Chapter 22

To the Rescue!

Finn paused to take a breath. "And the rest you know. We heard you coming aboard, thought you might be more krogan, and tried to get the drop on you."

Kyra stared at him wordlessly for a few moments before she finally said, "A krogan chef."

"I know. His cooking was good, though." Blushing, Finn added, "I feel kinda bad about leaving him like that, to be honest. All in all, he was a pretty nice guy."

Kyra rubbed his arm, a kind smile on her face.

Chuckling from his position beneath the sensor console as Hylia resumed her work on the top of the console, Eri said, "Falling in with interstellar thieves, bumping elbows with the leader of the Saints, searching for the lost treasure of the League of One. Damn, Finn, are you a magnet for trouble or what?"

"Tell me about it." Finn muttered. "How are the sensors coming?"

"Shouldn't be long now." Eri told them."Jake, could you bring me the number six wrench?"

Jake trotted over to the open toolbox, grabbed a large wrench with the grapple attached to the underside of his monitor, talked back to Eri, and dropped it onto his hand, heavy-side first.

"Ow!" Eri glared balefully at Jake, rubbing his sore hand. "Thanks for that."

"No problem, buddy!"

As Eri shook his head and picked up the wrench, Jake trotted over to Glen.

"Hi!" Jake said. "I'm Jake!"

"I see that." Glen said, amusement in her tone. She knelt down next to the KEI-9 unit and began scratching the sides of his monitors. "Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy, eh?"

Jake giggled like a little boy. "It's me, isn't it? I'm a good boy!"

Finn and Kyra shared a smile at the sight of Glen and Jake.

"Now that's adorable." Kyra said.

A shrill whine shot through the air, quickly rising in pitch until it was inaudible.

"Got it." Hylia said, her fingers already tapping at the console.

Eri pulled himself out from under the console. "About time. This is your job, Finn."

"Hey, can't fix everything." Finn told him. "Wouldn't have time to get into trouble."

Everyone crowded around the sensor console as Hylia continued working. After a few minutes, she said, "Found them! Three-hundred kilometers northeast, definitely quarian life-signs, though I can't get an exact number."

"That's all I needed to hear." Finn quickly sat at the helm and prepared the ship for lift-off."

"Wait, Finn!" Kyra said, stopping him before he could fire the engines. "What if the krogan spot us?"

"Primarch Jorgal isn't worried about what's down here; he's worried about what's out there, specifically a likely pissed-off Urdnot Wrex."

"Urdnot Wrex?"

"Yeah. I've had some time to think about it, and I think I know what's been going on; Jorgal waited until Wrex left Tuchanka, then stole his throne. That's why they have a blockade around their space; everyone thinks they're preparing for war, but Jorgal's trying to keep Wrex away."

"Why?" Kyra asked. "Why go to this much trouble just to stop one krogan?"

"He's afraid of Wrex." Hylia said. As everyone turned to look at her, she continued, "I've seen the info coming in from Tuchanka; the krogan believe that Wrex left Jorgal in charge, but they're starting to ask questions."

"I heard some of them." Finn said. "Most don't seem that keen on Jorgal."

"And for good reason; Jorgal's been a big advocate of going back to the glory days of the krogan. While there's some amount of chest-thumping pride, most krogan have grown to prefer the way things are now. Many still remember the genophage, a result of 'the glory days of the krogan'."

"But how can he keep Wrex out?" Eri asked, crossing his arms. "The first time he hails a ship, wouldn't they know?"

"Let me put it this way; there are the staunch supporters of Wrex, who have found themselves coming under fire and given dangerous postings of late, those who claim to support Jorgal, but would go back to Wrex in an instant, and those who fully support Jorgal. Guess who's on the border patrol."

"Ah." Eri said, nodding. "And then a bunch of thieves blast through the blockade and take out their biggest dreadnaught like it's nothing."

Finn felt his blood go cold. Nodding, he started working faster. "We're going. Everyone … hang on, the ramp is still down."

He tried to activate the remote retraction system, but it didn't seem to function. Sighing, Finn said, "It's stuck. Kyra, could you …"

"Sure thing, sweetie. Come on, Jake!"

As they walked off, Eri said, "I'm gonna go with."

"Is everything okay?" Finn asked him.

Eri shrugged. "Not much else to do. I might as well check on those krogan you captured earlier. You know, make sure they're comfortable, let them know about the inflight movie, that kind of thing."

"You do that." Shaking his head, Finn turned back to the helm and ran through his checklist for caution's sake.

Glen leaned on the side of the helm, her eyes on Finn. "You know we can't just swoop in there and scoop up Siren's Call, right?"

"Yes, Swooping is bad." Finn glanced at her. "Hang on; Hylia, can you detect any elcor or human readings?"

She glanced at her console and shook her head. "No. I'll set a more concentrated search, but it'll take some time."

"They might still be in the ruins." Finn stopped and glanced back at her again. "Hang on; our sensors are working, right?"

"More or less."

"No problems?"

"None."

Finn considered this for a few moments. "The Ulasomorf didn't have any problems finding Siren's Call, did they?"

"Uh, no." Hylia said, a worried look on her scaled face, "Why? Is something wrong?"

Shaking his head, Finn told her, "Just amazed at my dumb luck, that's all. Geez, the krogan's scanners must royally suck. Good news for us, I suppose; maybe this won't be too bad after all."

"Finn, we're about to try to rescue a bunch of quarian thieves from Goddess knows how many krogan in a ship with no weapons. Oh, that reminds me."

She pulled something from her hip and tossed it to Finn, who caught it easily. It was his carnifex hand pistol, secure in its holster.

"Thanks." He said, flashing her a grateful smile as he checked the heat sink. "This pistol and have been through a lot."

Finn turned back to his console to see the ramp was raised.

"Excellent." Finn said, bringing the engine online. He frowned; something about the controls felt a little off.

"Hey, Glen." He said, trying to nail down what was wrong, "Could you go to the engine room and make sure everything's okay?"

"Something wrong?" Glen asked as she pulled Headache over her arms.

Finn shook his head. "I'm not sure. It could just be lingering damage from the crash; best to have someone on hand anyway, in case any of the jury-rigging we did goes haywire."

"Aye, sir!" After giving Finn an exaggerated salute, Glen disappeared into the lift.

He caught Hylia looking at him as he turned back to the helm. "Strange lady.'

"Strange, yes, but I get the impression the lady might be an exaggeration." Finn said with a grin. "Okay, I'm taking her up. Keep an eye on the sensors and see if you can't home in on Siren's Call. I'm gonna take it low and slow; hopefully that'll help us avoid detection."

He guided the Meridia up and out of the mountain ruins, using the same hole they created upon their entry.

"Four degrees right." Hylia told him. "It's too far to get a proper image, but it's some kind of large structure."

"A prison?" Finn asked.

Hylia shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

Shrugging, Finn moved the ship under an old highway. His glance flicked over the capital building as they passed by. Grinning and shaking his head, he looked back to alter their course when he spotted the reflection, katana raised to stab.

Finn shoved his chair back, slamming into his attacker's legs and knocking him forward. The katana's tip pierced the console as though it were butter. Carnifex clenched in one hand, Finn spun around with his empty fist. His attacker caught Finn's fist and twisted, sending a jolt of pain up Finn's arm. He barely had let out a cry when Hylia's heavy boot slammed into the assassin's arm with an audible crack.

Finn's eyes narrowed as he got a good look at his attacker. "Cerberus."

The Cerberus assassin produced a knife with a glowing edge from seemingly nowhere and took a swipe at Finn, only for Hylia to catch the assassin's hand and twist it until he dropped the knife.

Hylia's eyes darted in Finn's direction and went wide. "Finn!"

"Wha-" Finn turned to see the ship veering dangerously close to an old building. Leaving Hylia and the Cerberus Assassin to continue fighting, Finn hurried back to the helm and veered the Meridia away.

Fear suddenly raced though him. Was Kyra okay? Had the assassin injured her, Eri, or Jake? He started to bring the ship to a halt when his hand froze; the blade of the assassin's katana was embedded in the throttle controls. He tapped them a few times to no avail.

Ignoring the continued crashes behind him, he grabbed the hilt of the katana and pulled. The blade slid free easily, only sparking slightly once as it left the console. Unfortunately, the throttle control still didn't respond.

Swearing beneath his breath, Finn made sure their course was clear for the moment and quickly ducked beneath the console. The katana had made a mess of the circuitry, but it was nothing he wouldn't be able to get working.

"Jake." Finn whispered, not caring if someone else was listening. "Please tell me everyone's okay." A pit opened in his stomach as the moments passed with no reply.

"Ah!" Hylia gasped. Finn glanced back to see the assassin pressing her over a console, his knife inches from her throat.

"Oy, funny face!" Finn shouted, gripping his console as he pulled the Meridia sharply to the right. The Cerberus assassin stumbled, giving Hylia all the opening she needed to tear free and knock him to the floor with a punch so fast it was only a blur in Finn's vision.

As she looked up at him, he tossed her the katana. She caught it easily as the assassin rose to his feet, a grin sliding over her face.

Turning back to the console, Finn's fingers ran along the broken circuit board until he found a place where he could reroute the controls. The ship buckled slightly as the thrusters flared briefly, signaling Finn's success.

He stood up and quickly brought the ship to a halt under an ancient road. Glancing back at Hylia, he shouted, "I have to check on Kyra!"

"Go!" Hylia called back. "I've got this!"

Sliding a fresh heat sink into his pistol, Finn hurried to the lift and hit the button for the loading bay.

"Please be okay." Finn breathed. He felt a little guilty that it was Kyra who first triggered his concern, but he couldn't help it. Their time together was precious to him; days spent talking about everything and nothing, evenings watching old television shows, even a few quiet nights on the Bridge where they cuddled and talked of the future … their future.

When the lift doors opened, the first thing Finn saw was Kyra on the ground beneath the ramp control console.

"Kyra!" he called in horror, hurrying toward her.

She pulled herself from under the console and sat up, giving him a quizzical look. "Finn? What's wrong? You nearly knocked all of us off our feet with that turn earlier. Don't tell me we're being chased again."

He fell to his knees beside her and pulled her into a tight hug. Eri and Jake appeared from behind a stack of boxes moments later, no doubt drawn by Finn's shout. The quizzical looks on their faces would've struck Finn as funny if his heart wasn't still beating so fast with fear.

After a few moments, her arms tightened hesitantly around him. She pulled back so she could look at his face. "You look like hell, Finn. What's wrong?"

It took him a few moments to collect himself enough to say, "We were attacked."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"There's Cerberus assassin, on the bridge. I thought he-"

"With Hylia? By the ancestors, is she okay?"

"She's still-"

"You left her up there with a Cerberus assassin?" Kyra said incredulously, pulling away from him. "What the hell?"

"I thought-" Finn began, but Kyra was already moving toward the lift. He hurried after her, barely making it into the lift before the doors slid shut.

She refused to look at him, clearly unhappy. He started to tell her why he left Hylia, how she had said she had things under control, how Finn was terrified that the assassin had attacked her, Eri, or Jake. When he tried to say something, however, she shot him a dark look that made him close his mouth. They waited in tense silence until the doors opened back to the bridge.

"Ah, Kyra." Hylia said, cleaning the blade of the katana. "I'm glad to see you're okay. I'm guessing our friend didn't cause any injuries to you or Jake?"

Kyra didn't respond. Her eyes were on the prone form of the assassin.

Hylia glanced at him. "Oh, him? Yeah, he was no trouble, thanks to some quick thinking on Finn's part."

Kyra looked at Finn, her cheeks growing dark. "I … oh. Oh! You thought … by the ancestors, that's why you looked so scared! You thought he had killed us. "

"So did I." Hylia told her, walking over to join them. "Since you're okay, and from your faces, I surmise that Eri and Jake are okay as well, my guess is our friend was going after Finn."

"What?" Kyra said, hand finding Finn's and squeezing hard. "Just Finn?"

"Oh, I'm sure he would have gotten around to the rest of us." Hylia kicked the assassin's dead body. "A shame he activated his killswitch before I could disable it. Some answers would've been nice."

Fear that was all too familiar filled Kyra's face. She pulled Finn's arm close. "But why would the Illusive Man target Finn?"

"I doubt it was anything that specific." Hylia said, her tone reassuring. "He was the pilot; take him out, and it stops all of us. That does raise an uncomfortable implication, though."

"Cerberus might have something to do with what's going on here." Finn said, nodding. "As if we didn't have enough problems. Hylia, can you get me another reading on Siren's Call?"

"Sure thing." She told him.

Finn started to move back to the helm, only for Kyra to pull him back.

"I'm sorry." She said, her voice soft. "There was no reason to think he was the only assassin. I should've realized you were worried about me … us. Me, Eri, and Jake, I mean."

Rubbing her cheek, he said, "Just don't die, okay? I … I need you."

He blushed when his words hit his ears. He started to shy away, but Kyra yanked him back toward her and pulled him into a fierce kiss that left them both breathless.

As they released, Kyra met his eyes. "I love you, Finn." She whispered, the words slipping from her mouth just barely audible.

He opened his mouth to respond when the lift opened. Eri and Jake hurried out, both looking panicked.

"What happened?" Eri asked as Jake rushed over to the dead assassin and growled at his lifeless corpse. "Is everyone okay?"

Kyra and Finn exchanged glances before erupting into laughter in each other's arms. It wasn't really that funny, but somehow, it just felt like the right thing to do.