A/N: Translations in (-).
I actually had this chapter done before starting on chapter 3...I think it's my favorite so far.
Atraxotax: You've grasped the concept of the Auriels, as I had been trying to portray them, fairly spot-on. I want to make it obvious that, though compassion and a pure desire to help are in the nature of the Auriels, they are so unpredictable, dangerous, and secretive that it's hard for anyone to trust them. The thing about an Auriel, though, is that they make people want to trust them - and that scares the other races even more.
Hmm. A Turian C-Sec officer forced to work in close proximity with an Auriel-Turian female (which he distrusts vehemently)... I'll have to get back with you on that. ;)
No worries. I'll just reply to your reviews here. :)
Review 2: You're very good at this, aren't you? I take some inspiration from the Elder Scrolls, though not much. A lot of my inspiration comes from Dragon Age and the real world as well. Relvana/Mara, Vaas'an/Hircine, and Kal'vera/femArkay is, honestly, coincidence. I'm glad you pointed that out, though. Interesting...
Review 3: If you wish, feel free to do so. However, if you plan on doing so, might I suggest using Karliah as staple? Among the Dunmer, I feel she more closely resembles Clarell than any of them (especially with her eyes and voice).
The biotic convict was doing it again; staring at her ears. She had been on the Normandy for the equivalent of four months and could still feel the humans staring. That was the reason Clarell usually wore her hair down and, occasionally, the hood attachment on her uniform. She was aware that her ears differed greatly from a human's. They were much longer and pointed, curling ever-so-slightly upward, but able to remain hidden under her hair. The way the humans would stare at them, you'd think they'd never seen anything so alien before. By that point, Clarell was used to it. It really only bothered her because of her senses. Her senses were so acute and attuned to her surroundings that she could feel a fairly intense itch on her skin when they would turn their gaze to her.
Currently, her hair was gathered atop her head so that she could move through her Fila'tausor (meditation through body contortion, movement, and breathing - literally translated as "body-bending") more easily. As she was now sharing a room with one Kasumi Goto, and Port Observation simply did not have enough room for two people and Fila'tausor, Clarell was using the empty Mess for her meditations. She had barely gotten through the first three movements when the reclusive biotic convict, whose name she discovered was 'Jack', walked into the room, saw Clarell, and sat down at the table to stare.
Clarell tried to ignore the other woman's gaze and continue, but the itch was just too distracting. Moving from her back-bend to stand on her hands, she slowly brought her feet back to the floor, exhaling slowly as she did so. When she was upright once more, she took a moment for her body to reorient itself, grabbed a thermos of water and a bowl she had filled with Asari fruits before her meditations, and then moved to sit across from Jack. Clarell didn't look directly at the woman even once but kept her peripheral attention fully focused onto her. She could sense that this "visit" was more about the upcoming trip to Pragia.
Clarell had readily agreed to go with them, simply because she had started feeling too confined and terribly bored after being cooped up on the ship for too long. However, she understood what the trip meant to Jack and quietly empathized with the young woman.
There were places in the galaxy she wished she could blow straight to oblivion.
Jack's expression was carefully guarded, her barely-clothed body tense. It was as if she was waiting for Clarell to assault her, physically or vocally.
Clarell held no delusions that she could ever try to understand or make friends with Jack. She would never say it out loud, lest she risk a colossal biotic attack, but she could blatantly see that the other woman was deeply damaged and slow to trust (if she could trust at all). Clarell was very good at reading people, and she could tell that engaging Jack in conversation would only serve to push the other woman away, regardless of what she said. If there was to be any sort of camaraderie between them she would have to allow the other woman to come to her first.
That was okay. Clarell was patient. She could wait.
She slowly ate from her bowl, enjoying the juicy sweetness of the fruit, and allowed the silence to drone on. Jack continued to watch her, gaze still carefully guarded.
As an instinctual form of peace-offering, Clarell minutely pushed the bowl of fruit in Jack's direction. Not once did she remove her eyes from the fruit in her hand, attempting to seem as unthreatening as possible.
Jack's gaze turned openly suspicious, a slight glare on her deceptively pretty face. Quickly, her gaze jumped from Clarell to the bowl and back again.
Not once did Clarell's gaze rise from her fruit.
At last, Jack grabbed a large piece of fruit almost the same color as Clarell's skin. Only then did Clarell finally meet Jack's gaze.
By Relvana, she looks so much like…No, Clarell. It's not her. She…She is gone.
Maintaining eye contact, Jack took a large, sloppy bite out of the fruit.
"Are those tattoos?" Jack asked, motioning vaguely with her fruit-occupied hand to the markings stretching all over Clarell's visible body. More of her markings than usual were bared to the inquiring gaze of the curious woman due to the very-human "sports bra" and "running shorts" she was wearing.
Keeping their eyes locked, Clarell shook her head and answered, "I was born with them."
Jack was quiet, and Clarell did not elaborate. If Jack wanted an in-depth explanation, she would ask for one.
And if she wanted one but didn't want to ask, well…tough huarol (shit). Clarell was many things; 'mind-reader' was not one of them.
"Are all you people born with 'em?" Jack questioned around her second mouthful of food.
"Yes and no," Clarell replied; again, not elaborating.
She could feel the growl building in Jack's throat at her vague responses and did little to hide the smirk building on her face.
"What the fuck does that mean?" Jack grit, all but squishing the Clarell-colored piece of fruit in her hand.
"All Auriels are born with some sort of design marking their body. Many look similar to others', though all are unique. The designs on my body mark me as something else entirely. They were blessed upon me by the Davasi to mark me as Clarell di'Raevus; Protector of the People," Clarell explained, picking through the fruits for another of the sweet, little red berries.
"So 'Clarell' isn't even your real name?" Jack questioned, forgetting to hide her curiosity through her surprise.
She really does look so much like her...my sweet, little Briall'e...
No! Jack wasn't Briall'e. Jack wasn't her daughter.
That much was obvious...
"Clarell di'Raevus wasn't the name my family had planned for me, no, but it is as much my own name as 'Jack' is yours. It is also a title. There have only been three other Clarell'is and one Clorell in our recorded history. If you have any other questions, ask at your leisure. Most people are ignorant on the ways of the Auriel." (Clorell is the masculine form of Clarell. Clarell'is is like saying "Clarells".)
"So it's all just religious bullshit?" Jack asked, unconsciously aggressive.
"It is as much 'bullshit,' as you put so eloquently, as 'Jack' is," Clarell retorted casually, tilting her head to the side and almost daring Jack with her eyes.
"You're a bitch," Jack sneered.
"I suppose we'll get along fine, then," Clarell replied nonchalantly, an almost challenging glint in her eye.
After a brief stare-down, Jack smirked and picked up another piece of fruit.
"So your name isn't even really 'Clarell di'Raevus'?"
She sighed heavily.
Apparently, Jack's mouth was as big as her attitude.
"Commander, I will explain to you as simply as I explained to Jack. Clarell di'Raevus is as much my name as it is my title. It was an honor blessed to me upon my birth. It is my markings, as well as my actions, that define me as Clarell. As I have said many times before: should you have any questions, I will be hap-open to answering them. Now, as you were – Sorry, Commander. Force of habit," she explained, stumbling over her almost-order to the team and its Commander.
She was rather glad that everyone, aside from the aforementioned 'big-mouth' and the rest of the crew, were present in the Mess for her re-explanation. She really didn't feel like having to repeat herself on this front multiple times.
When it seemed like everyone was satisfied with her answer and returning to their food, she went back to what she had been doing before. It seemed that, no matter what to prove otherwise, there would always be some form of distrust harbored for her people, let alone herself.
So far, Kasumi, Garrus, and Thane had been the only ones to make polite - even friendly - conversation with her without blatantly eyeing her as if she were going to blow the entire ship up. She supposed Grunt could be part of that list, too, but he really only wanted to talk to her about her "most intense battles and missions." Shepard didn't seem to distrust her as much as the others. Jacob gave her a warning glare any time she entered a room he was in. Miranda stared at her like she held all the mysteries of the universe in her brain - it was unnerving. Samara, the justicar they had picked up a month and a half ago, she avoided simply because she liked not having her windpipe crushed. Everyone else acted indifferent but tended to give her a wide berth. That morning had been the first time she'd shared even one word with Jack.
Thane, at that moment, was leaning against the counter by the stove, waiting for a pot of water to heat up. Of all the people aboard the Normandy, Thane was the one she had spoken to most often in the past four months – Kasumi would be second, just ahead of Garrus. She had learned much of the Drell and the Hanar in her conversations with him, as was her goal. In return, she had educated him on all he wished to know of the Auriel. It was only fair, after all.
It didn't hurt that she also found him rather attractive.
She had been pondering her building attraction toward him for a while. While he was, quite obviously, physically attractive, it wasn't his physical appearance that had her so enthralled. He was strong and intelligent, able to hold a conversation with her where most might become lost. She could sense the emotional damage he had been dealt, though she wasn't sure of its origin, and it drew her Auriel-nature to the surface; made her want to provide him with some form of comfort. By no means did she invest her full trust in him - she had spent too much time as both an assassin and a spy to be that careless - but she had dealt with her own emotional turmoil in her many years: one dead daughter and a dead betrothed, many dead friends, no family. When she felt he would welcome it, she would provide him with an ear to speak to and a shoulder to lean on. Anything else would be discouraged.
Clarell leaned against the island-counter, across from Thane, and stared at him pointedly.
"There is enough water for your tea as well," he informed, knowingly, with a light chuckle.
She nodded, satisfied that he was prepared.
"Are you prepared for Pragia?" he asked, making conversation.
"We don't expect to run into any trouble. I'm going more as precautionary back-up," she replied automatically. She was going to leave it at that, but she felt that the reply had been too cold, so she smiled and said, "But, yes, I am prepared. Thank you for asking."
He nodded once in acknowledgment with his own minute smile.
With that, she moved to the table to speak with Garrus about his calibrations. When the tea was done, she and Thane would go to Life Support or Port Observation (depending on how his lungs were feeling and if Kasumi would join them) and resume talking where their last one-on-one conversation had left off.
The same as they had done every night for the last four months without fail.
Clarell was disgusted.
This is what Cerberus was capable of? Experimenting on children? She shouldn't have been surprised.
Regardless of whether or not the Illusive Man knew about what exactly was going on at Pragia's Teltin Facility…it didn't matter. The stuff that happened…pitting children against children in fights to the death…feeding narcotics to children…torturing children…it was appalling. The Illusive Man may or may not have ordered it, but Cerberus carried it out.
One thing was for sure. When the Reaper threat was dealt with, Clarell was done. She didn't want anything else to do with Cerberus.
And the Blood Pack!
She couldn't stand them!
And whose brilliant idea was it to give a vorcha a fucking flamethrower?
Said flamethrower-wielding vorcha turned said flamethrower on Clarell and fired on her as soon as the krogan, Kurek, ordered the deaths of her and her team.
Diving behind cover, she removed her SMG from its holster and searched for her teammates.
She saw Shepard rush to the right of the doorway as Jack took cover to her left.
Once she established where her team was located and the vorcha quit throwing flame at her, she rose quickly to open fire. However, that fucking vorcha wasn't as stupid as she thought and immediately rained fire down on her position, forcing her back behind cover.
It stayed like that, Shepard getting his ass kicked by two krogan, and then proceeding to kick their asses (back and forth), and Jack putting down vorcha left and right with her biotics, while Clarell was pinned down by a vorcha with a fucking flamethrower. Each time she tried to rise up and take him out he would immediately open fire on her again.
She was pissed.
She saw a way to climb up on top of the boxes and got an idea. It was a long shot, but maybe she could trigger it…
She holstered her SMG, climbed up as high as she could go, while maintaining her cover, and waited for the opportune moment. When it seemed like the Blood Pack was starting to get the upper hand, she shoved the box she was using as cover down on the head of a vorcha and shouted, "Kal'vera take you!"
She could feel the electricity crackle over her skin, but it wasn't at the level she needed. She needed more.
When she felt fire rip through her left shoulder and her right side, she knew she'd had enough.
"Get down!" she shouted to Jack and Shepard.
Hopefully they listened. There was no holding back now.
She jumped from her perch and landed on one knee and both hands in the center of the room in an immense explosion of deadly bolts of electricity and mild vortex of electromagnetic pulses.
The vorcha dropped dead upon impact and the krogan were rendered entirely disoriented, making it easy for Shepard to take them out with his shotgun.
When things finally quieted down and the fighting was through, Jack and Shepard turned to stare in stunned silence at where Clarell was still crouched on the floor with her back to them.
No one knew what to say or where to start.
Clarell knew that there was no point in delaying the inevitable, and so she rose shakily to her feet. She was bleeding profusely from the wounds at her shoulder and side. However, they did not affect her as much as the use of her Electro-pulse had. She was effectively weakened by her own power.
Slowly, to ensure she didn't give herself vertigo, she turned to her comrades.
"Everyone alright?" she asked, her voice stronger than she felt at the moment.
"What – what was that?" Shepard questioned, finally able to find his voice.
She sighed and proceeded to explain in as short a version as she was able, "When I was born, I was marked as Protector, as you know. This meant that I had to have the power to protect the People. From birth until maturity, I was given set quantities of, what you call, element zero and another element unique to Eralos that we call Sarasha'li, or 'Divinity' in Common. It gifted me with this power. However, the Priests and Priestesses in charge of my care either gave too much or too little in their inexperience. I can use it in small amounts with my focus rod and, occasionally, free-handed. To unleash it to the extent I just did, I have to be put in a highly stressful situation and experience extreme pain. I wish I could use it at will, but I've never been able to. I apologize for not informing you earlier."
Shepard gave a somewhat apprehensive nod.
Jack stared at her in a poorly masked mixture of awe and understanding as she muttered, "That was badass."
Clarell smirked at her, "Shall we continue?"
"Fuck yeah," Jack replied, acting as if nothing had happened and putting away her shotgun and leading a still-stunned Shepard through the hallway to her cell.
Upon reaching Jack's cell, Shepard was able to put his apprehension behind him and call out, "Come out. We know you're here."
With his hiding place ousted, a man emerged and approached them, his face haggard and worn, his body slightly hunched and…dressed in a Cerberus uniform…
"Who are you?" Jack demanded, pointing her heavy pistol at him.
"My name's Aresh, and you're breaking into my home. I know you, Subject Zero," the man, Aresh, replied in monotone. "So many years have passed, and I thought I was the only survivor."
"My name is Jack. How the hell do you know me?"
"We all knew your face, Jack. They inflicted horrors on us so their experiments wouldn't kill you," he answered, finally showing just a little emotion. "You were the question, and I'm still looking for the answer."
"Hmm. It seems you weren't the only one pulled here, Jack. This place called to him, too," Clarell interjected, staring Aresh down through suspicious eyes.
"I tried to forget this. But a place like this…it doesn't forget you. It follows you," Aresh explained, apparently agreeing. "I hired these mercs and came back almost a solar year ago. We're rebuilding it, piece by piece." His voice grew passionate (as passionate as Clarell imagined he could get), "I'm going to find out what they knew – how to unlock true biotic potential in humans. I'm restarting the Teltin facility. It will be beautiful."
Jack was stunned, "I wanted a hole in the ground – he's trying to justify what happened here by using it!"
"You'd do the same thing to new kids? Wasn't this forced on you?" the confusion and shock was apparent in Shepard's voice.
Clarell tightened her fists, weakly, at her sides. She couldn't concentrate very well with the pain in her shoulder, side, and, generally, her entire body, but she was coherent enough to know that Aresh was out of his mind.
"Some were bought from poor families on Earth or kidnapped from colonies. Most ended up here the way I did: Batarian pirates," he scratched the back of his head as if from habit. "They did such horrible things to us. They must have had good reasons."
"There's no reason good enough! Are you nuts? You lived it." Jack all-but-growled through clenched teeth.
"How did you even get out?" Clarell murmured curiously.
According to Jack, she had killed virtually everyone.
"We all attacked at once as they were taking us to the lab. They would have put us down, but then Jack got loose," he answered, briefly glancing at her before turning his almost-reverent gaze back to Jack. "When I came to, it was over – the guards, the scientists, and the kids were all dead. And you were gone."
"I stopped it, all of it. Maybe the other kids did have it bad, but what you're doing is just messed," Jack sneered.
"Everything we went through must have been for something!" Aresh insisted, building almost to a shout.
"We can blow up the place, but that still leaves him. What do we do with another you?" Shepard asked, turning to Jack.
"That's easy," Jack replied, walking passed Aresh.
"Just leave me here. This is where I belong," Aresh stated, back to monotone from his previous vehemence.
"Fuck that," Jack declared, activating her biotics and bringing Aresh to his hands and knees. She then stepped behind him and pulled out her gun, pointing it at his head.
"Jack, listen," Clarell started, taking one step closer. "Look at him. He's stuck in his past. But you – you're not. You can move past this. You need to move on. Leave him."
"He wants to restart this place. He needs to die!" Jack argued.
"Jack, his mind is gone. He will never be able to restart this facility. You can still move on, though. Be stronger," Clarell appeased.
"She's right, Jack. You have to let it go. Your past doesn't have to control you," Shepard interjected.
"Fuck," Jack growled. "Get outta here. Go."
Aresh rose quickly and fled out the door passed Shepard and Clarell.
"He's not worth chasing," Jack conceded. "None of it is."
"You did the right thing, Jack," Shepard declared.
"Maybe. This room was my whole childhood. Give me minute to look around."
"Take your time," Clarell insisted before Shepard could say anything.
After a short, depressing trip down memory lane, Jack finally demanded, "Okay. No more wallowing. Let's blow this place to hell."
On board the Kodiak, Clarell and Shepard sat and watched as Jack fiddled with the detonator, a conflicted look on her face.
When she saw Shepard and Clarell watching her, she hardened her expression to a glare and flipped the switch.
Shepard banged on the wall of the cockpit, urgently, trying to push the pilot to go faster.
The bomb went off, the resulting shockwaves shaking the Kodiak and knocking Clarell to the floor, Shepard barely managing to avoid falling on her. Jack was thrown back in her seat.
Things were back on track quickly, however, and they were on their way back to the Normandy.
Once they were back on the Normandy, Jack gave Shepard and Clarell a long look that plainly said what she couldn't put to words herself: "Thank you. Now, fuck off."
Clarell had just left the med-bay, and was returning to her shared quarters, when she was stopped by Thane emerging from the elevator.
To the untrained eye, he seemed fine; as stoic as was normal. However, Clarell was not "untrained." She could see that his normally taut body was more tense than usual, arms crossed tightly at his chest, both sets of eyelids were blinking in quick succession; he seemed unfocused, and he was emitting a high trill that was out of human hearing-range.
She had never seen Thane this distressed in the short time she had known him. It was unnerving.
"Clarell," he greeted tersely.
Even colossally distracted, he was aware of his surroundings.
"Thane, is something wrong? You seem...distracted..." Clarell observed warily.
"Yes, but it is...difficult to talk about," he conceded after a brief moment of deliberation.
Clarell glance around quickly, aware that their conversation would not be very private out in the open. "Let's go to Life Support. We can speak more privately there."
They were both aware that, with EDI around, nothing was truly private, but the illusion of privacy would make conversation easier.
As the door hissed shut, Clarell stated, "Whenever you're ready."
Thane nodded, paced over to his weapons display, and started, "I had a family once. I still have a son. His name is Kolyat. I haven't seen him for a very long time..."
Clarell truly felt for him. "How long has it been since you talked?"
"Ten years," he answered. "He showed me some of his schoolwork and asked if we could 'dance crazy.' We did that when he was younger."
"What sort of dance is that?" she asked, amusement in her voice as she tried to picture Thane dancing "crazy" with a small child.
"It's - I check my extranet contacts. I expect an update on my next target. The console plays music; old unfashionable. Kolyat jumps into the room, "Hi, Father!" Runs around in circles. I scoop him up, toss him into the air. He shrieks, laughs. "Spin me!" The console beeps. I put him down, click the message. "Father," he pleads. Tugs my sleeve. "I need to read this," I say. I don't look at him." When he finished, his expression was forlorn, regretful.
"Did something happen to them?" she asked hesitantly. She knew, personally, how hard it could be to answer that question.
"I abandoned them, though, not all at once; nothing dramatic. No sneaking out in the middle of the night. No final argument or slammed door. I just...did my job." He turned his head toward her. "I hunted and killed across the galaxy. 'Away on business,' my wife would tell people. I was always 'away on business.'"
"You never mentioned that you had a family before. Why now? Has something happened?"
"When my wife departed from her body, I...attended to that issue. I left Kolyat in the care of his aunts and uncles. I have not seen him or talked to him since."
Clarell felt a pang of disappointment with Thane's actions. She couldn't understand why he would leave his son willingly. She would give anything to have her daughter back.
She simply had to know what would bring him to make a decision like that. "That's not what I would have expected of you. Why didn't you raise him yourself?"
"My body is blessed with the skills to take life. The hanar honed them in me. I have few others," he explained. "I didn't want that life for Kolyat. I hoped he would find his own way. If he hated me, then so be it. He would not have shared the path of sin." He turned his entire body toward her. "I used my contacts to trace Kolyat. He has become...disconnected. He does what his body wills."
"Why is Kolyat 'disconnected?' What's wrong with him? Is he hurt?" She asked in quick succession, worried for the well-being of the child - or young man, now, she supposed.
"Something happened that should not have. He knows where I've been, what I've done. I don't know his reasons, but he has gone to the Citadel. He has taken a job as a hit man. I would like your help to stop him. He is – This is not a path he should walk," he explained.
"Thane, I'm not Shepard, and I'm fairly certain that you possess all the contracts and tracking skills needed to accomplish this. Why would you need my help?"
"I don't need your help, I want it. The last time I saw my son - They wrapped her body in sea-vines. Weighted it with stones. He tries to pull from me. Calls for her. The hanar lift her off the platform. They sing like bells. 'The fire has gone to be kindled anew.' He begs them not to take her away. They let her body slide into the water. He hits me," his voice turns urgent as he remembers his son's words, "'Don't let them! Stop them! Why weren't you-?' It rains. It always rains on Kahje. Warm water pours down his face."
Clarell immediately began t internally berate herself for asking questions instead of just agreeing to help him. "I'm apologize. I didn't mean to make you relive that."
"Perfect memory," he dismissed. "It is sometimes a burden."
Clarell stood for a moment, just looking into his eyes. She saw the burden there - the regret, the urgency. She knew her own eyes had held that very same look in them once upon a time.
It made her answer only that much easier to give. "We'll stop him, Thane. I will do everything in my power to keep him from harm. I give you my word. I hold a lot of sway and respect at the Citadel - more-so than anywhere else, with the exception of Eralos."
Thane stared at her for a long moment - almost as if he was really seeing her for the first time - and Clarell, desperately, wished she could read him as easily as she read anyone else.
"I cannot thank you enough, Clarell," he declared, finally. "I will inform Shepard immediately. Perhaps we may leave soon."
"Whenever you're ready," Clarell assured kindly.
With that, she turned and left Life Support for Port Observation, deciding to start on her meditations.
She was bound and determined keep her word to Thane, no matter the cost.
A/N: I'm kind of trying to write this as if Clarell were an NPC, just another possible team member to recruit.
I used dialogue from the game, but I did tweak it a bit in areas to go along better with my own plot.
I really like Jack. I feel like Clarell would want to take her under her wing and help her. Auriels are naturally compassionate, and I hope I'm making that apparent through Clarell's silent desire to help. With that in mind, I see Clarell wanting to take care of Jack, both as a sudo-replacement for her dead daughter and an apprentice, of sorts.
Anyway, Thane's loyalty mission is next! After that, we'll see, but things should really start falling into the main plot of ME 2 pretty soon.
Title is subject to change should I think of anything better.
As always, review if you want. I'd like to know what people think, and I'd appreciate it greatly.
-Hope
