CHAPTER FIVE
Hendel and Gillian had just arrived via a shuttle from the Idenna at the Nos Astra Interstellar Spaceport, a massive silver building with curved sides and many large glass windows evident of Asari architecture. The duo got some strange looks from passers by as they were two humans wearing Quarian armor. Hendel brought up his Omni Tool to book a flight to Elysium the planet over which Gillian's old school orbited , he had done his best to educate her with the curriculum and study materials sent by Kahlee Sanders before the Idenna left comm buoy range. Her growth was heart warming and the effects of not being on the Cerberus "Biotic improvement cocktail" for three years were evident.
News broadcasts has shown that travel to human systems had only recently resumed after the recent collector attacks had been stopped allegedly by a Commander Shepard. Hendel booked two first class spaces on the Parsus two a Human made luxury liner and paid via the Extranet using credits he then sent a private message to Khalee Sanders informing her they were on their way. immigration and customs processes were instantaneous less of a hassle with Bio-metric Passport systems. He had been saving and now was good a time as any to celebrate, the strange looks continued as they made their way to the docking bay they saw Turians, Salarians, even an few Hanar and Drell the most represented race however were the Asari as Illium was an Asari dominated colony after all. Hendel and Gillian made their way to the docking bay for the Parsus two, the Gate attendant was a blue Asari maiden with purple facial markings she raised an eyebrow at the duo, possibly a reaction to their strange armor. An Asari guard in Combat armor was beside a state of the art scanner capable of checking everything from DNA to x-rays .
"Two to board the Parsus" said Hendel activating his omni tool showing his E-tickets the Asari's expression quickly changed to a brilliant fake smile.
"Welcome ,make your way forward" she said motioning to the walk way. Hendel and Gillian stepped forward and passed through the scanner no alarms went off as they had not carried any weapons only an extra armor set and under clothes from the Idenna. The ship was now in view, a massive one kilometer beautifully designed spacecraft unlike the human military carriers and dreadnoughts that Hendel had served on during his time as a Marine, most focused on performance over aesthetics taking on a cuboid shape, the Parsus however resembled a rather large Concorde jet from the end of the twentieth century.
"We're headed for cabin forty two Gillian, this way" said Hendel
The extranet site were he bought the tickets provided him with a detailed map of the Parsus and a Navpoint relative their location. they made their way to the cabin and saw a small gift shop located in a plaza along the way It was located beside a medium sized pool with a few scattered guests . a young human girl of oriental descent in her late teens was stationed at the gift store mainly to guide customers as the shop's terminal could handle electronic sales. Hendel decided to buy some new clothes he accessed the stores Kiosk and selected a simple black hooded sweater Jacket and dark green cargo pants the items would be automatically delivered to his cabin.
" You want any thing Gillian ?" asked Hendel "No I'm Ok …. wait I'll take this".
She pointed to a hologram of the latest Biotic training vid "Biotic tactics by Matriarch T'lani. Along with a digital copy of the vid Gillian requested Hendel bought a small blue hooded sweater Jacket with a black Biotic glowing fist and a pair of blue jeans for the Gillian regardless. "Thank you for your purchase" said the girl at the store Hendel and Gillian then made their way to their cabin along a hallway with a large viewing window looking out to the town of Nos Astra on one side and a line of cabin doors on the other.
Upon entering the room Gillian opened the training video on the large monitor in the room while Hendel went to the Bathroom to shower and change clothes. An Asari Matriarch with purple skin and a long flowing white and blue dress began speaking " The Asari Commandos have created this training video to spread the knowledge of the Biotic arts across the Galaxy we hope you enjoy" Gillian skipped the early chapters of the vid as it contained moves she had already mastered but two new moves which she had not heard of interested her The Biotic Charge and Nova Gillian hit the play icon on her omni tool. The matriarch began speaking.
"To perform a Biotic charge you need to encase yourself into a Quantum biotic barrier this is done by programming your implant interface to oscillate the intensity of your barrier every 5 nano seconds a feature of only the L5 implants this step will allow you to phase through solid objects. From here use the interact to aim at our target and form a focused throw field to propel yourself forward to your opponent the quantum Biotic field will become tangible negating any mass of your enemy. With practice a seasoned Biotic can create an impact of up to six hundred newtons" The Asari Surrounded herself with blue Biotic energy and demonstrated the move on a practice dummy sending it flying across the room.
"I need a new amplification interface for that" said Gillian to herself.
" I will now demonstrate the completely new technique called the Nova, Like the Biotic charge it will require a reprogram of your amplification interface in order to keep the blast from affecting you. First gather dark energy around your fist in a similar way to forming a singularity then strike the ground to release it in a powerful sphere your reprogrammed Amp interface will keep the resulting dark energy blast from damaging you, Do not attempt this without reprogramming your amplification interface. " Matriarch T'lani then started gathering dark energy around her hand then jumped while raising it in the air and string the ground causing it to knock away the six practice dummies surrounding her. That moment Hendel exited the bathroom.
"Hey Gillian there is a live show starting in an soon at the main pool, we can see it before we arrive at Elysium wanna check it out ?" asked Hendel
"Sure I'll go shower and change" replied Gillian
Soon they made their way to the the Stellar deck the large dome like roof had shaped view screens displaying stars and planetary systems as FTL speeds made it impossible to see any thing while traveling, the pool was surrounded by a few hundred seated guests. Gillian and Hendel found their seats and the show started with synchronized Asari swimmers they used their Biotic ability to lower their mass so they could glide grace fully around the pools surface and throw fields to create beautiful water splashes.
"Wow !" said and excited Gillian impressed by the non combat use of Biotics.
For the next performance the a mechanical cover was retracted over the pool and props representing a location from the Turian unification war were placed Turian war game started using fake rounds and holograms for explosions they reenacted battles from the Unification war. After another hour of performances the PA system sounded "We will reach the human colony of Elysium in fifteen minutes"
"That's our stop Gillian" said Hendel
They returned to their cabin to gather their belongings as the Ship dropped out of FTL speed near the planet. Hendel and Gillian made their way to the exit as the ship descended into the Illyaria Interstellar space port a concrete structure painted blue they could see a dozen other space craft taking off or landing from the windows on the Parsus as it made the final approach to the space port from there they disembarked went through customs a quick process .
The spaceport's terminal was filled with mostly humans with one or two Asari and Turians.
"Can we stop at an electronics store ? I would like to get an L5 amplification module" asked Gillian
"Sure, You have long since surpassed me and outgrown your current amps you almost know all the Biotic moves many of which you taught yourself. I guess you want to learn some new ones." replied Hendel.
Hendel walked over to a public transport terminal and rented a Blue Mitsubishi Revolution sky car and selected the shopping mall as their destination as they boarded the autonomous car ascended joining traffic and passing over sky scrapers and factories on their way. The mall was alive with teenagers and young adults enjoying their Friday evening the nearby theater was showing the new action Comedy a Blasto Movie "Requiem for a Reaper". Hendel and Gillian made their way to Infiniti Electronics. The store was filled with Omni tools, Holographic displays, Mass effect field generators and software exhibitions, the Biotic Amplification interfaces were located at the sales Kiosk. The sales attendant, a middle aged Caucasian man greeted Hendel and Gillian as made their way to the counter "How can I help ?" asked the attendant.
"The lady would like to upgrade her Biotic Amp interface to an L5 unit"
"Sure I need to see some identification" said the attendant
Gillian showed her hand over the scanner Identification data stored on her omni tool showed her as a minor.
"I'll need approval from her Parent or Legal Guardian the system lists Khalee Sanders or Hendel Mirta" said the attendant
"I am Mr. Mirta" said Hendel putting his hand over the scanner as his omni tool confirmed his identity.
"I'd like the Serrice council L5 interface the cool down times are amazing"
"Ok the interface will have to be installed by an authorized facility I can set an appointment for you at our own" said the attendant.
"No thanks the Grissom Academy will be fine"
"That will be four thousand credits we will deliver the interface to the school than you for your purchase" said the attendant.
Hendel and Gillian then left the store and boarded a nearby Automated shuttle to the Grissom academy space station.
Security Chief Captain Ellen Jiminez, flanked by two guards was present to greet the two. A state of the art scanner was now at each docking bay an upgrade put in place due to a recent incident. Hendel and Gillian were already on the list of approved visitors to the station.
"Security has been improved since last I was here" said Hendel
"Yes, We had a break in recently" she replied holding down her head and looking off the side clearly embarrassed.
"Ms. Sanders is expecting you two."
"Thank you" replied Hendel.
Hendel and Gillian soon arrived at the administrative office which was a short distance away from the entrance.
"Hendel good to see you, have a seat" said Khalee Sanders the director of Grissom academy.
"Gillian you've gotten so big, how has Hendel been treating you".
"Mr. Mirta took me on the Parsus two and bought me a new L5 amp, He is an excellent Biotic trainer"
" Wow, Hendel are you doting on her" said Khalee jokingly.
" I just care about her that's all" said an embarrassed Hendel.
" Gillian... I'm sorry to say this but your father has passed away I wanted to tell you in person" said Khalee in a somber tone.
Gillian placed her hand on her temple trying to make sense of the words she just heard.
"How did that happen Lemm told me he escaped !?" asked Hendel
"He was captured by Cerberus... they did things to him and then he as murdered by one of their assassins. Admiral Anderson and I kept a small service for him, he left this for you Gillian this was delivered to me after his death, it's a storage device, If there is anything I can do to help " said Khalee handing Gillian a necklace with a pink trinket in the shape of a starfish.
"It's okay Ms. Sanders I'm glad you were there to respect his memory." replied Gillian
Her reply caught the two adults off guard, a normal child would have burst into tears at the news. Gillian's condition however though immensely improved she was still on the autism spectrum and she processed grief and sadness in a different way.
"Gillian I have someone I would like you to meet" said Khalee making a call on her personal terminal. "Jack, can you come to my office I have someone I would like you to meet"
A few minutes later a Caucasian woman in her late twenties presented herself she wore a brown pair of khaki pants a black leather cropped top adorned with gold weapon magnets and a white tank top, her most interesting feature was that she was covered in various tattoos a human canvas would be a fitting description.
"Sup Khalee, I gotta go enter some aptitude test grades dis gonna be long" said the woman.
"Jack this is Gillian Grayson a past student of the Academy and Hendel Mirtra our previous Security chief "
"Hello, your tattoos are pretty" said Gillain
"Khalee you can't seriously have this woman here she is clearly dangerous and her dress is not proper for an instructor" said Hendel.
"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME" shouted Jack.
"And if my dress is distracting the kids then there is no way they will ever be ready for a real battle" said Jack in a now normal tone.
"Jack came to us highly recommended from Fleet admiral Hackett himself she is training our new Biotic artillery squad" said Khalee
Hendel shrank back upon his realization that it was in bad taste to judge a person solely by their appearance.
"So is Gillian one of my new kids ?, I've heard more expressive Geth" asked Jack.
Gillian let out a slight chuckle at this strange woman.
"Do you want to come back Gillian ?" asked Khalee
"I don't know yet, I really want to go to the Naval exploration military high school on Elysium"
"Really, Nick Donahue is Transferring there this new school year, don't worry about him though he's not the immature boy you remember anymore" Replied Khalee.
"Well, hang with me until you make you mind, your friends probably want to see you too it's still summer so mainly the Biotic and Engineering senior students are here" said Jack
" She'll be fine Hendel" said Khalee to the large man who still had a mistrusting look toward Jack.
Gillian left with the strange new woman making their way to Orion hall they passed a class room were Gillian remembered learning history, Jack took up a data pad from the desk.
" So Gillian tell me about yourself " said Jack
"I went here until I was twelve but a Dr. Toshiwa was experimenting on me, he was working for Cerberus, My dad,Ms. Sanders and Mr. Mirtra took me away to Omega, from there we went on a Quarian ship called the Idenna, Cerberus attacked it and we defeated them, Mr. Mirtra and I decided to accompany the ship to search for a new Quarian Home-world, but, We didn't find any so we came back "
"Wow... I was experimented on as a child too by Cerberus they kidnapped me ,put me in a camp and raised me there, pitting me against other kids they filled me up with drugs when I fought. I still feel a rush when I fight, luckily I escaped, See these scars" said Jack showing the nape of her neck "I guess that makes you like my little sister huh ". Gillian nodded and smiled Jack, her trust of this strange woman growing.
"Rodriguez, Nick, Prangley and your other friends should be in the mess hall it's lunch time. now I have to enter some grades, be there in ten minutes. Gillian made her way to the mess hall, alive with activity, she spotted her old classmates over the far side of the room and made her way there "Gillian ? Is that you" shouted Jennifer Rodriguez she was sitting at a table with Nick Donahue and Jason Prangley who had his arm around Monica Jones and two more students from the new Biotic artillery squad.
"Hello Jennifer" said Gillian
"Wow she's talking now, were have you been girl ?" Gillian took a seat the table Jason smiled and waved Nick however made and awkward greeting.
"Hi... Gillian long time no see"
he said while trying intensely not to look Gillian in the eyes as his face got increasing red.
"Well I've been with a migrant fleet ship, the Idenna with Mr. Mirtra it was fun"
"That's awesome what was it like" asked Jennifer
" Most days Mr. Mirtra and I would go on shore parties taking samples of soil, Plant and animal life for the scientists to analyze was not much action but it was fun" replied Gillian
"Hey, what do the Quarians look like under those suits, ever since the morning war, all Quarian servers have been cut off from the Extranet and they don't take any photos outside of their suits" asked Jason.
"Well, their skin is a very light purple and they are the only aliens with hair like us" replied Gillian.
"Hey Nick why don't you offer Gillian some cereal" said Jennifer the whole table erupted in laughter remembering when Gillian had hit Nick with a singularity when he messed with her food a few years prior.
" Yeah laugh it up people, You can use my lunch card Gillian ?" replied nick
"Thanks Nick, but why are you all laughing I hurt people that day" asked Gillian
"That's a distant memory now hun, sometimes you have to take a serious event and turn it into a joke" said Jennifer
Many emotions and customs were still strange to Gillian but she was slowly adjusting. Nick motioned her and they both arose from the table making their way to the canteen Mrs. Newport the veteran Red headed lunch lady was present
"Gillian is that you? you got so big, what you want honey?"
" Coco puffs and with strawberry milk and two apples"
"You know Nick here is a real hero fought off some intruders about a few months ago even got shot protecting us." said the lunch lady handing Gillian her meal.
Nick paid the bill then awkwardly looked away as the truth was much different Ms. Sanders had covered up most of the truth of the event. Gillian collected the meal and they both returned to the group, just then Jack arrived and made her way to the table with a Veggie burger and Orange juice in hand "Sup kiddos" said Jack as she took a seat. Jack had quickly become the cool teacher during the few months she was an Instructor at Grissom.
"Hi miss Jack" said Monica a shy and extremely polite girl of African descent her close proximity to Jason Prangley made it obvious that they were a couple .
"It's just Jack, Monica, and remember to wrap it up you two can't have you two popping kids just yet you're barely kids yourself" replied Jack. The two smiled at her blunt remark on birth control.
"Hey Gillian we have practical Biotics next want to join us ? Asked Jack.
"Sure" Gillian said as she dug in to her cereal.
The Biotic training gym was a short distance from the mess hall Jack split up the group pair by pair "Prangley and Rodriguez , Jones and O'shea …..." Jack went on until all the students had a sparring partner except Gillian.
"gonna be you and me little sis get an armor suit and a practice gun from the locker "
"Ok people today we practice barriers, as Biotics we forgo kinetic shields and generate them using our mastery over dark energy manipulation making our amour lighter and keeps our cool down times low. Prangley, Rodriguez you two first"
The two stepped into the training gym a re-enforced section of the space station with multiple cargo boxes arranged for cover the room was painted a beige color and had an emergency medical station on standby just in case a fight caused injury. The rest of the students ,Gillian and Jack watched the match from behind the transparent screen of the viewing area. Jack brought up her omni tool and selected a pre recorded announcement and played it over the gym's public address speakers to begin the match.
"3... 2... 1... START!"
Jason Prangley opened with a hail of practice bullets from his tempest sub machine gun a few hits landed slightly reducing the strength of Jennifer's barrier she quickly took cover and when the gunfire broke she in-turn broke cover and hit Jason with A Reave a powerful attack meant to do immense damage to un-shielded opponents and bring down Biotic barriers Her mastery of the move however was only enough to bring Prangley's shields to half strength. Prangley quickly did a combat roll into cover behind one of the cargo crates Jennifer used this opportunity to try and sneak around and flank him from the right side of the room Jason however was tracking her movements and sent a warp attack at her skillfully curving it to reach behind the cargo crate she had taken cover behind the attack knocked her back, took out a quarter of her barrier and slightly stunned her giving Jason the opportunity to begin unloading practice bullets at her, he had activated disruptor ammunition, designed to rip apart targets using bullets charged electric currents making it immensely more effective against Biotic shields diminishing the rest of her barrier. The match was decided Prangley was the winner.
"Sloppy flanking attempt Rodriguez when you're alone use something to distract your opponent or approach in short bursts and that barrier was still weak you need more practice hun" said Jack over the P.A system using her Omni tool.
The matches went on and one by one the winners were determined with Jack giving comments after each battle Nick had a particular impressive win against his opponent with Jack complementing his strategy. Then it was time for the final match up for the day, Jack against Gillian. The two ladies stepped into the sparring gym. The P.A system began the pre recorded countdown "3... 2... 1... START" Gillian immediately did a combat roll to get into cover behind a nearby cargo box, Jack did the same while activating the warp ammunition function on her practice sub machine gun a setting that worked wirelessly with her Biotic amplification interface to deploy small but damaging biotic warp fields with each shot. Gillian started to approach Jack by staying low and slowly skirting around the cargo boxes soon enough she had a line of sight on Jack she deployed an overload a high voltage electromagnetic pulse that was ideal for damaging Biotic barriers this was not enough to break Jack's shield the attack however surprised Jack as she had modified her Overload to be strong enough for her Training with Hendel. Jack now knew Gillian's position she set off a biotic Shockwave in her direction a series of quick powerful biotic explosions POP POP POP the sound each explosion made as it dissipated until the final one hit Gillian knocking her back, her head started to swim from the impact and she had lost some of her Barrier Jack opened fire with her practice gun each shot wreaking havoc on Gillian's barrier luckily she recovered and did a combat roll behind a nearby cargo box. Jack was on a whole new level to what she was used to her barriers were at half strength so she focused on recovering them gathering dark energy to re-enforce it but before she was able to Jack had used a pull field to move the cargo boxes nearby revealing Gillian the move broke her concentration and she instinctively hit jack with another overload Jack however had recovered her barrier enough to withstand the shock. Gillian then thought of something, she used a pull field to fling three nearby boxes in Jacks direction sending her jumping out of the way and into an open section of the gym Jack landed on the ground and immediately opened fire on Gillian. Jack's VI assisted aiming module compensated for the awkard aiming but Gillian's barrier had not fully recovered from the earlier volley, her barriers broke but not before she sent out a biotic warp field toward Jack bringing her barriers quite low.
"AMAZING ! You're almost half the crazy Bitch I am " shouted Jack over heavy breathing, the entire class stood in awe "Gillian that was really badass !" shouted Jennifer from behind the viewing glass.
"Okay everyone that's it for today, hit the showers" said Jack over the P.A system
" You go wash up Gillian I'll get this cleaned up meet me in my room later I'll send you the Navlink" said Jack
After a quick shower, Gillian who was now somewhat a celebrity for doing so well in her match against Jack chatted with some of the Girls from Biotics class and added them on her Spacebook account , She then made her way to Jack's room on the teacher's dorms, it was a simple room it had a small kitchen and living room and a tiny bathroom.
"What's up super girl !" said Jack "Want some thing to eat, You must be starving after that here's some high calorie juice and an energy bar" said Jack
"You must have some fun stories Jack, can you share some" asked Gillian
"I knew this was coming, Ok little Sis well I already told you I was raised in a Cerberus lab experiment they wanted to raise stronger Biotics after escaping that I joined a few gangs and raised some hell, not my proudest moments looking back I eventually was caught after I decided to liberate some Cerberus camps like the on I grew up in, I got caught and ended up on a Prison Ship then Commander Shepard recruited me for a mission against the Collectors that was the first person I met that really cared, when I wanted to blow up the facility I was raised in Shepard came along, could have told me to buzz off and went ahead with the mission, speaking of which that was awesome stuff we infiltrated the Collector base and tore them a new one."
Jack took out her omni tool to show some Video
"Husks, Scions, these were the collectors" said jack pointing out the different enemies she fought her omni tool then flashed a message from Director Sanders that she was on her way, the new amplification unit had arrived.
"You're so awesome Jack" said Gillian
"Khalee is on Her way something about your new amps the L5 fives arrived, If you gonna be a Vanguard hun be careful when you learn charge tho only do it with a squad to back you up or it could end badly."
Gillian looked at the neck lace Ms Sanders had given her earlier the last gift from her father she waved her omni tool over it and opened a vid labeled "Gigi" a message from her father was there.
"Gigi If you're seeing this I'm probably dead, Since you are now old enough it's time I told you the truth, You see, I was a Cerberus Assassin, a bad person you were given to me as a baby to raise as my own..."
Gillian's father started tearing up.
"I was too much of a coward to rebel against them sooner, I'm so sorry Gillian ,I love you so much" he said fully breaking out into tears.
"I'm working on some intelligence, hopefully the alliance or someone can take them out before you return from uncharted space with the migrant fleet, if not, be careful they will still want you that's why I made this new identity for you, Cristina Thomas the attached program will change your omni tool ID it's illegal so make sure you disconnect from the extranet before you use it. I also bought you a small house on Elysium and left a small fund for you in an account it's not much. Now if they come for you Cerberus agents will be wearing a mix black,yellow and white even in civilian clothing those are the colors you need to look out for, they will do bad things to you so don't hesitate to hurt them first".
The vid ended Gillain opened the attached file the address and pictures of a small pre fabricated house was shown along with details of a bank account with two hundred thousand credits.
"Sounded like he found the right path, don't blame him hun Cerberus are some nasty and scary people" said Jack.
That moment Khalee sanders and Hendel entered the room.
"Sorry for earlier Jack some of your tattoos are prison designs I was mistaken" said Hendel.
"No problem you are right, but that stuff is in my past I only care about my kids now anyone tries to hurt them I'll mess them up real good". Jack said with a sinister smile.
"Gillian, let me look at the output readings on your amp before I install this new one for you" said Khaleee
Khalee brought up her omni tool while Gillian laid face down on the couch Khalee tapped her collar and a script on her omni-tool automatically parsed the data on Gillian's amp interface into a statistical modeling program that Khalee wrote.
"Wow Gillian your dark energy output is off the charts the readings show that you haven't been able to use most of it but if you could that would make you even stronger than Jack here !"
"Really ? That's cool"
"Ok I'm gonna install this new interface now"
Khalee tapped her omni tool sending commands to the Amp interface to safely disconnect, Gillian could feel slight but painless movement in her neck as the interface disconnected. Khalee slowly took out Gillain's old interface a small plastic wafer with circuitry encased inside about an inch long she then slowly slipped the new one in implantation surgery that all biotics went through made a small section for the Amp interfaces that drew power from the body's Limbic system.
Khalee then started up the new interface and all was well.
"Thanks Ms. Sanders" said Gillian hugging her teacher a mother figure during her two years at the academy.
"Shepard's Tribunal is about to start let's watch it on the Alliance News Network" said Hendel switching on the video monitor in the room.
"Ugh, Those assholes Shepard saved us all, The Alliance had no Jurisdiction in the Terminus and the Council wasn't helping" said Jack
"Jack, you promised to watch your language" said Khalee stressing her name
"Sorry, I'm working on it" Replied Jack.
The blue animated logo of the alliance news network played on the screen then switched to the studio a young Asian woman no more that thirty began the broadcast. "Good Afternoon, This is Emily Wong, what is being dubbed the tribunal of the century Commander Shepard will stand before a military court to answer for the events that took place on the Batarian colony of Arathot.