CHAPTER 37
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Doctor!"
Balint's eyes were fixed on the doctor. "Can it be done?"
She stared up at him. "Balint?"
Balint looked at her. "Rose," he began, regret in his voice. ", every bed here is filled. The attack on Bridgeton heightened everyone's... stress. There's no other word for it. They're about to explode."
Rosemary covered her mouth in horror. Oh... no...
"You can't take in all of the excess energies. And I won't let anyone use your brother, either."
She wasn't going to let that happen, either. She'd die, first.
"... Yes, it can be done," Executioner answered Balint's question. "However, I cannot do it alone. I can generate only so much venom... You will need the aide of my kind."
The humans and turian in the room stiffened. "Husks?" The very thought was horrifying. "On the Citadel?"
Chakwas looked even paler. "I'll... need to ask the Council."
Rosemary couldn't believe this was happening. Executioner nodded. "Make it quick. From what I have seen, your 'hybrids' will not last long. They have, at the most, twenty-four hours."
Doctor Chakwas was already typing out a message on her omni-tool. Balint shook his head. "Your kind... what kind of Reaper are you?"
"We were named Devourers."
XOXOXOXO
"Can I... Can I have my clothes?"
Rosemary rubbed her temples. So... much was running through her head. Husks... God, she hated them! She wanted to call them what she thought they were – abominations – but then she'd be thinking too much like Saeli. Yet... despite what they were... it was because of them that they might be able to handle this catastrophe.
Rosemary managed to pull on her pants and put on her blouse, but Balint had to help her into her jacket. Her chest was burning by the time the deed was done. Being stabbed isn't as much fun as I thought it'd be, she thought bitterly. "Did Chakwas say how much time we have before they...?"
"Anywhere from twelve to twenty-four hours."
"Crap."
"Yeah."
So it was up to Chakwas and the Council to get the... Devourers here in time. Sheesh, what a name. But even she had to admit that it was apt. Speaking of... "Where's Executioner?"
Balint insisted she take his arm as he took her to the room next to hers. It was a tiny office, and the Devourer was standing in the shadows of the room, staring blankly at a patch of wall. Straightening, she stepped forward. "I have a question." She hoped to God she had sounded braver than she felt.
The husk slowly nodded his head. "Proceed."
"What are the... requirements for people to become like... like me?"
"And your brother?"
"Yes," she said, her voice turning hard. She didn't like knowing that a husk knew about her brother. "Will they have to be bitten?"
"No – injections will do. From what I understood of the files your doctor provided me – the process will require the recepients of the venom to be of robust derivation."
Robust... Ah. 'Sturdy stock'. Gotcha. She nodded, and turned around to leave. Balint didn't move. He stared at the husk, his expression steely. "Balint?"
"Why?"
Balint didn't have to say anything beyond that one word; the husk understood. Executioner leaned against the wall and its expression... changed. All of a sudden, it looked... tired. Almost... emotionally tired. Rosemary was stunned to silence; husks couldn't have emotions... could they?
"Did you think that the Synthesization failed to affect our kind? That it failed... to affect the Reapers themselves?" Executioner's voice was soft.
Balint frowned. "But you were already composed of synthetic-organic materials. I didn't think it would have affected you."
"The Synthesization affected us in ways we did not expect. Mostly, it affected our minds. For the mutations such as ourselves... our memories of who we were – were forever gone. During the War, we functioned on madness itself, in all its purity. The Synthesization... cleared that madness, and we were left empty. The Reapers themselves felt the same hollowness. What was our purpose now?"
She was almost afraid to ask. "Did you find your answer to that?"
"We have no purpose. We have no drive. We simply exist."
No one knew what had happened to the Reapers once they had rebuilt most of the galaxy and retreated to dark space. There had been no word... and frankly, not many had wanted to know. Many wanted to put the nightmare behind them, Rosemary included. Balint asked the question, "What is the future of the Reapers?"
"We have none."
Rosemary hadn't expected that. "What do you mean?"
"We exist... without seeing a reason to do so. Without the madness, we feel nothing. We are nothing. The Reapers have given us all missions, and once they are done, we will self-terminate."
Rosemary's eyes widened. They would just... end themselves? Despite her hate and fear of the Reapers, she couldn't help but feel... bad for what they were doing. Or what they were going to do. "How much time do you have," Balint asked.
"Once this business of distributing our venom is concluded, my life will also reach its conclusion. Your hybrids will have their counter-parts, and life in this galaxy will continue its evolution."
Rosemary shook her head. She admitted to herself that it was okay to feel bad for the Reapers; life was life, after all. But... "I have one more question."
"Proceed."
"Is everything... is all this... genetic?" Would the hybrids' condition be passed from parent to child? Would the condition of the UEFs be passed down, too? It was the question that had been burning in the back of her mind for some time; this may be the only time she would get the answer.
"Yes."
Rosemary drew in a sharp breath. Yes. That was the answer. So the hybrids would continue to evolve... and the UEFs...
Executioner misread her dismay. "You are all very fortunate. No matter how the hybrids continue to develop, as long as there are receptors for the excess energies, there is hope."
Yes, that was a very good thing, for everyone's futures. But the thought of how it would effect her, personally, made her ill. This meant that the children she and Oliver may or may not have in the future, would carry traces of husk technology... of the Reapers, in their very genes, forever. Her hands suddenly felt clammy. I hate this. The fear, the hate, the worry, the endless responsibilities. But she had people depending on her. How long would it be, though, before she collapsed in a fit of nerves and agony? She hadn't been born or trained for this mess; she leaned back against Balint and took comfort in his strength and warmth. She didn't have a choice; she had to endure.
XOXOXOXO
Seeing every bed in the clinic occupied by a crying, writhing child tore Rosemary's heart out. The looks of suffering on the children's loved ones cracked her soul. By the time she got the message from Doctor Chakwas saying that the Council had agreed to allow the husks, the Devourers, on the Citadel – solely for the purpose of saving the children – she fully agreed with their agreement. God, she hated husks. By the gods, she loathed Reapers. But Executioner's story had wavered that... pure hate. And to save the children... God, they're toddlers... and infants! They can't even...
She could taste the fear and panic in the air, enhanced by her damned krogan-like sensibilities. It took all her self-control not to throw up in the middle of her work.
Hours later, when the Reaper troop transport docked at the Normandy's port, Rosemary was ready to tear her hair out. The seizures were coming in waves. Everywhere, energies were viciously pulsing, reading to rip free from their vessels.
She was holding a toddler, who had a painful grip on her hair and was sobbing into her neck. His tears were glowing a fierce, purple light. "Shh... It's going to be okay." She was trying her damndest to hold back her own tears. "It's going to be okay..."
Minutes later, the most terrifying sight walked through the clinic doors. Husks. Hundreds of them. Shouts ERUPTED all around them. Picking up the toddler, she went to the nearest terminal to access the clinic-wide intercom.
"QUIET!"
The shouts stopped. The Devourers, however, didn't even slow their stride. They continued to walk through the clinic, headed toward the room Executioner was in, in one of the back rooms. They didn't look anywhere but ahead.
Rosemary took a breath. Breathed out. "They're... they're here to help. Everyone... Everyone just calm down. It's... going to be okay."
Everything was going to be okay, Rosemary thought furiously. She was going to make everything okay, goddamnit!
