Chapter 29
Cockpit - SSV Normandy SR1
Shepard groaned as she entered the small, enclosed space. Currently, the ship was reaching exit velocity as it left the asari homeworld. Joker spun around in his chair and eyed her curiously, as she was now fully armored with her weapons on her back.
"Sooo... I take it they didn't want to part with Liara's work?" he asked with a snarky grin.
"Nope. We had to go down and steal a national treasure Oceans style," she said with a grin back as she sat sideways in the empty copilot seat next to him.
"Having a good ol' Hollywood heist without your get-away driver? I'm hurt," he said dramatically as he held his hand over his heart. After Shepard chuckled, his face split into a grin again. "Really though, why was it necessary for you to be there? Couldn't they have sent their own military in?"
Rubbing her face with her hand, Shepard let out a sigh. "Remember the movie "The Spider's Web?""
"I mean, I'm more of an anime guy myself, but I've seen it," he said, getting another chuckle from her.
"It was all about a family of criminals who infiltrated every level of society. They were politicians, police chiefs, construction workers, priests, and so on. They had infiltrated society in this one city so far that they could literally get away with murder."
"Wow, is Serrice that bad?" asked the pilot with a disgruntled expression.
"No, not nearly. But all it takes is one well-placed individual to silence a witness. And these gangs had many well-placed individuals," she said as Joker nodded. "The Matriarch asked me to be there because she knew I wasn't affiliated with any of the local gangs, and I couldn't be bought."
"So, she was protecting herself from her own people," said the lieutenant as he took his hat off and scratched his receding hairline. "Still, they couldn't ask their navy? One individual from there couldn't get away from anything with so many other marines around."
"The Legion of Thessia responded as soon as they could. But there was a window of time where they wouldn't be there due to assembly and flight time. My job was to cover her in that window," said the commander as she rested her chin in her hand. "Apparently, me walking into her house triggered the groups to try and attack. They realized what was happening, and they all formed up to attack before the actual military could get there."
Joker smirked lightly and spun in his chair again to face the main console. "Buuut, Shepard."
"But Shepard indeed. They'll be lucky if they can recover from such a display," she said as she stood up and patted the back of his chair. "Alright get-away driver, let's get the hell out of here."
"I'll get the rims a-spinning," he said with a wave of his hand.
Medical Officer's Quarters - Medbay - SSV Normandy SR1
"So, ladies, any progress?" asked Shepard as she entered the asari doctor's room.
When she entered, she could see the older woman smirking playfully and Liara covering her face. "Actually, Spectre, she said she wanted to wait for you."
"Thank the Goddess you're here Shepard. I can barely take this bully's prodding much more," said Liara with another playful smile as she glared at the woman.
Shepard chuckled at the pair and entered the area. Liara offered her a seat on the bed before grabbing her bag. "So, what information do you have on these artifacts thus far?"
"Almost nothing. All we could glean from them are fragments of memory and inflections of emotion. Of course, this is to be expected because of the damage that some of them have sustained over the years. However, I believe we can discover much more with the Cipher that we now have," said the doctor as she pulled up the first time capsule and showed it to the commander.
Shepard took the device and stared through the plasteel surface at the chip inside. "What is it exactly?"
"Like the beacon you encountered on Eden Prime, protheans stored almost everything they had on memory sinks. These devices all have cards on board that target specific memories that the person chooses and copies them so that they can be easily reused later for reference," said Liara as she scooted in her chair up to Shepard.
"That's amazing. So, your captured memories could be shared with others?" she asked as she stared at the fragmented device.
"Indeed. Though, in its current state, only those with biotics are able to interact with the cards directly. The beacons, like the one you saw, were built into devices that project the memories even into beings who aren't able to interface with the cards themselves," said the asari almost excitedly.
"So, wait," said Shepard as she looked up at Liara. "Does that mean that all protheans were biotic?"
B'Nalia spoke from her position, sitting against the wall. "In a manner of speaking. We don't know if they were biotics like we have now. But they most definitely have sensory perception through touch, which biotics are capable of as well. For example, a human without biotics could touch this card fragment and not see anything. But if an asari used her biotics and touched the card as if she were melding with another being, she would be able to see the memories implanted."
"Oh, so I guess that means I won't get to see the information these hold," said the spectre with disappointment in her tone.
"N-Not exactly," said Liara nervously as she looked down at her lap. Shepard eyed her curiously. "If you melded with me again, you would be able to see them as well. Like when I first saw your visions from the Eden Prime beacon."
"I see," said Shepard as she noticed the older asari smirking out of the corner of her eye. "Alright then, let's see if they can help us."
Nodding, Liara opened the first of the capsules. As soon as the seal was broken, the lights inside went dark. Sliding the top off, the asari gently set it aside and picked up the small, chipped fragment from the holder. Placing it in her palm, she reached over and took Shepard's hand, engulfing the entire thing before she covered it the spectre's hand with her own. "Alright, Shepard. You know the process by now," she said, trying to make it more formal due to her teacher being present. "Embrace…" she started, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath. Her lovely blue skin lit with biotic power as her eyes opened, showing the eerie black as usual. "Eternity!"
Like many times before, the Normandy vanished, and she found herself feeling unexpected things. Passion, lust, heated desire, and love. Opening her eyes, she found herself staring up at her true love. He was a soldier, one of the royal guard. He was going away soon, and it would be a long time before she would be able to see him again. So that night, they indulged and gave in to their desires.
Suddenly, Shepard felt herself pulled away and woke up on her knees. Again, she was without clothing, but as she felt the familiar hand on her shoulder, any anxiety she had passed. Standing, she embraced the nervous form of Liara hip to hip before they both turned and witness the visions from the outside.
It was a full minute before they both returned to the Normandy. Shepard stood up and gripped her face with both hands while Liara sat mortified and wide-eyed in her seat. "What is it? What was it?" asked B'Nalia from the side as she looked between the pair.
"It appears that we've come across someone's... personal moments," said the asari doctor as she delicately took the fragment and put it back into its capsule. "On the bright side, I'm now fully knowledgeable in prothean mating habits…"
B'Nalia nearly choked as she laughed at the outcome of the discovery. "Are you telling me we've been holding a prothean pornographic memory in a museum for nearly twenty-five years?" she asked incredulously. As soon as a flushed Liara nodded, she began cackling like a maniac.
"Welp, I wasn't expecting to have new nightmares, but here we are," said Shepard as she sat down and smacked herself in the face.
Liara looked up at the spectre and noticed that her face was flushed with red. If her initial experience was anything like her own, then she was mildly uncomfortable with the burning feeling in her stomach at the moment. But there were more important things to be discussed. "Sh-Should we try another?"
Sighing, Shepard eyed the next capsule with a glare. "Fine. But if it turns out that this is a collector's series, then I'm going to need a few cold showers afterward."
Giggling to herself, Liara opened the next capsule and plucked the card fragment neatly from its stand. This one was about twice as large as the one before. "These were found in two different locations. So, the chances that they show the same content are astronomical," said the doctor as she held the new device up in her palm. Snorting, Shepard reached up apprehensively and placed her hand on top of the card. Liara covered them again and took another deep breath.
The tone was much different this time as they dove together, rather than separately. This time, it was another place, another location, another planet. The visions took place in a deep underground lab, where everything was relatively dark except for the glowing consoles around the area. Voices echoed, chatter from both machine and voice. The voices suddenly faded out as one became more pronounced.
"3024, 27, 22, Galactic Cycle. The new species we discovered on Helna 356 is one of the most unique we've ever discovered. Dubbed-" Static briefly filled the vision. "-sentimental of our group, they appear to be an ocean-based species that glides through the waters of their homeworld. They appear as no more than spirits in the water, with skin so translucent that we could barely detect them. But despite this, the most bizarre-"..."-they are. When they come into contact with nearly any species from their homeworld, they appear to-"..."themselves to mimic the host species. More testing needs to be done before we can see the extent of their adaptability."
"3024, 27, 44, Galactic Cycle. Species 102 appear unable to adapt to any of the currently known space-faring species in our galaxy. There appears to be a conflict with their DNA and ours, something found commonly among the other-"..."-into sapience by adapting with a higher intelligence species. We will have to make do by pairing them with the more familiar DNA for now."
"3024, 29, 12, Galactic Cycle. Tests of pairing Species 102 with other lesser species has been surprisingly successful. We've tested with Species 44 from Nolk 243, where 102 test subjects adapted and immediately showed signs of the same instinctual habits of Species 44. In less than a season, 102's cells began forming-"..."-to Species 44, as well as a membrane that allowed protection from solar activity produced by Nolk 243's home star. The level of-"..."-is alarming. The same results were replicated with species 23,-"..."-the changes are permanent, and 102 can no longer-"..."-warned to take caution during testing, as there's no telling how advanced this species could grow. Despite the warnings, I've authorized-"..."-advanced Species 68, who are currently using stone tools. We shall see if intelligence can also be mimicked in this remarkable creature."
"3024, 34, 44, Galactic Cycle. A new discovery was made! Species 102's ability to-"..."-selectively nurtured through the use of limited DNA exposure. After taking a small sample of DNA from Species 68 and introducing it to a single specimen, it absorbed the DNA and altered itself without-"..."-with a host species makes it lose its full adaptive capabilities. What we've discovered may be the building blocks to-"..."-capability both awesome and disturbing. These results will be kept from High Command for now. I don't want them-"..."-soldier and slave breeding. This occurrence is far too rare-"..."-from specific other species."
"3025, 13, 17, Galactic Cycle. An unknown bacterial infection has unleashed itself in the oceans of Helna 356. Around ninety-"..."-species has been killed, even those who had already adapted to other familiar species of the home-"..."-are likely already infected due to contact with the others. If we wish to-"..."-fight off this infection. No amount of selective-"..."-survive will no longer be able to adapt. It's a crushing prospect, but one that must be endured if we are to-"
"3025, 20, 34-"..."-Species 102 has been a daunting task, but at last, it was a succ-"..."remaining subjects have all-"..."Species 68. The only problem now is that through their-"..."lost the ability to-" The vision's interruptions increasingly got worse. "-once had and have unfortunately not-"..."-host species. This could be for any number of reasons, not the least of which is related to the infection-"..."-But it matters little-"
"-We don't understand what's happening. All communication with High Command was sev-"..."-we're just sitting here waiting to die. We've run-"..."-supplies. Most of our test-"..."-dead. We man-"..."-but who knows what will happen? They-"..."-skies have gone dark. This is-"
When the pair emerged again, they both looked at each other wide-eyed. The longer the record went, the more static began to fill the gaps in the conversation, making it hard to understand exactly what was being said. But the last part was almost clear as day. "What is it?" asked B'Nalia as she looked between them.
"We may have just witnessed the end of days for a team of prothean scientists. Most of it is just static, but it's... chilling," Liara said as she placed the card back into its capsule and set it aside. "We have confirmed that the protheans do have a spoken language."
B'Nalia sat up straight with her eyes wide. "It's confirmed! Excellent!" she said as she began scribbling across a datapad. Looking up briefly, she narrowed her eyes. "Did it say what was causing this end of days?"
"Unfortunately, no. The data card was too heavily damaged, and most of the message was chopped up. Other than the ending, the rest of the memory was a logbook devoted to zoological science on a specific species that the protheans were studying," said Liara, slightly disappointed as the relic held nothing of much value to Shepard.
"Any names? Places? Anything that could help us identify anything?" asked the professor excitedly.
"Helna 356 was listed as the home planet. But we have no description of the location or anything else that could clue us in to exactly where that is. Though, I don't know if it would matter. They said that the species was nearly wiped out due to some type of oceanwide plague. They managed to save a few, but by all appearances, those saved were killed when the science team died as well. They mentioned most of their subjects already being dead, and we got no clue of what happened to the rest," said Liara with an exasperated sigh.
Shepard's brows furrowed as she stared at the newly capsuled card. B'Nalia eyed the spectre curiously. "That look says you may have discovered something."
"Possibly. Unfortunately, I can't talk about it with you until your clearance is higher," said Shepard as she eyed the asari. "Forgive me B'Nalia, but could you excuse us for a while?"
"Of course, Spectre. I'll be in my assigned quarters if you need me," said the woman as she stood up and bowed her head.
"Please take all electronic devices with you, as listening in on our talk could result in a minimum of ten years incarceration," ordered the commander with a stern glare.
"O-Of course. I apologize, I must have dropped it," said the professor as she knelt down and picked her comm up from beneath Liara's pillow. With embarrassment on her face, she left the room.
Liara giggled lightly as the commander looked at her. "I always enjoy watching you... oh, what's that human phrase? Flex?" asked the asari as she smiled at the redhead.
Shepard chuckled lightly and nodded. "I've spent a long time spying on people. You start to notice when someone tries to do it back," she said as she stretched.
"So, what was it you wanted to discuss?" asked the doctor curiously.
"That end of days may have been what we think," said Shepard as she stared seriously at the doctor.
"The Reapers? While I can't say it's not true, what are you basing this on?" asked the asari curiously.
"At the very end, they said that the sky went dark. What if it weren't some kind of planetary cataclysm that darkened it?" asked the commander as she leaned onto her knees.
"I feel with their level of technology, any disasters that could have caused such a thing would have been known about a long time in advance," said Liara as she absentmindedly ran her fingers over the ridges of her scalp.
"Of course. And think, if you were an invading force of sentient machines that were trying to wipe out life in the galaxy, what would be your first move?" asked the spectre, curious if the asari had any schooling in the arts of war.
"I... I'm not sure…" said the doctor with confusion masking her adorable face.
"Think about it, Liara. If you wanted to cripple a kingdom, where's the first place you strike?" she asked, trying to egg the asari on.
After a moment of thought, the doctor's eyes lit up. "The head!" she said as if the revelation struck her like lightning. "They said in the vision that they had lost all contact with High Command!"
"That's right. Darkening skies could be any number of things, but if it were natural, they would have known about it ahead of time," she started, then looked up at the doctor. "Do you have any records of the protheans being at war?"
Liara nodded, a frown marking her face. "The protheans, like any species, were not a solely benevolent species. This record alone shows this as the science team did not want High Command getting ahold of the information due to questionable war ethics," she said as she let out a heavy sigh. "The unfortunate truth is that the species many people commonly refer to as 'prothean' might actually be a multitude of species. But the singular identifier of prothean suggests that many of those species may have been forcefully integrated into their society."
Shepard snorted lightly as she nodded. "If we were wiped out today, any records left would refer to humans, turians, asari, salarians, krogan, and many of the other species. We don't have a singular identifier like they did…"
"Indeed. That said, even the most remote of science teams would have already known about any wars going on at the time. The fact that they were confused about what was happening makes it unlikely that they died due to some uprising," said Liara as she tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Which means that the entirety of High Command was taken out quickly, not allowing them to get any communications out. And the only thing powerful enough to potentially do this is…" said the spectre, but Liara finished for her.
"The Reapers," she said as she stared at the card inside the capsule. "You may be correct, Shepard. We may have witnessed the invasion itself."
"It's a possibility. But we'll have to collect more data to be sure," said the spectre as she stood and turned towards the door.
"Shepard!" started Liara, causing the commander to look at her. "I... wanted to thank you. You've trusted me far more than I had the right to ask. And I want you to know that all of your secrets, all of them are safe with me."
Smiling, the spectre stepped up to the asari and grabbed her by the back of her head. The asari almost squeaked as Shepard pulled her close enough that their heads touched. "I know. Thank you, Liara." Finally, she pulled away and turned again. "I'm heading to the showers. I'll be in my room afterward if you need me."
Mess Hall - SSV Normandy SR1
"Can I ask you something?" came the gravelly voice of Wrex as he stepped up to the table.
Ash turned and eyed him curiously, then nodded. "I mean, you already did, but go for it."
He thought about it for a moment, then smirked. "I guess you're right. Anyhow, what's with the human fascination with jewelry?"
Cocking an eyebrow, the gunnery chief sat back. "An odd question. Why?"
"Don't get me wrong, I know the asari, elcor, and quarians love it too…" he said, then looked away. "Or... they did before the whole geth thing. Anyway, I'm curious because it provides no benefit, nor does it protect you. All it really does is paint a target on your back for thieves. So why not buy a piece of armor or a new gun with the money?"
"Other than me being a human, is there a specific reason you're asking me?" asked Williams curiously before sipping at her drink.
Wrex pointed to her neck. "You keep wearing that... that thing. It's metal, and I can see it frequently when you're not wearing armor, so I got curious."
Looking down, Ash saw the target of his curiosity. It was a small silver cross that dangled from her neck. Reaching down, she pulled it from her shirt and showed him. "Well, to be perfectly honest, most humans value jewelry because it's a form of art. You wear them on your body because it makes you look... glamorous I guess."
"Who cares about all that. Mating someone over such trinkets is beyond trivial. It shows no sign of strength or experience. It's only a sign of wealth," he said as he pulled out a blade that was much larger than necessary to open the rations he had been given.
Ash stared wide-eyed as he sliced the package open with the edge of his blade, before then returning it to his belt. Turning her eyes to him, she simply shrugged. "I can't say for sure. I'm personally not attracted to someone simply because they're decked in gold and silver. I like depth, muscle, and scars personally."
"Then why do you wear that?" he asked before shoving an entire package worth of food into his mouth. If he chewed, Ash didn't see it before he gulped it down.
"Well, for two reasons. First is because this symbol represents God," she said as she gently ran her fingers over the silver cross.
"God? Like a spirit?" he asked as he stared at her with his orange eyes.
"The creator of the universe. He created us, and now watches over us," she said simply as she eyed him suspiciously.
"God huh? There's only one God, and it's Kalros. She exists on Tuchanka, and is often called the Eater of Worlds," he said as he tossed the packaging aside.
"I'm afraid we're talking about two different things here. Regardless, we humans have many gods. I believe in the Creator, the Father. It's hard for me to understand how people can believe in nothing when they can look at space, and see everything out there. How could all of this have happened without a form of creation?" she asked him curiously.
But Wrex waved his hand dismissively. "Look look, I get it alright. The mystery of the universe and all that. We don't know where it came from or where it'll end up. I can vaguely understand the belief that something created all of this," he said as he motioned towards everything around him. "What I can't understand is how you think that something big and powerful enough to create a universe would be able to see us, or even know we're here. Basically, I understand the Creator part, but not the Father part. After all, I can create life just by dipping a loaf of rockbread into water and letting it sit outside for a month. That doesn't mean that I can see the bacteria, or that I have any control over it."
"It's just something we believe. There's no way to prove or disprove it without the tech of a type four civilization. It just brings us comfort to believe that someone is watching over us," she responded, interested to find herself in a conversation about religion with an alien.
"Type four?" asked Wrex curiously.
Nodding, the gunnery chief pushed aside her tray. "Right, sorry. We humans created a scale that neatly matched scientific reports from the Citadel as well. But we call it the Kardashev Scale. It basically ranks civilization based on their capabilities," she explained as she used her fingers to illustrate on the table. "A type zero civilization is one that has limited control over a single planet, which was most races in the galaxy before they obtained FTL capabilities. Type one is a civilization that has total control over the world and its resources. It's at this point that most species would discover space flight…"
"Except most species had help from the protheans. So, it appears that our galaxy skipped a step," said Wrex as he listened attentively.
"Pretty much. Type two is interstellar, where the civilization has total control over a solar system and is able to build megastructures. Type three is galactic level, where the civilization has total control over a galaxy and is capable of harnessing the energy of all of its stars. Then there's type four…" she said as she explained to the mercenary.
"Right. Multiple galaxies, even half the universe," he said as he tapped his finger on the table. "So, you think when our civilization gets to the level of universal travel, we'll be able to discover if a god exists or not?" he asked curiously.
She nodded with a smirk. "If we can travel from cluster to cluster of galaxies and expand ourselves across the universe, I don't think it'd be too hard to see the edges of it. I mean, we can see so much already," she said with a shrug.
"I get it," he said, then eyed the cross again. "You said there was a second reason you wore that thing?"
"Oh... right," she said as she reached up and touched it again. "My dad gave it to me. He said his dad gave it to him, and so on. It's kind of a family heirloom, and he wanted to keep it going in the family. So, when I was old enough, he passed it to me," she said, a small smile forming on her face as she remembered her father. When she looked up at him though, her smile vanished at the disgruntled look on his face.
"The only thing my father gave me was beatings and betrayal," he said in a sour tone.
"Sounds rough," responded Ash, who wondered if she was about to learn more about the krogan.
"Krogan are used to rough," he said before turning and staring at her for a moment. "My grandad was decent though. He was tough on us, but only because he wanted us to learn. He... gave me an heirloom as well."
"He didn't give it to your father?" asked Ash as she leaned forward, thoroughly interested in the conversation now.
"He said my father was a maniac. Turns out he was right. Our clans had been warring and fraying wildly after the Krogan Rebellions. We needed to get together and reorganize. But all he wanted to do was fight more. He wanted to put our remaining fertile females up like factories and use them to slowly breed an army to continue fighting. I'd had about enough of his yelling when he offered a Crush, a meeting on neutral ground. The location he chose was holy ground, the Hollows, home of our ancestors. It's a peaceful place where violence is absolutely prohibited."
Ash's brows furrowed as she saw what was coming. "That sounds like a trap."
Wrex snorted. "It was. But you don't ignore a parlay from your father if you're wanting to calm things down. And it turns out that all he came to do was try and convince me to turn to his side. To try and wage war again. So, when it became clear that my answer was no, he gave a signal and his men began jumping out of the graves of our buried ancestors. Like one of your human zombie movies."
Ash's eyes widened. "Well, maniac fits the bill. How did you manage to get out?"
"Well, after burying my dagger through his only working heart, I walked out," he said, getting a curious eyebrow from the chief. "Being the one of the 'one in a thousand' biotic krogans certainly helped. I just tossed them aside and left them with my father's corpse."
"Morbid…" she said as she gave him a small smile. "But I have to say, I agree with your decision. Fighting the other races gets nobody anywhere."
"Especially if they neutered you decades prior," he grumbled as he sighed heavily. "Regardless, my grandad always saw my father for the war-hungry idiot he was. So, he didn't bother with him. Instead, he passed his battle armor to me."
Ashley smiled widely at the claim. "Wow, no wonder you were curious about jewelry. Krogan apparently get full battle suits instead."
"Yeah, until the Rebellions ended that is. After hitting us with the genophage, the turian Hierarchy disarmed us. That included all weapons and armor, which resulted in my family's armor being taken away. For all I know, it's in some collector's glass case gathering dust. Heh…" he snorted again. "What a way to gloat. Take the only things we have and put them up to show people you took them from us."
Ash stared at him for a long moment. "You... don't know where it is?"
Wrex shook his head. "I know the turian that took it, but I have no way to track down what happened to it after that."
Finally, Ash nodded to him with a smile. "Alright. Well, I'm gonna go hit the gym in a few hours. Wanna go hand to hand?"
For the first time in a while, Wrex smiled. "I have to admit, you humans do love being punished. Let me know when you're headed there and we'll go a few rounds. But you might want to bring some painkillers with," he said as he flexed his hands.
"Oh, don't worry. I'll be prepared," she said as she returned her tray then walked off with a wave.
Captain's Quarters - SSV Normandy SR1
Shepard returned from her after-work out shower and sat down in her chair. Opening her terminal, she tossed her towel into her small hamper and opened the private server once more. She had been checking on it recently, and aside from a few reports of human biotics going missing, everything was relatively quiet. Or it was on the Spectre side.
On her personal email, however, there were a few noticeable pings that she couldn't ignore. The first came from her mother, and the tone with which the mail took was not one of someone who was pleased.
[Hello Spawn…] Shepard giggled at the affectionately sarcastic tone at the start. [So, I just happened to learn today after months in deep space that my only daughter has been redeployed from the Special Forces Training facility on Luna, and is now the first human Spectre of the Citadel Council. Now, I thought that this must be a mistake because surely my very own daughter who I gave birth to, fed from my own body, and nurtured and protected through her entire life would have sent me some kind of message about the change. Or a greeting card. Or something. But here we are! I've confirmed through the Alliance and the Ambassador himself that you are, in fact, now the James Bond of the Citadel.
What the hell, kid? Not a message, not a call, nothing!
Signed,
Captain Hannah Shepard
SSV Kilimanjaro - 55th Recon Fleet]
Shepard chuckled to herself as she wrote a response to her mother. [Sorry Mom. Must have slipped my mind. You should really call more.] With that simple messages sent, she scrolled down to her next two messages. Both were sent by Udina himself, but one was forwarded rather than an original message. Tapping on the first one, she read it quickly.
[Shepard, why do I have the turian Councilor breathing down my neck over you planning a visit to Baetika? It's a turian world inside Hierarchy space, and as far as I can tell, it has zero connection to Saren. So please, enlighten me as to what the hell you're doing going there without asking the Councilor himself for clearance.]
Donning a slow smirk, she typed back to him. [There must be some mistake. I have no intention of going to Baetika, or anywhere in Hierarchy space. But I will let Sparatus know if I should get the urge.]
Finally, she clicked the forwarded message from Udina as well. As soon as she read who it was from, she felt like she had been punched in the gut.
[Commander Jane Shepard,
This is Lloyd Jenkins, the father of Corporal Richard Jenkins. I wanted to inform you that the Alliance has finally released my son's body to us, and we plan to hold a funeral for him in a few days. You were his commanding officer, so I only thought it was appropriate that you should be invited too. The date and location will be enclosed with this email. And if you don't make it, I'll understand, given how important your current work is.]
She sat back in her chair and let out a heavy sigh before burying her face in her hands. As special forces, nothing was ever easy. But the hardest thing of all was facing the parents of those you lost. After a moment of contemplation, she finally responded. [I'll be there.]
Weapon Battery - SSV Normandy SR1
As soon as the door opened, Zannia looked over and saw Shepard. Immediately, she snapped to attention and called out for the others to do the same. Shepard stepped inside and looked at all of them curiously. Of the fire team, there were a total of five turians, including Zannia herself. Each of them had a different mask of clan paint on their faces, symbolizing their origins, or in the case of some, the origins of their significant other.
Normally, she dismissed the formalities that came with working on a military ship, as this was no longer a military ship. However, the time for informal chatter was over. "Praetor Gavos, follow me please," she ordered as she stepped out of the room.
As ordered, Zannia followed her outside of the room. "Spectre, is something the matter?" asked the turian as she let the door close behind her.
Shepard turned towards the fire team leader and nodded. "Praetor, how do you like the turian Councilor?"
Surprised by the question, the turian nearly went rigid. "He's a fine example of what a Councilor should be…" she started, but Shepard held up a hand and stopped her.
"Zannia, this isn't a loaded question. I'm not the Hierarchy judging you for a potential promotion. This is an honest question that I want the honest answer to," she replied as she crossed her arms.
Sighing, the turian loosened her stance. "He's a politician. I hate politicians. In taking public office, they often lose their sense of honor and justice. And they frequently forget the value of life." Zannia looked at Shepard with a curious glance. "Why are you asking my thoughts on the Councilor, Spectre?"
"You'll be informed shortly. Grab Centurion Nilissus and meet me in the comm room," she ordered, then headed there herself. Sitting down in one of the seats, she only had to wait moments before the two turians entered. "Take a seat you two." As ordered, they both sat down in chairs on the opposite side of her. "Now…" she began; however, she was interrupted by the centurion.
"I'm sorry," said the male turian as he stared between his feet.
"Sorry?" asked Zannia as she sat up and stared at her counterpart.
"Centurion Nilissus, do you know why I don't alert the Councilor of my every move?" asked Shepard as she eyed the turian man. He didn't respond, however, allowing her to continue. "As respected as the turian Councilor is, he has a bad habit of judging my actions more harshly than he does the other Council races. This isn't an issue once the mission is already completed, as there's nothing he can do by that point," she said as she leaned forward onto her knees. "But if the Councilor gets information of something that absolutely needs to be done for either galactic, or local safety, and he doesn't like what I have to do, what kind of conflict do you think that creates?"
"He could stop you from doing your job," he said as he finally looked up at her.
"That's right. As a Spectre, my work covers a lot of ground. Some of that ground, the Councilors may not like, but it has to be done regardless. One little delay in time, one little order to stand down could be the difference between thousands of lives," she said as her eyes moved over to Zannia.
"Is this as bad as it looks, Spectre?" asked the praetor as she glared at her subordinate.
"No, simply because none of the information that he has been feeding to the Councilor has stopped me from doing my job. But had I not caught onto the Councilor's game soon enough, there could have been irreparable damage done. If I somehow learned that Saren was hiding on a turian world, that leaked information could have been the only thing that stood between his capture and escape," she said as she glared at the man.
"I'm sorry," he groaned again as he cradled his head.
"Sorry isn't going to cut it, Centurion," snapped Zannia as she stood out of her chair.
Standing up as well, Shepard turned to the praetor. "He's your squad, Zannia. How do you think he should be punished?"
"Please!" snapped Nilissus as he stood up rapidly.
"Don't start begging. The damage you've done to the spirit of the team is already bad enough," growled the praetor. Looking up to Shepard, the turian's mandibles twitched. "Will expulsion from the crew make up for his transgressions?"
Sighing, Shepard shrugged. "Like I said Zannia, it's up to you. I trust your judgment. And even if you wanted him to stay, I'd be fine with it. Now that I know how it's getting out, I can take measures to prevent it in the future."
Zannia was speechless for a moment, staring at Shepard almost in awe before she turned back to the centurion. "You, stay here. I'm going to get the team and we're going to have a discussion about this." Heading towards the door, Zannia motioned for Shepard to follow. When they were outside again, she turned to the spectre and just looked at the ground almost in confusion.
"What's the matter, Zannia?" asked Shepard curiously as she eyed the turian.
"You stun me at every turn, Spectre," she said with exasperation.
"How's that?" asked the commander as she crossed her arms.
"I know that a lot of what I've heard about humans comes from grudges held due to the Relay 314 Incident. I even believed some of them when going through training. And even after all these years, I was still terrified after my crew had been selected to work under a human commander," she said as she paced back and forth in the hall.
Smiling playfully, Shepard tilted her head. "What's the matter? Am I not tough enough on you guys?"
Zannia gave Shepard a cheeky glance before returning to her point. "That's just it though. Every chance you've had to exert your power over us, you've never taken it. When we fired the cannon on Edolus, only to find out that you were nearly vaporized in the blast. When Doctor T'Soni was nearly attacked on Feros. And now this!" she said as she waved her arms with emphasis. "Each time something happens, I've been waiting for the moment that you'll send us back to the Hierarchy. But each time, you've treated us…"
"Fairly?" asked Shepard, who received a nod from the turian. "Look Zannia, I've had this talk a couple of times with a few crew already…" she said as she planted her hands on her hips. "Talassa vak lovask."
Zannia nearly stumbled backward at the words, but Shepard grabbed her by the cowl to keep her from tripping. When the tall woman stood straight again, she gawked at Shepard. "You can speak Turian Common?" she asked, getting a nod from the commander.
"And I know the impact of the phrase as well. 'We are one.' On group, one team, one spirit," she said as she held out her hand.
Zannia chuckled to herself before reaching forward and clasping Shepard's wrist firmly. "Never in all my years of life did I ever think I'd meet someone as unique as you, Spectre."
"I'm not that unique. I'm just smart. I know that prejudice creates walls, and I've learned not to judge anyone based off someone else's perceptions," she said as she gripped the turian's wrist firmly. "You're as important to my crew as any human on this ship, and I trust your judgment. That's why I've handed over his fate to you."
"Understood, Spectre!" said the turian woman as the two finally withdrew from the clasp. "I will try with my very spirit not to lose the trust you've placed in me and my crew."
"Good. Whenever you're finished with him, send me a memo on your decision. Until then, feel free to join me in the mess some time. We haven't talked nearly as much as I've wanted," said the commander as she walked off, leaving the turian staring after her.
CODEX ENTRIES
Hollows | Locations | Tuchanka
Considered holy ground by the krogan, it was the last remaining place on Tuchanka that had been untouched by the industrialization and militarization that led to nuclear winter. As such, the Hallows are a rare sight on Tuchanka, an oasis of greenery and plant life in the middle of a world racked by nuclear fallout. After nuclear winter fell over the planet, plant life all but vanished from the Hollows, making it a haunting visage of the krogans' past.
Talassa vak lovask | Translation | Turian Common
A phrase that translates to "we are one," but carries with it the implication of more than just group structure. It's used in instances of families formed from unrelated parties, whether a combat group, ship's crew, or a group of people who consider each other more important than simple blood ties.