Chapter 33:

June 23rd, 2101, around five hours after departing Illium.

We had docked in a docking bay in Blackdamp, the capital of Asteria. Everything was so much lighter on the planet, mostly because it only had 0.8g's, but still, I could lift Svesa up above my forehead with relative ease. I wasn't even a strong person by default, but the lack of gravity certainly helped me look it.

Asteria was a hot world, with a lack of oxygen, so much that children and some elders were affected. While a young colony, it certainly was popular, with about 25,000,000 people currently inhabiting it. Blackdamp was a bustling city too, so finding Morinth would be rather difficult for any conventional team. We were not a conventional team. Two Humans, two Asari, two- albeit unseen- Inusynthetics, one Sannokar, and one Turian. To say that we stuck out was an understatement.

"Atmosphere certainly isn't..." Svesa murmured, breathing heavily. "Isn't as rich as Prasodetol..."

"I thought the air from Colorado was bad, this is just… Bad," I replied. While I was now wearing Svesa's gift armor, which fit perfectly, it was still a pain lugging my rifles around. I'd just have to get used to it, but on this world? It took my breath away, and not in a good way.

Svesa arched her eyebrow towards me. "Is Colorado a colony world?"

Vodnik shook his head. "No. It's where he's from on Earth. Not much else to note other than the altitude."

"Colorado was a great place to live in while I was there. I bet it still is, though I'd run out of breath on every other sentence," I added. We had almost reached Morinth's general location, which of course was a club district, bustling with activity.

"Ah. Where are you from, Vodnik? I assume Earth, but where on it?"

He gave a sideways glance towards Svesa. "I don't see how that relates to finding an Ardat-Yakshi. This conversation is a waste of much-needed air."

"Understood," Svesa simply said, bringing up her arm and pulling up a small display from her wrist. It was like an omni-tool, but with colors, instead of a solely orange light. Holographic light encompassed her eyes, and her breaths became shallow. Her new-found silence allowed a flurry of ambient noise to flood my ears.

Footsteps. Drunken yelling. Engines of skycars roaring. Rumbling of deep bass hits. Club music.

All of that was silenced by Samara speaking up. "She's in there, that bar, Leschia. Morinth is drawn to such harsh music. Split into three pairs. Vodnik and I will track anyone who is successful. Jovian and Lyna, enter Leschia first, appeal to her desires, exhibit strength most of all. Kyle and Svesa, try to find her, isolate her signature and determine if she is aided by any mercenary groups."

Svesa remained quiet, still engrossed in her display, but she raised her hand up, making an 'affirmative' gesture with it. I simply nodded at Samara. Lyna and Jovian did the same.

I moved off to an isolated alleyway with Svesa, who eventually closed her holographic display and glanced down at me. "Cygnus breached one of the security cameras. She found that Krogan and Vorcha are present in the club. Most wearing similar armor subtypes. Maroon. Possibly employed by Morinth. I've sent that data off to the justicar."

"Most likely Blood Pack. I recognize the description. Tough sons of bitches. How many did Cygnus count?" I asked.

"Two Krogan, four Vorcha," the Sannokar stated, grabbing at a pistol on the side of her thigh.

I stopped her, mostly by grabbing her hand with my own. "Don't shoot anyone yet. We need to deceive Morinth, not scare her off."

She looked down at my hand, sighed, and took her grip off of her handgun, prompting me to let go of her. "Very well," she murmured. "Receiving a message from Samara. It's text-based. She's requested that we follow in after Jovian and Lyna. Morinth's attention isn't lying on either of them."

"Shit…" I whispered under my breath. "Look, if she approaches you, don't shoot off the bat. Let her take you to her apartment, or hotel room, or whatever sort of residence she has here."

Svesa nodded in affirmation, so we walked out of the alleyway. Before entering into Leschia, she reached into her hair and pulled out a few hair-ties. Her long, white strands of hair rested behind her shoulders, and she looked like a completely different person. The Sannokar entered the club first, with me following in behind her.

We were two very rare species. Her people had barely ventured out beyond their home cluster of Novayazemira, and me? Well, I was Human, and there were only two others that I knew of. Morinth had a better selection between Svesa and me, two minds that she would've never had the chance to feed on before. If she didn't pick one of us, then our identities would most likely be compromised.

Not to get ahead of myself, but Morinth hadn't seen me or Svesa. She probably had seen Jovian, but with the Turian now sporting temporary markings on his face, it'd be harder for her to determine who he was. Lyna, on the other hand, was all the same. Svesa might be recognized through her political dealings on the Citadel, though the same could've been said for me. Morinth probably could've noticed me through the jobs I did for Aria, but to that end, my association with Samara was unknown.

Svesa went off to get a drink for herself, and I was left on my own. I saw Lyna across the club, and she merely winked at me. Jovian was off conversing with two other Turians, having a hearty laugh. I found my place by sauntering up to a Batarian, and sitting down right next to him in front of a foodbar. It earned a quick glance from him before he did a double take. "The fuck're you supposed to be?" he asked me, his voice slurred.

"I'm Sannokar, one of the species from the Inusannon Federation," I replied, deepening my tone a bit.

"Varrenshit. You're fleshy, like an Asari fucked a pyjak and you were its creation. Those assholes have horns and bits of glowing scars. Seen the fucks on galactic news," he chuckled. "Doubt you're one of them."

"Oh I'm one of them, I just lost my 'horns,'" I flatly stated.

The Batarian stared at me, and I stared back. Eventually he shook his head. "How? How do you lose horns of all things? Sure, I get losing an eye, an arm, but that must be attached to your skull."

"Simply put, I was fighting against an Inusynth. It tore them off, forever marking me as an outcast. I now travel with my companion, Sevala Vro'uvyinse. I'm Kaille Tae'raashi." I couldn't think of anything else, so I came up with a new name for Svesa. Surely he wouldn't notice. Once the mission was done, I'd have to work on my lying skills. They were horrible.

The Batarian looked at me with sorrowful eyes, taking another sip out of his drink. "Outcasts, huh? If you two need a place to stay, I've got some empty space on my ship."

I didn't expect a Batarian, of all species, to be so generous. He spoke to me through emotion, not anything else. Some might've said that I was naive for thinking that, but he seemed like an honest man.

"Thank you, but Sevala and I have a ship of our own," I murmured, smiling at the generous Batarian. "I appreciate it, but I should go."

He shook his head. "Wait. Here, let me add you as an extranet contact, in case you or Sevala need any help." The Batarian pulled out his omni-tool, gesturing for me to activate mine, so I did. He transferred over his data. His name was Kralen Balak. He had an extranet address, and even a number for his omni-tool.

What surprised me most was that he worked as a fruit trader. No slaves, no criminal aspects, just… Fruit. "Thank you, Kralen. I'll be sure to call if we need anything from you." I said my farewells to the man and went on my merry way. I had a feeling I'd be seeing him again.

I went off to find another lingering area, eventually walking past two Vorcha, who noticed me immediately. "Ahhhhh! Fedist! You hear us! I see you talk to sad man! Give money, or we find Grug!"

I could only assume that 'fedist' meant someone from the ISF. Vorcha weren't exactly known for their vocabulary, after all. "Who is Grug?" I inquired, taking a step or two backwards with my head cocked.

The two of them stood up at the same time and one nearly swung at me. "Give money! We let you live!"

I honestly didn't have time to deal with this, but from my right, a Krogan approached, calmly separating me from the Vorcha. "I am Grug. You have a quad to try to talk to these two, but I can't let them kill you. Not here. I've not even finished my ryncol."

"Holy fuck, fine by me. I have absolutely no plans to die tonight." I stepped back, as soon as the Krogan let me go, and went off to find another means to associate myself with.

I made my way over to the main bar, where Svesa had just vacated. She shrugged at me while I passed her, indicating that she couldn't get anything, so I sat down in her seat. The Turian bartender chuckled. "Never seen your kind before. You another one of those Inu things?"

"Yeah," I responded with a smile.

"I offered the one before you free drinks, if she got a private room with me. Turned me down though. Her loss. What's your spice, Inu?"

"Oh, I won't have anything. I'll pay off everyone's tab though." I decided not to remark on Svesa's decision. It was understandable.

The Turian's face lit up, and he flared his mandibles at me in surprise. "You will? That'll cost a lot of creds on your end."

I had a reserve of credits after doing so many jobs for Aria in the 2080's, so I wasn't worried about running out of money for the next decade or so. Plus, I was getting a moderate salary for working for Samara. "It's not an issue for me."

"Spirits, if you're not joking around, it's on the kiosk. Just swipe your omni-tool and you'll make a lot of people's nights."

Without a second thought, I swiped my omni-tool right across the kiosk and paid for literally everyone's tab. I'd not be buying another rifle this month, but I needed to attract the attention of Morinth, which I quite clearly did. I walked right out of the bar-area, leaving many aliens with shocked expressions, and hopefully a good impression on the Inusannon Federation

While I walked, I heard a feminine voice say, "Hey."

So I replied, "Yeah?"

I turned my head towards the figure, and right beside me stood none other than Morinth. Same strong-jaw as Samara, same body-type, all before me. "You're the most interesting person in this place. I've got a booth in a corner, why don't you come with me and have a drink?" she asked. The allure in her voice was almost overwhelming. Almost.

Sirius, send a message to Samara- everyone. I've got her.

'Understood. Tread carefully; if you die, you're taking me down with you.'

"Sure," I breathed.

Morinth and I eventually sat down at her booth, where I was offered some sort of Asari liquor, elasa. "You're new to the galaxy, aren't you? Tell me about yourself."

I took a sip out of the Elasa drink, recoiling at the taste. Usually, I wasn't much of a drinker, so this was both a surprise and an ass-kicker. "I'm Terrah. Just visiting on a trip from Rannoch. How about you?"

"I've always wanted to go to Rannoch. What's it like?"

"Very… Rocky, but a very nice world nonetheless. The Geth make the trip a bit more dangerous than most, but I find that where there's a nice risk, is a great opportunity for power."

"I find that power is its own reward, but it takes a strong person to venture into Geth space and return unharmed," she stated, her voice becoming rather cold. There was a chill at the back of my neck, one that wasn't at all pleasant.

"From my experience, power could be earned or it could be given. Depends on a great deal, but the importance of it comes from the hearts and minds souls. Certain genres of music, in their own rights, give out a great deal of power," I replied.

Morinth shifted in her seat, smiling at me. "Agreed. What sorts of music do you listen to?"

Sirius, what popular, yet dark-rhythm bands exist today?

'A quick search through the extranet reveals: Helios, a hard-techno group consisting of Turians and Salarians. Avangard-4, an artist relying majorly on the genre of psytrance. Deskintatri, a classical Asari artist dating back one millennia.'

"Helios has caught my eye recently, though I've also grown attached to Deskintatri."

"Helios isn't quite my taste. The beats are fine, but I don't exactly flow with their music well." She looked annoyed. The pauses that I was taking between speaking to her and Sirius were taking too long.

"Everyone has their own tastes." I shrugged, trying to stay as true to my fading memories as I possibly could. When trying to remember things, I always had trouble, especially in the form of things that Morinth liked.

Morinth leaned back in her seat, smiling at me and cocking her head. "Very true. What else do you like?"

"Art. Specifically…" I trailed off, searching the deepest portions of my memory for a name I heard not too long ago. "Vaenia. A rising artist. Her work is among the best in my eyes."

"Never heard of her either. Look- This isn't really working out. You're a bit too abstract for me, just not my type, sorry."

'Sending out a message to your comrades. Stall her.'

I stared into Morinth's eyes for a good second, to which the Ardat-Yakshi gazed right back. "You sure about that? Just a moment ago, you said I was the most interesting person, now you've backpedaled. Why?"

She shrugged. "This just isn't going to work out. You're simply not for me. Maybe next time,"

Morinth was about to stand up and leave, when Svesa brushed by her. This wouldn't be cause for concern, but then I heard biotics going off at the other side of the club. Morinth saw the flash of Samara's armor, and instantly bugged out. Her biotics were summoned, and I was hit in the face by a biotic blast. It luckily wasn't fatal, but it hurt like a bitch. Meanwhile, Svesa was thrown across the club, with her rolling onto the floor right before Vodnik's feet.

For a moment, everything was silent, but then all hell broke loose. The Krogan and Vorcha that I had encountered before sprung to life, pulling out their respective weapons, and aiming them at us. "Ahhhh!" Clearly, they had been employed by Morinth. There was no visible escape other than fighting our way out.

Samara shook off her initial shock, going on to pursue Morinth, with Vodnik and Lyna following right after her. Jovian, Svesa, and I were not as mobile. We weren't as quick as the other group, so we were left to deal with the Blood Pack mercs. My ISYLR would be too damaging to be used in such close quarters, so I took my Phaeston off of my back.

I cloaked myself and ran to Svesa, who had found her cover behind a metal pillar of sorts, there was one next to her which held up the balcony above us, so I found my spot there. My cloak disengaged and I shared a fearful look with her for a few seconds. She held a gaze with me, something telling me that we'd be alright.

The shots of mass accelerator rounds started firing throughout the club. Civilians funneled out of the club, screaming.

"Two Krogan, six Vorcha! Should be easy enough!" Svesa yelled over to me, peaking out of cover to fire a few shots off out of her shotgun. It wasn't anything special, other than being fitted with cryogenic technology.

I peeked out of cover from behind my pillar, noticing a pyro unit approaching. "Flamethrower incoming, I'm gonna try to flank, you deal with it!" I quickly told Svesa. Activating my cloak, I ran over to the bar and vaulted over it. I'd remain crouched until I could flank the Blood Pack mercs.

The Vorcha pyro unit yelled its profanities as Svesa popped out of cover from behind her pillar, firing a few slugs into its tank cannon-fodder. Occasionally I popped my head out, only to see frost forming around the tanks, each further weakening the integrity of the fuel tanks. Once she was satisfied with her work, she slid her shotgun into a magnetic slot on her lower back, then reached to her thigh, grabbing onto a pistol. She popped out of cover one last time, firing a molten slug out of the pistol, causing the fuel to ignite, and the Vorcha pyro unit to explode.

I made my way through the bar, finding a full bottle of ryncol along the way. I grabbed it and queued up an incinerate onto my omni-tool. From what I could remember, ryncol was about as flammable as gasoline. Breaking the bottle would be the hard part, but then again, not so hard when being shot by a phaeston.

As soon as I was able to flank the Blood Pack, a hand grabbed me from where I was behind the bar. I was lifted out of cover and thrown onto the floor, laying before two heavily armored feet. A Krogan stood above me, ready to crush my head in with a single stomp. He raised his foot, I closed my eyes, and prepared for the end of my life. A shrill scream from the back of the club interrupted the Krogan, at least temporarily. That worked as a distraction for a flurry of dark red and lavender skin to impact the Krogan, knocking him to the ground.

Svesa stood above him, her body enveloped in a harsh maroon glow, while her shotgun was pressed right up against the Krogan's temple. This shotgun had smooth, organic edges, but mimicked the design of my ISYLR, with metal coils forming at the barrel. As she pulled the trigger, she reeled her foot back and kicked me out of the way of the blast. I rolled two or so meters away away, breathlessly moving myself behind metal cover. As I did, I looked over to Svesa, who was already moving away from the Krogan. His skin was frying from intense electrical burns, bolts of maroon lightning dancing about on his armor. He screamed all the while, his skin darkening, showing hints of bone underneath. The same lightning was building at Svesa's shotgun, one of her fingers pressed against a button as she watched him burn. She pulled the trigger and pressed that button in perfect synchronization. Lightning flowed into the man's eyes, ears, nostrils, surrounding his brain until his head imploded, and the screaming subsequently stopped. It was far more horrible than the executions that I witnessed from Vodnik, perhaps the most terrible thing I had seen, only bested, or worsened by Kochinan melting Lera'Gerrel's brain in 2095.

It wasn't that I forgot things like that, or that PTSD didn't affect me, but rather Sirius helped me along with that. I'd be one fucked up person were it not for his therapeutic aid.

The Sannokar temporarily admired her work, before picking me up and rushing back into cover behind another pillar that was nearby. She set me down, but held her palm to my ISYLR. The magnetic lock disengaged and she took my ISYLR right off my back, instead of asking for it. She started to configure with the settings silently, glancing around as Vorcha approached our location. "Wait, you can't use that here!" I yelled, trying to grab my rifle back. She batted my hands out of the way, holding a stone cold gaze with me for a second.

Svesa didn't heed my warnings, instead aiming directly for the bar, and firing off a single shot. The flash-heat caused most alcoholic bottles to explode, the bar quickly going up in flames. Fire alarms throughout the building began going off. Water sprayed down from the ceiling, which was lucky for us. She adjusted her aim towards the Vorcha pyro unit, pulling the trigger to my ISYLR, and the unit exploded almost immediately.

She took me by my shoulder, as a bit more breathing room opened up. It wouldn't be open for long, seeing as smoke was filling the bar. "Get the Turian. We need to go after the justicar. Head for the southeast exit!"

Her order was clear as day, so I didn't hesitate for a second. I engaged my cloak and full on sprinted towards the Vorcha horde. My cloak was flickering due to both rain and extreme heat, so it was noticeably shimmering. To avoid the Vorcha horde, I jumped onto the burning bar, as to not barrel through them and let my location be even more known. Thankfully, my armor protected my from the heat, but the feeling was still present. Despite water raining from the valves above, the fire still raged on with a blaze of alcoholic glory. I had only taken a few hits, enough to drain my barrier to 85%.

I finally found my place next to Jovian, who was on the other end of the club. Once sliding into cover next to him, I patted his waist, pulling his attention towards me. "We gotta get out of here! Follow me!"

"Both you, and your stripper are fucking insane!" He yelled, but peeked out of cover for a split second, immediately getting shot at. "It's a no-go! We're pinned down here!"

"We'll be two charred corpses if we don't get the hell to the southeast exit! You can follow me, or burn with the Vorcha, it's your choice!" Beads of sweat were beginning come from my skin as the heat from the flames became almost unbearable.

He took a moment to decide, but nodded at me soon after. "Right, right now?"

I blankly looked at him for a millisecond, shaking his stupid question off. "Yeah! Go, get the fuck out of here! I'll have your back!"

I probably didn't have his back, but I'd try my hardest to keep Jovian alive, so I peeked out of cover and started shooting at the Blood Pack. I took a few hits, but nothing that my kinetic barrier couldn't hold. Jovian full on booked it in the meantime. I constantly saw him taking fire, but I kept him covered as best I could. As soon as he reached the door, his barriers broke, but he managed to get out of the club without any injuries. Now it was my turn, so I looked back to the approaching Vorcha and engaged my tactical cloak.

I ran. I ran as fast as I could ever run, hearing Vorcha scream behind me was one of the most terrifying things, and as my cloak disengaged from a stray concussive shot impacting my barriers, I had the incentive to run faster. Despite stumbling a bit, I made it to the southeast exit with 25% of my barriers remaining. I was shook, but alive. That was my main goal here, stay alive. Svesa yanked me forwards, her grip strengthening around my wrist.

Svesa turned me around, and brushed her hand over my back, presumably checking for any wounds. "I've sent Jovian back to the freighter in case we need to further chase Morinth down. It's a good thing you're not wounded. What're your barriers at?" Svesa patted my shoulder and glanced right. Pillars of smoke acted as beacons towards our objective, where Morinth had gone, and where Samara had chased her to.

"25% last I checked. You got any word from Vodnik or Lyna?" I inquired, catching my breath from the literal firefight that I was just in.

"Nothing. I'd think those plumes of smoke have to be an indication that they may still be alive!" she exclaimed, handing my ISYLR back to me. Of course, I took it with no protest.

Svesa and I sprinted towards the fire, gunshots becoming louder and louder, until they stopped dead. Svesa and I arrived at the scene just in time to see Morinth holding two Asari children by their necks, with a Krogan Blood Pack leader right behind her. It was the same person that I had encountered back in the club, Grug. "Shoot another round off and both of these children die. Is that what you want, mother? To kill two innocent children? Surely your code wouldn't approve of that."

"Let. Them. Go," Samara coldly stated, her assault rifle trained on Morinth's head.

"Let me leave, and I'll let these rats live out the rest of their days, however long that might be. Waste another minute of my time, and I'll sell them to slavers. Shoot me, and I'll kill them both."

Samara remained speechless, but Morinth? Morinth backed onto the shuttle, Grug right in front of her. Svesa was ready to fire, but Samara glanced towards the Sannokar, shaking her head. There'd be too much collateral damage if we shot the shuttle out of the sky. Possible civilian casualties. Before the shuttle doors closed, Morinth tossed the kids out, both landing right next to each other. The justicar rushed towards them, but my focus was still trained on Morinth's escape.

Svesa wasn't as still though. She slid some circular device off of her arm. As the shuttle was a good 50m (162ft) or so away, she reeled her arm back and threw the device at the shuttle. Her throw was impressive, more than impressive. The device latched onto a thruster cover and immediately cloaked itself. "Tracker. So long as it's within a light year of one of your comms buoys, her location will be known to us," explained Svesa, gazing down at me.

"Great. Should have her dead in a few months then," I murmured, looking towards Samara. She was next to a crying mother, who was hugging her two children.

"I wouldn't be so hopeful. The Ardat-Yakshi seems crafty. Once she finds the tracker, her location will be lost to us- until Cygnus, Sirius, or any passing Inusynthetic picks her up in a scan." Svesa stepped forwards, brought her fist to her upper chest, and cocked her head to the sky. "Sil Prasio- novlis ta wozhil dao taes utzhu deradi..."

I quirked an eyebrow, "What was that? Didn't quite translate."

"It's Valizir, an ancient religious Sannokar dialect, many of my people know it, but the Inusannon Federation doesn't mix beliefs with language, so no translations exist. However, I think I can make an exception for you. To be simple, it means… 'To Prasio- may you guide us to the demon's land.'"

"I'd love to hear more about it, but not here," I said, sharing a glance with Lyna and Vodnik. "Not here," I murmured, glancing up at Svesa.

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed the combat this chapter, it's much more fun to write than politics all the time, but also harder. I'm trying to remain as realistic as you can with space aliens.