The mood aboard the ship has been particularly sombre since we left Virmire. Garrus had had to carry Nate's body onto the ship and Wrex did the same with Rylee, whilst Tali and I had to provide cover. Thankfully Ashley was there at the entrance providing even more cover for our escape. We managed to board the ship with 45 seconds to go before the explosion of the bomb.
As soon as we were aboard the ship we sped off out of the atmosphere. But before we left the strangest thing occurred. A child appeared from the lift, the same child we rescued on the Citadel. I was the only one who noticed his presence since everyone else was focused on inspecting Nate and Rylee for signs of life.
I turned to face Nate, but when I turned back around the child was gone. I'll deal with that later, for now I need to help.
The jolt of Joker suddenly moving the ship sent us all into a nearby wall. Whilst I was plastered against the wall I heard a very loud bang. The sound clearly didn't come from this room, it sounded to distant. It took me a few seconds to connect the dots, but when I did, I instantly regretted it.
Kaidan Alenko is dead.
That bomb confirmed something I had known for a while, but that didn't make the pain hurt any less. Kaidan was one of the few aboard the ship who trusted me early on. I wouldn't have stayed for long had it not been for him and Rylee, and if I don't get Rylee to Dr Chakwas soon, she'll join him.
"We need to geth these two to the Med-Bay!" I exclaimed as soon as we managed to get a hold over ourselves. "Joker warn Dr Chakwas," I demanded.
Garrus grabbed Rylee and Wrex, Nate. We got them into the elevator and waited what was probably an eternity for it to reach the crew deck. The first thing that needs to be upgraded about this ship is the lift. It's the only thing that makes seeing Tali problematic, and more importantly it's what could get these two killed.
The moment we got into the med-bay the doctor ordered everyone apart from me and her assistant to leave so she could help the two of them. I followed most of her instructions with ease, my knowledge of anatomy and biology enabled me to be useful, but I couldn't understand the reasons behind her orders.
After 10 minutes of constant instruction and action, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"The Commander is going to be fine, he was knocked out by the blast. The shield he managed to raise saved his life. Lieutenant Shepard on the other hand wasn't quite as lucky, it's a miracle that none of her bones were broken given the extent of the bruising and the cuts. I applied medi-gel on her wounds to prevent infection and aid healing. She has badly bruised ribs, which should make breathing difficult for a few weeks. I can't clear her for a long time, it's too early to say how long."
She then asked for help lifting Nathan, so we helped him into a scanner of some kind. An image
"Hmm, that's problematic," she frowned
"What's the matter with Nathan?"
"The damage he received from the blast wasn't too bad. His main problem was his amp."
"Amp?" I understand it's a device that humans and other aliens use to give them better control over their biotics, but why should that be a problem.
"Biotic implants in humans give them better control, and they can also increase their power output. The amps are fitted with a limiter to prevent you from pushing yourself too far. The Commander foolishly decided to get it removed, probably by a doctor who works for his Syndicate. His nervous system is repairing itself, meaning the damage wasn't extensive. But we need to get a limiter added to his implant."
"Are there any risks to adding the limiter."
"If I slip up then it's entirely possible that he may become a drooling simpleton… or I could paralyse him, render him blind, deaf, unable to remember his name, lose basic motor functions... the possibilities are vast."
I felt my heart tighten as she listed the potential risks of the surgery. Almost losing him on Virmire was quite possibly the most frightening few minutes of my life. I've never been in love before, I mean I've read about it but this level of attachment was unexpected. When the blast hit him, I lost all control, I released a shockwave so powerful that it severely cracked the rock that the geth, who threw the grenade, was using for cover. I even went as far as demanding Garrus carry Nate to the Normandy.
"Maybe we should just leave it the way it is."
"No can-do I'm afraid, the results of him continuing like this are much worse. He got incredibly lucky this time. Using his biotics beyond the limit could have caused a brain haemorrhage, killing him in battle. This needs to be done for his own good."
"Doctor I believe this follows that old human idiom you taught me. "Damned if you do, damned if you don't."
"Have some faith in my Liara, Nate will be fine under my care. It's fortunate that we have the equipment aboard the ship. Dr Chase, can you prep Commander for surgery. This time Liara I'm going to need you to leave this area."
"That's fine Doctor, I think I'll go and rest."
I left the medical area and entered the mess. I had not noticed that most of the crew had gathered outside of the med-bay. All had the same concerned look on their faces, worried that their CO and his second in command were both in danger. Garrus stepped forward.
"What did the Doctor have to say?" he asked.
"Lt. Shepard is going to be fine. However, she suffered a lot of injuries and it's likely she won't be cleared to combat for a few weeks. As for Commander Anderson… time will tell."
"What do you mean time will tell?" Bakari asked.
"Is he in critical condition?" Emmerson said.
"Is he going to wake up?" Barret wondered.
"What do we tell the Alliance?" Pakti asked.
"What do we tell the Council?" Lowe demanded.
A flurry of question were all thrown in my direction and I had no idea how to respond. They all had questions they wanted, no, demanded to be answered and I do not know what to say to them. I don't know what to tell them.
"That's enough!" Garrus shouted, thereby gaining the attention of the crewmates that were gathered.
"We need to get focused, just because Anderson is out of commission, it doesn't mean this mission is too. We need to push forward and keep this ship running. Because when Nate wakes up, he's going to want the ship in top condition, and he's going to want to know that we can take care of ourselves when he's not around! So let's just keep doing our jobs, and trust Dr Chakwas to do hers."
"Who put you in charge? What makes you think we'll follow a Turians orders, it's one of yours that caused all of this. It was one of you that killed Lt Alenko!" Tanaka spat.
Oh no, I didn't think it would come to this. Tanaka was, according to Nathan, one of the older generation. He was there during the First Contact War, and his hatred of Turians was deep.
"This is what happens when we do aliens bidding. We listen to the Council and it's our own that get killed. Then the Council will take our sacrifice for granted, and use it to discredit us. So answer me this question aliens." He said, looking at Wrex, Garrus, Tali and I. "Just why should we trust you?"
His tone seemed to resonate with some of the crew, as shown by their approving nods and grunts.
Dammit Nathan, I was afraid that something like this would happen eventually. You're anti-Council rhetoric is coming back to bite you, and it could potentially be what creates a wedge between the humans and the us.
I can't stand by and let this damage us. We have grown too close and too focused for us to falter now.
"Because we are all risking our lives for yours and our own individual species. We go out there, planet after planet, battlefield after battlefield. Fighting for each and every life that's out there in the galaxy," Garrus began.
"The reapers are a threat to all life in existence. They do not care whether we are human or not, they will kill us all. That is what Sovereign said. We have all grown to care about this crew and we are willing to die for you, regardless of whether you appreciate this or not," I continued.
"I don't care about your validation or you appreciation and I don't give a shit what the Council has to say. They're a bunch of pyjack shitslingers." Wrex added.
"We don't just help in battle. We have all gotten to know and care about you through being a part of the crew. The engineering department has become like family to me. We all interact with the rest of the crew as much as we can and we have given our all to this mission."
"But not enough to save Lt. Alenko," Tanaka spat.
"Now that's enough. Tanaka, these aliens you're so angry at have done just as much for this mission, if not more than most of us aboard this ship. We wouldn't be where we are without Wrex's experience, Tali's tech skills, Liara's knowledge and Garrus' tactical ability. Take it from me, I have gone into battle with them and I would gladly put my life in any of their hands. They are the best soldiers I've ever had the pleasure of fighting alongside with. Don't you dare question their commitment."
"You have fed into Council propaganda Chief Williams," he said putting extra emphasis on her rank. "I stand for the Alliance and humanity, and I know in my heart that we don't need their kind to find Saren. We can just take the best and brightest of the Alliance like Anderson and Shepard, and find the son of a bitch!" he roared
He seems to be getting more and more support from the crew, they were getting more and more vocal. The way he's whipped them into a frenzy, I fear they may completely turn against us.
Tanaka is using Kaidan's death to rationalise his hatred of aliens. The crew have all improved in terms of racial tolerance, but the emotions they feel because of Kaidan's death could cause them to revert.
"This isn't what we need right now. I understand that the loss of Kaidan has us all reeling, but we cannot allow his death to be used to Saren's advantage. Kaidan died so that we could deal a critical blow to Saren. Because of his sacrifice Saren doesn't have a Krogan army."
"Why didn't you save him!"
"There was a choice to be made. We were in a position where we could only save either Lt. Alenko or Lt. Shepard. Cmdr. Anderson chose to save Shepard. Kaidan pushed the Commander to save Rylee. He sacrificed himself so that Rylee, the crew and the whole galaxy could have a chance to live. We cannot pervert his sacrifice by letting the pain we all feel drive a wedge between us. We need to come together and be there for one another. We need to focus on the task at hand and we will stop Saren. If not for the mission, ourselves or even the galaxy. Then let's stop Saren for Kaidan."
I could see the approving smile from Wrex, Garrus, Ashley and other crewmates, whilst there were nods from Tali and others. The majority seemed to be on my side, however that minority may prove problematic in the future.
"T'Soni is right," Pressly called out from the staircase.
"Charles…" Tanaka began
"Stop right there Tanaka. I heard the entire exchange and Vakarian is right too."
Tanaka's disbelief was evident. Pressly was one of the older guard but his disdain for aliens was very mild in comparison to Tanaka.
"I happened to be upstairs minding my business, doing my job. When I realised that there were only a handful of us upstairs," he began, drawing sheepish looks on the crewman's faces.
"What the hell are you all doing here!? Don't you have stations to be manning and jobs to be doing. Last I checked this is a military frigate. Get your asses in gear and that is an order from the XO," he said putting emphasis on his rank, whilst facing Tanaka.
The crowd began dispersing at Pressly's orders. A queue formed at the lift for people waiting to return to engineering and many either went upstairs or back to the crew quarters. In the end, only the combat crew and Pressly remained.
"Sorry about Raymond. He lost his sister during the First Contact War. Turians tortured her for information."
"Goddess, that's terrible. But that doesn't excuse what he did here, he tried to use Kaidan's death to further his anti-alien agenda," I replied.
"It probably would've worked if it weren't for you Doctor. Your speech is what placated the group. I wanted to see what you guys really felt about the mission and what you thought of the crew. You proved to me that Anderson was right to put his trust in Nate, and he was right to trust you guys."
"Thank you Pressly," I replied.
"That idiot Tanaka is going to keep going, you realise that right?" Wrex questioned.
"Let's leave that to Commander Anderson. When he finds out about what Tanaka did, I think he's going to wish that you killed him Wrex," Ashley said.
"The lot of you get some rest, what happened on Virmire was clearly exhausting. Get some sleep and let us take care of the ship."
We all wordlessly followed his orders and returned to our respective quarters. I couldn't return to the med-bay since Dr Chakwas still had it locked down
Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel Wards
It was a regular morning in the wards. It wasn't too hot or too cold, but it was just average. The smell of alcohol was thick in the artificial air and the after effects of a night out in the wards was in full view. Shattered bottles littered the ground, as did mangled cans and dried blood. Puddles of vomit littered the ground as well as the unmistakable smell of piss, making this a very unbecoming location for a meeting.
It might be why the potential recruit chose this location, to try and get me out of my comfort zone. Little did he know I have been in far worse places than this.
Unfortunately for the face of the Syndicate, the prospective recruit just wasn't going to budge.
"I'm sorry that our offer isn't tempting enough to persuade you, Mr Taylor," Helena said, as they both stood up from the bench.
"The Alliance may not be perfect, but at least they have a moral compass. I can't work for a mercenary company."
"If you could be patient, you could speak to one of our benefactors, I'm certain he could change your mind," I assured. It wasn't public knowledge that Nathan Anderson was the one behind the Syndicate, so I wasn't willing to let people know willy-nilly.
"What, you think some rich snob who's never fought a day in his life, and thinks you can solve any problems by throwing money at it is going to make a better case than you," he sneered.
"You couldn't be more wrong about him, or has someone else made you an even better offer, hm… Cerberus perhaps?"
"We're done here," he snarled before walking away into the Wards.
I couldn't help but sigh at the loss of Jacob Taylor, he was highly recommended and a tremendous soldier. He could have proved useful to the Syndicate and potentially the fight against Saren.
Working under Anderson wasn't as difficult as I had initially thought. At first, I had detested the thought of being forced to work under anyone and immediately started planning to kill him.
However, that all changed after two events. The first of which was the acquisition of RED Security and his reasons for doing so. They seemed genuine and true. It showed a surprising amount of compassion from the Butcher of Torfan and former 10th Street RED. He had me buy out shops and buildings and asked that I had them renovated. He wanted to give the kids something else to do outside of being in a gang.
At first I thought he was foolish, but in the brief period that he's enabled kids from Earth to come to Amaranthine to receive training to become security guards, we have had 600 recruits. It's forced me to buy up other small security firms across the galaxy just to accommodate. Seeing the change, he's made in their lives has been amazing, especially the one time he made an appearance. The way those young men and women looked at him, worshipping him and hanging on his every word, proved to me that he has done the right thing.
The second was when he forwarded me the information on Saren, the geth and Sovereign and it was frightening. I was very sceptical at first, but when you connect the dots, it all made sense. It was incredibly outlandish, but it made more sense than any other alternative. It helped me understand why he's so obsessed with this mission. He's scared of what could happen if he fails.
"I hear you have a vacancy," an adult male said from the shadows.
"Mr Rivera, what are you doing eavesdropping on my conversation."
"Skip this little game you love playing and let's cut to the chase."
I raised my eyebrow in surprise. He had been staying in his room on the Citadel, going to the gym and nothing else. According to his extranet history, he spent most of his time either catching up on current events, reading about the Normandy crew, researching TIM, or perhaps the most depressing of all. Stalking his wife on social media and looking at what his kids look like now.
"OK."
"I want in."
"Not possible, Nathan would never allow it."
"I'm not asking Nate, I'm asking you. Nate is afraid that I'm old and frail, once he sees that I'm in top condition he won't care."
"That may have been the Nate you knew, but he has changed since then."
"So have I… I need to do this, I need to do something important again. I can't go back to the Alliance, I can't trust anyone there. But I do trust Nate. If what I remember is true, he always wants to do the right thing, he sometimes goes about doing it the wrong way. Could explain this mob he's created."
I chose to bite my tongue at the last part of this sentence. He didn't create this Syndicate, he took it. I made it as big as what it is now. The other two were idiots who happened to get drunk and fall in line with my plans, albeit temporarily.
"Just because you think you need to join, it doesn't mean you should… Go to Huerta Memorial and seek help Manuel, I think that's what you need most right now."
He scrunched his nose slightly and narrowed his eyes, aiming daggers in Helen direction. Despite his facial expression, his body language conveyed a man who was defeated and near the end of his rope.
"What I need is for people to stop telling me what's best for me. I may have been gone for 9 years, I didn't become a 9-year old," he said so quietly that I could barely hear him speak.
Letting him the fold would be a huge mistake. It wouldn't help his situation, in fact the things we would have him do could potentially push him off the deep end.
"I can't let you join but I can help you. Here are some coordinates for a planet called Amaranthine. We need former military personnel. You will serve as an instructor to potential recruits."
"What?"
"Commander Anderson had it set up so that former gang members can have something to do other than kill one another. You would be shaping a lot of people's lives and changing them for the better, I think that would qualify as important, don't you?" I said after sending the coordinates to his omni-tool.
I didn't wait for his reply and walked away with these parting words. "You have 8 days to reply. Make the right choice."
Location: SSV Normandy SR-1
Once the crowd dispersed I opted to go into Nathan's quarters to rest. No one would disturb me, and the only person who would come in, is the person I want to see most. I opened the door, expecting to see a clean, tidy military room. Instead what I found was an absolute mess. Datapads and papers littered his desk and the floor. Shirts and bottoms were hanging from his wardrobe, bedpost desk chair and food packaging all over the place. No wonder he spends so much time touring the ship, his room is a sty.
I shook my head and immediately began to tidy up. I grabbed a big empty bag and threw all his dirty clothes into it, and filled another with his rubbish. The entire time I felt annoyed, I am not his housekeeper. So as soon as he wakes up, we are going to have a long talk about his room.
"Nice speech by the way, very moving," I heard an unfamiliar voice praise. Instinctively I called forth my biotics and I was ready to attack. When I turned around I saw no one.
"Don't attack, I'm not going to attack you," the voice declared, before the person walked out of Nathan's wardrobe.
It was the boy we rescued back on the Citadel, the same one I spotted when we returned from Virmire. How did he get aboard the ship?
"Kai, was it?"
"Yes, and your name is Liara," he replied as if it was obvious. "Now are we done stating the obvious," he stated. He's much ruder than I remember.
"What are you doing here?" I inquired.
"Won wasn't too happy with Commander Anderson leaving me on the Citadel so he asked me to get back on the ship."
"And how did you do that?"
"I walked," he sneered. "Are you sure you're a doctor?"
I opted to ignore the remark and keep questioning him, "This is a SPECTRE's ship and Nate had the doors locked as soon as the last crewman was aboard. I was with him and I never saw you once."
"Then maybe I got on before the two of you, ever thought of that."
This child is starting to aggravate me, his mocking tone and his sneering do him no credit. "What was your next step, you've been aboard for over three days without revealing yourself. Why now?"
"I was told to wait until the time was right to reveal myself, now's the best that I could think of."
"Couldn't you have waited for Nate to wake up?"
"Do I have to do all of the thinking myself," he rolled his eyes.
"You are an incredibly challenging child, you realise that don't you," I groaned.
"Tell me something I don't know"
"My window of opportunity is rapidly closing so I need to act now."
"You are not being very clear."
"And you aren't letting me finish… ha that's what she said," he countered before chuckling to himself.
I had to tilt my head and think about the joke, it's probably a human idiom. Likely a childish one. "How old are you?"
"10 wait no… 12," he corrected himself. "Don't make fun of me lady, I've probably had sex with more people than you could count," he jabbed. It was clearly a lie but I couldn't help but smile at his expense.
"Okay, fine can you can finish your explanation."
"Yes… what was I saying…oh yeah. I heard whoever's in charge now say that this ship is going to head towards Earth. That is both very good and very bad."
He looked at me expecting me to ask him a question but I wasn't going to be baited by him so I bit my tongue. He scowled a little, annoyed I wasn't playing his little game.
"'Why is that very good and very bad?'" he said in a high-pitched voice "Why I'm glad you asked Liara," he said whilst nodding towards me.
The little show managed to make me giggle "It's very good because the relay network to Novaria is identical to Earth up until you reach the Exodus Cluster. At that point I need you to convince whoever is in charge at that time to go to Novaria, instead of Earth."
I gave him a gesture that implied 'carry on'. "Novaria is very time sensitive. Saren has already sent his people there to collect what he needs and if you hadn't gone to Virmire, you would have intercepted them."
"Don't remind me of that cursed planet!" I shouted, causing Kai to back down.
"I'm sorry, I know you lost someone there… I didn't mean to…" his cockiness and disdain were gone, and instead I saw a more regretful, compassionate boy in front of me.
"Forget about it, can you continue with your explanation."
"Apparently there is an informant on Novaria. Saren has managed to finally find them and smart money says he'll kill them to prevent you guys from getting the same info."
"And just why should I believe you?"
"Because I'm here. If what was happening on Novaria wasn't important I wouldn't have blown my cover. I would've waited for you people to return from Virmire. Hell I was going to do that before Won ordered me to get on the ship. The plan was for you guys to take me to Novaria, then go to Virmire. Some plan that was, Won," he mocked.
"Your cover?"
"That's something I can't answer. We are going to reach the Exodus Cluster in 12 hours. So, I need you to convince Nate to go to Novaria not Earth."
"What if Nate isn't awake by then?"
"That's where I come in," he said before reaching into his pocket and taking out what appeared to be a bean.
"What's this?" I said taking the bean from his hand.
"It's a drug that the Magi developed. Much better than medi-gel but much more dangerous if overused. It will heal him completely, it's what you people call a miracle drug."
"Am I meant to take your word on it?"
"I was hoping you wouldn't say that," he uttered before jamming something sharp into my stomach.
I looked down and saw my blood falling onto the floor, painting it blue. I collapsed to the ground applying pressure to the stab wound.
"You should have just taken my word for it otherwise the demonstration wouldn't have been necessary."
I could hardly breathe, let alone move. It felt like my insides were being dragged out of my belly. I felt the puncture, but I didn't feel anything else until I was on the ground. The knife it feels hot, its burning in fact. It's scorching my insides and I'm in too much pain to even scream.
That was before he took the knife out of my stomach and allowed the blood to flood on to the floor. The pain of a knife going in is nothing compared to that of one coming out.
"Take the drug," he instructed.
I didn't have much of a choice at that point, if he was willing to stab me, then he's willing to let me bleed out on the floor. I opened my mouth and let him pop the bean into my mouth. I chewed the bland bean for a few seconds before swallowing it.
Miraculously, the boy was right. After a few seconds, I couldn't even feel the pain of the knife he had removed. My breathing was perfectly fine and I felt as I did before. Actually, I felt even better than I felt before. I'm not tired from the mission anymore and I feel like I could comfortably go into another battle and win.
I grabbed the boy with my biotics and threw him against the wall. "Are you out of your mind. What if the drug didn't work on asari? What if I was allergic to what was in it? You almost killed me!"
After all the battles, the skirmishes and the trauma I've been through over the past few months, the closest I came to death was at the hands of this child. The damage to my pride is more potent than that stab wound.
"In my defence… it worked," he could feel the pressure of my biotics increase, evidence by his facial expression.
"That's your only rebuttal. It worked," I seethed before applying even more pressure, causing him to scream.
It was his scream that brought me back to sanity. Goddess, I'm about to kill a child.
"Alright I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have gone for something so fatal."
I let him fall to the ground without bracing him. To his credit, he stood up gingerly and he didn't appear angry at me for what I had done. In fact, he appears to have more respect for what I did than anything.
"I guess that makes us sort of even."
I was too in awe of my newfound stamina and endurance to be hung up on what he did. The Magi truly have a miracle drug on their hands, it not only stopped the bleeding, but healed the wound completely. I don't feel like anything is wrong with my insides, but I should go see Dr Chakwas regardless
If what Kai said is true, then it's application in medicine is immeasurable. They possess the cure for soldiers who suffer from fatal injuries, anyone who have been the victims of assault or accidents. This is amazing.
"Give it to Nate in 6 hours, I don't want anyone thinking anything suspicious is going on."
"This is a surprisingly well thought out plan for a 12-year-old."
"Thank the Magi for that one. They trained me to be this way. If you think I'm impressive you should see what the Hanar are like. The things they teach their drell are out of this world"
"So, what now?"
"I'm going to have to reveal myself. It'll give Nate another reason to go to Novaria over Earth. And I've been getting bored of sneaking around. At least now I can talk to people outside of radio communication with that prick, Won."
Hi thanks for reading it up to this point. There's not much left in this story and I'm hoping to have it finished within the next few months.
I really want to know peoples opinions on Kai and Won so if you could tell me I'd really appreciate it.