Chapter 14

Seatbacks and Traytables

Perhaps it was a result of all the hits to the head over the years, but Finn was the first to wake up.

"Finn! Finn, can you hear me?! Say somethin', bro!"

Well, perhaps not the first. Finn put a hand to the side of his head, more in a vain attempt to subdue the headache he instinctively knew was moments away than any need to activate his radio transceiver. "Somethin', bro."

A short laugh tinged with relief answered him. "Thank Glob, man; I was sure you were toast. Everyone down here's okay, though Darsan's whining about getting a little bump."

"Indignant." came Darsan's reply, "It really hurt. I could have been seriously injured."

"You didn't even fall down." Jake told him. "How about you, bro? That was one hell of a landing."

"Landing." Finn repeated, massaging his temple. "That's right; we were heading straight for Tuchanka, and …"

He glanced around the bridge as his memory caught up with him. It had survived more or less intact, though not a single console seemed to be online at that point. Less reassuring, however, were the still forms of the members of Siren's Call.

Amber was the closest; she was still in her seat, her head nestled against her folded arms as they rested against the console.

"Hey." Finn said as he shook her by the shoulder in as gently a fashion as he could while still hopefully rousing her. A few moments later, she raised her head, her slightly orange-tinted eyes peering bleerily above her arms. "Mmm … wha?"

Smiling, Finn said, "Take a second; I'm gonna go check on the others."

Violet was already starting to stand, albeit shakily, so Finn moved to Azure next. She was lying on the floor, one arm trailing over the slightly raised platform of the captain's chair, where Scarlet was still sitting, a protective field holding her in place.

"Quick thinking." Finn told her unmoving form as he knelt by Azure.

He shook her gently by the arm. "Azure? You okay there?"

After a few more moments of shaking, she opened her eyes groggily. "Huh? Oh, it's you."

"Glad to see you made it too." Finn jerked a thumb at Scarlet, saying, "I assume there's some way to deactivate that."

He helped her to her feet, hesitating for a moment when he saw her wince.

"You okay?" He asked, ready to catch her if she fell.

"I'm fine." She said coldly, jerking her arm away. In a more calm voice, she said, "I think I dislocated my shoulder, that's all."

"Well, do you need-" Finn winced as she abruptly slammed her shoulder against the nearest wall.

She let out a grunt of pain before turning her attention back to him. "You say something?"

Raising his hands, he said, "Okay, nevermind. You don't need anything from me. Got it."

As they moved to Scarlet's chair, Finn noticed Azure's eyes dart in Amber's direction for a moment. He quickly looked away before she noticed his noticing; not his affair, after all.

Kneeling by the base of the chair, Azure said, "Just need to pull out the auxiliary power supply. Can't make these too hard to deactivate, or people would get trapped forever."

After a few moments of fumbling, she yanked out a small battery. The field around Scarlet died instantly.

"Scarlet?" Finn asked. When she didn't respond, he checked her pulse. After a few moments of sheer panic, he checked her pulse properly; while they looked very similar, there were a few small biological differences between humans and quarians.

"Pulse is strong." He commented. "She's still breathing too … good. I didn't feel like giving her an hour of mouth-to-mouth."

"An hour?" Azure asked incredulously. "Is that what it takes for humans?"

"Isn't that what it takes for quarians? To ensure proper breathing and comfort levels, right? Kyra's been teaching me."

For the first time since Finn had met her, Azure smiled … a little. "Oh is she? And during the demonstrated hour, you never thought to question her about it?"

Blushing, Finn said, "I, uh, kinda lost track of time, to be honest."

"Uh-huh."

Fortunately, further conversation was cut short as Scarlet began to rouse.

After shifting slightly in her seat, she slowly opened her eyes and stared at the anxious faces of Finn and Azure. "Oh … was I …?"

She suddenly stood up, nearly bowling the two of them over. Staring around in horror, she said, "How bad is it?"

"I don't know." Azure glanced at Finn. "Though I'm guessing inertial dampeners are still functioning, seeing as we aren't splattered over the viewscreen."

There was a slight accusing tone in her voice that raised Finn's metaphorical hackles. "Hey, I got us down alive, didn't I? If you hadn't fired off that … whatever the hell that was-"

"I had everything under control." Azure snapped. "If you could've waited a few seconds before legging it like a startled-"

"Enough!" It was the firmness of Scarlet's voice that cut through the squabbling. "This isn't helping us. We could still be in danger."

"We're crashed on Tuchanka." Violet called out from beneath her console, "I think it's safe to say danger is a given."

"Thank you, Violet." Scarlet rubbed her eyes. "We need to find out exactly where we are, and if the krogans know we're here."

A loud hum shot through the air as the scanner console came back online. Violet slid out from beneath the console and said, "I'm on it."

They crowded around the console as Violet ran her scans. "Hmm. Sensors must've been partially damaged. I'm not reading any nearby energy signatures, though. Stone, natural growth … we seem to be in some sort of cavern."

"Is that it?" Azure asked, hands on her hips.

Violet shot her an annoyed look. "Like I said, sensors must be damaged; I'm barely seeing more than a kilometer in any direction."

"Maybe it's not the ship." Finn mused. "Maybe we're shielded somehow."

"I'd like to be sure." Scarlet rested her hand on Violet's shoulder. "I'll keep working on the sensors; could you and Azure go scout out the nearby area?"

"Sure thing, boss." Violet said.

"Finn?" Scarlet asked, her eyes meeting his, "Could you go with them?"

"Wouldn't it be better if I helped Noir with the ship?

"We have no idea where we are." Scarlet said. "Since we aren't under attack, I think it's safe to say we're not too close to any settled area, but if we come online and something picks up on us before we can fly … well, I'm sure I don't have to paint a picture. We need to know if we're safe here."

Finn traded glances with Violet and Azure. Violet shrugged, a sly smile on her face, while Azure just looked annoyed. With a sigh, she muttered, "Fine. Come on, you two."

Jake's voice came from Finn's subdermal implant as Finn and company started climbing down the maintenance tunnel. "Don't worry, bro; we'll help Noir get this bucket working on the down-low while you scout out the area. Be careful, though; krogans are nasty."

"Now, now." Said a voice Finn had almost forgotten. "That's not a very PC attitude."

"Hikari?" Jake asked, which was fortunate seeing as there was no way Finn could have spoken without Violet and Azure hearing. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Watching. Listening. Scheming."

Something about the strange tone of impish delight in her voice when she said the word 'scheming' made Finn instantly apprehensive.

"Well, I'm sure Finn's working on a way to get The Creator's Tear-"

"Jake, Jake, Jake." She interrupted. "Surely by now you realize that the Creator's Tear isn't what I'm truly looking for. No, my sights are a bit higher at the moment, and you'd do well to assist me … unless you'd like your little League to go to One."

Finn let out a sigh; he supposed he shouldn't be surprised that Hikari knew about the League, and yet her sudden disinterest in the gem tickled at the back of his mind.

"Why should we help you?" Jake asked defiantly. "We've got things under control."

"You're crashed on a planet full of angry krogan, and while it's true they haven't noticed you yet, it would be unfortunate if something were to happen to … illuminate your position."

The lights of the ship flickered momentarily, so quickly that Finn wasn't sure if it was coincidence or not.

"Fine." Finn muttered.

Violet and Azure glanced at Finn, but he was careful to keep his expression blank while the conversation in his ear continued. "Ah, excellent. I knew I could count on you, Finn. Now, for the time being, I'm going to confiscate your little radio link. Goodbye, Jake!"

"Now just a-" There was a brief hum followed by a moment of silence from Jake.

"There we go." Hikari told him, the sound of hands clapping audible. "Now I have you all to myself. I'll be listening, so no revealing uncomfortable secrets to your new friends."

Finn seethed. She was threatening him, and he couldn't even respond because of his present company.

His new companions weren't much for talking either, though Finn could only guess at their reasoning. It was more than a bit awkward, especially since Finn was standing between them.

No sooner than they had exited the maintenance passage and stepped out into the cargo bay, Azure rounded on Finn and said, "Listen here, Cresste, I don't know what you're really planning, and I don't particularly care. Scarlet says we work together; I'm find with that, but next time you do something that puts this ship and crew in danger-"

"Hey!" Finn said. "If you had clued me in to your little surprise-"

"Shut up!" She paused a moment before continuing, "It was an accident, I'll grant you that. Just make sure you understand; the members of Siren's call are my friends … my family. I'll do anything to keep them safe, and if you do something to harm them in any way, I'll chase you to the galactic core. Understood?"

"More than you know." Finn told her, thinking of his friends on the Ulasomorf.

A strange look crossed her face. Shaking her head, she stomped towards the loading hatch. Violet gave Finn a shrug and a smile, reminding Finn strongly of Kyra. As he followed Kyra's sister out of the lift, he glanced at his omni-tool; she'd be in the lounge at the moment. They shared a love of old television shows, and had been watching through a particularly amusing series about a vampire, a ghost, and a werewolf who lived in the same flat. At that moment, he would've given almost anything to be sitting by her on the couch, both of them riffing the show in an effort to make the other laugh.

The loading ramp wasn't an option; the backup generator installed to power it was completely wrecked. Even if they had been able to get the door open, it represented a sizeable entry point that would be hard to defend should they come under attack. Fortunately, there was a small maintenance hatch just big enough for the three of them to exit the Meridia after donning oxygen masks. Azure made a point of sending Finn first. He didn't object; if they were near any krogans, he was sure they'd be pounding on the hull by that point.

As the outer door opened, Finn felt a rush of wind rush through his hair. Glancing up, he felt his jaw go slack. "Definitely not a cavern."

"What? Azure asked, "What is it?"

Finn finished crawling out of the tube so the others could exit as well. They both stood beside him, their eyes staring out in all directions.

The Meridia was sitting near the center of a large raised platform within an enormous chamber of carved stone, marks of the space vessel's hurried decent visible across the ancient ruins. The clearing in which the ship lay was itself was quite large and had several large patches of dark green grass, usually situated around one of the few rough and gnarled trees that had managed to force their way through the harsh soil and aged stonework to stretch their leaves towards the cloud-filled sky visible through holes in the ancient ceiling. Thick growths of ivies surrounded all such openings, save for the one on the far end of the enormous chamber, no doubt the hole created by the Meridia.

However, it was the massive statues surrounding the clearing that caught Finn's eyes and undoubtedly Azure's and Violet's as well. Towering at least a hundred feet above them, the stone eyes of krogan long dead encircled the clearing, watching the comparatively tiny Meridia impassively.

As Finn stared into the distance, he said, "I'll be damned."

"You and me both." Violet said, spinning around slowly as she took in the chamber. "I never thought a place like this could exist on Tuchanka."

"It's kinda comforting, if you think about it." Azure said, a softness in her voice Finn had yet to hear. "When all is said and done, when all the wars and battles are over and we're nothing but crumbling bones and dust, the planets will slowly reclaim what is rightfully theirs."

She blushed when she noticed Finn and Violet staring at her. Coughing, she pointed to the nearest edge. "Let's get moving."

"One sec." Violet activated her omni-tool. "Scarlet? Violet here. Looks like we're in some kinda ancient krogan ruin. Whole place looks like it was carved out of a canyon; there's probably something in the rock that's blocking us from sensors. We're going to take a closer look around the area."

"Roger that."

There were steps near the edge that seemed to surround the entire platform, leading down towards the walls of the chambers. There were doorways there; many were collapsed, but there were a few that still seemed passable. After a few minutes, they found one such passage that had an old but not ancient thermal clip casing lying nearby.

Violet ran her hand over it for a moment, "Scan says it's been here for roughly four-hundred years."

"Four-hundred years?" Azure said, giving her sister a strange look. "Shepard wrote about krogan ruins in his memoirs … do you think these are the same ruins?"

"Probably not." Violet said, a note of disappointment in her voice. "After his memoirs, those ruins were practically a tourist trap; someone would've noticed us already. Besides, the casing's crude, and definitely not Alliance issue; looks like something made locally."

Finn commented, "A clan war, maybe? Someone who didn't want to unify under Clan Urdnot?"

Azure shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Still, someone came this way once, we may not be far from some sort of settlement. We should check it out."

"Agreed." Violet activated her Omni-tool again. "Scarlet, we found a tunnel leading out of the ruins that might lead out. We're going to check it out."

"Understood. Proceed with caution and try to avoid contact with the locals."

As they stepped into the corridor, Finn asked, "Anyone bring any string?"