Chapter 30
Is Anyone Home?
Finn, Mannon, and the Boss walked down the corridor a short distance ahead of Councilor Raine and her entourage. It was still dark, the faint light ahead only just enough to allow them to see.
No real plan in mind, Finn nevertheless felt sure something would come up. The Boss could fight like mad when cornered, and Mannon probably wouldn't have trouble taking out the other commando. The real problem was Councilor Raine; one word, and the others would likely be killed.
The air in the corridor was growing cool, a strange yet familiar thrum just barely audible around them. It felt like they were walking on a downward incline; Finn wondered how far down the corridor went. Fear began to creep inside him; if there were more traps, they'd never see them. He considered activating his omni-tool for some light, but the fact that Raine didn't know his hands were free was one of the few things working in his favor at the moment.
They were drawing near the light now. It hung in the distance, a strange bluish rectangle that gave off light without actually illuminating anything. As they grew closer, Finn thought he could see colors in the light; streams of green mostly, with little dots of color that seemed to move here and there.
"Wait a minute." He said when he realized what it was. "Is that … an aquariam?"
Mannon squinted. "You're right. My God, are those live fish?"
"Keep moving." Paine said, though there was a definite note of surprise in her tone.
They were almost at the tank now; no longer blocked by the sides of a doorway obscured by the darkness, the tank stretched to either side, outlining corridors that were definitely not carved of stone.
A flare of light shot over Finn's shoulder; Councilor Raine had a glowing orb in her hand that put off a good amount of light. As Finn suspected, they weren't in the krogan ruins anymore; the corridors were smooth and made of metal and polymer.
"Huh." The Boss said, sounding curious but not particularly surprised. "Well, I guess they wouldn't be slumming in a cave."
Finn had to resist the urge to tap on the nearest tank. The fish inside swam languidly through the water, either unaware or uncaring of the intruders. "Impressive they've survived so long."
"Not so much." Mannon said, "Look; these tanks are maintained."
"Some kind of automated care system?" Finn mused.
To his surprise, Councilor Raine didn't admonish them for speaking. Her eyes darted around nervously, as though expecting an attack any moment.
Finn turned to her. "Which way?"
She jumped slightly before staring at him, her eyes strangely wide. Shaking herself out of it, she gestured to the right corridor.
The aquariums continued to run along the walls, filling the corridor with their strange light. It felt strangely surreal to Finn. He wished he could activate his omni-tool and take a few pictures.
After ten minutes, they came to another fork in the corridor. Councilor motioned for them to head straight, only for them to run into another fork a few minutes later.
"Where are you, Geral?" Raine murmured.
Lights flickered to life in the right corridor. The sound of someone rummaging through something could be heard through a sliding door held open with a wrench. Finn's wrench.
He stared at it a moment uncomprehendingly. Fortunately, Councilor Raine didn't seem to notice. She prodded Finn with the barrel of her rifle and nodded at the doorway.
As Finn drew near, he considered making a grab for the wrench. It was definitely a viable weapon in a pinch, and since he was sure the Boss would take advantage of the situation and take out at least one of the commandos. Just as he was about to grab the wrench, however, he remembered his friends outside. One word is all it would take.
Ignoring the wrench, he walked into the room followed shortly by Councilor Raine.
"Stay here, and watch them." Raine told her commandos, who swiftly nodded.
The room beyond was large, easily as large as the entire top deck of the Ulasomorf. As Raine raised her light orb in the air, Finn found himself staring at a room of wonders.
There were shelves filled with that made the former collection of Fuego Massani look like a scholastic book fair. Many were alien, but Finn was startled to see several well-cared for leatherbound tomes bearing names such as Edgar Allen Poe, H.P Lovecraft, and even a small line of handwritten manuscripts signed by a "William Shakespeare".
"Amazing." Finn whispered, resisting the urge to pick up one of the books. "They must've been collecting these for ages."
Councilor Raine didn't respond. Her eyes were on one of the many sculptures displayed across the room.
"The fall of Iliandris." She whispered, her hand moving toward the stone face of the asari goddess but stopping just before touching it. "Cast from the Firmament for falling in love with her sister."
"Reminds me of some of my people's old myths." Finn stopped. His hands moved forward before he could stop them, taking a heavy tome from a bookshelf.
"Alter Inferno by Drew Bryenton." He read aloud, his hand caressing the cover. "The Obliterati edition. There were only a handful of these every produced."
Frowning, Finn turned to Raine. "In 2010. That was just over a century before the Reaper War."
She froze, no doubt realizing his implication. "That's not possible; salarians scarcely live more than forty years, and the League was officially dissolved almost a millennium ago."
Finn's eyes swept the shelves; he was spotting more now, books from less than a century, books that were scarecely twenty years old. His eyes finally stopped on a book entitled, "The Crusade of Sir Tirager Vespere, Knight of Justice"
"This came out two years ago." Finn said, picking up the book. He set it back down a few moments later; oddly enough, the version he 'borrowed' from Fuego was nicer, and autographed as well … and look at this room! Not a speck of dust anywhere, even on the shelves. Someone has been here, recently too."
"I knew it." She muttered to herself. "I knew he'd find a way."
"Who?" Finn asked.
"Garel!" She said, a wild look beginning to fill her eyes. "He knew … he always knew."
Finn looked at her as the final pieces fit into place. "It was you. You were the assassin who killed the league members."
"I was a justicar." She said, her jaw set. "They were the assassins! Slipping unknown onto other worlds and killing off anyone that got in the way of their plans. Look at this room, Finn! How many treasures in this room alone have been stolen from both our peoples?"
Yes, I killed them; I hunted them across the galaxy until they fell, either by my hands or by those of time, all except Garel … and he's here."
"How?" Finn asked. "You said it yourself; salarians only live about forty years. It's been centuries."
"Then who's been cleaning?" She demanded. "Who's bringing the newer books?"
Finn didn't know. Raine stared around the room for a moment longer before shaking her head and motioning Finn to the door. "And no sudden moves; I won't bind you again, seeing as it seems to do little to stop you, but I still won't hesitate to shoot you."
With reluctance, Finn set the books down on the armrest of a cushioned chair and walked out of the room with Raine behind him. As they stepped out of the corridor, however, no one else was to be seen.
"Asiris?" Raine called out, a definite tremor in her voice. "Shalle? Where are you?"
A little spooked himself, Finn said, "Sherle? Boss? Can you hear me?"
Nothing answered them.
Raine rounded on Finn immediately. "What did you do?"
"Nothing!" Finn said.
"Liar! You've been pretending to be bound this whole time!"
"Yes, but I wasn't able to get to the others. You were watching us too closely for me to even try."
Desperation began to fill her expression. Just as Finn thought she was about to crack, however, a sudden look of epiphany lit her eyes. "The rustling we heard; someone was in there!"
She ran back into the room. Moments later, the sound of something fragile smashing into bits prompted Finn to hurry after her.
She was rushing around the room, upsetting statues and tossing generations of literature to the ground in a mad search.
"Hey!" Finn said, watching in horror as she tossed priceless treasures to the floor, "What the hell are you doing?"
"He's here!" She said, a mad grin on her face. "He's been hiding here all along."
An image of the Boss circling a finger around his ear sprung to Finn's mind. He slowly backed away, intending to leave the room when his eyes fell on Alter Inferno. It was one of his favorite sci-fi novels, and the prospect of owning one of the limited hardback copies was just too much to resist.
As he picked up the book, however, Councilor Raine spun around, the same insane grin on her face.
"You … you're working with him, aren't you?" She said, eye twitching. "No, wait … you must be him. Switched your body for a nice young model, didn't you? Must've gone through quite a few now."
"Oh, lord." Finn didn't need training to realize talking had just slipped out of the range of his options. He leapt for the door slightly faster than the bullets ripped through the air.
He didn't stop running; clutching the book to his chest as though it were a shield, he ran down the dimly lit hallways, turning at every intersection so that
Where was Mannon? Where was the Boss? If they managed to free themselves, why didn't they help Finn? These questions ran through Finn's mind as he ran for his life, the fish in the aquariums on either side swimming unaware of the chase taking place around them.
At a particularly long corridor, Raine managed to take a few shots. Two bullets shattered the glass of one of the aquariums, but pain shot through Finn's leg as one of the shots connected with his thigh. He fell with a loud cry, crashing to the carpeted floor now wet and wriggling with dying fish. For some absurd reason, he managed to hold the book away from the water, a move that would make his friends later laugh and roll their eyes.
Shutters abruptly covered each and every one of the aquariums, protecting the glass and the fish while simultaneously removing what little light and blanketing the corridor in darkness.
Muttering to herself, Raine activated her light orb; it only illuminated the nearby area, but she knew he was down the hallway.
Finn struggled to his feet, one hand clamped over the bullet hole in his leg and the other feeling along with the wall. He had a good lead on Raine; if he could reach another adjoining corridor, he might be able to hide somewhere, perhaps another trophy room.
His panick rose as the light behind him grew brighter and brighter. His fingers reached for something aside from the normal beams and the smooth metal aquarium shuttles as he fought the urge to make a sound.
The light stopped; he risked a glance back to fine Raine kneeling. She raised a blue finger smeared with something dark red that Finn realized moments later was his blood. To his horror, she tasted it and smiled.
"You're leaving me a nice trail to follow, Geral." She called out. "Hope you're not going to make it easy after all this."
Wanting very much to swear in frustration, Finn tried to quicken his pace. His hand was now shaking as it traveled from shutter to shutter, each new touch of metal increasing his fear. As the light behind him grew so bright that he was certain she'd be able to see him, his shoulder hit something different; pulling one hand away from his leg, he felt the wall until his fingers found the crack. It was a doorway.
Just as he tried to pry it open, the doors silently slid open. Not caring to question it at the moment, Finn hurried through, only for the doors to quickly slide shut again. Once again, he was in complete darkness, with not even a sliver of light making it through the doorway. A loud click shot through the air as something within the door slid into place.
With a sigh of relief, Finn activated his omni-tool; it wasn't much, but it gave him a little light. The wound in his leg didn't look nearly as bad as it felt, though it still bled. A quick application of medi-gel numbed the pain and stopped the bleeding. It still hurt, but it was at least manageable.
Sighing with at least partial relief, Finn turned his attention to the room. It was hard to see, but it didn't look like another display room. He didn't see any book cases or sculptures, though he did spot a few chairs set into the floor. Something about the layout tugged at his memory, but the pain and Councilor Raine starting to bang on the door proved too much a distraction for him to think on it.
Still, as he moved through the room, he felt an increasing familiarity with his surroundings. His good leg brushed against a chair that he found himself expecting to be there. His hand rubbed against the edge of a console his fingers recognized. He found himself moving as though on autopilot to the far end of the room, where his hands closed around the back of a chair. His chair. As he sat down, his hands came to rest on a console. Through the dim light of his omni-tool, he saw the panel covered with letters he didn't understand … and yet he did. Finally setting the book down on the seat beside him, His fingers moved seemingly of their own control, tapping at the controls until the lights of the room activated.
He stared at the chamber, recognition hitting him immediately. While not exact, it was clearly a bridge, similar in design to that of the Ulasomorf.
"I always thought Krieger based it on turian designs." Finn murmured, turning in his chair to look at his controls.
"And who did you think designed those controls?"
Finn spun around, looking in vain for the speaker. "Who said that?"
"It was still just a test design back in those days of course." With a flash of light, a hologram of a very familiar salarian appeared in the chair next to Finn's, the book visibly through the hologram's translucent form. He leaned over on his cane and smiled at Finn. "You'll find most of this ship is a product of prototypes and theories, refined over time, of course."
"This ship." Finn repeated.
The salarian chuckled. "And exactly where did you think we'd keep our treasures, young man? In some cave? Some underground installation? No, it's only in the stars that one can truly find one's place. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that, though; look where you're sitting."
Finn glanced down, and realized why he felt so comfortable there, why he had been drawn to that chair. It was the pilot's chair.
"You …" Finn said, finally coming to realize the truth, "Y-you … you're …"
The salarian bowed his head. "Geral Mkrobi, Leader of the League of One."