"Eat bullets!" Mali screamed as she rolled out from behind a crumbling brick wall and aimed her twin pistols. Both were semi-automatic and lurched in her hands as they sprayed shrapnel everywhere. Hurriedly, Audin and Alex ducked for cover but it was too late, bullets peppered their chests and they fell to the ground, bleeding out on the dusty back-road. Mali scanned her surroundings, but there wasn't much going for cover. A tall field of wheat waved in the wind across the road from her, possibly hiding other enemies, but besides that and a tree, there wasn't much else to hide them. Mali crawled back to behind her small wall and slid in next to Oliver who was peeking over the rim. Hot dust burned her eyes and nostrils, the sun beat down on them, making Mali feel as though she was shriveling up. "They will probably come from the field, they have no other option." Oliver whispered. Mali just nodded and changed her thermals, letting the old ones fall to the ground with a small puff of dirt. "Ara is holding our backs pretty strong, the only one we really have to watch out for is Cadence." Oliver continued. "They'll have to come soon if they want any chance of saving those two." Oliver nodded in the direction of the boys, who were weakly calling for help as they bled out.
"You see anything Ara?" Mali asked. There was a static burst and a pop in her ear, and then she could hear Ara curse. The girl was positioned about two-hundred yards behind them on a small rise, observing through the scope of a sniper gun.
"This infernal heat! It makes everything malfunction!" She broke through. "I see nothing, besides those two idiots crying like babies. They should have known better than to make a fronta—wait, hold on!" There was another pop and a sizzle, and then Ara broke through again. "I just saw Charlie, sneaking through the grass coming from your right! His curly hair gave him away."
"Ok Mali, here's how it's going to play out," Oliver pointed behind him down the road a few feet. "You see that stump? Sneak over there and hide behind it. Ill draw Charlie out into the open by shooting at him, and then you can nail him from the side. Ara, keep an eye out for Cadence. If you see her, shoot."
"Roger." Ara answered. Mali made her way over as directed, keeping low to avoid detection. Somehow something didn't feel right about this, but she trusted Oli. Across the rode Audin had died, and Alex was following close behind. He was no longer moving, and his breaths were coming in short and shallow. She crouched down behind the stump and waited. She checked her map and could see her team's three bright green dots blinking in synchronization. They waited, but nothing was happening. Either they were too scared or too weak to attack them, Mali thought. Then suddenly over her earpiece there was a strangled gurgle, almost too quiet to hear.
"Did you here that?" Oli asked. "Ara?" There was no answer. The third dot on Mali's map had disappeared. "Mali—I think th—" Suddenly Oliver jolted as a high powered bullet tore through his chest, and at the same moment, Mali felt cold steel trace her neck.
"Surrender." Cadence whispered in her ear from behind her. Oliver lay slumped atop the brick wall, dead. "There is no way out. If you try anything I'll slit your throat, but if for some reason you actually get passed me, Charlie has commandeered your team's sniper." Mali sighed. She hated to do it, but Cade was right.
"I surrender." Mali grumbled. Immediately the summer road around them disintegrated into a thousand shards and filtered away. It was still unnerving to Mali. She sighed and pulled off her helmet, her eyes blinking to adjust to the dim lighting. Around her on the couches, the other members of her team were doing the same. Cadence, Audin, Alex and Charlie were all giving each other's high-fives. Outside, it was still pouring rain. They had been playing videogames together all day being cooped up inside with nothing else to do. Mali was just waiting around for her appointment with Dickens at five, and had decided to join the fun. So far, the score was thirty-six to forty-two, her team on the losing side.
"How'd you do it?" Ara asked.
"Some sacrifice, a decoy, and a surprise attack." Cadence boasted pride fully. "You gotta lose some to win some."
"Jeeze, you're turning out to be quite a little airhead." Oli put in. "Maybe all this competition isn't good for you." Ara chuckled. Cadence ignored him.
"Wanna play again?" Cade asked slyly. Mali got up and walked toward the pantry.
"I don't know, do you want to lose?" She taunted. Cade smiled a wicked smile.
"Let's find out." She challenged. Mali disappeared into the pantry.
"Not until I get some sustenance first." Mali answered, her voice coming out muffled by the walls.
"I think I've had enough." Ara put in, "I'm starting to get dizzy from all that play-time."
"You guys are just sore losers." Audin replied.
"That may be," Oli answered, "but Ara has a point, we've been playing for three hours."
"And we've been creamin' you this whole time." Charlie said smugly, crossing his arms. Mali came out of the pantry with her mouth and hands full of chips. The pockets of her pants bulged suspiciously as well.
"Couldn't you just get a bowl like a normal person?" Ara wrinkled her nose.
"Sorry, old habits die hard." Mali apologized around the food in her mouth. The chips in her pocket crunched as she sat back down on the couch.
"Hey, don't you have an appointment with Dickens at five?" Audin said, glancing at the clock, "because it's 4:55 right now." Mali almost choked as she was swallowing. She scrambled over the back of the sofa, still chewing, and looked at the kitchen clock; it was indeed 4:55.
"Oh crap!" Mali ran to her room and grabbed her boots, not even bothering to find a pair of socks. As she stuffed her feet into them she heard the doorbell ring outside in the living room. Mali almost tripped over her untied laces as she ran from her room to see who it was. Shepard was standing just outside the doorway getting pounded by the rain, bent over, his hood dripping like a waterfall.
"Hey." He gave a small wave.
"What are you doing here?" Mali asked as she pulled on a coat. Shepard smiled.
"I thought you might be running late, so I stopped by to see if you wanted a ride there. I wouldn't subject anyone to walking in this kind of storm, they could get hit by lighting!"
"Yah, well that one's already been crossed off my list." Mali waved goodbye to her friends and stepped out into the torrent of rain with him.
"Oh yah." He laughed to himself, "it seems like you are a magnet for trouble." He smiled as they walked.
"Liara said almost the same thing the other day." Mali looked at him with interest.
"Oh really?" Shepard asked to conspicuously.
"I know about the deal between you two." Mali said bluntly, "how has the patch up job been going?" Shepard stared at her.
"You do?"
"Yah," Mali shrugged, "she tells me everything—besides, even if she hadn't I could've guessed. There is a certain chemistry between you two that screams "past-relationship"." They ducked into the elevator and Shepard pressed the down button. They started their swirling decent. "So, are you two still fighting?"
"No," Shepard answered, staring straight ahead. "we've had a few talks over these last couple of weeks, and we have decided to put the past behind us and move on—but you should've been there the first time I tried to talk to her—she almost killed me." Shepard chuckled fondly. "That was a memorable reunion." Mali couldn't help but notice the evident fondness in his voice.
"Does she know you still love her?" Mali asked.
"What?" Shepard turned to her in surprise, "I don't love her." He denied.
"I think I can tell when someone likes another person," Mali replied, "I'm a girl, remember? Natural expert on relationships." Shepard scoffed.
"I don't think so." He denied again. Mali let it settle, but she knew that she was right, by the way that his shoulders had tensed. She let it stay quiet for a while, and then as they started to end their decent she couldn't help but ask another question.
"Why did you end your engagement to her?" She asked quietly.
"I thought she told you everything." Shepard crossed his arms, still staring ahead.
"I want to hear your side of the story." Mali replied gently. "It had to be more than just the war and the possibility of dying. You faced that every day, it wasn't new. So what was it? Where you scared of commitment?" The doors opened and they stepped out into the clearing. Shepard's hover car hummed a few yards away, a red beacon of shelter. They were temporarily separated as they scrambled for the vehicle. But once they got in, Shepard answered, rather hesitantly.
"You probably already know this—the tabloids were all over it in the later years of the war—but I had a divorce right before the wars started. I was on duty, serving on a ship out in space and I hadn't heard from her in months. I thought something might be wrong, but there was nothing I could do. Then one day the divorce papers just showed up in my mail and that was that. I never knew what I had done wrong. We had only been married for a year—it had been a young love, I had only been eighteen when I asked her—I thought everything had been going great. There was no explanation, no story. The tabloids pegged me as an abusive husband who she was scared of. I signed them, I was legally bound to do so. When I finally got leave a month later I went to search for her, but I never found her, and then a year later the war started." They lifted off the ground and over the treetops, zooming toward the buildings in the distance.
"I was really hurt by what had happened, so I focused on the reapers and pushed the pain away. It was all good for about a year, and then Liara joined my crew. At first there was nothing between us, but you know Liara, she is as inquisitive as anybody I've ever known. Right away she knew that I was hurting over something, and as we did missions together we got closer and closer till I finally told her. I have to admit, I cried that night. From then on she was really supportive and nice, and I just felt myself connecting to her. It was inevitable that we fell in love, she was the one that had finally gotten me over my fist wife. "
"I popped the question a couple years later, seeing that we were still both alive and that the end of the war was near. However, before going into the battle of Earth, I had a night where I dreamt about my old wife. In it, she was crying out for help and getting pulled away from me. I woke up sweating and panting, scared out of my wits. I couldn't have Liara getting hurt—I knew I had made a lot of enemies over my quest to save the galaxy—and I knew that as soon as the war was over they'd come look for me, and for her. Also, I just couldn't bear the thought of being hurt again; I didn't want what had happened in my fist marriage to happen again in my second. I became unsure of myself and in a moment of panic I cut things off. "
"Almost immediately I regretted it, but like a coward I didn't go back. It was the worst mistake of my life. Liara was so perfect and loving and caring, and I had hurt her in the same way that my wife had hurt me. I was so ashamed of myself."
"That's why you have a drinking problem." Mali blurted. Shepard gave her a keen eye. "Liara says that you always smell like booze." Mali explained. Shepard sighed.
"There are many reasons for that, but you are right, one of them is for regret. Anyway, I fell like now I've been given a second chance, and I want to heal things between us, and to at least become friends again. I don't want to go through life always regretting my mistakes—I want to fix a few if I can."
"Why are you telling me all this?" Mali asked. Shepard thought a moment, ahead of them the buildings loomed tall and dark against the rain clouds.
"Because I think I see the same pain in you that I fist had after the separation. Self-loathing, anger, confusion, sadness," Shepard finally replied, "I don't know all of your story Mali, but I know that someone you cared about deeply was taken from you, just like Anora was from me." Mali clenched her fists. "But interestingly enough," he continued, "I also see that Liara is helping you with that, just like she did me, and it looks like it's working."
"Well who can ignore a person like Liara? She should go into therapy or something." Mali answered back. Shepard chuckled.
"That's what I always thought." He set the car down on the grass and turned it off, turning toward Mali in the process. "I hope that what I said you can keep confidential Mali, I don't think Liara is ready to hear about what I feel for her."
"So you do still love her." Mali said slyly.
"Yes, I never stopped." Shepard sighed, confessing. "Now do we have an agreement?"
"Of course," Mali rolled her eyes.
"Good." Shepard smiled, "now let's get to that meeting." They climbed up three flights of stairs in the office building to Dickens's office. Liara was already there, and she raised her eyebrow when she saw them both come in at the same time.
"He gave me a ride." Mali explained as she sat down next to her. Shepard sat down on Mali's other side, and Mali couldn't help but feel as if she was the no-man's land between two enemy forces. Forget what Shepard had said—as much as he hoped things were different Mali could tell things hadn't gotten much better.
"Finally." Dickens complained, "I thought we'd have to wait the whole night for you to show up." He spread his hands across his desk. Mali glanced at the clock.
"But we were right on time." Mali argued. Dickens raised an eyebrow.
"And what do we say about being on time?" He asked.
"Being on time is considered late; be early to be on time." Mali quoted in a monotone voice the saying that every teacher at the school had engrained into them.
"And don't you forget it." Dickens nodded in agreement. "So," he interlocked his fingers, "I have talked to the board about Mali's new…situation. They have agreed to let you investigate and learn your powers as long as you are under supervision," he stared down Mali, "also, they have asked that you experiment and document what her powers can do." Mali nodded, an idea already forming in her mind.
"Sir," Mali spoke up, "there is something that I've been meaning to tell you, about Groose; I didn't tell you everything he said." Mali could feel all three adults perk up with interest.
"Why would you hold back such information?" Dickens asked.
"Because it was personal, pertaining to my past, and I wanted a chance to figure things out before talking to you and having it be exposed to the council. However, I haven't been able to think of anything."
"What did he say Mali?" Liara asked.
"Well, after talking about the spies, we got onto a more personal subject. He told me that before, as a baby, I had been "one of them", whatever that means. He said that I had been engineered this way, and that it was no accident that I was so powerful. Only what he called an unfortunate accident during transit saved me from growing up like them. He said I was valuable merchandise." Mali spoke quietly. Next to her she heard an angry intake of breath; Liara placed a hand on her arm.
"You aren't merchandise Mali."
"I know," Mali nodded slowly, "but it's still nice to hear you say it."
"What does this mean?" Shepard asked, "For the reaper, I mean."
"It really doesn't change anything," Dickens answered, "now we just might have a motive for this craziness."
"Is that all he said?" Shepard asked.
"Yah, plus something about them "wasting it all on me" or something."
"Wait, what?"
"Well that's what he said." Mali shrugged. Shepard frowned and kneaded his chin in thought.
"I know that look, what is it?" Dickens asked. Shepard shook his head.
"I don't know…it's just that, he said she was engineered, like she was built. And all her eezo powers, and the thing about wasting. It just reminds me a lot of what Jack went through."
"Jack?" Mali asked.
"A friend of ours," Liara answered, "we met her during the war, supposedly she was the most powerful human biotic, and maybe the most powerful in the galaxy—well, up until you, anyway."
"When she was a child, she was experimented on—exposed to massive amounts of element zero by an organization called Cerberus. What Groose is saying about you fits with what they were doing in the experiment."
"—but it's impossible." Liara interjected, "it was shut down, many years before Mali was born—Miranda Lawson told us herself. Besides, you blew up the facility anyway."
"Miranda Lawson didn't know everything. It's possible the Illusive Man hid it from her."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up, I'm having trouble understanding what's going on here." Mali barged in. "What is Cerberus, and everything else?"
"Cerberus was an origination that was dedicated to the advancement of the human race, which doesn't sound so bad, except for their extreme and often ruthless methods of doing so. It pretty much disbanded at the end of the war when I killed the Illusive Man, who was the leader. Miranda Lawson was a Cerberus operative, up until she saw that they had become corrupt. She was also a close friend and valuable informant."
"What does this all have to do with me?" Mali asked.
"Well, none of it should—this all went down years ago. I thought that it was the end of Cerberus craziness, but from what I'm hearing they could possibly still be operating."
"Are you seriously considering this?" Liara scoffed. "Cerberus is gone, the Illusive Man is dead. There has been no mention of activity anywhere from my feeds! What you are thinking is outrageous!"
"But not impossible. There were many powerful people involved in Cerberus that we never knew about, and anyone of those could have easily resurrected the organization if it suited them." Dickens responded.
"So Cerberus was doing experiments?" Mali interjected.
"Yes, Jack was one of their creations. Miranda claimed that that experiment went rouge after a few years into operation, and existed without Cerberus jurisdiction, but yes, in the beginning it was Cerberus who started it."
"And you think that I could be—a—a—product of this experiment?" Mali choked on the word.
"Mali…" Liara tutted.
"My whole world just got a lot crazier." Mali put her head in her hands.
"We don't know for sure." Shepard said apologetically, "it was wrong of me to bring it up without any proof." He patted her back.
"No! Your right," Mali sat up and swept back her hair, "no matter how hard it is, we have to consider every possibility, even if it means that facing that I might've come from a test-tube."
"It doesn't work like that." Shepard shook his head. "Always, the child was already born, from a real mother. For some reason test-tube babies just couldn't absorb eezo as well."
"So how does it work?" Mali asked, "The integration process, I mean."
"Well, first, they would just keep you in proximity to it, then they would move to having kids touch it, then eat it, and if they survived all of that, they would inject it into the blood stream and skin tissue, hoping that the body would absorb the eezo."
"And if it didn't?" Mali asked.
"The child would die. Like I said, they were ruthless." Mali shook her head.
"This just all seems so surreal."
"We don't know anything yet Mali, this is all just speculation." Dickens answered.
"But what if it is real?" Mali asked.
"Don't go there yet," Liara interjected, "not until we know." Mali nodded.
"Ok." She said uncertainty. "I intend to find some answers." Dickens cleared his throat.
"This isn't the only reason I called you all up here today." All three turned to him with interest.
"I've had a phone call, from the council, the council council, and they are sending someone over. It seems like they finally are taking action." Liara and Mali broke into smiles.
"This is good news!" Liara exclaimed. Shepard didn't seem so happy.
"Who are they sending?" He asked. If Dickens could look uncomfortable, he did. "Who?" Shepard asked again.
"Udina." Dickens sighed. "Which is why I wanted to give you fair warning." A storm rolled over Shepard's face, his nostrils flared.
"What's the problem?" Mali asked.
"Udina hates me." Shepard answered bluntly.
"No," Liara tisked, "they've just had some…disagreements over the years." Shepard cocked his head.
"Disagreements? He has tried to thwart me at every turn in my career and has succeeded half the time, do you call that a disagreement?"
"What's wrong?" Mali asked. Shepard crossed his arms.
"Udina was against me as the first human Spectre, and has given me hell ever since I got the promotion. Also we have some feud over a long time ago when I took his spot in N7 training." Shepard answered. Liara shot him a look. "What?" He shrugged, "he wasn't really a good soldier, it was a miracle he got noticed at all. He's a money loving, slithering bureaucrat scum-bag that has nothing better to do than to make my life miserable. He's the one that pushed for the Normandy to be taken away from me—Corwin told me."
"Whatever the case, while he is here I expect you to treat him with the respect that a council member deserves—he is the reason humans have a seat on the council at all you know." Dickens intervened. "But that's not all, he is personally going to attend the second part of Mali's trail." Mali suppressed a lurch of unease.
"So, it's finally going to happen?" She asked.
"Yes, the day he arrives." Dickens answered.
"And that will be?" Liara questioned.
"Saturday." Mali sucked in breath.
"So soon?"
"Unfortunately yes. And unless any new information comes to light," he looked at her pointedly, "your trial will not look good." Mali crossed her arms and sat back, but didn't say anything.
"The day after my birthday." Mali quietly murmured to herself. Liara sat up.
"What?"
"My birthday is Friday."
"Your birthday is this week?"
"Yes, apparently the day before I'm going to be put on death row."
"Well," Shepard sighed, patting her back once again, "that is extremely unfortunate."
"I'm sorry Mali." Shepard said one last time as he, Liara, and the juvenile delinquent exited the building.
"It's ok." Mali sighed. "My life has just been a series of unfortunate events, and this is just another one down the long road ahead of them."
"It's not ok." Liara spat. "It's not."
"No really, it is. I'll be fine." Mali tried to pacify her.
"Mali stop saying that, because even though you say it we all know you don't mean it and it's not going to help anything!" Liara yelled.
"Ok, ok." Mali irked.
"I think I should leave you guys alone now." Shepard said. "Goodnight." He waved goodbye.
"Thanks for the ride!" Mali called after him. Liara turned to her, arms crossed.
"How are you ok with this? How are you so calm?"
"Well, it's going to happen, and there's nothing I can do, so, why worry?" Mali asked. "If I'm going to be sentenced to life in prison, or execution—God forbid—I want to enjoy the few last days of freedom I have left." Liara shook her head.
"No, I'm not going to believe that. You wouldn't give up so easily."
"Well what do you want me to do?!" Mali spread her hands out wide. "There is nothing! Nothing! I don't like it either, how could I? But I'm not going to waste my time on something I can't help."
"But you can!" Liara exclaimed, "You heard Dickens in there. If you told them what you told me, the stuff about Yane, they might just let you go."
"That was private!" Mali shook her head, "that was said in confidence between friends. I have no intention of sharing something so personal to the court." Liara shook her head in frustration.
"BUT IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE!" She yelled. "Why would you want to withhold something that could do that?"
"Because I don't know if it will!" Mali yelled back, "and I don't want to turn into some sniveling teenage girl in front of them!"
"So it's a pride issue then?" Liara crossed her arms.
"No! I didn't say that!" Mali exclaimed.
"Yes it is. You are facing death row and you are concerned about how they see you? You are ridiculous! Stupid!"
"Excuse me? I'm stupid?" Mali asked angrily.
"Yes, if you insist on doing what you are saying." Liara responded, just as haughty.
"What is so bad about my decisions?" Mali asked, almost pleading with Liara to understand.
"BECAUSE YOU COULD END UP DEAD!" Liara almost screamed. "Is that what you want? To die, and throw away this new life you've started, with me? I can't let that happen."
"So what are you going to do?" Mali asked, "Tell them yourself?"
"Maybe." Liara responded. "They would at least be forced to look into it, and who knows what they might uncover if they did."
"They wouldn't believe you." Mali stared daggers at her.
"Yes they would, I'm your therapist, and also your close friend. I was charged with finding stuff about you, of course they would believe me." Mali shook her head.
"Close friends would honor their friend's decisions."
"Close friends wouldn't let their friend die." Liara retorted. Mali threw up her hands.
"—And why didn't you ask Dickens about me?" Mali ignored her.
"I just didn't think it was the right time; we were talking about your past and all."
"So now you don't want me?!" Mali yelled.
"Mali, please, be rational here!" Liara pleaded with her. "Of cour—"
"You know what? I'm done with this conversation. I need a walk."
"Mali—," Liara started.
"No! Right now, I need to be alone." Mali turned her back. "The last thing I need right now is company." Mali walked away, and left Liara fuming in a pool of moonlight. She crossed over the fields, not really caring where she was going. The moon lit her path as she trekked along through the slick wet grass. It was no longer raining, but the grass was slick and swampy, sucking at her boots. Cold wind whipped her hair around as she stopped on. Her feet carried her further and further away from the lights of the main buildings, and she could finally breathe again.
Mali didn't know why she had become upset, but just the thought of telling them about Yane terrified her. Suddenly Mali smacked into something hard and ruff. She looked up to see that she had just run into a spire of rock. Confused, she looked around and realized that she was already in the forest near bunk five. Mali smiled, she hadn't even noticed it, but she had been using the grass to push her forward faster in her need to escape; it had carried her here faster than Mali had thought that she was going. Grinning, Mali channeled her boitics and lifted herself up off the ground. She levitated a few feet off the ground for a few seconds, and then pushed herself higher. She aimed for the crack that she had seen on her first day in these woods.
Sweat beaded her brow, she had never pushed herself this hard, but it felt good. Her blue aura flickered around her as she ascended the stone, like a will-o-the-wisp in the night. She alighted on a rock outcropping just outside the crack. Her biotics lit the way and Mali realized that it was an opening to a cave. Intrigued, Mali continued in. At first there wasn't anything in there that was spectacular. It was just a barren hollow a few feet deep and even fewer high, but as Mali let her biotics flicker out a warm glow suffused her skin. Mali looked up and gasped, for around her and above her soft lights flickered on the cave walls. There were soft oranges, yellows, blues, and greens. It reminded Mali exactly of the city lights she used to watch with Yane back in New Chicago. Mali laid back and watched the lights, letting herself relax and calm down. For some reason, Mali felt like this was a gift form Yane, telling her to move on.
Mali knew that if she did this, if she told the council about her past, that she could get over what happened and be finally truly free from what had happened and move on with her life, but it scared her as well. She had been living with the pain for so long that she didn't know if she could move on—it scared her to be without it. Mali sighed and sat back, watching the small lights flicker. She didn't have to decide now, Mali thought to herself, just enjoy the lights. She watched them as she slowly fell asleep.
Alarms blared around her. Red lights flashed along the halls, someone was carrying her and running. Mali wanted her mother, she felt like crying. She waved her fists in the air, but the person carrying her crammed them back down into the blanket.
"Almost there." A soft female voice said. Black wisps of hair escaped her ponytail. The woman had a strong chin with wide lips and dark eyes surrounded by dark eyeliner. Her clothes were tight fitting and black, they had a glossy sheen to them. The woman cradled Mali in one arm as she ran down the corridor, the other held a pistol out in front of her in case they met with any danger. They passed a window, and Mali could see stars through the glass. The alarms continued to scream as the woman quickly turned the corner. Too late did she realize her mistake.
"Miranda." A man's voice said. "I probably should've known they'd send you." Miranda held Mali tight against her body. Mali squirmed in her blanket uncomfortably, but this woman had a strong hold on her. Miranda had her pistol pointed at the man's head, but behind him, many armed guards stood at the ready with their rifles up. They stood between her and her escape route. "I have to admit, I'm surprised you took the job, you're really not one with kids." He chuckled.
"I'll admit this is one of my more unorthodox missions." Miranda queued. Unease swept through the men behind the man in the black suit. "Good, you all know who I am." Miranda smiled, deadly, "and you know what I can do." The black suite man laughed.
"Don't worry men, I seriously doubt that she would, or could, engage in combat with a baby in her arms. Too risky." Mali let out a cry, she was being held too tight. "What did you think you were going to do? Waltz right outta here with my baby?"
"She's not yours, and I was going to do more than that. Once I get out of here, I'll let the world know who you really are and blow your precious little charade to pieces!"
"Oh no." The man tisked, "we can't have that. My work isn't done. Now hand over the baby." Miranda shifted so that Mali was protected by the other side of her body, she held her gun at the ready.
"You want to know something interesting?" Miranda questioned, the man cocked his head curiously, "the first rule you learn in training is that you always watch your back."
"What's that supposed to mean?" The man laughed.
"This!" Another person shouted. Another woman materialized behind the line of men, holding two large cannons. At the pull or the trigger massive cones of pressurized air were blasted at the men, knocking them out cold. The man in the black suit didn't look so threatening sleeping on the floor. Miranda stood over him, Mali squirming in her arm.
"I love cloaking devices." The other woman said.
"That was almost too close, Kasumi."
"Nah. It was perfect." The other woman replied. She wore a thick dark hood that obscured her features, but two dark eyes glinted in their depths so cold that you would swear the air around you had dropped a few degrees. "Are we going to kill him?" Kasumi asked, motioning to the man on the floor.
"No, as much as I want to it's not part of the mission. This man deserves to be exposed and brought to justice for his crimes."
"Who is he anyway?" Kasumi asked, "He looks like a big corporate hot-shot to me."
"He is far more dangerous than that." Miranda replied. She stayed looking at him for one more second, and then turned away. "Let's go." They walked to the end of the hall where a huge airlock door stood. It was round, about two Yards across, and looked like a porthole except it was made of metal.
"We made it." Kasumi sighed. They opened the door and the hooded girl stepped inside. Suddenly from around the corner uniformed men came blasting toward them.
"Here!" Miranda pushed Mali into Kasumi's arms. The lady held her awkwardly, like she didn't know what to do with her. "Leave now! I'll keep them busy!" Miranda fired a few shots and their attackers retreated behind the corner again, but not for long.
"I can't just leave you!" Kasumi exclaimed.
"There is no time to argue. You either leave me here, or we fail this mission and that baby, that weapon, will be in the hands of one who would use her to destroy the galaxy." Kasumi grit her teeth.
"No! There has to be another way!"
"There isn't, I'm sorry." Miranda swiftly reached inside, and before Kasumi could stop her punched the launch button. The doors started to close.
"No!" Kasumi yelled.
"Finish this mission! See that she gets to the drop off point in New Chicago," Miranda looked at her old friend, "forgive me." The doors closed, shutting Kasumi off from one of her closest friends. Outside, Mali could hear gunshots. The clock only had 5 seconds to launch when there was a rapid set of gunshots, and then there was a soft thump outside the door, like a body hitting the ground.
"No!" Kasumi wailed, slamming the side of the pod with her fist. "No!" The pod launched out into space and fired, sending the small aircraft speeding toward Earth. "NO! NO! NO! NO!" She collapsed on the metal bench with Mali in her lap. Mali looked innocently up into her face and made gurgling sounds, then laughed. Two teeth were coming in. "You better be worth this kid." The woman whispered.
Mali sat up with a gasp, rubbing her head. "What was that?" She asked the cave. Thin, cold night air was pushing its way into the cave, making her shiver. Another storm was on its way, the no rain had only been a relapse. Mali groaned and stood up, she could tell it was late. Her whole body felt sore from sleeping on the hard rock; she had been so stupid to fall asleep here. Mali waved goodbye to the city lights that decorated the walls, and alighted down to the forest below her. Where were these dreams coming from? Mali thought.
As she approached the bramble wall that surrounded the tree, she had an idea. Using her biotics, Mali pushed aside the brambles and made a path through the spiky hedge. The brambles bended to her will and untangled themselves, allowing her to pass though. As she came out the other end, she turned back and looked at the path with satisfaction. She was becoming more powerful every day and learning her powers quickly. She felt like a ghost as she walked across the grassy lawn to the base of the tree. It was so silent and calm, nothing moved or made a sound.
A few minutes later Mali walked through the door to the nest. A glance at the kitchen clock read 2:00 am. The room was dark, but there was light coming from the stairwell and Mali knew the boys were still having their videogame fest. She kicked off her shoes and padded across the tile to the pantry, where she grabbed a box of cereal. Mali poured that and some milk into a bowl, then grabbed a spoon and headed with her prize to her bedroom. As she walked down the hall a blurry eyed Cadence stepped out of her room. "Cade, what are you doing up?" Mali asked, surprised. The sleepy girl rubbed her eyes and yawned.
"I was waiting up for you, but I guess I fell asleep. Liara's been here hours, worried sick." She answered slowly.
"That was nice of you." Mali smiled, "but you didn't have to. Go back to bed now." She said softly.
"Ok." Cadence yawned again. Halfway in her door she turned around. "Mali?"
"Yes?"
"I'm glad your back." Cadence walked fully into her room and plopped back down on her bed, before the door closed Mali could already hear her snoring. Chuckling, she continued down the hall till she got to her door. Taking a deep breath, Mali walked through. Liara was pacing the room, arms behind her back, head down, thinking. She had pulled back the curtains to let the night show, but there wasn't much. The clouds had obscured the night sky and it was slightly raining, pattering the windows with soft tinks. The lights were off, the only light coming from her bedside lamp that was turned on. Mali stepped all the way through, holding her cereal bowl in one hand and her spoon in the other.
"Hey." She said softly, alerting Liara to her presence. The graceful asari started and looked up. At first Liara moved to hug her, but then backed down as she thought better of it.
"Hey." The woman replied, her soft accent melodious as always. Her voice was carefully controlled and Mali could tell Liara was trying hard not to show her emotions. Mali sat down on the edge of her bed and set her cereal and spoon on the bedside table, next to her credit chit. Mali folded her hands in her lap and just looked at Liara, neither of them spoke. As the silence continued, Mali realized that most of the time she had known Liara she had taken her for granted. Never had she stopped and thought about just how rare a person like her was, or how much she had really helped her. Liara was kind and gentle, protective and fierce, skilled, smart, strong and beautiful, sensitive, and understanding. Many of these traits were hard to come by in anyone these days, and the woman in front of her carried them all. Mali felt a surge of affection for the person in front of her, and she found herself feeling lucky she had someone so great want to be a part of her life.
"Mali—," Liara started, but Mali held up a hand. Liara stopped.
"It is I who should apologize. I was mean and rude, and should have never brought up the adoption thing. I know you love me, and I knew the timing wasn't right; I think I just wanted to hear some good news after all of that bad stuff." Liara sat down next to her.
"I shouldn't have pushed you. You are smart, and can take care of yourself. Only you really know what is best for you. I am just worried for your life, and am grasping at anything that might help you."
"You were right though." Mali said. Liara perked up and smiled.
"I'm glad you see my point of view." She said. Mali chuckled.
"I guess I am just frightened about what will come after. I have just been holding on to my past for so long, it's scary to let go and move on. I feel like if I told them, that's what I'd be doing, and I just don't know if I'm ready to do that."
"You are Mali. Look around you! You've made a new life here. You have friends, a home, education, family. You've put down roots. Even if you haven't realized it, you've been slowly moving on this whole time. Plus, you aren't going to do this alone; I will be there." The asari caught Mali's hand and intertwined their fingers. "You will always have me." Mali smiled and leaned into her, Liara wrapping her arm around her shoulders.
"I am lucky to have a mom like you." Mali said. "Sometimes I don't realize it, but I am." Liara chuckled. "What?" Mali asked, annoyed. "I just shared something sensitive with you and you laugh at me?"
"Ha, ha! Erm, no, it's not that. Being called mom just makes me feel old. I never expected to have a child this early in my life, I thought it was going to be a couple hundred years ahead—I guess I'm just the mothering type." Mali sat up.
"A couple hundred years?" She said in disbelief. "You consider yourself not old?"
"Well, I'm not." Liara replied argumentatively. "I'm barely a century. Many asari live to be a thousand years old, and some even longer."
"Barely a century, oh! Ha, ha!" Mali burst out, double over as laughs raked her frame. "You are like twenty-five times older than me!"
"This is just making me feel even worse about my age." Liara frowned.