Alright, onto the next chapter of Intention's Eye.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the franchises depicted in this story, but the story idea itself and all original content belongs to me.
On the surface of the desert world, a lone asari walked through the carnage that littered the planet. Clad in her traditional red armor, Justicar Samara was scouring the battlefield in order to better understand what had happened here.
For the past weeks, she had been in pursuit of the ex-Spectre D'ranna Nuvara, after her raid on a joint species colony world. The Athame Sisters had caused a considerable level of damage and murdered hundreds of innocents. Such a transgression could not go unpunished, and Samara had dedicated her efforts to killing D'ranna.
Of course, the former Spectre was no easy prey, and had evaded her pursuit many times. It reminded the Justicar of her bout with the turian Spectre Nihlus. Now, it had seemed that an unusual Geth signal had drawn the Athame Sisters to this lifeless world.
And they had apparently come into conflict with the CAT6 mercenary group, and strangely, what appeared to be Covenant. The bodies of the humans and asari vastly outnumbered the others, but the Covenant had not come out unscathed. Grunts, Jackals, Drones, and even the occasional Brute and Elite littered the ground, half-buried in the sand.
Samara frowned, perplexed by the presence of the alien conglomerate. She knew the stories of the Covenant Empire and how it had fractured at the end of the Human-Covenant War, but she also knew that most of the Covenant Remnants had been wiped out by the Flood during the Great Flood War.
Their presence here was an intriguing conundrum, one which Samara would have to solve at a later date. Right now, she was investigating the interior of the asari cruiser, in order to determine if her quarry was still alive or not.
Reaching the bridge, Samara looked over the bodies of the crew, many of which had signs of being killed by Drones. After a short investigation, the Justicar had no choice but to conclude that D'ranna had not been killed on the ship.
Leaving to investigate the surrounding area for her quarry, she halted at the sound of movement within the halls of the ruined ship. Pulling out her Acolyte pistol, she silently waited, listening for her potential enemy.
A three round burst impacted her biotic barrier, forcing her into cover as another burst flew over where her head was a moment ago. Charging a round, she quickly fired the explosive down the hall, draining her opponent's shields.
Samara followed up with Reave, but her opponent had already retreated into cover, leaving the biotic energy to harmlessly strike a wall. That was when Samara heard muffled cursing coming from where his opponent was hiding.
"Goddamn biotics."
That accent... she knew that voice. An old comrade that she had first met during her travels with Commander Shepard. The old mercenary who was the true founder of the Blue Suns.
"Zaeed?" She called out to the depths of the ship. "Zaeed Massani?"
There was a pause, as the old human registered the use of his name.
"Who the hell wants to know?" Came the reply.
"We first met during our journey with Commander Shepard." The Justicar responded.
There was another moment of silence before Zaeed spoke again.
"Samara? Is that you?"
"It is I." She replied. "It seems that we both have business on this world. And I think it would go a lot smoother if we weren't trying to kill one another."
A moment later, Zaeed stepped out from his cover with a grim laugh.
"That sounds fine by me, love. It's hard to say no to you, especially since you could rip me apart with ease."
The two deadly warriors exited the remains of the asari cruiser, Zaeed relating how he had been hired to locate the remaining forces of CAT6, with Samara quietly listening. He spoke about how the mercenary company had been reduced even further when their attempted ambush against the Normandy had backfired horribly in the face of the ship's new Republic upgrades.
"It was a goddamn massacre!" Zaeed laughed. "The CAT6 fleet may as well been made of cardboard."
"That's true." Samara said, hoping that the soldier of fortune would be quiet.
"Yeah, you'd think that those morons would've learned the consequences of crossing Shepard on the Citadel." Zaeed continued, dashing Samara's hope for peace. "Instead, they go after the Normandy, after it was demonstrated that it could take on half-a-dozen Sovereign-class Reapers. And I thought the Blood Pack was stupid."
Samara didn't bother replying, instead choosing to focus on the task at hand.
"Right, I forgot how much of a sparkling conversationalist you are." Zaeed grumbled.
The two of them lapsed into silence as they explored the sandy ruins. The dust storm reduced visibility significantly, meaning the two of them had to search the wreckage by hand, a process that was taking a long time.
Eventually, Zaeed heard a sound over the storm. It was subtle at first, but it slowly grew louder as it came closer.
"Samara..."
"I hear it, too." The Justicar responded, pulling out her assault rifle.
The noise eventually grew as a pair of lights emerged in the sky. Soon, a one man fighter touched down on the planet surface; a Z-95 Headhunter starfighter to be specific. The occupant leapt out, clad in a brown cloak and desert clothing, with a covered face and a pair of goggles.
"Looks like we've got company." Zaeed muttered, pulling out his sniper rifle.
He took aim at the unaware visitor, but Samara put her hand on the barrel, pushing it away.
"We shouldn't harm this being until we know why he's here."
"Alright, fine." Zaeed grumbled. "We'll follow him, but we stay out of sight."
Meanwhile, their mysterious visitor briefly stood there, before seemingly picking a direction, to the surprise of the experienced warriors. They were already having difficulty navigating through this storm, and yet this person seemed unusually confident as to where he was going.
Another strange thing occured when the cloaked being came across an area covered in corpses. The hooded figure bowed his head, seemingly in mourning, further confusing the Justicar and Mercenary. Whoever this was, this person was clearly not a scavenger. They wouldn't pay much respect to the dead.
Eventually, the former Normandy crew members had followed the stranger to the entrance of a cave within a rock formation. The howling wind had died down when they entered, serving as a safe shelter from the storm. Silently, they followed their quarry through the cave until they saw him stop at some sort of glowing area.
Sneaking a peek around the corner, Zaeed was surprised to see a large Geth device, similar to the one the Normandy crew had encountered on Canalus. With that thought, he realized that it was likely the source of the strange storm that had been occuring for some time.
Meanwhile, the being they had been following had removed his goggles and lifted his hood, revealing him to be a middle-aged human male. He was currently looking over a pair of CAT6 bodies, and had yet to notice Zaeed, who pulled back behind the rock.
As Zaeed motioned to Samara, indicating that there was only a single human, their visitor's voice rang out through the silence.
"You can come out now." When neither Samara nor Zaeed made any movement, the voice continued. "I know you've been following me since I landed."
Quickly, Zaeed rounded the corner, keeping his rifle trained on the mysterious visitor. For her part, Samara came out with her weapon lowered, though it was clear she was ready to respond to any threat with her biotics.
Meanwhile, the figure stood with his hands in the air, in a gesture that indicated he was willing to talk, yet would repsond to any violence directed against him. Samara couldn't help but admire his serenity, though she would consider him a potential threat until she saw otherwise.
Zaeed, meanwhile responded in his typical disposition.
"Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?" He politely asked (polite for Zaeed at any rate).
"My name is Jaden Korr." The man responded. "As for what I'm doing here, I'm investigating the geth signal and the source of this odd storm." He gestured towards the cave entrance, then at the machine behind him. "Lo and behold, I found the source."
"How did you track this device?" Samara questioned, her muscles slightly tense. This man was unnaturally tranquil, almost like he was expecting this. "I've been scouring the wrecks for some time and yet I didn't know it was here."
"Don't trust him, Samara." Zaeed growled, the Justicar's suspicions having infected his own attitude. Already, his eyes wavered slightly, looking for signs of an ambush. "For all we know, he's the one who set this up in the first place."
"Wait, did you just say Samara?" Jaden asked, rather calmly for someone who was under the guns of two tense and deadly individuals. "You wouldn't happen to be the famous Justicar, would you?"
Concerned, Samara raised her own weapon, a spike of uncertainty crawling through her skin. Few knew who she was or knew any information about the Justicars. That information was not common knowledge, especially not to someone from the galaxy of the Force.
"You know who I am. I would ask that you tell me who you work for." Samara said, her voice never wavering from a tranquil tone.
As the tense atmosphere lingered, Samara felt a subtle change in the air. All of a sudden, she felt the need to relax, and find peace. Rather than calm her, this had the opposite effect, and judging from Zaeed's bristling, he was feeling the same way.
"Please, put the weapons down," Jaden requested, with an almost mournful tone. "I am not your enemy. I don't want to fight-"
"Goddamn liar!" Zaeed shouted. "Tell your friends outside to stop whatever they're pumping in here, or you die!"
Without warning, Zaeed's assault rifle leapt from his hands, as did Samara's own weapon. They flew into the outstretched hands of their opponent, who caught them with ease. Blood boiling, Zaeed charged forward, omni-blade igniting in his hand.
Jaden ducked underneath the blow, moving faster than a normal human could possibly go. Using his own momentum against him, the younger man tossed Zaeed into the machine behind him.
That was when Samara struck: using Jaden's distraction, she hurled a sphere of biotic energy at the stranger's back. It never connected. With seeming precognition, Jaden leapt over the sphere of violet energy, and turned to the Justicar, holding his outstreched palm towards her.
With a blast of invisible force, Samara was hurled into the cave wall, though fortunately, the impact didn't cause any major injuries. Shaking off her confusion, she made to rise, but halted when she heard a distinctive noise.
The snap-hiss echoed through the cavern, and a blade of yellow energy sprung to life from a silver cylinder in the hands of Jaden Korr. Samara's eyes widened as she saw the unique weapon, and even Zaeed froze at the sight.
"Oh, shit."
"You're a Jedi." The Justicar whispered with a slight awe.
"Yes, I am." He replied, deactivating the blade and returning the hilt to his belt. "Now, perhaps we can have a civil conversation?"
...
Eventually, once the adrenaline had worn off and Samara and Zaeed were allowed to retrieve their weapons, the two of them gave their reasons for coming here. Samara explained that she was hunting the ex-Spectre who was leading the Athame Sisters. Jaden interjected with a question.
"And what do you plan to do with this D'ranna once you've found her?"
"Her punishment will match the severity of her many crimes." Samara replied. "The Code has only one option."
Jaden's eyes narrowed at that. While the Jedi Order held a measure of respect for the Justicars, the fact that these asari were so willing to go for lethal measures kept the Jedi from fully approving of what they did.
Of course, if necessary, the Jedi wouldn't hesitate to take a life, but no matter the severity of one's crime, lethal measures were rarely used as a first resort. Despite his unease, the Jedi gestured for Zaeed to continue his own story.
The mercenary explained that he had been hired to track down the remaining forces of CAT6 in preparation for a full scale strike by a separate PMC, but Zaeed remained tight-lipped about who his employer was.
"Sorry kid, that information is not mine to disclose."
"I'm afraid I must insist," Jaden replied. "I'm currently on an important investigation, and I need to know if you've been in contact with the ones I seek."
"Look kid, I don't actually know who hired me. Our business was done through an intermediary."
It wasn't technically a lie. Zaeed knew Barla Von well enough to know that he was an agent of the Shadow Broker, but at the same time, the volus was careful in his wording to make it seem like the job had come from someone else.
Despite that, Zaeed knew that the request had come from the Shadow Broker, or rather Dr. Liara T'Soni. After the events on the Citadel and the CAT6 ambush of the Normandy, it was almost certain that Liara wanted the mercenary group... removed from power. Still, he had no reason to let this Jedi know that.
"If I may ask, Jedi Korr." Samara interrupted. "What organization are you investigating?"
Jaden looked at them both for a moment before shrugging to himself and pulling out a hologram projector. A 3D image of a red and black tattooed Zabrak appeared in midair in front of them. Zaeed and Samara scowled as they recognized the man. It was hard not to when they knew that he was currently the number one fugitive in the IDA.
"I'm part of the Jedi task force searching for Darth Maul." Jaden said. "Since he's gone to ground, we've been investigating areas where the forces of his Shadow Collective maybe operating."
"And you thought I was working for that monster?" Zaeed asked, with a hint of anger in his voice.
"It was a precaution, I assure you." Jaden replied.
"I must ask," Samara interrupted. "Did you think that the Shadow Collective would be after Geth technology?"
"Well, it is something they would be interested in. Especially to sell on the black market. But I would've investigated these ruins anyway."
"Hehe, I'll bet." Zaeed snorted. "But I think the better question is what actually happened here?"
"And more importantly," Jaden finished. "Where did the survivors go?"
In orbit over the Forest Moon of Endor, space was quiet and still. That stillness was shattered by a blue and white rift opening, followed by the emergence of the assault carrier in orbit. The Intention's Eye descended into the atmosphere like a whale into the depths of the ocean.
Even with the historical significance of this moon, Endor had been all but forgotten by the various powers in this galaxy, due to it's reputation as a 'deserted island in space.' Because of this, no one batted an eye as the silver-white assault carrier entered the moon's orbit and proceeded toward the surface.
Normally, any FTL drive or hyperdrive would've required a complex series of jumps to even get to the moon, and more than a few had ended up causing the spacecraft to become shipwrecked due to the nearby stellar anomalies. However, traveling through slipspace bypassed all of that, allowing the Intention's Eye to arrive without incident.
Some of their newer passengers had recommended travel into the nearby Unknown Regions, but unlike them, Laccabeus was no fool. The Chieftan knew that the Empire of the Hand was active in that area. They were a grave threat on their own and if they so chose, could end up bringing the wrath of the Republic down on them.
Besides, after so many years on that desert world, the Covenant forces were happy for a change of scenery. The Kig-Yar were happy to salvage any useful technology left over from the Galactic Civil War. Most of the Jiralhanae were fine with fresh air and something to do. Besides, many of them wanted to know how the native wildlife tasted.
The Intention's Eye came to rest in the savannah overlooking a chain of mountains, and several dozen kilometers from a nearby forest. Hovering two kilometers over the ground, the Carrier's ventral gravity lift activated, disgorging a large assault force of Brutes, Elites, Jackals, Hunters and Grunts onto the ground.
They were closely followed by several flights of Phantoms, holding the supplies and prefabricated structures to set up camp at the base of the lift, while four Banshee squadrons initiated patrol patterns in a radius of 6 kilometers from the mothership.
In the shadow of the carrier, the Covenant camp took shape, slowly turning into a fortress as the sun fell. A pair of stealth pylons were erected, masking the Covenant's position from all but the most determined sensors that could possibly detect them. The gas giant in orbit prevented night from getting too dark, and the camp was completed within hours, causing most of the troops to emigrate to the surface.
Laccabeus stood in the center of the camp, watching as his forces set up their tents and guard towers, effectively turning the place into a fortress. Activating a voice modulater, the Chieftan spoke into it.
"Listen up!"
Hundreds of eyes turned to their Shipmaster, eagerly awaiting what he had to say.
"For the last several years, we have been marooned on that desert planet. We endured the hardships, the sorrow... the boredom." This elicited chuckles from both Sangheili and Jiralhanae. "But, now we are free. Free to roam the stars once more. Free to fight the strongest opponents, free to take what we please! So rest well tonight, my brothers and sisters, for tomorrow the hunting of this world begins!"
Laccabeus raised his hammer in the air like a banner, drawing cheers from the assembled forces. As the celebration died down, he heard the approach of the newly freed asari and human forces.
"Why even bother coming to this backwater?" D'ranna asked, unable to keep the disdain from her voice. "Why not just reduce this worthless ball to glass?"
"And why would I do that?" Laccabeus responded. "There is no need to destroy such a vibrant world teeming with life. Especially when it provides so much food, as well as a variety of enemies."
He turned to regard his new allies of circumstance.
"Now, I would suggest you get some rest as well. Jiralhanae and Sangheili tend to wake up early, and at dawn, we shall see what you all are truly capable of." There was no mistaking the underlying threat in his words.
With that, the Shipmaster returned to the gravity lift, rising into the belly of his ship.
"Looks like someone's too good to sleep on the ground." A CAT6 soldier muttered as the asari and humans split off into groups.
Once they were out of earshot, D'ranna's second looked at her commander.
"It's a risk to deal with these savages." She whispered. "For all we know, they intend to use us as sport."
"They're not the Yautja." Someone else retorted, "They're not going to use us as prey."
"I share your concerns, sister." D'ranna interrupted, forestalling any argument. "Which is why we'll play along for now, until Laccabeus' forces are fully occupied with their... playtime."
"Then what?"
"Then we hijack the Carrier and leave them all to rot on this planet." D'ranna smiled. "Or burn it to a crisp, whichever works."
The asari nodded in approval at the plan, unaware of the Unggoy listening to every word. Meanwhile, D'ranna headed towards her sleeping quarters with her fellow asari. As she prepared to sleep, her mind drifted back to the events that got her kicked off the Spectres and branded her as an outcast.
It had been after a joint mission with Commander Shepard and his crew. The Spectres had been ordered to perform a recon mission against a group of political dissidents that were against the foundation of the IDA.
It was supposed to be a routine mission, something off the books from the rest of the IDA governments. If any of them found out about the Spectre mission, it would ignite a political shitstorm if not a war.
So naturally, D'ranna subtly botched the mission while making it look like Shepard's fault, revealing their presence and starting a firefight. When all was said and done, the governments of the Galactic Alliance, UEG, Galactic Federation and the Citadel Council were not happy.
In order to placate everyone, the Council had held a trial with the Spectres involved, with many important dignitaries from the other governments there as well. What she couldn't fathom were the three individuals that were granted access to the trial floor.
One was a Predator, which on its own was pretty strange, as the Yautja were known to be disliked by most of the IDA governments for their hunting culture. What was even odder was the fact that he was allowed to keep his weapons and armor on, including his bio-mask.
The other two were humans, but no less strange. The first one was a fairly tall blond woman, with her hair tied back in a ponytail, and clad in a form-fitting blue bodysuit that had strange purple-pink symbols on her chest and left hand. A small holster with a strange pistol was on her hip, but other than that, she was unarmed.
But it was the third individual that was even stranger. He was another human, a male with brown hair, looking no older than in his late twenties. He was clad in oddly very casual clothing of archaic jeans and T-shirt and was devoid of any visible weapons on his person. Despite all that, he seemed to radiate power.
Still, D'ranna had initially payed them no mind, and was supremely confident in her chances to throw Shepard to the wolves. On the stand in front of everyone, she told the lie that should've gotten the Commander convicted and burned.
But to her complete shock, the Council had chosen to hear Shepard's version of the story over hers. Vehemently, she had protested, only for the Commander to pull out evidence that offered undeniable proof that she had been responsible for this event. Though she never knew how, the data had been gained from the Shadow Broker.
There was an uproar from the IDA dignitaries as several of them began calling for her blood. Enraged at the Council's willingness to turn on her, and furious at Shepard's ability to get off freely, she had intended to end the life of that smug human once and for all.
"You ignorant ape!" She yelled, flaring her biotics with the intention of reducing the Commander to a smear on the ground.
Before anyone could stop her, she charged in a wave of violet light, heading straight for Shepard. She never reached him. In defiance of all sense, she came to sudden halt as she was yanked out of her charge with a hand around her neck. The unarmed kid on the floor had somehow moved into her path in less than a second and managed to pull her out of her biotic aura.
Flaring up again, she attempted to strike him, only to find her biotics had no effect. Eyes widening at this revelation, D'ranna became aware of the hushed silence falling over the crowd. At first she thought it was just because of the impossible event that had just occured but when she looked down her eyes widened even further and her jaw dropped.
He was hovering a meter above the ground, with no means of propulsion.
"What are you?" She choked out, utterly terrified of the man in front of her. He simply glared at her before tossing her into the ground.
The Yautja Hunter had already had targeting lasers trained on her, as two Plasma Casters had appeared on the creature's shoulders. The blond woman had donned some sort of gold-orange power armor with a glowing green visor and lights, and a large cannon that replaced her right arm (and which was also trained on her).
Several C-Sec officers rushed to the floor, weapons also trained on her while the kid just lowered himself to the ground.
"She's all yours." He said, gesturing for the two armored warriors to follow him.
There was still a hushed silence as the crowd watched him leave the room. Despite that, no one bothered to stop or question the child or his compatriots as D'ranna was secured by biotic dampening restraints and taken to a maximum security prison.
And that was the last time she had ever seen Commander Shepard or the child in person.
In prison, she still had access to some current events from rumors and whispers of new inmates. From them, it became apparent that she had met the future Supreme Commander of the Republic.
That indignity had inspired righteous fury against him, but the sheer physics defying feat he had pulled still terrified her beyond all measure. D'ranna had remained in prison for several decades, until the chaos of the Great Flood War allowed her to escape in the chaos of a major attack on the prison.
After her escape, she had founded the Athame Sisters and made a living with their help, often hiring themselves off to the highest bidder, mainly the more unscrupulous asari criminals and businesswomen.
Since her escape, she had occasionally entertained the idea of going after Shepard or the Republic Supreme Commander, but the former had apparently been given an upgraded ship by the Republic, and trying to go after the latter would be suicide.
Still, she had no clue how things had gone so wrong. Especially to the point where she was now at the beck and call of some jumped up Covenant warlord, with the punishment for failing him being the possibility of getting eaten.
And yet, she could strike back. As she drifted off to sleep, she began dreaming of all the ways she could take over that Carrier. She would succeed and the Athame Sisters would leave the humans and the Covenant to rot.
That was what D'ranna promised to herself, and she vowed to make it a reality.
Laccabeus emerged into the bay of the ship, where his second-in-command was waiting. Makterbus stood below his Shipmaster, but his loyalty to the High-Chieftain was unwavering.
After all, it was he who would hold the ship until he returned from his mission.
"High-Chieftain, the scans have pinpointed its location. It's somewhere in a mountain range, 200 kilometers from here."
"Does anyone else know?" Laccabeus quietly asked.
"No one but the Huragok, you, me, the rest of the Chieftains, and Commanders Erda 'Renad and Halmat." Makterbus replied hesitantly, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by Laccabeus.
"What concerns you, Makterbus?" The smaller Chieftain looked down at the floor, before raising his head.
"Shipmaster... shouldn't we inform the crew of our discovery? They will be pleased to hear that we found something-"
"We will inform them," Laccabeus promised, placing a hand on the Brute's shoulder. "But only after I can confirm it's here. We can't give the crew any false hope."
"As you command, High-Chieftain." Makterbus bowed. "I will inform War Chieftain Wrakus to have his pack meet you on your Lich."
"Very good. Do you have any other concerns?" Makterbus nodded.
"Shipmaster, I do not think it's wise to trust the humans and asari." He said. "They will surely attempt to steal the ship for themselves."
"That's why I leave the Eye's security in your capable hands." Laccabeus grinned sadistically. "Keep whatever forces you need to ensure that they can't take control of the ship."
At that, Makterbus returned his superior's sadist smile. "As you wish Shipmaster. We shall hold the ship until your return."
Well, that wraps up this chapter. I hope everyone liked seeing Zaeed and Samara here. And for those who don't know, Jaden Korr is a Jedi from the Legends EU, specifically from the third Jedi Knight game: Jedi Academy.
I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and reviews are always welcome.