Part I:
RAKKA
continued
He knows not why but he stumbles and catches himself. Fortunately, quiet his misstep in the connector between Navigation and the bay.
Turning back, he moves down the length of the connector hoping to reach Navigation and Planning, his limp affecting his smooth gait as he begins to hasten, and shake off the strange feeling that puzzles him, making him feel nervous and nauseous at the same time...Why should it affect me this way?…he wonders, as if something were to come from seeing it…something about to hunt him down…
Ylyssus blinks back a sudden image in his mind—Braith in her Behedin uniform coming through dark trees of a dead place...
The sound of Casnar's hiss causes him to turn back round and hold out his arm, ( "…Master—" ) Casnar's hand reaches into Ylyssus's shirt, pulls out the ring in his pocket to hold up between them.
( "Was this all you gave her! When you were with Braith! Did you perform the walk with her like they have, Ylyssus?…" )
( "No, Master." )
Casnar's hand drops the wooden ring back into his pocket, and holds the fabric to prevent Ylyssus from limping off.
( "…Only the token…I had no hope…That should be clear what with your meetings in Thorolf." ) Casnar releases the fabric of silk at Ylyssus's mention of trysts between him and Braith…The former th'ane assumes his height in the connector, looks patiently at Casnar under the glow of guide-lights at their sides and overhead, under the grill of the walkways…
With a nod, ( "…Sorry," ) Casnar murmurs, ( "…That made me tense, back there with those two…Foolish both…Doing that in plain view of everyone, even out on the sands!…" )
Ylyssus watches the emerald eyes dart to the left of the connector.
( "…I won't be able to deny that them…Everyone knows…" )
Gazing beyond Casnar towards the light emitting from the bay, ( "…I will be your kill-knife, Master," ) and Casnar gives him a sharp look—an even sharper smile.
( "Course you would," ) he shakes his crests, ( "…Then you would have Braith all to yourself…You know Merce'des is going to send someone…to replace Tetonbaum…I'll be dead the moment we come from Rakka, homeward-bound." )
Ylyssus nods, ( "…Decommissioning Tetonbaum will not subject you less to the wills of our covetous enemies, Master." ) Casnar looks to the end of the connector behind Ylyssus, where Thane was left behind.
( "We may have a spy in there," ) he says under his breath, ( "…I have been wondering how he made out with Traus…" )
( "Did his mate say anything?" ) Ylyssus asks, and Casnar's look prompts him, ( "…I am aware they are together, but he has not bonded—" )
( "He wouldn't," ) Casnar snaps, ( "…He's bonded to my sister but she's dead…Miranda and he are ) fuck-buddies ( if you understand…I think you do," ) he sees Ylyssus make no subtle flush of embarrassment at this obvious reference to the former th'ane's original relations with Braith Shepard.
( "They are not really," ) Ylyssus says, ( "…he is only a companion to her, they sleep together and—" )
( "Maybe not under the present conditions—" ) Casnar narrows his eyes, ( "…You are interested in Miranda?" )
( "No," ) Ylyssus answers, taken aback, ( "…I only noticed you have not been with anyone…for a time…I am comfortable with celibacy, but you, Master—" )
Casnar growls, ( "…I am holding out for Braith, not any Human female that comes back into my life looking for a chance to makeup," ) he pushes passed Ylyssus and heads the rest of the way to Navigation…
Ylyssus lets him go a few steps before he follows, not wanting to be in Casnar's reach when he grows angry…
The drell really needs to blow off some steam soon…
Casnar passes through the intersecting tubes to Crew and Recreation, stops and looks to his left—curtly dipping his chin and moving on.
Miranda steps out into view as Casnar leaves and she looks right, down the connector at Ylyssus whose hands grip the piping either side of him…They hold each other's gazes before she turns and heads after Casnar. Ylyssus drops his eyes to the ground and shakes his head, noting the strange device on her utility belt that resembles a hammer end.
Casnar glances behind him once he senses Miranda has turned towards the Navigation area and enters through the open iris to join him and Thane there. He moves forward to give her clearance. "Did you meet him," Casnar asks Thane direct, moving on to take a seat by the drell, sitting thoughtfully in repose on the pilot's chair.
"We had the opportunity," Thane says, unsteepling his fingers as he opens his eyes and looks at Casnar in the seat next to his, irises clear amber and green.
Miranda moves aside to allow Ylyssus to duck his head and enter the Navigation area next to her. He nods at her as she refocuses her attention on the pair at the front.
"And what did he tell you," Casnar does not avoid Thane's stare—odd as it seems compared to the past.
"It was revealing…You have not been honest with me, Casnar." Thane's hands are in his lap, fingertips tapping together once.
"You would…" Casnar smiles, it is a sarcastic look, "…You would believe the bastard over me, Thane? After what he's done?"
"Konis was civil." Thane makes a line through the air with his finger. "Once he learned who I was, and composed his temper after having his home and fortress attacked by Tetonbaum's trap."
"And was he the one who removed your eye coverings," Casnar asks, a little drip of anger in his voice.
"I had the honor," Thane replies with due sarcasm back, more dry and withheld than Casnar's expression but there. "Konis only supplied the knife…and something else…"
"Must have been painful. No meds to help with such a sensitive removal," Casnar drawls as he sits back into the wobble of the chair, "…You simply borrowed his knife, pried the lenses out—"
"They are not so permanent as one thinks, Casnar—" Thane is cut off by his next interruption, Casnar sitting up sharply with the seat squeaking under his shift.
"I know they're not!" he snaps. "The procedure is nevertheless painful but why…Why is what I would like to know, Thane, did you take them out."
Thane holds up a small tear-shaped stone. It resembles a small sliver of glass as he turns it and his amber-green eyes focus beyond the tip of it to Casnar's face…The hiriwa has gone utterly still.
"What are you holding," Casnar asks, emeralds fixed on the small shard.
Thane offers it to Casnar.
Miranda and Ylyssus cannot make it out clearly in his fingertips.
"Take it from me, Casnar," Thane encourages him, "…You have held its sisters before, haven't you…"
Casnar's emeralds are clear and bright in his wide rounding eyes…He stands abruptly, causing the chair to squeal more as he backs away from it—away from Thane's hand and what he holds, "…I'm not touching that."
Ylyssus moves passed Miranda towards Casnar while he keeps his eyes on Thane and what is in the air between them. "Sered," Ylyssus says without looking at Casnar, "…is he a danger to you…"
"I am no more dangerous to Casnar, Ylyssus," Thane replies, his own eyes following Casnar as he steps away to the wall, "…than he is to himself…Casnar, you recognize what I have in my hand." He nods.
"How did Konis get it to you…How did he get his hands on it…" Thane flips the piece in his hand and catches it.
"He has several pieces of his own he professes," he glances at Miranda, back to Casnar, "…It has a peculiar quality…I was not so convinced, at first, when he told me what it could do, but having been in possession of it, the information it has shared with me…" Thane slowly nods, "…Being present among all here aboard the Ni S'pri, I am compelled to believe that not all which Konis says is full of…falsehood."
Casnar chuckles at the irony. "He's a liar, an assassin, a diallo ( traitor )—"
Thane holds the stone up by its smaller end, the larger between his pupil and Casnar's. "That may be so…but who originally intended for Braith and Kolyat to meet in the Mier, when Braith first came to Rakhana."
Casnar's smile fades. "Konis…He did it with my messenger account…He used an alias to convince her it was me who sent the message."
"And who else," Thane continues to hold the piece of stone up, "…who else, Casnar."
"Thane," Casnar hesitates, shaking his crests, "…I…I cannot say that…Can't we talk about this?…Privately—"
Miranda takes a step forward, "…Out with it, Casnar…Your life depends on it," her eyes do not hold any threat, only concern for him. "Come clean if we're going to help you save…" Her pause draws his gaze, "…Braith."
"'Walk speaks the path'," Casnar says as he looks from Miranda to Thane again, "…The Eye of S'syalahe curses those who are not chosen, who may never know the path…I cannot talk about it with them here, Thane…Miranda is not one, and Ylyssus," he glances at the other drell, "…I don't know."
"The very same words I heard in the stone," Thane replies, his fingers pulling the sliver into his palm's protection.
He nods, "…If you hold a true shard of the Eye, then you know," Casnar says to Thane, "…You've seen what's coming."
"Do you believe in it," Thane asks him, considering Casnar with expressionless eyes, "…Do you believe what it has shown you?"
Casnar raises one shoulder and dips his chin. "Everything…So far, everything."
"And can you avoid it—even slightly…"
Casnar hesitates, thinking…
He shakes his head. He looks to Ylyssus then back to Thane, "…I cannot prevent it…Even if I do the opposite of what I know will happen," Casnar's eyes tighten, "…it flows back—to the destined plan…"
"'As water runs to the ocean, so my Beloved will wander to her safety'," Thane quotes and Casnar's tebris constricts to his throat. "I should punish you," Thane goes on, still seated in his chair and holding onto the piece in his palm, a quiet reflection in his eyes. "You attempted to alter it by putting the one reason I am alive in peril…The other reason I tried to protect and sacrificed so much for…" He pauses.
Miranda passes her gaze from Casnar to Thane, wondering if Thane will go on…Her mind wills him to hurry.
"You gave Konis…Kolyat and Braith."
"No!…I didn't do it without being fully prepared years in advance! So much planning went into it, Thane!…I swear," Casnar explains fast, "…I would never have endangered them without knowing I could get them back…We planned for everything!…There would be trouble, but we would not lose anyone!" Thane finally starts to stand.
"You tried to avoid the inevitable by purchasing time, causing my son to suffer, Braith and inadvertently, Kasumi."
Casnar takes an evasive step into the wall behind him, knocking into the consoles above his head, "…I lost time!" he says angrily, "…I was inside a labor camp, Thane…I lost time…but I got it back this way…You've seen what's inside that shard," he is about to say more but Ylyssus clears his throat.
"Am I to understand," Ylyssus speaks with a remote calm, quietness in his composed form as he looks from one drell to the other, and then to Thane's hand, "…in your hand, Sered Krios, is a legendary piece of the Eye of S'syalahe? Might I see it…for myself," and Thane turns his face some to watch the drell move closer, his hand reaching towards his fist.
"No," Casnar's voice breaks the gaze in Ylyssus's eyes, "…No, only the Chosen may touch it, Ylyssus…Shards of S'syalahe stir madness in those not preordained by Musaphat to hold it…As far as I know, you are not…one of us."
"Sounds like warning enough," Miranda says with a glance to the drell withdrawing his hand now, "…Let's be the observer, Ylyssus." With a strange look from Thane to Casnar—and to Miranda—Ylyssus takes a reticent step back, his arm falling to his side as he shrugs uncomfortably away from the stone shard. Thane returns his gaze to Casnar.
"You have a very difficult path ahead, Casnar…What I have seen in the shard tells me she will not come willingly."
Casnar's mouth is dry. "It has been years since I touched a shard of the Eye," he wets his lips with his tongue, "…It should remain that way."
"The Eye changes its pathway, does it not," Thane asks cryptically. Either no answer, or no will to answer, Casnar shrugs. "Would you like to see if it can, Casnar," Thane holds his fist up, "…while I have it here before you."
"Not really," he shakes his crests, "…but you're going to tell me, aren't you." Thane gives another nod, green-ambers holding Casnar's gaze.
"Braith is still in the path, but not as you might remember her to be, Casnar…Perhaps a twist of punishment, added by S'syalahe for one who tried, succeeded at altering the course S'syalahe wanted followed…"
Casnar watches as Thane opens his palm and blows on the piece of stone…The material is matte and does not gloss over or collect the heat from his breath.
"What do you mean," Casnar approaches him, suspicious now and concerned by anything that threatens his future with Braith, "…What do you mean she's—it's been changed…"
"Is he talking about Braith," Ylyssus asks. Casnar ignores Ylyssus as he holds his hand out.
"Give it to me, I'll see it—whether it's changed or not..."
Thane lets Casnar remove the sliver from his fingers.
For a moment, Casnar's body completely stills, as if he is bracing to be hit by a blow…then, slowly, his face changes…He begins to grin, opening his eyes more to the piece of plastic in his palm.
"You…You deceived me…This isn't the sha—" as Casnar is distracted by the plastic debris in his fingers, Thane pulls a shoulder back and steps forward, thrusting his palm into the golden hiriwa's chin to throw him off balance, and already weak from the siqya poison, Casnar is too slow to prevent the assault—Stepping into him, Thane swings his elbow and knocks him cold with a hit that would kill a human being…Ylyssus is cast free of any limp or weakness, in the stride halfway to Thane when this happens…As Casnar hits the floor, stunned out and unconscious, Ylyssus's tall height is over Thane's shorter, compact form and Miranda has barely exhaled when the foot-long menjaga instantly reveals itself at Thane's neck—
"Dare me!" Ylyssus's canines are bared as he snarls into Thane's eyes, risen to protect his master from further harm, "…How dare you strike him, Diallo! Explain yourself before I castrate you with this edge," he presses the sharp blade against the skin, threateningly close to puncturing the crimson tebris under Thane's jawline and imbuing him with the poison lacing the blade, "…We trusted you!"
"And your trust is not misplaced," Thane says, his throat tissues moving against the persistent blade, "…Casnar is in danger, Ylyssus…He asked for my help, and I provideth what I know…Now, if you would remove your menjaga from my neck…"
"I will hold you to this blade," Ylyssus breathes through his ire and anxiety for Casnar, whom he has come to love as more than a master, but a friend and his protector, his savior, his Braith's soulmate whom he has sworn himself to defend for her sake, "…Until Tetonbaum comes and inquires of your loyalty hisself!"
"Then," Thane pauses, "…I am afraid you, too, must be incapacitated." Ylyssus's eyes squint and retract the eyelids into their widest proportions as he lifts his crests and starts to turn towards Miranda—
Miranda Lawson has aimed the device from her utility belt Ylyssus only recognized as some odd tool the human woman had been walking around with, assuming it was not intended for himself or anyone in the matter of harm…He looks at her eyes and thinks what a wonderful galaxy lay beyond Rakhana, with its exotic species like she and Braith and Kasumi, their beautiful languages, their helpful technologies…their weapons and tricks up their thin sleeves and hiding in plain view on their waists…
Miranda's eyes are not those of a woman with malevolence for him, or anger over what his blade presses against of her comrade's neck—but regret, "…I am sorry, Ylyssus."
Ylyssus's tebris pales as he hears the simple punch of the device's mechanism, her finger having pulled the lever under its elongated head.
He drops the kill-knife as his body twitches with millions of electrical signals through his body.
Ylyssus collapses in a bundle of simultaneously firing nerves throughout his skin, flinching on the floor of the cockpit as Miranda lowers her gun and reloads another e-stim charge. "I feel bad, having to do that," she looks to Thane, "…Did he cut you," she hooks the gun to her belt and reaches for a vial of antidote in case Thane has been poisoned by the blade.
Thane steps over Ylyssus and puts his arms around her, preventing her from withdrawing the necessary serum, "…Ylyssus did not break skin, so no harm done, Miranda." He looks from her face, which is directed at Casnar and Ylyssus's forms on the floor, and joins in her gaze. "We will take Casnar and put him into the medical lab under the glass, keep him in stasis for his safekeeping…As for Ylyssus," she can hear a sigh in his chest, "…I would have liked for him to help us find the Behedin, but he will be harder to persuade due to his loyalty to Casnar. Maybe when we find Braith he will be more inclined to help."
"Shall I tie him up and leave him in the crew area, a room for himself?" Miranda asks, going over to check Ylyssus's stats with her omni-tool. His involuntary twitches have not subsided.
"That will suffice…Treat him with a sedative. It will make him slower when he wakes."
"We should hurry…Tetonbaum could catch a hint—Casnar and we've all separated from them for too long…I can't beat him, Thane." She moves to Casnar in a crouch-walk as she glances at Thane, who is lifting Ylyssus with his biotic power causing a blue glow about his body. "Tetonbaum is too strong."
"That is why Kasumi will handle him." Thane's glowing eyes turn steady towards Miranda as Ylyssus is elevated from the floor. "Powerful beings do not always require an equally powerful force to subdue and control them, but something gentler, more subtle can be as potent as Jack, or you, or Braith even."
Miranda lifts Casnar's head from its awkward position on the carpet lining the floor and closes his slack lips as Thane regards them. He turns, floating Ylyssus out.
"…Kasumi will handle Tetonbaum."
"And if she doesn't?" Miranda looks up at his departing back, Ylyssus's body floating through the air in tow. Thane stops at the doorway and tilts his head downward, his profile visible, one eye focused down in thought.
"She will, Miranda," he says after a pause. "If she loves him, and she does, she will betray him if that means keeping him alive."
"He'll never forgive her," Miranda's hand rests on Casnar's brow scales, "…Soterios never forgive."
"Tetonbaum is wiser than most Drells, most species I know of…He is not new to loving another, or being betrayed," he starts to move again. "Forgiveness will come. More importantly, Tetonbaum will survive to remain with his brothers…Tend to Casnar, Miranda, and join me in the bay to help Garrus and Grunt with the burrells."