to be found in her companion, the charm was quickly fading. He was starting to be a little obnoxious. She wondered just how long she would have to put up with him before he was off-duty. She would have liked to tell him she was married and he should leave her alone, but she needed to be sure he would pass along her message first.
Although, something tells me I'm wasting my time. Illitha is bound to try something dumb… like breaking me out of here. And then Tarrislav will have all the proof he needs that she is a traitor…
Checking the urge to sigh, Rachel raised her head and smiled at the young man outside the cell, doing her best to be polite until he was able to pass along her message. He started to tell her about himself and his family, and seemed driven to frequently interject little flirtatious comments into his commentary. After just five more minutes of listening to his prattle, she started to secretly entertain thoughts of strangling him just to shut him up.
.
.
Author's Note: First, let me take this opportunity, as I always do, to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited/followed or otherwise given any attention to this story. I am doing my very best to continue to entertain you all, and I hope I am succeeding! I really appreciate the support everyone has given, whether it be through comments, PMs, or just coming back Chapter after Chapter to read more. Thank you so much.
Just a few small notes about this Chapter. And the first relates to the Citadel DLC: I had long been planning to include mention of the Turian/Human training exercise alluded to in this Chapter, and since I am four Chapters ahead in my writing, this was written before the DLC even came out. As a result, I was tickled when Anderson mentioned in one of the excerpts on the DLC how he had once trained with a turian squad and he thought every soldier should do it. I came to the same conclusion, obviously! It just seems to me that though humans and turians started out at war, there's a good collaborative relationship between the races now... co-developing the Normandy, reparations paid for Shanxi, turians participating in human hand-to-hand fighting sports, and all the other things mentioned in the game point to it.
The other little note regards Illitha's loss of her command. I know it seems like I spent a bunch of time working up her command and all that and now I've just nullified all that work. But I promise, I have plans on that front. I can't say more without spoilers, but believe me when I say there was a purpose behind it all. Plus, I felt that it was an appropriate way to add impact to the moment when the truth came out for the present.
Unless something unexpected happens, the next update to the story will be on Wednesday morning. So until then, I hope everyone has a Happy Easter if you celebrate the holiday, and if not, have a great weekend!
