"It's Chinese," Helen said as she looked over the results of Shepard's scan. Though Del had insisted she was not hurt, Liara had been just as insistent that she be checked over by Chakwas all the same. This had resulted in a very minor argument which had- displaying the stubbornness of both geneticist and Spectre- resulted in them both receiving medical scans as Del was adamant she would not receive one unless Liara did as well.
The captain had gone first, the pair talking in low voices as Chakwas then performed the scan on Del, overhearing what they were saying.
"Pardon?" Del asked, looking at her in surprise.
"That word you're puzzling over, the one that the other-universe asari spoke- it's Chinese. Well, Mandarin to be specific, not Cantonese."
"How do you know this?" Liara asked.
"One of my best mates in medical school. He was Irish, grew up in New York, and was part of a street gang that used Mandarin as a 'code language' among their group. His father was fairly well-to-do and bailed him out of jail for some misdemeanor on the provision he go to medical school and make something of himself." She smirked and shook her head slightly. "You have never heard an accent until you've heard an Irish-New-York-Mandarin one. Very strange. At any rate, he used that word several times when telling me of those events."
"What does it mean?" Del asked. Here, Helen paused in her work and looked over at her, then at Liara, before returning her gaze back to Shepard.
"You sure you want to know?" she asked.
"It is at most a matter of curiosity," Liara said. "But is there a reason we should not wish to know?"
"There may be. I could be mistaken, after all. We don't know the specifics of her universe, after all. It could be that it isn't Mandarin at all but something else, in a language we've never heard. I mean, 'door' in English means something incredibly different than 'door' in Voluzhi. In one language, it's completely innocuous, an object. In the other, it means 'psychotic'. There is a reason we have one common galactic trade language among the Council species."
"You seemed pretty sure a moment ago you knew its meaning," Liara said, folding her arms. "Now I believe you are just telling us this because you are suddenly uncomfortable imparting that meaning."
"Liara, it may not be good for you to know. It has implications-"
"Please, I'd like to know," Shepard said. When Helen looked at her she said, "You didn't see her. She was badly hurt, possibly dying, in a horrible situation. She said this word at least three times. It clearly was important to her. I can't really do anything about it but I'd at least like to know what she was trying to tell me."
Chakwas sighed, sitting down and leaning back in her chair as she looked at the pair. "It means 'father'."
"Father?" Shepard only looked confused, but Liara appeared as if someone had hit her in the gut a moment, before she schooled it.
"You are sure?"
"Fairly sure," Helen told her. "What I said before, about possibly being wrong and it's a word in a language we don't have here, that's all true…but I don't think that's the case."
"Why not?" Del asked, still puzzled. "And if you are right, why would she be saying 'father?'" She looked at Liara. "Is it possible her parents were on that ship too? That her father was somewhere just out of my sight, in need of help, and she was trying to tell me he was there? Or maybe he was blown out of the breech before I went through-"
"Shepard, you're thinking like a human- and a sheltered one at that," Helen said gently, meeting her eyes. "I know it's an intrinsic part of our culture to think of 'father' as being a male parent, but remember, in asari culture it's different. The parent that is not the one who gives birth is called the father, regardless of species or gender."
When Del continued to stare at her, clearly not quite getting it, Helen sighed. "The asari wasn't talking about anyone else. She wasn't grieving someone who had blown through, or who was in trouble nearby. I don't think the emotion she displayed was because of her fear, or her pain, or the imminent death that awaited if she were to lose her grip. I don't think it was that she was surprised to see someone hanging out of the Fold, Shepard…at least not as such. She was surprised to see you. She was calling you 'father', and her emotion was in reaction to you."
She saw realization dawn on Shepard's face as the younger woman sat up a bit. "That's not possible."
"Why not?" Helen asked. "We already know that the Fold distorts time as well as multi-dimensional space. You are in a relationship with an asari, and it is not unfeasible to assume that at some point that relationship will result in children. You described the asari as having very dark, nearly black eyes…your own eyes are a dark enough brown as to be nearly black-"
"That is not how asari reproduction works-" Liara said. Chakwas gave her a look.
"Even you don't believe that, Captain. There are far too many daughters born to the asari that share not only talents and habits with their fathers- even if they haven't been raised by them or even met them- but also their eye color."
"You're saying that asari was my daughter?" Shepard seemed incredulous. "That the Fold opened into the future?"
"Not our future I don't think- though it may be possible, I'm not a physicist. I think instead it really did open into a volume that was very close to ours- close enough to have the Alliance, the asari, and similar technologies. I think it opened into a time in that volume that, from our vantage here, would appear to be the future- but alternate Hubble volumes wouldn't necessarily have similar time streams or rate of progression as we do here. From their point of view, on the inside, an hour may be an hour. From our point of view looking in, an hour for them may be a year for us, or a nanosecond. It all ties into relativity. Regardless…I think she knew you, Shepard. I think she recognized you. She was calling you 'father'. At any rate, it's possible for me to find out for sure."
"How?" Liara asked.
"Well, strike that. I wouldn't be able to tell if that asari is Del's daughter…but I could tell if she's yours, captain. That hard-suit that Del was wearing has blood from that asari on the glove. It's a bit dried out now but if I can find an intact base-pair, I can compare it to a sample of your own DNA. Asari DNA is just a randomized version of the mother's code, but the Vishikari end-cap sequences are always passed down as identical copies. They're unique to the asari."
"Yes, that is how we can definitively track ancient lineages…each asari born from that line has that line's specific Vishikari."
"Exactly. I compare hers to yours, and if they're identical…then I can pretty safely say that she's either your daughter, or your sister from the same birth mother- and your sister would likely not call Shepard 'father', I think."
Wordlessly, an expression of shock on her face, Del stood up from the bio-bed and walked out of the infirmary. Helen stood up but Liara held her hand out to halt her, before following herself.
Del stopped not too far outside of the door, looking out one of the small viewports. They were well on their way to Permiatic now, and the final showdown with Osco. Outside, the view was distorted by the effects of FTL travel.
Liara touched her elbow lightly. "It is in keeping with our earlier philosophical discussions- with Sokka's 'unique' view of levayha, the concept of soul mates. Is it really so difficult to assume that somewhere else, another you and another me fell in love and had a daughter?"
"That- i-it's not that," Shepard said softly, then looked at her sadly. "That's not what's troubling me. I think Helen is right. I think that asari was my daughter…yours and mine. The way she looked at me…"
She broke off momentarily, shaking her head as her eyes grew gloss. "That idea actually gives me an odd sort of comfort, and hope. But to think…the situation that she was in. She was so badly hurt, Liara. A battle…possibly a war? What kind of universe is it that she lives in? What kind of life does she have? Is she even alive? I can't even find out if help got to her in time, if she survived those wounds."
"It was a universe in which an asari could join the Alliance," Liara told her. "Where she not only did so, but attained an N7 ranking- something that requires not only incredible skill but immense dedication, resilience, and devotion. And it was a universe in which- when she needed her the most- her father was there to reach a hand out of the darkness and catch her."
Del's face crumpled, tears spilling down her cheeks. Gently, Liara hugged her close, unseen tears in her own eyes.
Even with making her top speed, the Aswa would be the last ship to arrive at Permiatic, thanks to their detour to the Ivix base. En route, they had been closely following the reports of the turian ships who had been shadowing the dreadnought, and then those of the vessels forming the Council's attack fleet.
It quickly became clear that the pocket nuke had not destroyed Osco, and small though that hope might have been to begin with, it was still a disappointment to learn. However, it was also clear that it had greatly damaged her and delayed her progress. The turians didn't report any visible signs of that damage- from the outside, the dreadnought looked the same as it had before. However, she had halted completely nearly for a full day, and when she resumed course it was to weave a somewhat shaky and unsteady path to the nearest solar source of energy, where she lingered for another full day before resuming her slow course onward.
The Aswa was still nearly four hours out when the first reports of the fleet's arrival at Permiatic began to filter in. Osco was in orbit, already siphoning solar energy and sending it toward a specific location of the planet's surface. Scans showed she was directing the energy to the space between two tectonic plates. While the scans could not actually detect the hibernating Antenna, no one had any doubts that it was there at that location, miles deep below the crust and waiting to tear its way forth.
From the holographic display in the Aswa's tiny CIC, Sam, Liara, Del, Helen, and Sokka gathered to watch the unfolding battle. The fleet sent ships in to the attack right away, the remainder of the turian vessels who had been following the dreadnought since it had left Tuchanka immediately joining the offensive.
Out of the hundred ships of the fleet, a handful were background support. These ships maintained communications, acted as evacuation points, and did their best to interfere with the solar energy transfer to the planet's surface in any way possible. Meanwhile, the frigates and fighters moved in, throwing an incredible amount of heat toward the dreadnought.
It seemed that Osco's day of recharging after the nuke went off had paid off in her favor. While it quickly became clear that she could not continue her energy transfer at the same time as maintaining her shields and weapons at full strength, it was doing little in the fleet's favor. Whenever vessels closed to the attack, she halted the energy transfer and redirected the solar power to her defenses. Her shields instantly snapped up to full strength, and the deadly lances of green fire she sent toward her attackers were beyond devastating. They tore through shielding, barriers, and hull with ease.
The smaller fighters were able to outmaneuver her weapons slightly better than their larger counterparts, but could not get past her shields. After the first hour, Osco changed tacks and instead started moving toward the planet.
"What is she doing?" Helen asked.
"She is going to take out the support vessels, give the fleet no fall back," Liara said, watching as the fleet itself closed in to protect those ships more vulnerable.
Del shook her head, her brows knit as she watched Osco take out two more ships, never halting her new course. When she lumbered past a handful of support vessels without bothering to fire, Liara became troubled.
"No…it seems she has something else in mind. What is she doing?"
"Can we get closer?" Del asked, gesturing. "I mean, a closer view on the planet itself, can we get that from here?"
Sam adjusted the display, closing in on Permiatic rather than the battling fleet. Shepard seemed to scrutinize it like a specimen under a microscope, chewing at her bottom lip, before she abruptly pointed. "There. There, could she be heading there?"
"Her flight path could lead there, with some very minor adjustments," Sam said.
"She has been making constant minor adjustments since that nuke went off," Liara said. "Apparently she has sacrificed any repairs on her navigation systems in favor of her weapons and shields. Do you think that is where she is going? That is several hundred kilometers away from the site of the Antenna."
"Yes, but part of the same tectonic fault," Shepard said, watching as the dreadnought lumbered to a halt again, blocked by fleet vessels that moved in and pressed the attack, forcing her to stop and address them.
"Oh, bugger…I see what you're saying, Doc," Sam said.
"That spot has a caldera, large enough for her dreadnought to theoretically pass inside. Her tech can use geothermal energy as well as solar to charge, and our ships can't follow her."
"That caldera looks lively. Can her ship survive in actual magma? The temperatures-"
"I would not doubt any ability of her technology," Liara said grimly. "It may be that she will be impervious to it, or that she knows she can survive there long enough to at least activate the Antenna and set its program in motion." Turning her head she looked at her pilot. "Jura, open a communications channel to the head of the fleet."
"Yes, ma'am."
The holographic image of the battle reduced but did not disappear. A few moments later, a small and rather flustered looking image of a human man appeared. {Captain T'Soni, we're a bit hard-pressed at the moment. This dreadnought's weapons are unlike anything I've ever seen. If she's this strong even damaged-}
"Admiral Kohaku, we have been observing the battle and tracing Osco's likely destination on the planet's surface. We believe she is attempting to reach a caldera that is west along the same tectonic fault where she has been concentrating her energy dump. I am sending you the coordinates now. If she reaches that caldera she can use geothermal energy to continue to power the Antenna. She must be prevented from reaching it at all costs."
{And she'll be out of our reach, provided that ship can survive in those temperatures,} he said with a nod. {We have more bad news, Captain. Intelligence has informed us that several Terminus vessels are being prepared to head our way. We can hope they might engage the dreadnought as well but the bulk of their firepower is going to be turned on us.}
"How long until they reach you?"
{By our best estimates, three hours. If we're forced to engage them we're dead. Osco will slip through the firefight and finish powering that thing.}
"We will arrive in just under two hours, Admiral."
{We'll be glad to have you, but I'm holding out little hope that your small ship is going to make any difference in this battle, T'Soni. We may already have lost this thing.}
"I refuse to accept that, Admiral. Concentrate your forces to keep Osco away from that caldera at all costs. See if you cannot drive her back up into a higher orbit-"
Del suddenly lunged forward, grabbing Liara's arm. "Wait! Sorry, Admiral- Liara, do we have a copy of the communication we received of Ruth? Or one of her interrogation?"
"Our computer stores copies of all communications that pass through its QEC. What are you thinking?"
Shepard looked at Kohaku. "Admiral, I was brought into this mission to begin with because I knew Osco and her work. That dreadnought may be an abomination, but something human remains aboard it, is guiding it. It hesitated enough to allow Ruth Wyatt back aboard, and its feelings distracted it enough that we were able to extract two prisoners and cause her ship serious damage. I have no doubt that Osco is monitoring all your communications. If you transmit a copy of that call with Ruth on all channels, Osco will hear it. Inundate her with it, make it so she can't ignore it. Force her to listen to the person that she loved describing the horrific monster that Osco has become. That may buy you some time."
{What makes you think she will care? Even more obvious, what makes you think she won't simply shut off her incoming communications to halt the transmission?}
"If she does so she also will have lost some advantage by being unable to monitor you," Liara said. "It may be slight, but it will still be more than you have now."
"Osco is mad, Admiral," Del said. "She was mad before she ever became a real part of that ship, and she's only more so now. We need to play into that insanity. In her pain she may not even logically consider the option to shut the transmission off. Part of her may even think she's hallucinating it. The more distracted, bewildered, and conflicted she becomes the less she'll be able to fight you efficiently."
{Send me a copy of that call. We'll make it happen. Kohaku out.}
Liara immediately found the call in question, sending it out to the Admiral, then looked at Del. "That was a good idea."
"It's a pinprick," Shepard said. "She's crazy but still smart. As he said, all she has to do is shut it off. That might give them the slightest chance more than they have now, but it will be miniscule."
"Even a pinprick can kill, if delivered at the right moment," Feris said. "It's something."
"I want everyone suited up and prepared for this fight," Liara ordered. "Osco is going down at Permiatic, no matter what measures we must take to insure that it happens. The lives of everyone in this galaxy is riding on this battle, and I intend to win it."
