HIVE
Location: Sol System-In orbit above the wasteland, Earth
Looming above a silent grey planet, the great station HIVE was built to serve the Directive. Its biocontainment defenses and research stations provided the necessary tools to enhance, evolve and create.
The honeycombed hull decks circled in the deep shadowed dark of the many levels. For those who were indentured to serve, this dizzying reality played tricks on the mind. Several associates found themselves walking into walls, falling downstairs into lower rooms. Or even going mad.
Most who do, end up in the lower cells. Never to be seen again. Heard, yes. Just not seen.
It was at this station that Satima found herself at home. A total dark that fed endless nightmares, and constant fits of anxiety. Her jailer often locked the girl away. But as she got older, Satima was forced to undergo something different.
At first, it was the tests. Painful needles and mutations. Then the training. Combat, conditioning, and marksmen accuracy. That was the latter thing. The training she left gladly behind while running away to a better life.
But it seems your past always catches up. Right when you least expect it. Especially when visiting family.
Satima woke in a cell, sitting up from her cot, dizzy. More than likely due to a blow to her head. She gazed around the darkness of the room.
"Jormun? Are you alive?", she whispered searching for him.
There was no one else in the blackness with her. Alone again at the hands of HIVE. It's been less than six years, but she is not the same scared and helpless little girl anymore, she would die first!
Satima tried adjusting her vision in the dark. At least try to escape, maybe. The cell door opened with a blue glow piercing the darkness. Someone threw a body in.
She felt around the floor for it, worried. Finally finding a familiar suited arm. He lay on the ground unconscious.
"Jormun!", she held up his head and did a quick scan with her onmi-tool. His vitals were good. No puncture wounds, no infection. Just a knockout. Satima kept his head in her lap, waiting for them to return. It was only a matter of time.
Reaper would bring her back into the fold. She shuddered at the memories. Resolved to not let that happen, Satima laid Jormun against the cot and stood at the side of the door. Ready... for anything.
An hour passed by and Jormun was coming to. He held his head in stunned pain. Satima watched him as he began to speak. "Ugh… how long was I out?", he asked. She whispered, "An hour." Letting out a low chuckle, "Enjoy your nap?"
Jormun attempted to stand, leaning on the cot. "Some nap.", he replied in jest.
Satima started to laugh when the sound of heavy boots came towards the cell door. She snapped her head in the direction of the frame, quickly, cracking her knuckles in preparation for a fight. Any minute now.
Suddenly the door opened again and Satima got caught under the next body they threw in. It was heavily armored and big. They both landed hard. Jormun, fully aware of his surroundings ran to Satima, helping her up. She looked down to see the new prisoner.
"Are you okay?", Jormun checked her for injuries.
Satima hastily pushed him off. She knelt to the new cellmate. Her eyes adjusted enough that she could make out the outline of a turian.
Interesting, considering they all left for the terminus systems, all save a few.
This turian male started to grunt. He made the inclination to rise. Satima and Jormun backed away enough so they could blend in with the shadows. He stood, taller than her and Jormun, overbearingly scary in his darkened armor.
"I can see you." His voice was deep with a sub-vocal sound.
He shook his head from a similar knockout. Satima smirked to herself. She stepped out despite Jormun's behest. The turian walked around the room, checking the walls and the door.
"You're a turian? I thought your kind left this side of the old council systems years ago?", she stood in front of him.
"I'm here on a personal mission.", he said occupied with the door.
Satima shook her head, "In this place? The Hive is inescapable. You'd never make it out alive.", she stated proudly of her intelligence.
The turian stranger cocked his head at her, then went back to the door. After a few seconds of him typing on his omni-tool, it opened.
"You were saying?", he said mockingly.
Before Satima asked, she looked at the holo panel. A complex encryption code had been used. It seemed custom and probably took a long time to create. Inside job maybe?
"How did you do that?", Satima followed him, gesturing Jormun to come along.
"I had a long time to learn.", he said checking a hallway. Careful to watch his step, in case of alarms.
Satima was impressed by his genius ability of tech knowledge. Jormun felt inadequate. Quarians are naturally capable with all tech. He guessed he was the exception.
The turian quietly mumbled something, then looked at Satima and the quarian. He turned to face her and watched her fingers for a brief second before he stopped himself.
"Listen, kid. I don't need a tag-a-long, let alone two. Why don't you and your boyfriend escape down the other hall."
Satima's mouth dropped. She rubbed her left temple chuckling to herself in irritation.
"BOYFRIEND!? He is an EM. PLOY. EE!", she yelled. Jormun sulked back. The turian, agitated at this girl's idiocy, started to walk off in the opposite direction.
Satima watched him abandon them in the dark hall. "Where the Hell, are you going?!", she shouted.
The turian stopped at two doors and a wall. He was hopelessly lost. Satima stood with her arms crossed, "I suppose you already have directions? Maybe your "personal mission" brought you here to find someone?"
The turian continued to search for a hacking panel on the wall. "Yeah, something like that."
Satima couldn't think of anyone more important and most wanted dead than the villain herself onboard this station of nightmares. But he wanted to find someone, not kill them. "Maybe I would know who this individual is.", she hinted.
He turned slowly, his helmeted head staring in her direction with curiosity.
Satima continued. "Considering I was held here against my will for years. I think I would know a lot more than you.", she smirked angrily.
Jormun chuckled quietly. The turian's once sure gaze turned to fidget annoyance. He paced like a trained soldier in front of them. His gait dragging a little, not enough to slow him down.
Satima stood to the side, observing. "What are you a general or something?", she asked rudely.
He stopped, noticing his brood-like pacing. "I was never a general, but I was an officer once.", he said reflecting.
Satima eyed Jormun and shook her head, "You're wearing merc armor.", she pointed out.
"So, I am.", he mused.
Satima sighed in annoyance.
The turian walked a little closer to her. A hint of desperation, subtle in his tone, now. "I need your help."
Satima blinked her eyes in confusion. "Really?"
The turian merc never took off his helmet, she doesn't like not being able to read expressions. He stood against the wall crossing his arms, overhead dimmers reflecting off his armor.
"Plans change. So, I need your help. Understood?", he said in a rougher tone.
Satima glanced at Jormun, who shook his head no. He tried to stop her from approaching the turian merc.
"What's in it for us?", she raised a brow while folding her arms.
Jormun stepped up, "No, Satima. We need to get out of here now! Find Do'ova and Haven!"
She waved him off. It's not like Satima to treat him as a subordinate. An em. ploy. ee.
The turian smirked, "I could give you some credits." A typical, yet practical way of getting help. He waited for a quick response.
She looked at Jormun. He nodded no, again. His hesitance was becoming annoying, but he's right about the creds. "That's not what I had in mind.", she replied. "Wait... what exactly are you doing here?", she questioned him intensely.
The turian laughed out loud in a mocking tone. "I'm a merc. Is that not obvious enough for you?"
Satima stared at him, irritated until she realized what this could mean. "If you were trying to rescue someone from this station, you wouldn't be alone. You got caught because you're here to kill someone? Aren't you?", she asked.
He stepped away from the wall, getting closer. "Clever." The merc leaned to her, his voice low. "I'm here to put Reaper out of her misery. Have a problem with it?", he asked threateningly.
Satima shook her head with a small laugh, "No. In fact, that sounds like a good plan."
The turian processed the disturbing smile she gave at the thought. "Then we help each other kill Reaper and leave here together. Deal?" He held his three-fingered taloned hand out to shake with hers. "Deal.", she agreed.
Jormun wanted to shake sense into Satima. Her grudge against the past is going to get them both killed. He sighed, following behind the doomed team.
At the underbelly of the hive station, Satima led the weaponless group to the antechambers of Reaper. The whole place lived up to its name. A station filled with directive soldiers, shadows, and echoing whispers.
Literally painted in darkness, dim blue illuminators lit most of the way. Alcoves every few feet that seemed to go nowhere gave plenty of anxious thoughts to Jormun.
He agreed to watch the back, with the turian merc right behind Satima. They stopped in front of a large metal door. Though most stations have the basic tech in their doors, this one was tricky. It had two panels to work from. It could be hours before they hack it.
"Hey, Mr. Merc! You think you can apply those same skills to this panel, while I hack the other?", Satima put her hands on her hips smiling wickedly.
"You think you can keep up with me?", he smirked taking the other.
Jormun stood to watch. He wanted to punch that turian for being so smug. Satima raced to unlock the code before the turian merc, hoping to prove faster reflexes over skill. He effortlessly encrypted a virus, and within a minute the lock was hacked.
"Looks like I win.", he clicked his mandibles under his helmet, satisfied.
Satima growled in frustration, hitting the panel till it broke and sparked outward. She scowled at him as the code became disabled through brute force instead of skill.
The door opened. Jormun gasped. The Reaper stood on the other side along with soldiers, holding a displeased gaze.
"Predictable.", she spoke unamusedly.
They were taken and dragged to the cells. The large deck consisted of many closed doors, followed by feeble sounds of fear. Satima cringed to hear the hive victims.
She turned her gaze to the blows a soldier inflicted brutally on the turian merc. In-between the grunts and loud groans of pain, he managed to laugh at the attempts.
"You hit like a salarian!", he spat. Another blow was delivered to his helmeted face. "Is that all you can do?", he shouted in taunts.
Satima wanted him to shut the hell up. She looked over to Jormun, who had two soldiers surrounding him, their weapons pointed towards his head. Reaper stood and watched. It made Satima anxious. What is this psychopath up to?
The turian merc spat blue blood in his helmet's visor with a snarl, "Too afraid to do this yourself?", his low tone menacing.
Reaper unfolded her arms, stalking around them as she spoke.
"I can do what is necessary. If I must.", she always had a soulless stare. Patches of steel-toned cybernetics seemed to glow as ominous tendrils, on the sides of her face. Right up to those bright green eyes.
Reaper knocked him backward with a hard blow to the side. Satima was sure that broke a few ribs. He wheezed, never backing down from his damn talking.
"I… I didn't feel that! Might want to try harder!", he spoke loudly trying not to cough.
Reaper stared at the merc lost in thought. Her blood-red hair turning a vibrant purple under the small blue light over them. The armor flexed with the vibration of a million dark beetles endlessly in motion.
Hive's precious Nanotech generously applied to every soldier and minion the Directive could create.
There was a set like that for Satima once. She could still feel the tiny pricks under her skin as her mind and the suit became one. Reaper hit the merc again. Time was running out.
"I suppose, Satima, you hired him to help you kill me?", Reaper said without moving her gaze from the injured turian.
Satima let out a sarcastic smirk, "We just met. Seems like too much of an idiot. But I guess he got far enough on his own before you showed up.", she replied, worried.
The turian glanced at her. He smirked; she could play with words all day. Reaper won't let it last long.
Satima needed a few more seconds. Her cuffs were almost off. She used the time the turian merc wasted to hack them. She and Jormun would escape, too bad for the merc. Reaper looked at Satima. "Do you know who he is?", she asked with an emotionless stare.
Satima scoffed, "I already told you, we just met."
Reaper smiled. A grin so wicked it sent chills down Jormun's spine. She turned to Satima as she spoke. "He was a detective, once. Burnt out cop, trying to make the galaxy a better place."
Reaper tried to mockingly caress the side of his armored carapace. The turian jerked back, clearly disturbed. "He was too damn cocky, hot-headed.", she stared at Satima, then turned back to him with a scornful gaze. "And too much trouble." There was almost a lament in her words.
Reaper retrieved a gun from her side. Its tan appearance reflecting amber in color. Satima didn't want to see this.
She had hoped Reaper would see the turian too worthless and useless to kill. But they had a history apparently, and Reaper was about to end his. Permanently.
"Weak bitch.", he threatened. His sub-vocals echoed a warning towards the villainess.
There was something in his voice that seemed to fill Reaper with rage, prompting her to hurt him again. During the second blow, he brought his arms around and caught her leg mid-air.
Satima gasped in surprise. That bastard already hacked his cuffs! He was just playing Reaper all along.
The merc groaned from his injuries, as he twisted Reaper's leg, making her fall to the floor. Satima finished with the cuffs and stood turning to the two soldiers. One charged, until she grabbed his shotgun yanking him to her.
Satima head-butted him with a grunt, kicking his groin. She turned the dazed soldier around facing Jormun. In an instant of brutality, she snapped his neck. Reflecting the deadly combat skills Reaper had trained her in, years before.
The other stepped back surprised. Satima looked at the shotgun.
"Jormun, I found Ish.", she smiled and threw the weapon to the quarian who happily killed the directive soldier.
She heard the shuffling of feet behind her. They were still fighting. Reaper left-hooked the turian, but he took it well and knocked her down again. That's when the alarms came on.
"Sentries!", Jormun yelled.
No way Satima can take those things.
She stared in terror, grabbing Jormun by the arm. "We're leaving!", as they are running from the hall.
They passed by the turian who took satisfaction in his anger towards Reaper, holding his rifle, aiming for her head. Grunting from the pain of the assault, he stood over her.
She gave him an unwavering stare. "Finish it.", she spoke, panting from the fight they had before. The turian had no visible gaze, but his hesitance spoke clearly. He questioned his own resolve while the hall became filled with enemies.
A sentry approached quickly. Its grey-covered body armor glowing with an orange sheen. That type of new shielding is almost impenetrable. A large helmet covered the face with four slits, that had a yellow glow from them.
Satima had always imagined a grotesque alien under there. True to its name, it stood eight feet tall. An armored monster. Satima looked back at the turian merc. He seemed to be unable to pull the trigger.
The sentry held a heavy rifle, loaded with iridium slugs, and started firing at the merc who dodged the attack barely, roaring his own frustration at being hindered from the kill.
"Come on! We don't have time!", Jormun shouted to her as she watched.
Satima made an aggravated tone. Why does she care? She yelled at the turian merc, "You can kill her another day!"
The turian stood, confused at her words. He turned around to face Satima. The sentry got closer. He looked down to Reaper who had already crawled back to regroup.
Soldiers were piling out from alcoves behind them. She leaned on one, clutching her side. The turian merc glanced away back to Satima.
"I'm coming.", he said defeated.
They ran to the docking bay dodging bullets and plasma turrets. A fighter hovered in the hanger. Satima sprinted across the floor, knocking her body onto the hull, as the turian merc effortlessly put a bullet through a soldier's head.
Jormun suppressed fire while she ripped a panel off the fighter's hatch. The turian merc noticed her unusual strength and the ferocity of her combat skills.
Satima reprogrammed the vessel, it had just enough room for them all. Jormun hopped in with his captain in tow. The merc climbed in last and stood behind Satima, watching her apply tech skills to the fighters' control panels.
"You know how to fly these things?", he spoke condescendingly to her.
"If I don't, then we're all dead!", she yelled, dismissing his tone. "Now, shut up so I can fly!"
They flew out of the hanger, dodging other fighters sent after them. Using one of Jupiter's many moons as cover, Satima evaded the wave.
The fighter hovered in silence. All major systems shut down, except for basic life support. Satima had used her secret code via omni-tool, and the vessels own long-range output. To call Do'ova. If the nervous salarian was still alive, and still aboard, she'll come to them.
At least that's what they all practiced.
Two hours passed, with the uncomfortable silence settling among them. That was too close. Reaper almost had her. It's been a few years since she's been back to the station. Looking to the turian, she remembered the fight in the cell hall.
Their subtle hints of a past lingered between them. This is becoming complicated; she needs to get rid of him. Drop that merc off somewhere. A view from the cockpit window showed fighter scouts, pushing her current thoughts aside.
They passed by without a hint of detection. Good.
Jormun started to shiver, and so did Satima. The ship's main power will die out in constant use without a docking station. She checked the power panel. Fifteen percent remained.
"If-if.. Do'ova… doesn't get here… so-soon. We'll be frozen solid.", he complained.
She nodded, putting a comforting hand on his suited shoulder. Satima couldn't help but stare away at the turian merc. He sat in the furthermost corner of the small cockpit, meddling with his own omni-tool. Not a word came from him.
Moments passed until comms cracked on. Directive fighters had left finally, leaving the moons behind.
"Hello? Captain? Can you read me?"
It was Do'ova!
"D!", Satima sat up, pacing in a very tight circle. "Yes, we can hear you. I've sent the coordinates. Meet me there."
She took them to Haven. As the fighter navigated to the ship, Jormun stayed down on the floor of the shuttle annoyed at the recent events. His entire suit was filled with sweat, now clinging in icy cold to his flesh. He'll need to run scrubbers and program a cleaning.
Too bad he couldn't strip out of it and enjoy a moment unhindered from his only safe environment. Satima relaxed in the pilot seat, careful of the new passenger.
The cargo bay opened with the fighter boarding her ship. Jormun darted out to warm up Haven's engines, following the routine of escape that Satima had drilled him on. Do'ova greeted him, suddenly turning her attention to the fighter. "Wow!", she said, amused. "This is both scary and fascinating. May I?
Satima made her way to the cockpit, nodding to her crew. "Be careful with it, D."
The turian merc followed close behind, noticing the worn hulls, leaky pipes, and damaged equipment.
"This is your ship? It's a piece of crap.", he stated with a smirk.
Satima turned to face him while walking backward, "If you don't like it, then I suggest you learn how to hold your breath." She pointed to an airlock. "The fighter is mine now.", she warned.
Satima turned back around, and upon entering the cockpit, unceremoniously sat down in her chair. While bringing the systems holo-panel up, diagnostics danced across the board.
The turian merc sat next to her and played around on a similar panel, then Haven vibrated and thrummed loudly.
"What did you do?", Satima demanded angrily.
"I gave you a better chance to get us the hell out of here!", he gestured to the window as dozens of fighters appeared.
Satima punched the thrusters on, noting her frustrations with this guy. They left quickly through the relay.