In which Thane is upset, Feron curses, and Nihlus reappears. Don't look at me, I had no idea Mr. Dead-In-Three-Seconds Turian would be so important. Well, if the story wants to take me that way, I'll let it.

Chapter 6 – War

Nine days after Feron's visit, and it was another normal day. Kolyat would be home any minute, and Irikah had lunch ready and waiting for him. Thane was sitting at his place and thinking again. He wasn't all that deep in his thoughts when Kolyat's voice brought him out of them. "So get this. I heard from a friend that something happened at the border today."

Thane's eyes snapped open as Irikah spoke. "Oh? And what happened?"

"I don't know the details, but apparently, it's big. I- Dad?"

Thane had risen. "Living room, now." He walked in as his wife and son looked at each other. His hand immediately went to the remote, and he turned on the TV and flipped to the news.

His family came in and stood beside him as he watched the image on the screen: A column of black smoke rising above the tree line. His eyes narrowed as he listened to the report. "…Series of explosions rocked the southern outpost on the Palaven border earlier today. Officials are still trying to determine the cause of the blasts, which left the facility in ruins…"

"Do they really think the general public is that stupid? Why try to hide it in the first place?" Thane was muttering mostly to himself.

"What? Hide what?" Kolyat was looking back and forth between his father's face and the TV screen.

"Think, Kolyat," Thane said, the harshness in his voice not directed at his son, but at his own thoughts. "The Palaven border. Have the turians been very friendly lately?"

Irikah looked at him. "Thane, you're not saying…"

"And for some reason, they're trying to cover it up… Kolyat."

"Uh, yeah?" The younger man was still confused.

"Don't breathe a word of this when you go back to school, but we're at war."

"What!"

"That can't be," Irikah said, watching the screen. "That can't be it."

"It is. My leave is over. I'll be getting a call any minute now telling me exactly that." Thane set the remote back down on the table next to the couch.

"It makes no sense. If that was an attack, why would they keep that from us?"

"I'm asking that, myself. I'll be asking when I get that call, as well."

All three stared at the TV in silence until the phone rang. Irikah and Kolyat both watched as Thane went to pick it up. "Thane Krios."

"Thane. Have you heard about the border?"

"We're watching the news now."

"That's not a live clip. There's a full-scale battle going on between the border and Fort Tox. The turians are pushing us back. They'll reach the fort sometime tonight at this rate. How's your leg?"

"Healed enough. I'm on active duty again?"

"Along with the rest of us. I don't need to use you yet, Thane, but I do need you on standby."

"Understood. Sir, why aren't they releasing that it's an attack?"

A pause. "…It's not big enough yet, Thane."

"…What?"

"It's not big enough. The Council wants the people's support before declaring war."

"It's for publicity?" Disgust in Thane's voice.

"Basically, yes."

"If the destruction at the border really isn't enough, then why not film the battle? Why not broadcast that carnage?"

"Ask the Council, Thane. I'm not calling the shots, so I couldn't tell you."

"…This is only going to make me angry. Is that all?"

"Yes. Be ready when I need you. That's all."

"Yes, sir." Thane hung up and stared at the phone. "This is it."

Irikah's arms around him. "You're not leaving, are you?"

"No, not yet." He looked back to the center of the room, his eyes meeting Kolyat's. "But I will be. It's only a matter of time."

Feron's language was colorful as he ran for his sniper rifle. "These turian bastards are backing us against the wall. Where are our reinforcements? How'd we let them get this far?" He raced for the nearest window and stood beside it, back to the wall, rifle in hand. "Tch. This is why I never go on the sneaky missions. I talk to myself when I'm nervous. Yeah, real good trait to have when you're trying to hide and snipe, Feron."

The window was shot out before long – just what he'd banked on. He turned and started picking off turians, each shot a kill. He never fired more than ten times, usually less, to avoid being noticed for as long as possible. When shots did start coming his way, he ran from the window and tried to find a new vantage point. The roof would be perfect, but he had no idea if he could get up there or not. It wasn't the best time to stop someone and ask, either.

The building shook from explosions while he searched for a way up. So far, no turians had made it into the fort itself. How long that would last, though… That was debatable. Finally, he found a maintenance stairwell, leading up. He didn't shut the door once he was on the roof; instead, he immediately ran to the edge, staying low to avoid being seen. He settled at the edge of the roof, looking down on the battle. Much better vantage point. He brought down target after target… but they just kept coming, and even with the drell fortress' increased security forces, his kind was getting trounced.

He pushed the thought from his mind and kept firing. They were not losing Tox. It simply wasn't an option. At that moment, someone cut the lights, leaving both sides in the utter darkness of a moonless night. The fighting ground to a halt. It was quiet enough to hear individual voices now, both rough drell and flanging turian.

"Night vision, quick!" Turian.

"Wait for it…" Drell.

"Get the tanks firing again! They should have no problem!" Turian.

"Lights!" Several drell. The lights came back on at their brightest. Again, both sides were temporarily blinded, but the drell recovered first, having not employed night vision, and opened fire. The turians' night vision was now a hindrance, unable to handle the bright lights.

Feron squinted until his eyes adjusted to the light again before continuing to rain bullets down on his foes. That trick had bought them a temporary, meager edge, but that edge disappeared within half an hour. Their disadvantage became more and more pronounced. Where were their damn reinforcements? He was tempted to trigger his beacon just to get someone else out here.

After hours of chaos, the battle suddenly died away, the constant chatter on the radio dying with it. Then, one voice, a female drell. "Put down your weapons. The fort is lost. Obey the turians, and we'll escape with our lives."

"Oh, no. No no no no no. I've got to get out of here." Feron tossed his radio aside and darted back down the stairs, heading for the eastern exit. He passed a few startled drell, but encountered no turians. Great, maybe he'd actually make it without being seen. He bolted out the door… and saw turian tanks rolling to a stop on either side of the gate. Feron ducked back in, slamming the door and cursing. "Now what? Think, Feron…!"

All he could think of was trying to escape over the fence, away from the gates. They might have the base surrounded, but it was better than no plan at all. He ran for the northern exit next. This time, he opened the door cautiously and peeked out. More tanks, and a few foot soldiers, too. He quietly shut the door and muttered another curse under his breath. "Okay, now what? This is bad. This is really, really bad."

It was when he heard turians rounding up drell down the hall that he got desperate. He grabbed his collar and bit it, snapping the beacon trigger inside. Khash would go insane with worry, but at least there was some chance of a rescue this way. He didn't fight when a pair of turians snatched away his gun, led him to the fort's meager prison block, and stuffed him in a cell with seven of his comrades. Stay quiet, stay alive. Wait. Please, Razh. Send someone, and hurry. He didn't know how long he had…

"Are you sure you should be doing this, Nihlus? The fort was only taken a few hours ago."

Nihlus stared out the bulletproof window of the armored off-roader, watching the sunrise. "I need to do this, Septimus. Information could win or lose this war for us. The drell have the advantage on that front. I can change that. Not just because of my skills, either. There's what I know, too."

"SCIU again? You know that the Hierarchy has dismissed that claim."

"They're real." Nihlus glared at the driver. "It's a real unit, and they could probably win this war on their own. As it is, they know things that can give us an edge if we learn them."

Septimus sighed. "It's still the frontline, and it's still dangerous for a noncombatant like you to be here. Your reputation and skill with working the mind are more than impressive, but they won't stop a bullet."

"The survivors have been brought under control, haven't they?"

"Well, yes, but-"

Nihlus opened the door as the vehicle lurched to a stop. "Then there's nothing to worry about."

"They will try to take the fort back eventually."

"Eventually. Get out of here, Septimus." He shut the door and walked into the fort.

He was given a salute by a pair of soldiers. "Nihlus, sir. We have a room ready. Please, follow us." They turned and began leading him through the halls. "Is there someone in particular you'd like us to get for you?"

"Obviously, I'll want the highest-ranking officer left alive, but before that, there's another drell who takes priority. If one is here, that is."

"What drell would that be, sir?"

"One wearing a long jacket with a high collar. I can't tell you much more than that. The jackets are all different colors. But it's a jacket, no normal uniform anywhere on the drell wearing it. The outfit's coordinated to match it."

"We'll check, sir. Here you are." The soldier opened the door for him. Nihlus nodded and stepped inside, sitting in one of the chairs along the wall and waiting. There may not be one here, but if there was, they'd have the potential to learn so much, enough to keep this war machine going full-steam. He knew they'd be stopped if they kept moving forward on force and outdated intelligence alone. Drell didn't stop at average. They'd been able to take the fort because, for some reason, the drell had let them. The thought unsettled him, and he shifted in his seat. He needed answers.

Finally, the soldiers returned – with a drell dressed in red and white, that familiar jacket the centerpiece. "Is this what you were looking for, sir?"

"Exactly what I was looking for. Secure him and get out." The soldiers quickly did as told. As soon as the door was shut, Nihlus turned to the drell, standing. "SCIU, correct?"

The drell didn't hide his surprise fast enough, but almost immediately returned to glaring at Nihlus.

"It's not a question I need to ask. I know the answer." Nihlus stood directly in front of the drell. "I ask to see the reaction. I can tell you're going to be a tough nut to crack, aside from body language. That should be enough to answer some of my questions, though."

The drell said nothing and didn't move a muscle.

"Oh, I should add that when I'm done talking to you today, I'm going to have that jacket destroyed."

The drell finally spoke, hiding his nervousness well. The fact that he answered at all gave him away, however. "What for?"

"You know exactly what for. I know of that mechanism hidden in the collar, and I know its purpose. Even if you haven't set it off yet – which I doubt – it needs to be disposed of."

"…You speak Drell well," the drell said, switching languages to Nihlus' own. "Accent's pretty bad, though. I guess turian mouths just aren't formed right to pronounce our words."

"I could say the same of you and my language. The last drell I met spoke Turian surprisingly well, though. Then again, he was much more remarkable than you are," Nihlus replied in the same language.

"Wow, thanks."

"That drell was more remarkable than any man I've ever met. Don't take it personally."

The drell returned to his silence, just glaring.

"Do you think they'll send a rescue party? They didn't for the other drell I've met."

Silence.

"Pray to your gods they do. This won't be fun." For either of them.

Thane rolled over to whack the alarm before he realized it was still dark out, and the noise was coming from the phone next to it. The clock read 3:23 AM. He sighed and picked up the phone, speaking quietly. "Thane Krios." A pause as he listened. "…I'm on my way." He hung up and replaced the phone, then looked down at Irikah.

She stared, eyes half-closed, back at him. "This early?"

"When they need me, they need me. It's happened once or twice before."

"…Come home safe."

"I will. I promise." He kissed her briefly. "Tell Kolyat I love him."

"I will."

"Alright. Go back to sleep." He got up, got dressed, and left.

Feron, you're in trouble. Don't worry, I won't let you die. I like you too much. Oh, let's face it, I just like drell. Ferret out.