"Citadel Flight 91, you're cleared for final approach to pad twenty seven," a congenial voice relayed via the communications equipment in the pilot cabin of a UT-47 Kodiak shuttle painted in a non-descript gunmetal gray. "A liaison will be there to greet you upon arrival. Please remain on the pad until you can be escorted."
"Understood," the salarian affirmed in a high-pitched and clinical voice.
The UT-47 glided easily over the islands and the peninsulas that stretched out like fingers into the surrounding sea. The water was crystalline blue and frothed white along the picturesque beaches where the waves lazily came ashore. If one looked close enough a sea creature might be seen breaching the surface of the water.
The dark pools that served as the salarian's eyes viewed the distant mountaintops that jutted from the deepening waters. These edifices were created from the volcanic activity prevalent all over the planet's surface and served as an exciting reminder of a minor fascination the salarian had with geology. But the great volcanoes lay dormant now. The belching, fiery fury that had helped to create the many atolls they now soared over had long since ceased, giving way to fertile ground carpeted with luscious vegetation. The thick, verdant canopy reminded the salarian of his homeworld Sur'Kesh.
Gradually the islands thick with jungle canopies gave way to collections of islets and keys that were pockmarked with artificial development projects. Foliage was being cleared back by automated machinery, tunnels were being dug, irrigation crafted, foundations laid, and walls erected. The small land masses were a hive of activity and there was an abundance of construction contractors and their mechs moving about in all directions.
Transport craft zipped by the Citadel Kodiak, some piloted while others were merely drones carrying heavy equipment and materials to nearby islands that made up the dense keys in the region. All things considered, it was an impressive feat to see the bustle and the beginning of civilization on this once backwater planet.
The salarian was here for official Citadel business, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of hope as he gazed upon what he saw. All over the galaxy people were trying to rebuild what the Reapers had destroyed. There were constant reminders of the almost unimaginable destruction and it took its toll on everyone, even this well-trained Salarian operative. But here no such reminders existed. The Reapers never launched their harvesting campaign upon the denizens of this forgotten world and the air that pervaded here was hopeful and bright.
The Kodiak reached landing pad twenty seven, a flat albeit small circular platform that rose prominently from a squat gantry way that led to a pair of automatic sliding doors. The Kodiak hovered in place momentarily as the salarian adjusted his flight controls and then the craft gradually descended to the pad below. The engines whined one last time as the power was killed and the interior cabin of the shuttle fell silent.
"We're here," the salarian announced as he rose from the pilot's seat and stepped into the crew compartment.
"About time," his human compatriot joked amicably. "I was running out of ways to fight the boredom."
"Learn to fly," the salarian shrugged. "Then you can balance the tedium of staring at empty space with the simplistic challenges of automatic flight control." His voice was deadpan.
The human grinned. "No thanks, I enjoyed the nap."
"You're a Spectre now, Alenko," the salarian Spectre Jondam Bau reminded him. "Sleep is just a crutch."
"Don't remind me," Kaidan Alenko, Alliance Marine and second human Spectre said with a grimace. His mind harkened back to sleepless nights on the Normandy when the fate of the galaxy rested on the shoulders of Commander Shepard and his crew, Kaidan among them. "Let's get going."
The cabin doors opened with a whine and a hiss and the two Spectres stepped onto the landing pad. Kaidan could feel the moisture in the air as the warmth of the tropical climate set upon him like the unrelenting exhaust that poured from the thrusters of a Kodiak. He could feel his armor automatically adjust the internal mico-climate to compensate. Its cooling efforts were aided by a welcome rush of refreshing air from the nearby sea. Kaidan could smell the salt on the wind and reveled out how the biosphere of an entirely alien planet could remind him so much of Earth. Thoughts of Vancouver and the chilly waters of the Pacific brought a minute smile to his lips.
The pair waited patiently on the pad for several moments before the automatic sliding doors at the end of the gantry way below the landing pad slid open. A female turian formally dressed in chic business attire stepped onto the gantry accompanied by a pair of armed security mechs that followed rigidly behind her. Her lengthy stride created some distance between the mechs and enabled her to cross the gantry quickly. She joined the two Spectres upon the landing pad after a quick climb up a handful of stairs.
"Welcome to Virmire, gentleman," she said in a practiced voice. Her metallic carapace was a pale tan color, accented with the intricate blue tattoos of the Xerceo colony. Concentrated green eyes studied the two arrivals. Her welcome was not overly hospitable, but this so-called liaison was more likely a security contractor. She seemed to regard the pair of Citadel operatives with muted disdain, as if greeting them was an ordeal she didn't relish being subjected to. "My name is Despina Varo. I'll be escorting you to our main headquarters at New Durbin."
Kaidan scanned their surroundings, but saw only minor islands with an assortment of landing pads and a control tower. There were a handful of buildings, but none of particular size. Many were still in the early phases of construction. "Where is it?" he questioned with a scratch of his head.
"New Durbin? Seventy kilometers east of here," she exclaimed plainly. "Follow me please." Without another word she turned sharply on her heels and trotted down the staircase to the gantry below.
Kaidan shrugged and followed beside Jondam Bau.
Walking several paces behind Varo, with the security mechs closely in tow, Kaidan studied the turian's stride and the manner in which she carried herself. He guessed she was former military based on the rigidity displayed in each step. Given turian societal obligations that wasn't a stretch either.
They passed through the sliding doors into a temperature regulated interior corridor which led them to a high-speed lift. The security mechs remained as the three organics stepped inside and began their descent below the surface of Virmire. Quaint music played over a speaker inside the airy confines of the elevator. Kaidan faintly remembered conversations with old friends on the Citadel. Now, however, no one spoke.
It took some time, but before long they arrived at the bottom of the shaft and exited to find themselves beside a brightly lit mass-rail tunnel that ran off in both directions. Despite the evident modernity the tunnel was nondescript. Its high-arched ceilings were braced intermittently with strong cross-sections of support beams and there were occasional signs of access hatches or maintenance galleries, but otherwise the architecture was sparse, utilitarian and barren of people or mechs.
Impressed nonetheless, Kaidan looked left and then right as he strained to see where the rail led. "How far underground are we?"
"It differs in some sections, but on average the tunnel is approximately one hundred and fifty meters below the sea bed and two hundred and fifty meters below sea level," the turian responded mechanically, as if it were a question she was asked often.
After a few moments a sleek, high speed mass-railcar arrived. The doors eased open smoothly and the trio stepped into the empty vehicle. The doors sealed them in and the mass-railcar silently and seamlessly began its journey, levitated by a mass effect field over the single rail that guided it. It speedily took off toward the east.
Kaidan sat himself on one of the bench seats just as Despina positioned herself upon a seat on the opposite side of the compartment. Jondam remained standing.
The blur of the bright white lights passed in a blur outside the railcar's window, but Kaidan paid little attention to it. He leveled his eyes back on the turian who sat inflexibly like a falcon posted firmly on its perch. "Are you former military?" he asked with curiosity. The Spectre leaned forward with elbows propped on his thighs.
"Yes," Despina Varo confirmed tersely. Her tone indicated it wasn't something she wanted to elaborate on.
"And now you're private sector?"
"Evidently," she answered irritably.
"Why the change?"
Despina exhaled heavily. "Money."
"Really?" Kaidan responded with over-emphasized alarm. The average turian valued duty to the Hierarchy before personal gains, but it wasn't unheard of for an individual to seek wealth over that obligation. There were plenty of turian mercenaries. "That's interesting."
"Why? They were more concerned about what I could offer than taking care of me or my comrades," she exclaimed tightly. It was clearly a sore subject for her. "Private sector takes care of me. I actually make enough to live a decent life."
Kaidan could empathize. His time at Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training on Gagarin station had left a bitter taste in his mouth when he was young. The harsh training he had endured there had been conducted under the purview of a private company- Conatix Industries- it was a well-known fact that the Alliance had supported much of what took place there. In his earliest days as an Alliance Marine he'd struggled to come to terms with that support and the bitterness he felt toward the program. Now, however, he could scarcely fathom choosing profit over service. The uniform meant everything to him.
"What can you tell us about the development projects here?" Jondam Bau suddenly queried, wishing to keep the conversation in the professional realm rather than the personal.
Despina Varo shook her head and mimicked a frown as much as her turian features allowed. "I'm not here to discuss any of that with you. I'll leave those questions for my boss, or his boss to answer."
"Is it common to be so guarded about innocuous questions here? I'm sure investors tour your facilities regularly," Bau pressed. He leaned casually against the bulkhead of the mass-railcar.
"There's nothing innocuous about a question coming from a Spectre," Despina retorted with a flippant wave of her hand. "I'd rather keep my job."
"Fair enough," Kaidan allowed.
The mass-railcar came to gentle halt that brought them to their destination in the lower levels of New Durbin. A security mech stood vigil near the railcar when Kaidan, Despina and Jondam stepped out of the compartment. It scanned Despina attentively and then ignored the Spectres completely.
A short, well-lit hallway led to two automatic doors that slid open as they approached. The entryway opened into a cavernous room, the ceiling of which was a combination of the seabed above and support beams. There were construction workers and construction drones busily toiling over the expansion of the facility. There were unopened restaurants, bars, shops and more. It was a very ambitious project.
"This will be serving as one of the main transportation hubs throughout the region. So they want to build it up to rival anything you might find on a more developed world," Despina explained as the trio made their way toward another lift that would take them to the surface. "There are plans for some of the largest restaurant franchises and Mr. Immelman is also trying to attract some of the high profile luxury boutiques common on the Presidium." She didn't seem particularly interested in what she was telling them.
Kaidan wondered if this was a speech she often gave investors when she escorted them to see Immelman, or if she was just trying to head off any questions the two Spectres might have.
As Kaidan stepped into the elevator and headed for the surface he couldn't help but feel apprehensive over his return to Virmire. It had been over three years since the events that had brought him here the first time; the fight against Saren, the destruction of the genophage cure, and the death of Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams—a comrade and friend that had sacrificed herself so that Kaidan could live. It was a solemn, sobering memory and it kept him silent for the duration of the elevator ride to the surface.