*****The Broken Reaper*****
Chapter 16: Awakening: The Visit, Part 2
AN: Huh, updating this on the last day of the month. Cool. Anyway, I'm going to try something new with my reviews responses: if they get ridiculously large (which happens a lot, because I can't stop myself from talking at times), I'll send it over a PM instead to keep from cluttering the author's notes, and will label the section for that reviewer accordingly. If you get one, just treat it like a normal response and ask whatever questions you might have via reviewing instead of replying to the message.
Prometheus-777: Seeing as I always make your response section massive, expect more of these labels in the future. [Covered in a PM]
Blaze1992: Convenience, as in it had it so why not use it, and being fully geared up, meaning she didn't have the space for it. She may specialize in CQC and biotics, but she can still easily use every weapon type thanks to the combat protocols downloaded, she just won't be as skilled compared to someone that does so naturally.
Tom712: Suuuurrree, whateveeerr you say. *shakes head with an amused smile on his face*
I'm going to try and shorten future author's notes from now on to having most of them at the bottom, considering reviews take up enough space as is, even taking into account the new way I'm handling them.
I first thought up the general idea for this chapter all the way back before Valora even became a character, so believe me when I say this: it was going to happen one way or another. We'll pick up where we left off, and to steal a line from a fellow author that I've been saving for a while now, the first half of what you're about to read marks the final stretch before fecal matter begins to make contact with the oscillating cooling device (whoever said this originally, if you're reading this, thanks for an entertaining story).
"-and after the last pirate ship was destroyed, the cruiser picked us up. The then Captain Meldos got in contact with me about a new post serving under him, and so here I am." He finished with a gesture at the surrounding penthouse. She processed it as best she could, another question popping up.
"What kind of job results in mercenaries, retirees, and active duty officers working together?"
"Not allowed to tell you, Sal. Wish I could, but what we're doing is classified to an extreme."
"Is it dangerous?" She asked worriedly.
"Not any more than my last post turned out to be." He responded with a shrug.
She paused to think about it, speaking up a few seconds later. "I'm starting to wish you joined Blackwatch instead. At least then you'd have gotten the best equipment in Hierarchy space, and it provides almost as many opportunities as the Navy in the long run."
"You and me both." He muttered just loud enough for her to hear. They were interrupted by Meldos, still helping Perdweigh in the kitchen.
"I've been meaning to ask: why did you go with the Navy?"
Her brother sighed, and if she had to guess, this wasn't the first time he'd been asked that question. "I wanted to see the galaxy, explore new areas of space, meet interesting people, and without being shot at while I did it. So much for that idea."
"Don't you still have the option to switch your career path? I'm sure I could arrange for you to stay on with me afterward; rank does have it's privileges after all."
Setherus opened his mouth to respond, only for no words to come out, mandibles clicking shut as his face gained a thoughtful look to it. He slowly nodded, repeating the motion several times before giving his answer. "You know what, you're right! It's been less than a year since I left the academy, so I could always just ask for a transfer to my original branch; I mean it's not as if there's anything keeping me in the Navy after what happened to the Predator. Why didn't I think of that?"
"Because, pointy, it's hard to think when your face is glued to those idiotic channels you never stop listening to." Sederis cut in, for some reason agitating him with the comment.
"Well, pardon me, handless! Is it my fault I like to stay informed of recent news?" Handless? What kind of nickname is that? Wait, didn't he use it when I first got here as well?
Before she could ask, Sederis angrily responded, making her wonder as to just why the two were creating such a big issue out of it. "You call the garbage pumped out by those opinionated assholes 'news'!? I learn more talking to a random person on the street than I do watching those fuckers!"
"At least I don't waste my time reading books and playing games based on some crazy grim-dark science fiction universe! What the hell is a god emperor even supposed to be, anyway?!"
An unusual sound came from the direction of the kitchen, causing every person in the luxury apartment to look at it's source, just in time to see Perdweigh finish spurting out what appeared to be some sort of fruit juice; the blue liquid traveling an impressive distance over the dining table she was standing behind.
The asari cleared her throat, chuckling in an obvious attempt to hide her embarrassment, and if it wasn't for the Major cutting in with a stern voice, she had no doubt they would've continued their seemingly pointless argument. "ENOUGH! How many times am I going to have to play referee for you two? It's been weeks since we started working together, so why is it so hard for you couple of misfits to get over your rivalry?"
The two of them cringed, the commanding tone ending any thoughts they might've had about continuing, and they pleadingly looked at the area to Meldos' right, setting their eyes once more on Perdweigh.
"Don't look at me, you're on your own here." Was all she said in reply to the silent request for aid, making them droop their heads in defeat. The exchange left her feeling completely bewildered, unable to say anything as she tried to understand just what happened in such a short period of time, thoroughly confused by all of it. She eventually remembered the question she had, and took advantage of the sudden quiet that had settled over them.
"Where did you get the nickname 'handless' from? Better yet, HOW did you get it? I mean, you're obviously not, so I'm rather curious."
Sederis absentmindedly rubbed the wrist of her left hand for some reason, not giving an immediate answer, and only stopped when she noticed the four sets of eyes looking at her; Treniso and Duvirian bringing their full attention to the conversation in apparent anticipation of an answer, Edoraka following suit. The merc, as Salonia learned she was thanks to Setherus, folded her arms underneath her chest, not returning any of their expectant gazes, and spoke in an unusually withheld and low tone compared to the previous outburst. "That's a personal matter."
There was a collective blink at the brief statement, only for any further questioning to be forgotten as Perdweigh started putting bowls and plates on the table, having already cleaned off the juice. "Dinner's ready, so come and get it! I've been trying my hand at more quarian recipes, so I can't wait to hear your opinions on it."
Is that what those smells have been? I thought all the spices were intended to be some sort of natural air freshener. Quarian food made by an asari….heh, so I'll be having two firsts at once. Suppose it wouldn't hurt to try just a little bit.
The five turians plus one not-quite turian digging into their food, pleasured moans coming from Salonia that made Setherus chuckle, she did the finishing touches on her and Valora's own meal: a serving of rich fruits and slices of tender meat from an asari colony world. Satisfied they were ready, she brought a plate to where the actual asari sat on one end of the dining table, a pleased hum let out when the food was placed in front of her; eyeing the expertly made delicacy in anticipation like a predator would it's prey. Who knew that being able to remember every single detail about something would come in handy for cooking. All I did was watch a few hundred vids and read a couple thousand articles on it, and all of a sudden I know how to make restaurant quality dishes. Okay, so learning how to cook for myself back home certainly helped, but I'm still surprised at how easy this is even for entirely different biology's. To think this all started when I made a sample for Setherus and Valora to try, just to see if it was any good, and now they refuse to accept anyone else cooking for them seeing as I'm their 'personal chef'.
She smiled in amusement as she sat down at the other end of the table, the fond memory being replayed in the privacy of her mind. While she would never say it out loud, she was touched by their honest compliments of her abilities, and was happy to continue honing her skills in that particular field, even though it did nothing more than improve their morale….or in the case of Setherus, increase the size of his stomach. It was still amusing to re-watch how he reacted upon learning that, stating how he wanted to lengthen his training regimen to make up for it. It worked, if only in returning him to his normal weight, and he decided to continue the training rather than eat less as, in his words, he got the best of both worlds by doing so. Valora had the advantage of burning off the extra calories thanks to being an asari: biotics forced even a species that had them naturally to eat more to make up for it, which is why a fat asari was practically non-existent; not that the merc was complaining, having an excuse to eat three or four servings a meal.
Annoyingly, it served as the catalyst to increase their formerly minimal rivalry back up to it's old levels; starting with Setherus believing Valora should increase her level of training to match his, and her believing he should instead decrease his eating habits. Predictably, neither side backed down, and they'd gained a reputation among the squads of being able to start a fight over any minor detail, with Hystuss having to step in on more than one occasion.
They finished with barely a word said between them, and she cleared off the table as they left, listening to the conversation that formed when Salonia moved to the gift pile.
"I assume that's for me?" The teenager asked, having difficulty holding in her excitement. The one universal truth no matter the race or time period: everyone loves opening presents.
"That they are. One from each of us, although I have no idea what's in them except for mine." Setherus answered, and she saw him prepare the recording function on his omni-tool behind his back, out of sight from all but her.
"Sooooo, I can open them?"
"Of course; that is, unless you want to be nice and let me have-" the turian ripped into the first one with her talons in response, catching him off guard. It happened to be the gift she'd ordered for this occasion, proud of having been able to get one.
"A copy of Modern Recipes cooking magazine?" Ocean blinked, turning to look at it. Sure enough, the cover page displayed the quarian meal she'd just prepared, smoky vapor added on the displayed image for effect. What the-that's not what I put in there!
That's when she saw Hystuss cover his currently turian mouth with a hand, chest shaking in what seemed like barely held in laughter. She glared at him, a simple message appearing in her vision in response, the letters semi-transparent. 'Consider this payback for that whole password fiasco when we first got here.'
Before she could form an adequate reply, creating and instantly deleting over a dozen different messages rather than send them, he spoke up. "Maybe it was meant as a prank, Cerhn does tend to do that occasionally. Have you checked underneath it?"
Salonia did as he suggested, eventually bringing a specially designed wristband out of the box that appeared to be nothing more than a high-quality fashion statement, examining it curiously. "What is it?"
Taking it as her cue, she told the girl just that. "A custom ordered omni-tool made by Serrice Council, fitted for a turian wrist and adjusted for the use of three fingers instead of five." at the mention of it's makers, the eyes of several of them widened in shock, and even her not-quite-alive partner raised his brow-plates in surprise "It comes with all the default applications, and a few bonuses I added in for good measure. Go ahead, try it out."
"Serrice Council….as in that Serrice Council? The asari consortium that makes biotic amps and omni-tools considered the best on the market, and that run upwards of 50,000 credits or more to buy?!" The turian said shakily, unable to take her eyes off the device that would cost years of her life to purchase, looking at it as if it was a priceless artifact. Ocean chuckled at the expression, finding that 'youthful wonder' translated across species. More like 150,000. The one downside of having it built to order: the cost is prohibitively high, never mind the screening process they put me through costing a fairly large amount on top of it. Good thing I worked out the details of my 'career' as a reputable mercenary a few weeks ago, otherwise I don't think they would've made it for me.
"The same."
She wobbled in place, Setherus watching in concern, but managed to calm down, taking a deep breath and letting it out. She slipped it on without any further delay, and the wristband pulled itself closed around her arm comfortably a few seconds after she did, the automatic size adjustor a built-in feature thanks to it's exorbitant price. When she turned it on, it displayed a simple login screen asking for user information, the haptic interface being smooth and almost organic in appearance compared to the normal blocky and mechanical one of cheaper models; further showing that at the very least, asari knew how to build something to be aesthetically pleasing.
"I….thank you." The teenager managed after close to a minute of just staring at the screen.
"Glad you like it. I improved a few internal pieces to make it more durable and went with standard grey for the band to ensure it doesn't clash with most clothing, so you can wear it for any occasion, ranging from formal dinners to combat drills."
"Showoff." Was the collective mutter from those gathered, the youngest of them giggling like a child when they said it, flanging voice the only thing making it different from any other. It stopped when Ocean looked at her with a raised eyebrow, the girl 'coughing' as a result, grey scales tinted blue.
The unwrapping went on without incident after that, assorted gifts of differing value given, and when it was all said and done, Valora tried to leave without being noticed. Suffice to say, she was, Hystuss stopping her in her tracks before she'd gone more than a couple steps. "And just where do you think you're going?"
"To get some booze." Was the surprisingly timid answer.
"Really? The party's not even in full swing, and you already want to start drinking?" He asked, sounding disappointed in her.
"Come on, I've gone over a month without it! The last I had any was during my vacation! Pleaaassseee!" She pleaded with a facial expression similar to a varren pup's, if Ocean remembered the saying right, eyes as wide as possible with a slight bit of liquid forming at their edges. If it wasn't for who was doing it, it may have almost been adorable, however, taking into account that it was Valora, it came off as a desperate effort so she could indulge in her favorite vice. He relented with a sigh, immediately perking up their resident maiden.
"Fine, but on your way back, I want you to buy some groceries off of a list I'm going to send you." she nodded, about to turn around, only for him to give her a warning "If you get drunk again, we aren't going to bail you out."
Valora groaned, rubbing her temple as if reliving that particular event. "No worries, that was a one-time mistake, and I'll be sure not to repeat it."
Satisfied with the answer, he gestured to the front door, and she was about to leave, only to say one last thing in a low voice before she did. "Hey, nightlight?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks for the help back there when you 'finished' cooking." She sincerely told her with an appreciative smile.
"Help? What help? I have no idea what you could possibly mean by that." She replied deadpan, making the asari chuckle.
"Ass." She said amusedly, and with that, she left; humming what must've been her favorite drinking song, which Ocean had yet to learn the name of.
For a half-hour the party continued, a fairly calm event all things considered. Eventually, war stories began to be told by the multiple veterans present, and she found herself thoroughly enjoying them. It was during one of these stories that something unexpected happened.
"-don't know why, but the merc honestly thought he could get away with it. The idiotic salarian got killed by his own employers when they found out, the body used for-" Lavaeus was interrupted by the doorbell ringing, a series of chime-like noises going off. Strange, Valora shouldn't be finished for another hour at least. Who could that be?
She 'looked' through the camera she had personally installed above their front door less than a day after moving into the nest, seeing an ordinary looking asari in a uniform belonging to the building's employees, as it was more than just a residential tower; the lower floors a mix of offices and maintenance sections for the people living there. She had a 1x1 meter box held up by a small floating cargo lift next to her, the strangely thick metal unlabeled save for what appeared to be their penthouse's mailing address on a screen built into the thing's lid. As she wasn't the only one capable of using the camera like this, Hystuss opened a connection to her, sounding cautious. Ocean, do you know if someone here ordered that?
If their expressions are anything to go by, I'd have to say no.
He paused for a second, thinking it over. Answer the door, and while you're at it, try getting a better scan of whatever's in that box. I have a feeling it's nothing good, but until we find out what it is, don't do anything that would tip them off.
You really think it might be a problem?
I don't know, but my instincts haven't failed me so far. Just…try to be careful.
Sure thing, 'Commander'. She said with more than a little snark, attempting to alleviate the sudden tension. It seemed to work, if only a little bit, as he audibly started grumbling about 'technicalities' and 'unofficial ranks'; to the confusion of all but her and Setherus, who glanced at her knowingly. She approached the door and used the connected haptic interface next to it for the microphone, neither of which was truly necessary, but she had to keep up appearances around those not in the loop. "Yeah, what is it?"
"I have a package for a Major Meldos. Is he in right now?"
She looked back at 'Meldos', and he gave her a nod in answer to the unasked question. "He is. What's the package supposed to be?"
"I'm sorry, but I have no idea: we aren't allowed to open any deliveries once they've been approved for shipping. All I know is that the sender is supposed to be a former business relation of some sort." She said distractedly, seeming like she wanted to get it over with. Ocean couldn't blame her: no one enjoyed being the delivery boy, or in this case, girl, when you lived on the top floor of a skyscraper.
Business relation, huh? You fine with me opening the door, Hystuss?
Alright, do it. I'll admit, I'm a tad curious myself at who the real Meldos was on good enough terms with for them to send something that big.
She gave him the equivalent of a mental shrug, humming in response, and opened the door. The asari walked in holding a datapad, and glanced around the room. When her eyes landed on the group of turians, she frowned for some reason, the expression disappearing as fast as it came. Ocean noticed, but didn't think much of it; people were entitled to their opinions after all. "I'll need proof of ID from Meldos, and if it clears, the package is all yours."
Hystuss came up to them at that point, and the asari handed him the datapad, the necessary information entered in just fast enough to be both believable and impressive at the same time; if one didn't know how much he was dialing down from his normal speed that is. On that issue they agreed completely: the rest of the galaxy was painfully slow at the best of times, and downright lethargic at the worst. For them, salarians were the closest thing they had to equals, not counting VI's, and talking to an elcor was a living hell.
He finished the process in less than twenty seconds, handing it back to a very surprised alien, who scanned over it quickly. "Looks like everything's in order. Where do you want it?"
"Just leave it on that table over there, the one in front of the couch."
The tower employee nodded, pulling the cargo lift inside and towards the indicated piece of furniture, making it hover directly above the table and lowering it to where there had to have been less than a centimeter between the two surfaces, and pressing a release on the machine's handle that opened the lift's bottom entirely, the box dropping down with a heavy 'thud'. She left without another word, her job finished, and no one stopped to ask her anything else.
The five people still inside the penthouse that weren't Hystuss and herself gathered around it, all of them showing signs of curiosity. She went up to inspect it like she was told to, all while keeping an 'eye' on the asari as she slowly walked to the elevator, watching something on her omni-tool. Figuring it was the easiest way to find out what was inside, she put a hand on the screen, 'feeling' in a hard to describe manner the electronics behind it as nanites entered the digital system. The results confused her at first, not being what she expected. I can't get through it to the other side? Weird, that would imply this wasn't meant to be opened. Wait a second: why did it just send out a short-range transmission?
She was given an answer in the form of the employee pausing out in the hallway and staring at the device around her forearm for the barest of seconds, tapping a final command on it before breaking into a full sprint; leaving the portable carrier behind and any pretense of calm disregarded entirely. She 'heard' as the box received that command, starting a five second countdown. Putting two and two together, her eyes widened, and she gave her partner the simplest warning she could think of at the time, making his own eyes become as large as the dinner plates they had recently eaten off of. IT'S A BOMB!
Even with their ability to effectively ignore time itself when it came to thinking and communicating with each other mentally, their physical bodies weren't quite that fast, so they did what came natural to them in the moment and used the reality bending power inside their current forms as best they could. Hystuss tackled the turian nearest to him, being Calvatia, and made a barrier around himself that was strong enough to engulf them both, and she dove in front of the one nearest to her, being Salonia, and formed a biotic wall nearly a quarter meter thick between her and the explosive device. The other three didn't have time to react to their strange actions, and she was about to yell out to them to find cover, only for her vision to be filled with something she wished she'd never have to experience again: the sight of those she'd come to think of as close friends being engulfed in scorching hot flames. She was unable to do anything except watch as it ravaged their defenseless avian bodies, the clothing they wore doing nothing to protect them.
She closed her eyes, not wanting to remember every intricate detail as their plates and flesh were shredded by the box's thick metal; in hindsight a perfectly designed carrying case as the material it was made from provided more than enough shrapnel while also hiding the contents inside it. The shockwave it produced almost made her stumble, and shattered the floor-to-ceiling windows between the living room and balcony. Her biotic wall did it's job well, the blue-edged and transparent construct merely flickering as it blocked what was effectively a large grenade; not that she felt any pride in that fact at the moment.
Less than a second after the blast the penthouse sprinklers automatically turned on overhead, dowsing everything in a chemical mixture designed to evaporate quickly to lower the chance of water damage occurring while still putting out a fire, in an attempt to keep it from spreading. It managed to succeed in that goal, and she opened her eyes once more; immediately wishing she hadn't, but understanding there was no way around it. The table the 'package' had been placed on was simply gone, the surrounding seating arrangements scorched piles of rubble, however, those were simply objects, easily replaceable. What wasn't were the three unmoving forms on the floor, entirely covered in a layer of sickening charcoal black, the effects of the bomb searing shut any wounds caused by it. She expected to feel sorrowful, or outraged, or even just mildly upset at what was in front of her. Instead, she felt something so foreign to her thought process that when she reviewed the memory a few minutes later it terrified her in a way nothing else could: her personality became cold, emotionless, and so filled with a disregard for morality it was eerily similar to how she acted before attaining true sentience once more.
She noticed and promptly ignored a warning that appeared in her vision, the words being 'ERROR! Fault detected in organic emulation matrix. Advise immediate maintenance be performed', and took in her surroundings: noting every scratch, dent, and burn mark on the typically pristine floor. I just finished cleaning it too. All possibilities lead to a single conclusion that would be an equal punishment for damages caused here to allied personnel and living quarters: the people responsible for this will be found, caught, put into a storage pod on Retribution while still alive, and be forced to experience every traumatizing memory that belongs to our entire race. If they aren't dead from shock after a week passes, they'll be put out of their misery and impaled on a conversion pylon….perhaps their husks should be killed too on principal. I'm sure we can replace them easily enough.
Her thoughts on how to make the mind-breaking process as intense and painful as possible, while also being efficient and reliable, were interrupted by Hystuss opening a connection; his voice sounding nearly robotic in it's flat pitch, the lack of expressed emotion something they currently shared. There's only one person that has both the ability and reason to orchestrate this: the Shadow Broker. That line about the sender being a 'former business relation' confirms it, and the sheer arrogance of telling those you intend to kill who's responsible for their impending death is reminiscent of her actions on the abandoned station. Retrieve that 'employee' before she can make it to the ground floor; alive if possible, her brain intact to have it's memories searched through by Orchestra if not.
Acknowledged, Hystuss. If alive, should she be incapacitated for ease of transportation?
An optional choice, depending on the situation. I'll leave it to your judgment whether or not to do so.
She didn't respond. Mission parameters set she turned around to leave, and came close to bumping into Salonia because of it: her face frozen in horror and staring at the blackened and motionless turian that now barely resembled her brother. Ocean got a quick bio reading of the girl using the infiltrator's built-in retina scanner to see if she'd been hurt from the blast, a shimmering blue light going up-and-down her body in less than a second all that was needed to conclude she hadn't been, and moved on towards the penthouse's sole entryway; having missed the look from Calvatia that was equal parts shocked at the blatant display of strange and advanced technology, and furious at how she dealt with the paralyzed teenager.
When the door closed itself behind her she paused to let the infiltrator's standard nanite armor form, it taking just under ten seconds to do so, and went up to the elevator doors. It was already twelve stories below their own and showed no signs of stopping, and was too far away for a remote hack to reverse it's direction. Taking these two things into account, she did some quick math, an emphasis on quick, to decide on what to do. The rate of decent is one floor every 4.52 seconds, so while I might be able to break into the tower's systems and access elevator control, there's a 78% chance it would warn the occupant and give them an opportunity to escape. Unacceptable. If I jump down the shaft and use a warp from each hand to weaken the elevator's roof so I can go through it without stopping, the odds of the bomber noticing me in time to react are 16%, and I should have a 63% chance to incapacitate them. A preferential outcome to any other option, and the highest possibility of success.
Her choice made, she didn't even try to open the hatch sealing the elevator shaft in a normal manner: forcing her fingers and then hands into the widening gap made by the door's halves, it's hydraulics screeching in protest, and slammed them apart with brute strength alone, knowing how much damage it would do to the mechanism and not caring in the least. She looked down the shaft, her destination in sight, and floated directly over it using her biotics to line up the warps, a simple matter of decreasing her mass to that of air. Well, simple for her at least.
As the powers capable of disintegrating even diamonds swirled in the palm of her hands, she felt the stress on her body's capabilities nearing unsafe levels, so without further delay, she released the pent-up energy; dual orbs of blue shooting downward as she ended the levitation, with her trailing directly behind them. The effect when they impacted was immediate, as they ate through metal like tissue paper, a pair of holes appearing at the epicenters. She straightened herself out and pulled her feet and legs together as if they were a lance, being the 'tip' intended to punch through the weakened material. It worked according to plan: the rapidly thinning metal sheet that acted as the elevator's ceiling provided almost no resistance, and gave way to the sight of a very surprised and confused asari; not having expected a fully armored purple being to quite literally drop through the roof.
She had an irrational urge to turn the primitive organic's limbs into a mushy paste to keep her from being able to flee, but didn't do so, the chance of it killing such a frail creature too high, and she fully intended to capture them alive for.…intensive questioning. Rather than follow through on that urge, she sent a purposely weakened biotic throw into the alien's head, not trusting herself to keep from murdering them outright if she physically knocked them out. The whiplash would no doubt be unpleasant, but it wouldn't impede her ability to speak; at least that was the excuse she'd use if asked.
Her prisoner acquired, she pressed the button that would bring them back to floor 127 and got to work on erasing the camera footage from the elevator, starting from the moment the 'employee' stepped into it after delivering the bomb and ending when she walked out with the alien in tow, and, of course, she made a copy of it for her personal files. She willed the armor to deconstruct, and it did so without any problems, disappearing as if it had never existed in the first place. Everything she'd just accomplished, from leaving the penthouse to crashing in on the asari, took 23.77 seconds to complete, so she allowed herself the barest amount of satisfaction at a job well done.
Calvatia liked to think she'd seen a lot during her career in the Marines. A krogan poet and pacifist who was a master musician, a thresher maw that ate an entire tank and died when it's crew fired the main gun in the beast's stomach, a pirate ship where the crew killed each other because two different people wanted to be captain, even a batarian nobleman that bought slaves so he could free them on a Council colony world, and those were just the most memorable stories. That last one 'disappeared' under mysterious circumstances, but that was just a another way of saying the Hegemony had him killed and seized his assets to make up for the lost revenue. Can't have 'undesirable business practices' put in effect don't you know; that might encourage slave rebellions.
Yet with all that, she had never once been tackled by her commanding officer before now. It was so bizarre that she didn't know how to react at first; something dangerously close to a blush forming around her facial plates as his surprisingly muscular frame held her down. Only then did she notice a blue layer surrounding them, and when Calvatia looked up she saw Perdweigh creating a positively massive wall of biotic energy in front of her and Salonia; so thick she didn't have a doubt in her mind about it being able to block anything up to an artillery round if need be. That's when it finally hit her. Perdweigh's biotic wall was facing the just delivered package, and Meldos' back was to it, meaning their actions were a result of only one thing: bomb.
She tried to yell out a warning to the other three watching in confusion, tried to let them know….but it was too late. The explosion forced her back down onto the floor, the two person barrier glowing brightly for several seconds, and her uncovered ears started ringing from the noise. She then began to feel a wet substance run down her scales, and noticed the sprinkler system had turned itself on, most likely in response to the bomb. Meldos stood up then, a face devoid of it's normal half-smile that promised amusement and eyes seemingly glowing, the dark blue of his irises somehow brighter than before. If that wasn't concerning enough, his hands twitched at a speed that meant he was either suffering from multiple types of substance withdrawal, or he was so enraged he could explode at any moment, whether literally or figuratively she didn't know; biotics could actually do that if they wanted to after all. Considering what she knew of the man, the latter was far more likely, and she prepared for when the walls would cave in from the burst of energy.
When he glanced at Perdweigh and Salonia impassively rather than start breaking things, it surprised her to say the least, and she finally stood up herself then. The living room was a wreck, shards of glass covering half the floor, and the couch was nothing but skeletal remains compared to it's previously soft cushioning. Her gaze eventually fell upon what was left of the three caught in the blast, sealing any possibility of them having survived. Even if they're still alive for now, there's no telling what internal damage was done; hell, the external is bad enough. Poor kid, watching her own brother get killed in front of her like this. I didn't even get a chance to properly know them either, well, not like my old group of marines at least, and now…they're both dead.
The thought caused a knot to form in her chest, and she forced herself to look anywhere but their still warm bodies. As if to add to the confusion and frustration going through her mind, she did so just in time to watch as a dim blue light went over Salonia, from her head down to her feet. That by itself wasn't strange, but the fact that it originated from Perdweigh's eyes showed they were no mere implants, making her wonder where the asari had gotten them from. That wonder turned into anger as the second the light cut out, she exited through the front door without a word said, leaving behind a practical child on the verge of tears. Thinking that Meldos, being closer friends with Setherus and as such more caring about the man's kid sister, would move to comfort her, she felt like exploding herself when he didn't; instead examining the probable corpses like one would a fruit in a grocery store, occasionally nodding as he scanned their heads with an odd device he pulled out of nowhere.
Seeing as there was no one else either capable of, or willing to do the job that needed doing, she sucked in a breath and did her best to appear as comforting as possible; her facial scar itching from how it was stretched in an attempt to copy the expression her mother wore when she ran crying to her after having a particularly bad nightmare as a little girl. For all she knew, without a mirror or a similar reflective surface to confirm it one way or the other, it made her look menacing rather than motherly, but she had to try nonetheless. Having experienced something similar in her own personal history, she recognized that without some type of interference right at the start, this would very likely harm the young woman for the rest of her life. It did for me, at least. I used to be called 'little miss sunshine' by that bunch of civilians impersonating actual marines. Honestly, the trouble they were capable of getting into the minute I let them out of my sight whenever we got furlough. Almost made me want to retire then and there a couple times, rather than continue being their sergeant. It was worth it in the end though; I couldn't have asked for a better squad, massive amounts of paperwork covering the repair bills aside.
She slowly shook her head in melancholy, an old memory resurfacing of a rather hilarious mishap on a multi-species colony world involving eight asari maidens from some outlying cult of Athame engaged in a 'group ritual' in the room next to her squad's, ending in a destroyed hotel room wall because of it, thanks mostly in part to their demolitions expert getting tired of the noise. The police were called, the salarian hotel manager thinking it was a terrorist attack, and when she was informed about all of it, as she had been staying in a separate hotel at the time, those maidens had convinced the officers, both batarians and one a woman, the manager, and half the squad to participate as well; asari were freaky like that, in more ways than one in her opinion. 'A late night scare turned interracial orgy' was how the local news channels described it the following morning, and the rest of their tour of duty on the planet was spent either training, patrolling, or sleeping, as she had been given strict orders to 'keep them busy' by a general that watched the news report. Remembering how she forced the entire squad to go on a three day 'camping expedition' to remind them of their duty as soldiers served to lighten her mood, if only a little, and she walked up to the adolescent's side, lightly putting a hand on her shoulder. It managed to get a response out of Salonia, as she first looked at the hand, followed by the face of the person it belonged to, and the expression on the girls own face made it seem like she wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball and stay there.
Calvatia hesitated, not used to being on the other end like this, but pressed on, searching for the right words to use. "I'm….sorry you were forced to see that."
As soon as it left her throat, she wanted to smack her forehead, realizing that wasn't what the other person needed right now. She fully intended to correct the mistake, only for Salonia to surprise her with a response. "He always said he'd die at home when he got old, surrounded by friends and family." she went back to staring at his scorched remains, eyes glossy with held in tears "Why couldn't he have waited until the old part came true?"
She finally began to break down, body shaking uncontrollably, and collapsed to her knees, not a sound coming from her as pinpricks of water rolled down her facial plates. Calvatia kneeled in front of her, and was about to try what she remembered from various recovery sessions over the years and be the kid's proverbial lifeline during the rawest part of it all, only to be interrupted by Meldos, voice even and near mechanical in it's levelness, still examining the fallen soldiers. "He's not dead, not yet anyway, and at the moment, neither are the other two. Although, they will be before too long, but don't worry; if what I have in mind is possible, I doubt you'll need to concern yourself with that becoming a permanent state of affairs."
She saw what she knew to be false hope growing in Salonia's eyes and stood up, growling at the man that was currently her superior, and would've told him something she'd have regretted later on, yet again was interrupted; this time by Perdweigh coming back through the door with an unconscious and vaguely familiar asari hung over her shoulder like it was nothing.
The Sub-Commander looked at them briefly, and then dropped what Calvatia recognized as the employee that delivered the 'package' on the ground next to the door none-too-gently, walking over to join Meldos by the apparently dying turians after she had. Neither of them spared a second glance their direction, and she felt her blood boil, the respect they held in her eyes dwindling rapidly. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO?!"
That got their attention, the pair facing her and tilting their heads in confusion so similar to each other it almost stopped the anger fueled rant she was about to go on. Almost. "Out of the three of us, I am THE LEAST DAMNED QUALIFIED TO HANDLE THIS! Perdweigh, you ran off without doing a damn thing to help take care of a frightened girl literally standing right in front of you! Meldos, you outright ignored the sister of someone I assumed was a friend of yours so you could play doctor with her dying brother! I don't care what the reasoning behind it is, I. Should. Not. Be. The. One. Doing. This."
She punctuated each word just to be sure they got the point, and calmed down enough to see their reaction. What she didn't expect was for Meldos to blink and then furrow his brow-plates in concentration, followed by his eyes unmistakably glowing a dark blue, the light still dim but impossible to be naturally made, along with the back of his neck, except it was a more neutral shade of blue. He became as still as a statue, and Perdweigh looked at him in slight worry, only to then stare at seemingly nothing; her artificial eyes almost immediately doing the same as his and becoming practical flashlights in comparison, neck glowing the same color as the turian of the pair. The otherworldly aura the glow created sent shivers down her spine, her anger rapidly turning into concern and another reasonable emotion considering the wrongness of it all: a primal fear of the unknown. This fear was further compounded when they began to float a meter above the ground, arms and legs outstretched so far apart it seemed like an invisible something was pulling on them, veins of blue running across most of their exposed skin like a spider's web, pulsing every few seconds as if it was directly linked to the heartbeat of a third person. Spirits….what's….what's happening to them?
In spite of the very real terror she now felt that told her to run away as fast as possible, she stayed rooted in place, vaguely noticing that Salonia had a similar reaction to it. The aberration, for that was the only word she knew that could describe it, lasted another thirty seconds give-or-take, and the glow subsided entirely; them being lowered back down to the floor by an unseen force. Even though it was done slowly, they still fell to a knee when it finally ended, gasping for air like a man just saved from drowning.
When Perdweigh at last spoke up, it was in her regular voice, albeit worn and scratchy in a similar manner to a sergeant she used to know that had yelled too much over a short period of time, and for some reason she sounded scared, far more scared than she'd ever sounded before in the several weeks Calvatia had known the asari. "That was…unnerving." she shivered as if exposed to a cold wind, her eyes closed and ragged breaths being let out "Let's never do it again."
"Agreed." Said Meldos, trying and failing not to do the same as his alien companion.
They cautiously stood up, attempting to get their balance in the process as they wobbled slightly, and faced them silently, apparently anticipating questions. When she found her voice again, she released a breath she didn't realize had been held in, and spoke, not about to disappoint that anticipation. "What just happened, how, and why?"
They regarded her with weary gazes, looking as if they'd aged a thousand years in a moment. Meldos was the one to answer, though it was less an answer and more a cryptic reply. "That can be explained when we get picked up by my ship. It's the only place I know of in this galaxy that has the tech needed to heal the three of them."
"Ship? You mean one from the fleet arm of Antrafell? And how can you heal someone who's dead or going to be?"
He shook his head, the motion almost pitying. "Not quite, and I can't tell you here, at least not in a way that's easily describable. Please, I promise that every question you have will be answered after we get there, I just ask that you wait until then. That goes for you too, Salonia."
"Did you mean what you told me about helping Seth? Is he going to be alright?" Said turian asked, begged really, completely ignoring the fact that the other Kalnen in the room had likely already joined the spirits. He nodded, and while it relieved the girl, Calvatia noticed how he appeared saddened or possibly regretful, she wasn't sure which.
"He'll be alright, that I can guarantee. He'll just need to get used to a few…adjustments before you can see him again. It's kinda funny, really. Looks like he's going to have his wish come true after all." The way he said it made it seem more like a curse than blessing, and she narrowed her eyes, not liking the implications one bit. If the 'adjustments' are anything like what was done to them, we're going to have words. Two people that glow and magically hover in midair for no reason are bad enough, and while we weren't exactly close friends, I'm still going to watch over them to make sure nothing bad happens to their bodies. Well, at least nothing worse than what already has. Why did I have to accept that offer to work for him? I could've stayed in retirement, found a good man to marry, and maybe had a few kids before I got too old for it, but noooo. Instead, I signed up with an organization where I can be killed just by association alone, and where the two in charge occasionally turn into floating, neon blue street signs that disregard common sense and basic rules of reality at will.
While the thoughts were meant to convince her of how bad the situation was, if she was being honest, that first option held no real appeal for her. A life spent living in comfort and happiness may have been a choice many would take, but she was a thrill seeker at heart, and while she still felt a little afraid about what might happen, the adventure it offered was something she couldn't refuse. After all, she became a marine for a reason all those years ago, and if not for what happened that led to her retirement, she would still be one; going places, meeting people, and seeing things that were normally reserved for works of fiction. No, this was the life she wanted to live: the happiness and heartache, the joy and sadness, the fun and misery, the peace and torment, all of it was what she desired to experience; for what was life without the ups and downs? Boring. And spirits dammit, she refused to have a boring life!
She didn't know it at the time, but as fate would have it, for all of her remaining years, she would get her wish.
A cliffhanger you say? What happened to the Reaper duo that made their conscience and normal personalities up and disappear you ask? What's going to be done with the barbecued turians you wonder? *grins evilly* You'll just have to wait and see, because I'm not telling.
No huge paragraph explaining why it took so long for this to be put out, I just had a case of the lazy is all. Sorry guys. Can't say it won't happen again, but I'll try to put more effort into writing instead of goofing off (not my fault really, a lot of awesome new and old fics just started/had updates put up recently).
While making this chapter I had an idea for a crossover between this and halo, seeing as I'm more-or-less borrowing a few things from the latter (mainly an infiltrator's physical abilities, lethality, and the whole 'metal bone' thing from way back when). Now, just like I tried for when I first started writing this story, it would be something that I don't think has ever been done before, at least not in the way I have it in mind. Here's the basic premise: the mass effect galaxy is not the Milky Way, and instead of crashing on Jartar when the Retribution/Monarch (if the second name confuses you, read the new prologue) is disabled, it's last engine burst sends it outside the solar system, seemingly headed for nowhere. It keeps going on this trajectory for hundreds of millions of years, traveling untold light years because of it, eventually finding a new home in the Orion arm of the Milky Way in 2552, near the end of the war against the Covenant. Aside from that I'm still deciding what to do with it, so don't expect to see this anytime soon, but I thought I'd let you guys know. That said, what do you think? If you'd be interested in it, I'd love to hear, and seeing as the storyline is anything but set in stone this early on, if anyone wants to bounce ideas around in PM's I'd be glad to have the help.
As always, even if it took me longer than I'd have liked, this was a blast to write out. I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time!