Chapter Eighteen: A Change of Heart
"Captain, we only have fifteen minutes left!" The urgent voice of the Marathon's helmsman resounded through Liara's helmet. The slow move to the ship was agonizing, but she wasn't going to leave Colt again.
"I know. We're moving as fast as possible," Hannah replied through breathes. It wasn't like the coffin was particularly heavy. No, it wasn't that. The contents just made it seem that way.
They weren't moving fast enough to escape. Their journey was a silent ten minute scramble instead of the five minute sprint it should've been. There was no way they'd make it through the relay.
After their ten minute excursion, the three burst onto the ship's loading platform with gusto. Hannah pulled Liara and Feron along with renewed energy. An intoxicating aura seemed to form around the Captain which made it hard to look away. She threw orders around with impressive ease and confidence. Apparently, it ran in the Shepard bloodline.
"How long will it take us to reach the mass relay?" The Captain barked at some Ensign.
The poor thing froze for a second before saying,"Approximately seven minutes, ma'am."
"How long till that unidentified ship is on top of us?" She asked.
"About four minutes, ma'am."
"This way," Hannah growled. She practically dragged Liara and Feron down the hallway where the crew quarters were located. She walked a few steps before turning into a storage room. "He'll be fine here," she said. The three set the casket down gingerly. In five seconds flat Hannah tied the casket down and was out the door. Liara briefly pulled at the tethers Hannah had connected then she too was out the door. Footsteps behind her made it clear that Feron was following along behind.
Liara turned the corner into the CIC just in time to hear the tail end of Hannah's conversation. "...Their estimated trajectory shows that they probably intend to board the Marathon," some crewmember was telling the Captain. Hannah had a hand on her forehead and was muttering.
The ship was no doubt connected to the Shadow Broker. Their good buddy, Feron, had obviously tipped off the Broker to their whereabouts. The Broker's ship was definitely trying to get Colt's body. No way they could they let that happen. Who knew what they wanted to do with him?
Feron shifted behind Liara a little, causing Hannah to jerk her head up. She narrowed her eyes at the the Drell before turning and saying,"Hawkins, Johnson take Feron away. We have enough problems without worrying about him."
"Yes ma'am," the two marines said at the same time before grabbing Feron and leading him away.
"Anders, make an announcement for the crew to get ready," Hannah called towards her helmsman. Anders nodded back before she turned back toward her consoles.
"All crewmembers go to battle stations," Ander's familiar voice filled the ship. Liara had no idea where to go without making things worse. So she stayed in the rear the cockpit and tried her best to stay out of the way.
Hannah was hurrying between different crew members in the cockpit. Her voice was calm and reassuring. The perfect leader. Charisma must've run in the Shepard bloodline.
Liara hoped that her biotics would be sufficient against the agent's people, but she did have some concerns about using them on a ship. She was particularly worried about ripping out a bulkhead and dooming everyone to a cold death. This wasn't a productive line of thought, so she started thinking about what Shepard would do in this situation. He would make a couple horrible jokes and then he would become uncharacteristically serious and calm.
"We have a visual on the incoming ship!" The quiet words previously exchanged in the cockpit were now much louder. This particular sentence was almost yelled.
"Captain! The Marathon's sensors are indicating that a shuttle is being prepped for launch," a woman said loudly.
Hannah whipped her head around and remained silent for a second. "Did I hear you correctly, Lieutenant?" Her tone was sharp.
"Yes ma'am. A shuttle is twenty seconds from lau-" the Lieutenant was interrupted by the sound of heavy boots thudding against the metal flooring.
"Captain, Feron escaped," Hawkins said breathlessly. Blood was dripping from his nose. Johnson stood behind him. She held her left hand defensively.
"Are you fucking serious?" Hannah's eyes were bright with anger.
"Yes ma'am. We had just opened the door to the brig and he went nuts. The next thing we knew he was gone and we were on the ground," Johnson admitted. Liara couldn't help but feel sorry for the young marines. She could almost feel the shame radiating from them.
"I don't have time for him right now. Get your asses to the med bay," Captain Hannah growled at the injured pair. She turned back to the Lieutenant she was talking with earlier. "What's the status of the shuttle?"
"It launched about two seconds ago." The lieutenant was leaning forward in her chair, staring intensely at her screen. "It's headed for the unidentified ship."
Hannah walked up beside the woman and stared at her screen. "Contact the shuttle. See who they are and ask what the fuck they're doing," Hannah said.
"SSV Marathon to UT-47 Kodiak. Who is the pilot and what is your objective?" Anders spoke loud enough so that Liara could hear her.
"I couldn't do it. Not to him. Not after he saved the Citadel," Feron's voice answered back before the link was severed.
"Ma'am, it appears that the ship is now tracking the Kodiak instead of the Marathon. If we go now we may be able to make it to the mass relay," Anders told Hannah, not once looking away from her console.
Hannah mumbled something under her breath and then said,"Go!"
"Right away," Anders replied, tapping at her console. Liara could feel the Marathon's engines powering up under her feet. She wheeled around and made her way to a seat. She'd barely buckled her harness before the ship started to hum with energy from the relay. In just a few moments, they were thousands of lightyears away.