The Tracker of Goliath
Chapter 5
Theron didn't need a cloak to be invisible; neither ugly nor beautiful based on his readings of facial expressions, not one eye could double take.
It made his job so much easier than if he'd been ripped from a Fornax catalog, and unlike appearance, his skills never diminished.
Due to what his race called Insomnia, he left the apartment and strolled through the art district of Tayseri Ward. Here, the beauty was the district itself, not the advertisements dominating each other Ward.
Musicians, painters, authors, directors and designers of all crafts and forms contributed to this heavily damaged part of the station. Sculptors took crushed metals and built statues out of them, commemorating the lives lost for the Galaxy.
Theron was one of a lucky few who remained isolated to most of the conflict, but his admiration of the people who lived through it knew no bounds. His lack of talent in creating art only gave him more respect to all the amazing minds that conveyed so much from rock, words, and images.
Once he completed his job, he would need to continue his studies of the world he stood in. For now, he paid more attention to the Geth workers nearby.
The Geth being a homogenous sentient race, had a surprising amount of variety when it came to their species, but most of the time, it'd be four units moving in sync.
Tonight, the group he saw consisted of four units and a Colossus. Previously used for destroying heavily armoured vehicles, the four legged behemoth was converted to hauling the largest of materials. Metals, concrete, chemicals, anything heavy.
Theron recalled part of the documents that Krios gave him, information the officer received from the Council.
When the Geth took over the Keeper's duty, they'd update the Council with routes of the station. Due to how much construction is happening on the Citadel at all times, the Geth sometimes make adjustments to their directions; because of how the Geth uniquely process information, they're unable to provide the Council with a live feed of their movements.
This is how Goliath could get away with his squads of Geth, unless they entered an unused part of the station, Goliath's minions could take any path they wanted and the public assumes they're labor workers.
Theron asked one favor from C-Sec and within the hour, midnight workers supplied him with the latest pre-planned Geth routes. He arrived at Tayseri not long after, spotting this Geth squad almost immediately, and began following.
He glanced at his Omni-tool, seeing that the Geth squad in front hadn't deviated from their predetermined course.
Theron re-considered being here, the statistical odds of stumbling upon one of Goliath's shipments weren't insurmountable but they were improbable. He could've stayed in his apartment and focus on searching for information in private.
Theron was used to having everything given to him, people normally had the materials to accomplish their goals while lacking the ability to use them effectively, and that's where he came in.
This situation with Goliath was different, no information existed. All he knew were Goliath exists, it's synthetic, it controls every culture of crime on the Citadel, and everyone is horrified by it.
For a piece of technology, it understood fear very well, and how much it damages the organic mind. How incapable it is to resolve such emotions, resulting in poor decisions.
Decisions a Synthetic mind wouldn't make, unless commanded. That could be the only explanation for the Colosess to veer off of its course.
Theron's feet sped up, his eyes surveyed the area, left forearm beamed with light emitting from the holographic computer as it displayed the Geth's supposed path.
Tayseri Ward was one of the most heavily populated on the station, but all locations have their shadows and the Geth stomped into one of them. Instead of heading straight and going past the refurbished Concert Hall, it steered left.
Theron glanced at his map, detailing every building on Tayseri. Left from the Concert Hall was the Memorial, high-rise apartments, and a few human history districts that were closed.
Theron couldn't conceive a single logical reason why a Geth squad would head in this direction, and nothing blocked the Synthetic's predestined course. He didn't know what these machines were doing, regardless if they were under Goliath's control or not, this disturbed the Tracker.
Theron found himself gravitate towards the Geth's direction, mirroring its path, walking down a near vacant block, apartment windows blurred and absent of light set above the mechanical slaves. His target's feet clacked in unison, the lone contributors to the sound waves in this street.
That changed, Theron's ears picked up on a sudden, but soft echoing whistle, followed by a ping that could only be processed for a split second. The ping emitted off of the tank on the Geth's carrier. The tank exploded into a hail of fire; the colossus was reduced to a shower of sparks, metal and hydraulic fluid. Apartment windows shattered, concrete crumbled and Theron's feet left the ground.
Ears rang, eyes burned, and back cracked as he slammed into a pillar; shocked, his body failed to breathe, lungs struggle to gather the oxygen required.
People screamed, children ran, sirens wailed and Theron didn't hear any of it. White noise and a slow beating heart flooded his auditory senses. The fire dissipated, replaced with smoke and chemicals, Theron could taste it as he gaged for air.
Air that he wouldn't have for much longer.
Not if it remained like this.
For once, in a long time.
Theron was terrified…
