I stood before a silvery landscape, my eyes shielded with one hand as I assessed the day ahead of me. Illuminated by the blue midday sun, the route I'd planned seemed to jump out of the rocky maze before me, revealing the familiar crags and gullies, ledges and peaks that I aimed to climb.
I felt a familiar mix of anxiety and excitement course through me. Two typically opposing feelings - when combined, somehow became so much more. It was the feeling that kept me coming back, every thought focused on nothing more than my next move. When climbing, it was as if the entire universe shrank to surround me; my body, and the rock face I clung to. Nothing else existed.
Unbound from the flow of time, the moments of the day blurred together as I climbed, leapt, and swung my way through the landscape.
I arrived at a familiar sheer surface. The sun, having passed its zenith, now began its imperceptible descent to the horizon. My stomach turned as I looked up at the rock face before me, eyes lingering on a single outcropping near the top. That gut-wrenching final grasp. To think that so many feelings could be stirred from a lobe of bare rock.
The face leading upwards was smooth and undulating, bowing inward in spots. A handful of indentations and small divots punctuated its surface, my means of ascent. I leapt upwards, settling into a steady rhythm before doubt could find purchase in my mind.
My hands moved deliberately from hold to hold, careful to check for any calis bugs resting in wait amongst the inky black crevices.
As I reached the outcropping, I let my legs take my weight temporarily, allowing the muscles in my arms to rest, if only for a moment.
My limbs, as if in protest, flared with a burning ache. I focused on the outcropping above, summoning as much energy as I could muster.
Lunging upwards with all my strength, I reached up and over, grasping for the hold that I knew was there.
Feeling my fingers slip into the familiar nook, I let my arm take my weight. With a soft pop, I felt the hand hold break free.
My mind raced for options. Seeing a tenuous hold before me, I reached for it instinctively. It too broke free.
With a final, desperate lunge, I reached for the spot my feet had been resting moments before, finding a hold.
I jarred to a halt against the rock face, my body trembling from head to talon as I let out a cry of exhaustion. An unnerving sensation passed through my body, like a wave of heat rising from inside - outward and beyond - as if enveloping the air around me.
An explosion of fear rocked my mind. Before I could think, I felt a scream escape my lungs. The sound bounced off the rocky surfaces around me, echoing through the hard, unrelenting landscape beyond.
That feeling, the one I had harboured all my life, hidden inside. A curse other people called biotics, which I knew only as a lingering terror.
I closed my eyes, focusing my mind on the calmest place I could think of; the lookout my father would always take me to, with a view over the city of Cipritine. I imagined resting my head on his shoulder, completely at peace.
As seconds passed by, I felt the unwelcome biotic sensation ebb to a mere tingling at my core, my head cradled against my shoulder.
Regaining a bare grasp of composure, I slowly made my way back down to solid ground, standing unsteadily as my body trembled with nervous energy.
I checked the sky, trying to estimate how many hours of daylight I had left. Not enough to make the peak before sundown.
Exhausted from hours of climbing, and still shaken by my near-fall, I laid down to rest on the warm ground.
Small injuries throughout my body leapt forth for the first time, ripples of pain amidst a sea of exhaustion.
I closed my eyes, letting each of my senses inform me of the world beyond. I felt the intense heat of the rock beneath me, rising against the plates along my spine.
A warm breeze whispered through the rocky strata of the surrounding landscape, washing gently against my face. The smell of the rock around me, heated relentlessly for billions of years, seemed almost sweet as it passed by me. As the space around me formed in my mind's eye, a sense of tranquillity fell over me.
As my thoughts wandered to my upcoming mission, the reconnaissance of an uncharted moon, barely beyond Council space, a knot of anxiety tightened in my chest, breaking my inner peace.
More than just an assignment, this was my final test as an initiate. One final step before my insignia ceremony, the moment I would earn my place among my people.
My heart soared at the thought, but my soul beckoned for me to go further still. I didn't want to just belong. I wanted to see all there was to see, to witness as many wonders as the galaxy could offer me.
I opened my eyes, staring up into the dark blue sky above. One of the moons hung low above the horizon, shimmering through the heat haze.
The relentless, scorching light of Palaven's sun beat down, warming the carapace across my face.
I got to my feet, surveying the landscape that I'd need to pass on the return trip, laying the path I'd chosen into my mind as I started back down through the rocky maze.
A few hours later, I reached my original point of arrival. The hovercraft I'd used for travel sat under the cover of a flat-topped tree. Its branches, sparse in foliage, cast a shadow like cracked glass on the craft beneath.
I pulled the cover off the vehicle's slender frame, stowing it in a small compartment at the rear. Despite being shaded all day, the surface was uncomfortably warm to the touch.
After catching my breath, I spoke my name to activate it.
"Val Soranis."
"Confirmed." the craft responded, an electronic chirp emanating from the controls.
"Start up."
Its sleek form whirred to life just above the ground. I climbed on, enabling the built-in personal shielding. A thin bluish film, like a ray of light passing through smoke, enveloped the air around me as I nestled aboard. The sounds from the world beyond ceased, leaving only the soft electronic purr of the craft beneath me.
I urged it forwards, the ground beneath becoming a blur of silver and brown acceleration. The landscape around me had begun to settle into the colours of late afternoon, the sun now settling to the horizon ahead.
As I set a course for home, the craft responded by correcting slightly to the right, continuing forwards on a laser-straight trajectory.
My eyes wandered to the sky above. A river of stars flowed upwards, disappearing high above into a vanishing point countless light-years away.
Exhausted from the day's climbing, I laid my head down to rest, letting the hover-craft's autopilot carry me home.
A voice stirred me from my dreamless slumber as the hovercraft slowed, coming to rest atop a rocky promontory. I recognised the voice as that of my resident VI.
"Val, I'm detecting minor injuries; shall I call for assistance?"
"No, that won't be necessary. Thank you." I said, stepping clear of the craft.
"Very well. Welcome home."
The VI departed with a soft chime.
I made my way up the path leading to the repurposed outpost building that I called home. The white, angular surfaces of the single demountable cast long shadows in the afternoon light.
Sitting adjacent, in a rough semicircle, were a series of smaller structures, each one containing machinery necessary for the basic utilities of life: Water recyclers, solar relays, comm nodes.
It wasn't cheap to get food droned in, but still less expensive than making the long ride to the capital every other day.
My parents at first questioned my choice of living arrangement, so far from the city of Cipritine where they resided. I'd insisted that it was merely preference, and not a reflection of my feelings towards them. I still didn't know if they took my word for it. Either way, I knew one thing to be true; solitude is bliss.
With less than an hour before my parents were due to arrive, I made my way inside and showered, fitting my lacerated hands with a set of semi-translucent healing gloves.
Feeling refreshed, I grabbed a spherical glass and filled it with the nearest drink I could find, dropping in a few pieces of glow-ice for good measure.
I made my way outside, settling against a familiar boulder near the edge of the promontory. From here, my view of the surrounding landscape was simply stunning.
Like most of the surface of Palaven, the terrain was sharp and angular, dominated by many different forms of rocky crevices, peaks and mesas.
Between it all lay savanna-like fields of dark sand and the ubiquitous flat-topped flora - the only visible sign of life apart from Turian settlements.
The rest of Palaven's lifeforms lived below and between the hard, rocky strata. Insects and small mammals of various sizes - all of which were equipped with plate-like carapace. Something which my father once explained was due to the star's extremely harsh UV radiation, and is the same reason for the thin plating across parts of our own bodies.
I missed his tirelessly enthusiastic explanations, always happy to accommodate my endless questioning.
The air around me pulsed with the tell-tale thump of a distant sonic boom. I looked to the horizon, watching as a single star fell from the sky, growing larger with each passing moment. Before long, I could make out the running lights of my parent's shuttle in the distance, its drive plume tracing a blue trail in its wake.
Realizing I hadn't prepared seating, I hurried inside to retrieve some chairs, placing them around a low, flat-topped boulder. What constituted a table in my far-flung piece of the world.
I looked up in time to see their shuttle descending. A crackling, high pitched whine emanating from its ventral thrusters. Its silhouette resembled a broad arrowhead, with three flat wings splayed to either side of a central compartment.
Sharp lines of blue fire emanated from manoeuvring thrusters along the middle of each wing as they gyrated in different directions, maintaining the shuttle's careful downward trajectory.
With steady grace, the vessel descended through the evening air, casting a pall of dust in all directions as it lowered to the ground with a final burst of blue thrust. The wings of the shuttle folded inward, settling down to either side.
Moments later, the rear entrance opened, casting a soft white glow onto a slowly extending ramp. Waves of excitement rippled through my chest as I walked towards the shuttle. It'd been two cycles since I'd seen my mother, Atria. Twice again as long for my father, Tarick. His frequent archaeological expeditions taking him to the furthest reaches of the galaxy.
My mother let out a gasp of joy as she rushed toward me; the edges of her form blurred amongst the thin cloud of dust stirred by the shuttle.
"Val… it's been too long." She said, reaching out to embrace me as we met amongst the dusk-tinged veil, my eyes now welling with tears.
If my father was my rock, my mother was the ground beneath, supporting me through every poor choice I'd made in my short term of adulthood. It was as if a part of my world had returned to me.
Atria stepped back, her hands resting on my shoulders at arm's length. As the dust cleared, I saw the details of her face resolve against the soft evening light. Two streams of tears ran from her azure-blue eyes, cutting paths through a thin layer of dust which had settled across her features. She wore robes that were more uniform than casual wear; long-sleeved and form-fitting, coloured the traditional family twilight blue, with stylish, deep-black highlights. The kind of attire career military officers wore almost everywhere, and which accentuated her tall, slender frame.
Her expression turned to concern as she reached down to cradle my hands.
"What happened? These aren't small injuries." She said,
I looked down at the lacerations running the length of my palms and fingers. Dark blue blood stains surrounded each wound, now magnified through the transparent surface of my healing gloves.
"Attacked an angle too fast, hand hold broke loose." I said, pulling my hands away gently.
Atria shook her head as she replied, "This is why I tell you to wear your armour out there, what if you were to fall? That climbing suit doesn't even have barriers."
"I know… I'm sorry. I don't like how the armour limits my movement. I just wanted one last free climb before my mission." I said, glancing towards a familiar peak in the distance, its rocky surface now catching the final light of day.
Atria let out a gentle sigh, her expression a mix of disapproval and thinly veiled admiration.
"I just hate not knowing if you're okay out here. If something happened, how would anyone find you?" She said, placing her hand against my arm.
"I always find my way back, don't worry about me." I said, dusting myself off as I looked up to her again.
She nodded, giving a wry smile as she turned to look at Tarick. He stood patiently a small distance behind her; arms clasped behind his back.
With a joyful glance towards my mother, I raced toward him, reaching up to put my arms around his neck. Even at 25, my head barely reached his shoulders.
I had thought about him every day, even as I was consumed with the duties of each assignment; skimming the boundaries of known space, risking a terrible end with every blind jump. It was the kind of rush I couldn't live without, but in moments like these, I felt myself a fool for risking the heartbreak that I knew he'd feel if I never returned.
Tarick lent down towards me as tears began to form in the corners of his brown eyes.
"How's my little warrior?" He said,
I managed a laugh between crying breaths as I rested my head against his. We stood together for a long moment, the blue-tinged light of dusk casting soft shadows across our faces.
"You're almost there Val. Soon you'll be free to go make a life for yourself." Tarick said, his voice a familiar, soothing melody.
With this, I felt a twinge of sorrow. Our reunion, as it was, would be painfully short. Tomorrow we would be light-years apart yet again.
"I wish I could stay here just a while longer. It's been so long." I said, my voice unsteady atop a mountain of emotion.
I hugged him again, watching my tears as they fell to the freshly settled dust below.
"I bet you didn't miss my cooking." Tarick said, a hint of mocking in his voice.
I squeezed his torso, only half upset at his playful jab.
Tarick coughed as he blurted a strained response, "Alright, alright."
He danced backwards as I let him lose, chuckling mischievously.
"No, you're right." I said, letting out a barely contained laugh, "I risk my life enough without challenging one of your meals."
Hearing footsteps behind me, I turned to see my mother approaching.
"You two… Some things never change." She said, shaking her head as she looked between us both.
"I still don't know how you manage out here, but I'm glad you're happy." She said, surveying the surrounding landscape, visible now in all directions through the clear evening air.
Atria turned to Tarick with a smile, reaching her hand out towards him. He took it in his own, holding her close as the three of us made our way towards my would-be outpost, reunited again after what felt like half a lifetime.
A rocky landscape spread out before me like a dark blue sea, lit only by the dim glow of twilight. In the distance, the lights of the city of Cipritine twinkled against the horizon, like a mirage of stars in the evening heat haze.
As I sat with my parents in the open air, I willed my thoughts to rest, savouring the details of each moment. The beautiful aroma of the nearby scented Arak shrubs drifted towards me, carried by the gentle evening breeze.
To my right sat my father, dressed in his usual casual attire; teal and white long-sleeved top and pants, the cuffs illuminated a soft white around his wrists. His fingers slid through a list on his datapad, catching up on Palaven's major developments during his years of absence. My mother sat looking to the horizon, rolling her thumb between her fingers, absorbed in thought.
Tarick placed the datapad on the boulder-table as he spoke.
"Security has become much tighter since I was last here. They insisted on opening every sample crate bound for the Academy." He said, gesturing towards the cityscape ahead.
"It's because of what happened on the Citadel." Atria replied, eyes still locked to the horizon, "They're not leaving anything to chance."
Tarick shook his head as he replied, "I couldn't believe what happened; Geth outside the Veil for the first time in centuries, and the first thing they do is go after the Citadel. It's no wonder the Quarians never stopped running after the rebellion."
Memories of news feeds and extranet visuals resurfaced in my mind as I listened. The Citadel presidium plunged into darkness; half filled with thick black smoke. The human hero, Shepard, standing before a battery of reporters. The immense Geth warship - its surface darker than the void of space - shaped like some monstrous sea creature straight out of Hanar mythos. It looked older than the Geth themselves, older than even the Citadel. Ancient and evil.
I felt myself shudder as the image burned into my mind. I cast it away, focusing on the smell of the shrubs once again.
Tarick sighed as he turned towards me.
"How goes your climbing, Val? I hope you made short work of the route I suggested." He said, nodding towards my healing gloves, "Though I see your form still isn't perfect."
"I'm getting there. Not quite as quick as I used to be, but I feel stronger every time I make the climb." I said, running my hand along the back of my head.
"I still want us to climb Tellin peak again. We'll go after your insignia ceremony, I promise." He said, nodding towards the horizon.
"I'd like that a lot." I said, smiling as I pictured the two of us fighting for hand holds high above the rocky landscape.
For a moment, my mind flashed back to the fall from before, arms scrambling for contact, stomach lurching in free-fall.
I lifted a nearby drink to my mouth - the fluorescent red glow-ice having long since melted - sipping slowly as I regathered my thoughts.
"I've been given a survey out of Hades Gamma for my final assignment." I said, eager to change the topic.
Tarick's outer jaw flared with excitement as he responded.
"Val, that's excellent. I still think you made the right choice going with reconnaissance." He said.
He leaned in closer, a look of mischief on his face.
"Just promise me one thing." He whispered.
I nodded, waiting for him to continue.
"Don't make the mistake your mother did - if you fall for a dashing young scientist, make sure he's rich." He said, laughing as he leapt out of his chair, instinctively dodging a sideways elbow from Atria.
"You're lucky I don't like rich men." Atria said, downing the last of her drink, "Otherwise I'd have left you long ago."
After a moment of silence, a chuckle swiftly broke across Atria's stern facade. The response was contagious, as Tarick and I followed suit in a bout of laughter.
Atria rose to stand next to Tarick, pecking him on the cheek.
"Can you give Val and I a moment?" She said, passing him her empty glass.
"Of course." He replied, giving me a wink before departing.
Atria settled back into her seat, returning to her usual, regal composure.
I recalled the story she had told me of her first meeting with my father, when she was just a first-year cadet in Citadel Security.
She had stormed his shuttle per C-SEC procedure after he had failed to respond to hails, his vessel sitting at the head of a queue of angry commuters.
Upon entering, she'd found him unconscious next to a crate of archaeological samples, a mark the size of her fist atop his head.
He'd failed to stow the crate properly, and it had subsequently struck him as the docking clamps jolted the shuttle to a halt.
After insisting that she'd saved his life, he made a point to try and make it up to her for the next week, culminating in the gift of a particularly expensive gem. One he had no doubt appropriated for a higher purpose.
Hoping to put an end to his aloof offerings, and giving in to the hint of feelings she'd started to have for him, she offered to take him to dinner.
Out of this unlikely couple grew a strong relationship, one which had survived years of separation, and light-years of distance.
I envied the bond they shared.
Atria turned to reach into a bag next to her, retrieving a metallic box from within.
"My gift to you, for when you return for your ceremony." She said, holding the box before her.
It was about two hand-widths long and as many high, with faces of varying size. Like a cube with its corners removed.
It looked to be made of the same silvery alloy that was once abundant on Palaven generations past, now all but exhausted. Whatever it was, it was something long-inherited.
Atria placed the cube-like box on the boulder between us.
"Our ancestors knew that tradition, above all else, mattered to us as a people." She said, her hand tracing the twilight blue markings along her face, "The insignia we wear today, they're a sign of where we came from."
She reached down and pressed on the top of the container. With a gentle click, the top rose slightly above the surface. She lifted it away, reaching inside to retrieve an ornate glass cylinder. The surface of which contained veins of the same silvery alloy that made up the outer container. Within the clear cylinder laid a vibrant blue substance.
"When you receive your markings during your ceremony, it will be with the same dye that I and every member of our family wore for the first time." She said, placing her hand atop the cylinder.
A familiar knot of anxiety tightened deep inside as I gazed into the ceremonial urn before me. More than anything, I wished to feel each painted marking across my face for the first time. To experience the utter liberation of knowing I'd finally earned my place amongst my people.
I placed my hands against my mother's as my eyes returned to the container between us.
"This means more than I can describe... I swear I'll earn it." I said, looking into my mother's eyes as a surge of conviction rose within me.
Atria rested her head against mine, her voice a whisper as she replied.
"I know you will."
She turned to look at Tarick as he inspected the nearby solar array.
"So does your father. I know you think he feels betrayed that you didn't join the Science Academy, but I assure you, he is as proud as I am." She said,
A twinge of guilt shot through my chest as I watched my father admire the equipment before him.
Atria turned her hands to cradle my own as she continued, "I know how you're feeling right now, I remember how it was the night before my final assignment." She said, releasing my hands as she turned to face the glow of the distant city lights, "Just treat it like all those that came before."
I cast my eyes upward, a field of stars filling my vision in all directions. As I studied each mote of light, a familiar feeling began to rise within me. The one I'd always felt as I listened to my father's stories, as he described the marvels of uncharted worlds. The joyful exhilaration of the unknown, that irresistible mix of wonder and trepidation. I wanted nothing more than to leap out into the vastness of it all, to find a path for myself.
"I've always known where I wanted to be." I said, looking at Atria again, "Now, I think I know how I'm going to get there."
She nodded in reply, a wistful smile forming across her face as our eyes met.
"I know, Val, and I'm happy for you. I just hope you find what it is you're seeking." She said, lowering her gaze pensively towards the ceremonial urn between us.
"You remind me so much of myself, as I was then. I've seen it in your face, at the Academy drills all those years ago; the rush you feel living moment to moment. It's natural. Next to love, it's one of the truest things you'll ever feel." She said, placing her hand atop her chest, "But all that changes when you're on an actual mission. When you have someone to protect. Someone who will suffer if you fail."
Atria paused, her eyes narrowing as she looked to the sky, searching from one star to the next, the mandibles of her outer jaw flexing outwards.
"Some of the things you'll see out there. They'll change how you see the world… how you see people. I fear one day you'll return to me as a different person."
Her jaw began to tremble as the words escaped her mouth, her eyes now filling with tears as she looked across to me. I lent in to embrace her, feeling her shoulders fall against my own as she began to cry.
It was the first time I'd seen true fragility in my mother. Someone who I'd looked up to all my life as an image of inner strength and composure. Now I saw the weary soul of a soldier which laid beneath.
I pulled away, placing my hands over hers as our eyes met.
"It was my choice to serve. Whatever I face will be my own burden to bear." I said.
"I know, that's what scares me the most." Atria said, shaking her head as a lingering tear fell across her cheek, "They say it's in our blood to serve… I say that blood is all too easily spilt."
My mother's voice trailed off, her eyes now wandering the surrounding landscape as a long silence settled between us.
Tarick arrived with drinks in hand, placing them gently on the table as he sat next to Atria, putting his arm around her as he pulled her close. She rested her head against his shoulder, eyes closing with a look of contentment.
For hours I sat with my parents, savouring every moment we spent together. My father told stories of his latest expedition, of how they had re-purposed a local creature as a sample dolly. How even it had found Salarian food repulsive.
As the joyful night hours gave way to the light of dawn, I watched as my father carried my mother back aboard their shuttle, sound asleep. He waved me one final goodbye as he passed beyond the threshold.
I watched their shuttle carry them to the horizon, contrails wisping lazily through the cool morning air. As I looked down towards the semi-opaque healing gloves across my hands, I noticed a green light strobing gently across my wrist, indicating their task had been completed.
On their surface I studied my reflection, picturing my family's insignia as vivid blue strokes against the lines of my face. I closed my eyes before the illusion could break, letting the image linger in my mind-
A series of sharp electronic alarms shook me from my reverie, plunging me back into the present. I opened my eyes to a cacophony of light as my consciousness - still drunk on recollection - was shunted to the view beyond the cockpit glass before me.
Scintillating fields of blue and white particles rushed forward in a whiplash of energy. I felt myself rebound between weightlessness and gravity as my mind and body returned to normality. To the torturous reality that was the present.