In which Feron takes Thane to a bar, Kolyat almost dies, and Nihlus goes slightly crazy. Or maybe more than slightly. You be the judge.

Chapter 11 – Peace

"Thane! Welcome home. How was your trip to Terra?"

"Feron? What are you doing here?"

Feron gave Thane a solid pat on the back. "I'll tell you in a minute. How was Terra?"

"Flattened, on fire, radioactive, and toxic. We're thorough, I'll give us that much."

"Wow. And you didn't mind the boat?"

Thane shuddered. "I can't believe they would force me out on a tin can in the middle of the ocean. I felt like I was spitting in Kalihira's face."

"…Yeah, thought so. Find anything?"

"I reported my findings to Razh."

"And those findings were…?"

"No, Feron. Now tell me what you're doing fooling around at Fort Genna."

Feron broke into a broad grin. "It's over, Thane. The turians surrendered. We won."

Thane smiled. "How long ago?"

"Just yesterday. Four months, Thane, but we made it. We did it." He slung his arm around Thane's shoulders. "And you know what this means for us?"

"Us?"

"Us. The SCIU."

"What does it mean?"

"They don't need us for right now. The turians have to hand over everything, and Terra's gone quiet. That was your last mission for at least a few weeks, buddy."

Thane's smile grew. "Leave."

"Technically, we're still on call, but Razh is telling everyone to go home and take a break. If they need us, they'll call us, but… They don't need us."

Thane shook his head. "I have no idea what I'll do with myself. The only times I've been home for any length of time in the past twenty-three years has been when I'd been badly injured."

"Well, get used to it. With the other nations as decimated as they are, we may be home for weeks at a time between missions for years, maybe even for the rest of our careers."

"Now that would be a blessing."

"So, Thane." Feron let him go and stood in front of him. "How about a quick drink or two to celebrate?"

"Feron, you know I'm not a drinking man."

"Oh, come on. You and I have never done anything together. Just a guy thing with a friend. Please? I promise I won't bug you about it again."

"I should get back to my–"

"You'll have plenty of time to spend with your family. It'll be quick, I promise. Maybe just an hour or so."

Thane sighed, but smiled. "Alright, but I'm staying sober to drive when you're hopelessly inebriated."

"Oh, fine. We'll take my car." Feron led the way. They didn't speak again until Thane was in the passenger seat and Feron behind the wheel. "So, Thane… Will you tell me about your mission now?"

Thane leaned back and sighed. "I was sent to terra to either confirm or disprove the rumor of the humans engineering a massive weapon for the turians that would have given them the victory."

"And you found…?"

"There was such a project in progress, but development seems to have stopped after we began our air raids. It was apparently supposed to be a biological weapon designed to cause loss of life on an enormous scale. I didn't find anything beyond conceptual data."

"So it was like… some kind of disease?"

"Yes. Viral in nature, from what I gathered. The aim was to create a lethal, highly contagious agent that affected only drell."

Feron whistled. "Sounds nasty."

"It would have been, had they managed to create it. Possibly the end of us as a species."

"Tch. Where's their morality?"

"Watch it, Feron. You have to remember that we dropped chemical and nuclear weapons on civilians. We utterly destroyed Terra and Palaven. It's going to take decades for the areas we bombed to become habitable again, and centuries for the ecosystems to recover. Where was our morality?"

Feron was silent. "…You've got a point. We ended the war, and I'm happy about that, but thinking about our methods does leave a bad taste in my mouth."

"As it should. Never forget the injustice of war. Yes, they were the enemy, and they did attack us first, but turians and humans are people. They have families, friends, hopes and dreams… No side in a war is 'good' or 'bad.' War is nothing more than a difference of opinion. It's foolish and unnecessary."

Feron glanced at him. "And yet, you joined the military as soon as you hit sixteen. I don't see the logic."

Thane looked out the window, watching the scenery go by. "War is foolish and unnecessary, but we don't live in a utopia, so it still happens. My reasons then were the same as they are now. I want to protect and serve my people, even if it means getting blood on my hands."

"Wow, noble. And here I am, joining up thinking I'll never have to fight. I just get to travel around the country, free of charge. Then, I turn out to be a good shot, and I get snatched by the SCIU."

"You're a fantastic shot, Feron, far better than I am, but it was more than your marksmanship that landed you in the unit."

"Woah, back up. I'm better than you at something?"

"Much better. I'm a fair shot, but you're an excellent one."

"Oh, please. You've only seen me shoot three times, and only once in actual combat."

"I never saw you miss."

"I didn't, but that's not the point."

"Yes it is. I miss, you don't. You're better than me."

"Consider my mind blown."

Thane looked at him. "You're far too humble."

"Have you looked in a mirror lately?"

"I need to be humble. I need to remind people that I'm nothing–"

"Nothing but a man. Is that your catchphrase or something? We're here, by the way." Feron had parked them in front of a bar and was getting out.

Thane sighed and followed suit. "I don't have a catchphrase, Feron. It's the truth."

"Whatever. Come on, have some wine. You'll whine less."

"I told you, I'm staying sober."

"You're such a killjoy." Feron led the way in. It was packed and loud; probably other people celebrating the war's end. Feron still managed to find them a table.

Thane was frowning. "I'm not a killjoy. One of us has to stay sober to get us back to the base."

"One drink won't turn you into a blubbering idiot. I doubt ten would."

"It would still impair my judgment to some degree. You're not driving home until you're sober, by the way."

"Yes, Mother. What do you want?"

"Ice water would be fine."

"Killjoy." Feron went to the bar and returned with two glasses. One, filled with ice water, he set down in front of Thane. The other was full of some unidentified amber drink, which Feron immediately took a swig of upon sitting down. "I've missed this. I haven't had a good drink since the war started."

"I still can't believe I let you drag me here."

"Come on, Thane, try to have a little fun."

"Should we really be celebrating this?"

"Of course we should. It's over. Nobody's killing anybody anymore. We're not celebrating the fact that people are dead. We're celebrating the fact that no one else is dying."

"When you put it like that, I suppose…"

Feron smiled and raised his glass. "To peace."

After a moment, Thane returned the smile and raised his own. "To peace."

Thane made it to the hotel late in the afternoon. Irikah looked startled when he first came through the door, but immediately rushed to him and started looking him over. "Alright, where are you hurt this time?"

"I'm not, Irikah. I'm fine."

"Then… you're here because the war is over. You're staying… right?"

He nodded. "I'm still on active duty, so they could call me back at any time, but I don't think they'll need any of us anytime soon."

She smiled. "I'll get Kolyat."

Thane stepped aside, watching her walk across the hall and knock on the door. Kolyat answered almost immediately. "What is i–" He stopped and broke into a grin when he saw Thane. "I knew you'd be back soon."

Thane smiled. "And I'll be here for a while yet."

"Does this mean we can go home now?"

Thane's smile fell into a sort of blank look as he and his wife exchanged a glance. He looked back at Kolyat. "It's getting late. There may not be a place to stay when we get there."

"Our house is there."

"It might not be. It would be a better idea to spend another night here and go back tomorrow morning."

Kolyat scowled. "Our house is there."

"Kolyat…" Irikah put a hand on his arm.

"Alright," Thane said, surprising both of them. "Get packed. We'll go home."

Kolyat grinned again and shot back into his room. Irikah turned to Thane. "Are you sure?"

"The worst that could happen is we have to turn back and find somewhere to stay the night along the way. You'll have to drive, though. I've been up for a while."

"What if it's not there?"

"We talked about this when we left. If it's not there, we start over. Now let's get everything packed."

They were on the road less than an hour later, and Thane was quick to drift off in the passenger seat. He woke when he felt light tapping on his shoulder and opened his eyes to see Irikah leaning into the car from the outside. "We're here, darling. As close as we can be. The car can't go any farther."

Thane rubbed sleep from his eyes and stepped out, looking ahead. A large chunk of rock from a nearby home sat in the middle of the roadway, blocking their path. Thane looked at Irikah, then at Kolyat behind her. "This means we're continuing on foot?"

"Yeah." Kolyat started walking. Thane followed him, with Irikah trailing behind, looking at all the destruction. A few buildings had survived, but most were in ruins. Thane was less than optimistic.

A few minutes into their trek, as Thane scanned the surroundings, he spotted something that made him freeze, fling his hand out to stop Irikah, and yell, "Kolyat!"

The younger man stopped and looked back. "What?"

Thane's voice was level and firm. "Back up, carefully."

"Huh?"

"Back up, now."

Confused, Kolyat took a few steps back. "Why?"

"Look ahead."

He did, then turned back to his father. "I don't see anything."

"On the ground."

Kolyat looked down… and backed up a few more steps. "That's a…"

"That shell may have been a dud when it was fired, but that doesn't mean that it's unarmed now. Come here, Kolyat. I'll take the lead."

Kolyat nodded and did as he was told, still wide-eyed. Irikah gave him a quick hug. "I could have lost you."

"I'm fine, Mom. Let's… go." Kolyat followed his father.

Thane barely recognized the streets, almost all familiar structures reduced to piles of glass and stone. He knew he'd gone the right way, however, when he saw a silver sedan sitting beside a white one in one driveway. Both cars had shattered windows and windshields, and the home they sat in front of had several broken windows, as well, but the blocky, pink granite structure was still standing strong.

The three stopped in front of it, merely staring silently for a moment. Then, Thane spoke, quietly, almost in a whisper. "Welcome home."

Nihlus stared at the piled of charred debris, one of many along the cracked and scorched streets. The entire area had been completely leveled, with some of the wreckage still smoking. He stared for a long time before looking out over the whole scene. A black mess of splinters that used to be homes. The same scene in every direction.

He looked back at the heap before him and let out a dry laugh. "You win, Thane. Enjoy it. Your peace was bought with the blood of millions of innocents and the hopes of millions more. You tore us down utterly. Do you know how you won? Do you care?" More laughter. "I will never forget you, Thane, and I will never forgive you. You can die with all the rest. And I will laugh. Oh, how I will laugh." His tone became a snarl. "Good riddance, Thane Krios. Go to hell."

"Nihlus!" another turian called from a nearby truck. "We have to go! We shouldn't even be here in the first place. The radiation level's too high."

"I'm coming!" he called back. "I just wanted to visit home."

Nihlus actually creeped me out a little... He said it, don't ask me where it came from. Because I don't know. Seriously. Ferret out.