Interlude II – Labors

"What do you mean, you lost them?", the Primus asked into her Com, sounding furious.

"The Fog.", the voice on the other side replied, "It prevents us from locating them."

"It is a huge ship, almost as big as our Battleships!", the Primus replied even angrier, "How could you lose such a ship!?"

The answer sounded afraid. "I'm sorry I have disappointed you, Primus.", the voice said, "I accept whatever punishment you choose."

"I don't want to punish you – I want that you find this ship!", the Primus raged, "Are you the Centurion of the First Recon Legion or are you only a recruit, needed to be punished over and over again for insubordination!?", he didn't answer, didn't know what to answer, "I want that you find these newcomers, as quickly as possible! And when you'll try to excuse your incompetence next time again, you'll learn that testing me will not only harm yourself, but everyone you love!", and then she switched off the Com.

She leaned back, hand on her face. She was still angry, trying to calm herself down, knowing that anger will not help her. Still she had more than enough reason for this rage: these newcomers have transformed from a nuisance to a top priority; the Archon, not only obsessed with the Relics in this Cluster, was now obsessed with them as well – giving the Primus more work, which distracted her from the actual goal the Empire wanted to achieve: conquering this cluster.

She hammered her fist on the desk. How could this become even worse?, she thought, breathing heavily, when a red button-light appeared on her desk, signaling that her assistant had something to say. She pushed the button, asking still furious: "What?!"

The assistant replied in the Com, sounding subservient: "It's the Cardinal – he wants to speak with you.", he informed her.

Not this guy now…she thought, trying to relax her body stature for the Holo-Conversation, As if I need more labors to do, which the Archon should be doing. Officially she and the Cardinal were of the same rank, only inferior to the Archon, but because she was the Second-in-Command and the Archon neglected his duties thanks to his obsessions, it was her job to supervise him as well.

"Cardinal.", she greeted him politely, after he appeared in a Holo-Projection, processed by her desk, "What can I do for you?"

He looked similar to her, what wasn't a surprise. As each officer of the Empire he wore the symbols of his rank in his body: his face and the top of the skull were black, while the bone segments were fewer than anywhere else on his body; he wore a garment, looking almost sacred, red like fit to his rank, while hers were green. He spoke with his deep voice, as high and mighty as always, when she needed to deal with him: "Primus, are you busy?"

"Not at all.", she replied, lying obviously.

"Then I would like to request a delivery.", he said, "The Chambers are not as full as they could and the Exaltation shouldn't stop."

"So capture some Angara.", the Primus suggested, "There need to be enough on Voeld."

"They have problems seeing the light.", the Cardinal made an excuse, "It would be much easier to show the Hiri their wrongdoings."

So this it is all about…she thought, before answering with a strict and determined voice: "The Hiri accepted the terms and are under the protection of the Empire now.", she lowered her voice, "They are not allowed to be exalted without their consent – that's the Law."

"What is the law in contrast to the light?", the Cardinal asked, sounding like he would believe what he said, "Nothing. Each Species has the privilege of being exalted and should accept it with delight."

"As delightful as the Angara?", the Primus brought up.

The face of the Cardinal became angry. "Some are too blind to see what privilege they get.", he explained, "I-"

"Enough!", the Primus exercised her authority, "The Law applies to all servants of the Empire, even you.", and before he could object, she added, "The Hiri are not allowed to be touched, no matter how dire the situation is at your facility. The request is denied."

"I see.", the Cardinal replied, hiding his rage, "Then I will no longer bother you.", and so he cut off the connection.

One more labor…she thought, leaning back. She knew that Exaltation was a valuable strategic resource, considering the limits of her possibilities in this sector. But allowing this Fanatic to go against the Law was a step too far. She heard rumors that there were whisperers in the Empress' ears, sitting in the Senate, who were fond of this Cult and going against it publicly would harm not only her career. If her friends at home were right, even the old Empress was fond of these cultists – more, at least, as the Primus would like to. But it was still her job to enforce the Imperial Law, even in the outskirts of the Empire. And no distracted Archon, not even a fanatic Cardinal would stop her from doing exactly that.

But perhaps she would need to look for solutions for these labors outside of the traditional view of her office.

"Mass Effect Andromeda", all copyrights reserved for Bioware and Electronic Arts

But the changes are mine.

Author's comment:

The reader, who knows the game, will find few things I've changed in this chapter about the Kett. The reasons are the same as the last time: making the Kett not only a threat, but also an interesting threat. Using the Primus' point of view for that ended up being even quite fun. ^^