Chapter 2: Lost
Attican Beta, Theseus System, Feros.
Yang
Feros, Earth, colony, she could place the latter but the first two Yang had no idea about. Planets are huge, Remnant was still very unexplored and their colonies were usually called settlements that weren't too far from a major town so that help could get there relatively quickly. Grimm were always present and new settlements often failed as huntsmen and huntresses rarely stayed in one place for long, unless the pay was good.
The woman before her, this Commander Shepard of some Alliance, finally shook her hand. She wore this dark metallic looking armour that was kind of like the interlocking plate armour she was used to seeing the Atlisian soldiers were. Only this armour seemed more complete with full upper and lower arm protection, same for the legs. She could tell the woman was curious about her hand and was glad the rest of her arm was covered.
The blue humanoid, Asari as Shepard had called this individual, stepped forward after. Her armour was lighter than Shepards, both in colouration and bulkiness. But again it was more complete, Yang couldn't see any way through save for the lack of a helmet on either of them.
"I'm Liara T'soni, may I ask…"
"Lost it in a fight, lost that fight too." Yang cut her off, assuming it was going where many other conversations usually went.
"Oh, I see. Sorry for your loss." Liara stepped back as the tall scaled creature approached. He didn't speak at first, simply looking her over and eyeing her hand which Yang slowly moved behind her back.
Is it weird to have prosthetics here? She wondered while looking up at this, Turian. He was easily taller than Yang who stood at only 5'8".
"Garrus Vakarian, former C-Sec officer." Yang watched his set of mandibles move as he spoke and nodded. She noted how Garrus appeared to have a crest of horns that ran and then curved off the back of his head, and that his skin appeared harder than human skin. His armour too was different and allowed her to see the difference in their body shape, notably the additional parts on his legs, not having five digits on each hand, and the much larger foot/ankle area.
At least they're friendly, but aliens, where the hell am I? "Nice to meet you both. Who's…"
"Lieutenant Kaleb Maulden, Alliance." Though he didn't offer to shake her hand and gave Yang an untrusting and disbelieving look.
"This Alliance you two said," Yang pointed with her left hand, her organic hand. "Is it a military force?"
"Yes, it is what we humans have come to call our military. You haven't even heard of us?" Shepard asked.
"Nope, I'm new here, lots of holes need filling in."
"Where are you from then? If not on Feros, did you come here from another nearby planet or system?" Liara asked.
"No idea what a system is, but my planet," it felt strange to refer to it as hers. "Is called Remnant. Have any of you heard of it?" She watched them all shake their heads and sighed. Guess he was telling the truth then.
"We can have someone look for it once we're back on the Normandy." Shepard told her having seen the slight disappointment in this stranger.
"What's a…" Yang started.
"No, we're not taking a damn colonist on board too. We've already acquired enough extras. I won't be stuck babysitting this kid," Maulden said.
"That's not your call Lieutenant," Shepard shot back. "How old are you, Miss Xiao Long?"
"Just Yang, and I'm nineteen. Already a fully trained huntress too." Her boast was met with curious, confused, and worried expressions.
"Well at least she's old enough to not need babysitting," Maulden said as he turned and started heading back.
"Nineteen is very young in human years isn't it. Considered an adult, yet barely able to enlist into the Alliance. And to be a colonist you'd have to be an asset, or your parents would have to bring you along. How long have you been here on Feros?" Liara asked.
There was a particular question Yang really wanted to ask, but instead held her tongue for now. She figured she was making enough of a fool of herself. "Not long. Less than a day."
"Less than a day? I'll ask Fai Dan if there was another ship that arrived before us." Shepard said. "Miss Yang."
"Yang is fine, the miss sounds… weird."
"Yang, would you accompany us back to the colony? It would be better if you stayed there, Geth are dangerous creatures and you don't want to end up being caught out here alone." Shepard's worry was quickly brushed off, or ignored by the blonde.
"Don't worry about me, I can hold my own. You saw what I did to those bots back there," Yang grinned.
"Geth aren't bots, they are a race of networked artificial intelligences that reside beyond the Perseus Veil," Liara informed the young woman.
Yang stared at the blue woman, Asari, with a look of being a fish out of water. There was too much new information being thrown at her in this new environment that she couldn't really piece it together. "So they're alive?"
"No," Maulden called from over his shoulder.
"It's hard to say, but they can think and act just like any other organic race. Does freedom of choice, the ability to learn, capability to interact with other species mean that one is alive even if their bodies are made of hardware?" Liara's voice seemed to be getting more excited.
"Yes," came Yang's quick and firm answer. It surprised the group who stopped, all eyes turning to her while she cast her gaze off to one side.
She was thinking of her friend Penny, how she had been more than a little strange when they first met. She was awkward in many ways, but as she learned how to interact with her team and team JNPR she had become much more lifelike.
"Ppft, they're just machines. You said so yourself earlier after you smashed several of them to pieces. If that was really you." Maulden's words caused Yang to feel cold as regret began to fill her.
If they were living then, I just killed them. Without hesitation. Her brow furrowed as she thought about it some more. Penny was a robot, built from hardware as Liara had mentioned. But she had been given a soul and the ability to learn, interact and even made friends, Yang being one of them. The trouble was that Yang didn't know how the Geth were built, if they too had a soul either given to them or somehow made or obtained.
"Hold up," Yang called as they got to the varren. She bent down and picked one up, throwing it over a shoulder and carrying the other under her right arm. When she took a step forward and saw everyone looking at her she frowned. "What? I'm not going to just leave them there after going through the trouble of finding and killing them."
"It's not that. Most humans can't carry a dog without struggling, yet you're carrying two varren like it's nothing," Shepard informed her while looking impressed.
Right, like how most can't even take on a beowolf without getting injured, or more likely killed. "Look, can we get moving before I need to put these meat bags down again." She rearranged the one under her arm.
Shepard motioned for them to carry on before covering the rear of the group. Yang found it strange and amazing. There were aliens on this world, other worlds too. Plus those Geth were AI which reminded her of Penny, and how she had been given a virus which had caused her to struggle to stay in control of her own actions.
"The Geth have stopped coming, thank you so much Commander," Fai dan said upon their return. "Oh, you even found the girl and…" His and Arcelia's eyes came to focus on her with questioning looks.
"Who wanted the varren? Killed the alpha, grabbed these for the trip back." Yang said nonchalantly.
"That would be Mr. Reynolds. Why don't you put those down," Fai Dan suggested. "Arcelia, go and fetch Mr Reynolds and tell him that his request has been met and there is some varren that needs preparing."
"Fine, but the Geth have only been slowed. You all know they'll come back, they always come back," Arcelia said as she walked off. Yang set the varren down near the container unit where she had been through earlier. It was a strange way to live, cylindrical buildings wasted so much space.
"Help me find what the Geth are after and you'll all make it through this alive," Shepard sounded serious which made Yang smile.
"We don't know what they're after. They came, attacked us, that's all we know," Fai Dan answered, sounding apologetic for his lack of information. "They did set up a base at the ExoGeni headquarters. A good place to start looking if you want answers."
"Ah, what's that? ExoGeni," Yang piped up. The look she got from Maulden was suggestive that she shut up.
"The company most of us here in Zhu's Hope work, or worked for before the attacks. They fund this colony, they're the reason most of us are here," Fai Dan explained. "There is a skyway that can take you directly to their headquarters. But, there's an army of Geth between you and it."
"I didn't expect this to be easy with Geth involved. We're prepared," Shepard's confident answer seemed to give Fai Dan some hope too while an army of robots sounded fun to Yang, mostly.
If they're killing humans then they need to be stopped, AI or not.
"Maybe I can get this colony operational again." Fai Dan sounded optimistic.
Shepard proceeded to ask about the defences and what they had seen since the Geth arrival on Feros. Yang hung on every word, she enjoyed battles, saving people in the process too. And when Arcelia returned and informed them that there were walking tanks, Yang started feeling giddy, alive or not, endangering innocents was something she wouldn't stand for.
There were also a few things they needed to get the place running properly, which meant supplies for the colonists. Yang had already helped with the food problem and said she already activated one of the water terminals. Then there was the Geth in the lower tunnels, of which Yang said she had also eliminated a few. Arcelia gave her a doubtful look while Fai Dan gave a fake smile, likely thinking she was talking herself up.
Yang was impressed with the depth of Shepard's questioning, it was only a shame that Fai Dan didn't know more about why the Geth were on Feros. A relic or artifact? Her mind immediately turned to the relics she and her friends were trying to gather so Salem couldn't get her hands on them. Her jaw tightened as guilt filled her, she had failed on a grand scale and they had lost the one of relics they had in their possession. Now she'd never get to see or know the outcome.
"Yang," Shepard's voice cut through her thoughts and she looked at the slightly taller woman. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah, it's fine. I'm ready to head out when you guys are," she said happily, trying to push her worries aside.
"You're not coming with us," was the blunt response from the commander.
"You saw what I did to those Geth, I could be a massive help," Yang stated, trying to give Shepard a reason to bring her along.
"You're a civilian of an unknown quantity. This is a military operation and council business. You're to remain here with the colonists, we'll see what can be done for you once the Geth problem has been resolved," Shepard started to walk away with her team following.
"I told you already, I'm a huntress from Remnant and I took care of those Geth." Yang was desperate to go, at least fighting would distract her for a while.
"You won't even kill the Geth. You said it before, remember. They're alive, or do you have experience killing living things other than varren?" Having Maulden call her out on that caused Yang to pause, long enough for Shepard to get a read of her and continue on her way into the colony.
"Yes." Again this simple, singulare word caught the ground team off guard with Shepard now walking back towards Yang. The Turian, Garrus, too came up and stood next to the commander.
"Clarify. What have you killed?" Shepard was demanding an answer.
"A Faunus." Recognising the confused look on their faces had her explain more. "Faunus are similar to humans, some can even pass for humans if they don't feel like revealing their animal traits. They all have some trait from an animal. Horns, claws, fur, scales, gills or even a tail. I knew a chameleon too, she could have passed for a human as she could control the shades of her skin and become practically invisible in some environments." Their expression showed acknowledgement but also curiosity.
"Just one?" His mandibles moved slightly after he finished speaking.
"Just one Faunus. I have had to kill a few more humans than that, and dozens, probably hundreds of Grimm." She knew they didn't know what they were and saying hundreds put a smile on Maulden's face.
"Must be harmless little creatures if someone like you killed them." His taunt earned a nasty smile from Yang as her eyes narrowed.
"Eyes are up here, pervert. Or do I need to blacken them before you stop looking?" He laughed at her threat but it was nothing new to Yang. She had seen and dealt with men like him before, the fact she caught him looking while Shepard was questioning Fai Dan was just another reason she wanted him to give her an excuse to strike.
"Enough. I won't bring you along if you're going to antagonise my team. And the fact that you have killed humans and a Faunus, makes me consider you a threat. Or a liar." Shepard's words did hurt, but at the same time it was comforting to know she'd made the commander, the leader wary of her.
"Commander Shepard, perhaps we can take her on this mission. She speaks of a, a… species that I haven't heard or read about in any books or files." Liara's interest in Yang had the young Asari trying to get the strange girl into the squad.
"And if she did actually destroy all those Geth, it would be helpful to have her with us." Garrus added as he looked the blonde over.
Shepard listened to the two aliens and stood staring at Yang while in thought. "Yang." She addressed her loudly. "You're to follow my orders from beginning to end. The beginning being now and the end being when we safely return here to Zhu's Hope after dealing with the Geth. Can you handle that?"
"Can do," she answered with a smile. "But if you expect me to salute or call you sir, ma'am, or Commander… then no." With her agreeing to follow, with a few terms of her own out in the open, Shepard nodded.
"Fuck this. I'm not babysitting a kid during this mission, Cecile," Maulden walked up to Shepard. "Bad enough that you brought them along, but a child…"
"Refer to me by name again, Lieutenant, and you'll be cleaning the Normandy from top to bottom and be excluded from any further missions until a time as I feel you have paid enough for your insubordinate tone." She stepped closer, looking up into her cousin's eyes without flinching or showing any sign of fear. Though the same could be said about Maulden who stared back with his cheek twitching. "Understood?"
Their tense stare down finally ended with a soft answer that was restraining his anger. "Yes, Commander. I understand."
"Good. Then report back to the Normandy. I need armour and weapons for our companion. And once you've let Pressly know about that, let Sergeant Ingersoll know that her skills will be required for the next step." The satisfaction on Shepard's face while Maulden's turned an angry red let Yang know that the commander had just done something to upset the man again.
Maulden went off, angrily walking back towards the Normandy. "Sorry for my cousin. He's a good soldier, but he can be a little… difficult."
"Cousin? Don't worry about it. Family can be hard to get along with."
"Garrus, keep Yang company while Liara and I talk to a few of the colonists. Get a better idea of what they need before we head to ExoGeni HQ."
"Roger that Shepard," he said before turning and looking down at Yang.
I thought I was the tall one. Yang reflected upon her own team, she had been the tallest of them, by a couple of inches. But here even Shepard was taller than her, closer to Pyrrha's height in fact. Garrus was taller still. He must be over six feet, six three or four? She wondered.
Yang took to leaning against one of the stone barricades while she waited for Shepard to return, or her weapons and armour and armour to show up. It was a stupid idea to her, she had her aura and gauntlets and the Geth hadn't harmed her as she took them down, she didn't have a want or need for armour. Garrus wasn't one for talking either so the time between them was spent in silence. Though he did keep his eyes on her.
Eventually, several pairs of footsteps came through the housing unit, Liara and Shepard followed by another human this time. She carried a large case and dropped it on the ground before Yang, before checking the stranger over. Yang did the same, sizing up this replacement for Maulden. Dark purple hair which she didn't think was out of place at all, the amber eyes though, they made her left eye twitch as she could see the similarity between them and Blake's much larger amber eyes. This woman's body was thin, but the armour could very well be hiding more mass or weak limbs.
"Damn, Maulden wasn't kidding. You're actually setting up this bimbo to come with us?" The woman said.
"Yang, this is Sergeant Ingersoll. Another of my cousins and a damn good shot." Shepard's introduction got a scoff from Garrus though.
Yang smiled at Ingersoll and then raised a brow as she eyed her chest. "Don't be jealous." She teased, turning her attention to the case. "What's in that?"
"Your shit," Ingersoll answered, squatting down and opening it. "You're going to have to take that," she gestured to all of Yang, "off. And you're either cutting your hair or tying it up."
"Let's just see how this fits me first, no one touches my hair." Yang knelt down and started to pick through the case, inspecting the armour that looked more like Maulden's armour than the stuff Shepard was wearing. It was heavy and looked restrictive. "I need to move to fight."
"Noted, now put the armour on. You're staying back until we can see what you can really do. Garrus and I will take the lead, Yang and Liara will hold center back, Ingersoll…"
"I know where to be, I'm the sniper dear cousin," Ingersoll interrupted with a smile.
Shepard looked at Yang who was pressing her lips together. She didn't want to put the armour on, she really didn't want to. One time, just until you can figure out what's going on. She closed the case and picked it up.
"I'm going to find a room and change." She said stepping away from the group and going in the direction of the housing unit.
"You know how to get dressed?" Ingersoll said trying to goad Yang into doing or saying something.
"Better than you." Yang responded, heading into and eventually finding a room. It took a while and she did have to strip down and put on a bodysuit and armour.
Yang stepped out towards the group wearing large, heavy plating over most parts of her body. Garrus gave a concerned look while Ingersoll gave a loud whistle. Ass. Just following orders for a while. Yang told herself, feeling too heavy compared to her usual clothing.
"Now I know you'll at least be safe. Garrus, I'll take the others down into the lower corridors and take care of what the colonists need. That should give you enough time to give her a rundown on using the assault rifle." Garrus nodded and headed towards Yang but stopped as Yang held her hand up.
"I can shoot just fine, I've had practice. What I would really like you guys to tell me, is what the hell is this?" She moved her hand and started to concentrate. Just like before. She told herself as she reached out with one hand and grasped at nothing. From behind Shepard there was a sound of stones and pebbles which made them turn. Garrus lowered his arms to his side while Shepard turned to look at Yang with a more serious look on her face.
Ingersoll swore under her breath and spat off to the side. Liara however had the biggest reaction, gasping and turning to look at Yang and then back at the small broken off piece of an ancient stone pillar.
"You're a biotic," Shepard stated, seeming surprised but not happy about it.
"What's that?" Yang asked, the partial stone pillar falling to the ground and fracturing into smaller fragments.
"You don't know?" Ingersoll frowned. "Maulden said you were weird, but this."
"When did these abilities manifest?" Shepard inquired, still not taking her eyes off Yang.
"Today, just like everything else that's happened to me." Shepard didn't respond to this information, but Liara jumped in.
"Performing an ability like that one the day of manifestation. I've read articles about humans and biotics, but this…" Once again Liara looked more excited, curious even.
Keep her on my side. Yang decided, smiling at the Asari. "It happened earlier too, but it wasn't nearly as well controlled."
"Come on Shepard, an unstable biotic. I don't want that to complicate things in the field." Ingersoll told her commander.
"Shepard," Liara started, "go to the lower corridors and get what the colonists need. Allow me to spend some time with her, maybe I can learn more and get her to control it." Her plea was left hanging in silence for what seemed like many moments before Shepard answered.
"Fine, but when we get back and she isn't any closer to controlling her abilities, you come with me and we leave her behind. It's safer for us that way." Shepard gave a whistle and the ground team of three headed towards the stone staircase again, leaving Liara to talk with and teach Yang in whatever short timeframe they had.