Hello this is Littleswiss and thank you for all of your support. 3500 views?! Misses and misters, you are all awesome! Thank you all! So without delay, here's chapter 9. Oh and mister, miss The Joining? To answer your question, I have absolutely no idea. I write what is in my head. So it can change a lot. Oh and thank you for your support.
I don't own mass effect , bioware does, only my character belong to me. It also applies to the reference in pop culture.
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Well the two weeks have already past. That was quick. The only problem is that who is going to bring baby-shepard to school? I think that Diana will have to do it, even if I'm disappointed that I can't. Well its' logical. I don't think that a krogan will be welcomed in school. I can already see everyone running away screaming like harpies. Yes, I think that Diana will do the job.
"I think it's best that I bring Jane to school." Well when we speak of the devil. I just look at her saying nothing. I just nod. Currently we are both standing in the lounge. She again is wearing her green hoodie and her black pants. Did she have a closet full of the same clothes or what?
"Is she ready or what?" I ask her. She just shrugs at that.
"You know, girls." She responds.
"You are a girl too you know?" I say to her. She opens her mouth to reply but she says nothing and looks behind me. I turn around to see my baby-shepard is ready. Damn, she's cute. She's wearing a little dress for 4 years old. It's red with white dots at the base and completely red at the top. And she has a white ribbon in her hand. She looks at us and asks:
"Can you put it in my hair please?" I start to walk but Diana beats me to it and retains me by the shoulder with her robot arm.
"Let me do it." She tells me while walking towards Jane. She kneels and takes the ribbon and starts, *cough* trying, to put it on her hair but fails. I can see she's frustrated. She try again for 1 another minute but fails again. I walk to her and nudge her to let me do it. She complies and I kneel in front of baby-shepard. I take the ribbon and start to tie it to her hair. It's a little bit tricky with only six fingers but after some time, I manage to make look like a bow.
"And done. Really Diana you have ten fingers and you can't tie a ribbon." I tell her. She looks upset. While Jane have her back to us, Diana give me the middle finger.
"Thank you dada!" baby-shepard exclaims. I pat her on the head, carefully to not mess with the ribbon.
"Well now it's time for you and Diana to go to school." I tell my daughter. She looks at me and asks.
"Why can't you come?"
"Well you remember how the people running away at the park?" I ask her and she nods. "The people at your future school will behave like that if I'm around."
"It's because you are big?" She asks innocently.
"Yeah, partially for that." And also for the fact that I'm a korgan. An alien, on earth. A big alien. Well I think it's time for Jane and Diana to go. I get up and tell them it's time. Diana walks up to Jane and held her hand. Jane takes it. They walk to the door and when they are about to walk through, Jane turn around and says:
"Bye dada."
"Bye Jane." I respond.
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After they left, I, too got out of the flat. I walked to the Tempest to drink. Fun story: after that I wiped the floor with the gang, the tenant of the bar gave me reduction for my drinks. The reasons? Apparently, the gang was controlling this sector of the shady parts. So to reward me of "liberating "the neighborhood, I got half-prizes. And I also got a reinforced barstool! Now I can sit. And that's what I'm currently doing with a bottle of ryncole in front of me. I take it and drink directly from the bottle. I'm minding my own business when suddenly I hear the front door open and I hear silence. Everybody in the bar stops talking and look at the strangers. Me? I don't move and keep drinking.
I hear someone sitting next to me. I glance at the person without moving my head and notice several things. One it's a man, two he orders a simple beer, three he's shaved his head recently and four he has a necklace. Conclusion: he's in the military. The necklace is his dog tags.
"So, what a marine of the alliance is doing in this part of town, in this bar and next to me?" I ask him between two drinks. He seems surprised that I could see his play.
"Well I see that they forgot to mention that you were also very perceptive." His voice is raspy and calm. He must be a veteran to be calm next to krogan.
"Who are they?" I ask
"Everyone in this neighborhood. And also a part of the underworld. You made quite an impression. It's not very often that a krogan mercenary is available." He answers. Well I didn't know that. But if he's talking to me, it means that he wants, more than his superiors want something from me.
"I think your military want something from me? Because I don't think you will be in this bar next to me."
"Correct again. So let's say that, hypothetically, an ancient veteran of the first contact war went rogue and disappear. He would have done things not very acceptable towards the turian army. So in a gesture of good faith, we decided to bring him to justice." Great, politics. I don't do that. But maybe I could do an exception, depends on the pay.
"And how many zero we talk about before the comma?" I ask.
"Let's say about 5 zeros." Woo, not bad but can do better.
"Add one more and you have a deal. Before you and your superiors can argue: One it concerns the turian and I think you have heard about our "little" history. Two I'm quite generous , because I could have demanded more. It's take it or leave it." I tell him. I can see by his face that he thinks about it. Finally, after some time, he nods.
"I think we have a deal, even if my superiors won't be happy about it." After he says that, he gets up, pay for the beer and before he leaves, he opens his omni-tool and sends me the coordinate of the zone where my target is.
"Oh and before I forget, we need him alive." And he walks away. I turn around to see him leave the bar. When he's out I see that everybody is looking at me.
"What are you looking at?" After I say that everyone go back to their business. I have a rogue military to catch. So let's see where he is. I assume he must be on earth, because the soldier wouldn't have come to see me.
… Well I think I'm going home. The whereabouts of my target are in Switzerland.
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Damn it, damn it, damn it! It has been 4 years since I arrived here and not once I thought about home, my ancient home. I feel horrible. It's like spat upon the grave of my ancient life. How can I forget about my family, my friends, my little sister… I miss all of them. I'm angry about myself and I think people can see it. The smuggler that I engage to take me to Switzerland is quiet and throws quick glances at me. Even if I'm angry, that doesn't mean that I didn't get me informed about the country. Apparently a few months after I "moved" the country was destroyed in a war and now all the country is controlled by the nature. It has become one of the biggest wild places on earth. I'm cut from my chain of thoughts by the pilot.
"We will arrive in 10 minutes sir." He tells me nervously. Last minute check. Shotgun, check. Armor and shield, check. Ok I'm good. While I'm approaching my destination, I look outside via the video screen that popped up. Well , the reports didn't lie. The place went back into the stone age. All I can see is trees , sometimes a clearing, but mostly trees. After some minutes, the pilot tells me that he starts to descend. And finally we are landing. The door opens and I jump out of the shuttle. And what greets me is my old hometown.
I don't hear the engines of the shuttle when it takes off. Right now a lot of memories rush to me. I remember the downtown, with the avenue, the shops and apartments on the sides. The high school where I got my degree. The train station where they were people a bit strange at night. But all of that is now replaced by some "new" building, of course they are not new but for me, they were not there when I was here. But of course like the rest, Mother Nature has taken its right. And ironically, I landed in my neighborhood.
I almost didn't recognize the place with all that vegetation. But after some more careful observations, I did. Same houses in the same order. I look at my left and what I see is my house. Ancient house. The roof is pierced by a big fir. The walls are cracked and half of the front have since long collapsed. The remaining walls are covered in moss. The windows are gone. The others houses are in the same state, some are worse. I start walking towards the opening and enter the house. I arrive at the room where the lounge were. I can see the remains of the TV, broken into a million pieces. Vegetation is everywhere. There is also a bird nest on the stove.
I look at my right to see the stairs that is surprisingly in a good shape, for an almost 2 hundred years old stairs of course. I cautiously put a foot on the first staircase and at first sight it can sustain my weight. I try with the next and the next and before I can realize, I'm already on the top of the stairs. Well I think that the roots that are on the roof on the ground floor are the one to sustain my weight. I stop thinking when I see the door that is in front of me. That's my door, the door of my bedroom. I slowly walk towards it and when I open it, it falls on the floor with a crack. I cannot see quite well I think that a lot of things flew from the now on the floor door. The room is the same as I remember, of course if you delete the vegetation and the mess.
I activate the flashlight on my omni-tool to see better and when I brought it upon the objects that fell from the door, I see a picture, a very specific plasticized picture. How can it be? It has been almost two hundred years and it's still there. I pick it up and look at it. Brown hair and brown eyes, two scars at the level of the eyes: it's me, laughing while I'm piggy back riding my little sister at the waterpark. Little sister even if she was taller than me. She…was… I see one drop falls on it, followed by a second one. I can take it anymore and start crying. She was… my little sister. They… were my family and they are not there anymore. I cry and cry.
"Hey, it's me… I don't think that you recognize me, I change a lot." I say between sobs." Now I'm really the big brother in all the terms." I breathe deeply. "I hope that you and the parents are in a better place, if there is a better place." I burst into crying again and keep crying for several minutes. Did they die in the war? Did they suffer? Did they…
Beep, beep, beep.
That noise is my omni-tool. I look at it and see that it's Diana that tries to contact me. I wipe my tears and take some deep breaths and answer.
"Garen where the hell…" She stops and looks at me. "Are those tears? Were you crying?!" She asks in disbelief.
"No, I'm just sweating from the eyes, that's all. It's a krogan thing." Ok I need to improve my bullshitting because she's frowning but I think she believes it, I hope.
"Ok so back to the question, where the hell are you?" She asks a little pissed.
"I'm working." I answer her.
"Where?"
"Switzerland." I respond. At that she frowns again and open her mouth.
"What are you doing there in that "jungle"?" She asks again. Politics "business "my dear, politics business. I tell her that with a movement of the head to make her understand and she catches on. But it doesn't change the fact that she's pissed.
"You know, I'm not the only one who's pissed off." After she says that, the image changes and her face is replaced by the pouting face of baby-shepard.
"Dada! You're not home!" she shouts with her tiny angry voice. Damn it I also forgot about that. Urgh, it was her first day of school and I wasn't home for her when she came back!
"I know sweetie, I know. And I'm terribly sorry for that." I need to find something to appease her. Think Garen, think! Bingo.
"And what about to forgive me when I return, that I give you something. How that's sound?" At that she stops pouting and look happy.
"Really? Tell me!" She asks.
"If I tell you, it will not be a surprise." I tell her. Well it's good and all but I have a veteran gone rogue to hunt.
"I need to go, sorry. Bye baby-shepard. Bye Diana." I hear Jane and in the background Diana say bye and I hung up the call.
Ok now that is taken care of, the hunt is on.
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Right now, I'm pissed off. First I saw some fresh footprints and start follow them. Second a bear attack me and by chance managed to disarm me, so I had to rip his lower jaw and pierced his skull with its own fangs. Three I almost was caught, twice, in a trap. Who the hell he thinks he is? Rambo? I'm cut from my thought when I hear the snap of a branch on my right. I immediately went for the bush, grab the someone or something pin it on the floor and put the barrel of my shotgun to its face. And surprise, it's my target. Damn he must have been here a long time, because his clothes are torn and patch up with animal skins and he has a beard.
"Well look you have two choices. The first is that you behave well while the person that engages me will arrive. Second you don't behave well and I need to beat you up with your own skull. Please choose the second option." I tell him menacingly. But I don't think he has all his head because his answer?
"That was not my war." … Really? You know what? I will shut my mouth. I grab him by the face and hit his head again the floor, knocking him out. I open my omni-tool to call my contractor and tell him the job was done. He tells me to wait while they arrive at my coordinates.
And one more job done, one.
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Phew I'm felling exhausted with all the emotions. When I came back to the flat, baby-shepard flung at me and hugged me. She released me and asked me about the surprise. Well, when I was tracking the veteran, I stumbled upon a rubix cube in good shape. Of course I gave it to reparation before I gave it to Jane. She also told me about her first day at school. The teacher is nice and she made some comrades (friends by her own words.). While I'm thinking that, I'm walking towards the Tempest and I stop in front of it. Did someone painted on the front wall next to the door? What's painted is an eye with yellow iris and the all with three verticals blood red slashes.
Wait what?
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And done. So what did you think? I hope that it's a little of character development. I don't really know how to do that so do not hesitate to tell me if it was good or what I can improve. If you can guess what the painting represent, you will have a space (fake) cookie. On a side note, if you want to visualize the town , go to google and write La Chaux-de-Fonds.
Do not hesitate to leave a review to comment or help me telling me what I can improve, thank you.
Sincerely,
Littleswiss.