Chapter 38: Pawns of the Pantheon

- The Halls of Platinum

She was late.

For over a century now, they had met up here in his great halls, and played many games with their creations. They would talk, and laugh, and move pieces into impossible situations for hours, just to see what the creatures would do. Occasionally they would work together to overcome some obstacle, but mostly it was just good fun; something to fill up the lonely hours as they waited for the enemy to make a move.

He had missed her over the long millennia while they had all gone their separate ways, and was starting to get used to the nightly banter and companionship once again. While he knew that she would never be to him what he had once wanted her to be, she was a good friend and had always supported his ideas. He was grateful for that and respected her highly. They would never have been able to enjoy this camaraderie if things hadn't worked out this way, after all. And he rather liked the way that things worked out.

Still, she had never been late to their games before, and he was intrigued.

He stood, expanded his platinum wings and walked to a crystalline window that faced the courtyard. There, his children carved beautiful statues out of ice and played soft music on all manner of golden stringed instruments. He liked to keep his surroundings beautiful and serene, unlike some of his brethren who filled their halls with mechanical things or deformed experiments. His children were the image of his own beauty, all tall and lithe creatures with snowy wings and long platinum hair, and they all sang to him throughout the day and created works of beauty that stretched the length and breadth of his great halls.

He smiled to himself as he thought of the one time he had visited her dwelling, The Halls of Obsidian. She had wanted to show him a new creation she had been working on, and he had immediately agreed to visit her lair to offer his assistance. He had been surprised at how similar her halls were to his own, albeit much, much darker. The structure was nearly identical, with her gathering rooms in the center, and her courtyard housing her children as they sang and danced in the moonlight. Even her children looked much like his did, but their skin was obsidian and they brought death on black wings. Her halls were carved out of dusky marble, while his were carved out of glass souls, and her black tower overlooked the Sea of Ages.

He had only gone there once. She was secretive and preferred her seclusion, but he would remember that visit for the rest of eternity. As far as he knew, no one had ever been invited to her halls, and he had been extremely flattered to have been consulted on the creation of her latest bloodline. In fact, that was part of the reason they were playing these games of late. They were experimenting.

He returned to his seat, and settled down to wait. She would have sent a messenger if she was not coming, and no dark wings had shadowed his shimmering sky. She would be here, eventually. Until then, he could study the board and plan his next move.

-Normandy, Sickbay

"You say they brought her in here like that?" Dr. Jack North stood over the motionless, but stable, form of Darla Vance, disbelieving. When he had arrived, the woman's entire body was charred and blackened, but as he and his colleague examined her, it had started flaking off. He and Chakwas then started brushing off the dead cells, revealing nearly perfect skin underneath. The only thing irregular was a somewhat sickly blue tint.

"Exactly like this." Doctor Chakwas showed her friend and colleague an image on her Omni-tool.

"What did they say caused it?"

"The commander was vague. She said something about a biotic field, but I have my doubts. I've never seen anything like it. What do you think it is?" She was running a hand scanner up and down the human's body, but there was nothing irregular about her vital signs. By all accounts, Danger was unconscious, but normal.

He cut her off. "I… I don't know. I need to call my wife. She would know about burns like this. We should bring the patient to the citadel where Lirilith can examine her."

"I'll clear it with the commander. How long will it be before she can get here?"

"I will call her right now, and get her on the next transport. She will want to see this." He stepped over to Dr. Chakwas' console, and started pressing various buttons and whispering. "There. She will be here within the hour. I knew she wouldn't be able to resist this. Can I take her?" he gestured to the human lying on the examination table.

Dr. Chakwas nodded. "Yes, I will let the commander know that I needed to bring in more specialists. Are you taking her to the Med Clinic? I'm sure Shepard will want to visit her friend."

"No, I don't think this is a medical matter. Her vital signs are stable, but I'm afraid she might have been the subject of some sort of religious experiment. I'm taking her to my apartments so Liri can look at her in peace. I will call you when I have an update."

"Very well then, Jack. I leave her in your capable hands." She helped him roll Danger's body onto a transport cart, and the man rushed her out of the medical bay without another word.

-Halls of Platinum

He had been staring at a piece for what seemed like hours, considering who to pair it up with, when he heard the massive doors to his gathering area open.

She had arrived.

He watched the demon-god approach, dusky wings expanded fully and all six of her arms clasped behind her. She stared at the ground as she walked, seemingly lost in her thoughts. She looked up at him when she reached the table, smiled, and took her customary seat, folding back her wings and relaxing into the plush golden cushions he had set out for her.

"You are late."

"I was detained. Shall we begin?"

He nodded. "Of course."

He considered the table before him, which held thousands upon thousands of carved pieces, both platinum and obsidian. There were lines drawn across it, symbolizing his side and her side. All the pieces were set, some alone, and some next to each other, spanning the length of the board. Those toward the center were the most active, and those toward the outskirts were waiting to be paired or moved into various other situations. Last night she'd had the final move, so it was his turn to start. He took a piece from the small table at his right hand, that held his most valuable assets, and moved it to stand next to one of her pieces, far to the left of the others and standing alone. This was a pair he had been trying to advance for weeks, and it had almost become a ritual that he would start with that move on his days, and she would reject it. This time, though, she nodded, barely even looking at the carved image of a platinum, dark haired male.

"My friend, you are distracted. Perhaps we should do this another time. I do not wish to take advantage of you." She was clearly not thinking straight, and while he could have used this opportunity to advance many of his pieces, he preferred to work with her instead of against her, especially as the threat of the machine-gods loomed ever nearer. The two of them were the most powerful of the Pantheon, and if they started warring, all would surely be lost. The rest looked to them for leadership, and if they were to have any hope at all, he had to keep his alliance with her stable. They had already lost one civilization because of their petty feuding, and he didn't want to lose another. He didn't want to watch her heart break yet again.

"It is fine." She waved him off. "It is my move, yes?"

He nodded.

"I am invoking the pact, and I respectfully ask that you consider the trade and the rearrangement of souls." She met his eyes, almost defiantly challenging him to refuse.

He raised his eyebrows and leaned back in his chair, curious as to what she was after. As far as he could remember, no one had ever invoked the pact. It was true that there hadn't been many opportunities to, since they all had decided to walk their own paths after dividing up the souls, but the pact was still there, and any of them could invoke it, and initiate a trade, if they so desired.

"Very well then, my friend. Show me what you have in mind."

She gazed over the board, seeking one piece in particular. He watched her intently as she examined each one, wondering what could have prompted her to invoke the agreement the gods had made so many millennia ago when they created their newest version of civilization. Her eyes lingered on each piece, but eventually she was satisfied that it was not on the board. It was not currently in play. Her eyes traveled to the table on his right, where he kept the most valuable chosen that were not currently being matched, or would not be matched to her daughters. There were all manner of mighty souls there, thousands of strong men and women of pure bloodlines that he had protected and nurtured over the ages. She fully expected to see the piece there, among the best and brightest her companion had to offer, but there was no golden-haired platinum piece, and there was no piece bearing the mark of the Silver Hand. The soul she sought was not there. The soul she sought was never raised to platinum status in his hierarchy.

After considering each one at least three times, she turned her gaze to the table on his left, where he kept his lesser souls. These were not of pure bloodlines, and were mostly used to advance his chosen children or protect them. These rarely were matched to her daughters. Almost immediately, she spotted what she was looking for. There, lying among some other pieces that were damaged was a charred and blackened figure, with long golden hair. She was surprised that the soul wasn't among his chosen, but if he didn't see the value, then it would just make it easier to complete the trade. At the very least, he didn't seem to have noticed her little extra-curricular activity, so perhaps it was just as well this one was considered a lesser soul. He never did think very highly of biotic capabilities, his champions being comprised of mostly men and women who were proficient at battle and tactical analysis; those who would lead the kind that the other gods created.

She lifted her topmost left hand, and used her biotic strength to move the soul onto the board, gently pushing a black haired platinum female piece that bore the image of a Silver Hand on her left arm away from the heavily robed figure it had been standing next to. She moved the charred and blackened figurine next to her selected daughter, but placed it on her side of the line. Next, she moved the soldier piece to stand near another of her daughters, this one with only light facial markings and the mark of the demon carved almost invisibly into the small of her back. This piece, however, she left on his side. He would never give that piece up, and she wasn't entirely sure that he should. They would all need a champion like his Chosen, and it would only confuse her to suddenly be marked by another god. They couldn't afford confusion right now. She had enough of her own daughters to manage as it was, and it was enough to join his Champion with her demon. The two pairings were already in motion, so all she would really have to do was whisper words of encouragement. It was perfect.

He considered her moves for several moments, wondering why she had chosen one of his lesser souls with which to invoke the pact, and why she had rejected the offering of his Champion from their original agreement, especially after she had gone through so much trouble to try to force that pairing. It didn't make sense. The soul she had selected wasn't very valuable, and Athame herself had displayed a particular disdain for the 'mechanic'. In fact, he had only used the woman to keep his Chosen child, his Champion, alive and well and protected until she could fulfill her destiny. Still, if his friend wanted that piece, he would give it to her, but not for free.

He stood, and walked over to the table behind her, where the souls that had expired waited until their time of reflection had passed and they could be recycled into new vessels. There was a century long period of contemplation on the life just lived, and then the souls would be released into the Gaia of a new world, to enter a new body. He selected one piece that had no facial markings, but bore a mark of a different kind, and returned to his table with it. He placed it at the front of his own pool of expired souls, and then stood back, gesturing to it with a snowy hand.

Her eyes narrowed at his gall, but she nodded once, briefly. The soul would still be available to her to pair back up with the daughter it belonged to when the time came, as long as it stayed in his control and they continued their game. It was a good enough trade, and she was getting something mighty in return for herself, even if she would have to wait a couple centuries until it was available to her.

"So it is done then, Palladium." She waved her topmost right hand over the board, and the blackened and charred ash fell off the newly added piece, revealing snowy skin, and a carved mark etched in the small of her back. "Now, let us get back to the game. I have a few new offers to make you, my friend. I have four daughters that have come of age and are ready to make their mark on the world. They have become restless and are giving their parents no end of grief. I had thought they would be well suited to the group you recently moved back to Feros."

The mighty god took his seat once again, nodding to his friend across the massive table. Leaning over the board to consider the offer she had made, he almost unconsciously reached to his left and grasped several pieces from a small model colony, lining them up along the ones she had offered. She switched the places of one male and one female he had placed, and then nodded.

"That will do very nicely. Now, how are we going to get them together?"

He smiled at her mischievously, and removed a book from under the table. "How about we…" She moved to sit on the arm of his chair, leaning against his massive shoulder, and together they read through the Book of Ages and selected a scenario with which to create an opportunity for their latest experiment.

-Citadel, Jack North's apartments

Dr. Jack North pushed the transport cart into his apartments, and then laid the slumbering form of the mercenary on the sofa. He moved the cart to a corner of the room, and then entered the kitchen to put on coffee for himself, and some hot water for his wife's favorite Thessian tea.

His wife was a scholar, her specialty being religion and theology. She was nine hundred years old, and was nearing the end of her days, but he had fallen in love with her the very second they had met at a joint asari\human medical conference. After the humans had established themselves on the Citadel, such gatherings were common and medical doctors as well as theology scholars often visited together to trade information, theories, and just hang out with each other.

Jack North was in his eighties, and had spent his life studying asari physiology and how it related to humans. Matriarch Lirilith's specialty was religion and the implications of what it meant to be associated with other races, and she had a particular interest in humans as they were the most similar to her own kind. Jack and Lirilith were a natural fit from the start, spending every free moment they had discussing everything from religion to politics, and it was only three months before he asked her to marry him.

He lived on the Citadel, as he was considered the authority on asari and human relations, and as such he had to be close to the central hub to be available for consultation. She resided on Thessia, as did most that had reached her age. Sometimes he was lonely, but he understood from the start what it would be like to be married, or as she would have said, bonded, to a matriarch. They were able to get together at every conference and he often visited her planet to share his latest research. It may not have been ideal, but he was content with what they had.

He prepared his coffee, with light cream only, and sat in a chair across from the mercenary to wait for his wife to arrive. As he sat there, he wondered what kind of biotic field could have caused such burns, and why her skin now seemed almost completely healed. He thought it even looked like the blue tint was dissipating, but he wasn't really sure. He wished that Liri had been here when he got the message from Dr. Chakwas so she could have seen the human before the blackened skin fell away. Still, he had the images his colleague had passed to him, so he would be able to show his wife what the mercenary had looked like when she had been brought in.

He sat there just staring at the unconscious woman's body, as the hour slowly passed. Eventually, when he feared he might doze off, his door slid open and Lirilith entered the room. She wasn't tall by asari standards, but somehow she still managed to command respect no matter where she went. Jack had always thought it was because of her deeply held religious beliefs. She was one of the few who still believed wholly in their goddess, Athame, and it was almost as if she was touched by an immortal hand. None dared challenge her, at least not to her face. Her skin was a much darker blue than most other asari, and she had no facial markings. Her attire was a simple grey robe and shawl, a style that was typical of those who lived by the religious teachings. He stood and smiled as she threw herself into his arms.

"I've missed you so much, Jack."

"I've missed you as well, Liri." He held her tightly for a moment, but then stepped back and gestured to the unconscious human on the sofa.

"Jack, you should have at least covered her up." The asari elder removed her grey shawl and placed it over Danger. Dr. North tried to look innocent, but he was male, after all, and despite the burn marks and bruises, the mercenary was a very nice specimen of the female human physique.

"I didn't have time, Liri. I wanted to get her out of Chakwas' medical bay before they started asking too many questions. So, what do you think? Some sort of ritual sacrifice gone horribly wrong?"

Lirilith shook her head at her bondmate's response, but let it slide. She could see why he had left the mercenary uncovered, and perhaps in her younger years she might have done the same thing, and even more… Well that didn't matter anyway, because it was clear even now that getting involved with this human would be playing with a fire best left unprovoked.

"Jack, help me turn her over." The man knelt at his wife's side, and he helped her lift the mercenary and turn the woman onto her stomach.

"What are you looking for?"

Lirilith had started running her hand along the skin on the mercenary's back, looking for any blemish or irregularity. "Bring me a light, dear."

He left the room, and returned with a surgical lamp he kept in case of emergencies. He attached it to a power source, and positioned it just above the couch where his wife was examining the mercenary's body. She reached up and adjusted the light, and exhaled softly as her fingers traced a small, almost invisible symbol.

There, on the small of the human's back, only visible in the specific angle of the light, was a crude marking, that looked suspiciously like the symbol of the asari nation.

"Jack, this hasn't been seen in millennia." Her husband knelt at her side and tried to see what she was looking at.

"Liri, that's just some sort of scraping. It's probably from the burns. I called you because I thought the biotic burn marks might have been some sort of religious ritual."

She shook her head, but didn't comment on his observation. "Tell me again about the burns."

He turned around and leaned against the couch. "Well, her entire body was charred. Here, look at this." He pulled up an image on his Omni-tool. "Dr. Chakwas took a holo of it. That's what she looked like, head to toe. The clothing wasn't melted into her skin though, which was strange. One second she was covered with these burns, and the next second she just started… flaking it off. She was a sort of sickly blue for a while, but that seems to be going away. Her vital signs are normal, and I have absolutely no explanation for the behavior of those burns. She should be dead, with the severity of the damage to her skin. But she isn't and then suddenly it was all just gone."

Lirilith continued tracing the symbol on the woman's back.

Can it be possible? Has she returned to take an active hand in events once more? Why would she be marking humans, though? I should speak to the head of my order…

"Her skin should return to normal soon, Jack. The marking is never permanent, except for… this part." She indicated the small symbol etched into the human's skin.

"The marking? Ok, say it was put there on purpose. Who put it there? And why?"

"I need to see the head of my order. Can you get her released to Thessia? We will need to study her. She has been touched by the Goddess. We need to find out why."

Danger had been listening to the back and forth for the last several minutes, curious as to what was going on, but at the mention of Thessia she felt a fury overwhelm her and she grasped the grey shawl as she sprung to life and spun over the back of the couch.

"I don't know who you are, or why I'm naked in your place, but there is no way I'm going back to Thessia."

Lirilith looked at her husband, but he just shrugged.

Back to Thessia? So she has been there before. Curious.

The asari stood and reached out a hand to the human. "It's all right, we are friends. I was called in to look at your injuries, but it seems they have healed. I need you to understand what has happened to you. Something very peculiar is going on, and I need to get you to back to the temples on Thessia."

"Lady, there is no way you are dragging me back to that hell hole of a planet. I'm getting out of here, and you better not try to stop me." Danger felt her skin crackle with electricity, and looked down at her hands in confusion. She couldn't feel her amp, and knew it had been removed when she had been kidnapped. Still, her skin was tingling with the power of biotics.

Kidnapped? Yes, I was kidnapped. Shit, what happened to me…

She closed her eyes and mentally examined her body, breathing a sigh of relief. The last thing she remembered was being forced up against a wall by a human thug, but she didn't feel any evidence that she had been… violated.

Thank god that didn't happen. But how the hell did I end up here in some strange old couple's apartment? I need to lay off the sauce.

She lifted her right hand, doing her best to hold the shawl closed around her with her now healing left, and backed slowly towards the door. "I don't know who you are, but I promise you if you come near me or try anything, I'll blow this place sky high."

Jack moved toward her, intending to stop her from leaving, but Lirilith placed a warning hand on his arm. She shook her head at him. He looked confused, but he stopped advancing on the mercenary. Danger took the opportunity to open the door, and disappear through it.

"Why didn't you let me stop her, Liri?"

"You couldn't have stopped her. I couldn't have stopped her. The best we can do now, is observe her. I will contact the head of my order and we will place a watch on her. What is her name?"

He picked up a datapad and punched a few buttons. "Hmm. Chakwas says it's Darla Vance. Apparently she's from Earth, and does some work for the Alliance. It should be easy enough to get her background. I have contacts in C-Sec that could help."

She smiled at her husband and wrapped her arms around his neck. "That would be wonderful. We can worry about all of that later, though. I've cleared my schedule for the next few days, and I thought we could get to work on that… thing we were talking about."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and grinned widely. "So you changed your mind?"

She nodded. "I have. You are right, there is nothing in our faith that would preclude it and, I only have a few more viable years left. I can think of no one better than you, Jack."

He smiled down at the magnificent creature in his arms, and brushed his fingers across her cheek. "I love you, Liri. If we do this, I will move to Thessia and help you with it. You won't be alone."

Her eyes brightened, and she stood on her toes to brush his lips with hers, before taking him by the hand and leading him to their bedroom.

-Citadel, Outside Jack North's apartments

Danger looked down at her barely covered body.

How in the hell am I going to get back to the Normandy looking like this? I may have escaped fate once, but with all these asari all over the place, I'm sure to get accosted and lose my honor before I make it back to Jane's ship! Wait… is that so bad?

Danger chuckled at her own humor, and slowly started to make her way down the hallway. Luckily, it was getting late and most of the citizens of the Citadel were either at home or in bars. There were a few salarians walking about, but they barely took notice of a half-naked human striding down the walkway. They barely took notice of anything that wasn't on a datapad.

She made her way through the streets, and though she got a few quizzical looks from C-Sec security officers, none of them actually stopped her. Technically, she was covered, even if it was just barely. She arrived at the docking level, and pushed the com panel to tell Joker to let her in. She went through the sweep, and stepped through the doorway. The pilot turned around in his chair, and gave her a rousing cheer.

"Hell yea, Danger! That's a good look on you!"

Danger grinned and walked over to the pilot, leaning against the chair next to him. "You think so, huh? I call it, 'medically manhandled'. It has a nice ring to it, no?" She turned from side to side, holding the shawl in place and doing her best impression of a seductress.

"It sure does. What happened to you?"

She shrugged. "I have no idea. I'm hoping to get some answers out of Jane later, but we'll see. First, I need to get some clothes."

"Nah, what do you need those for? I had no idea you were so hot under that merc outfit. You can't keep denying the world the chance to gaze at such great ass." He grinned roguishly at her, and she waved him off.

"Yea, whatever. In your dreams bro. By the way, check out your vid collection. I added a few titles for you."

He swung his chair back around and punched some numbers into his console. "Nice! Maidens Gone Wild, Raiders of the Lost Asari, and The Real Bondmates of Thessia, volumes 1 through 57! And you fixed my And Justicars for all vid! Danger, you're a real pal!"

"Don't mention it. Like, especially to Jane."

Joker gave Danger the thumbs up sign, and the mercenary turned to make her way through the ship's corridors to the garages. Since it was so late and they weren't planning on leaving dock, there were few crewmembers on the bridge, but Ashley Williams was there going over some star charts. She looked quizzically at Danger as the human strode by, wrapped in her thin grey covering, but the human soldier didn't comment. Instead, she just turned and leaned against the console, crossing her arms and smirking at the mercenary's attempt to look natural. Danger noticed, and just as she reached the door, she turned, grinned at Ashley, grabbed either side of the thin, grey material and opened it wide, before turning back around and nearly falling down the stairs with laughter at the gunnery chief's horrified expression.

Oh hell, I wish I had gotten a pic of that. That was too epic. That was just too epic.

Danger punched the numbers that would take her to the garage level, and gathered the shawl back around her. Thankfully, there was no one awake down there, and she was able to easily slip into the Mako and finally put on some decent clothes.

I'll have to go see Jane tomorrow, but right now, I think I could use some sleep.

"DIDI, can you put the heat on in here? It's freezing. Lock the doors while you are at it, and don't let anyone in."

"Operative Danger, it is seventy five degrees Fahrenheit inside the vehicle."

"It's freezing in here. Turn on the damn heat."

"Very well then." The AI complied with Danger's requests, and as the mercenary felt the hot air caress her skin, she curled up in the rear seats, and slept.