Memories of Bysorrn: On the Beat
Officers Deveg Wulger and Hannah Shepard patrol the streets of Palturma Beach, responding to various alerts. In her efforts to maintain law and order she will find that humans and non-humans have more in common then they fear…
1038 HOURS
PETTY THEFT
The panicked salarian, stubbing his toe, tumbled and popped upright in the alley corner with a massive shadow looming over him. Half-screaming, half-cackling as he caught wind of his pursuer, he darted off with his small bag further into the recesses.
A deep, resonant voice called out. "Do you see him?"
An auburn-haired, blue-clad human patrol officer skidded to a halt where the salarian had stood.
"… I see a little dust cloud - he went past another turn!" said Hannah Shepard, peering down the way and hooking a thumb into her belt.
The shadow caught up to her side and revealed itself as the hulking krogan Deveg Wulger. "Service alley - if the all the access doors are closed it's a dead end. Let's go!"
The two officers jogged towards the second corner when Hannah suddenly grunted and cursed, hopping over to one side. Massaging her ankle she spotted a small rectangular object on the ground. She limped over quickly and picked it up.
"The hell is this?" she asked Wulger as they resumed their pursuit.
The krogan glanced at the item in his partner's hands. "Looks like a self-sealing stem bolt. Our suspect must've dropped it."
"What's it for?"
"Beats me," he panted.
Hannah's fiddling with the stem bolt deployed short silver studs on either end, retracting after a second or so.
"I love these guys - why can't they ever steal anything useful?" she quipped as she fooled more with the recovered merchandise, discovering what needed to be pressed to extend the studs at will.
A metallic slamming noise came from around the corner. Wulger held up a hand to stop Hannah's advance, directing her attention to the area ahead. It was indeed a dead end with every portal and gate in sight sealed. Only a couple of waste bins, storage crates and assorted scraps were present. The crate Wulger pointed to had an access light that stopped blinking; if their suspect had gone the other way he would have been seen. He would have also been able to bound up onto a bin and over the main alley gate to escape.
Hannah pocketed the stem bolt. "Kinda sounds like a gun," she whispered.
Wulger and Hannah crept up on the suspect's hiding place. She ran a quick sequence on her omni-tool to unlock the crate. It quickly locked up again. Two more attempts yielded the same result. Evidently the salarian was countering her efforts with his own omni-tool from inside.
"We'll be at this all day," Hannah moaned, queuing up for another try.
The senior officer took charge, pounding the lid of the storage crate. "You might as well come out. We're not going anywhere and it's only a matter of time before whoever owns this crate will want to use it."
A helium-esque voice stuttered "Y-y-you keep that trained human away from me!"
Wulger winked at Hannah. "Relax… I just sent her back to the car…"
"You're lying… she's s-s-still here… I can s-smell the… fur patch on her head!"
"What do you guys have against hair anyway?" muttered the human.
"A-HA! I can hear her!"
Wulger groaned. Hannah huffed and rolled her eyes.
"No, no, no, no, no. I'm staying in here where it's safe!"
"… then you leave us no choice," Wulger huffed. "We're going to contact the precinct and the company who owns this crate. They'll have techs over to cut their way in. They're not going to be happy about ruining a perfectly good crate and that's only going to add to the charges against you!"
"I'll t-take my chances in here," retorted the confined salarian.
Wulger grunted and motioned for his comset when Hannah pointed to the stem bolt in her pocket with a skewed expression. There was a look in her eyes that suggested she had a plan. Play along, she mouthed to her superior as she took it out.
"Shepard," Wugler puzzled. "What do you think you're doing with that?"
Hannah pointed the stem bolt at him and put on a show for the salarian in the crate. "Keeping you from using yours… now toss it over there!"
Hannah waited on Wulger, who stood in place bewildered by her actions. She waved a hand in front of her waist hinting that he look for something to throw. The krogan's countenance suddenly lit with comprehension and he scrutinized the ground, locating a piece of discarded palette. He picked it up and chucked it a short distance away. It landed on the ground with convincing heft.
"You're not going to get away with this," he grumbled, smirking as he did so.
"Beats waitin' here all day for backup! I'm sick n' tired of this 'Humans Go Home' crap! One way or another he's comin' outta there!"
"You humans are all alike; you think you own the galaxy!" Wulger leaned in to Hannah and whispered "Pretend to knock me out so I can sneak up on him."
"Read my mind," she grinned then continued the pretense more loudly. "Watch it, pal! Don't think for a second I won't shoot you!"
"You wouldn't dare! Kill me and they'll chase your kind off this planet. Then the turians can finish what they started!"
"I can still take you down… I mean it!" Hannah barked and shuffled the ground hard, Wulger doing likewise.
"No human's getting the best of me-"
Wulger suddenly slapped one of his shoulder pads and plopped down on his knees with an "Ooogf," falling on his side to convince the salarian that he was out cold. While the impish Hannah kept the suspect's attention, tapping the side of the crate with the stem bolt, Wulger moved into position.
"Oh, Mr. Pickpocket," she teased. "It's just you and me now so here's what's gonna happen. I'm gonna take my gun…"
She extended the studs.
"… and in a few seconds I'm gonna start shooting a lotta holes in the crate. If you are still inside the crate… what can I say? Some of those holes will be in you!" Hannah allowed a moment for her ultimatum to sink in.
"Do we –uh- understand each other?"
A tone sounded. The crate's access light blinked on. The front flew open and the salarian jumped out and up in the direction of the alley gate. Wulger intercepted him by his midsection. Seeing the human again incited the suspect to scramble further into the krogan officer's arms for protection despite being repeatedly pushed off.
"No-no-no! Don't let her kill me!" he begged.
Hannah sported an annoyed look, crooking up her elbow with the stem bolt in hand. "What… with this?"
She closed and opened the studs again demonstrating how their movement sounded very much like a gun cocking.
The salarian's fear turned to outrage. "You… you tricked me! You tricked- let me go… put me down!"
Wulger subdued him and clipped binders around his wrists as Hannah went inside the crate and fished out the thief's bag of ill-gotten gains. "That's enough from you - you're coming with us. Shepard?"
Hannah rejoined her partner and the secured prisoner who looked on her with disgust, complaining "Threatening me with a stem bolt? That can't do any harm!"
Hannah pursed her lips. "Not unless you sit on it… I can make you sit on it!"
Wulger shook his head and hand at her disapprovingly then contacted the precinct dispatch to report the pursuit resolved as they took their prisoner back to their vehicle.
1321 HOURS
PUBLIC LEWDNESS
Wulger and Hannah were soaring over cross streets and thruways again after booking the thief at the station. Traffic control was reporting significant slowdowns at one thruway. Wulger contacted dispatch, notifying them that he and Hannah were close by and were going in to investigate. He circled closer to the cause of the commotion: a turian was standing on a lane divider ranting and carrying on. Curious and appalled drivers took in the sight, covering up the eyes of the under-aged.
The turian did not have on any clothing.
"I know it's hot today but still," joked Hannah as the aircar touched down on a patch of grass by the road. She unbuckled her seat belt and started to climb out. Wulger had her stay in the vehicle.
"Call for an extra unit and medical detail," he instructed. "I'll go talk to him."
Wulger, a veritable living roadblock, ambled into the lanes as Hannah watched and retuned the comms. The krogan policeman reached the lower platform of the lane divider surrounded by irate motorists and pilots calling for the turian to leave. The subject of their derision did not seem aware of their pleas.
"Flowers! Hide your petals from the light! The Gathering is upon us!"
"Come on down, sir!" Wulger attempted to wave him down from his perch. "Nude sunbathing isn't allowed here!"
The turian addressed him, stretching out a palm as if to confer a blessing. "Gourds! You will not be spared! The Garden will be stripped bare! The Black Hands come!"
Wulger paid no attention to his ravings. "Just step towards me – I'll help yo-"
"The Black Hands…! I saw them - hundreds, thousands of them reaching down from the sky…! Clawing, scraping, grasping… pulling!"
"Assist inbound," reported Hannah over Wulger's comset. "You sure you don't need a hand?"
"He's not armed; I can take him if I have to," he affirmed. The officer calmly closed in on the turian as he continued his strange sermon.
"Our roots do not reach deep enough… our children will go first… they will never have a chance to bloom…"
Another patrol aircar set down nearby. Two turian officers stepped out and began closing off the road with orange holobarriers. Shortly afterwards a medevac arrived on the scene with a hanar, salarian and turian orderly. The salarian remained within the medevac as her associates cautiously approached the demented turian from the opposite direction. Hannah made her way over to support Wulger in spite of his assurances.
"We toil, they plunder… we sow, they reap…"
Wulger was close enough to grab him.
"WE ARE ALL DOOMED!"
The turian orderly stumbled over a pile of the madman's discarded clothing, attracting his attention. Wulger seized the opportunity and pulled him down from the upper portion of the lane divider. The naked turian screamed as he struggled to break free. Hannah ran up and grabbed one of his arms, narrowly avoiding a claw to her face. The hanar drifted in and threaded its tentacles around the madman's other limbs before the turian orderly jabbed an ampule of sedative into his neck. In a minute the struggling reduced to shuddering and sobbing.
The orderly handed over the clothing he tripped on to Hannah before helping his afflicted brethren to the medevac. Wulger heaved a sigh of relief, thumbed his comset and reported that the traffic obstruction was removed. Hannah searched through pockets and found a type of wallet with a thin plastic case of pills. She opened the case and stirred about the two remaining doses inside.
"What have you got there?" said Wulger upon closing his comms.
Hannah's eyes dimmed. "Passports to a bad trip."
Wulger examined the pills. "Doesn't look like the usual paraphernalia," he noted in a hushed tone. "Must be that new product they talked about at the station."
Hannah remembered the confidential brief from her Alliance rep about human drugs circulating through Palturma Beach. The cover story agreed upon by Alliance and Hierarchy officials was that experimental drugs were being distributed by some as-yet-unidentified persons with no regard for public safety. Now there were dextro versions available; those responsible had to be found before more lives were endangered and the story collapsed under the weight of mounting evidence. Hannah used her omni-tool to scan the wallet for an ident chip, hiding the pill case. Their owner's vitals scrolled up as the salarian medic inquired about the incident.
"Suspect identified, officer?"
"Yeah, ah… Hendorin Clovis, botanist," Hannah read from the pulled data. "Visa lists him as visiting family in the city… wow, was a survivor of a science expedition that went missing a few months back. Currently undergoing treatment for post-traumatic stress."
"Recovery process not without setbacks," commented the salarian. "May find intoxicants or depressants in system, legal or otherwise. Will ensure complete workup is done, that family and psych care provider are notified."
Hannah transferred over her data to the medic's omni-tool, secretly flagging it for Alliance and Hierarchy personnel to intervene as far as the chem analysis of the drug. The medic thanked her and Wulger for their help before leaving on the medevac. The turian officers reported present conditions to precinct headquarters who then issued orders to remove the roadblock and get the delayed motorists moving again. Hannah and Wulger walked back their aircar, exhaling simultaneously as they settled again in their seats.
"Good a time for lunch as any," said Wulger.
The human turned her head and body to the driver's side to get a better view of her partner stretched into the back seat. "Mannikreck's?"
"A bit out of our way, isn't it? Perhol's Burgat Burrow's much close-" Wulger flashed a toothy krogan grin and pointed. "Ah… Cadrina…"
"Yeah, she should be there about now. You can finally get to meet her in person. Besides, I hear they're makin' some pretty good pizza."
Wulger leaned forward, revved up the aircar's drive core and initiated ascension. "Hmm… guess I can have their Chulma stew. Alright - Mannikreck's it is."
1445 HOURS
LUNCH BREAK
Wulger and Hannah landed within the zone designated for drive-through customers. Kale Mannikreck was tasked with bringing them their orders. He gingerly sidestepped tables and children running about, trying to keep Wulger's bowl from spilling on the floor or over Hannah's two pepperoni and sausage pizza slices. Recognizing who had shown up he called over his friend Cadrina to help; she was only too happy to do so. As they walked up to the parked vehicle together he did his best to conceal a smile, aware of the surprise waiting for her.
"What's so funny, Kale? You're the one carrying that big stewpo- Mom!"
She ran up to the aircar with her mother's food and drink. Hannah had climbed out with Wulger to stretch their legs while they waited. The human mother set her tray on top of the aircar as her daughter clamped her arms around her torso. Hannah patted Cadrina's head, draping her other arm over a shoulder. She then turned and introduced the girl to her partner. Wulger walked over and gently took Cadrina's hand, offering a hearty hello. Cadrina's eyes went up and down his height.
"Whoah! Mom said you were big," She looked and gestured to the aircar. "How do you…"
"I manage," he said plainly, used to comments about his size, while cradling his bowl of Chulma stew in one arm as he tipped the young turian. "So what do you think of Palturma Beach, Cadrina?"
"I love it! Water's great, lots of fun places to hang out," Her eyes went to Kale and to Wulger again. "Made new friends, even got a babysitting job for some extra credits."
"Your mother was telling me about that. With the Nocris family… heh-heh, I hear their little one's quite a handful!"
"A handful plus one in a coupla months," added Hannah. "But Cady keeps her outta trouble…" Her chin dipped as she gave her child an informed look that set her mouth askew.
"Usually."
Cadrina promptly switched tacks. "Soooo you guys been busy today?"
"Nothing too hairy." Hannah ran a hand through her hair. "Aside from me. See your father already?"
"Yep; his boat passed ten minutes ago."
"And how's your father, Kale?" Hannah asked of the young turian.
"In the kitchen helping fill orders, Mrs. Shepard." Kale replied. "Business picked up a little lately. I hope you like the pizza. Cadrina said it's your favorite food but that you tend to… beee-"
"I'm sure it's good," was Hannah's encouraging word. "You know how much Maya charges for their cartoons?"
"K'atuns!" corrected Kale and Cadrina simultaneously.
"Whatever. I'm not sure 'bout tryin' that special they have, either. The Quetzalcoatl? Probably the sound you'll make from coughing it up!"
Wulger and the children had a laugh at Hannah's jape at Mannikreck's chief competitor as she proceeded to act it out, hands on her knees and making hacking noises similar to the special's name.
"Enjoy your meal, officers. And thanks for stopping by!" concluded Kale, motioning to his friend.
"See you later, Mom… it was nice meeting you, sir – wow! Sorry… Bye!"
Cadrina hugged her mother and shook the krogan's hand again, still awed by how her entire hand was only the size of his palm. Wulger chortled at her reaction, knowing she really meant no harm. The human girl returned to the restaurant with the turian boy leaving Wulger and Hannah to eat in the back seat.
The krogan officer found the Chulma stew particularly good. Even Hannah's pizza slices were much to her liking. Sipping on their drinks, Hannah prodded her superior officer into delivering on his promise to show her holos of his own children now that he had met her daughter. Wulger's omni-tool flickered on.
"Chips off the old block," complimented Hannah, then amending her comment when she saw that Wulger did not know what she meant. "They look a lot like you… just smaller. Who's who here?"
Wulger proudly introduced his young shown in one holo. "That's Qona, my daughter. And that's my son Brontag."
"Get to see them often?"
"Once a month I set up a real-time session; vidmails the rest of the time."
"They sure look happy."
"I hope they are," Wulger sighed. "I… certainly pay enough…"
"You okay? If you don't wan-"
Wulger switched off the slideshow. "It's all right, Shepard. You told me about how you came to be here, about your mother and her work on the exchange program. It's only fair… have you heard about the genophage?"
Hannah became a bit downcast. "… the virus that nearly sterilized and wiped out your people, right…?"
"To keep the more rowdy of us in check. The Council's answer to the Krogan Rebellions… my children… aren't affected by it…"
Her eyes widened. "Your kids are immune? But that would make your daughter… then your wife was-"
"It's a mystery how we got so lucky… my mate wanted to keep them safe…"
The human mother shifted in her seat, torn between wanting to show sympathy in lifting up her hand to his shoulder and respecting her partner's personal space. The krogan father gently raised his hand a moment to inform her that her sentiment was appreciated but not needed.
"It takes a lot of credits to buy silence, even more for loyalty. I had to give up my kennel. All my prized varren donated to keep the trust of the clan. And that was only a down payment. The rest comes from whatever I send back to Tuchanka and I send back as much as I can. I still have enough to live on… what matters is that my children are safe and well. Hopefully Brontag can complete his Rite of Passage one day, join a strong clan. Become his own man so he can protect himself and his sister."
Hannah had difficulty finding a way to ease out from Wulger's somber confessional. All she could muster was "Wulger…? Why trust me with this? We haven't known each other that long."
The krogan's response was plain and direct. "You remind me of my people. But your mate and your child also bring out the best in you. You're a part of my krantt as much as I'm a part of yours… out here all we outcasts have is each other..."
Hannah's lip tightened to a smile, glad of her superior's confidence in her. It then occurred to her how to lighten the mood and help transition back to duty.
"How 'bout a little music, huh?" she offered, activating her omni-tool.
Wulger pointed to the dashboard. "Shepard, we have to monitor frequencies."
"No problem – it's set to mute if anything comes over the horn…"
Hannah tuned in a channel specializing in Earth music from two centuries past. A song was starting up with a drumbeat accented with synth melodies.
"Oh, this's a good one!" she noted as she raised the volume.
Wulger found himself smiling at the human who began to dance in her seat and sing along with the song that was playing. Equal parts fun-loving, ferocious and tender. A worthy mate if she were a krogan female. The song was contradictory; the lyrics were a warning about an untrustworthy female but its upbeat melody and tone did not help to underscore the seriousness of the subject. The paradox seemed lost on Hannah who only enjoyed its infectious rhythm.
"No you'll never change her, so leave it, leave it…"
Needing to put aside his troubles at home, in spite of himself, Wulger started to hum to the music quietly.
"Get out quick cos seeing is believin'…"
His foot tapped in time with it, his humming growing louder.
"It's the only wa-a-a-y… you'll ever knooo-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-"
Even the krogan's head began tilting to this strange human song. Hannah swayed in her seat snapping her fingers to the music, her head leading the rest of her torso in a wavelike motion from side to side, turning to face her superior officer whenever she sang out.
"Easy lover; she'll get a hold on you, believe it…! Like no other; before you know it you'll be on your knees!"
Wulger commenced singing along with Hannah, snapping his fingers and nodding in time. Fortunately there were no alerts to interrupt the rest of the song.
"Sheee's an eaaaasy lo-ver. She'll take your heart but you won't feel it…sheee's like no other… and I'm just trying to make you seeeeeeeee…!"
1659 HOURS
ANIMAL RESCUE
The aircar coasted to a stop by the sidewalk in front of a one story dwelling and was met by a batarian woman. She was momentarily surprised by Hannah's presence in the vehicle.
"Oh…! I didn't know they allowed humans on patrol now. Thank you for stopping!" She turned to her daughter standing beneath the tree by her house. "Naaleen! The police are here! They'll get Grennel down!"
"Please hurry – he's so scared!" said the child, looking up into the branches.
Hannah leaned against the aircar and crossed her arms, examining the tree. "Family pet stuck up a tree… I think I can handle this one."
A smell about her had Wulger preoccupied. "I really think I should do this. I have more experience with varren, remember?"
"No offense, big guy, but you'd keel over that tree before you even got up halfway. And that pooch's too far away to hear you whisper."
The krogan continued sniffing. "True but… you might give the wrong impression-"
"C'mon! I'm a big girl; I can handle a rowdy Chihuahua from another planet." She went into the aircar's storage compartment and pulled out a blanket, wrapping it around one of her arms. "See? He can take a chew off this if he gets mad. And if he falls you can catch him."
Wulger grudgingly relented. "All right then… be gentle but quick!"
"Copy that!" Hannah winked, clicking her teeth before heading towards the tree. As she neared the trunk she called out to the child.
"Hey-uh, little girl…? Little girl - what's your name again?"
The batarian girl looked over for a second before fixing her eyes on her pet again. "…Naaleen…"
"Hi, Naaleen. I'm Officer Shepard. That's my partner Officer Deveg. I'm gonna try to get him down so I need you to keep talking to him. Keep him distracted so I can grab him. Deveg'll stand next to you to catch him in case he falls. Okay?"
Still looking up, Naaleen nodded her compliance. Hannah waved Wulger over to stand by the girl. He held an arm up to keep the juvenile varren's attention. Naaleen cooed and reassured her pet, holding up its favorite toy and promising it a treat once it was safe on the ground again. With the varren focused on its young master, Hannah climbed the tree as quietly and as quickly as she could.
Getting up the trunk was no problem. Moving out over the branch where the animal was stuck was a trickier proposition. Hannah made her way past other branches jutting out in front as she shimmied closer to the varren. Getting even closer she held her covered arm out in front. The varren, eyes still on Naaleen and Wulger, began sniffing the air. Instead of growing more agitated it seemed to calm down. Hannah's arm came up by its side.
"Easy, there… easy… I gotcha…"
She scooped her hand underneath its chest quickly as Wulger advised. The varren squealed happily and put up no resistance. Encouraged by its reaction Hannah inched forward a bit more and tried to tuck the varren under her arm, misjudging its weight slightly. Finally managing to secure it, she started backwards up the branch with Wulger and Naaleen keeping pace below.
"Hurry it up, Shepard!" the krogan barked, noting the increasing frequency in which the varren was licking at Hannah's face.
"Yeah-yeah, I'm goin'!" Hannah angled her head away the varren's affectionate tongue. "Okay… okay – you're welcome… let's get down from here first then you can thank me all you want…"
The human officer reached the trunk and descended halfway with the varren growing ever more excited. Naaleen ran up to her and stretched out her arms, Wulger at her side. Nearly back on the ground Hannah handed the animal over to its owner. Naaleen had trouble holding it steady. Wulger assessed the situation, hurrying them over to her mother as Hannah stood behind wondering why her partner was in such a rush. The question would get a very clear answer as the varren bounded out of Naaleen's arms and ran straight into Hannah's leg.
"WUL-GERRRRR!"
The horrified batarian mother covered up her daughter's eyes quickly however the child was more surprised than disgusted. "Grennie's never done that before," she observed.
Hannah vainly hopped in place trying to loosen his grip, her protests shifting between shrieking and sobbing. Wulger attempted to separate them then gave up, letting the varren tire itself out. After it released its hold the varren expert carried the limp and sated animal back to the batarian mother and child. After exchanging thanks and apologies for the turn of events Wulger attended his partner, undoing the blanket from her arm and using it to clean off her leg. Hannah all the while standing in silence, mortified.
"Your… pizza, the toppings," Wulger explained "The sausage, maybe the pepperoni… or both… smells almost like varren in heat… he thought you were receptive to him… I told you to be quick about it!"
"… thanks for the hot tip…" she breathed with a trancelike demeanor then snorted.
"Sorry; I couldn't think of any delicate way of putting it in front of the family. Next time we call Animal Control, alright?"
Hannah was recovering. "Yeah, sure."
Wulger rolled up the soiled blanket and trod back to the aircar, tossing the blanket on the floor by his seat. He beckoned his partner to get on board. She slowly turned and came towards him with a pronounced limp.
"Your leg isn't broken, Shepard," Wulger chided.
"I may as well chew it off," Hannah grumbled. "Violated is not even the word."
The bemused krogan took his seat. "You know, in all my years of raising varren I've never seen one take so quickly to someone before. Consider it a compliment!"
Hannah plopped into her seat. "Can we hurry back to the station so I can change out of this uniform, Wulger? Please?"
Wulger fired up the drive core. "Sure… just name your first male pup after me!"
"You're really enjoying this, aren't you? This can be considered abuse of office, you know!"
Wulger could not resist one jape. "… was that what humans mean by 'animal magnetism-?'"
"Wouldya go already?!"
Wulger let out a good-natured laugh and the aircar was on its way back to the station and the end of their shift. Hannah propped her head on the door, hiding her eyes. The absurdity of her experience forced a chuckling moan from her throat. To her relief soon she would have a shower, change into civilian clothes, head home and put it behind her. She made a mental note to order only plain pizza when out on patrol.
Unless the scent of mozzarella was another issue…
END
Author's Thoughts and Notes:
- Self-stealing stembolts are taken from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The characters in that show aren't sure what they do either.
- Hannah's speech to coax the thief out from his hiding place is from a scene in the movie Running Scared starring Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines
- The song Hannah and Wulger sing to is Easy Lover by Phil Collins