The next few hours were a complete blur. We left the club and stormed across the plaza with our heads down. Lyra lead me by the hand, guiding me through the crowds. I dont remember anything about the journey from the club to the dock. My eyes were fixed on Lyra's back, oblivious to my surroundings. My mind was in overload. We could be shot in the back at any second. Anyone we see could be out to kill us, so we tried to be as inconspicuous as possible.
The sound of machinery grew near, metal grinding against metal. Men shouting instruction to one another. I lifted my head to see a snaking queue leading to a small archway. Everybody in the line was laden with bags and looked impatient and frustrated. Flanking the archway was a long barrier, protected by a flickering forcefield, to prevent any unwanted stowaways. The line moved agonisingly slowly, basically unmoving. Two krogan to our rear were getting increasingly agitated.
"Hey, we gonna be able to get on this week?!", one shouted, sarcastically.
"Fuck this, I'm not standing here for another hour", proclaimed the other, before hoisting his bag and marching toward the front.
A turian a few places infront noticed him marching by, "Hey buddy, where do you think your goin'?"
"To the front", the krogan answered. He closed into the turian, squaring up to his face, before continuing, "You gonna fuckin' stop me?"
The turian stammered over his answer, before shaking his head. As the krogan approached, his friend now following in his wake, the guard stepped forward.
"Back of the line", he ordered.
"I'm through waitin'. I'm gettin' on. Now.", the krogan stated.
The guard raised his rifle slightly, just to show the krogan.
"Back of the line", he repeated, with more assertiveness.
The krogan stared for a second, before smirking. He pushed past the guard and moved toward the archway. His friend looked anxious, eyeing the guard who had now raised his rifle completely. The admin officer had also looked up from his clipboard, with worry on his face. He placed a wary hand on his pistol.
"BACK OF THE LINE!", he barked, aiming straight at the krogan.
The krogan stopped moving, his breathing was laboured. Everyone in the line was silent, eyes fixed on the drama at the front. All of a sudden the krogan through his bag at the admin officer, who was bowled backwards. The krogan then charged for the guard, with war in his eyes. The guard coldly fired his rifle straight into his face. The krogan toppled to the floor, although his momentum carried him straight to the guard's feet, who now had his gun trained on the other krogan, who had drew his shotgun.
"DROP THE GUN NOW!" The guard screamed.
The krogan stared him down, eyes darting left to right, wringing the barrel. The admin officer nervously pointed his pistol at the remaining krogan.
"That was my brother", the krogan said, gruffly.
There was a deafening bang that startled myself and everyone around me. The krogan fell to the floor with a thud. I looked around with ears ringing to find the shooter. A batarian ran out from behind some large shipping crates, and towered over the injured krogan. Without hesitation, he fire three more shots into his head. He stowed his rifle and stormed over to the guard.
"If you can't handle this job, then you're finished. Clear?", the batarian said gruffly.
"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir", the guard answered, softly.
The batarian turned towards the stunned people of the line, "Anyone else want to cause trouble?"
He scanned the crowd, studying each person carefully. After a few long seconds of silence, he turned and marched back over to the loading area behind the crates, signalling to three dockers to dispose of the krogans. They heeded immediately, struggling to even lift their legs off the floor, before dragging them slowly out of view. Everyone began to murmur quietly, panic resonating from their voices.
"N-next passengers!", the administrator shouted, nervously.
I turned to Lyra. She was staring over at the area of conflict, unblinking.
"Lyra?", I said, but her gaze did not falter.
"Lyra, what is it?" I persisted.
"Next passengers!", the administrator repeated.
It was our turn to board. I prepared my false papers, but Lyra stayed rooted.
"Next passengers", the guard echoed menacingly, gesturing with his rifle.
I grabbed her arm, pulling her toward the gate. She moved forward with unwilling pigeon steps. When we were faced with the administrator, I presented my papers to him. he studied them for a few seconds, his brow furrowed. He proceeded to look up at me, then back to the papers.
"Right, fine", he stated suddenly. "You. Asari. Papers."
Lyra looked up at him, fumbling in her pockets to produce her papers. She handed them over to him, trembling. I had never seen her so scared. The administrator and guard eyed her suspiciously. She stared straight ahead, eye twitching slightly. The administrator studied her papers, as he did mine, and eventually waved us through. As we walked through the gate, Lyra was unspeaking, her breathing was laboured. She was panicking.
"Lyra, what's wrong?", I asked, confused.
Her eyes darted at all the guards watching the cruiser, of which there were an unusual amount. Her gaze was fixed on the access ramp, sweat beading on her brow. Her reaction to the unrest was making me nervous, I had never seen her this frightened before.
"Lyra, those krogan, they were causing trouble. I'm not saying that-", I tried to assure her, but she stormed off ahead of me. I broke into a slight jog to catch up to her. I trailed behind her up the loading ramp. At the top, a guard pointed us to the port section of the ship. She barely acknowledged him, and rushed toward the passenger common. As we approached the door to the common, Lyra stopped and turned to me. Before I could speak she pulled me into a nearby maintainance cupboard.
"Lyra, what are y-" I asked, before she interrupted me.
"They know we're here".
I stared at her for a second, disbelieving.
"What? You're being paranoid. How could they know?"
"They know we're here, Isaac. I just...know"
I considered her words as she looked away from me. She looked completely defeated, her head hung low.
"Lyra, what do you mean 'they know'?", I asked anxiously, lifting her chin to face me.
"The batarian", she answered, looking at me nervously.
"What batarian? The one who shot the krogan?"
She nodded slowly, before I continued, "Well, what about him?"
"He...he works for Aria", she said. That was the one name I did not want to hear. Aria.
My mind catapulted into panic. I pulled at my hair, as I tried to contemplate what was happening.
"So, h-he works for Aria?", I asked.
Lyra nodded again.
"Why is he here?"
Lyra was silent. I studied her face, she seemed so certain that our time was up.
"Lyra, why are Aria's goons on a ship to Ilium?"
As I said the words I realised, the truth Lyra had realised already.
"We're not going to Ilium, are we?"
Lyra shook her head, her gaze on the floor again.
I slammed the wall with my fist and released a frustrated grunt. It was over. There was no way out now. She'd won.
Lyra wrapped her arms around my waist and rested here head on my chest. I returned the embrace, but knew any perceived safety it offered was futile. We remained there for a relatively long period before we were discovered and ordered into the common. Lyra clung to my arm as we reluctantly moved to an empty bunk. Guards lined the common, scanning the passengers with suspicion. The other people on the cruiser all looked incredibly depressed, there were a few children amongst them but not many. Most of the people looked as if they were refugees, few bags, bandages, ragged clothes. As we perched on the bunk, Lyra rested her head upon my shoulder. I was glad that she was here, with all that I had lost, and however brief our future was going to be, I was happy to still have her. We lay back on the bed, intertwined in a comfortable embrace, awaiting our destiny.