Chapter Seventeen: Proving Grounds Pt. I
She sowed her seeds in
Verdant grass and clear waters
Then left for red dust
CAS-class Assault Carrier Shadow of Intent
Asari Mining Colony of Tarrisa, Tarrisa System
"May I hold it?"
Thel 'Vadam looked at his friend R'tas 'Vadum for a moment, then nodded. He walked towards a table at the back of his private quarters and reached inside the containment shield that housed the Key they had recovered from the surface of the Asari mining colony.
It was a simple thing, thin and cylindrical with no discernible features other than its matte gray color. The Arbiter turned and walked back to R'tas, holding it out for him to take.
"Will it activate if I touch it?" asked R'tas, cautious.
"No. This Key will only initiate Transmittance when I ask it," replied the Arbiter.
"Ask it?"
"Not verbally. But it will know when the time arises."
R'tas gently took the Key into his hand, wrapping his four fingers around the cylinder. "It feels soft," he said, "But it is not malleable. Is it metal?"
"If so then not any that we have ever known."
R'tas looked at the Key for a little longer before his jaws clenched in a sign of discomfort. "Here, take it back."
The Shipmaster gave the Key back to the Arbiter who looked at his friend quizzically. "A sudden feeling of unease? Anxiousness?"
"How did you know?"
"Such feelings come over me when I hold the Key as well," said the Arbiter.
"That object is of great power Arbiter. We need to be careful."
"I know R'tas. The Keys are above our level of understanding, but our time to make our difference has come. We must not hesitate, and we must not fail." The Arbiter gazed into the Key, shifting it in his hand. "Are you ready?"
R'tas just nodded.
Thel reached to his helmet and keyed his communicator to the fleetwide frequency. "Attention all Sangheili, this is Arbiter Thel 'Vadum. Prepare for Transmittance."
He closed the channel and lifted up the Key to his eye level. There was no fanfare, no grand gesture of power or grandeur from the Key as it initiated Transmittance. No, there were just a few new images suddenly and permanently burned into every Sangheili's mind.
A large red star. An icy planet in a perpetual snowstorm on the far fringes of its solar system. A specific mountain in a hemispherical mountain range. An ancient door hidden within the frozen rock. A set of glyphs inthat no Sangheili knew how to read, yet somehow they all knew coded for a very specific set of coordinates.
It was the location of the next Key. The next step of the Sacred Mission.
"It is done," said the Arbiter, returning the First Key to its containment field. "We know our path."
The door to his quarters slid open and both Sangheili turned their heads to see one of the Honor Guard assigned to protect the Key step inside. "Arbiter, one of the aliens that we rescued from the planet requests an audience with you."
"Send her in," Thel said, and the Honor Guard bowed out of the door.
"Ah, is this one of those Ah-Vari you told me about?" asked R'tas.
"Asari," corrected Thel, "And yes."
"Ah-Sahri. My mistake. I would very much like to see what one of these creatures looks like, see if they look as human as you say they do."
"By all means."
A few seconds later the door slid open again, yet this time it was the Asari Captain Levas who stepped in.
"You were right. A blue human," remarked R'tas, gazing down on the Asari.
"Arbiter, it is good to see you again," said Levas, bowing her head in respect to Thel.
"You said that the Huragoks were working on a translation program?" R'tas asked, not able to understand Levas' Asari.
"They have already finished, check your communicator for the update," informed Thel. That was one of the first things that he had done when they had arrived back aboard the Shadow of Intent, to get the Huragok to fashion a translation program using Asari language information found in their datapads. "To the bridge R'tas, get the fleet started on the next portion of our path. I will contact you later."
"Of course Arbiter," replied R'tas, bowing his head towards Thel before making his way towards the door.
'Vadum exited, Captain Levas looking over her shoulder to see him leave. "Who was that?" she asked, looking back to Thel.
"Shipmaster 'Vadum, the commander of this vessel. Why are you here Captain?"
It was now when Levas began to feel the first stages of discomfort creeping up on her. Here she was in an alien ship, surrounded by alien architecture, a large and very imposing alien in full combat armor having to crane his long neck to look down upon her.
Captain Levas wasn't easily intimidated, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't at least a little bit now. "The Asari that are left have deemed it wise to temporarily elect me as their leader. They also gave me some questions that they had, and I was hoping that you could answer them."
"Let us hear them," said Thel.
"Well, what most people want to know is if you'll be taking us back to Asari space," started Levas.
"No," answered Thel. He had expected to see some sort of form of confusion on the Asari's face and was surprised when he didn't. "I would have expected that to cause you some sort of alarm."
"Honestly, not really," said Levas. "See, you have to understand what Asari mining operations are really like. Hard, dirty labor like mining is generally very looked down upon in Asari society, high and mighty as most Asari are. Therefore most of us that were working at the colony either didn't have much other choice for employment, were forced to by the government, or just wanted to distance themselves from the usual Asari lifestyle. Almost everyone doesn't want to go back to Asari space."
"Well, what do they want to do?" asked Thel, puzzled.
"Every survivor's friends and families were on that colony. Now, most of them are dead. They're more angry about those monsters taking their loved ones away than they are frightened about being here. The consensus is nearly universal, they want to fight against whatever those things are."
"I have no use for angry, untrained miners," said Thel. "Even if I did, fighting the Reapers is not our primary concern."
Levas frowned, saying, "They're not just some 'angry, untrained miners'. They're hard working, tough, and even though they don't have formal military training they're all quite adept in biotics.
"Biotics," repeated Thel, having to carefully sound out the new word. "I am unfamiliar with that word."
"Some part of me was expecting that actually," said Levas, not surprised. "Well, to put it simply, biotics are a way to manipulate gravity fields. I would give you a demonstration but this room is a bit lacking in space."
"Then let us go to Fifth hangar where the rest of your group is," said Thel, starting for the door. Levas followed him and the two made their way through the door and down the hallway braced on both sides by a lance of Sangheili Honor Guard. Near the end of the hallway were two Crimson-armored Sangheili Majors, probably the ones who brought Captain Levas to him, and when Thel approached one of them said, "Should we take her back to Fifth Hangar Arbiter?"
"I will take her myself, you two are dismissed," he said. The two Sangheili crossed an arm against their chest and bowed their head in the traditional salute and walked off down a curve in the hallway.
Thel led the way through the ship towards an anti-grav lift station, Captain Levas walking quickly to keep up with his long strides and not get lost in these silver and purple alien passageways. The passed many Sangheili on their way, all of them pausing to salute the Arbiter, all dressed in varying colors of armor. Levas wondered what the different hues signified.
They reached the anti-grav lift station after a short walk, Levas remembered how her two Sangheili escorts said it was a small, private one only for use by those of high-rank. They stepped into an open car and the door whooshed shut behind them, the car starting to move without even the slightest hint of acceleration felt by Levas.
"So, Captain," said Thel, "You described that the Asari at your mining colony were only there for a few reasons. Why were you there?"
Levas pursed her lips, trying to decide whether or not she wanted to get into this. Well, it's not like she had anything left to lose really. "I'm part of the Asari military, so I was assigned to be the Captain of the Guard there."
The alien gave what sounded to Levas like a short chuckle. "I have been in the military long enough to know that one does not get assigned guard duty on a mining colony on the fringes of space without having angered someone higher up," he said.
Levas smirked at him, saying, "I'd be lying if I said you were wrong."
"Well, what did you do?"
"I have a sister who is a… let's just say very important figure in Asari politics. Her and I have never gotten along, I blame the age difference. We were born three hundred years apart so by the time she was already a Matriarch I was barely establishing myself as a Matron. I had always felt like she took my existence as a personal insult, as if our mother had thought that her accomplishments weren't good enough. I joined the Asari military to try and make a name for myself, took out a few of bandit outposts to get promoted to Captain, and then the next thing I know my next assignment is a permanent position as Captain of the Guard on some backwater mining planet. Forty years go by, those abominations attack and leave everyone - save three-hundred - for dead. You guys come along, save the day, and now here we are."
"Forty years?" said Thel, "I am familiar with the length of the average Asari lifespan but still, that is quite a long time."
"It would have been, because I had signed up for a century-long service. To think I could have spent a tenth of my life there… Not that it wasn't exactly a horrible position, I was the Captain of a police force more than an Army unit, but it was certainly boring."
Their car came to a halt, the only sign of deceleration being the opening of the door. The two stepped out, Levas following Thel down a few hallways until they reached the open door into the spacious area of Fifth Hanger.
Before returning to their ships the Sangheili had managed to lift a substantial amount of supplies from the mining colony, enough that the three-hundred Asari had managed to create their own space using crates, boxes, cots, and other pieces of miscellaneous metal and equipment.
There were a couple of lances of Sangheili Minors near the far side of the Hangar keeping watch on the Asari as they went about quietly talking, organizing, resting, or grieving for those that had been lost. Thel and Captain Levas started walking towards the center of the Hangar, and once the Sangheili caught sight of him they straightened to attention. Some of the Asari noticed Levas returning along with a Sangheili they haven't seen before and they tapped on shoulders or told people to look. Soon enough nearly all of the eyes in the Hangar were on Levas and Thel, Asari and Sangheili alike.
Thel activated his communicator and keyed through the private command channels until he found the one of Ultra Rael 'Harum, the Sangheili who had lead the assault on the mining city against the Reapers.
He sent it a ping and the reply was almost instant. "Arbiter, I am here."
"Ultra 'Harum, I need you down at Fifth Hangar as soon as possible," said Thel.
"Of course Arbiter, I will be there right away."
Thel closed the link and looked at Levas. "Now, show me these 'biotics'. I wish to see if they would be as useful as you say they would."
"Sure," said Levas, looking around. "It would be easier if I had an object to demonstrate on though…"
Thel spied a supply case a couple of dozen meters away and pointed to it, saying, "Would that do? An empty supply case."
"That will do just fine," said Levas.
Thel was about to order a couple of Sangheili to move the case closer but Levas raised her arm and her hand, as well as the crate, were suddenly surrounded by swirling blue auras. The case lifted off the ground and started to move towards them, Levas setting it back down about ten meters away.
"First thing is first, this is a basic Throw," she said, gathering another biotic aura around her hand. She threw out her hand at the case and a blue bolt shot out of her hand, quickly traversing the distance to the case and impacting it with a loud thunk, sending it tumbling back a few meters.
Levas brought the case back to its starting position then said, "And now, a Pull."
Levas sent out another biotic projectile that slightly arced towards the case, and when it impacted it lifted the case in the air and started pulling it towards them. The Asari reset the case, preparing to showcase another technique.
This time her biotic sphere impacted the case and expanded into a large swirling mass with a dark center. The case was lifted into the air and started circling around the center and Levas said, "A Singularity."
The Captain lifted the case from the Singularity higher into the air and then let it drop, but before it hit the Singularity again it became encased in a light-colored sphere, stopping in midair.
"A Stasis Bubble. It immobilizes anything caught inside for a short period of time, inanimate or living. This version of the technique also allows for the target to take physical damage. Useful for freezing a target then shooting it while it's defenseless."
The Singularity faded out along with the Stasis Bubble, and Levas biotically grasped the case and gently set it back on the ground.
"In addition to utility, biotics can be used in a more defensive role as well," said Levas, looking through the crowd of Asari for one of her soldiers. "Jani, could you come over here please? Bring your rifle."
The Asari that Levas had referred to stepped forwards from the front of the crowd, drawing her rifle from the magnetic holders on the back of her light, mostly cloth, armor. Once she was about a dozen meters away Levas motioned for her to stop.
Holding out both of her hands the Asari Captain summoned a thin rectangular barrier in front of her then said, "Alright Jani, shoot me."
The Arbiter's jaws widened slightly in surprise as he saw 'Jani' fired several shots from her rifle at Levas, the cracking reports echoing throughout the Hangar. Thel could see a faint ripples throughout Levas' barrier as the rifle rounds impacted it, but it held strong.
Jani lowered her rifle, and Levas extended her barrier to a much larger area, enough to cover at least five Sangheili standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Levas lowered her arms and the barrier receded. "The barrier can be extended to cover a larger area, but at the cost of strength and the time that an Asari can hold it."
"There is another barrier technique, but it is not as well-known as a standard two-dimensional barrier," continued Levas. She widened her stance, crossed her arms above her head, then threw them out to either side of her body. As she did a large blue half-sphere erupted from her arms and settled itself on the ground, the barrier giving off a slight hum.
"This is a biotic sphere," said Levas, "It would be a full sphere, but it's been bisected by the floor. It's also one way in that you can shoot or send biotic attacks through the barrier at enemies outside of it, but their attacks are blocked."
"Now, one of the main offensive techniques a biotic uses is biotic explosions. Two separate techniques are required to detonate a biotic explosion, one that primes the target, and another that detonates it. There are several priming techniques, one of the most basic of which is a Warp."
Levas threw a small biotic sphere at the empty supply case and when it hit the impact area was speckled with blue energy.
"If you looked closely, you would see that the Warp is actually disintegrating the surface of that case, although it does so pretty slowly. The technique by itself will weaken armored surfaces, but is much more valuable as a primer." Levas looked around the case quickly to make sure that no one was too close, then sent a biotic Throw at the primed case.
The blue cannonball travelled quickly and impacted the case, detonating the primed warp into a large blue-black biotic explosion that completely obliterated all traces of the case save for a pile of dark ash scattered around the deck.
Thel thought back to the fighting on the mining colony and how they had seen those same piles of ash. It made sense now, those ash piles must have been former Reaper troops before they were all but disintegrated by Asari biotics.
"Impressive," said Thel, standing a bit away from Levas. The Asari gave him a small smile, and the Arbiter said, "So, Captain Levas, are you willing to fight the Reapers?"
"Yes," she responded quickly, "As long as it means I can take some revenge on what those monsters did to my home. I may not have liked it too much, but it was my home."
"Ah," said Thel, shaking his head, "You wish to fight, but not for the right reasons."
"Right reasons? What do you mean?" said Levas, frowning.
"This is not something that I can simply explain, you must experience it for yourself. Meld with me," said Thel.
"Meld? With you?" asked Levas, the surprise evident in her tone. "I'm not sure if you're aware, but asking to meld with someone is kind of a big deal in Asari society."
"I am well aware of the implications of a meld, Captain," said Thel, "But this is not standard 'Asari Society'. Reproduction is not the purpose of this meld."
Levas bit her lip, trying to figure out if this was something she really wanted to do. Ah, screw it, she thought. "Alright, let's do it."
The Asari Captain stepped up close to Thel and said, "Are you ready?"
Thel simply nodded, small orange-yellow eyes looking deep into Levas' own bright blues, preparing for the meld.
"Embrace Eternity," whispered Levas and both of her eyes turned solid black, linking together the minds of her and the towering Sangheili.
The meld was over nearly the instant it was initiated and Levas physically recoiled away from Thel. She probably would have stumbled to the deck were it not for the strong hand of the Sangheili reaching out to steady her.
"By the Goddess…" stammered out Levas, holding her head in both of her hands. If her body would have had its way she would be sitting on the floor right now but the four-fingered hand of the Arbiter was literally holding her upright by her uniform.
"Do you understand now? Was our Sacred Mission made clear?" Thel asked quietly.
"Yes," all but gasped Levas. The images that she had just seen were unlike any memories that she had ever experienced from other melds. These were of such immense, otherworldly power that the memories had been seared into her consciousness, her very state of being, like a hot brand to the flank of an animal.
She had heard her soft, kind Voice, the gently firm commands giving the Sangheili and now her new purpose. The Mantle was corrupted. The Keys needed to be recovered and delivered to the Reclaimers to allow for the Purification of the Mantle. There was no question, this was now the most pressing, most critical mission that she had ever been given.
"Then I welcome you, as a Sister-in-Arms," said Thel. "Now you know what I was speaking of. We will fight the Reapers, but not out of anger or for petty revenge. Rather, we will destroy those who impede the progress of the Sacred Mission."
"Yes, I understand completely," said Levas.
"The listen to this: If your Asari truly do wish to fight, then go amongst them and spread the Message that I have just spread to you. Show to them our Sacred Mission," commanded Thel.
Levas nodded and made her way to the closest Asari, her fellow soldier Jani. Though they were out of earshot Thel could see the quick exchange of words between the two and Jani's very obviously apprehensive facial expression. However granting by the quick flash of completely black eyes between the two they had decided to meld anyway.
Jani's reaction was much the same as her Captain's, but having expected what she would feel Levas was waiting to grab her to keep her from collapsing to the deck. After another few seconds of talking the two soldiers made their way towards the main grouping of Asari who had been watching the entire display with varying expressions of mostly confusion and concern.
Out of the corner of his eye Thel saw a hint of white approaching, and upon turning his head he saw that Rael 'Harum was walking towards him.
"Ah, Rael," said the Arbiter, "How long have you been here?"
"Long enough to have seen the demonstration," replied the Sangheili Ultra, referring to Levas' biotic display.
"What did you think?"
"I can certainly see the tactical usefulness of some of those techniques, especially the ones that act as protective barriers. I can also imagine there will be quite a few snipers and marksman who would appreciate their target being frozen in place like that. So Arbiter, why did you call me down here?"
Thel flicked his head in the direction of the Asari, where Levas and Jani were starting to spread the Message to the rest via their unique mind melds. "The Asari miners wish to join us in our Mission."
"Join us? Or simply try and take revenge on the Reapers who destroyed their way of life?" asked Rael, having the same doubts that Thel himself had when Levas had first told him.
"Truly join us. Through what the Asari call a 'meld', I was able to show to Captain Levas The Message in the same pure, unadulterated form that it was shown to all of us Sangheili. There is no doubt that she is as loyal to the Mission as any one of us," said Thel.
"And now, she is spreading the Message to all of the others?" asked Rael, pointing towards the large grouping of Asari. Due to the powers of multiplication The Message was starting to spread throughout the Asari miners like wildfire.
"Yes. Soon they will all be willing to pursue the Keys," said Thel. He took his eyes off the Asari and looked to the Sangheili Ultra besides him, saying, "I want you to train these Asari Rael. Find out the most effective usage of these Asari biotics and how to best use them to benefit our Sangheili in combat. Turn them into loyal soldiers of The Mission and integrate them into your battalion."
"Hmm. Do any of them have any former military experience?" asked Rael.
"Yes, but the four that do I will be taking myself integrate into my own two lances."
"So, you are just going to leave me with these untrained miners then," jested Rael, mandibles spread in a smile.
"Captain Levas told me that being physically fit was a requirement of their job, so that avenue shouldn't be a problem. She also said that they are all proficient in at least some of those biotic techniques that she showed earlier. Lastly, once they receive The Message they should all be extremely driven and willing to learn," Thel said.
"Oh, I have no doubt of their potential ability Arbiter. What I wish to know is, why chose me for this task? Other than a brief demonstration I gave at the Field Command Academy on Sanghelios about combined armor maneuvers a year ago, I have no real history in training soldiers. Let alone training a different species altogether."
"I care not for your relative inexperience in training. I chose you for this task because I believe you have great potential Rael, your battalion's performance against the Reapers showed me that much, " said Thel, "What I believe, being able to lead well directly translates to being able to teach well. If 'professional military teachers' like those back at the Academy had their way, it would be two months before these Asari had even learned basic Sangheili combat formations. We, no, you will be operating on a much shorter schedule."
"And how short would that be? Surely you do not mean for these Asari to be combat ready by the time we arrive at the next Key location?" asked Rael, skeptical.
"No, of course not. I may be demanding, but I am not unreasonable. I would not expect such a miracle from you within the next three days. Ideally the most capable Asari would be ready to integrate with your combat lances by the time we are ready to retrieve the Third Key. Then, the whole group of them would be ready by the Fourth Key at the latest," said Thel.
"So a week? Two at the most?" asked Rael.
"Yes," answered Thel. "Can you do this Rael?"
"Absolutely," answered the Sangheili quickly.
"That is what I wanted to hear," Thel said, nodding in approval.
"I would ask one thing, to see if you agree," said Rael and Thel nodded at him to continue. "I would expect most of these Asari to be tired, both physically and mentally from the Reaper invasion and now their receiving of The Message. I feel that it would be wise to give them a few hours for sleep so that they may start their first day of training rested and refreshed."
"They are your Asari to train now," said Thel. "If you feel that giving them more rest is the best course of action, then by all means let them have it."
Rael simply nodded and the two Sangheili sat in silence for a few minutes, continuing to watch as The Message was spread throughout the Asari ranks. It was amazing really, how quickly and eagerly the Asari took to the Sacred Mission once they had been exposed to Her Message. He wondered if any other species would be able to experience The Message, or if the Asari's unique ability to viscerally experience someone else's memories though their melds made them unique in that regard.
After just a few more minutes it had seemed that every last Asari had received the Message, and Captain Levas made her way from deep within the ranks of her group back towards Thel.
"It is done," she said, "The Message has been spread."
"Very good," said Thel. "Captain, summon the other three members of your Asari Guard that made it off the planet."
"Of course Arbiter," said Levas, going to fetch the Asari in question.
Meanwhile Rael started to slowly walk in the direction of the large grouping of Asari head swiveling back and forth, surveying them as if they were some rare, valuable minerals.
By this point the four Asari Guard soldiers had come back and arranged themselves in front of Thel. "What is it you need from us?" asked Levas.
"Now that your miners are truly devoted to our cause, Ultra 'Harum there is going to do his best to train them to a level where they can integrate into his battalion for combat," said Thel. "However, since you four already have prior military experience I will be separating you from the mainstream group and having you train with my own two lances."
"What's different about your two lances?" asked an Asari whose name Thel didn't know, skin color a shade more purple than the other three Asari's varying pigments of blue. "And what is a lance anyway?"
"What is your name?" asked Thel, curious.
"Corporal D'avi," said the Asari in question.
"Well Corporal D'avi, a lance is a military unit consisting of ten Sangheili. Unlike the standard rank-and-file lances like those found in Rael's battalion, mine are much more specialized. If you prove you can rise to the task you will be fighting alongside some of the most elite Sangheili warriors in the galaxy. We will be the spearhead in our search for the Keys, the ones who will actually physically retrieve them from their holding places."
"It would be a great honor to pursue the Keys with such an established unit of warriors," said Levas. "What would we need to do?"
Rael had started to address the main Asari group, his voice loud and commanding, echoing off the cavernous walls and ceilings of Fifth Hangar. Thel paused for a moment, listening to what he had to say.
"...Newly discovered Sisters of the Sacred Mission, I welcome you. I am Ultra Rael 'Harum, a battalion commander. It is my understanding that many of you wish to fight the enemies of the Path. It is also my understanding that many of you are capable in the usage of biotics, the likes of which were demonstrated by your Asari Captain a few moments ago, and sufficiently physically able. It is now my task to determine if that is indeed true and if it is, to give you the necessary military training needed to integrate into my combat battalion. However, I know that it has been a long, trying day for all of you, which is why I am going to give you a few more hours to get some well-deserved rest and sleep. Be prepared for tomorrow. That is all.
'Harum nodded, more to himself than anything, and proceeded to turn and make his way towards the exit to Fifth Hangar. Looking towards the Arbiter and catching his eye the Ultra gave a quick salute with his arm which Thel returned.
"Do any of you have any personal belongings?" asked Thel, addressing the four Asari in front of him. The four soldiers looked amongst each other seeing if anyone would speak up, and none did.
"Nothing really, other than the clothes and weapons we carried with us," said Levas.
"Well, you four should take 'Harum's advice and get a few hours of sleep. Separate your bunks from the main group so that I can easily find them. I will be waking you earlier than the rest," Thel said.
"Of course Arbiter," said Levas, nodding along with his request.
"Very well," said Thel, "I will see you four in a short while, and then your training will begin in earnest."
Special thanks to my beta JonHarper