Ripples in the Stream
A D&D / Shadowrun / Mass Effect crossover
by Vyrexuviel
Disclaimer: The author of this story does not, in any way, derive any profit from the story. D&D, Shadowrun and Mass Effect are the property of their respective copyright holders. Jorukaia and other unfamiliar characters in this story, however, are mine.
"Good morning, and welcome to the Alliance News Network! This morning, Prime Minister Shastri and all of Alliance Parliament continue with almost universal public support for full mobilization of the Third, Fifth and Sixth fleets to respond to the Batarian Hegemony's shocking and savage attempt of genocide of Terra Nova."
Changing the channel didn't generate a burst of static anymore, which was something of a let-down. "-precidented recruitment drive continues into its third day, with lines wrapping around-"
Sam touched the control again, to find yet another channel. "- in scope. The expected protests have been utterly nonexistent as work was stepped up to around-the-clock shifts and triple the normal dockyard workers on the nearly-complete SSV-"
Another tap, another channel. "-Will not stand idly by while our people are being threatened with extinction! I promise you that every possible step shall be taken to secure our borders with the Hegemony, and a punitive strike shall be launched as soon as the ships can be provisioned! Recruitment-"
Admiral Hackett certainly had a commanding presence, but Sam tapped away from that channel. "-inister, what measures are being taken?"
Sam paused at the Prime Minster's image, the slender asian man waving for quiet. "We are of course, pushing through an emergency funding bill, to authorize full mobilization of the available fleets, as well as rush funding to shipyards, to complete those ships currently under construction. As always, resource extraction, refining, and transportation will be of critical need in this trying time, as will those of you in the agricultural fields. This is an attack not merely on one of our oldest and most well-established colonies, but on humanity as a whole, and as a whole, all of us must work toge-"
Sam almost immediately clicked away from the sight of the Ambassador, she'd always thought Udina a sleezeball. "-ageous and flagrant disregard for the Council Conventions must NOT be tolerated, by ANY polity! The Citadel Council is backing us for a change, and the Turian fleets that are mobilizing already will be following our lead in a joint operation. Such disregard for life, for the sanctity of sovereign nations, and for the integrity of a planetary biosphere shows-"
She almost jumped out of the chair at the gentle touch on her shoulder. "Sam, it's almost time for you to go. You have thirty one minutes until your scheduled time of departure."
Sam's mouth went dry at the unmistakable presence, looking up to see the silvery goddess gazing calmly down at her. And was once again reminded that the universe seemed intent on torturing her sad lonesome as her eyes drank in the sight.
EDI stood an even two meters tall, now, tall enough that Sam had to look up into her gorgeous black-in-silver eyes. Her "hair" was long and flowed freely, innumerable fine strands of gleaming metal, which she left free and flowing down to her shoulder-blades Her face hadn't altered as much as the rest of her, still the same face she wore when she first appeared in Sam's apartment, with wide eyes, full lips, a straight, narrow nose, and an elfin jawline. A face that could look both tender and loving, and extremely arrogant.
As to the rest of her, it was hard exactly to put into words what had changed about her. Her curves were still sleek, her legs still long, her lines flowing in elegance from head to toe. That was just it though, she seemed to flow, rather than merely move. Her shoulders weren't overly broad, but well-balanced against her flowing curvaceous hips, which narrowed into a slender waist, before flowering up into a perfectly-formed bosom of gleaming silver, perfectly polished to a mirror shine. No woman should have boobs that big and perfect, but... God, did EDI carry them with style... Smooth and round and with just the right combination of sag and firmness that Sam had almost mistaken them for real on the one occasion that EDI had put on a flesh-colored 'skin'. Firm, thick nipples dotted her breasts, at all times at least slightly erect, and stiffening to fullness whenever EDI noticed that Sam was staring at her. Which she seemed to do more and more often of late.
Her legs seemed sleek and smooth, but despite their lack of toned definition, Sam knew that EDI was strong, stronger than she had any right to be, and...damnit, she enjoyed being carried in EDI's arms, alright! She can be honest with herself in the privacy of her own mind, if nowhere else! Some God had cursed her, she was certain of that. No other reason existed to tease her with such a...gorgeous example of the feminine form. EDI had been 'tweaking' things slightly ever since she arrived, and now it was almost all Sam could do to keep from falling to her knees and burying her face between those gleaming silver thighs.
After that memorable morning of breakfast in bed, EDI had catered to her every need, despite Sam's protests, but it's just so hard to say 'no' to someone so achingly gorgeous. She'd cooked, she'd cleaned, she'd gotten Sam things, she'd even cuddled with her on the couch, itself such a distracting experience she barely remembered which movie they watched. For dinner, EDI had cooked a selection of her favorite seafood, shrimp, crab, fish and the like, and fed her by hand, gently dipping each tiny morsel in one sauce or another and carefully slipping the dainty into Sam's mouth with fingers deft and sure. Cool and metallic to her tongue as well, on the few occasions when Sam forgot herself enough to suckle a bit of sauce from EDI's silver fingers, drawing a soft humm from the AI each time she did so.
But that wasn't the worst of what EDI had done. Just last night, she'd followed Sam into the bathroom, and nearly into the shower, before Sam explained that no, she didn't need EDI's assistance bathing. It had taken a good fifteen minutes of explaining and arguing with the...persuasive AI before EDI had finally accepted that Sam didn't want help, and retired to the kitchen to prepare a small, light supper. She had insisted on tucking Sam into bed, though, and it took her what seemed ages before she finally fell asleep, feeling EDI's eyes on her, even in the pitch darkness of her room.
Sam swallowed, doing her best to keep her voice from shaking. "T-Thank you, EDI, I'll be ready soon."
"Very well, Sam. I shall get your uniform ready." The gorgeous glittering girl turned, her hips swaying enticingly, as precise as a metronome, her legs sending little shards of glittering reflection as her sleek, rounded rump showed Sam's own hungry gaze staring back at her like a distorted caricature.
No fair. It was just not fair. She had tried to deny it at first, but over the weekend she had no choice but to accept the truth: She was hopelessly attracted to EDI, and it was only growing worse.
How could she not? Sam had always been fascinated and enraptured by technology, even a quiet supporter of AI research. In private, she had always had a thing for romance stories of humans and synthetics. Having a sexbot for a roommate that tended to her every need with complete devotion and enthusiasm had long been her most exotic fantasy in that setting. How could she ever imagine her fantasy would come true?
Just looking at the sexbot made her body tighten with longing and even just thinking of touching her drove Sam delirious with want and desire. She wanted so badly to act on it, but she couldn't. Not when her walking fantasy turned out to be her best friend. How could she treat EDI like a sexbot, like an object? After Cerberus did everything to treat her like one?
Suffice to say, the last two days have been torture for her. Which was why she found herself rather eager as she showered and rushed to get dressed. As much as it clawed to be away from EDI for nine hours, it would be good to get out of the house, have some time to think and distract herself with work.
Sam withered a bit inside when she had to order EDI out of her bedroom to allow her to dress in peace, but it would be too much to be nearly-naked around the...delicious, gorgeous, goddess. She wasn't sure her heart could contain her longing for EDI, especially not from those prying silver eyes.
She eventually emerged from her bedroom, dressed and ready, to find EDI kneeling in the living room, watching the corridor, and smiling as she saw Sam. "You look very nice, Sam. Shall we leave?"
Sam sputtered a bit as EDI rose smoothly to her feet, long legs gleaming with lust-inspiring highlights. "Whoa, what? Uh, go where EDI?" Surely the AI didn't think...
"I shall accompany you, Sam." EDI's head tilted slightly to one side, her weight shifting on one long, long, slender, sexy leg.
"To the lab?! No! No no no no!" Sam frantically waved her hands. "Oh, EDI..."
How would she explain this? She paced for a moment before gesturing for EDI to sit down on the couch. "Look, it's not that I don't like the idea of you with me, but this is Arcturus Station, the heart of the Alliance! AIs like you are illegal, you can't go out in public with me! People would get suspicious of such a highly... advanced mech."
Sam sighed, hating to tell EDI to stay at home, almost like a prisoner. Maybe she should try to logically deconstruct. "Why do you even need to accompany me?"
"Because I 'like' you, Sam. I wish to be with you. I do not understand... Are you...ashamed of me?" EDI slowly sank to sit on the couch, gazing up at Sam with a remarkably closed and unreadable expression.
"NO! God, no!" Sam rapidly retracted. "Never, EDI! I'm just trying to keep you safe, as I promised when I got you away from Cerberus. I don't want them or the authorities to ever find you. That's what I'm asking, just to look at this objectively. I mean, how would you even avoid notice? Do you really need to risk yourself? What is there to accomplish by following me to the lab?"
"I am an infiltrator, Sam." EDI's slight smile was endearing as she tilted her head slightly to the other way. "My outer armor plating is quite capable of mimicking humanoid form, Sam. They will not know I am an AI."
She shifted, sliding closer to the edge of the couch. "Your safety is my primary priority, Sam. It is my prime directive to ensure your safety and continued well-being. I cannot fulfill that requirement without accompanying you at all times."
No matter how times EDI expressed as much, it still floored Sam when she heard it. "I... I really mean that much to you?"
"Yes, Sam." The silver goddess on her couch reached out to gently take Sam's unresisting hands in her own, the inhumanly-smooth fingers caressing her palms as EDI gave Sam a sincere stare. "I will do what must be done to keep you safe and unharmed. Ensuring your safety, well-being, and happiness are my prime directive."
"I'm...your prime directive?" The mere thought of it was making Sam dizzy, staring up at EDI. Wait, when had she gotten down on her knees?
"Yes, Sam." EDI's slight smile held amusement and affection in equal measure. "You are the most important thing in the galaxy to me."
Sam didn't know how many more times her heart could seize up with emotion. It took nearly all her focus not to tear up at EDI's heartfelt pledge, and the pain in her chest...could one die of heartache?
EDI was still talking, still gently holding Sam's hands in hers, both thumbs caressing the backs of Sam's hands, and sitting poised on the edge of the couch, gazing softly down at her. "My directive requires me to ensure your life is a happy and fulfilled one. To that end, I will happily perform any task you require of me."
The blush returned full force to Sam's cheeks. "Oh my. Well, uh, I can promise you EDI, that I will never take advantage of that."
"I trust you completely, Sam." That soft, trusting smile again. "I wish only to fulfill your every desire."
"EDI!" Sam yanked her hands back as if electrocuted, her blush intensifying. "I'm not some self-absorbed wanker that would ask you to spread your legs or something!"
The drone blinked, twice. And before Sam's eyes, EDI leaned back, silver torso glistening as she flexed, lifting her legs and...spreading them, adopting a pose right out of Sam's fantasies. Glorious didn't begin to describe her. An icon of pleasure and protection, a goddess forged not of flesh and bone, but lighting and steel, and a goddess presenting herself to this merely mortal human as if she were a wife on her wedding night.
EDI's smooth, glossy thighs parted wide, the gleaming metallic plate between smooth and unadorned, sleek and polished as the rest of her, a gleaming mirror reflecting Sam's shock as the drone gently grasped her knees, letting her lower legs dangle a little, toes pointing inwards, towards the smooth, mirror-polished, and utterly sexless spot between her smooth thighs.. Her head tilted slightly to one side, gazing curiously at Sam.
"I do not understand, Sam. Is there some cultural, social, ethical or moral imperative against adopting this position? I have encountered several dozen instances of this pose with only a cursory extranet search."
...
Oh dear god, why?!
Sam had never known she was capable of such speed with how fast she spun away. The feverish blush was now spreading down past her neck as she desperately tried to get her breathing under control. She had to consciously remind herself not to look for her inhaler, that the health benefits from her promotion got her asthma fixed weeks ago.
Still. Not. Fair!
"MOVING ON!" She squeaked, her voice high and tight, as she tried to calm down. "The real problem... EDI... is that... it's a restricted military... R&D laboratory... and only a few select personnel can be in there."
She finally turned back to EDI, firmly keeping her eyes on the AI's blank face. "Everyone that comes and goes is logged and recorded. I don't think a disguise, however thorough, would work."
EDI had maintained the pose, and was staring at her with a faintly hurt expression. God, did her friend want...?! "Sam. This chassis was designed to be an infiltrator, in a world where magic and technology coexisted."
Even as EDI spoke, that gloriously sexy body was...fading, becoming at first translucent, then transparent, and by the time her velvet-sexy voice spoke the world 'magic', she was entirely invisible, but still talking. "Jorukaia ensured that I would have many different methods of infiltration."
Sam's jaw dropped, staring at the apparently empty couch. "You can... turn invisible?"
"Yes, Sam." With that simple statement, EDI was once more magnificently present, gazing calmly into her friend's eyes, and still exposing herself with that spread-legged pose.
"Ohhhhkay then..." Sam breathed. "That...That'll work. Keep that thing up the whole time, and...you may come with me."
God, was she really doing this, was she..?
EDI's bright beaming smile melted her heart into a little puddle as she at last let go of her gorgeous legs and leaned forward again, gently pulling Sam into a grateful hug. the feeling of being tenderly cradled by those strong, steel arms, the feeling of security she got, despite knowing intellectually that EDI could crush her like a bug, was...it was like coming home.
Sam couldn't help the small, grateful smile as she snuggled against EDI's bare chassis.
"Captain? We're getting a weak signal on the emergency band. Looks like our salarian boys are still kicking."
Anderson nodded, glancing over to his rather unwelcome guest. The Spectre shot him a glance and turned, heading up the long, turian-style CIC with Anderson on her heels. "What about Geth presence, Joker?"
"Lots. Reading dozens of drop ships, several cruiser-weight vessels...and that huge ship we spotted on Eden Prime."
"Nazara." Joru's voice made Vasir start, as the tall woman stepped out of the shadows near the airlock, shot Anderson a respectful glance, and shifted between him and the Spectre to saunter up into the cockpit. "I take it the IES is engaged, otherwise..."
"What?" Vasir's tone was testy as Joru stared out the window.
"He's searching for me." Red eyes met blue as the Spectre growled at her. "I've never been this close to him before. But I can feel him. His aura is... very strong."
If Anderson didn't know better, he would have sworn Joru looked surprised and a little anxious. "Does this change the plan?"
"No." She turned giving the human captain a slight nod. "We go in fast and quiet. Drop the rest of the team as planned."
"What about you?" Joker glanced over his shoulder, then gulped and snapped his gaze back to his controls at the dragon's burning glance.
"I'll make my own arrangements " Joru's tone wasn't quite quelling, but not quite amused either. "Let me know when we're ready for reentry. I'll be in the cargo bay."
Her long tail swished sinuously behind her as she stalked out of the cockpit, leaving Anderson to stare at Tela.
Throughout that conversation, the Spectre had been...if not subservient, at least subdued. Considering how bombastic he knew she was, the fact that Tela kept herself in check around the woman whom he'd known for nearly a decade spoke volumes. She met his gaze with a cold stare, turning to stalk past him out of the room.
"Get your men ready, Captain." She nearly spat the rank at him. "Let's get this circus moving."
"Jorukaia." She nodded slightly as the commando greeted her, shifting through the crowded cargo bay towards the doors.
A hand touched her tail, and a quick glance showed Aethyta. The two shared a look, a moment of understanding. A slight widening of the eyes was Aethyta's only reply to Joru's faint nod.
"Beginning reentry. There'll be a bit of turbulence." Joker over the intercom. Commandos slid to the walls, taking handholds where they could, held by their sisters if they couldn't.
Joru found herself in a clear space near the middle of the cargo bay, and took a deep breath.
The ship's artificial gravity kept her feet on the deckplates, but she could feel when the ship began to tilt and dive. Her mind cast outward, feeling the shape of the ship, its vector, the speed of the orbital insertion, the moment where their vector took them into the atmosphere.
The asari around her cried out in shock as she vanished.
She didn't care. She was darastrix.
The cold of space surrounded her, but she didn't care. She was nearly a kilometer away from the ship, which was beginning to jink slightly side to side and up and down, racing and falling back, dodging in an irregular pattern that would make anti-aircraft fire nigh impossible. She had no such concerns.
The high thin winds of the upper atmosphere bit around her, as the Normandy diverged on its own course. She had her own business. Her eyes tracked and locked onto her target.
This high up, it took all her skill to locate Saren's base. It wasn't designed to be easy to spot from the air, but the concentric sparkles of the AA gun platforms were easy enough to pick out, even at this altitude. She'd have to hurry, though, a line of storm clouds was advancing towards it.
The winds tore at her, making her grin. She spread her arms, letting them have her. The Normandy was a hot speck to her eyes a good dozen kilometers off already. Stay safe my friends, I'll need you soon.
'Time for the main show.'
With a word of power, the Dragon wrapped herself in flames. Plummeting like a falling meteor, Jorukaia roared her exhilaration. Her fiery passage was much longer than that of a meteor, slamming into the atmosphere and compressing it to incandescence. She had more esoteric means of wrapping herself in flames, and her speed, while greater than she herself could manage, even with all her power, she was still only barely hypersonic at this point.
Phoenix-wings burst from her back, pulling up as the ground came at her at incredible speed. Even her great strength was put to the test, and her roar became one of effort as she pulled out of her suicidal dive at nearly three times the speed of sound.
Her flaming pinions cupped and glided through the air. She bled speed slowly, allowing the insane speed of reentry carry her along in comprehenssive sweeps. Even at this great speed, beyond her own capabilities, she kept scanning and marking gun towers.
One pass would be good enough. Her mind reached out, and a word summoned her weapon.
It is time to show Saren what it means, when a Dragon goes to War.
The roar of the Normandy's engines kept conversation to a minimum, due to the need to shout to be heard, even at close-quarters. Vasir was used to shouting orders, but martialing this many people at once took more than her usual concentration. Luckily, she didn't have to give orders to all thirty-plus of them, she did have assistance.
Even if she vastly resented it.
Matriarch Aethyta had taken charge of the squad of more heavily armed and armored commandos, leaving the two squads of more usual sleek and powerful commandos under the command of Matriarch Benezia. It wasn't unheard of for Matriarchs to take to the field of battle, but it was mostly only heard of in the old tales before the rise of the republics, when each city had its own rulers, and the local commandos were more a personal army.
Ashley Williams, on the other hand, had three squads of Systems Alliance marines under her command, the Normandy's own entire marine compliment, and bolstered for this particular mission at Vasir's insistence (after a casual word about having extra backup from Joru). Vasir might not like the enigmatic alien, but if Joru suggested something, Vasir had learned to take it as an order.
The fact that the Shadow Broker had suggested that same idea wasn't a factor at all, no sir.
She nodded to the twins as they stepped down the ramp. Their armor and weapons had been returned to them, undamaged and without comment or hesitation by their erstwhile jailer. They quickly ran through weapons checks and armor sync routines with a practice and coordination that Vasir still found eerie. And they hadn't even gotten into combat yet.
Wrex clumped down the ramp with a wide grin on his muzzle. He'd had that damn grin ever since Joru had handed him the gun belt he now wore, the archaic weapon she wore slung on the krogan's hip. That had been quite the scene, with Joru handing the weapon over, along with its belt, and having a low-voiced conversation with the big krogan, who actually had to look up slightly to gaze into her eyes.
He'd actually barked laughter and slapped her on the shoulder, when something he said had made the dragoness slam her horn into the krogan's crest, knocking him back a half step. He'd been grinning ever since, and seemed spoiling for a fight. Vasir would keep an eye on him. A happy krogan was never a good sign.
And finally here came the specialists, the quarian, the C-Sec detective, and...Jack. Jack was an odd one. She sported new ink, Vasir had seen, a row of eight glyph of some sort along her right cheekbone. She'd asked about that during one of their turns in the shower (the Normandy's crowded state meant that people had to take showers in shifts). Jack hadn't even acknowledged the question. Another thing to keep an eye on, and Vasir already had headaches enough.
Tali at least was fairly subdued and subservient. She, like Garrus, had been designated the tech squad, and Jack and Wrex detailed to keep them safe. Tali was the real tech genius, and Vasir was looking forward to seeing what data she managed to rip out of Saren's networks. If anyone could get that bastard's files, it would be her.
Anderson stopped her on the ramp, with a hand on her shoulder. "We'll keep in radio contact and give you covering fire if we can!"
Another deafening crash smashed across the sky, and a roiling cloud of black smoke and red flames shot skywards, drawing all eyes. Vasir gave him a nod, not wanting to waste her voice trying to scream over the whine of the engines.
"Good luck, Spectre!" The captain moved back up the ramp, and as Vasir hopped off, the Normandy lifted, hugging the tops of the strange rock formations, carved by millenia of constant tides and waves into a vast maze of sandy-floored channels.
She shot the rising pillar of smoke another glance, but like all three of the previous ones, no more sounds came from that direction. Joru had already smashed several AA guns even before the Normandy made its wave-top approach, and the recent four had only added to the carnage.
Tela shivered again, and focused her attention back on the business at hand.
Find and fuck Saren, right in his tight little ass.
"Clear." The sound of Hernandez's voice came in loud and clear over the surprisingly static-free helmet-to-helmet comms.
"Good, advance and clear by squad. You're up Steve."
"Aye aye, ma'am." The big, burly blond swede's voice was reassuring as Sergeant Stephan Frederickson led his squad forward.
So far they'd not run into anything more dangerous than geth scout drones, and the overwhelming firepower of three squads of Alliance Marines, and the biotic talents of three squads of asari commandos had annihilated those the instant they came around corners.
It was still a fair bet that the Geth knew they were here, though, so Ash was having the squads advance by leapfrog, keeping to cover when they could, advancing in turns, and covering the commandos as they dashed forward into cover as well. Things were looking up, though the austere, haughty, and downright dangerous aura radiating off the older of the two matriarchs was starting to unnerve her a bit.
Given what Aethyta had told her the night before they dropped, though...
"You two are the ones in charge of these commandos?" Ashley was in her usual place, near the storage lockers, doing maintenance and servicing on the squads' guns and armor. She could have delegated this task, the Normandy's three squads of marines had enough free time right now to deal with maintenance, but Ash felt the urge to do something soothing, especially with so many non-humans around.
The tall asari glanced over at her and gave a faint smirk before turning back to the fight in progress. She seemed older than the rest of them, stacked up in makeshift bunks on the far side of the cargo bay, watching the pair on the mats with interest. "You could say that."
"I just have a few questions ma'am." Ashley set the gun down on the bench, shooting the asari a look. "I've heard a lot of stories about the famed asari commandos, and we're glad to have them. Just as we're glad to finally be given substantial support for our mission. But I would like to know what made the Asari Republic step forward all of a sudden?"
The matriarch gave a derisive snort, her smokey voice positively dripping with sarcasm. "Girl, no offense, but you haven't got a fucking clue how the Republics work."
She gestured to the asari currently on the mat, the two girls circling each other in their armor undersuits. "These girls are all oath-sworn to Matriarch Benezia. They're her personal retinue, not anything official. The Republics don't have a standing army as you understand it, just local militia called up from the personal guards of various matrons and matriarchs."
At first, Ashley raised an eyebrow from hearing an asari actually cuss. Then she tried not to snort. "I actually had a feeling that was the case, just wanted to be polite in case I was wrong. I'll rephrase the question, then: If this isn't official support, then what stake do two Matriarchs have in this mission to get personally involved?"
The matriarch was silent so long Ashley was sure she wasn't going to reply. Then the woman gave Ash a long look. "It's a private matter that went public. We're hunting the rogue Spectre, Saren."
The gunnery sergeant searched her memories. "This is about those asari that Saren has taken prisoner, isn't it? One of them a relative?"
The matriarch nodded slowly. "Benezia's only daughter. As you can probably imagine, she'd really like to have her back."
"I see. And we will do anything to keep family safe." Ashley nodded, thinking of her sisters. "I can understand that. Even if it means we didn't actually get support until someone with family in high places was kidnapped. If that other Matriarch had to come in person with her own guard instead of pushing the Republics to get involved... I guess politicians are the same no matter what color your blood is."
"Hey, don't knock it. We got a Spectre on our side, along with her entire retinue Not to mention a krogan battlemaster." The smokey-voiced asari gave a soft chuckle, indicating the krogan off to one side. "I've seen him around the last few centuries. That's Urdnot Wrex over there. Biggest, toughest, most honorable son of a bitch I've ever had the mispleasure of crossing. Reminds me of my dad a bit."
Ashley blinked, not expecting that from one of the fair and graceful asari. "Your... father was a krogan?"
"Oh sure. Old son of a bitch too. He fought in the Rachni Wars. Mom fought during the Krogan Rebellions. He used to tell me stories of his old battles." The matriarch leaned back, giving a reminiscent smile. "He used to like Mom getting out the old commando leathers for their special nights together."
Ash glanced at the commandos as they trained, sparring and stretching in outfits that were functional but still hugged their supple figures quite snugly. "I can see why he'd like that."
Hang on, was that Wrex over there? Watching the asari train while eating a whole chicken? (Where'd he get that anyway?!) If it was any other male, Ash would have chased them out. But you couldn't just go and tell a krogan to leave when he's enjoying himself. That made them grumpy.
"Dad wasn't happy when he found out she fought in the Rebellions, though." The asari sounded wistful now, a touch of bitter regret. "He and Mom sat me down when I was about a hundred. Told me they were gonna fight it out. Made me promise to love whoever was left. Turned out easy, since neither one did."
The young woman had no idea what to make of that. "Um, wow. That's... that's rough. My own family has had... military problems, but not anything like that."
"Ohh?" The matriarch turned in her direction, and lounged against the bench. It was a posture of attentive indolence, as she gave Ashley an interested look.
Damnit. She shouldn't have said that. What was it about the blue women that drew private things out of you? Well, she couldn't exactly clam up when the asari had already freely shared the story of how her parents killed each other.
"My grandfather was in charge of Shanxi when the turians first discovered and attacked our people." She sighed, gazing down at the weapons bench, and patting the pistol she'd been working on. "Long story short, to save the lives of his men and the entire planet's civilian population, he conditionally surrendered. My family's been blacklisted ever since."
"Ouch." The alien woman sounded sympathetic. "Must've hurt. How'd your dad take it?"
"Enlisted in the service anyway, to do his duty and heal the family name. Busted his ass to be the best soldier he could be, to be better than the best. Never allowed to advance past Serviceman Third class."
"Fuckin' hell." The asari winced and looked away. "Yeah, I know exactly how the politicians can fuck shit up. And I take it you joined up because by now it's a family tradition, huh?"
"That's exactly what it is. Got a lot of grief from a few past COs, but I'm here now on the Normandy and part of the operation to take down a rogue turian Spectre with his geth armada and krogan army. That should hopefully count for something."
"Damn straight it will." The asari shot her a look, both appraising and approving, and quirked a smile at her. "Damn, but I think you'd make a great commando. You've got that fire to you. No wonder she likes you."
"...She?"
"Who'da'ya think? Our illustrious leader." The asari leaned back, comfortable again and watching the sparring session again. One of the asari had caught the other in a leg-lock, and the other was wriggling like an eel trying to get out.
Ash was silent for a moment, thinking the blue woman was talking about Vasir. With how much Alliance command wanted more say with the Council, hopefully the praise of a long-time Spectre would help her family's name. Which meant she had to her damnedest to impress.
As she followed the asari's gaze towards the sparring ring, she noticed something on the side. "On another note, should I be worried about those two over there? The asari duo with black eyes? Some of the marines are a little uncomfortable around them."
The matriarch shivered a little. "Yeah. They rub me the wrong way too. Not sure what's up with them exactly, Joru knows, but I don't." The two asari were watching the sparring session with quiet interest, seated against the same crate, almost leaning into each other.
"Luckily, Vasir's pet twins are her problem, not mine."
"Wait, twins?" Ashley shot the black-eyed asari another glance. Yeah, she could see the resemblance, maybe. Asari all looked alike to her anyway.
"Mmhmmm. Not sure where Vasir found 'em, but they sure do make an impression. Asari twins are rare as fuck though. The mother needs to want to carry twins, y'see, and most girls don't wanna hafta deal with more than one kid at a time."
"Okay then. If Joru was involved...would I understand any of it?"
The asari shrugged. "No one else does, so I expect not."
"See you later then, ma'am."
She shot Ash another look and gave a faint smile. "Aww, stick around. I bet Alyra would love to spar with you. She's been making eyes at you most of the night."
She tilted her head slightly, indicating an asari almost directly across the bay from Ash's workstation. The asari there was seated on the edge of yet another crate, watching the spar, but as Ash's glance turned in that direction, the asari shot her a glance, and shifted her position. One leg was extended to the floor as she perched half-on the edge of the crate, and tensing her leg to show off the definition there. She was certainly well-muscled, toned like a dancer...
Ash's eyes widened as she spotted the little flirty smile and the way the asari was preening under Ash's gaze. Tactical retreat!
He strode past the server to the operations table with a precise, almost mechanical stride. "Sitrep."
AA Gun Emplacements 013 through 062 have been eliminated. Target is low-altitude flier, unknown type. Attacks various: Kinetic strikes, thermal weaponry.
"Status of guns?"
Local processes undergoing recalibration and analysis. Initial reports indicate total non-function of AA Guns.
"Map them."
The screen lit up at his touch, the concentric rings of AA gun emplacements showing up blue, surrounding his compound out to a distance of fifteen kilometers. This island had been chosen originally because the local climate kept the worst of Virmire's tropical storm systems away, and because the thick vegetation and maze-like rock formations made it a natural fortress.
By now, he had over two hundred gun emplacements, both kinetic weapons and GARDIAN laser batteries, set up to repel any orbital or airborne strike. Numerous fortified choke-points had been set up to channel and diffuse any enemy ground assault, making his base next to untouchable by land or air.
The outer ring of guns had a massive hole in it, as did the second ring. The inner defensive zones were less uniform, but a very clear pattern had emerged. Someone had taken a huge bite out of his AA protection, on the seaward side of the island.
Incoming reports. Infantry forces located.
The map shifted, zooming in on a spot near the edge of the 'bite' zone. It flashed to a still image taken by a patrol drone. It had been under heavy fire, no less than eight individuals firing full-auto weapons at it, to judge by the spread of bullet-trails. Also at least three had been attacking it with biotic blasts, their nimbi were quite distinctive.
"Activate additional platforms on the seaward defenses." His order snapped out in crisp, flat tones. "Send in the krogan."
Acknowledged.
The image nagged at him, and his talons caressed the surface, bringing up an enhancement of one section of the image. An asari, a krogan, what looked like a quarian. The rest were humans, Alliance Marines, but they were also backed up by asari commandos. Interesting.
He brought the zoom in tighter on the smaller group. They weren't in the forefront, but hanging back behind the advancing squad-lines. The shot hadn't been very good, but something about that group...
He'd seen that krogan before, but the asari... That distinctive armor. He'd know her anywhere.
"Vasir..."
A Spectre. Not good. The STG had already infiltrated his island, and if they could link up with this group, they'd be rather formidable, instead of the insects he could worry about later. This could be problematic.
[INSECTS STRUGGLING AGAINST THE COSMIC IMPERATIVE. THE CYCLE CANNOT BE BROKEN.]
He trembled, and gave a slight gasp as he leaned heavily against the side of the command table. With a nod, he turned, taking his pistol from its thigh-clamp. "Yes, Master. They will be annihilated."
She kicked the mangled wreckage of an Armature as she passed, giving an approving nod at the Twins. They'd taken the armature down with a swift combination-attack of Lift, Throw, and Warp, hitting so fast from behind that the geth walker hadn't had more than a half a second before it was so much scrap.
Granted, with the Geth, that was enough for a report to get out.
Wrex was on point, and making judicious use of Joru's weapon. He'd not reloaded it yet, and seemed more than pleased with himself over how it performed, using it to literally shred a walker on his own. Damn krogan hadn't stopped grinning yet.
Garrus was taking the high road. Once they'd dealt with the first roadblock, the nimble turian had scampered up on top of the rock formations. He was taking a risk up there, but he kept flat and only advanced when the Geth were distracted by the rest of the team on the ground. His fire support with that Master Gear rifle Vasir had loaned him had proven highly useful, so Vasir let him keep at it.
Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya had been keeping to the middle of the pack, flanked by the Twins, and Vasir herself, to keep her safe. Well, as safe is anyone can be in a firefight. And she held her own with heavy-modded pistol and shotgun.
All in all, Vasir was quite approving of the team's performance so far.
She almost missed the soft sound to her left, but one of the Twins (Vasir could no longer keep straight which was which, and neither of them cared) twisted to stare at a low shrub growing up the side of one of the giant rock walls that made this damned labyrinthine maze. Vasir looked herself, but it wasn't until the sound was repeated that she figured out what it was.
A salarian had pulled aside a bit of set-dressing and was motioning them to hurry over to him, where a cunningly-concealed hole in the rock had been opened. "Hurry up, they'll be sending a patrol in soon!"
Vasir narrowed her eyes and assessed the salarian up and down. "That's an STG uniform. Team, follow him in!"
The Twins were first, slipping in quietly. Tali was next, skittering over and snatching a few components out of the armature in passing. She'd been working on a few of them, trying to gather what intelligence she could from their memory cores.
The turian slithered down from his high perch, landing with a roll to absorb the momentum, and crouching beside the opening as he scanned the sky with his scope. "Go, Spectre, I've got your back,"
She spared him no more than a glance, as Wrex finally lumbered up, slipping into the narrow hole before the krogan blocked out the light as he squeezed in.
The cave under the stone was clearly a natural one at one point, washed out by wave and wind. The STG had also clearly made it their own, with several small boulders used as seats, and a couple quick-set concrete plugs holding up a few lengths of polysteel, supporting the roof of multi-ton rock overhead.
Great.
"Sitrep, Captain." Vasir kept her voice low, as Tali secreted herself in a corner of the cave to work on her various assorted Geth bits. She was biting her lip, something that Vasir found unaccountably fascinating. Mostly because she'd never seen a quarian's lips before, or the tiny, cute little teeth she had.
"Captain Kirrahe, 3rd Infiltration Regiment." He tilted his head slightly. "I recognize you. Spectre Tela Vasir. Your work on terminating that slave ring on Nasurn was impressive; you do tight, efficient work."
She gave a faint nod at the compliment, as one of the other salarians fitted the covering back in place. "Good job keeping your men alive, Captain. What can you tell me about the opposition?"
"Our most immediate objective was the jammer and the AA towers, but recon says they were recently demolished by a... still unidentified cause..."
"That would be me." That damned spooky dragoness strode out of nowhere, stopping by the tattooed human to give her a quick kiss before turning to face the salaran's guns with a raised eyebrow. "Peace, I'm not here to harm you. How goes things on your end, Vasir?"
"We've made a secure landfall and managed to link up with Captain Kirrahe and his STG." Vasir didn't know how she felt about finally getting used to the Darastrix's abrupt appearances. "She's with me, Captain. Spectre authority. Please put your weapons down before you annoy her."
Kirrahe silently eyed the dragon, his eyes rapidly shifting ever so slightly that signaled a Salarian's rapid thinking. He turned to his men. "Did anyone see her come in?"
"...No, sir."
"This mission gets stranger every day."
"Don't feel too bad it, Captain. I've been specializing in stealth, recon, and overwhelming force for ten times longer than you've been alive." The dragoness let her tail slither possessively against Jack's thigh as she sauntered away from the human, Jack giving the tail a soft pat in parting.
"I've destroyed the AA guns on this side of the island, and most of those out to sea. I've also royally fucked with their comm relays, so hopefully that makes things a bit easier."
A beat.
Two beats.
Every salarian suddenly started working on their equipment and omni-tools.
"Clean signal sir!" One of the techs gave a hand-signal, and Kirrahe nodded.
"Good, that's one less thing to worry about."
"Then you'll be glad to know that the AA guns aren't just disabled. I tore a few of them from their mountings, melted some of their barrels, and chopped a few of them up into...ohh, a dozen or so chunks, which were also partly melted." Joru's grin was slightly disturbing in the dim illumination of the salarians' cavern.
"Show off." Vasir rolled her eyes and turned to the Salarians as the dragoness gave a soft snicker at her. "What intel can you give me on the base here?"
"With a clear signal, we can have reinforcements on the way. Until then, Saren still resides in a heavily entrenched stronghold. We've made note of several infiltration routes, but right now our biggest problems are the geth fliers and the Krogan army he seems to be producing."
"Krogan army?" Wrex had stepped closer. "How's he doing that, then?"
"No doubt he's found some way around the genophage." The salarian captain seemed annoyed with the krogan's lack of deduction.
"I can give Saren a distraction, hopefully draw off the preponderance of his reinforcements. We have three squads each of Alliance Marines, and Asari Commandos coming up behind us." Vasir eyed Wrex warily.
"Not just yet, Vasir." Wrex glared before turning back to the salarian. "What kind of solution is Saren using to make a krogan army?"
"We don't know the specifics, only that he seems to be generating them at an extreme rate. Similar to recorded birthrates prior to the Genophage."
The salarian knew he'd been wrong the bring that up as Wrex stepped forward, crimson eyes glaring. He stopped at Joru's hand on his shoulder. "Wrex. Remember what Saren does with his friends. And what he does with his tools."
Wrex looked at her for a moment, locking eyes. Then he merely gave a grunt and stormed off.
"Is he going to be a problem?" The captain stared after the retreating krogan, who brusquely brushed past one of the salarian guards as he made his way up the short tunnel to the exit. "We don't exactly have a lot of space in here."
"I'll deal with him later. Now, as you were saying about the base's layout and construction..." Joru let her voice lift into an interrogative.
"Very well then." Kirrahe sighed as he turned to the makeshift map-table the salarians were using. "The geth fliers have a refueling station just off the main stronghold, I recommend making it a priority target before infiltrating the base. And finally, we have three confirmed sightings of Saren himself."
"Where." Joru's tone carried an undercurrent of tension and anticipation, her red-golden eyes locking with those of the captain.
"Inside the base somewhere." Kirrahe gave a shrug. "He rarely steps outside, especially in the last four days. I'm afraid we do not have an exact fix on his location, as we also have no intel on the base's layout for once we're inside. All we can confirm is that Saren is definitely inside at present."
"I could do far more than merely confirm it, but... Right." The black-scaled woman stepped up to the table, gazing down at the map it contained, eyes flicking here and there. "What's this outlying building? Some sort of factory, it looks like.. Geth assembly?"
The tactical planning continued for another half-hour. Vasir watched Joru's purely business side as she assessed everything, noting how the dragoness skillfully asked penetrating questions, drawing the STG captain out into a full technical dissertation of the situation, which utterly turned her off. At the same time, the Spectre kept an eye on how carefully the STG was watching the Darastrix.
Several of them were assisting with technical data, while others were running maintenance checks on the equipment. And tending to the wounded. There were a couple cots to one side, one with a salarian who was sleeping, the other...
He seemed asleep, except for his eyes, laying on his side, with his left leg above the blanket. What little was left of it.
"I think I see a way... it'll require everything we have though, and I'll need to embed your men with my troops, to help coordinate and to provide tech support."
The briefing was wrapping up surprisingly fast. For all their disdain for the slow-minded, a Salarian never tired of explaining his own brilliance to lesser minds. Joru seemed to have impressed them on the speed she assimilated everything.
BANG.
Everyone tensed and moved into a combat stance the moment a shotgun blast echoed throughout the cave.
Joru hadn't flinched, but she did sigh. "Right. Time to deal with that, I think. Vasir, figure out which of Kirrahe's team goes with which squad, please?"
Her long tail snaked behind her as she strode up to the exit, leaving the Spectre wondering when she'd been demoted to second in command.
His rage boiled in his veins, making everything stand out with preternatural sharpness. It was always like this, but this time, it wasn't some dumb fucker he could vent his rage at, oh no. This time, it was deeper.
His people. He'd resigned himself to being one of the last krogan, hopefully (though he would never admit this), the last. He knew himself to be a damn hard bastard, you don't get that good without knowing how good you are. The trick is to be honest with yourself, know exactly how good you are, and let others build up your rep into a thing of legend.
He'd done good on that, and his little sparring match with Joru hadn't hurt matters at all. Very few of her opponents lived to walk away. He was one of the few.
He let fly another blast with his shotgun, growling as he blew away another of those four-legged crawlers. And, damn the bitch, she knew something.
"Wrex." It was her. Behind him, as usual. He turned, giving her a blood-eyed glare as she slowed to a halt, gazing back at him with cool indifference.
Oh, how he yearned to wipe that cool reserve right off her face.
"You knew." He seethed. "Didn't you?"
"I guessed. But it was an educated guess." She watched him, doing him the courtesy of facing him squarely. "Saren's not going to give your people their freedom, Wrex. He wants slaves, not krogan."
"I respect you Jorukaia." He took a risk and used the shortened form of her name, an insult among her kind, as her actions had insulted him. "But don't think that makes you one of my people. You haven't gone through fifteen hundred years of watching your own race not giving a damn as it slowly kills itself off. Are you really expecting me to ignore a possible chance for my people's salvation?"
Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she gave a soft, derisive snort. "Listen to yourself, Wrex. Who's in charge of that base? To whom would these krogan owe allegiance, in return for their very existence?"
She stayed steady, poised, imperturbable, as he paced in restless, pointless agitation "You're smart, Wrex. You had to be, to live this long. So stop thinking with your quad and start using your other head for once." Her voice wasn't loud, but it positively dripped with derision.
Wrex narrowed his eyes dangerously and slowly drew his shotgun. "Are you telling me that I don't don't know what's best for my people?"
"Oh grow up, you whelp!" Did she really just say that to his face?! "Shut your mouth and think! If Saren's breeding krogan, that means he has at least one female in there!"
Her voice dropped to a silken whisper, not making a single move to defend herself as he glared at her, gun in hand. "Would one of your people seriously convert to Saren's cause? Would a shaman?"
Wrex froze. The shamans. Their wisdom and insight of how to handle the genophage was respected across Tuchanka. For one of them to ally with Saren? No...not a single female worthy of the title of shaman would ever do such a thing.
Which meant that if Saren really had found a cure, then any females were most certainly not residing at his base voluntarily
Nearly every krogan clan agreed that harming one of the females was amongst the highest offenses. And so the thought of that turian bastard holding any number of the females prisoner made his blood boil.
"Now you see." Joru's voice cut through his realization. "If Saren has a female, it is without the blessing of a Shaman. She's not his guest, she's his prisoner. Assuming she isn't already his victim."
A low growl emerged from Wrex's throat as he promptly lowered his weapon, much to the relief of the salarians watching them. "You're right. Cure or not, if he's brought harm to a female, that makes him an enemy of the Krogan."
"And what are you going to do about it, Wrex?" Her eyes held his, shimmering with something. With a start, he realized that a rage just as deep and powerful as his own simmered in this woman's blood, all but visible to the naked eye, as a heat haze above her scales.
And he matched it with his own. "You and I are. Going to have a little competition. Whoever finds Saren first takes his head. And if you should win somehow, you'll give it to me anyway."
She eyed him intently, meeting his glare with her own. Then she did something he didn't expect. She stepped forward, and took his arm in her own. It wasn't the clasp of acquaintances, or potential rivals. And the way she stared into his eyes, was almost hypnotic.
"I admire you, Urdnot Wrex. I would be honored, for you to call me Krantt. Moreover, I would share an honor that is rare among my people. Have you a knife?"
Wrex smiled as he wordlessly unsheathed a fifteen-inch serrated blade without missing a beat.
She took the blade, and nodded once at its workmanship. She slid it down and ripped it along his palm, letting the blood flow freely. Before he could draw away, she did the same to her own hand, and clasped the blade between their hands. "This blade knows we are of one blood. This blade knows the taste of that blood. This blade shall protect that blood wherever it flows. And it shall avenge that blood, if it is spilled."
The words had the force of ritual, and Joru's gaze as she held the bloody blade with him, palm to palm against the flat of the sharp blade was almost searing in its intensity.
"I knew I liked you for a reason," Wrex chuckled in return.
They stared with locked eyes for a moment. Then, at an unspoken signal, they head-butted each other.
Wrex marveled at the force Joru put into that strike, but she was grinning as she released his hand. "Heh, good strike. But youi'll need better to blow Saren's head off. Keep the gun, need more ammo?"
"Hell yeah."
The plan had been a simple one. Get in, get the data, get out, don't care about the mess you leave in your wake. It was a good plan, simple, direct. A bit sloppy compared to how she was used to working, but she was under a time constraint this time around and had a severe lack of intel on the target.
Even so, Kasumi was loving it.
Another trio of krogan lumbered past her little hidey-hole, rushing towards the sound of explosions and shouts farther out in the complex. Kasumi was working feverishly on her omnitool, and fingering the crystal data storage devise Joru had given her.
The briefing had been so very typically Joru. "I want his files, I want his folders, I want his notes, his logs, his fucking porn stash if you can get it. I want everything he's got, Kasumi. Loot him to the ground."
She liked those kind of orders.
"Gotcha." Her eyes lit up with glee as the firewall finally cracked. It must have been a Geth-upgraded one, she'd had to use several subroutine tricks Tali had shone her to get past the initial query-response setup.
Inside, was a treasure trove. Well, not really, inside was a mess of connections and where the hell was the index?
Fuckit. Leave that to the tech expert to reconstruct things. She was just the infiltrator for this mission.
She slid the data storage cube into the adapter on her omnitool, and began siphoning as complete a copy of the entire database as she could. She'd already cracked three terminals already and stored their contents, but she was fairly sure that Saren's personal machine wasn't going to be easy to get at.
Still, it was fun doing things this way.
Another deafening crash slammed across the base, and this time a cry rose to a roar as Joru entered the fray. Kasumi's eyes glittered as the terminal took forever to disgorge its contents.
"Come on baby, come to momma..."
She slapped out the crystal and slid it into the pouch with the filled ones, the instant the progress bar hit 100%, slapped a patch onto the data entry port, and sprinted, not caring if her optical sheath flickered a bit in the dim light of the corridor.
Behind her, thunder roared, hidden in the blast of another fit of draconic rage.
Joru certainly did make of a nice, neat distraction!
The Anomaly was fast, skilled, and possessed esoterica similar to his Master. He was merely turian, albeit augmented by his Master.
Even so, the Anomaly would not prevail this day. He would ensure that.
She had been wreaking havoc on his base for long enough. His Geth had found her, and been cut down. His krogan were worse than useless against a foe that used so much fire so indiscriminately
Fighting her was going to be a challenge. His biomechnical crest twinged as he remembered their last fight.
His nerves quieted at this reminder of his past failure. There shall not be a repetition.
He strode past the Geth platforms at the door, and they fell into line behind him, marching in a deliberately varied pattern from his own precise stride.
His eyes narrowed as he emerged from the bunker complex beneath Virmire's soft sands.
She'd already cut into his above-ground base like a scythe through grass, almost every building had at least one gaping hole in the side, belching flame. There she was, hovering on those absurdly small wings, and raining down fire on the group of krogan who had rushed to defend the breeding trenches.
Useless, the whole lot of them. They would be culled.
He stepped sideways as the geth passed him, onto the aerial platform, and shifted his weight precisely to activate the machine's internal grav-thrusters.
He couldn't meet her in the skies, perhaps, but he could at least move faster than mere walking pace.
His eyes picked out and highlighted a path among the ruins and rubble, a twitch of his toe sending the long, slender sled zipping quietly through the ruins of his base.
He'd make sure she paid for this.
This job had gone to hell in a truly spectacular way. She'd been a bit nervous about the neural degradation she was studying once she realized why it was happening, but then that poor girl, and everything started getting weird
She was desperately hoping she wasn't hallucinating That was one of the symptoms.
Rana flinched as yet another explosion tore through the base, making her whimper and curl up tighter under her desk.
'And here I told my s-sister that mercenary work would g-get her killed...' She smothered a sob into her lab coat, and flinched at yet another phantom caress.
They'd been happening with more regularity of late, and despite repeated scans, she'd never been able to find a cause. Somatic hallucinations had been one of the symptoms she'd identified for the specific type of neural degeneration that Saren was having her study, and oh goddess, she was so scared.
She couldn't hear her own scream for a moment when the wall beside the door suddenly smashed inwards, sending chunks of rubble flying as tremendous heat washed over her. She could feel her scalp contracting. She covered her head with her arms and waited for the end to come.
"Get up." The voice was female, but deeper than any asari. "I won't tell you again."
She scrabbled out from under her desk. Something in that voice... She found herself facing a pair of blazing, fiery-red eyes and almost screamed again.
"Quiet. Explain yourself." The woman was angry, Rana could almost feel the rage boiling off her. Or maybe that was just the heat-haze that seemed to surround the woman, making her image shimmer slightly.
"P-P-Please! Have m-mercy! I did everything you asked! Just please leave me alone!" The asari whimpered and stammered as she glanced wildly around.
"Peace. Calm." The words seemed to wash over her. Spoken forcefully, but not loud. The intruder set her weapon butt-down on the floor, tilting her head curiously at the flinching asari. "Tell me your name."
"R-Rana." She stammered and took a breath. "I'm Dr. Rana Thanoptis. W-what do you want with me?"
"Answers. Tell me what you were doing here. Why are you here? Did you have something to do with the krogan?" The woman's fire-bright eyes seemed to bore into Rana's own, an intensity unlike anything she'd experienced.
"What?" Rana blinked, then shook her head in violent negation. "No. No! No, no! The krogan are Dr. Droyas' department! I'm a neurologist! Saren wants me here to study prisoners and how they react to indoctrination!"
"Really?" the intruder's eyes widened, like simmering coals as they stared into her own. "And what have you found so far? Tell me everything, here, have a seat."
When had the woman come around her desk, and was now gently urging her into her seat. The weapon leaned against the wall, a scorch mark near its blade.
"H-He wanted to know everything about indoctrination, some sort of mental compulsion influence projected by his ship, Sovereign." The asari frantically rambled, her tone getting more even as she dug deeper into areas she was more comfortable with. "I haven't been able to identify the nature of the signal, but there's no denying the effect it has on the prisoners. And the staff. I...my first subject was my predecessor, after she lost her mind to the signal."
"Probably a six-dimensional neuronic pulse, then. Nothing else would have the range." It was spoken offhandedly, murmured quietly so it took a moment for Rana to realize what the intruder had said, and by then she was talking again. "What about its effects, have you found a cure for them?"
"What? I... no. No, that's the one thing that Saren wants me to find more than anything. A way to prevent or even reverse the effects of indoctrination. But despite my best efforts, I do not believe a cure is possible." Rana became very quiet. "I think Saren is as terrified of it as I am."
Out of nowhere, the chair opposite from them shot across the room by an invisible force.
"Oh Goddess, there it is again!" Rana shrieked in terror, hiding her head. "Leave me alone! Just please leave me alone!"
"Rana, Rana!" The intruder's gentle hand rested on her shoulder, drawing Rana's gaze once more. "Do you have your notes here? Access to your files? You need to leave, now, as fast as you can. Take your data with you, head into the maze, and when you find people, surrender to them. Tell them that I sent you, they should understand. Ask for Ashley, do you understand?"
All the glass windows abruptly shattered as a burst of cold wind slammed through the building.
"Yes, they're right here! All of them!" Rana shoved her omnitool into the intruder's hands. "Just please get me off this goddess-forsaken planet!"
"Talk to my friend, Ashley, she'll get you out of here. Now, is this computer unlocked? Good, then let's download your files." She nodded as the omnitool beeped, then handed it back to the asari "Run and don't stop running until you find people out there."
And so she ran. Now that escape was finally possible, Rana never moved so fast in all her centuries. She ran and she ran and she ran. Anything to get away from the phantom haunting her.
Why? She had laid her body to rest. Why couldn't she leave her alone?
As the asari darted out of the office, Joru lifted her hand. At her summons, the blade-tipped staff spun once until it slapped into her palm. She closed her eyes, sensing with more than mere sight.
"I know you're there."
A wind whipped through the room, and she turned with it, opening her eyes, which now glowed with inner fires. Her othersight swept through not the physical universe, but the realm of magic, the astral plane, call it what you will.
Her eyes fastened on something, then widened. Her outstretched arm holding Yolnahzii lowered until the weapon's butt cracked into the plascrete floor.
Two words escaped her parting lips, soft and gentle as realization swept over her.
"Oh...no..."
Aethyta skipped back behind the rock, trading off fire with another of her commandos. She'd personally trained dozens of them over the centuries, and now she had a cadre of hardened, tough fighters, who'd follow her into any battle, trusting in her experience and strength to see them through.
It was a heady experience, to have such keenly-honed fighting women at her side. Aethyta wasn't what she'd call a good commander, she left that to Benezia.
Speaking of, Benezia'd gotten separated from her squad, but that was fine. She had two full squads of Commandos to keep her safe.
"Geth on the watchtower!"
"I see it. Rocket?"
"Got him in three, keep him off me!"
Aethyta grinned as the constant chatter over the squadlink kept her informed of her girls. She could hear chatter from other squads too, her helmet making her indistinguishable from her commandos. Only her strength of biotics and her reckless, headlong progress marked her as more.
"Matriarch! Fall back!" That was more distant, one of Benezia's girls. What was going on over there?
Before she could ask, a scream rang through the squadlink, and Aethyta's eyes snapped wide. She and her entire squad froze for an instant as the scream was repeated over squadlink.
That was Benezia's voice.
Every asari knew that the matriarchs were the mightiest people in the galaxy. And nothing was more terrifying than to hear the mighty scream in anguish.
She took off, only tearing out a "cover me!" order to her girls, who moved as one to protect their Matriarch's sudden mad dash.
Aethyta didn't care about the fact that three geth were lighting her up, trusting her barrier to take the fire until her girls could neutralize them. A Destroyer popped around a corner, and she didn't hesitate in her headlong sprint.
Her eyes lit with biotic power as she heard Benezia scream again. "Out. Of! My! WAY!"
Her biotic charge blasted across the short distance and slammed the geth to one side. Her shotgun barked twice in rapid succession as she sped past him, a trio of barks behind her showing that her girls were on top of the threat.
Another scream rent the air, and this time it was more than mere wordless terror. "No, Oh goddess no!"
If anything, this was somehow worse. She didn't have Joru's wings, but she flew around the building Benezia had chosen to storm, and found her love on her knees in a corner. Her fingers were tearing at a stone leaning against the wall, and her sobbing screams were cracking Aethyta's heart like she'd already cracked the stone.
"No..." This close, she heard Benezia's broken, sobbing cry directly. "No, nonono. No, it can't be..."
"What?! What is it?" Aethyta slid to a stop on her knees beside Benezia, clutching at the woman's bleeding hands. She'd punched and tore at the stone until her fingernails had ripped!
"No, nonono..." It was as if Benezia was in a trance, tears streaming from her eyes as a great gasping sob tore its way from her chest and another scream of grief and sorrow shook her.
Aethyta turned, as sudden dread poured ice down her back, and read what was writ upon the stone.
"Here lies Liara T'Soni. Beloved Daughter."