Of Lies and Loves
You cannot believe that after everything they did, that they want to do that. Lara was in rare form as she sat. That there is no ulterior motive.
She was too agitated to speak through the orb and Jak was soothing her the best he could. He too was upset, but nowhere close to her level.
Lara had been more than a little upset by the intrusion into Jak's recovery room. Before the intruding quarian managed to say another word beyond inquiring whether or not Korri might be interested in performing a rite of passage, Lara had summoned a nurse who had blown her top in a display that mixed professionalism with utter outrage. Said nurse had quickly summoned security who had escorted the quarian away.. They had been consummate professionals as well, but the very idea of someone intruding into a private recovery ward was bad enough. The fact that he had lied about his intentions to get in was worse.
The only good news was that a reply had come quickly from the quarians. The note from Admiral Shala'Raan sad that Elan'Shiya was indeed in medical care and expected to make a full recovery. Included in the note was a description of the quarian who had attacked the doctor and it was nothing like Perrin'Shiya, so that at least was cleared up. Jak had been a bit worried about some kind of sneaky trick to gain Korri's trust. That was exactly the kind of thing that intelligence types were known to do. All was fair in war after all, even when people were not at war. At least to some intelligence types.
I don't know. Korri's mental voice was subdued. Her songs never stopped in her mind, but now, they were muted by her anxiety. I mean, I always wanted to do my pilgrimage. I always considered myself a member of the Fleet. Even when they wanted nothing to do with me. Otherwise, why would they keep me around? I was a drain on resources.
"Well, that is over." Jak shook his head as he looked around the quarters that the Initiative had given him.
Most of the colonists-to-be had already been shipped up to Ark Hyperion. The ship was almost completely finished. Only a few last checks were still to be done, and no one was scrimping on those. After all, they would be a long way from any possibility of help. Despite all of the new and in many cases, experimental tech involved, no glaring flaws had been found in the designs and the crew were almost itching to get underway. Another couple of weeks and Jak might have been out of luck trying to get in.
With Garson's and Ryder's active assistance, Jak, Korri and Lara and worked to refine the plan that Jak had come up with. The basic plan was for the trio to fly out on the Hyperion. The stasis systems that the Initiative used would work for all three of them. The problem was that Korri could not eat the same things that Jak and Lara took for granted, so leaving her on a human ship was essentially a one way ticket to starvation, not something that anyone wanted to contemplate. That left aside the fact that human medicine wouldn't work on quarians and vice versa. So, Jak had gotten sneaky.
It was a well known fact that in every group of sentients, there was always at least one who was a scrounger. The fixer. The one who could be relied on to get things that no one else could. Said scrounger might not always be trustworthy, but they were almost always tolerated for their ability to get stuff from outside the normal channels. That wasn't to say they were not watched like hawks by everyone, security included. Things tended to disappear in such people's presence and not show up again.
None of the trio was a scrounger, but the plan called for a shuttle to appear as if a scrounger had used it for storage. If security found a shuttle filled with quarians foodstuffs and medicine, they would likely react with suspicion, but not destroy it out of hand because most of the dexto protein materials could also be used by turians, who had an entire ark of their own. The security troops would search their files for where the shuttle had come from and find out that it had been detailed for Ark Natanus, the turian ark and wound up on the Hyperion instead. Such mixups had and did happen in every large organization so they would investigate, but not find anything on who it belonged to. So supplied would be available when Korri was 'found' aboard.
The shuttle would be an Initiative one, at least on the outside and to every scan. It would take a highly detailed search of the shuttle to find the hidden compartment that was being built into it. Since the work was being done in a hangar bay on Illia's small ship, it as highly unlikely that anyone would see the small differences inside unless they knew what to look for. Even then, with a geth consensus living in the main data storage unit and a small stasis pod containing a rachni egg also aboard, Jak wanted to take no chances. He would be there when the shuttle was delivered.
I still consider myself a member of the Fleet, Jak. Korri protested. I still… feel for the Fleet. You still feel for Earth, no?
"I do." Jak admitted. Lara was shaking her head savagely and Jak just held her. "Lara… Lara. I know you are upset after everything. I am too. God knows, we have cause. But this is Korri's choice. Not ours."
I… I know. Lara admitted a bit sheepishly. I am sorry, Korri. I see you so hurt and want to help. But I cannot wrap you in bandages and keep you safe from all harm. It wouldn't work and would likely hurt you worse.
You think I will complain that you are kind to me? Korri asked, stunned.
"Some would." Jak said with a sigh. Then he chuckled. Lara looked at him and he smiled. "All anyone would need to do to prove I am crazy is to listen in on me now. I am having a conversation with two people and they will only hear one voice."
Lara stared at him and then chuckled, her anger finally fading as she relaxed. She snuggled closer to him and then stiffened again.
"Lara?" Jak asked.
People at the door. Lara said quickly. I cannot hear them, but they are there.
Handy skill. One of these days, you need to show me how to do that. Jak did not hesitate even as he spoke in his mind. He moved to a table and picked up the pistol he had laid there when he had tried to calm Lara. He checked it without taking his eyes off the door. An incline of his head and Lara moved to the side, out of the line of fire.
The door chimed, echoing oddly loud in the silence and Jak frowned. A snatch team wouldn't likely use the door chime. Then he nodded, moving the pistol behind his back.
"Yes?" He called.
"Mister Collains, Miss Lara?" There was nothing wrong with the voice, but something made Jak's hackles go up. Way up. "Pathfinder Ryder asked us to speak with you. May we come in?"
Jak looked at Lara who shrugged. She moved to a chair, one that coincidentally had an Avenger rifle leaning against its back. Said rifle was set convenient to grab, just out of the line of sight from the door. He didn't want Lara in harm's way, but he knew better than to try to get her to retreat. She was not wilting flower, his wife to be. She sat and nodded as she folded her hands in her lap, ready to grab the weapon if needed. Jak hoped it wasn't.
"Come in." Jak said calmly, holding his pistol behind his back.
The door hissed open and two beings stepped in. A salarian and a turian wearing the blue and white of the Andromeda Initiative. Neither of them were known to Jak. Both looked at him and then at Lara before nodding to Jak and showing empty hands that they kept still. There wasn't anything wrong about them, but there was. There was a feel that Jak got from both that he really didn't like. The salarian was calm. The turian looked at Jak, then at Lara and he could swear the alien as amused. As if he found the scene both tactically correct and funny.
"A certain amount of paranoia is completely understandable in your situation, Mr. Collains." The salarian said calmly. He knew Jak had a weapon. He had to. But he wasn't upset or even worried. Then again, salarians were very fast. He might be able to draw and fire before Jak could. Lara might or might not get her weapon out and aimed in time, but the turian-… The salarian coughed as Jak eyed him. "Before you do anything rash, we are not enemies. We work for the Initiative now. We didn't always."
"Let me guess." Jak said slowly. "STG?"
The Salarian Special Tasks Group were the meat and bones of the salarian military. They were not an army like other races might field. Oh, they did fairly well in the few conventional engagements that they had been involved in but that wasn't their best use. Salarians were not built to take punishment. They did not rely on holding ground and trading hammer blows with enemies to win like turians and humans did. Oh no. For a salarian, the absolute best kind of war was the one that was over before it started. Decapitation strikes, quiet -and sometimes not so quiet- assassinations, sabotage, all kinds of tricks that humans would consider 'black bag' or 'clandestine' salarians took for granted as normal operating procedure. Needless to say, they made for very uncomfortable allies. If they decided you were a liability? They would leave you hanging with your shorts in the breeze. Or worse.
"Many salarians work for STG, Mr Collains." The salarian said quietly. "Matter of fact, most do. Not all realize it, but almost every salarian has had some dealing with the group. So, yes. I was STG." Perfectly true and perfectly honest. So why were the hairs on Jak's neck standing up as if he was about to be painted by surface to air fire?
"And your colleague?" Jak asked, not moving.
"I did my time." The turian replied. "I got a nice fat pension and sat on a beach. Then I got bored." Jak raised an eyebrow and the turian smiled. "Don't believe me?"
"I didn't deal a lot with Alliance Intelligence." Jak said slowly. "But I did on occasion. I got the same feel from some of them as I get from you two. What do you want with a busted up crazy pilot and his nutso girlfriend?"
You will pay for that one later, Mr. Collains. Lara sent in a sweet mental voice. Jak fought hard to control his wince.
"Would it help if I told you I talked with a man named Hackett?" the salarian asked softly. Jak froze and the alien nodded. "He told me to tell you: Code Red-Blue, Tau Seven."
"Odin's Beard." Jak had his pistol up and aimed at the salarian now, but neither of the aliens reacted.
Jak? Lara pleaded, not daring to move for fear of drawing attention.
Don't distract him! Korri warned. If these are intelligence operatives, you are both in grave danger!
"You are not." The turian said and slowly raised a hand to tap his visor. "I cannot hear her, but the orb is resonating with her words even when it does not transmit them. You might want to get that looked at."
If anything, the sudden revelation that their communication was not un-tappable made Jak stiffen further. He did not shift his aim from the salarian who nodded slowly.
"Countersign is Ragnarok. He said you would know what that means." The salarian said calmly. Jak exhaled and slowly relaxed. He did not lower his weapon. It was no surprise when the salarian smiled a little. "I see your training was thorough, Lieutenant."
"That code was a worst case scenario." Jak said flatly. "Ragnarok is an ancient human myth about the end of the world." Jak slowly shook his head and even more slowly, safetied his pistol and lowered it. "What do you know?"
"Our governments may deny the Reapers are coming." The turian said quietly. "But evidence is mounting. Even the most hidebound and narrow minded politician will eventually see the truth when it stands up and slaps them in the face. The only question is, what will be left afterwards?"
"So the Initiative is a backup plan?" Jak asked.
"Not an official one." The salarian replied. "Officially, Reapers are a myth." He made a face. "A myth that just caused Commander Shepherd to destroy a mass relay in batarian space."
"What?" Jak stammered, stunned out of his mind. Mass relays were the cornerstone of galactic civilization. They were huge and well nigh impervious to almost any known weapon. "How the hell…?"
"We don't know." The turian said with sigh. "What we do know is that life in the Arahot system no longer exists and Shepherd apparently did it." He shook his head. "When we spoke to Hackett, he said that we needed to go. Now."
"The batarians are going to go ballistic." Jak said weakly. The others nodded. "Are we ready?" Jak asked, looking from one to the other.
"Almost." The turian said with a nod. "Thing is, we have no idea what we are getting into. We have no idea of the trip is even possible." Jak nodded. "But if it is, and we can… Then even if the Reapers come, we can save something."
"It won't be much and we will have no support at all. But it is more than the protheans managed." The salarian said with a nod.
"So… what do a pair of 'not currently' spooks want with me?" Jak asked softly. Lara made a motion and he shook his head. "Us."
"You and your mate are the only two humans in the Initiative that we can be totally sure are not affiliated with Cerberus. We asked Hackett and he gave us an unofficial and off the record briefing." The salarian said quietly. Jak stiffened and the alien nodded. "Cerberus would dearly love to get people into this project."
"They have tried." The turian interjected. "We don't think they have succeeded, but we don't know."
"You can't know for sure." Jak mused. "They are sneaky as hell."
"Which brings us to you." The salarian nodded to Jak and Lara. "You two have no love for Cerberus. The Initiative is a civilian organization, but we have no idea what we are flying into in Andromeda."
"What?" Jak asked snidely. "You don't think they will greet us as gods?"
"Such things rarely end well." The salarian said with a small smile. "We can hope for the best, but only fools do not plan for the worst. We will need to have information gathering." Jak just looked at him and the salarian nodded. "And yes, probably more."
"I am not a soldier anymore." Jak said mildly. "And frankly? Even if I can fly, we won't have weapons on our ships. The Council won't allow that."
"We are allowed fighter craft and personal weapons for self defense." The turian nodded. "But you are right. This is totally a civilian operation so no armed spacecraft larger than fighters. No armored vehicles. No heavy weapons. We are explorers, not an army."
"And if Cerberus did manage to get a team aboard…?" Jak mused.
"Then we get to Andromeda and find ourselves in a world of hurt." The salarian agreed. "It wouldn't even take many of them to take control. Perhaps fifty at most, in the right places."
I cannot see them getting that many aboard through the screenings. Korri interjected. Both the salarian and turian nodded to that and Jak sighed.
"We have secrets that must remain secret." Jak warned. "I know intelligence officers are all about finding out secrets, but these cannot get out."
"We are both retired, Mr Collains." The turian said with a wide shrug. "This is probably simple paranoia, but you know 'spooks'."
"I do." Jak said dryly. "So what do you want from me?"
"You would keep your eyes and ears open anyway." The salarian replied. "Now? You know the stakes are higher. If others think this may be an escape from the Reapers, they might try to hijack it."
"Not that such would be easy even if Ryder doesn't get involved." The turian actually shuddered "That human is scary."
"Ryder asked me to run a preliminary class for pilots in a few days." Jak said with a nod. "I will keep an eye out. Lara and Korri will be in the medical wards and will be escorted at all times. Do I get your names or should I just call you 'Spook One' and 'Spook Two'?"
Both intelligence officers actually smiled at that. They had senses of humor? That put them three or four steps closer to sentient than most of the other operatives Jak had worked with.
"This meeting did not actually happen." The turian said simply. "We will meet again. I am actually in your class for a refresher on Kodiak systems. Haven't flown one of those in a few years."
"And of course, you won't say how many years." Jak finally holstered his pistol.
"Of course not." The turian moved towards the door and then paused. "The orb… it just receives, right?" Jak nodded. "Good. And of course, you won't say where you got it."
"Of course not." Jak waited until both had left the room before relaxing and letting out a deep breath. "Oh dear. Just what we fricking needed. Someone else to lie to."
They scare you. Lara rose, moved to where Jak stood and hugged him tight.
"Their kind lie for a living, Lara. They also have to do things that others find repugnant. Like kill in cold blood or worse. Some wind up enjoying it too much. Those? I don't know." Jak said quietly. "It is a bad job. I can actually see even some of those guys wanting to start fresh and the Initiative offers that. But geez..."
Enough. Lara took hold of Jak's hand and started pulling him toward the bedroom. Let tomorrow take care of tomorrow. Tonight. You are mine!
Ah… Korri stammered. I will… um.. leave you to that. Her mind vanished form the link. Not gone, just separated a bit for privacy.
If you peek, young quarian lady, you will find you are not too old to spank. Lara warned. There was no response, just a hint of wariness mixed with amusement. I mean it!
Jak sighed as Lara pulled him into the bedroom and then gave in. There were some things that it was simply better not to fight. When the wife-to-be was in the mood? She got what she wanted.
Period.