Chapter 18:

Date: August 15th, 2083. 2:14 P.M. Six years after the discovery of Rigel.

I walked out of the Bermuda's airlock with Lyna right beside me. We had docked with one of Nos Astra's docking ports around an hour ago, and we just got permission to leave our ship. Lyna and I were on Illium to mainly take a break from all of the jobs that we had been doing for Aria.

I was armed with my ISYLR, which gave me a very threatening appearance despite having minimal training with it. I could see an Asari approaching me with a happy expression on her face. The Asari seemed to be wearing a brown and black bodysuit, but she had what seemed to be a blocky sort of heavy pistol with a maroon color and a skull on the side of the weapon. It looked like a distant relative to a .44 revolver. The heavy pistol was latched onto a holster that was attached to Lyna's upper thigh, right below her waist.

As she approached, I offered a small, but friendly wave to her. The Asari seemed to give it no mind as she stopped right in front of Lyna. The unknown Asari hugged Lyna, kissing her on the cheek. "Welcome back to Illium, Lyna."

Lyna pulled herself away from the other Asari, then put her hands onto the other's shoulder. "Jenalia, it has been far too long. How has Mira been doing?"

"She's been doing well actually, despite your disappearance in 2076," the other Asari explained. She then turned her head towards me, and smiled. "I assume you're one of those 'Humans' that Omega has been freaking out about. I heard one of your kind was operating with a Justicar, pretty neat stuff."

I nodded my head, finally being recognized by the Asari. "That would be Vodnik, no idea what the guy's real name is. I'm Kyle Terrah, a Human as you've obviously figured out."

"Oh, I'm Jenalia Rilac, Lyna's sister," Jenalia happily exclaimed she lightly jogged over to where I stood and embraced me in a tight hug. She pressed her lips up against my cheek for a second, then let me go. "It's nice to meet you!"

"Erm, yeah. It's nice to meet you too," I awkwardly said, scratching the back of my neck.

I observed Jenalia's appearance, she was very similar to Lyna. She had dark blue skin, and purple facial markings similar to what I saw on Aria T'Loak's face. Jenalia seemed to be wearing some comfortable clothes, made out of fabric that I hadn't even seen before. It seemed to be a cross between leather and polyester, with indigo stripes trailing down the sleeves of the clothing. The clothing fit onto Jenalia's body quite snuggly, just like a Commando's jumpsuit would, but it was much more casual.

Lyna came up behind Jenalia and put a hand onto her sister's arm. "Do you have a more private place to speak with us? I'd rather not have to fight off slavers trying to get Kyle as a trophy."

Jenalia nodded her head, then walked over to one of the edges of the docking bay. She leaned over the edge, pointing to a building just behind the Bermuda. "Mira's apartment is on one of the higher floors of that structure. I'm sure that she wouldn't mind if you stayed there for a few days while you planned your next course of action."

I was more than confused, but I kept to myself as I looked past the Bermuda. I was fairly silent. The nightmares that I would experience put pure fear into my mind, and the visions from them were burned into my memory. Every now and then, I would experience a vision that haunted my very existence, and the longer that I went without them, the worse the vision was.

Sirius told me that the dreams were nothing to worry too much about, but the visions seemed so real to me. Unlike the dreams that I used to experience on Earth, I could remember every second of them, every detail. It wasn't a nice experience, but I assured myself that I could survive, even with the horrid hallucinations plaguing my slumber.

I snapped out of my thoughts, turning my head over to Lyna and Jenalia who were still talking. Sighing, I walked over to the two Asari. "As much as I'd like to continue gazing upon the view of Illium, I also don't want to be out in the open for too long," I said, then gestured to what seemed to be a skycar lot. "Let's just get to that apartment that you speak of, I'd rather not experience a diplomatic incident on this planet. With me being a new species and all, I wouldn't be surprised if someone was out to get me."

Jenalia happily nodded, then started to walk over to the nearby lot. I followed her and Lyna, both of them walking side by side. I finally got a good view of the skycar lot, bustling with activity and full of many species, mainly Asari.

A group of Asari, Turians and Batarians spotted me. I was able to pick up the noise of a weapon being activated behind me, so I glanced over my shoulder with a threatening scowl. One of the Turians was aiming a Krysae rifle at my back, which seemed to have disruptor ammo on it.

Lyna and Jenalia were talking amongst each other, and they were out of range to hear what was going on. Both of them seemed to be more focused on their little reunion than me. I stopped walking after I turned off the safety on my ISYLR. I tilted my head sideways, locking eyes with the Turian that was aiming for me. I raised my hands up, in an order of surrendering. "I'm sure there's a way to work this out peacefully. What do you people wish for?"

"See, there's a price on your head. A million credits for you to be taken to the Shadow Broker alive. Come peacefully and we'll even consider letting your Asari friends live." The Turian cockily replied, not even acknowledging my words. "Now how about you just put that odd weapon down, and come with us?"

"A price on my head? Well, I'm not sure what to say. I have my own orders by Aria T'Loak, and I plan to follow them." I told the group. One of the Batarians raised his weapon up at me, a grin on his face. I stared at him with mock fear covering my face. "Okay, so you're threatening to shoot me now. That's real smart, considering that the Shadow Broker wants me alive. I guess that you could simply shoot me, doom yourself, and not get your money."

I heard my omni-tool activate, letting Sirius's eight foot tall hologram appear in front of me. I had seen it before back on Aite, but in a tense situation such as this, the hologram looked much more ominous. It dwarfed the mercenary group, staring down at them with an almost disappointed look on his face. He held his hand out towards the Turian's forearm, a small grin forming on his face. "Lavius Velio, Turian. Employed by the Shadow Broker as of 2078. Currently on a 'vacation' of some sorts." Sirius hummed, listing out some basic information on the Turian. "Tell me, Velio, how would your son feel if his father returned home as a box of ashes?"

Lavius paused, then gestured for the Batarian to lower his weapon, though he kept his raised. "How did you… Spirits, what are you?"

"Perhaps I will tell you in time, though I do recommend that you put down your weapon. A shot from an ISYLR is not avoidable, nor is it survivable with the technology from this cycle." Sirius smirked, turning his head down at me. I could feel him connecting with my neural implants.

'Aim your weapon at the central mass of the Batarian. Now.'

What? I'm not planning on being gunned down by them!

'Aim the ISYLR at the Batarian.'

That's incredibly foolish! We'll die before I even move a muscle.

'You won't die. Aim the weapon at the Batarian, Terrah! I will not repeat myself.'

A sigh escaped from my lips, and time seemed to slow down for me. I raised the ISYLR up, pressing the stock against my shoulder, and aiming it directly at the Batarian. His cocky expression was soon replaced by anger, and the whole group aimed their weapons at me. The Asari activated her biotics, but it was too late for the group to do anything.

Sirius had cut his connection with my neural implants, and instead synced it to the technology inside of the rifle that I held in my hands. A whining noise chirped up inside of the weapon, and the barrel turned from silver to dark purple in a matter of seconds. A beam of light and energy shot out of the ISYLR at unimaginable speeds, heading straight at its designated target. While it traveled the short distance between myself and the Batarian, I could hear crackling and hissing, until the round eventually met its target.

I watched as the projectile from the ISYLR tore through the Batarian's kinetic barriers, burning a hole clean through his armor. Purple flames formed around the Batarian's flesh, charring it until it was fully blackened. While the projectile traveled through the Batarian, his insides were engulfed with fire, burning him from the inside out. He screamed, alerting Lyna, Jenalia, and everyone else in the skycar lot of what had just happened. The superheated beam exited out of the Batarian's body and impacted the wall behind him, causing a large, scorched spot to appear on the wall.

His body literally began to vaporize, leaving ashes where he stood only moments before. The skin and muscles of the Batarian evaporated, and his skeleton seized up for a second. It fell to the ground and the materials from the beam started to eat away at the calcium. Laying before me was the ashes of the Batarian, and the whole skycar lot was silent save for the whine coming from the core of my ISYLR.

I stood in silence, gazing the ashes with an obvious amount of shock. I couldn't believe what I had just done, or what Sirius had just caused. I stepped back, shutting my eyelids, and shaking my head from side to side. I dropped to one of my knees, setting the stock of the ISYLR on the ground, and panting from the monstrous act that Sirius and I had caused.

Sirius. Why?

'Why? The Batarian was an immediate threat. I had to deal with him.'

We didn't have to shoot him!

'He threatened your life, so I disposed of his.'

I could have talked him down, I could have talked the whole group down. Yet you resorted to violence.

'I did what I had to. They clearly weren't going to back off, and someone had to take action.'

That's not always the right choice. We're supposed to protect the lives of the galaxy, not destroy them!

'And you need to learn how to fight. I get that you were a civilian, but you're going to have to learn the ways of this galaxy, or you won't survive to fight in the Reaper war.'

I don't want to fight, Sirius! I want peace!

'Peace will never be achieved. There will always be war, people will always kill for some reason or another. The Reapers are our main focus right now, and if anyone gets in our way, I'll be glad to take them out.'

That doesn't change the fact that we just shot a man.

'Would it make you feel better if I told you that he enslaved multiple people and robbed multiple stores? He was scum, Terrah. His life didn't matter.'

All life matters, no matter how many crimes they commit.

'All life can change too, but his wasn't going anywhere important.'

The Turian and the Asari sprinted away from Sirius and I. They ran over to an elevator, immediately entering it and disappearing from sight. Footsteps echoed behind me, and Sirius's hologram retreated back into my omni-tool. I stared at the ashes for a few seconds before a gasp came from behind me.

Jenalia stood a meter away from me, staring at the ash that used to be a Batarian. Lyna arrived seconds later, raising one of her 'eyebrows' at the ash pile. "Kyle, what even happened here? We were separated for only a few moments. You were right behind us a couple of minutes ago, now you're standing over some ash pile and the whole lot is silent!"

"I was held up by some mercs, apparently there's a bounty on my head placed by the Shadow Broker himself," I whispered my response.

Jenalia stepped back, her hands raised in the air as if she was surrendering. "What would the Broker want with you?"

I shrugged my shoulders, then finally managed to look away from the pile of ash. I silently walked past Lyna and Jenalia, temporarily pushing the scarring memory into the depths of my mind. I wasn't a murderer. I never wanted to kill someone, but that's just how the galaxy worked. "I don't know. Let's just get out of the public's eye before anyone else attempts to claim this bounty on me."

Lyna made her way over to a nearby skycar, unlocking it with her omni-tool. "I'd rather not cause any other public disturbances. Get in the car."

I sighed, then stepped over to the skycar, leaning down into the backseat. I closed my eyes for a few seconds before hearing the skycar start up. Jenalia and Lyna were sitting side by side, both of them in the front seats of the skycar. My ISYLR was propped against the seat next to me, the barrel still smoking from where it nearly overheated from the vaporization of that Batarian.

I looked out one of the windows of the skycar, and I could see the skycar slowly coming to a halt right outside of a docking port with another building. Jenalia finally landed the skycar inside of the docking port, where I was able to get a good look around the building.

The interior was quite peaceful, not much was happening, and I was able to see a few Asari walking about. Of course, there were a few Salarians and Turians inside of the building too. Two heavily armed Asari seemed to be approaching the skycar, with what seemed to be Disciples and Acolytes. The Disciples that they carried were slightly curved, like the structures that one would see on Thessia or any Asari occupied garden world. As for the Acolytes, they seemed to be a bit more advanced versions of the Disciples.

The skycar's doors opened, and Jenalia immediately stood up to greet the approaching Asari. Both of the Asari raised their weapons and seemed to be wearing yellow armor. I quickly identified both of the Asari as Eclipse, so I grabbed my ISYLR by its stock and stood myself up. "Is there a problem here?"

They looked at me, both of them chuckled lightly. The leading one shook her head, slowly walking towards me. Jenalia and Lyna both exited the skycar, and Jenalia motioned for me to get back. "There's certainly a problem. You have something that the Eclipse wants, and either you're going to give it to us, or we're going to take it from you."

"And what might that be?" Lyna asked, crossing her hands under her breasts, and cocking her head to the side.

"The weapon that the oversized pyjak is holding. It is nothing that we have seen before, and I believe that all of us would benefit greatly from such a transaction."

"How much are you offering for it?" Jenalia questioned, leaning against the tip of the skycar, with a cocky grin spread across her face.

The two Eclipse Sisters looked at one another for a few seconds. One of them stepped forwards, and gestured towards us. "We're letting you live."

Lyna shook her head, then summoned her biotics. "I'm afraid that you're offering too little, as it's not up for sale."

The silent Asari pulled out her Acolyte, brought it up to aim at me, then pressed a few buttons on the weapon. I saw a white holographic feature spread across the weapon, indicating that the weapon had switched its ammo type.

I heard the shot come out of the Acolyte, and then felt a freezing pain shoot across my leg. It felt like it had been dunked in liquid nitrogen, and I fell to the ground, my body seizing up.

'Cryo ammo detected. Temporarily shutting down implants to prevent overload.'

The last sight that I saw was Jenalia activating her biotics, and putting both of the Asari in a mode of stasis. She took out a Carnifex, and shot both of them in the head. Lyna vaulted over the car, and knelt over me. I could hear words coming from her mouth, but I was unable to make them out. Soon, I went into an unconscious state, only after hearing a siren of an approaching medical vessel.

Date: August 16th, 2083, 10:41 A.M.

[-]

An Asari stood before me, she seemed to be in dark grey armor. I was on my knees before her, and my hands were tied behind my back. The barrel of a gun was pressed to the back of my head and the Asari was staring down at me with a sadistic smile on her face.

I glanced to the side, where I saw Lyna in the same situation that I was in. A sharp jolt of electricity was forced into my neck when I looked away from the other Asari. The Asari stepped forwards, kneeling down before me. It was then that I was able to look into her empty eyes.

Her eyes were pure black, and much of her face was covered in Reaper technology. She put her hand onto my chin, forcing me to stare into her blank eyes. "Interloper. You have no idea how long I have been waiting to see you on your knees before me..." The Asari trailed off. Her voice was raspy, mechanical, and had a very dark tone to it.

"Saiph, what did Omen do to you?" Lyna desperately asked.

"Oh Lyna… You've been around this Interloper for too long. He speaks falsehoods about the true goddesses. They are our redemption through annihilation," the Asari known as Saiph said with a dark tone in her voice.

"That didn't answer my question, what have the Reapers done to you?!" Lyna screamed at Saiph, tears rolling down her cheeks from emotional distress.

I kept quiet, not able to intervene. The Indoctrinated Asari let go of my chin, then pushed herself away from me. She shook for a few moments before slowly walking over to Lyna. "The Reapers have gifted me new powers as an exchange for my help in their cause. They can do the same for you and the Interloper if you join us."

'Keep Saiph distracted. I'm going to attempt to free Lyna from her omni-cuffs.'

"Hey, indoctrinated bitch, how about you focus on me and not your fellow Asari?" I asked with a great amount of hostility in my tone.

Saiph turned towards me, her eyes turning from the previous pitch black to a neon blue hue. Her teal skin flashed a dark purple for a few seconds before slowly walking over to me. "I was wondering when you were going to speak up, Interloper."

I struggled against my restraints, and began to break through them with the power of my omni-tool. "I was wondering when you would put me on a spike, impale me, and then turn me into some type of advanced husk. Seriously, if you're going to turn me into a thrall to the Reapers, at least make it quick."

Saiph shook her head, then took out a small taser-like device. She pressed the thing to my temple and activated it. I was engulfed in a world of pain and ended up falling to my side. My body was twitching violently, and I could see the Indoctrinated Asari standing over me with a large grin on her face.

"Oh no, Interloper… Omen wishes for your mind to be intact for centuries, and I feel the same way…" Saiph's grin turned into a frown as she picked me up by the collar of my armor. "We can make your submission painless if you surrender your form to us now."

I felt a needle pierce my neck, and I began to lose consciousness. A form similar to Rigel stood over me as I took my last few breaths. "The Synthetic Gods will be pleased. Dispose of the Interloper's Associate, she has no use to us."

[-]

I awoke at least twenty hours after being frozen. I was shivering, as a cold sweat was dripping down my neck. A light pressure was placed upon my stomach, so I put my hand down onto it.

Once my hand laid upon a shoulder, I looked down to see what was lying on my abdomen. Sure enough, I saw Lyna's resting head on me.

I quickly looked around the odd room that I was in, and I saw no one else in it besides myself and Lyna. The room looked fairly high-tech, but it was fairly humid, something that I didn't like at all. I was able to hear machinery beeping, and I figured that I was in a hospital of some kind.

I slightly moved my leg and clenched my teeth when it caused a spasm that shook through my body. My leg looked as if it had just been exposed to the extreme cold of Noveria, as the skin was purple and red.

I stared at her scalp crests for quite some time, wondering what they would feel like. So I took the opportunity before me, and lightly ran my thumb over Lyna's crests.

The Asari shifted a bit, so I positioned my hand to be around Lyna's crests, softly grasping them in my hands. I began to gently squeeze them. Lyna put both of her palms onto my chest, then started to knead at it. In my response to this, I squeezed a bit harder than usual, as I found her actions quite amusing.

Lyna's eyes fluttered open, and she stared at me for a few seconds with a smile on her face. She wrapped her hands around my neck, then pressed her forehead up against mine. "I'm glad that you're finally awake. I was beginning to get worried that you weren't actually going to wake up."

"I may have been temporarily frozen, but that's not enough to kill me," I quietly chuckled. I attempted to move my leg to the side, but I was met with only pain from the wound that I received from the Eclipse Sisters.

"Don't get cocky, I've seen plenty of people die from Cryo Ammo, you just got lucky," Lyna told me. She brushed a small bit of my overgrown hair to the side and stared into my eyes with a weak smile on her face.

I pushed myself up in the cot that I was lying in. "Onto another subject, where am I?"

"Currently, we're in one of the best hospitals in Nos Astra. I believe that Sirius has the Bermuda prepared in case you wish to leave." Lyna told me, then looked over to one of the sides of the room. "I almost lost you. I don't want that to happen again."

I was shocked at Lyna's words, my face didn't show it, but deep down I was surprised to hear that come out of Lyna's mouth. I eventually shook the surprise off, and stared at Lyna for quite a few seconds. "What do you mean?"

Lyna gazed into my eyes, a frown forming as she studied my appearance. "We've stood by each other's sides for years now, and I've seen so much more in the past seven years than I have in my entire life. Losing you would kill me inside, and I just can't see you perish so just like that," Lyna whispered. I was barely able to hear what she said.

She cupped her blue hands around my left hand, which still had a scar on it from 2014. Lyna looked it over, studying the scar that ran down the top of my hand, eventually stopping at the beginning of my wrist. Lyna lightly put her finger onto the scar, then lightly followed its path onto my forearm. She kept quiet, and so did I.

After Lyna kept her hand at the start of my wrist for quite some time, she let go of me. Her face had an affectionate smile form on it, and she gently wrapped her hands around my neck. She brought her face closer to mine, and before I knew it, her lips were pressing against my own lips.

Lyna pulled away after a few seconds, a very small grin on her face. I was shocked from Lyna's affection, but I still slowly wrapped my arms around her upper body. "Lyna, I won't live forever. I can't promise you that I'll always be by your side, as I know that you wouldn't be able to do the same. I can only promise that I will try my hardest not to be killed by our enemies."

"That's… Acceptable, I guess. I just don't want to see you die, I don't want to experience the same things that I experienced with Veranisa when she went missing…" Lyna desolately trailed off, her forehead now resting against my chest.

I shut my eyes after a few seconds, taking a deep breath. "Who was Veranisa? If you don't mind me asking?"

"She was my aunt, I guess you could say. She always seemed so nice back in the 1780s, but was taken from Nevos by Batarian and Krogan slavers in 1825. I sent so many messages… I wanted to see her again… But she never came back… Never responded… The only hope that I have left is that her death was painless…"

I was visibly shocked by Lyna's words, a very small frown appearing on my lips. My response didn't come for a while, as I was processing all of the information that Lyna gave me. "I can't relate to that, even though my life was relatively rough before I arrived on Thessia… I'm sorry that the slavers took your loved ones. I can only imagine how that would feel…"

Lyna put a hand onto my healing leg, her omni-tool activating and dispensing a medi-gel injection into my leg. I seized up from the pain, which soon subsided and faded into a very chilled feeling inside of it. "It's nice to hear that someone cares. Jenalia didn't care much for Veranisa, and my mother hated her… Even though she was Mira's sister."

"You know, she could still be alive. Maybe not in a good condition, but alive," I murmured.

Lyna's head almost immediately shot up, tears trailing down her cheeks from merely talking about Veranisa. "That's… No… She's dead, there's no way that she's alive anymore… Even if she was still alive… I don't even want to think of what that would be like for her…"

"Back in the early 1800s on Earth, slavery was a pretty big thing. People died all of the time to abuse from their masters, but there were quite a few that lived a long life. There is a chance that Veranisa is alive."

Lyna shook her head, her eyes sorrowfully shut. "Don't give me false hopes, Kyle… She's not alive anymore, and in the extremely small chance that she is… She isn't in a good condition. I'd rather die than live like that."

I took Lyna's hands in my own, staring into her light blue eyes sympathetically. "Never give up hope, Lyna. Unless you see the death happen before your very eyes, there's always going to be that slim chance that they are alive."

"Wise words from someone so young," Lyna quietly commented. "Kyle, you never told me this, but how old are you?"

I raised a single eyebrow, pausing for quite a few seconds. "Uh. Didn't I tell you back in 2076? I was physically 24 when I arrived on Thessia. So right now, that would make me 31," I slowly told Lyna.

Lyna slowly nodded her head, looking around the room once more. My leg was returning to its normal white color, instead of looking like someone ran it over 48 times. "We should probably get going. As much as I like Illium, it's not safe here."

A few moments passed before I slowly pushed myself out of the cot, Lyna taking my arm to support me. I settled myself against a wall, leaning onto it as I gazed out of a large window that was placed in front of me.

I was greeted with a view of the Illium cityscape. Skycars and other types of flying vehicles were flying around the city, all in designated roads for one another. Buildings jutted out of the ground, reaching for kilometers upon kilometers into the sky. It reminded me of Thessia, the same world that I had arrived upon six years ago.

I shook myself out of my daydreaming session, slowly and shakily pushing myself off of the cot. The ISYLR that I had picked up back on Aite was leaned against the cot, allowing me to grab onto its barrel and use it for support. My legs seemed to crumble beneath me as soon as I stood up, but Lyna kept a strong hold on my body. No words came out of Lyna's mouth when I almost fell to the floor, instead her grip only tightened.

Suddenly, a burst of energy came over my body. I no longer felt as if I was weak, and I almost immediately regained my balance on the floor, shaking myself out of Lyna's grip. I picked my ISYLR up, then looked back over to Lyna, a blank expression now on my face. "What's with the sudden change of attitude? Illium should be safer than most planets or stations."

"What's with the sudden change of speed?" Lyna inquired, one of her false-eyebrows raising up. "You shouldn't be up this early, especially after getting cryogenically frozen."

I paused for a moment, staring at Lyna for quite a few seconds. "Again. Why shouldn't we be safe here? Yes, I got shot, but that's much better than becoming a Batarian's play-thing on Omega!"

"Well, you could be on Omega right now, fighting for your life against slavers, or alongside Vodnik and Samara, with their hunt for that ardat-yakshi running rampant across the galaxy," Lyna hissed. She rolled her eyes shortly after she finished speaking.

I leaned up against a medical cabinet, staring directly at Lyna. An annoyed look took over my face. "You didn't exactly answer my question, Lyna. Ilium is safer than the Citadel at this point. If I even step foot on that place, the STG will be all over me. Ilium is the safest place to be at the moment, other than the URG occupied space."

"Well just think about it, Kyle! You're a Human in the Terminus systems. Sure, this is an Asari colony, but there are dangers here. Ilium is just Omega, but with more suits."

I sighed, shaking my head. I put my hand up to my face, then put my fingers around my nose. Taking a deep breath in, I blinked a few times, then set my ISYLR against the side of the medical counter, letting the weapon rest there for a few minutes.

I soon turned my gaze back over to Lyna, who looked quite exasperated. "Where do you suggest we go? Back to Aite, or maybe even the Migrant Fleet?" I finally questioned after several seconds had passed.

Lyna turned around, facing one of the glass windows that overlooked the skyline of Illium. Skycars and small civilian vessels traveled in their own lanes, past towering skyscrapers and dome-shaped buildings. She put her palm onto the glass, then gazed out to the bustling city.

A ping echoed from Lyna's omni-tool, and a sigh escaped from her mouth as soon as she looked at it. She closed the holographic tool shortly afterwards. "We might just have to keep being on the move. We'll continue working under Aria for the mean time. Let's head back to the Bermuda for now."

A/N: The new Andromeda trailer was pretty neat.