Notes: So I'm fairly certain FF isn't logging my replies to comments. Just an FYI in case my responses are being delivered to the void like I suspect. I'm not ignoring you!
"The same peaks of evolution, the same valleys of dissolution… The same conflicts are expressed in every cycle, but in a different manner."
- Vendetta (Prothean VI on Thessia.)
The casino was quiet, lifeless. With the hostages secured in the upper room, the vast chamber seemed almost peaceful despite the corpses and long-congealed blood. Garrus busied himself with a bit of scavenging. Their little venture on Omega wasn't without its costs. And they could always use better gear and more guns.
With a heavy sack of credit chits and salvaged circuit boards slung over his shoulder Garrus made his way to the upper level and the hostages. He didn't even bother questioning them, merely opened the door, lobbed in a handful of their red-sand grenades, and let them choke on their own poison. Poetic justice.
His omni-tool began buzzing at his wrist. The moment he answered, Mordin's face filled the screen.
"Archangel! Good news. Squad-mate awake. Still needs inpatient care, serious condition, but positive sign."
"He up for visitors?"
"Yes. Yes. Asked for you." The salarian's hands flew up, miming air quotes. "Said to 'call the dumb kid down here so I can give him a piece of my mind.'"
"Of course he did."
"Expect soon yes? Patient agitated. Unhappy. Saved life. Flipped me off. Bit of a cloaca. Reminds me of a certain turian."
"Yeah. Yeah. I'll be there."
Garrus ended the call and made his way to the Gozu district, the gasping sounds of dying men not bothering him in the least.
Nalah was the one who greeted him when he arrived at the clinic. Her hair was pinned in a sloppy bun that was clearly frayed from the morning's events. Strands escaped every which-way falling across tired eyes.
"What the hell happened? Mordin called me at the crack of dawn for an extra set of hands. I had no idea it was Krul until I was running like a chicken with my head cut off in our make-shift trauma ward."
"He took a dive into some red-sand after the mission, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it."
"Oh god. I mean, we knew the red-sand part but not the fact it was intentional." Nalah lead him through the darkened hallways to a solitary room at the end of the corridor. "He's lucky things slowed down around here. If this had been a week ago, during that little vorcha uprising, we wouldn't have had the manpower." She motioned towards the door. "Have fun. He's in a joyful mood."
The door opened with a hiss, revealing a small room laden with whirring and beeping machines. Krul's voice immediately cut across the landscape – as harsh and guttural as ever. "Fucking idiot. Why'd ya save me?"
"Well pardon me not wanting you to die and all. Really, I should be ashamed of myself."
As Nalah turned to leave, Garrus could hear the woman attempting to stifle her amusement.
"Oh you fuckwad. Have any idea what you did?" Krul was propped against several pillows, yet it seemed merely sitting was difficult for the man. His arm trembled as he pushed against the mattress, trying to keep himself upright. "If The Hierarchy finds out, best case scenario, you'll never be able to return to Turian Space. Worst case, well, I hope you realize your people still have the death penalty. You are an idiot."
Garrus pulled up a stark, metal chair and settled next to Krul's hospital bed. "That's a chance I'm willing to take." Not like it'll matter soon anyhow. Reapers. Galactic annihilation. The doom of all advanced organic life.
"And people call me crazy."
"Is it safe to talk here?"
Krul's face was completely bandaged aside from a singular, red-rimmed eye. It narrowed, glaring at him for a moment. If he didn't know better, he would think the batarian was plotting to blow his head off. "No."
"Can we do something about that?" Garrus rummaged through a bag marked 'patient belongings' and handed Krul his omni-tool.
The batarian fiddled for a few moments before tossing it back to him. "Can't fuckin' see shit."
"How about you just tell me what to do and we'll go from there?"
There was some fumbling and a hefty amount of cursing on Krul's part but they eventually had the anti-listening device engaged.
"It's done. So, whatever's about to come out of your fool mouth won't be overheard."
Garrus went straight to business. "I killed the hostages."
That snagged his attention. A solitary, black eye swiveled to meet his gaze. Gaping. "You… what?"
"Jane." Garrus began. "She explained who you are, what you started back on Kar'Shan. You have quite the fan in her by the way. You're the 'Man of Many Faces, aren't you? The leader of The Separatists."
"The fuck do you care? And if she told you all that why haven't you killed me yet?"
"What The Hegemony is doing to your people… it's unimaginable. Why wouldn't I care?"
Silence was his only response. Garrus let it be for awhile. Choosing to scroll through the galactic news on his omni-tool. After everything Jane revealed about The Hegemony, he couldn't blame the man for his lack of trust. Yet, after thirty minutes, it became apparent Grundan had no intention of breaking the silence.
"You can trust me Krul. I know our species don't get on well, but I won't betray you. Is… is there anything I can do to help? Could we transport you somewhere? Help you restart?"
"The fuck you on about?"
"What happened to The Resistance had to be a blow but you could start over. Try again. I'll even help you get on your feet."
Krul snorted. "You are one strange turian."
"I get that a lot."
"It's not over." His voice low, deadly. "They wiped out our main base – the one on Kar'Shan but not The Resistance in its entirety." A five fingered hand gripped the bed-rail. Silver glistened against bone-white knuckles. "We will rise again. We will return and lay waste to their empire. You'll see."
"I take it you have plans then."
"Me? No. I'm a tired old man. That somersault move blew out my knee. Back in the day, I could do countless maneuvers like that and barely break a sweat. Even before that bastard shot me, it was the last time I'd be able to pull that off. My fighting days are over. The whole shebang was supposed to be my last mission, 'til you ruined it."
"What can I say? I'm a people person. Besides, what would I do without your innate charm bringing cheer to us all?"
Nalah entered the room with a syringe and a fresh IV bag. "Bout time woman." Krul grumbled.
"Your pain meds are finally due, as is your potassium infusion. And that button you keep pressing calls me. It doesn't administer extra morphine on demand."
"That's a crying shame."
After Nalah left, Garrus allowed the morphine settle for a few minutes before continuing. The batarian relaxed immeasurably after the injection, taught muscles submitting to the soft mattress.
"Krul, I … tell me you didn't try and off yourself just to save me from The Hierarchy's wrath. Honestly, a move like that doesn't seem like you but after the last 24 hours, well, I'm ready to believe just about anything."
"You're not that special." Krul, having returned to lying flat on his back, waved a hand dismissively above his head. "That was supposed to be a good death for a worn, old man. Look, thank you for takin' care of those assholes but I really don't know why you're bothering with all this."
"C'mon, you're stuck in that bed and chock full of drugs. How bad can talking with me be?"
"Whatever. Ask your questions."
"Did The Hegemony change or was it always this way? What happened?"
"Know your human history?"
"Of course. After the First Contact War, humanity became a well-taught subject."
"We lost a war a couple millennia back similar to the one humanity waged against each other during World War II. The details were lost over time. Hell, I'm still not clear on whether we balked at dropping a nuke on our own planet or simply didn't take the enemy seriously. Either way, the wrong side won. The Hegemony started out as a rogue terrorist cell though, I know that much."
"Right. Humanity is one of the few sapient species that used nuclear weapons against their own. The only other one I know of is the krogan. It's one of the reasons the galactic community considers them violent upstarts."
"Well, they made the right call. When The Hegemony won, they butchered millions for the sake of 'purifying' our race. Then they burned libraries, destroyed tech. Basically, they obliterated our civilization and built The Hegemony from the ground up. Eventually those who remembered what we once were died out. And then we were completely at their mercy."
"Spirits."
"The surest way to destroy a society is to eradicate knowledge. With our history in tatters, The Hegemony leader declared himself a god and we had no way of opposing his viewpoint. You can't fight propaganda without insight. Our children are educated by The Hegemony. They know nothing else."
"But you found a way to fight them."
Krul snorted. "When I started, I had no idea what I was doing. I simply had to make a change. Being a Hegemony grunt was… well, it wasn't for me. I trained in spec ops. But life in the military filled me with nothing but hate. I get being young and angry. I get following orders. Yet these soldiers are out in the real world. You can't keep denying what's in front of all four of your fucking eyes forever. At some point you, and you alone, are responsible for the weight of your actions. I'll never get over how fucking apathetic people can be. No one cares. The Hegemony gave them a life of luxury. And to most, that's worth any price."
"So rebellion isn't that common?"
"Keep people on the brink of survival and making it to the next day is all they have the time and energy for. Then give your soldiers a taste of the good life, move their families out of the slums. It breeds a fierce loyalty born of fear. They don't want to lose what they have. I don't respect it, but I can understand their motivations."
"If there are members still alive, you could find them… you..."
"No." Krul interrupted. "No. Contacting them would endanger everyone. They're hidden. They need to remain that way until they regather strength. Besides, I'm more useful to my people as a martyr. Now that I'm dead, they'll fight with renewed purpose and a viciousness born of vengeance. It'll take nothing less to defeat The Hegemony."
"Uh. Krul, I hate to point this out but you're still kickin'."
"They don't know that. The Hegemony never acknowledges failure. I'm sure they paraded my demise around before concocting that ridiculous traitor story and identity to boot. Assholes set every bounty hunter in The Terminus on my trail."
"So I take it that whole story about you murdering a high ranking official was crap?"
"Think I killed a few hundred generals. Hell if I remember. You lose count. But sure, let's focus on the only one I didn't end."
Garrus chuckled. "By the way, should I start calling you Ikalem?"
The batarian's head whipped around to face him, his voice a low hiss. "Are you mad?! Never use that name. Besides, it isn't my first or last one, only the best known. I had as many names as faces. And I rather like my new one. Short. Easy to remember."
"For you or me?"
"Both."
Exhausted from the effort of talking, Krul drifted into a deep slumber alarmingly fast. His breath came in even, raspy gasps. With nothing else on the agenda, Garrus settled in for the long haul. He didn't want to leave Krul alone after the man tried going out in a blaze of glory merely half a day earlier. And with so many questions burning at the back of his brain, he didn't mind waiting for the answers.
Daniel and Nalah took turns flitting in and out of the make-shift ICU, changing IVs and administering medication. After waking the batarian for a blood draw, Krul seemed less disconcerted, calmer. Garrus took the opportunity to pursue the questions that were dogging him.
"So, care to tell me why The Hierarchy is after your people?"
"That hard ass Victus. He's got a stick wedged so far up his ass I'm surprised it isn't popping out his fringe." Grundan answered between sips of water.
"Woah, what? You knew General Victus?"
"Some of my guys, well, let's just say a couple millennia of tradition isn't easy to break. Those morons went against orders and tried grabbing some slaves off a turian protected colony."
"That's… yeah that couldn't have ended well."
"Tell me about it. I returned them all, unharmed I might add. But turians aren't exactly… understanding. They've been trying to blow us to smithereens ever since."
"Where's the connection to Victus?" Garrus was admittedly excited, having followed the decorated general's career in primary school.
"He caught us. Tough bastard. Had to fight him myself, an enemy worthy of respect that's for sure. Anyhow, The Hierarchy declared us terrorists and the rest is history."
"So it's all just a misunderstanding?"
"I dunno if I'd say that." A pause. "Victus tried negotiating – he wanted us out of turian controlled space, even gave us a chance to retreat. Strategically, I couldn't do that. With The Hegemony on our heels, I needed to run supplies through The Apien Crest. We got into a nasty argument that ended with me asking him to kindly climb out of my ass."
"Oh boy."
"Yeah. No sense of humor that one. I didn't lose many to the turians anyhow. Woulda lost a lot more if we withdrew though."
"You know, during my military days, I was part of a major Separatist raid. There must've been at least fifty guys in that base…."
"Uh huh."
"Not only do I personally know of other raids, but that base alone doesn't seem like 'a few men.' How many of you are there?"
"More than you realize." A sly smile crept across his face, edging against the bandages. Having finished his water, Krul gagged. Moments later he was bent over the side of the bed, vomiting into a bucket. Nalah was quick to respond. She rushed into the room, and soothed him while injecting a yellow substance into his IV. Within minutes, he was fast asleep.
"That worked…. Quickly." Garrus noted.
"Phenegran. It's a potent anti-emetic and a sedative. Are you planning to stay? There will be a shift-change in a few hours and things will calm down. Until then, I have a lot of patients and I'm not sure he should be alone.
"Yeah I can hang around."
Nalah patted him on the shoulder before rushing out, her omni-tool buzzing incessantly.
When Krul woke, he was stunned at the sight of Garrus at his bedside, scrolling through the galactic news on his omni-tool. "You're still here?"
"I don't have much else to do. And if I head back to base and fall asleep now, my schedule will be all screwed up. Might as well keep your ugly mug company."
"Say, got any music?"
"Sure. There's some Expel 10, Grunge, and Techno on my omni-tool."
"Ugh." Krul scoffed. "That's noise. You really listen to that shit? I'm talking about real music. Like…. Say, did Jane ever finish her audiobook?"
"I'm not sure. I could ask her. I sent a message back to base letting everyone know you're awake. She's already written me three times asking for an escort to the clinic. I guess the guys are all too hungover and still in bed. And what's wrong with my music anyhow? They have a good beat. Strong. Balanced."
"You'd have to be deaf to prefer that trash over the stuff Jane plays. It's not merely the melody. It's the soul, the emotion she puts into every cord. That's some life altering music right there."
"Don't get me wrong, her music is pretty. But I'm not sure I'd call it, or any music for that matter, 'life altering.'"
Krul was quiet for awhile. "You're… young aren't you?"
"What? Not really."
"C'mon Garrus, I can never tell age with turians. No skin, just plates and whatever the fuck that stuff is in-between. It's disorienting."
"I'm 25 if you must know. And 'that stuff in-between' is called hide."
"You sure don't fight like a baby. Raised on Palaven I bet, strong family background."
"Did.. did you just call me a baby? Anyway, we were your average, middle-class family. Nothing special. My father worked on the Citadel though. The man was rarely around."
"Uh huh."
"What are you getting at Krul?"
"You simply don't have the life experience to appreciate it is all. Some music aims for your heart, brings you low before sending you to the heavens. You have to know that soul-crushing depth in order to truly hear it."
"That doesn't even make sense."
"Pray it never does boy."
This time when Krul drifted off Garrus felt his own eyes, heavy with exhaustion begin to droop. He waited another twenty minutes until the shift change was complete then gathered up his things, made a mental note to bring Jane along with a collection of music on his next trip, and headed home.
