"THE SPIRE"

PERSEUS VEIL NEBULA

OCTOBER 2188

THE VIRAGO MET THE PHOENIX and the meeting had been a tense one after the incident in the 'Boneyards'. Only Shizuka's reassurances persuaded Black to allow the ship within a thousand kilometres.

Once all the bonafides had been checked and everyone finally satisfied, the Virago was safely docked in the Phoenix' bay and Kassidi rested comfortably in the medbay, still unconscious, although she appeared to be close to coming out of it. Fortunately, Asha'Rhaal had both the expertise with quarian physiology and spare parts to repair Kassidi's faceplate.

"I would prefer her helmet repaired and back in place before she awakes," Duke had informed 'Rhaal. "She is contentious enough without knowing I had to see her face to do the patchwork I did."

'Rhaal nodded. The cultural importance of a quarian's face would likely linger for quite some time. 'Rhaal could not have cared less who saw her face, but she doubted, even with the planet back and the geth help, that quarians wouldn't shed the "seeing one's face means great intimacy" conceit any time soon.

After introductions, and a somewhat cool welcome by Shizuka to her old comrade, Black had been filled in and brought up to speed. The crew had been assembled as he'd relayed everything he knew from the encounter in the Boneyards and on Kahje.

"So it is a mechanism?" Asha'Rhaal had asked, happy to have it confirmed.

"It seems so," Black told her. "An incredibly sophisticated one." Riley was looking him over with some suspicion and Tsuchi Hoshiko with curiosity. So far he had shown no outward signs of recognition and Tsuchi-san appeared as serene as she always did.

"Kassidi can tell you more. She scanned it quite thoroughly – or as thoroughly as possible with an omnitool."

"A quarian's omnitool is never a standard omnitool," Asha told him to another nod.

"It seemed to have a very specific agenda. We apparently stopped it in mid-execution, so to speak, although most of the drell affected have likely already died."

Miranda looked to Asha.

"Any confirmation on that and do we know how?"

"Anything official simply states they died of 'unknown causes', although I suspect all were euthanized. What I can uncover says they were paralyzed to such a state that only their minds and respiratory systems functioned, and then only barely."

Illemna Rafleen shook her head.

"A grim way to die."

"There are very few pleasant ways to die, I think," Hoshiko said softly from her seat beside her.

"We'll go over this more thoroughly when your companion wakes up," Miranda informed them. "Mr. Black…"

"'Duke' is acceptable, Commander Lawson."

"Duke… would you prefer to stay on your ship, or would you rather quarters here?"

"My own ship, I think. I prefer my solitude, such as it is. No offence is intended."

"None is taken. Please yourself," she told him. "Dismissed."

"Our next step?" He asked her as the rest dispersed back to their work.

She informed of their next acquisition for personnel, and he laughed so heartily that Shizuka had seemingly taken offence and stalked off.

Some things go deep. He watched her leave, was told Kassidi was awake. He shook his head in sympathy for his old comrade, went to the medbay. Inside, Kassidi was sitting up when he arrived. She was arguing – no surprise – with Asha'Rhaal.

"Untreated, you could have had an embolism. The blow was very hard to do the damage it did through your helmet."

"You can walk around this ship without one."

A shrug.

"I've adapted. It happens."

"You don't care everyone can see your face?" 'Rhaal rolled her opalescent eyes.

"I should care about quarian tradition? I'm a biotic. As far as the Fleet's concerned, I and anyone like me doesn't exist." Kassidi frowned. She'd heard rumours, everyone had, naturally. It just seemed... unlikely.

"There are no quarian biotics."

'Rhaal floated a spare faceplate from across the room, dropped it in Kassidi's lap. Behind her faceplate her eyes widened.

"Then I'm a figment of your imagination."

"How...?"

"The Admiralty love their little secrets. Ask the 'Zorah line sometime just how much."

Both she and Kassidi noticed Black after a moment. Kassidi decided to shelve the existence of this biotic for now, but had a few rather pointed questions in mind for her next report to Kal'Reegar.

"Well… you obviously repaired the ship and got us here."

"Obviously." He leaned against a med-cabinet. "You're functional?"

"Mostly. I have a once-a-century headache. Do we know what happened?"

"So far, no contact. We are likely being followed, however. Until that ship actually engages us again, Ms. Lawson is going to proceed as if it were not."

"That thing had serious firepower. Is ignoring it wise? If it's following us…"

"As I said, until it engages us again… waiting serves no purpose."

"Right. Of course." Kassidi put her head down, sighed to herself. 'Rhaal poked her with a finger.

"We would like your omnitool data on the thing you scanned on Kahje." Kassidi stuck her arm up, tried to wave her off.

"I sent it to Rannoch already."

"Not what I asked," 'Rhaal rejoined. She indicated Black. "He works for us, now, which means you do too. Data, please." Her tool flared, and she waited.

Kassidi raised her head, looked at Black, back to 'Rhaal. She hesitated, looked back at Black, who sent her an arched eyebrow.

"I don't think I work for either of you," she said, but her omnitool flared and she sent the data. "A consultant's fee is acceptable, however."

'Rhaal blinked, said dryly, "I'll let the Commander know."

Nice to see there is more to her. Good. Black smiled at her, got a small nod in return.

"You are feeling better."

"Like I said, an unattractive bruise and a beautiful headache. I've had worse." She paused, pondered him. "You take strange voyages, Mr. Black."

"'Duke', please." He turned to go. "Get all the rest you can while you can. I have a feeling this voyage will only get stranger."

"I.. uh, appreciate what you did for me during that attack. Thank you."

"You'll do better next time." A dry smile.

"You're a very …extraordinary human."

"'Extraordinary'. A diplomatic way to say 'strange'." He made it to the medbay door, stopped, looked back. "Both are true, so either is appropriate."

A moment later, Kassidi actually laughed, and Black took a small bow and his leave. He stopped by the facilities, then made it almost back to the cargo bay when he was stopped by Ilola Jamilah. She appeared to have been waiting for him, leaning against the wall.

"So – you're the Winston Black, huh?" It was not a question. She gave him an up-and-down assessment.

"I am the only one of which I am aware. You?"

"Ilola Jamilah. Weapon tech and gunnery officer."

"Are you a biotic like the others?" He didn't see any obvious amps. She shrugged.

"High Alpha. I can mod barriers and ammo." She held up her left hand. Around her wrist a silver bracelet inscribed with intricate designs – her amp. "I can do it very well."

"Alpha?" That was a new one on him.

"Military classification. They changed the designations just before the War, rather than try and keep up with all the amp categories. 'Alphas' to 'Omegas'. I think someone thought they were being ironic or witty. An Alpha is between an L1 to low-grade L3R level. Deltas are in the L5 to the L5x9 ranges. The most extremely powerful are Omega-classes. That's matriarch-level. There aren't a lot of those."

"I see. Interesting."

"You served in the 615th in Europe, didn't you?" Again, not a question, a change of tack he'd not expected. He was not flustered by it, however.

"I commanded the 615th, in Europe, actually. From Caen to the Baranavichy Redoubt."

"You had a command crew of about fifteen, no?"

"I did."

"Tactical Officer by the name of Elijah Owusu?"

"Yes. One of four. He was killed in a husk swarm during the Leipzig Push. Promoted far too quickly – and far out of his ability. Had I my way, I would have had him shot under emergency military ordinances long before. Frankly - and I never say this lightly - the man was a fool." She nodded, frowned at him, but did not appear overly distressed by the revelation.

"A fool?"

"The kind that gets far better soldiers killed."

"He was that bad?"

"I lost twenty-five good soldiers because he directly and willfully disobeyed me." He pointed to the N7 badge on his chest. She followed the finger, looked back to his face. "This is not a party favour. He thought he knew better. He was wrong." Black reassessed. "You knew him?"

"He was a brother. One of them."

Black took a single step back.

"Condolences, but I offer no apologies."

Jamilah suddenly smiled, waved that away.

"Wouldn't expect one. We weren't even remotely close, and he was a damn fool. Before the War, he managed to bankrupt his family and then tried to do it to mine. That was when he could stay out of prison long enough." She sighed, shook her head. "The family didn't know how he died. I figured I would ask someone who would." She sighed again. "That whole side of the family seemed to be full of fools."

"A pity he could not find a positive direction in his life."

"Says an assassin." A smirk.

"I'm not an assassin."

"That's your rep."

Black just smiled at that.

"Then the galaxy is also full of fools."

She seemed amused.

"True enough. What are you then?"

"I prefer to think of myself as a professional …troubleshooter. Eliminating someone is often only part of a job."

Jamilah pushed herself off the wall, gave him the once-over again.

"A mercenary, then."

"Most cannot afford me. Some do not need to. I must be a very poor mercenary in more ways than one, that being the case, no?"

"Well, that's all I wanted to know. I'm the curious type." She made to go around him, stopped when she was parallel to him, looked to be considering something then made up her mind. A moment later, she said quietly,

"I'm also available, later, if you need some, uh… tension relief. No strings."

Black blinked. That was rather …unexpected.

"A… most intriguing offer, madam."

"Oh, it's genuine." She answered with a low laugh, her rich voice adding layers that easily stroked the more overtly-male parts of his brain, added as a qualifier. "Though not common. Like I said, I'm the curious type."

"I'm honored," he said, sincere. "I shall definitely consider it."

Jamilah patted him on the behind as she left.

"I'll let you know."

Black stood there a moment, chuckled to himself and continued on.

Strange voyages? They had their moments.

"You hold grudges a great while, Hammer," he told her, having found her glaring at the stars from a small lounge on the portside of the ship.

Shizuka huffed, turned her glare to him. He looked the same from their days together under Conner, then Shepard – minor changes, but he didn't appear to have aged at all. A few traces of white in his dark hair, a few new scars perhaps. Her last memory of him had been the look on his face when she'd stormed off after calling him an "emotionless lackey".

Damn it. He hadn't deserved that.

"You forgive too damn easy." Black leaned casually against a bulkhead, crossed his arms. A request or a statement? he wondered. His old friend and comrade, passionate and headstrong, never ambivalent about anything, her universe 'yes' and 'no', and never a 'maybe' to be had. Yet, she certainly understood nuance, shades of grey, absolute only in her passions and long-considered opinions. Not that she couldn't be wrong. Once, he had loved her as he would have were she a lover, then as a sister when he knew her affections tended elsewhere. He was also the only one to use her first name, and the only one allowed - once.

"I don't forgive or condemn, Akilah. I simply gain perspective."

Her gaze softened, slightly, turned inward.

"Must be nice not to feel anything." A gentle hand fell on her shoulder. Shizuka looked up into his face, as serene and compassionate as she remembered. She also remembered resenting the hell out of him for that ability, even in the middle of the blazing, blasting hell of warfare. He just smiled at her words.

"Sorry," she relented, apologizing for all of it. "I'm…" Black shook his head.

"I may not forgive nor condemn, Akilah, but I never forget," he told her with sincerity, taking her hand, kissing it softly. "You owe me no apologies. I am happy to see you again."

Shizuka couldn't help herself, pulled her hand away with a small laugh.

"Damn charming bastard," she told him, holding her hand back out to be shook firmly.

"Yes," he replied with a smile, thinking of his day so far. "Apparently so."

"Been too long since anyone used that name. Kinda missed it." A small smile he found encouraging. "I will admit I feel better with this OP now that you're here." She told him, going back to gazing at the stars and the jutting spear of gas from the Perseus Veil astronomers called the 'Spire', although some more crude had called it other things. It didn't look like that, Shizuka mused, at least, not anymore. "The whole thing's as daft as a vorcha ballet troupe."

Black skipped ahead to what was actually bothering her. Not the mission, certainly not. The possibility of her own death troubled her not a whit. Others, however…

"Flynn will be an asset."

"You don't know that." He saw her jaw muscles bunch as she ground her teeth. "He was barely trustworthy at the best of times." Black frowned. His memories were a little different than hers of that time.

"Your bias is coloring your memories, Akilah."

She turned blazing eyes back on him.

"I know what he did, Winston. I know it."

"No, Hammer. You had only Arakaki's word for that – and he is dead. Our memories have a way of being altered the farther away from an event we travel."

Shizuka stared at him for a long while before looking away, her mind not altered an iota.

"I know what I know."

"As you wish." He paused, reached for her hand again, joined her at the window. "I have always been your friend, Akilah."

"I know that, too." She squeezed his hand, held it lightly.

Black gazed out at the Veil with her. After a few quiet moments, he intoned softly:

"We are N7, Elite of Elite

Our lives are short,

But our triumphs are sweet."

Shizuka looked at him from the corner of her eye.

"Were they ever?"

He shrugged.

"'An N7 knows.'" He quoted. "'An N7 knows the point is not to annihilate an enemy, but to defeat him. The point to defeating an enemy is not in overwhelming him with force, but with thought – the surest way to victory is to force the enemy to defeat himself.'"

"Anderson was always good for a punchy quote."

"Truth."

"I'll keep it in mind." She looked up at him, sighed softly. She let his hand go after another short squeeze.

"Flynn may have changed since, Akilah, as have we all." Black turned from the window. "The benefit of doubt costs you nothing."

"You're wrong this time, Duke. Benefit of doubt has already cost me too much."

She turned, stopped him as he reached the door.

"Trusting Flynn in any capacity is a mistake. If I even think he's set to betray us, I'll kill him – and no one will stop me."

Black simply nodded and left her there. Shizuka, he knew, would be in for a few rather disheartening disclosures were she ever inclined to listen, but it wasn't for him to be the one to make them.

It is unfortunate, he thought, making his way to the flight deck to check on the Virago, how often truth and our perception of it are so often at odds.