Death Becomes Her
Chapter 17
Rick was in uniform since today was going to be a big day. A potentially catastrophic day, actually. He found Kate standing at the glass looking out. There usually was nothing to see since space was black and since they were still in FTL, it meant there really was nothing to see. Rick embraced her from behind and felt her hands on his. "How do you feel?"
"Anxious, scared, amazed all rolled into one," Kate admitted.
Rick corrected his question to her. "I don't mean about what comes next, I mean physically."
She had been trapped in Medical all night and all the next day. Even when she was discharged, getting home wasn't without discomfort. She had run far too long. The doctor called them cramps. Kate called them muscle spasms. The worst she had ever had in her life. She had two IVs with one in each arm all night and into the next day and that still didn't stop them. They had gotten so bad that she screamed from the pain. It felt like her legs, both of them, were trying to twist into pretzels.
She had learned a lesson that day. Never, ever try to compete against a Krogan. Not for any reason. Just admit failure or defeat or call it what you like. Just don't.
"I'm fine. The doctor even let me go back to doing some light jogging. That makes Alexis happy. She gets to ride around the track with some of her friends again. I just have to remember to stop and stand perfectly still when one of them goes BEEP BEEP. Or risk getting run over." Kate giggled a little.
"Alexis loves you. Maybe more than she loves even me now. Daddy's fine but Mommy is better," Rick told her.
That had Kate twisting to face him. "She loves you, Rick. Never doubt that. I'm not replacing you. I just happen to be here most of the time." She was even getting used to being called Mommy now instead of Kate.
"It's all right, Kate. I know it's not a competition. Every child deserves a mother. Birth mother or no, someone she can call Mom. Besides now I don't have to try so desperately to be both to her.
"You might still think of yourself as being Human but you're Angoran now." Rick kissed her and kept kissing her.
"Wow, what was that for?" She usually only got kisses like that one when they made love.
"We're arriving at the Relay today. In just a few hours, actually. I need you and Alexis to stay right here. Unless the evacuation alarm sounds. Then you know where to go." Rick needed to be certain she knew what to do.
"You really think it will be that bad?" He was talking about abandoning ship.
"If it's the Rachni it could be. This ship is one of the most powerful ships the Alliance has. The only thing bigger is a dreadnought with its massive cannon. But we have more drones than it has and thanks to the biospheres we're also bigger." He had a fine ship and a good crew and he knew it.
"One thing. You may possibly hear a lot of different alarms. There are actually two. One will be local, just for this room. You'll know that one because you'll have already noticed one or more of the armor plates is damaged as well as the glass so air will be rushing out.
"You know what to do and where to go. Just stay here unless you get an evacuation alarm. The other will be shipwide, instructing everyone to abandon ship. I need you to stay here and trust that we're doing our jobs." Rick kissed her again. And turned to leave her.
"Just come back, that's all I ask," Kate called out to him and watched as Alexis came out of her room and got a hug and kiss before he left.
"Looks like it's just us again. So what shall we do? Do you want to read or play a game?" Kate asked her since she needed to keep Alexis busy.
oOo
"Report, Janet." Rick checked in with her.
"All systems are green. Ready to kick some ass, sir," Janet replied.
Rick moved to communications. "Give me Kurn." Rick soon saw his face. "Five minutes. Assume for now that there is no atmosphere. I want this Relay. The second your four squads disembark the shuttles will return for reinforcements."
"We will succeed." Kurn was actually looking forward to this.
"To Victory!" Rick said.
"Victory!" Kurn bellowed and ended the transmission.
Rick went up the stairs. "I want us to exit FTL as close as we can to the Relay. I want it to be a complete surprise. It will give them less time to be ready to board the Relay."
"Yes, Captain." The only trick was they were using the last then known location of the Relay. If it had moved the wrong direction this could be bad.
Rick went back down to his table. "Two minutes," he warned.
"All hands, General Quarters, General Quarters. This is not a drill. I repeat this is not a drill." He meant it, too.
"Here we go people." Rick felt them exit FTL and his table lit up with what the scans could tell him.
"Launching 50% of our drones," Janet said and assigned some of them to act as scanners to expand their scanning range.
But Rick didn't see much. He saw the Relay then he saw two ships. One was headed for a planet and one was headed for the Relay.
"Shuttles have launched. One minute to docking," Rick heard.
It was just he didn't see much of anything else. "JANET!" Now he did. It was a damn fleet of ships. Information started showing up on his screen about them.
"Eighteen destroyers, six cruisers, and two battleships." They were going to be busy.
Rick tapped one of the battleships and got detailed information. "It's an old Alliance ship!" That was a shock. He went back to the overall map and saw all of them were Alliance ships. He was even starting to get their names as their signals asking who they were came back as Alliance ships.
"What the hell is going on here?" He was expecting Rachni ships and he got old Alliance ships instead. He also wasn't seeing any movement save for those first two ships he had spotted.
Rick moved to communications. "All ship hail, please. Let's see if they want to talk."
"I'm getting a response, Captain. But it's bad. Like they have difficulty with the system or something." Cass was having a terrible time cleaning it up.
"This is Richard Rodgers. Captain of the Alliance ship Sagan. Please respond." Rick waited.
"Trying, sir. The difficulty is on their end. Their signal is a mess. I'm getting something but it's a mess. I don't know what they are saying." Cass kept working on it.
Rick tried again. "The Sagan is here to repair the Mass Relay. Please repeat your message, we're not reading you."
"Lieutenant?" Rick questioned her.
"All of the ships are now sending signals. They're overlapping each other. I'm not making heads or tails out of this mess. …Wait! I've got one. It's in Krogan, Captain." That was a shock to both of them.
"Krogan slaves maybe?" Except the Rachni didn't take prisoners. They killed everyone. "Can you isolate?" Rick waited impatiently.
"It's not directed at us, sir. They're asking someone what they should do. It's not even an official request. They're asking a person by name. Not who from, ship name, rank, or anything. Actually I don't think any of them are. It's not official, Captain. This is not how we do things. Whoa, one of them states that all of their weapons are down and what should they do?" Cass was still listening to this mess.
"Janet, scan them. Start with the two battleships and work your way down." Rick moved back to his map and realized that none of them had moved an inch. Correction, all of them had indeed moved. "They're drifting. What the hell is going on here?"
"Both Battleships have no missiles or torpedoes. I'm not reading any active weapons. They aren't even scanning us for targeting. Power readings are sufficient for life support and not much more. None of this makes any sense." Janet didn't get it.
Rick tapped his table and watched as Kurn's transports were on their way back for reinforcements. He wanted to scan for fake signatures. It was just those ships automatically responded as Alliance ships.
He went back to communications. "Broadcast in the clear. …This is Captain Richard Rodgers of the Alliance ship Sagan. I request to speak with someone that is in charge." Rick stood there and waited.
"Captain I'm getting a signal from Kurn," Cass told him.
"Put him on, please. …What have you got, Kurn?" Nothing out there was making any sense so maybe he knew something.
"So far everyone we have encountered is Krogan. All of them. They are all green, Captain." This was not what he was expecting either.
Rick shared everything with him. "I've got twenty-six really old Alliance ships out here with no missiles, no torpedoes, and no targeting scanners. Power readings show barely above life support. Communications are erratic and in Krogan."
"Interesting. Orders, sir?" Rick was his captain.
"Reinforcements are already on the way. Find me someone who has authority. It's not the Rachni way to take prisoners or even make slaves out of other races." Rick sighed. "But other races might. Proceed with caution. Find me someone who can answer my questions and I want that Relay. Just watch yourself. If these people have been programmed all they may need is a simple signal. Watch yourself." Rick ended the signal.
"Where are we on scanning this system?" Rick inquired.
"Two hours remaining. The only moving ships I have are two transports. One is headed for the planet and one is headed for the Relay. They are slow and unarmed," Janet answered.
Rick walked over to her since he trusted her. "The ships can't communicate properly and they're all speaking Krogan. Kurn has found nothing but Krogan so far. What are the chances this is a Krogan colony after the Rachni wars? Signal the Relay. Does the computer respond? What if they won but the Relay took damage and they can't fix it?" Rick speculated.
"It does fit what we know so far. These ships are old. Old enough to be in the Rachni war. Weapon less and running on life support only. They won and lost," Janet suggested.
oOo
"Kurn, what have you got for me?" He hadn't been able to talk to anyone of any of those ships. They could translate the Krogan language but no one was actually talking to him. Each other yes, just not to him.
"I am now the senior most Krogan here. Everyone here is green, both on the Relay and on the ships. There are billions of Krogan on the planet, sir. Thousands more on the Relay and the ships. Their ancestors fought in the war with the Rachni. They are the decedents of the first Krogan sent here.
"The Relay was damaged and over the years they forgot how to fix it. They farm on the planet and ship out to the Relay and the ships. They haven't talked to anyone outside of this system in generations.
"If I understand correctly everything is breaking down and they can't fix any of it. They only have the two functioning transports and I believe they are worried about those as well."
Rick was ready to laugh but that would have been insulting. "Let me guess. Their ability to reproduce has not been arrested." Rick was sure he wasn't guessing.
"Negative, Captain. There are over eight billion on the planet and still expanding. I estimate it will be over fourteen billion in one year." That was soon going to be yet another big problem.
"Are they open to non-Krogan coming over to repair the Relay? We can't get them help without that Relay. I'm not ordering you to take it from them, Kurn, but once we get that Relay operational we can help them."
"Yes, Captain. However I would suggest that anyone be escorted by at least one of my team per person. None of these Krogan have ever met another race. They are basic Krogan." Kurn warned him.
Rick knew that presented a problem. "I will inform the teams and create a schedule. I'll leave it to you who from your team is teamed with who after they arrive. Let's find out what we've got to work with." Rick ended the transmission.
"Cancel General Quarters. Janet, recall the drones but I want us surrounded by drones to increase our scanning ability. Also send drones for a flyover of the planet. Let's see what kind of shape it is in with that many Krogan on it.
oOo
It was a very long shift for the Gold team. Rick wouldn't release Bridge control until he was sure he had a complete idea of what they had found. Save for finding out what was wrong with the Relay.
It was a very tired Rick that went across the hall and into his quarters. He found Kate still up and sitting in the living room.
"I take it that everything went better than planned." He had ended the General Quarters and no other alarms sounded.
"Much better. There are twenty-six ships here that are all really old Alliance ships. Back when we had the war with the Rachni. Would you believe the entire system is inhabited by Krogan?"
"Seriously? So what happened to the Rachni that you were expecting?" Not that Kate was unhappy to not see them.
"Apparently they won but the Relay was damaged so they were trapped here. Everyone here is a descendant of the Krogan that won. There are over eight billion of them in this system," Rick said. "They are stretched really thin. Kurn is presently in charge of the Relay and our interaction with the Krogan that are here."
"Bet he loves that." Kate could just imagine.
"I'm not so sure. All of them are more green than all of his team. He's the only Krogan around here with color. Sometimes being in charge isn't all it's cracked up to be. But knowing him he's already dreaming up drills to make them do." Rick chuckled and got Kate to laugh.
"So what is wrong with the Relay?" She couldn't get her mother here without it.
"Don't know yet. The computer isn't responding to our communications for starters. Likely this will take weeks just to find out what is wrong and months to fix it," Rick warned her as she groaned. "Sorry, but it could be worse. If the Rachni were actually here and we won, the Relay might be so damaged that we would have to be here for years building a new one. We would be all on our own here.
"So this is actually better than I thought. Give us time, she'll be here eventually." Rick leaned across and kissed her.
"I don't take delays well, just so you know," Kate told him.
"Then maybe I'll have to keep you occupied." Rick kissed her while slipping his hand under her shirt and fondled her breast.
"I like your thinking soon-to-be-husband." Kate smiled into his lips and kissed him.
oOo
Kate answered the door a few days later since Rick was in Alexis's bedroom. He still wanted to be dad so he was tending to Alexis and tucking her into bed.
"Hello, Kurn. Come in, Rick's expecting you. …Kurn?" He was still standing out in the hallway. Kate rolled her eyes. "We've been through this before," she reminded him and he finally came in. "I'll get Rick." And she went to Alexis's room.
Rick walked into the living area. "Kurn, thank you for coming. We have something we need to discuss." He knew Kurn wasn't going to sit down so he let him stand there.
"We need to talk about all the Krogan. Correct me if I'm wrong but none of these Krogan know very much about the Alliance. I've even heard that there have been some encounters on the Relay between Krogan and non-Krogan."
Kurn defended his men that were assigned as protection. "Correct, Captain. It was just words. Nothing came of it."
"I know but that's why you're here. I have an idea i want to run past you. It involves the Krogan that broke his leg again while racing Kate."
"Kabeer. His leg has healed." Kurn had checked on him.
"Healed, yes, but his bone structure means his leg or arm will just break again. He got into the military somehow and he shouldn't have. He is going to be discharged if the doctors have anything to say about it.
"Correct me if I'm wrong but this will destroy him and his family, will it not?" Rick asked him.
"His failure will fall onto the family. What standing they have in Krogan society will be lost. It will be very bad for them," Kurn admitted.
"To the point that he might kill himself to prevent it?" Rick queried.
"To prevent the humiliation to his family? Yes." Family came first and Kurn knew it.
"That's what I thought. I have something I want you to think about. The Krogan here don't understand the Alliance but this Krogan, Kabeer does. If I order him to remain here and instruct these Krogan, would he do it? They might not even have been trained for the military. They've been concentrating on just staying alive." Rick waited for Kurn's response.
That had Kurn just standing there and thinking. He could order Kabeer to stay here. It was just that he was green and could not be allowed to train anyone for military duty. Still it would save his life and save his family from disgrace. "I will inform him he is being reassigned but he will not be allowed to train green Krogan in military matters."
"Excellent! I will leave it in your capable hands. He doesn't deserve what happened to him. I'm sure he's a good kid." Rick escorted Kurn to the door and closed it after he left.
Rick found Kate's arms going around him. "My future husband is just a big softy," Kate teased him.
Rick spun so he could put his arms around her and hers around him. "And if you tell anyone I'll have to have you arrested and put in the brig. Or maybe I'll just leave you here." Rick smiled as he said it.
"Your secret is safe with me. Provided…" Kate's voice trailed off.
"Provided?" Rick asked her since he couldn't think of anything.
"Provided you get my mom to show up," Kate said.
"Just as soon as the Relay is functional. Just remember we have to send test drones first for it to be safe otherwise she might be talking out of her stomach," Rick teased her.
Kate lightly thumped his chest. "Be nice." Kate pressed her face into his chest. "Just get her here, please." She still couldn't believe that she wasn't really dead. She had adjusted to the fact that she was dead. That she might not stay that way was amazing.