A/N You all weren't reading this for fluffy happy times, right? Riiiight? *hides*
That night the Clone returns home with absolutely terrible drawing of Dreya in her new journal. She also comes home with a new resolve. It's a simple maneuver to slip a sedative into Hope's evening coffee, so that the Clone can finally have some time alone. In the hours that pass she doesn't sleep, spending the night on every news site she can find—tracking Commander Shepard's progress.
The news proves both better than the Clone could have expected, and worse than she could have hoped. Not only has Commander Shepard used a thresher maw to kill a reaper, she's even taken one down on foot. Neither victory benefited humanity, at least not directly. Sure, Shepard won promises of assistance from the Turians, the Krogan, the Quarians, even the Geth, but can anyone deliver when they're busy defending their own systems? If anyone can get them to cooperate—it's Shepard. Isn't she the one who brokered peace between four races that had been fighting for centuries?
Closing the news reports, the Clone looks up flights departing Hayeiana, and digs out Hope's credit chit.
She packs a two bags and takes them with her to class—one for her, and one for the woman she plans to run away with. The Clone spots Dreya at the corner of the gym they train in, and she runs over, pulling her into a hug.
"Good morning to you, too," Dreya says with a laugh, squeezing her gently.
"Dreya, let's leave after class." Ana whispers in her ear, grinning like an idiot.
"Isn't that the idea?" Dreya kisses her cheek as she pulls back. "What's up with you today?"
"I have two tickets to Horizon with our names on them."
"A vacation, huh?"
Ana licks her lips, glancing around the room to make sure no one, especially Hope, is watching. "More like a getaway."
"Mm. I like the sound of that." Dreya is just about to pull her into a real kiss, when Tandros' makes an announcement.
"Our original plan was to review combat maneuvers in our terrain simulator, but it seems the War Council would like to see a demonstration-" Dreya and Ana share a glance between them as their instructor continues. "-At the Serrice Council Military Development Center."
No. No. No. Why today? Why did this glorified field trip have to happen today? The Clone opens her new omni tool (ordered and delivered overnight) and checks the Center's location against the spaceport. She sags with relief—the Research Center only brings them closer. As long as they don't linger too long, Dreya and Ana can make it even harder for Hope to catch them. Her sedative is supposed to last up to 16 hours at the dosage the Clone used, but results can vary. Every second wasted could cost them.
They board the shuttles, and Ana can't help but squeeze Dreya's hand as they sit down. She leans over, her voice shaking as she whispers in her ear. "Once we're on Horizon, I'll share everything. No more secrets."
A rare blush darts across Dreya's cheeks as she whispers back. "You sure?"
Ana nods, laughing softly. "Mmhm. I want to."
Dreya grins. "This is one hell of a getaway you've got planned."
"You've no idea."
They depart the shuttle hand in hand and follow the rest of their class toward the entrance. On the way, Ana spots a familiar face. Rana Thanoptis leaves the building behind, the most calm and collected the Clone has ever seen her. She practically floats towards the transit terminal. But why would she leave work so early in the day?
"Hey, Space Cadet, you're falling behind." One of Ana's classmates pushes her through the door.
The Clone moves to catch up with Dreya, but as she moves past the restroom, someone pulls her inside.
"Hope!?" The Clone stares at their reflections in the bathroom mirror, dumbfounded. "How..?"
"You're not the only one with implants." Hope's face is passive, immutable as always, but her grip is tight on the Clone's shoulder." "Mine just happens to counteract high dosages of drugs and toxins, including sedatives."
Distantly, the Clone remembers one of her first lessons. "...What are you doing here?"
Hope spins her around, bringing them face to face. "I think the better question is—what are you doing here?" Her eyes narrow.
The Clone searches her mind for a better lie when a metallic odor tickles her nostrils. It seems out of place here, why? She's only smelt that tang with-"Eezo."
"What?" Hope blinks, her grip loosening slightly.
"I smell eezo. A lot of it." The Clone's nose wrinkles as if to prove her point. It's nearly giving her a headache.
"We're in an Asari colony. Of course, there's Element Zero everywhere."
The Clone shakes her head. "Never this much." Her heart hammers and her implants go into overdrive, searching for factors that alter the equation. Elements that are out of place, like smells...and people. She looks up at Hope. "You have Rana Thanoptis's schedule, right?"
"...Yes. Why?"
"Is she supposed to be working right now? Or is she on lunch?"
"I don't see why this is relevant." Hope pulls out her omni-tool anyway, typing into interface. "She's scheduled until 1 pm."
Part of the Clone feels relief at being right...but the answer only forms new questions. Her voice barely caries over the sound of the bathroom fans. "Then why was she leaving ten minutes ago?"
Hope's lips press together as she thinks it over. Then her eyes widen. "Oh no."
"What?" This time, the Clone squeezes her wrists as if it'll make Hope answer her sooner. She's never seen Hope worried, not like this.
"She's still indoctrinated. We need to leave. Now." Hope tugs on her grip, pulling her towards the hall.
Why would one indoctrinated Asari be a threat? Especially at range? Asari aren't known for their snipers, though some commandos carry rocket launchers. Neither of those use, eezo, though. The Clone's implants search for strategies using long-range biotics, and the answer hits her like high speed train. "Do you have the schematics for this building?"
"It doesn't matter. We're leaving."
The Clone yanks her hand out of Hope's grip, nearly snarling. She doesn't have time for this. "Show me the schematics, now."
Hope stops, staring at the Clone like she's seeing her for the first time. She hesitates, then re-opens her omni-tool. "Alright."
They study it together, and the Clone sees the structural weaknesses with a twinge in her gut. She pulls up her own omni-tool, calling Dreya's number through the city directory. She sags with relief when the Asari's face pops up on her interface. "Dreya! Hey. Where're you at?"
"We're passing by the assembly lines, and we're heading to the viewing platform. Joy." Dreya drawls, rolling her eyes. "Why? You get lost?"
Ana starts to smile before her brain makes the connection between the grid showing on Hope's omni tool and Dreya's description. "...Something like that. Could you come back to the lobby? Please?" She's trying desperately to look calm. Panic, the implants suggest, would only make things worse for all of them.
"Aren't you listening? We're leaving. Now." Hope tugs on her arm again, less gently this time.
Dreya probably can't see much of Hope, but apparently, she can overhear her talking in such close proximity. "Who the hell are you?"
The Clone glares at Hope, answering for her. "I'll explain later. Come towards me, okay? I'll meet you halfway."
Scrunching her nose, the Asari nods. "Okay. But you get to explain this to Tandros."
Smiling as she pulls Hope through the door, the Ana nods. "Of course. And Dreya?"
"Yeah?"
"Stay on the line. Please." She moves through the halls, hoping desperately that she'll reach Dreya in time. Hope follows behind, arguing as much as she can without drawing attention to them.
"Sure." Dreya searches Ana's eyes through the interface. "Are you okay? You're kind of freaking me out."
The stench of eezo gets stronger as they get closer, and the implants blare in warning. If the Asari notice, they certainly don't seem to mind the threat. "I'll be fine once we get out of here." Ana smiles in the most soothing manner she can manage.
Dreya doesn't seem convinced. "Yeah, about that." She looks away, and in the corner of the interface, the Clone can see Tandros closing in. Shit.
"What do you think you're doing?" The vid call shuts off abruptly.
"No!" The Clone nearly breaks into the run, before Hope stops her. She rears on her... what are they? Partners? Roommates? Fugitives? "What?" She snaps.
"Stay calm. You won't get to her in time if you get stopped."
"You're the one stopping me."
Hope pinches the bridge of her nose. "I'm helping you. Only because you won't leave until she's dealt with."
"She has a name." The Clone takes off again, at a pace Hope will tolerate. Her heart races ahead of her, trying to keep up with the pace of her thoughts.
It probably only takes them minutes to reach the assembly line, but it feels like days in the Clone's mind. Her heart soars as she spots Dreya in the center of the long hall, and she waves. She clears her throat to call her name, and it's then the Clone sees the blinking lights of the bomb just a few meters from where Dreya stands. The reek of Element Zero gets worse with each pulse. No.
"Dreya!" Ana calls out across the room. At first the Asari doesn't hear her, and so the Clone repeats herself, as loud as she can. Finally, Dreya turns around and waves.
The bomb explodes in a flash of light.
"No!" The Clone screams as she lurches forward, but Hope pulls her back, spinning them around so the heat of the blast doesn't burn their faces. The windows of the nearby viewing platform shatter. Hope and the Clone flinch as they hear the sound of cracks forming in the supporting beams, and what sounds like the ceiling crumbling above her classmates.
When the dust settles, and the screams set in, the Clone tears out of Hope's grasp and charges towards the rubble. She stops at the edge, pulling off the pieces of marble, concrete, and steel one by one with her biotics. Her implants don't help her find Dreya—they only droll on about the instability of the building around them. She doesn't care.
Finally, finally, she spots a blue arm with the glimmer of gold tattoos sticking out of two pieces of rubble. They don't shine as much as they usually do, covered by dust and grime, but the Clone knows them all the same. She falls to her knees, pulling Dreya out of the rubble as gently as she can, but it's no use. The Asari's body is painfully still, and something—the Clone can't describe it—something's changed. Without life, Dreya's skin is tight and stiff, and her eyes stare out blankly like a doll. Ana checks her pulse point anyway, shattering inside when she feels nothing.
Distantly, the Clone feels Hope pulling her away from the crime scene as the authorities pour in to address the situation. She follows numbly to the shuttle, but all she sees is the emptiness in Dreya's eyes. The shuttle takes off, and Hope is giving coordinates to their new home, but it doesn't register in the Clone's mind. She's too busy running the scenario by her implants over and over again, trying to find where she went wrong. The implants fail each time, and it's then the Clone realizes she was never programmed to save lives. She was brought back to destroy them.