Authors note: this chapters a bit short as it didnt feel right to have it connected directly to the next chapter. and that next cha[ter should be out in a couple days.
The planet of Virmire, or more accurately one of its larger islands, was in flames. The base that Saren had constructed and filled with like-minded individuals was in ruins, and the few Batarian soldiers and clones that remained were holed up in hard points, trying to keep themselves alive against the Alliance forces, dead set on ending their existences.
In the middle of all of this however there was one person storming through the base toward its entrance, away from the fighting.
"Die Alliance!" a Batarian in an exosuit roared as he burst out of some rubble that was covering him, aiming his auto cannon and firing.
Desolas swiped an arm out at the Batarian, his silver block of metal liquefying and shooting out to impaling the exosuit repeatedly as tendrils of electricity struck the accelerator rounds from the air like a tempest rending birds from the sky.
Adaaya, who was leading the rest of their ground crew behind him, looked at the ruined exosuit, noting that none of the damage was accurate or even vaguely planned. It was nothing but utter and complete destruction with no control whatsoever. "Hey, Desolas, you need to calm down." Adaaya said as she came up beside him with her arms behind her back, looking perfectly causal despite the sounds of combat from all around them.
"I am perfectly calm," Deoslas said angrily as he swung his arm out, sending off a bluish colored lightning bolt into a nearby doorway and blowing it apart. A Batarian screamed from within as he was crushed by the door and electrocuted by the lightning. "Of course I am not calm! My brother has gotten away again because I made the wrong call! He was so close but has managed to get away by the scales on his back!"
"And we will get him, but you need to calm down,"' Adaaya said seriously. "We need to get back to the ship so we can make chase, but doing so right now will not be of use to us."
"I agree," Nihlus spoke up from behind. "We have no idea where Saren is going. Anything found in the base needs to be analyzed for anything of note and his position be found before he can be caught."
"I agree. If we wait and request Yuyuko to assist us, locating him again should be easy enough," Adaaya said with a grin.
"Wait, is that how we found this place? Some way to track a ship?" Wrex asked from behind, having heard the conversation.
"Well, I'm guessing it was divination magic, right?" Tali asked.
"Of a sort, yes," Adaaya said with a smirk. "Due to its nature we cannot say what form exactly. But it is divination magic."
"What exactly is that?" Garrus asked.
"Divination magic is magic that can tell of locations or events," Kaiden spoke up in answer. "Most divination magic is on the small scale, things like fortune telling and short distance foresight; however they can be used to locate objects or individuals as well."
"Wait, so your claiming it can, what, see the future?" Wrex asked incredulously.
"It is a possibility, but most people who use divination can only see the smallest fragments of the future, tiny flashes and visions," Ashley commented with a slight scowl. "Only about one in two hundred people can use divination effectively, and only one in a thousand of those have beyond minimal skill in it."
"So you are saying it's a rarity to use it as well as that, Yuyuko person does?" Nihlus asked getting nervous glances from Ashley and Kaiden from the way he spoke.
"Yes," Desolas said simply as he continued to walk. "I'll speak to her as soon as we are back at her ship, and as soon as we can locate Saren's location we are leaving."
"Then I believe I will speak to Doctor T'soni as soon as we arrive. Perhaps she will be able to assist me in understanding these Prothean visions now that I have more of the vision," Nihlus said hopefully.
"Well then, I suppose everyone can go rest, or help the rest of the army finish of these Batarians and their ilk, your choice!" Adaaya said with a beaming smile before her wings flapped and she took off into the air.
"Damn it what are you . . . . . I'm an idiot," Desolas then said as he took off after her, flying into the sky and off towards the base.
"So, they're just leaving us to walk, that's nice," Wrex grumbled as he stumbled a bit.
"You okay? You were just impaled earlier," Garrus asked.
"I'm fine. Krogan heal fast. Taking that harpoon out was the worst part, it just aches a bit. I'll be fine," Wrex replied as he patted his side where the harpoon had been, where there was now just a hole in his armour.
"I can get it repaired, or replaced if you need it," Tali said before suddenly twisting her body and aiming her Exosuits cannon at a wall, firing into it and causing a previously wounded Batarian to fall out through a nearby door in pain. "Bloody stragglers. Shall we go hunting for any that are hidden?"
"I need to speak to Doctor T'soni, so, no, thank you. Hunting those who already have lost also feels, wrong," Nihlus commented.
"It's fine; they're clones, nothing important. I'd join if my armour wasn't in tatters," Wrex said simply, sounding unfazed by the fact.
"Then we split here for a time. See you back at the ship," Ashley said as she, Kaiden and Tali turned back around, while Nihlus, Wrex and Garrus continued back to the ship.
All while the sounds of declining battle surrounded them, becoming less spread out and vibrant by the second.
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Nihlus was beginning to become both worried, and nervous as he searched through the entirety of the Normandy for Doctor T'soni, and was unable to find her. He had checked the room she had been given, had checked the mess hall, and had even checked the armoury on the off chance that she was curious about Alliance technology. He checked the halls, asked around, and had found nothing. Not a single shred of her presence. It didn't make sense.
"Oh, hey Spectre, looking for the operatives?"
Nihlus tuned to see the Normandy's pilot, Joker hobbling over to him from the direction of the mess hall. "No, I'm looking for Doctor T'soni actually. Have you seen her perhaps?"
"Well, no not since last night," Joker replied simply.
"Last night?"
"Yeah, found her down the hall by the airlock on the floor," Joker explained. "She looked pale so I checked her and helped her replace her repulsion bracelet as the one she had was faltering and running out of charge due to us being docked in the tower."
"Why was she by the airlock?" Nihlus asked in a bit of worry.
"Said she was taking a walk around the ship, something about getting stir crazy," Joker said with a shrug. "Gave her a new bracelet and a spare one and told her that leaving would be bad for her as the tower's ambient mana would probably kill her. Told her that her room would be safest."
"Did you escort her back to her room?" Nihlus asked hopefully.
"No, I'm a pilot. Only time I leave the cockpit is to eat or sleep, and I usually sleep there anyway. Besides, do I look like someone who could escort anyone?" Joker asked as he gestured to his leg braces.
"Ah, I suppose that is fair," Nihlus nodded. "May I ask if the ship has a camera system in it perhaps?"
"Yeah, only cover the hallways and public spaces though," Joker said as he hobbled past Nihlus and waved for him to follow. He did, and in a few moments they were at the cockpit. Joker gently lowered himself into his chair and then, using its controls, moved it over to a console that was to the side and out of the way. After a few seconds of tapping its keys he moved away. "There you go. That should have the camera feeds for the last forty eight hours on it. As I said though, only hallways and public spaces. No cameras are in personal quarters."
"You did not have to do this, thank you," Nihlus said as he walked up to the console.
"No problem, its public and it doesn't do anything bad," Joker said as his chair turned back to the pilot controls, allowing Nihlus more room to use the console.
The system was easy enough to use, though the physical keys caused Nihlus some issue due to his talons. Each camera had its own video file, but the screen was not large enough to allow more than two of them to be viewed at once effectively. This meant he had to open two of the files, set up their speeds to an appropriate value to speed through them, and then carefully watch them both until it was close enough to the current time on the ship. Worse still, the video files were named and categorized in an Alliance language that his translator had trouble parsing, meaning he could only pick out bits of the meanings.
His effort proved fruitful after only an hour though as he found the video file of the hall by the cockpit and of the airlock. It didn't take long to watch the event that Joker described unfold. But then it ended with Doctor T'soni going right back to the airlock, and out into the Tower of White Jade with the second bracelet Joker had given her on her other wrist.
"Spirits, what is she doing? Pilot, are there cameras outside of the ship? Of the docking area?" Nihlus spoke up.
"What? Outside cameras?" Joker asked to confirm as he turned his chair to face Nihlus. "No, not on the outside of the Normandy. There should be a camera system in the Tower of White Jade. I have no idea where though."
"Who would I have to speak to about access to it?"
"Um, the pilot of the Tower, Lady Yuyuko, or perhaps Lady Youmu, I would guess."
"Understood, thank you," Nihlus said as he turned and strode out of the cockpit with purpose. Heading down the hall he entered and left the airlock and headed for the entrance out of the Towers docking bay, only to find Desolas and Adaaya walking in. "we have a problem. Where can I get access to this ships cameras?"
"The cameras," Desolas asked in confusion. "They're accessed by a console in the cockpit by-"
"Not the Normandy's, this ships!" Nihlus said as he stomped his foot on the ground. "Doctor T'soni left the Normandy last night for some reason, so I need access to this ships cameras to find where she is!"
"Uh, that's bad. The mana density in the Tower is way too high for a natural biotic to be inside," Adaaya said as she took a few steps back. "I'll go speak to Youmu, you two head to the security room!"
"Right. Argh, spirits damned Asari causing us issues," Desolas grumbled as he agreed and began leading Nihlus though the Tower of White Jade.
With its size it took time to reach, and then even longer to find the right camera and time frames. Only to finally find the information and realize that Docto T'soni had left the Tower, and gone out into the jungle to not return.
"This means she either went off to die, was being controlled, or somehow had contact with Saren, and left to join him I would wager," Desolas said in annoyance as he, Adaaya and Nihlus had joined Yuyuko and Youmu in Hakugyokurou's main meeting room. Yuugi and Utsuho were not present, still helping clean up Sarens base by saving anything of use, and destroying everything else completely.
"It is possible that she was threatened as well. If she did not deactivate her Omnitool as I told her too, it could technically give her position away," Nihlus admitted in obvious annoyance at the idea. "I don't believe she would just risk going into the Tower and then into the jungle like that when she is non-combatant."
"Is there perhaps a form of mind control that exists within council space?" Youmu asked curiously.
"No," Nihlus said quickly, before then continuing. "There are some drugs in the Terminus systems that can weaken the will or make it easy to convince people of things, but they are highly illegal, and the effect on a person mind and body are often very easy to notice. Such things would be known of very quickly, they could not be hidden."
"And as she has not seen the Leviathan, there is no way that could be it," Desolas muttered, getting some confused looks from Youmu. "I'll explain that later."
"That is fine, I already know the situation," Yuyuko said with a wave of a hand, much to Desolas's surprise. "I can tell Youmu later."
"Even so, that still doesn't solve the problem of her disappearing," Youmu said with a sigh as she turned her gaze to Nihlus. "How serious of a loss is her person to your mission?"
"That is, hard to say, admittedly," Nihlus said with a sigh before gripping his head a bit. "She was assisting me with understanding Prothean visions, and we knew that Saren's forces were interested in her for some reason."
"So she was more a supporting asset then," Youmu concluded.
"Well yes, but it was also for her safety," Nihlus tried to say as he gently shook his head, his headache getting far worse.
"So she's either in the jungles, or with Saren," Desolas settled. "Either way it sounds like we should kill her on sight."
"No, that's excessive," Adaaya chuckled. "Capture would be the best thing. Execution can come later, but she is hardly important in the grand scheme of things. Lady Yuyuko, have you managed to locate Saren?"
"Yes, but no. The mark keeps moving, so whatever ship he is on is still in transit. I will inform you as soon as it stops moving for more than an hour," Yuyuko said with a lazy yawn.
"So we are back to waiting for the clean-up to be completed, is that it?" Nihlus asked curiously.
"Yeah, once the clean-up is done everything will get packed up and we'll be on our way," Adaaya said with a sigh, before suddenly opening her eyes. "Wait, uh, Yuyuko, have those STG asked anything?"
"They requested to leave with us as their ship is unsalvageable, and to be allowed to travel back to council space. They already are onboard, and under guard, so that they do not go places they should not," Youmu answered seriously with a scowl. "They already have tried to look into things they should not have a couple times."
"I'm not surprised by that. STG are always a handful to deal with," Nihlus admitted with a groan. "I suppose I should go speak to them as I am the only one with enough rank to tell them to stop trying to swipe your technology."
"That would be the best for them," Yuyuko said with an odd smile and closed eyes as she sipped some tea. "If they try to break into my sanctum again, I may have to let them come in. Of course, they would never leave if they did."
"I, will make sure they understand that. In all of its meanings," Nihlus said seriously. Hoping that the prospect of death would dissuade them from delving deeper than they should.
"Fine, then I will be at the range practicing," Desolas said as he stood up, only for Adaaya to grab him by the arm.
"Go to your room and sleep."
"I'll sleep when the mission is-."
"You haven't slept in days. Go and sleep."
"Not when-,"
"Youmu, help me out here," Adaaya said with an odd grin.
"I'll do it!" suddenly came Yuugi's voice as her sake dish flew through the air and collided with Desolas's head, sending him flying away from the table and into a wall. When the noise subsided, he was simply laying there, and Yuugi was standing in the doorway to the room. "Ooh, nice and solid. Couldn't have asked for a better hit!"
"You, did you just-," Nihlus found the words getting caught in his throat.
"Nah, I didn't kill him, just knocked him out. And since I used my dish, he'll wake up with a slight hangover. Won't even think I did it," Yuugi said with a silly smile as she sat down at the end of the table opposite Yuyuko. "All of our people are pulling out of the base now while Utsuho and her Earthrazers are setting charges and prepping to demolish the whole thing. Give it a few hours and we'll be all set to lift off I reckon."
"Then while we await that, I'll drag Desolas to his bed," Adaaya said as she walked over and picked him up, slinging him over a shoulder and then leaving without another word.
"Well, I suppose I will look over my gear then in preparation for what comes next," Nihlus said after a few moments of uncomfortable silence. Only to stop when the open door, suddenly slid shut.
"Please stay Spectre, I have a few things that I would like to speak to you about," Yuyuko said, prompting Nihlus to sit back down. "First then, do you know what Project Faith is?"
"I assume that is an Alliance project of some kind?" Nihlus asked.
"No, actually, it is an Alliance assisted project of the Turian Heirarchy," Yuyuko said with a calm smile, surprising Nihlus greatly.
"That is . . . What is its focus, if I may ask as you seem to know?"
"It is a project your people's military asked us to assist with, to test how effective magic could be for your forces over Biotics. It was created in part due to Desolas's actions, though he does not know of the project and I doubt would care as of yet. However its progress has been moving forward well."
"I see. I admit, some of what I have seen does appear superior to Biotic, but I can still see the continued use of Biotics regardless," Nihlus commented, then levelled his gaze. "What is this about?"
"'I wanted to see how well informed you were, and to see if the Hierarchy's work was getting away from them or not. As you did not know, tell me, do you want to know about Project Driven Wedge?"
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Alliance space – location unknown.
"Hm? I wonder if I could . . . . . . No, that would need a reroute there and there, and would cause power loss, what if . . . . . .No, that won't work either. Argh, why are the Geth platforms so damn efficient in all the wrong ways!?"
"Human Demi-Deity Sanae, Geth platforms were designed for simplicity in construction and efficiency in use. May this unit assist in some way?"
Sane turned and looked to see a Geth Prime standing few metres away from her. Its single eye shone unblinking, and showed nothing. That was what she was trying to fix.
"Hah, yes, but not really. I'm trying to figure out a way to allow your platforms to show a bit of expressions or emotions in preparation for the upgrades we have planned, but it is being oddly difficult," Sanae explained before shaking her head. "I'll come back to it. Has something happened?"
"Affirmative. Geth networking has detected what Alliance intelligence would consider a point of interest. It was decided for it to be shown to you," the Geth Prime platform said as a hologram screen appeared in front of its hand.
Saane looked at the screen, and then reached out to touch it, scrolling further down the information. "This is. . . .Odd. A lot of money, from one place and . . . that is a lot of spread but why would. . . . Does the Geth network know the ID's of those who accepted this money?"
"Affirmative. Most ID's are those that are commonly located in the Terminus systems. Many have notable pirate identifiers."
"Oh, that's not good," Sanae said as she turned to her computer and brought up a number of windows. "Let's see, if I can hack into even just one of them, I should be able to get an idea of where the money came from without having the sender take note. Let's see. . . no, not that, not that one either. . . . . hacking really isn't my forte, maybe I should see if I can, oh wait! If I use an automated spell then it, yes, got it!" Sanae said with a cheer before spinning her chair around in happiness and then promptly tapping on her keyboard. "Now then, who is the one that . . . . . oh, that's not good." Sanae muttered as she picked up her phone, modeled after an old style flip phone, and dialled it. "Hey Nitori, it's me. I'm sending you some data the Geth found that I then investigated." She waited for a second then smiled at Nitori's response. "Yeah, I thought so too. So, how many ships do you think we can get in on this?"