…
"Everything great in the world is done by neurotics; they alone founded our religions and created our masterpieces."
(Marcel Proust)
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MFV Discovery, March 25th, 8:57 AM, 2185
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Sitting down at the Y-shaped table in the crew quarters of our ship, I savored the hot cup of coffee I held in my hands as I stared at the Pollock tree sitting in the middle of the table. It had grown another six inches in the last three weeks, starting to really make itself known as it slowly took up more room. Soon enough, we'd have to plant it outside just so it wouldn't grow into our ceiling.
Taking a sip of my coffee, I let out a loud sigh, leaning back in my chair as I threw my head back and smiled. It had been too long since I had tasted Eight O'Clock Original, mixed with a teaspoon of raw sugar and real 2% cow's milk. It had taken a while to get ahold of these three items, but it was completely worth it. This combination was my first, and favorite, cup of coffee back when I was 15 years old. My father made it for me, being an avid coffee drinker himself. Despite my mom's recommendation that I try it black first, I poured 2% milk in to weed out the duller elements of the drink. While I now had an appreciation for all forms of coffee, this combination would always bring me back to my happy place.
"You seem content." Mara remarked, sitting down next to me as Elle bobbed back and forth in the rocker we had built for her out of some lumber. "I never imagined milk, sugar, and coffee beans could bring a smile to your face that easily."
"I haven't been able to get my hands on unprocessed sugar and real milk since Aldrin Station." I explained, putting my mug down as I gave her my full attention. "It's incredible that they actually fulfilled my order all the way out here."
"Can you really call it "out here" anymore?" She scrutinized, leaning back with her arms folded. "Don't forget, it only takes a few hours to get between the systems."
"I know… still, things are starting to move at a pretty good pace now, despite the other setbacks." I nodded, picking my mug back up and drinking deeply.
In the past three weeks, we've actually managed to accomplish quite a bit. Richard and his "team" were making good progress with developing their computer tech, and had managed to create a small high-speed communication network between their major cities using a few of our older, obsolete satellites from when we had first colonized Reach. It was one of many compromises we'd have to make to accelerate the Raloi's technical capabilities. There was no way we'd have them to a reasonable level of tech quick enough if we didn't provide assistance.
As much as I'd like to teach them the fundamental basics of every step, it was looking like our time was quickly running out to prepare them.
Somehow, it had gotten back to the Citadel Council that a new race had been encountered by the quarians, and they were now leveling some serious accusations towards the Admiralty, of which included something called "belligerent obstruction", some kind of crap legal jargon. No one knew how they had acquired this information, but it was obvious there had been a serious security breach somewhere. Part of me suspected Cerberus may have found a way to penetrate our comm networks and leaked the info to the Council to further instill doubt in the quarians... and their motives.
We knew Gregory and Hackett would never leak information, let alone something this important. The good thing was, as far as we knew, that they still didn't have the coordinates of the Turviss, meaning we still had exclusive access to the system. Last thing we needed was for Cerberus or those SPECTRE assholes to show up. There was no telling what kind of hell would ensue if that were to happen right now.
"I'm still not sure how I feel about you taking their leadership up into space." Mara said in a worried tone, leaning against the table as she peered over at Elle. "Don't you think we're going a bit far ahead in this process by taking them out there?"
"It's not really my decision, to be honest." I justified, clasping my mug with both hands. "The Admirals believe it'll be good to show them what it's like out there, give their leaders more initiative."
"But you still support it." She pointed out, causing me to narrow my eyes on the table as I collected my thoughts.
"Look, back when we first started all of this, Dan and I talked about there needing to be some kind of social change in the Raloi for them to fully embrace the direction we're taking them." I argued, rapidly tapping my fingers against the side of my coffee mug. "I do think that getting them out there, showing it to them in person, has the potential to get the wheels moving for some of them."
"Some, but not all." She remarked as I leaned back and put my feet on the table.
"Some change is better than no change." I shot back, managing to squeeze a smile out of her.
"I'm glad you haven't lost that positive side." She grinned, standing up and planting a kiss on my forehead as I smiled from ear to ear.
True, today would mostly be an attempt at PR, but I honestly believed we had an incredible opportunity here.
Hopefully, it would be the kick needed to really get the gears moving.
…
MFV Kavna, March 25th, 11:05 AM, 2185
…
Walking into the bridge on Soran's ship, It was easy to see everyone was in a rush to make sure everything was in order for our trip today. No one was sitting idly by as they all worked on engines, weapons, and other subsystems, trying to make sure everything ran perfectly.
I'd never tire of seeing the quarians work on their ships. These weren't just space vessels to them, after all. They were homes.
"It's like f-finals week around here." Dan joked, standing closely behind my left side as Dimitri followed up on my right. Behind all three of us, Gregory followed up our rear, doing his best to stay out of everyone's way.
"Don't remind me of 2018." I quickly cut off, not wanting to remember the rush we were in that year to finish our projects. "This is much easier, all things considered."
"Da, college is draining work." Dimitri remarked, towering over us as he normally did. "Still, not nearly as obnoxious as fellow classmates."
"I don't know about that, I knew plenty of assholes in high school." Greg commented, shrugging his shoulders.
"That, I think we've all experienced." I finished, walking over to Soran as she turned on her heel to face me.
"Good to see you, Sean." She greeted with her usual handshake offer, which I gladly accepted.
"Likewise, Soran." I nodded, defaulting to putting my hands behind my back. "So, we almost ready for the main event?"
"As ready as we can be. I've had my crew work in double shifts, checking all the systems by hand." She explained, turning back to her master display. "We couldn't be more prepared."
"Fantastic, we wouldn't want any SNAFUs up in the stratosphere." I replied, feeling confident in our position.
Almost as if on queue, the comm station lit up, as the operator stood up and looked at us.
"They're here, Captain." He announced in a smooth tone as Soran and I stared at one another in silence for a few seconds.
"Everyone, this is the Captain. Our guests have arrived, get to your stations and remain on alert." She said through the ship's intercom system, turning and walking past me as I glanced over at Dan.
"Let's get this show on the road." I smiled, quickly rubbing my hands together and turning around as the four of us followed Soran and her six fully-armed marines.
The corridors of the ship, which previously bustled with activity, were now completely devoid of crew, aside from several more marines Soran had posted around for good measure. I could tell she was taking every possible precaution, and I couldn't blame her. This held the potential for many outcomes, many of which weren't what I'd call… favorable.
We walked into the open shuttle bay where the Aspet Amisen, Sparapet Iolin, and the House Nakharars were waiting, flanked by a complement of twenty elite Artsruni warriors. It was the normal amount, and I had seen all of them in the background of every major meeting we've had with the leadership. None of them have ever turned to look at us, let alone spoken a word.
The only major difference this time around in regards to the warriors was the inclusion of their leader, Grand Qaphela Ocari. I had only seen him once during our first meeting in the city, standing in the background the entire time. He wore pitch black armor that glistened in the light, polished to a mirror shine. It was unlike any suit I had seen any of the other warriors wear.
"Greetings, I am Captain Teera'Soran, and I welcome all of you to the Kavna." She greeted as we stood silently behind her, keeping our eyes on everything and anything. "We've just finished finalizing our flight plan and are ready to depart."
"That sounds fantastic!" Amisen said with glee in his voice, obviously excited about the trip. "Will we be permitted to record and photograph the occasion?"
"Absolutely." She nodded as one of the warriors hefted a large film camera, of which reminded me of the old TV cameras used back in the 70's and 80's. I had to control my urge to laugh at how ridiculous it appeared at first glance.
With that, we began walking back to the bridge. It felt strange having this many people crammed into the hallways like this, especially the Raloi, given their size. There were some points where they had to duck their heads down slightly to avoid hitting a bulkhead, doorway, or support beam. Like with the camera, I struggled to keep myself from breaking down into giggles.
Back on the bridge, we all assumed our positions at the front of the entourage as our guests observed everything with curious eyes. Amisen looked like he was on the brink of geeking out as he struggled to keep his feet and hands still.
"Telma, begin ignition sequence. Take us up at fifty percent and adjust from there." Soran ordered as the ship rumbled to life, the inertial dampeners activating as we began lifting off. "Salk, keep and eye on our scanners until further notice."
"We have not been involved in launch this tense since first Explorer test." Dimitri remarked out of earshot of our guests, as Dan, Greg, and I turned towards him.
"That's putting it lightly." I shook my head, crossing my arms. "Man, I miss Jack."
Mentioning him brought a heavy, somber feeling to the air around us as we turned our attention back to the viewports. We cut through the clouds as we ascended, the blue sky slowly shifting over to black as we left the atmosphere without a hitch. Soon enough, the House Nakharars were chatting among themselves excitedly, as Aspet Amisen and Sparapet Iolin stood silently shoulder-to-shoulder, watching the stars.
This plan might have been paying off.
Once in orbit, we flew into the heart of the Exploratory Flotilla, holding defensive position above the planet where it could quickly respond to a threat. It had changed a lot since we'd discovered the Klenot Nebula, it was no longer a near-defenseless mish-mash of civilian vessels, it was a genuine military detachment capable of fending off a small enemy flotilla if need be. Still, its primary goal was to search out new, uncharted systems, and to map out routes between those systems and Reach.
"Gods, look at that." One of the Nakharars exclaimed, pointing out the recently retrofitted Turian Hellion-class heavy cruiser at the lead of the flotilla.
"Ah, that is the Vivvius." Soran announced, leaning against the guardrail in the center of the bridge with both arms. "She's the lead ship in the flotilla, captained by Ren'Elavn vas Vivvius, and is by most regards the most well-armed ship here."
The Vivvius had been the first ship to travel to the system after the "pipeline" had been charted, leading our supply ships and joining the flotilla under orders from Admiral Mal. It was one of the many fresh retrofits from the shipyards, having been fully gutted, rewired, and redesigned internally to better suit Quarian needs.
By Turian standards, it had been an outdated design harkening back to the Krogan Rebellions, unfit for use in their growing military machine. The Quarians had turned the aging ship into something that could easily go toe-to-toe with a modern Turian cruiser of similar size. Other than the ship frame, which had only been modified with more structural support and armor, it was virtually a brand-new ship.
"It's massive… what kind of power is needed to drive such a large vessel?" The Nakharar from House Delmos asked, cocking his head to the side to get a clearer look at it.
"It's driven by our proprietary power system, known as the Nemo-Michaels reactor." I answered, walking up to all the Nakharars as they turned to face me. "The reactor is a synergistic combination of eezo and fusion technology, producing large amounts of electricity and a unique plasma byproduct. This plasma is used for many things, including weapons, maneuvering thrusters, and as a viable propellant for larger starship engines."
"And what of long-distance travel? We believed it to be impossible, going faster than the speed of light." The Delmos Nakharar probed further, leaning towards me.
"That's accomplished through the use of the Gravity Drive." I explained, opening my omni-tool and running an animation I had thrown together just for this occasion. "Using a highly-focused centrifuge, we produce a powerful magnetic field that is projected outside of the ship, isolating it from normal space when in operation. Through the use of this system, we're able to protect the ship and crew from any relativistic effects, and jump many light-years in a short amount of time without any outside propulsion or assistance."
"Fascinating. I never suspected such things could be…" He mused, tilting his head to the side as the Nakharar from House Vazgen took a step forward, focusing intently on me.
"Does there exist any possibility we might be able to use such technology?" He asked, sounding like he was looking for some kind of opportunity. "It could boost our industrial capacity past post-war levels if properly utilized."
"Well, I guess that mostly depends on all of you." I said with emphasis, as they looked at each other in minor confusion. "The fact of the matter is, do you think your society is built to handle the responsibilities that come with technology of this magnitude?"
"What are you saying?" Sparapet Iolin asked in an aggressive tone, walking to the front of the group.
"What he's saying is that y-your society isn't in the right place to compete with the re...rest of the galaxy." Dan chimed in, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with me as he spoke. "Most of your population consists of poor, uneducated farmers working the l-land as peasants. Your industrial capacity lacks any consistency, and st...standardized production barely exists. When looking at this and other problems, it's clear you and your p-people need to make a change."
"What do you suggest then, Captain Sean Michaels?" Aspet Amisen walked in, sounding much calmer than Iolin had. "Our people are deeply rooted in tradition stretching back thousands of years. Do you suggest we throw tradition to the wind after all these years?"
"I'm not saying your people have to abandon their traditions, far from it." I reassured, holding both hands behind my back as I spoke. "What I'm saying is that this relationship of ours can't be a one-way street. If we're going to provide for your people, you have to provide back. Education will lead to innovation, innovation will lead to new discoveries, and those discoveries will further push your people to the stars. I'm not saying your people need to change overnight, or that you need to force one another into uncomfortable positions. I only suggest that, given your present course, you aren't in a position to compete with the other advanced races of the galaxy."
The entire bridge fell silent for a few moments as the House Nakharars, Aspet Amisen, and Sparapet Iolin looked at one another, exchanging facial expressions too subtle for me to read.
"The humans make valid points." Grand Qaphela Ocari spoke for the first time in a booming tone, walking away from his warriors to join the conversation. "For the past hundred and ninety-three years, I've seen our people stagnate. Too many people, not enough food for each mouth… our technology has gone nowhere, with only small advancements being made every few years. If these humans insist that change is necessary for our people to flourish, perhaps we should heed their advice."
"But what of our traditions, Ocari?!" Sparapet Iolin said, sounding absolutely shocked by his admission. "Would you have us abandon them after all these years? Spit in the face of our ancestors?"
"They mean nothing if our people are suffering! Do you really believe they care about tradition when they fruitlessly work fields all their lives and their children die from starvation, Iolin?" Ocari immediately shot down, raising his neck to full height as he spoke as Iolin did the same. "Ever since the days of antiquity, we've buried our heads in the tradition of those who didn't know what we do now, those who thought we were the only beings in the world. If they knew what we do, would they stay the course, or ride their beliefs into the Great Dark?"
"You both need to calm down!" Amisen interjected, getting in between the two as they remained at full height. "This is obviously a complex issue we all have our own thoughts and opinions on. Fighting will get us nowhere!"
Slowly, the two lowered their heads again, refusing to break eye contact for five whole seconds before they finally looked away from one another. As if on some kind of queue, Greg's omni-tool began beeping loudly, drawing Dan, Dimitri, and I's attention.
"I'll leave you to think about what we've said, your excellencies." I finished, leaving them alone as we all huddled around one another to see what was going on.
"I think it was a little on-the-nose, but you got the point across." Greg quietly complemented, opening up his omni-tool as his face shifted. "I had this on silent, it must be important."
"I hope it is not something bad." Dimitri wished, crossing both his fingers as a video message from Hackett popped up.
"Gregory, we've had a major development in Batarian space the last twelve hours." Hackett immediately kicked off, something that was slightly unusual, given his friendly nature. "After coordinating with our task force in the region, Shepard discovered that the Reapers were en-route to the Bahak system from dark space, and had planned to use the system's mass relay to invade the rest of the galaxy. Using the task force cruiser in conjunction with it's gravity drive, they turned the ship into a high-speed kinetic projectile, managing to blow apart one of the Mass Relay's stabilizing rings. While they succeeded in destroying the Relay… this act killed all the batarians in the system, over three-hundred thousand of them, in the ensuing supernova."
Gregory paused the message as we collectively broke out into a cold sweat, each of us feeling the weight each word had on us.
"K-keep going." I encouraged with a slight loss of nerves, suddenly feeling the weight of the whole world around me.
"Without the Relay, we believe it'll take at least three, maybe four months until they can reach another system with access to the Relay network. Shepard has agreed to stand trial for the destruction of the system if called on, we don't want to risk war with whatever Batarian leadership is left." He began to wrap up, pausing for a moment to shake his head and sigh. "Tell Sean and his team, but don't tell any of the quarians, especially their Admiralty. Once we've put out most of the fires here, I'll travel to Reach to deliver the news myself. Hackett out."
The four of us simply stood there in silence for a few moments, not saying a word as we did nothing but exchange glances with one another.
It was happening, the Reapers were here.
…
MFV Discovery, March 25th, 3:43 PM, 2185
…
Stepping back onto our ship, an air of dread hung over us, even the normally stoic Dimitri. None of us said a word to each other as the airlock cycled, opening to reveal Mara, Sira, and Richard who had all come down to to greet us. Before any of them could say anything, Mara's smile immediately faded seeing the looks on our faces.
"What happened? Did something go wrong?" She asked, taking a few steps forward as I met her eyes.
"Everyone, gather in the crew quarters, we've got some bad news." I announced out loud in a dull tone, gazing into Mara's eyes for several seconds before walking over to the table.
"Something's up?" Tony questioned out loud, sliding down the ladder as all of us slowly made our way to the crew quarters. By the time everyone had gathered, it was packed as full as it could possibly be, with fifteen of us crammed into the room.
"What's going on? Johnathan asked, sounding mildly annoyed as he shut off the datapad he had been working on before.
"We just got a message from Admiral Hackett, an important one." I explained, looking at Gregory as he opened his omni-tool again. "I think it's best if everyone hears it for themselves.
Gregory then proceeded to play the message in its entirety again. As the message went on, the dread we had felt hearing the news spread to everyone else, leaving the room entirely silent for a few moments, aside from the sound of the reactor, and Powell's photoreceptor focusing in and out rapidly.
"So… it's actually happening." Richard nodded, sounding oddly calm about the news despite everyone else's silence. "I suppose it's coming sooner than we had predicted, huh?"
"Considering the system's proximity to the galactic edge, it seems this would be a logical path for the Reapers to take." Powell nodded, looking over at me before going on. "Dr. Michaels, what do you think about this?"
"I think it's a giant shitshow in the making." I shook my head, trying to wrap my head around it all. "We're nowhere near the level we should be technologically, more than half of the galaxy still thinks the Reapers aren't real, and one of the few strong advocates we have is now facing imprisonment for the destruction of an entire system."
"There must be something we can do." Mineko wondered out loud, looking at Hans as she spoke. "If the Alliance is aware of the threat, won't they be prepared for an invasion?"
"I doubt there's much they'll be able to do, to be honest." I interjected, rubbing my goatee in thought. "It took the combined power of several fleets, including dreadnoughts, to take down Sovereign at the Citadel. When thousands start pouring in from dark space, I doubt we'll be able to match them in strength alone."
"Then what are we supposed to do, just lay down and die?" Dixon lashed out, fed up with the atmosphere that had built up in the room. "We've got to have some kind of solution! We've always managed to find a way to fight back before, this should be no different!"
"It's not that simple." Richard dismissed, sounding annoyed with his bravado. "These Reapers, these… Old Machines, they've been repeating the same cycle of extinction over and over for millions of years, getting better and more efficient each time. We can't just combine all our arms and expect to win in a straight-up fight."
"No, you're right, there's no winning a conventional war with the Reapers." Mara chimed in, doing her best not to stir a sleeping Elle in her arms. "If we're going to win, we need a weakness… something we can use against them that doesn't involve shooting or blowing things up."
"I thought those big guns over Reach were supposed to be a solution." Tony interrupted, obviously confused. "Are they just for show?"
"No, they exist as a remedy, not a solution." I rebuked, tilting my head to the side. "They're there as a defensive measure in case they find the Klenot Nebula. They're never going to win a war. Maybe a battle, but not a war."
"Well… what do we already know about the Reapers? You know, solid, concrete information?" Kirva asked, joining in the conversation. "Don't they rely on taking control of other species or something?"
"Indoctrination." Powell corrected, constricting his eye as he looked at her. "Through the use of electromagnetic fields, sounds, and other methods, Reapers are able to break down an individual's will, turning them into mindless servants after being exposed for long enough. The process is irreversible, and eventually leads to the subjects being entirely dependant on the signal for proper brain activity to occur."
"An electromagnetic signal… any idea what kind of signal we're talking about?" Hans inquired, tapping his wrinkled hands against the table as he spoke.
"If I had to venture a guess, I'd say a quantum signal of some kind." Richard theorized, whipping out his cleaning rag to wipe off his artificial eye. "According to the Geth, they observed Nazara communicating near-constantly with an outside force through the shifts and fluctuation of their electromagnetic field. They later realized that these signals fell in line with similar communicative patterns utilized by Cerberus."
"Cerberus? What do they have to do with-" I began to ask before it dawned on me. "Oh… now it makes sense!"
That communicator the doctor at the Telten facility used was a quantum entanglement communicator. It was the only way he could have spoken to The Illusive Man without any delay in the transmission. If the technology was similar to those used by the Reapers, that must have meant Cerberus engineered the communicator through reverse-engineering what was left of Sovereign.
"You on to something, Sean?" Dan asked as all eyes fell on me.
"I think I am." I nodded, pulling out the OSD from months ago and handing it to Richard. "We recovered this data from an experimental communication device on Pragia. Analyze it from top to bottom, and see if you can use it to find a link between their communicator and the Reaper signals."
"On it." He agreed without hesitation, immediately walking off with Powell in tow as I looked at the faces of my friends, family, and colleagues.
"Maybe, just maybe, if we can find a way to counter or manipulate these signals, it might lead to an exploit or advantage we can use against them." I pepped up, feeling slightly better about the current situation. "We've got time before they arrive, but until then, we keep working and do our best not to stir the pot. When Hackett comes to tell the Admiralty about what's happened, then we can reveal our findings. Understood, people?"
I received various forms of acknowledgement from everyone, as they slowly dispersed with an aura of positivity. The only one who stayed was Mara, holding a soundly sleeping Elle in her arms.
"You're not going to like what I have to tell you." She said in uncomplicated terms, causing me to furrow my brow.
"Whatever it is, it can't be any worse than the info we've gotten today." I joked, trying to keep myself lively after the display that had just taken place.
"I want you to teach me how to fight." She stated, giving me a genuine moment of pause as I froze and stared at her in bewilderment.
"Um… why? You don't plan on joining everyone on the front lines, do you?" I questioned, feeling an odd mix of emotions enter my chest as I attempted to find some kind of rationalization for this sudden request.
"To be honest, I've been thinking about this for a long time, ever since the attack on the Idenna." She explained, taking care not to raise her voice as she narrowed her eyes on me. "I know there's going to be conflict ahead, no matter what steps we take to prevent it. I don't want to be someone who hides and cowers in the face of danger anymore. Hiding on that ship when those Cerberus troops were walking around shooting the crew was one of the most terrifying moments in my life."
"Mara, I don't-" I began to argue before she immediately cut me off with her heel against the deck.
"I will not be a... damsel when the Reapers show up on our doorstep, Sean." She insisted, shooting me a glare I hadn't seen her give in years. "You'll teach me how to fight, so when the time comes, instead of you defending me, we can defend each other."
I stared at her face, feeling my chest rise as I fought back my urge to shed a tear. She really meant it, and despite my initial reservations, I felt an odd sense of pride knowing how truly serious she was about this. While I had known it already, this had further served to reinforce a single fact.
She loved me. She loved me enough not only to live with me and have a child with me, but she loved me to the point where she wanted to protect me as much as I wanted to protect her.
"I'll teach you how to fight." I agreed unconditionally, letting a smile slip onto my face as she did the same. "I'll teach you everything I know."
"Glad to hear it." She nodded, as we leaned into each other and gave one another a quick kiss.
We would win this coming war, no matter the cost.
…
A/N: So, here we are again, at the bookends of another 25 chapters. To be perfectly honest, it feels amazing seeing how far this story has come since I first started it in 2015. When I started Murphy's Law, I had reservations about even making it this far, knowing what a terrible disaster my previous story had turned into. I'm happy I didn't allow those thoughts to get to me. Above all else, I want to thank all of you for sticking around to join me on this ride. Without you, this wouldn't be possible. Now, here's shooting for 100!
As I promised last chapter, we now have a visual representation of what the Raloi look like, drawn, colored, and shaded by my favorite artist, Nikadonna! Its posted on my deviantART account, TacoWrath, under the name Raloi Concept (Mass Effect: Murphy's Law). I've given up on posting a link since they never work, so just search for that and you'll find it. Be sure to leave a like and comment on it letting me know what you think, and be sure to spread the love to Nikadonna! She's the real hero here!
As always, I'd love to read any reviews, and I'm always up for suggestions or constructive criticism. Stay tuned!