Chapter 16
Illium Entertainment News Update - Asari actress Adria S'Voz received a Galactic Entertainment Academy best performer nomination for her role in Mistress of the Citadel, the controversial biopic of Consort Sha'ira. The consort had sued the producers for libel, claiming it misrepresented an incident involving her and the elcor Ambassador Xeltan. S'Voz thanked the academy, saying it was heartening that the members were able to see past the controversy and recognize the quality of her performance as Xeltan.
"Going to have to act opposite two heavyweights today. And do it on Soundstage 11. Kinda of nervous. Could use some moral support. Hint, hint," read the message Solik Vass received from asari actress Linia T'Pala shortly after he arrived at 6th Dimension Vids in the morning.
"You should go," Major Kirrahe told the rookie Special Tasks Group agent. "I've learned that a lot of the gear that they'll be using on Soundstage 11 is the same stuff that they would otherwise pack up and take with them when shooting on location. That's got to be how they smuggle the red sand. Head over there and keep an eye out for anything that might clue us in to how exactly they do it. I'm afraid you'll have to go alone. Jorgal Dreed's also going to be in the scene and according to Tyruss Aklaysius I should steer clear of him for the time being."
Kirrahe was being cautious, Vass knew, but it was probably a wise move nevertheless. Aklaysius, a turian actor, had known Dreed, a krogan and fellow performer, for many years. So, when Aklaysius told Vass the day before that Dreed might not react well to meeting Kirrahe, a STG agent famous for having killed numerous krogan, the warning had been taken seriously. Vass was confident that the major could handle another krogan if it came to that. However, getting into a fight on a vid set would draw attention and potentially compromise the major's mission.
Vass' status as a STG agent was still a secret though and Dreed had already meet the rookie without that sparking any incident, so he headed over. Vass was apprehensive about going for reasons other than Dreed though. Soundstage 11 was where 6th Dimension Vids shot most of its effects-laden action scenes and the studio's safety standards were lax at best. If a vid scene looked highly dangerous to an audience, it almost certainly wasn't an on-screen illusion.
For the particular scene being shot on the soundstage that day, the studio's setbuilders had created a huge three-story, three-level edifice. The set was meant to look like a geth outpost on the planet Virmire, complete with an anti-aircraft cannon on the top. The cannon may have been fake but it sounded real enough, producing a deafening roar each time it was activated.
When Vass arrived, he saw that Linia, Dreed and asari actress Adria S'Voz, who was playing the part based on Commander Shepard, were busy shooting a scene where they stormed the set and took out the geth troopers defending it. The "geth" were actually turian cinematographer Savara Korek's camera mechs retro-fitted to look like the synthetic soldiers. Vass watched was the trio charged into the outpost, made it halfway up to the top of the set, then abruptly stopped. Something had evidently gone wrong with the scene. The vid's drell director Bik Orbal called "cut!" then shouted, "Somebody tell Gaffno to get over here, immediately."
From behind him Vass heard a person "tut-tutting" in reaction the situation on the set. He turned around and saw turian actor Tyruss Aklayius shaking his head. The actor smiled when he saw the young salarian. "Ah, Solik! Didn't realize that was you. Here to watch the scene being shot too? I always like observing Dreed in action, although there seems to be some issue going on at the moment. Spirits, sometimes it's almost a miracle that this studio ever manages to produce vids with a beginning, a middle and an end."
Vass' curiosity was piqued by Aklaysius' comment about Dreed. "If I may ask, sir, how often have you and the krogan worked together?"
"How often?" chuckled the turian. "Well, I've killed him six times, if that tells you anything. He did get me once though. And, please, call me Tyruss. Only the tax collector and the lawyers for my ex-wives call me 'Mr. Aklaysius.' In any event, I believe Blasto: The Hunt for Saren will mark the 11th or 12th time we have both appeared in the same vid."
The turian actor grinned and stroked his mandibles as he recalled some of those past projects with Dreed. "You wouldn't guess it from just looking at him but that krogan is one of the finest actors I've ever had the privilege to work with. The first time was on the set of 'Shiagur's Lament.' Dreed played the last of Shiagur's lieutenants to fall. He was the one that gave that speech at the end."
Vass had seen the vid about three times. "Was that the scene with the brilliant background of the sun setting as the three moons passed through the planet's ring?"
Aklaysius' eyes lit up. "Ah! You've seen it. Yes, that was Dreed. You didn't recognize him because he was wearing a helmet. That background wasn't faked by the way. It was a natural phenomenon on the planet Canrum that could be viewed from certain spots for about five minutes once every 80 hours. The director went to tremendous effort to be able to use it as the backdrop for that scene, which re-told the official end of the Krogan Rebellions. That speech that Dreed gave was actually supposed to be delivered by me."
Vass was fascinated by this bit of trivia. "What's the story behind that?"
The turian actor's deep, mellifluous voice made even the most causal conversation seem charming. It sounded even better when relating an anecdote from the performer's long career. "As I said, the planet's natural phenomenon only lasted for about five minutes once every 80 hours. That was just enough time to do one take of the scene. So, I memorized the speech the night before and on the following morning I strode in front of the cameras, waited until the sun began to set and the director yelled 'action!' and then... I flubbed my lines. Just got completely tongue-tied. It was mortifying. The director was staring daggers at me because now we were going to have to wait another three more days before we could try it again. Then I noticed that the krogan playing the lieutenant hadn't broken character. He was actually talking over my own mumbling, improvising new lines based on what I was supposed to have said. 'Nothing to lose at this point,' I thought and began improvising along with him. We made it to the end of the scene, the director called 'cut' and when we reviewed the footage, it turned out to be far better than what we had actually planned to do."
"You weren't upset that he took your lines?" Vass inquired.
The turian seemed shocked by the very notion. "Spirits, no! The scene was better that way and when the scene is good everyone in it looks good. Dreed took my lines and recontextualized them. Rather than the turian telling the krogan his cause was lost, it became the krogan saying it didn't matter to him that his cause was lost, that he was going to fight to the end because that was his choice as a krogan. In just a few short lines he captured the pride, the bravery, the determination and the tragic folly of his people and did it completely off-the-cuff. I was in awe. I've been his biggest fan ever since."
Vass puzzled over this endorsement. "But if he is that good, then how come he just plays random thugs most of the time?"
Aklaysius let out a heavy sigh. "What else is there for him to do? I've tried to direct good work his way when I can, but the industry rarely produces roles of any consequence for the krogan. And, sadly, the few krogan who do learn how to act come to expect that as their lot in life. When something special does comes along, like that Francis Kitt Macbeth production, they actually get suspicious and are liable to do something to sabotage it. When Dreed got the script for Blasto: The Hunt for Saren he called me up and wanted to know if I knew why the scene where he got killed wasn't in the version of the script he got. 'What's 6th Dimension Vids trying to pull?' he kept growling over the line. It took me half an hour to convince him that his character actually survived to the end of the vid. 'You know the part is based on Urdnot Wrex, right? He's still alive,' I pointed out. 'That doesn't mean anything!' Dreed kept repeating."
The turian sadly shook his head. "The tragedy of this is if anyone can could break through and prove that krogans could play more than thugs, it would be Dreed. I've seen him act rings around established stars only to have his performance edited down afterwards to give the star more screen time. Maybe this Blasto vid will be the one though. It's a good part and Dreed will, for the first time in his career, be playing a hero. Imagine how many krogan will see that and the effect it could have. Imagine if more krogan aspired to be actors, to immerse themselves in the arts," the actor said, his voice beginning to rise with the final words only to stop when he suddenly became self-conscious. "Ah, but there I go again. I apologize for prattling on."
Vass looked back over to the set and saw that shooting had been halted. Set builders and other vid crew were now swarming over the mock-geth outpost. Director Orbal was in a heated discussion with a volus, both of whom were randomly pointing to various parts of the set.
Linia T'Pala spotted Vass and headed over to him. "Sweet of you to come, Solik," the bright-eyed asari remarked. "Might have been a false alarm though. We're not getting much done. I was worried about my lines with Dreed and S'Voz but we've never make it far enough into the scene for me to give them."
Linia explained that the geth outpost set was not only large but rigged with a number of elaborate special effects devices and moving parts in order to simulate the heroic trio's destruction of it. Too elaborate as it turned out. The devices weren't going off at the right times - when they were going off at all. Orbal had summoned Telak Gaffno, the volus engineer who was the studio's main set designer, to fix the matter. Gaffno was maintaining that the set had been constructed exactly to the requested specifications, so any glitches had to be someone else's fault.
"How's Dreed working out?" Vass asked.
"Hmm, he seems ok," the asari replied. "He was pretty grouchy when he first showed up but that passed once we started doing the scene. He gave me some good advice on how to make it look like an explosion is happening near you without having to actually get close to it and how to eject thermal clips in way looks that really dramatic on the screen. S'Voz is actually one that's making things tense. She's upset that the set and the effects aren't working properly. Dreed is taking it in stride."
Linia pointed to Dreed on the far side of the set, where the krogan could be seen using his prop shotgun to scratch his butt. "He's pretty casual about things," she remarked. Vass tried to reconcile the image with Aklaysius' claim that this was one of the finest actors in the galaxy.
It was a sharp contrast to the drama unfolding between Orbal and Gaffno, their conversation having gotten more heated. The vid's asari special effects director Mara T'Rue had joined them and was even more sarcastic than usual.
"No, it is *not* working right!" the drell director asserted. "Ask anyone who has been here this morning. The automated systems keep breaking down. Now, get in there and find out what the problem is."
Gaffno dismissed this. "And, again, I must inform you that this set was built exactly - exactly - to the technical specifications that I was given. If those specifications were wrong, then under the rules for the Intergalactic Brotherhood of Stage & Vid Technicians, I cannot be held responsible. My being here on the set is merely a courtesy to inform this company of my rights under the union rules," the volus retorted in between sharp inhalations from his exo-suit's breathing apparatus.
"Funny," T'Rue remarked acidly. "I'm a card-carrying IBSVT member too and I recall that the rule is you *can* be called back to the set when there are serious malfunctions. You just get to petition for time and half later."
The volus got angry and waved a finger in the asari's face. "Oh, you want to debate me on the union rules and the terms of this studio's contract? I dare you to try. I will bury you with subclauses!"
T'Rue responded by pulling out a cigarette, lighting it with her biotics, taking a drag and then blowing the smoke into Gaffno's face. Tobacco fumes, it appeared, were not something that the volus' rebreathing apparatus was designed to easily filter out. Gaffno began coughing and hacking. "Getting into an argument with me can get pretty unpleasant regardless of who wins," the asari remarked. "I suggest you fix your broken set instead."
The volus stalked off to the geth outpost set, cursing in his native language. He opened a side panel to the interior of the set and disappeared inside. Nearly half an hour later, he re-emerged.
"It should work now," Gaffno announced. "It appears that SOMEBODY's explosive charges were interfering with the systems," he added, casting a glance towards T'Rue, who prepared all of the munitions for live shooting.
The asari took a drag on her current cigarette and blew another cloud of smoke at the volus. "Which shouldn't have been an issue because the set's specifications clearly called for reinforcing the areas where the charges would be laid," she caustically noted.
"It was built to withstand standard special effects charges, not the tactical warheads you call prop explosives," the volus shot back.
This prompted T'Rue to blow a third cloud of smoke into his face, forcing him into another coughing fit. She then held up the cigarette in her hand. "You know, the humans say these things shorten your life by a few years. That's not a big deal for an asari. So I can keep doing this all day if you want."
Orbal broke up the fight and asked if the volus was certain the set would now work properly. The volus crankily noted he had already answered the question, then reiterated that, yes, it should work properly. The director summoned the cast back to the set and and then readied for another take. Turian stunt coordinator Dar Rarbin quickly dashed up and around the set to check the systems while turian cinematographer Savara Korek put her camera mechs in their proper spots.
"Action!" shouted the drell and Dreed, Linia and S'Voz sprinted towards the set. Vass watched the scene keenly. For about a minute it did in fact look like how he had always envisioned the Assault on Virmire - the heroes charging in to close combat with the geth, then acting with speed and precision to take out the synthetic warriors. Dreed brought a particular gusto to the scene, physically throwing himself into the mechs and shouting, "Korbal!" when he hit one with a shotgun blast. The trio advanced to the stairs to the outpost's top level, then ducked down for cover as the effects mimicking the firing of geth pulse rifles went off. Once the barrage had subsided, S'Voz signaled to Dreed to take point. The krogan roared and raced up the stairs to the top of the set's third-story level. As Dreed got to the top of the stairs, a cracking sound was heard and he suddenly vanished.
S'Voz and T'Pala did double-takes. This was clearly not how scene was supposed to go. From inside the set, a series of further snaps and cracks emanated as Dreed's body fell through one interior section after another, finally hitting the ground floor with a thud. An especially large cracking sound then came from inside the edifice, followed by another. The set began to list to the side.
The asari actresses brought their biotics up and S'Voz shouted, "Jump!" The pair leapt away just as the entire set collapsed in on itself. The actresses' biotic energy allowed them to slowly glide to the ground and far enough away that they avoided any of the falling debris, though they couldn't escape the cloud of dust created by the collapse.
The dust settled and the set was shown to be just a pile of broken parts. Stunt coordinator Rarbin was the first to rush in.
"Dreed?! Dreed?! You there, buddy?!" he shouted into the rubble.
A few seconds later, a voice from inside coughed. "Yeah, what is it?" the krogan asked.
"Well, are you okay?" the turian asked.
There was a pause of a few seconds. "I've been better," Dreed replied.
The krogan went on to explain that he was face down and pinned to the ground. There was something extremely heavy on his hump. He was otherwise bruised and battered but nothing appeared to be broken and his natural regenerative powers were repairing that. But he could not move.
"I probably have enough extra munitions to blast a hole to get to him," T'Rue announced.
"You could hurt Dreed if you did that!" an exasperated Aklaysius shouted.
T'Rue lit up a fresh cigarette. "He's a krogan. He'll survive it. I mean, probably. What's the harm in trying?"
Gaffno objected to this. "The union rules clearly forbid using prop explosives for anything other than shooting scenes or scene rehearsals."
An enraged Aklaysius grabbed Gaffno and demanded to know how this had happened. "Dreed fell right through the floor of your set! Did you actually build it to support the weight of a charging krogan?"
Gaffno's tone remained as resentful as it had been with Orbal and T'Rue. "As I have told the director repeatedly, I built the set according to the technical specifications that I was given. If those specifications did not account for the weight of a charging krogan because he was a late addition to the cast, then under the IBSVT rules it is clearly the responsibility of the producer and/or director to formally request that the set be retro-fitted to account for the weight of the new cast member. It is not my fault if they failed to do so."
"Not your fault!? Not your fault?!" Aklaysius shouted. "How dare you hide behind the union rules?!"
The volus was unmoved. "He's a krogan. He'll survive it. Probably."
From inside the rubble, Dreed announced, "You know, I *can* hear you guys."
Orbal called the studio and told them to bring in the heavy construction mechs. The devices arrived and began lifting the debris piece by piece. The asaris present, T'Pala, S'Voz and T'Rue, assisted by using their biotics to move smaller pieces of debris. About 20 minutes later the mechs lifted one large piece of debris that turned out to be the one pinning Dreed to the ground. He roared and bashed his way through the remaining rubble. His eyes were burning with rage when he spotted Gaffno. The volus attempted to scramble away but the krogan moved faster and grabbed him by the arm. Dreed then lifted the volus off the ground until they were both at eye level. Everyone else on the set froze in place. No one dared to interfere with the krogan.
"Just so you know," Dreed rasped as Gaffno dangled in front of him, "If I were in prison and someone asked me, 'Was the brief satisfaction you got from killing that volus with your bare hands in front of an entire crowd of people worth the murder conviction you got for doing it?' I would probably say, 'Yes. Yes, it was.' Think about that the next time you half-ass a job."
Dreed released his hold on the volus, who fell to ground. The krogan then turned to rest of the cast and crew. "I'm outta here. You all can finish this vid without me," he announced and stomped off the set.
Orbal sighed. "It's not a crisis, at least. We just go back to script without the krogan character and shoot it that way," he announced.
"Oh, no, you don't," S'Voz declared. "I'm not losing the confrontation scene between my character and Dreed's. Tyruss, you can talk to him, right? Get him to cool down and come back?"
The turian thespian put his hand to his chin. "I don't know. That's as mad as I have ever seen him. But..." The actor thought for second then announced, "I know what to do. It's a bit drastic but it just might work," he said. Aklaysius pulled up his omni-tool and tapped away for a few seconds before frowning. "Ah, he's turned his off. No doubt doesn't want to talk to anybody right now... Okay, somebody needs to find Dreed and bring him to my trailer. While they're doing that I'll be setting things up."
"I volunteer," Vass announced, surprising many - including himself. Tracking down a foul-tempered krogan was potentially dangerous work. Nevertheless Vass knew Major Kirrahe had gone to some lengths to get Dreed cast in the vid and he didn't want the major's efforts to go to waste.
Aklaysius thanked Vass for the help and suggested that he look for the krogan in the studio cafeteria first. The turian clearly knew his friend's habits well. When Vass reached the cafeteria he spotted Dreed at the beverage counter angrily demanding to know why it didn't have imported ryncol available. The krogan was not particularly happy to see Vass but the words, "Tyruss sent me" had the intended effect and he grudgingly agreed to follow along.
"Well, ain't this spacious? Of course, you would get the fancy digs. Can't have the great Tyruss Aklaysius relaxing in anything as cramped as what the rest of us get," the krogan muttered as Vass lead him inside the turian's trailer. "Orbal put you up to this, didn't he? Well, you can tell him it didn't work. I quit."
Aklaysius politely ignored the krogan's announcement. "This trailer is even nicer than you think. It's got its own intergalactic line," the turian noted and hit a button that brought up a viewscreen. "In fact, it's hooked up to the University of Serrice right now."
Dreed looked over at the turian and tilted his head. "The University of Serrice? Why would you do that? Unless..." A realization hit the krogan and his jaw went slack. "You didn't... Did you?"
The turian thespian dropped his already deep voice down yet another register. "Desperate times, my friend, call for desperate measures," he declared, then hit the button to open the com line. After a brief crackle of static, the image of a young asari appeared on the screen. Upon seeing her, Dreed's manner suddenly switched from surly to friendly.
"Well, hello there," he awkwardly told the asari. "How's my little huntress doing?"
The asari frowned in response. "She's a little ticked off at you."
Dreed nervously shifted on his feat and cleared his throat. "Oh? What did I do this time...?" he replied.
The asari rolled her eyes. "Explain to me why I have to find out from Uncle Tyruss and not you that you're going to be in the new Blasto vid?"
The krogan's speech became halting. "Ohhh, *that*... Well, it didn't seem like that big of a deal... Just another job, you know? Didn't think I needed to interrupt your studies..."
"Not a big deal!?" exclaimed the asari. "Uncle Tyruss says you'll be in scenes with Adria S'Voz and you'll actually be playing one of the good guys this time!"
"Yes, that's true..." Dreed mumbled. "I *was* going to tell you. Just hadn't gotten around to it... You know how I get sometimes."
The asari let out a loud, sarcastic "Pfft!" then added, "Yeah, probably sometime after it leaves the theaters! Do you know how long I have waited for something like this? To be able to take all of my friends out to the theater and then point up to the screen and say, 'Hey, that's my dad up there! Isn't he cool?' I never get to do that," she complained.
Vass watched the exchange raptly. He wasn't sure when he would ever get another chance to see a krogan acting so humbly.
"I'm-I'm sorry," he apologized. "I wasn't thinking..."
The asari sighed. "I'm sorry, too, dad. I didn't mean to make you feel bad. It's just that your parts are usually so small and you get killed off so fast. I still go out to see all of them, even though I can't leave the theater to get a drink or use the bathroom 'cause I'm afraid I'll miss the part you're in. Anyway, how is the shoot going? What's S'Voz like?"
Dreed straightened up and his confident, assertive voice returned. "We were shooting a scene together this morning as a matter of fact. Big action sequence. You'll be able to see your old man taking out a whole bunch of geth. And S'Voz? She's kind of like your mother. Walks into a room and pretty much takes over, you know? We're getting along fine. Which is good because we've got a bunch of other scenes together like today's still to do."
The asari smiled broadly. "Awesome! All of my friends are going to be so jealous," she declared. "Oh, have you talked to Lujia lately? She has an opportunity to join a student exchange program with earth but mom isn't keen on the idea."
Dreed turned to Vass and Aklaysius. "Do you guys mind? Family business," he stated. The salarian and turian excused themselves and exited the trailer, then hung around in front of it. Aklaysius filled the time by regaling Vass with anecdotes about the vids he had done with Dreed. Ten minutes later the krogan emerged.
"Dammit, Tyruss, you fight dirty, you know that?" Dreed declared.
Aklaysius chuckled. "Well, as you yourself have said many times, it is the only way a turian can win a straight-up fight with a krogan."
A light grin crossed Dreed's face. "Yeah, I do say that, don't I?" He pulled up his omni-tool and checked his messages. "Well, they're gonna shoot around the outpost scene until they get the rest of the set rebuilt, so I better get back to work," he announced and lumbered off back towards Soundstage 11.
"So, how scary was it when that set came tumbling down underneath you?" Vass asked Linia as they sipped drinks together at the cafeteria after the day's shooting was finished.
Linia shuddered. "Terrifying. I don't even remember pulling my biotics up before I jumped. Must have just been instinct."
Vass puzzled over that. "Do biotics usually work that way? Not being consciously aware that you are using them, I mean?"
"No. Not for me, anyway," Linia replied. "I have to concentrate first. Of course, I'm not usually in life-threatening situations either, thank the Goddess. Why do you ask?"
Vass took another sip of his drink. "Just curious."
The pair chatted for another hour before Linia announced she had go to her room and start studying her lines for the next day. After they bid each other goodnight, Vass headed back to Soundstage 11, now empty of people. The heavy construction mechs had left the remaining pieces of the outpost set mostly intact - Gaffno and the other designers still weren't certain if any of the sections were salvageable. Vass walked over to the remains of the section where Dreed had fallen through the floor and Linia and S'Voz had leapt. He pulled up his omni-tool and scanned the debris.
The scan confirmed his suspicions. Linia hadn't pulled up her biotics subconsciously, as she had assumed. Her biotics, and presumably S'Voz's as well, had been activated by the red sand that had been hidden inside the set.
