Mareeri Talae had spent the last five years serving aboard the Summit Flower. As far as posts went, it was not a very glamorous one. A small frigate, usually running errands for asari politicians, most of her life was spent sitting aboard the small ship with a thumb up her arse.
She loved humans. They had such colourful language. For all the time asari spent trying to create flowery turns of phrase and new ways to confuse translators, humans knew how to conjure vivid descriptions like no other race she had met. The asari had met their match with them, their mudball had literally thousands of different languages. Live languages. They even kept hundreds of dead languages alive in academic circles, just for the sake of having them. She wasn't the only one who felt that way, in the few decades the humans had been part of the Citadel races, all languages were slowly becoming infected with their way of speaking. Of course, it could be because they made the best translators in the galaxy.
They were... contagious. It was a shame she had so few chances to truly meld with any of them.
This mission, however, was very different. A derelict ship the likes of which nobody had ever seen. It was enormous, easily twice the size of the Destiny Ascension. How they had found it, captain Alkia wouldn't say. Rumor had it that a human had given them the exact location of the thing, even though he had never set foot anywhere in the system.
She'd give a great deal to have a meld with that human.
They had spent hours scanning the ship, running remote probes, getting images from the inside and the outside. The eezo core in the centre was enormous. It was hard to judge size from a plain image, but once the 3D projections came through, it had silenced the entire bridge for over a minute.
The eezo in that core alone would be worth a fortune of a size she couldn't even imagine.
Core aside, the entire ship looked like something out of a child's nightmare. The interior looked curved, twisted. Organic at a casual glance, metallic on a closer look. The scanners had no idea what kind of material it was. The outside looked like a giant tentacled terror from the old legends, a predator from the depths of the sea.
It was perfect.
After almost a week of that nonsense, getting nothing from the scanners, the captain had decided to send a boarding party. The matriarch's agent, Shiala, had insisted that they should not board, but there were no signs of traps, sentries, or anything alive at all. Nothing but dark emptiness and a giant core. That ship was a prize worth any risk, but it didn't look any risk would be taken. Alkia had asked for six volunteers, and she had been the first to step forward. And to her infinite glee, that bitch Ahalin had been the fifth volunteer. She hated purebloods, which meant she hated Mareeri.
It was the perfect setup. Goddess, it had been months since the last time she had fed.
She'd have to put a transfer request after the mission. Emotional distress, perhaps. She needed a ship that would see more action. More combat. More deaths. A ship with a large crew where an extra casualty would pass unnoticed after a battle. She didn't want to leave any evidence of an Ardat-Yakshi melding.
But so far, the creepy, ancient ship had proven to be less than dangerous. They had entered through the entrance in the crown of the tentacles, landed the shuttle, and started the long trek towards the core. The bare walls were imposing, almost oppressive.
P͜rim͞i͢t͢i̴v̷e ͝c̛r̡eatures, you͜ know n̷o̧t̢ ͡f͘ea͢r̕ y͡e͢t̸.
"What was that?" Mareeri called.
"What was what?" another asari said. She wasn't sure who.
"Mareeri," Alkia called. "Seen anything?"
"Negative. Must have been radio static."
She heard the rest of her unit giggle, some more loudly than others. Bitches, all of them. She squeezed the stock of her assault rifle harder, trying to contain her anger. Dammit, she needed a feed, and right now all of them were starting to sound like candidates.
They had no idea who they were laughing at.
I͜n͟fe͟r͜i̶ǫr ra͡ces,̢ h̀u̕b̡r͝ìś ͘un͢w͢a͡rra͏n̛te͡d i͟n t̕he̵ f̶a͞će͏ o҉f̷ ́tr̕u͘e ̕pow͝e̴r̡.
She shook her head and smacked the side of her helmet. Where the hell was that coming from? She flicked the comms to private, and raised her omni-tool. Full comms diagnostic. She saw the progress bar start slowly, so she let it run and grabbed the rifle again.
Y̖͇͓o̜̤̞͔͞u͚̻̳̮̙ ̭c͙a̼͍̱̦̫ṋ͔͙͓n̫o̴͍ͅt̕ ̰͇̬e̥̻͙͙͈̺s̨͚̭̫c͟a͕̖̫͕͔̲p̣̩̤͖̣̝̹͜e̲͍̝͎̻̠ ̥̳̬͞t̼̤͎̦̮̪he̥̻̕ ͖̟͓̤v̸̪o͓i҉̳͎͉̠̲͕ͅc͉̹͈̘̘͙̥e̮̯̩̟͚̩ ͖̦̹̹̠ͅo̫̭͕̭̹͖̟͜f̳̯̩͢ ͠y̶̲̩̰̥̖̖̹o̯̺͈̭̝̙̹u̘̱͡r̹ ͈͇̟͔i͍͔n̸fi̘̠̩̙͘n̢̜͚̹͓̤̫͇i͝ṱ͍̞ḙ̡͉̘̺ ̣̲͢b͈͈e͏̰̪t̼̩̖̳ͅt̵̖̮̞ͅe̻̗r̜͠s̲͕͖̰̞̥.̘̜̲
"What the fuck is that!" she snapped. With the comms off, only those next to her heard her through the thin atmosphere.
She saw glances thrown her way. Dammit all.
They know.
No, that was impossible, they couldn't know. She had been careful. She had always been careful. Not even her own mother had managed to catch her.
Y̤̥̮̲ͨ͑͂̽ͦo͕͍͍͔̹̪̦̓̏̇̒ͥu͙̪͊̅̄͛͒̋ ͕͛̃ͅc̫̟͐̅͌a̲̯͙̟͍̝ͅn̙̺̬̠͖̹̼͑̓n̗ͅo̙̤̠̖ͥ͋ͩt̝̣̳̒ͭ ͕͎̩̼͇͋͛ͣh̻̯͚͆͛i̬̫̝̖̊d̩͕̹̰̿̾ͅe͈̳̟ ̹͎̱̠̱̮̜̅̓̋ͬ̊ͥy͖͓̰̮̲̎͗͌͆o̜̞̙̟̜ͤ́̌̐ͫ̐̄ủ̌ͯ̅̎ͤr͓͎̻̗̰ͤ ͍̗͈ͣ̌t̲͔̻͂ͦ̉̂h̪̹̿̌ͭ̓̍̉́o͍̥̭̦̟͎̗͐̾ͣ̆̿ͧ͛ů͕ͬͨg̣̠̞̰͙̱͑͐̂h͓̠̳̎̅t͉̦͚̭͎̫̘̿ͧ̌s̙̿͂.͕ͩ͌͋ͯ͂
Bullshit. She knew the day her mother entered their home. She could see it in her face. She had something important to tell her. Come sit by me. What bullshit. She knew something was wrong. She knew.
Ǐ̩̝͎̩̳̪̏ͤ͂̑̀ ͧͫ̽ͮ̊k͔̲̯͔̯͉̠n͕̑ͧͤō̲̱͖̻ͮ̎͋͌w͙̟̆̄͋ a̠̰̪̻̫̹̅̂̚l̰̻̞̥ͮͣ̀̒̎̈́͌l̠̪̹̟̟̣̱͑̈͛̀ͭ́̽,̇ͣ̌̓ ͍͎͎ͯ̓͌͆̊̓͆Iͭ ̦͖͚ͅș̻̝̝͉̞ḙ͐̑̒̒ͩ̚é̘̣̩͚̉ͭ a̹͇͙ͯͣͬͯͥl̥̱͚ͭ̍lͤ̊.ͧͨ̓̇̈́ͩ ͙̫̳Y̮̬̼͚͈̮͗͊ͅo͉̝ͨ̐ͥu͖̺͇̬̜̫ ̲̼̪ͤc̥̝̹͙ͮͥ͗ͦ̃ͩ̚a̜̯ͭn̘̩̮̩̫̜̰̄̿ͨ̓̓͆n͚͚̱͍͖ͥͭ̒ͬ̾̃̈́o͍͖̜̤̖̫̟t̼̬̻͈̟͆̃͛͑̈ ̝̖͇̭̺̹̽͌ͩ̌̓͂e̺̦ͩ͑͒̍͑ͥ̽s̜̬̜̳̙̳̀ͯc̥̯̎a̟̹̼̗͔̞̼ͮͯ̊̐̓̚p̱̣̙͓ͫͪͥ͌̐͆e̖̗̬̙̍ͮ͛̓̄̂.͍̝͎̜͑͌̋̂̂
"SHUT UP!"
"What the... Mareeri, turn the comms on!" the asari next to her shouted, shaking her by the shoulder.
Nobody knew. Nobody! She had looked at her mother, she had told her. You have a condition, she had said. Bullshit. She was lying. She knew she was lying. She jumped at her, melded with her. It was her first time. She took her thoughts. She knew what her mother had planned. A monastery, away from the world. To lock her up, or kill her if she did not comply.
She was horrified. She felt her mother's life ebb away. She knew what she planned. She had been sold by her own mother. Her own mother! The betrayal, the pain... the exhilaration when she felt the power she had.
Her own mother.
I̽ͫ̓̉̈́ ͭͭͦa̴m̐́ͪ͠ ̀ͤ̿̊y̵̋̿̎ͫͭ̚ouȓ͐ ̔̏ͬ͠o̧ͣ́n̆l̆̍̑͂̃ȳͩͩ̿̆ ͥ̿̋͛̑ͬṡå̧͐̈̿̃̇̌l̄̎͠v̸̎́̒̾ͬ̆͂ȧ̌̉ͩ̓̍̈́t̑͒̄̃̕i̓͊ͣ͐̎̉̍͟onͪͪ.ͦ͒
"NO!"
Her last thought. I love you, daughter. What bullshit. She had betrayed her. Betrayed! She had every right to kill her!
O̷̖͖͚̙͕̩̜̘͚̮̦n͠҉̡͚̳̟͇̩̣͉͎̭̕l̛̞̘̩̯͕̯̹͇̰͈̥̗͡y̶̶̪͇̭̮̖̤̺̬̜̼̦͙͜͠ͅͅ ̝̖͎̥̙̺͘d̶͍͈̪̮̗̰̥͚͉̗̦͉̮̙̗̪͘̕e͓̫̱͔̯̺̟̗̮͕̦͔̭̝̟͠ͅs̢̛͕̺̖͚̭̰̼͞t̷̪̭͔̮͕͍̳͉̼̝̦̤̦̯͔̞͎̀͠r̡͍̟̳̮̮̳̺̩̝̗̳̰͡u͏̙̹̻̰̩̜͖͉̪̝͈̞̩͎̲̙̝̪͜ͅc̼̘̙̺͎͈̣̠͙̳͙̰̯͖̯̙͉͎̕͢͢t̨̮̙͚̝̰̭̜̲͔̙̞̘̮͡͝ͅi҉̵̡̙̬̺̮̞͓̮̥͖̝̹̞̯͈͡ǫ̴̫̰͕̯̣͖̱̭ͅņ̸̲̤̦̝̤̼̦̬̹̩͍̞̦͝ ̨̡̭͙̺̭̜͇͙̺͉̩͍̝̬̻͞͝ͅw̶̶̵̖̺̤̠̣̪͇͚̣̕i̴͏̧̛͕̙͕̩̰̼̜̺̝̹̺̘͇̜͉͇͢ͅͅͅĺ̴̵̥̭̩̳̻̭̗ͅl͏̢̻͓̻̲̯͉̠̫̮̼̦̹ͅ ̵̢̨̥̲̞͕̦̰̞͍͉̤̗͡s͢͏͏̣͎̜̯͖̙̪̘̤̗̖̭̹̜͈̲ͅa̶̮͎̘̣̜̩̤͓̣̝͠v̛͉̬͍̘̜͙͓͢͝͡e̶̡̢͖͙̰͚̮̭̫̹̟̻͔̝̜̟̫͞͡ ̴̛͖̜͔͔͉̝̭̟ͅy̧͜҉҉̻̭̳̟̣̻̙͈̞o̧̜̲̜̬͕͍͇͔͕̞̮̮͟ͅư̷̳͔̤̩̲̰̳̗̭̮̱͓̰͉͈͠.͟͡͏̩̪̠̞͔̙̦̙̫̯̘̱ͅͅ
She shook free of her asari companion and ran. Ran up the ramp, over the railing, and jumping off towards the darkness.
Ŝ̐̊̉̃͏̨͚͖̰̼͍̠̝͚͉̘ͅą̸̛̖̩̺̞̞ͪ̀ͭ̑͂ͨͤ́͜l̏ͪ̎̃̄͏̡͎̺͔͓̫̘̬̱͍͙̫̺̜̞̝̫͍͞v̰̖̳̭͉̗̝̱̞̞̻͚̘̳̝̜̠̋͊̆ͭͯ̀̚͜͝ͅá̡̳̮͈̲̠̮̙̲̭̘̦͇̠͚̣͆̍̽̿̎̐̓̔͊͒̌̀͟͜t̴̶̘̩͔͂̅̏̉͒͗ͨͬ͑ͦͨ̄̄͢i̋̽̈́̑͂͛̽̃ͪ̔̾ͪ̆͗̿́̒̆̚͏̰͖̖̝̤̗͘o̡̜͇̣̜͆͐̉̇ͯ͟n̸̰͎̫̠͎̘͓̦̱̳̤̠̪͙̯̲̞̦ͬ͐͛̏̔̒́̉͐̓͌͐̓ͩ̌̏͒ͦ͝ ̸̨̻̩̝͈͖̊ͬ̉͊̈ͫ̾ͨ̏̃͞ͅtͫ̌͊̍͆̇̔͗̇ͤ̏̐͐̎̏̎ͭ̽̚҉̡͞҉̷̫̻̱̥̼͚͍̪ĥ̆ͯ̐̆ͯ̀͌͗̔ͧ̑҉̴̢͘͏͔̘͔̲̲͎̮̹̬̥̰̗̻ŗ̴̫͔̳̠̞̯̺͙̠̘̜̜͋͌̉ͯ̃͌ͥ̾̊̋͆͊ͨ͂ͧͫ̚͢͠o̵̷̷̲̲̟̰͔͕̟̭̙̞̜̮͕̫͍͒ͤ̃͊͒ͬ̒̋ͫͬ̚͟͞ǔ̸̡͕̠̖̜͓̩͚̦̟̺̆̈́̉̾̅̚̚͞g͗͌̈̇̍ͧ͐̚̚͏̲̠̮͎̫̖͍̪͙̘hͦ͛͒̏͗҉̯͇͉̣̮̤͉͇͙͠͡ ̶̡̫͕̳̟̤͚̺͇̳̜̐͌̂̎ͫ͘͜͟d̛͍͎͎͙̪͖̰̜̺̳̩̤̤̞̳̤̖̱̯ͦ̈̐ͧ̂ͧ͗̈̅̌̋ͭ͛͌͒̀͢e̸̥͙̬̗̪̩̻ͯ̽ͥ̽̍͂͋̓͛̑̃̓̇̄͜s̨̛͓̰̝͚͖̪̦̰ͧͣͧ̆̑̃̈́̅̀͡t̷̥̫̬͚͔̜̹͙̟̫̠̗̱̤ͧ̓̒ͥͤ̈́͊̈͒̔̈́̌̔͋͌͜͜r̷̘̱͚͔̹͍ͫͩ̊͗͌ͧ̀ͩ̒̾̈́̓̑̐͆̇ͨ̚͡u̩̣̖͕̳͈̘ͤ̃̋͒̇̃͂͌ͭ́̽̇̅ͨ̍̊͟͡cͫͫͨ͑̎ͫͨͬͥ̀͑̔͑͗ͤ͟҉͏̶͖̟̼̣̖̱̪̲͔̯̟̦͢t̻͚̥̺̺̯͓̼̻͇̮͚̜̥͔͙̲̠ͨ̃̄̐͐̾̇͆̓́̎͗̃̓̂͛́͟į̸̶ͬ̏̎ͧ͝͏̮̹̙̭͖͈̦̤̮̬͇̼͍ŏ̗͚̗̟̰̥̭̣͇̹ͧͫ̅͂ͨ̒̈́̂̈ͬ͘͠͡͡n̶̸̳̟͓̜̘̩̺̙͓̟̞̯͎̈̈͆̌ͦ̍̿̈́̅ͩ̌̚͢ͅ.̢̡̝̠͔͇̩̝͕́͒ͩͯͯ̈̂̉̈́̇ͮ͒̀ͦͥ̀
"Mareeri!" captain Alkia shouted.
Shiala watched in horror as the young asari shook herself free from her companion, then took off running, jumping over the railing of the platform. The helmet cam stood still for a long second, and she could only imagine the shock the soldier was feeling.
Then, all five asari took off almost at once, leaning over the railing and illuminating the scene below. Mareeri had fallen a good twenty meters down, and...
"What in the Goddess' name is that?" the navigator said.
The asari had fallen and impaled herself on what appeared to be a veritable forest of metallic spikes, several feet tall. She lay there like a broken doll, as dark blood ran down the shiny surface.
"Were those there before?" Shiala said.
Nobody answered.
"This isn't right... This isn't right!"
She couldn't tell who had said that, the voice was coming through the radio shrill with fear, broken. The others stepped back, confused, stumbling. A cacophony of murmurs followed. Fear. One of them stumbled, grabbing her helmet. Another one leaned even further over the railing. Further. Even further.
"Ground team!" the captain snapped, her pale purple skin taking an even lighter hue. Her dark brown eyes were open wide, darting from screen to screen, desperately seeking understanding. "Ground team! Report!"
"Get them out of there..." Shiala muttered.
The other asari fell. The railing snapped under her, and she fell without a word. Not even when the giant spike ripped into her did she say anything. The sound of metal tearing through armor cut through the front cabin, demanding silence. Silence and shock. The one grabbing her helmet stumbled again, and fell to her knees. They saw as she struggled to search her belt, and pull her pistol out. Nobody found their voice to yell in protest as she put the pistol under her chin and pressed the trigger.
"GET THEM OUT OF THERE!" Shiala shouted.
"Ground team, get out!" Alkia yelled at the comms. "Get! OUT!"
Only one of them seemed to hear her. The corner of her helmet cam showed her name, Ahalin. She stumbled, shouted something unintelligible, and took off running towards the shuttle.
"Tila! Maschina! What are you waiting for, run! Get out!"
Judging by the helmet camera, Tila had fallen to the ground, and was simply muttering incoherently. The other one had fallen to her knees, and was hitting the deck plate with her head. Over. And over. She took the helmet off, the camera clattering away and falling at an angle. They could still see her as she resumed her head banging. Blood soon started to pour out of her forehead. She didn't stop.
The last thing they got from Ahalin's camera before she jumped in the shuttle was a horrible, otherworldly shriek. And when she turned, the image of an abominable creature climbing out of the pit of spikes, several feet tall and with long bladed scythes in her hands.
Shiala's eyes drifted towards the rest of the crew. Pilot, navigator, even the captain, they were all frozen in a mix of terror and complete lack of understanding. Nobody knew what had just happened. Nobody.
Except for her.
Goddess, what have we done.
Hello Shepard,
I am not sure if you remember me. I'm Marie, I was the psychiatrist with the Alliance forces back during Mindoir. I hope you are well, we haven't spoken since then but Roy mentioned to me how you two have been working things out together.
The reason I'm contacting you is because of the message Roy sent me a few days ago. It sounded really worrying, and worst still he hasn't been answering my replies. He didn't really mention anything specific, but... He apologized to me for something he did, which he didn't really need to apologize for anyway, and he just sounded like he was about to go do something he didn't know if he'd be back from.
I have friends in the alliance, and as far as they know there are no particularly bad ops going down, so I don't know what to think. Is he okay? Are you? Do you know what's happening?
Marie.
It had been over a week since the last time she had heard from Roy. Sunday had come and gone, and he hadn't answered her FTL call. And then she had gotten that message from Marie, and her uneasiness had increased tenfold. She hadn't been able to resist, and had taken a sneak peek at the letter Roy had left her.
If you're reading this, it means that my plan has gone horribly wrong. Either that, or you've decided to go ahead and look at this letter anyway.
That was as far as she had gotten, folding it hastily and stuffing it at the bottom of her locker. She had felt ashamed of herself, she had promised Roy not to read it, and yet she had done so, even if just the first two lines.
Regardless, she was having a shitty time with the bootcamp, and the worries about Roy hadn't helped one bit. Dammit all why the hell didn't he let her go with him and help?
She put a burst of speed and attacked the obstacle with renewed energy, climbing up the rungs of the ladder-wall at her top speed. She had definitely gotten stronger after the meatgrinder week. Even in the training armor, and even when the mass of the suit was set to be increased, she still was managing to pull herself up faster than she ever had.
A bad step made her nearly fall, but she managed to keep her grip and kick herself up again.
"MINDOIR!"
Shit.
"Yes sir!" she called, stopping her climb.
"Get down here!"
What the hell did I do now?
She, of course, obeyed the order, and dropped several rungs in a single jump. When she got to the bottom, she realized one of the marines had fallen on her ass, and was being helped up. It was Goldie. Sergeant had taken a liking for her, in a way only a drill sergeant could. He claimed he was going to drill the valley girl out of here if it was the last thing she ever did.
Truth to be told, she liked Goldie. She wasn't sure why such a nice girl had joined the marines, but she was the most easygoing person she had ever met. Tall, blonde, blue eyes with a bony face and bushy eyebrows that, somehow, looked great on her. Best thing was how easy it was to talk with her, she got along with everyone.
"There are two words you need to learn to put together," the drill sergeant said. "Team! And work!"
"Yes sir!"
"And teamwork doesn't include kicking your teammates on the face!"
WHAT?!
She turned to look at Goldie, and sure enough, there was a muddy footprint on her helmet.
Crap!
"I'm so sorry, I didn't-"
"ENOUGH!" the drill sergeant shouted, cutting her explanation short. "Get to the top, right now!"
"Aye aye sir!"
Shepard grabbed the ladder and started climbing. It was almost ten feet wide, and each rung was a thick piece of wood, nearly six inches. Once she got to the top, straddling the top rung, the drill sergeant climbed up, and started pulling out all the rungs below her, with his bare hands.
Holy crap!
As a result of all that, there was a six feet gap between the top and the second topmost run.
"And now, you're going to learn teamwork! You're going to help every single recruit get over that gap and over the obstacle. Ever single one!"
Shepard didn't say anything. All she could do was obey the orders. The first one up was Goldie. She leaned over the wooden plank, offered her hand, and pulled the young woman up.
"I'm so sorry," Shepard said in a low voice, as Goldie made over the obstacle.
"Don't worry Sheppy," Goldie replied, offering her a smile under the helmet's faceplate. "You have a mean kick."
Helping the first half dozen peolpe or so wasn't too hard. But by the by, she started to get tired. The heavier men strained her arm every time she pulled up, and soon she had to start alternating hands. After two dozen or so, she felt like her shoulders were going to come out of their sockets.
Which is exactly what happened when Q-ball tried to climb the obstacle. He reached up, grabbed the offered hand, and apparently expected to simply be hauled up to the top rung, not offering any effort whatsoever. Shepard pulled, there was a nasty and very painful pop, and the two of them tumbled down the obstacle, falling several feet to the muddy ground below.
And then her world became pain.
"Q-ball! You lazy son of a bitch!" the drill sergeant yelled. "Medic!"
I was bored.
After spending so much time thinking about how I was going to tackle the reveal of information, after all my worries about what was going to happen once I did it, after all that... I had ended up just locked in one of the most luxurious rooms I had ever used.
Sure, the yacht was small, and so were the rooms inside. My little cabin had barely enough room for the bed, the small table and chair, and a tiny ablution corner with a sonic cleaning shower. But the bed was the most comfortable thing I had ever laid on, the sheets were actual Luan silk from Thessia, and I had an almost endless list of vids to watch on the hi-def holoscreen. Three meals and a cot, but in crazy luxury.
During all that time, I barely saw anyone. The ensign that brought my meals did make small talk with me, but she was always guarded, and careful never to say too much about anything important. Nani was her name. Dark blue skin with facial tattoos like freckles, rounded face, she was kind of cute in a homely sort of way, but I knew she was probably as dangerous as a viper in the toilet.
Benezia didn't show up at all. But I wasn't surprised.
So, I spent my time watching vids, reading, and doing "jail-cell" exercise. Nothing else to do really. I had been in boring long haul trips with the Alliance, after all, only thing I regretted was not having brought my hologuitar. The fact that I didn't have anyone to talk to didn't bother me that much, I liked quiet.
And I waited. I did not have extranet access, so I couldn't send or receive messages, much less FTL comms. I asked, but Nani explained the ship flew dark most of the time, and didn't break silence unless something particularly urgent was needed. It also had the advantage that it made it impossible to sneak a transmission out without anyone noticing. If the ship's always silent, any FTL beam would stand out like a sore thumb. This was the ship Benezia used when she needed to attend to her most private matters.
I guess I should have felt honoured. As I said, I mostly felt bored.
It took well over a week for Benezia to finally show up. As usual, Shiala followed her close, both of them practically bursting into my room and making me shoot to my feet in surprise.
Any smartass comment I could have produced on the spot was stopped before it could escape when I saw their faces. They had their game faces on. Shiala, specially, was looking at me like she was part pissed off, part scared of something. Benezia, on the other hand, didn't show much emotion, but her eyes bore on me like she wanted to drill through my skull. Which, given the circumstances, was a bit too close to being a real possibility than I would have liked.
"Where in the dark depths did you send us to!" Shiala snapped. "Your-"
She stopped talking when Benezia raised a hand, a simple gesture that commanded silence from the asari. She looked like her head would explode trying to contain her anger, but she did stop talking.
"The ship wasn't there?" I asked naively.
"The ship was there," Benezia replied, her voice flat. "As you knew it would."
"So why are you all so..."
I looked at them, and it finally clicked in my head. The anger, the fear...
Shit! SHIT!
"You boarded the ship."
She wanted to rip that human's head off. She had been sent on a fool's errand, and because of him five asari were dead, with the sixth gone completely mad. She had snapped at him, and now the bumbling fool was looking at them like the dimwitted bream he was.
Why doesn't the matriarch flay this fool alive and-
"So why are you all so..." the foolish human muttered.
He stopped talking, and in an instant, his entire demeanour changed. She wasn't even sure what had happened, but her every instinct suddenly screamed at her that the human was dangerous. The way he tilted his body, shifted his feet ever so slightly. Her heart bumped hard on her chest as her mind started racing. He looked like he was going to draw a weapon, but she was sure he had been searched thoroughly.
Without even thinking, her hand started to search for her own pistol, drawing the human's attention towards her. His eyes were hard set, as was his jaw.
"You boarded the ship," he deadpanned, his voice low.
The realization that she had probably been underestimating that human was as clear as the hard determination in his voice. She gripped the pistol on her belt, and the human closed his fist hard, ready to-
"ENOUGH!" Benezia snapped, looking both at the human and at her. "Both of you!"
She turned to Roy, and gave him a hard look. He didn't even flinch.
"I gave my word, Roy, and I did not board the ship. Neither did Shiala."
The words washed over him like a cooling wave. He took a deep breath and relaxed visibly, which in turn made the knot in Shiala's stomach untangle itself.
Goddess, she exhaled, grateful for the reprieve.
With Benezia and herself in the room, she was sure that Roy would not have stood a chance in a fight. But the fear that something unexpected might have happened was in the back of her mind. The cabin was tiny, and if the human had a weapon he might have been able to hurt one of them before they took him down.
Worse still, for a moment she had been reminded of a cornered beast. The relief on his face, the sudden relaxation in his body language was a sharp contrast to the tension he had shown. Whatever he had expected them to do, he had been ready to fight to the death before letting them do it.
What's he so afraid of?
Her mind conjured back the images from the ship. Maybe that was what he was so afraid of. But it was what he did next that surprised her the most. After hearing Benezia's words he looked at them, then reeled, two steps back to hit the edge of the bed and drop to sit on it.
"Shit." He looked at Benezia, his face contorting in... pain? Sadness? "Who did?"
He's worried about asari?
It occurred to her that the human wasn't a fool. Few words and fewer clues, and he had followed everything that had been implied. He was naïve, perhaps, but not a fool.
Benezia sighed and took the lone seat in the cabin, leaving Shiala to stand.
"Six ground troops boarded the derelict ship. Only one returned, her mind shattered."
"Dammit," Roy muttered, leaning forward and putting his head in his hands. "I told you not to board the ship."
"You gave us a well spun tale even a fool would have trouble believing," Benezia retorted.
Roy just nodded. Why the pain in his voice? Guilt? He knew it was a trap, yet led them to it. Those stories about indoctrination wouldn't have kept them away, he must have known that. But the matriarch wouldn't fall for it, why then? Who was it for?
"Shiala," Benezia called.
She walked to the bed, and sat next to Roy. The human looked up at her in apparent confusion, but recoiled immediately when she rose her hand to touch his head. While she probably should have expected that, it hurt a little.
"Relax Roy, I just want to show you."
"Why?" he said, his voice laced with suspicion.
"We still can't understand what happened."
He gave Benezia one last look, but the matriarch's face was a complete mask. Restrained. Her reactions had been anything but when Shiala had melded with her, but she'd never show that to the human. With a sigh, he turned again, and looked at Shiala in the eye.
"Fine."
Shiala put her hand on the back of his head, her vision darkening as she reached out to his mind. It was pricks and needles, his thoughts guarded and bristling against the intrusion.
"Please relax, hu-Roy."
Curses, he noticed my slip-up.
Despite that, he seemed to relax, and she saw the reflection of her own darkened eyes against Roy's pupils.
"Embrace Eternity."
"What was that?" Mareeri said.
Shiala felt Roy's reaction to the memory, the moment when Mareeri seemed to start losing her sanity. Hearing voices. She even cut the comms and kept talking to herself.
You know, don't you?
Indoctrination, I already told you.
There was a hint of anger in his thoughts, anger and... regret. Sadness.
Regretting the trap you set up?
Trap? I fucking told you!
Then what is it?
He didn't quite put it into a coherent thought, but she could feel it. Regret for his actions. Regret... that he hadn't been able to convince them, make sure they did not send anyone onboard. He was putting the blame on himself.
Shiala could scarcely believe it.
Well fuck you too.
That's not what I mean.
Melding with humans was always strange. They always took it better when thoughts were formed into language, not just a direct meld. It was very different from melding with asari. She couldn't quite put her though into a coherent sentence, she just shared her feelings. Mostly, surprise about the fact that he had such concern for asari. Asari he had never even met. Surprise at him blaming himself, for reasons other than it having been a trap. His... compassion.
Roy did not answer to that.
When Mareeri rushed to the railing and jumped, Shiala winced internally, much as she had done when it first happened. She knew it was coming, now, which made it even harder for her to take it. She had focused on the cam view from the other asari, but Roy pulled at her side thought, the view from Mareeri's cam. Reluctantly she brought the thought to the forefront. She would prefer to forget about that.
Dragon's teeth.
What?
They're called dragon's teeth. Goddammit, why did you send them aboard?
She had asked the same to herself. It was Captain Alkia's command, but she could have argued about it. She should have. She-
What happened next?
Last thing she had expected was for Roy to step into that train of thought and push it away. Like it wasn't her fault, but his instead. Once again, Roy didn't seem to react or respond to her thoughts.
I don't understand you, Roy.
He gave her nothing. Next came the rest of the team. The almost collective madness that had taken the rest of the team. Shiala felt her own pain at the memories reflected in Roy's thoughts. The image was horrific, and heartbreaking. Young asari being driven to madness, to-
It's too fast.
Too fast? What's too fast?
Indoctrination. It's not supposed to be this fast. This... brutal.
But it was.
Roy didn't answer, he just tugged at her memories. Demanding to know how it all ended. Badly. The suicides. The sole survivor running towards the shuttle. And the creature emerging from the dragon's teeth.
You've... seen these before.
Not in person.
Shiala wanted to know, tugged at Roy's memories, but he reacted at that, pulling back. She pulled back herself, passively asking for Roy to show her instead. After some hesitation, he finally did. It was the image of one of these monsters, pulling what looked to be an alliance soldier and impaling him. The soldier didn't even move, he dropped dead like a ragdoll.
There was a lot more in that image. All sorts of nightmarish beasts engulfed in a massive firefight. But before she could look any further, Roy pulled back.
What was that?
You wanted to know.
Shiala swallowed her frustration, and just showed the last of the memories she wanted to share. Ahalin, staggering out of the shuttle. She was mumbling incoherently, talking about gods and destruction. She didn't seem to recognize anyone around her. She had simply... lost her mind.
Dammit.
When Shiala finished her meld, I had to take a minute to let it all set in. They had fucking boarded the reaper, even after I warned them. Obviously, I hadn't warned them enough. But the images inside, bloody hell. They had become indoctrinated in a matter of hours. Hours! Not days, or weeks; they never stood a chance. And then the banshee. That shit had been even more terrifying than in the games. I closed my eyes and pressed on the bridge of my nose. I was starting to get a pounding headache. There was an even worse aspect of all that. Given their reactions, I was pretty sure by now that they didn't really believe me. Which was a bad thing, because I had no idea what Benezia would do next.
When I opened my eyes again, I saw that Benezia was exchanging a look with Shiala.
"What," I said.
"Is that what you expected?" Benezia said.
"I told you not to board the fucking ship!" I snapped. They looked at each other again. "You just don't believe me, do you?"
"I believe you believe what you have been telling us," Benezia replied. She sat back in the chair, elbows on the armrests and hands under her chin. "Tell me about indoctrination."
"Wasn't that enough?" I said, my voice flat and bitter, and pointed at Shiala.
"You claim it was too fast," Shiala said.
"It was. It... it's supposed to take days, weeks. Even months. Depends on how strong the person's will is. But it can't be stopped."
"Can it be reversed?" Benezia said.
I didn't need to answer that, all I needed to do was look at her. Indoctrination was terminal. There was nothing they could do. For that asari, Ahalin, or anyone else. Benezia didn't even flinch. Damn, I was starting to think this wasn't going to end well at all.
"You did not tell us about those devices," she continued. "Those... spikes."
"And you knew about them," Shiala added from behind me.
"I told you not to get in!" I snapped again. Goddammit, how many times would I have to repeat the same fucking thing? I shot to my feet, hands on my head and pacing around the room. Not that there was a lot of room to pace.
"Anything else you did not tell us?" Benezia said.
"I don't know!" I said, throwing my hands up in the air. "Does it matter? You don't even believe me!"
Benezia raised one hand, a simple gesture to ask me to calm down. It irritated the hell out of me, though, but I did stop talking, crossing my arms and leaning against the wall. I was tired of sitting between the two of them while they made their tit-for-tat. With a deep breath, I tried to steady my nerves.
"You have given us a long tale of ancient machines and endless extinction. You, yourself, knew it was... a hard sale, I believe you would say."
"The damn reaper not real enough for you?" I said.
"Maybe," she replied coolly. "Perhaps you could help me understand a much bigger question."
"What?"
"Why did you come to me? You charmed my daughter, used her to reach me. Why?"
The question was so left field I caught me completely unprepared. I opened my mouth to speak, then closed it when I realized what the question was. Why her? Oh yeah, that'll be a doozy. But there was something else I had to clarify first.
"First off, you say I charmed your daughter to use her," I said, and she gave me a flat look. "I'm about as charming as a cane toad, but more important, I wasn't using her. You are going to need her. She's the foremost expert in the prothean extinction, which, as it turns out, is what all this damn thing is all about. You should-"
"My relationship with my daughter is none of your concern, Roy," Benezia said, interrupting me and responding to what I was about to say even before I said it.
"Fine."
"Why me." It wasn't a question anymore.
"You're not going to believe me," I said.
"Those tales seem to be your speciality," Benezia said, offering a smile. "Do tell."
Sigh.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath again, leaning back and stretching my neck until my head touched the wall. I had thought the reaper would be dramatic enough. Ironically, I hadn't even guessed the half of it. It had been way too dramatic. Tell them not to get on the ship, and the first fucking thing they do is get on the fucking ship. But she wanted to know why her? It was a question, a human coming out of the blue to talk to her about all this crazy shit, but I would have guessed the reaper would have been a more urgent topic of conversation.
I suppose this is not too hard to believe in comparison.
"Do you know a Spectre called Saren Arterius?"
"Of course," she replied.
"Right. He's a bit... extreme, shall we put it?"
"Dedicated," Shiala corrected me. "He is the Council's top Spectre, and-"
"Shiala, please," Benezia interrupted. With a reluctant nod, Shiala shut up and let me keep talking.
"Well, he's indoctrinated."
That went as well as you could expect. Lead balloon. The cabin went completely silent, and the looks they were giving me? Yeah. I let the silence drag, however.
"That's ridiculous!" Shiala finally snapped. "He's- Mistress, you can't possibly believe that s'kak!"
"Enough, Shiala." Benezia said, and turned back to me. "How?"
"The reapers always leave a failsafe behind. One of them, to keep an eye on things. Its name is Nazara. And it's got Saren."
Shiala looked confused. Yeah, not the best explanation, but I wasn't going to go all over the Conduit yet. Well, I might have to. Benezia, as usual, wasn't giving anything away.
"Fascinating," Benezia deadpanned. "How does that relate to me?"
"Because Saren's going to go off his rocker more and more. You saw what happened there," I said, pointing at Shiala. "He's going to be getting more violent. What would you do, if you saw a Spectre, the Council's top Spectre, go down such a dark path?"
She didn't answer. And neither did I. We looked at each other for a long, long while. To the point that it was Shiala who started to get uncomfortable, looking at both of us. It wasn't exactly a staring contest, it was more of... an understanding.
I knew what she'd do, because it was part of the game. She'd try to convince Saren to go down a different path. Because that's what she does. She's presented as the quintessential asari, really. The question was, the fact that I knew, and that she knew I knew, meant I knew more about her than I had let on. At least that was the impression she'd get. Which brought the question, how could I know so much, not just about her, but about what would happen. Either I could see the future, or hopefully she'd think something else. Maybe I had more access than I was letting on.
After a while, Benezia simply stood, a fluid and graceful motion. Shiala, on the other hand, scrambled to her feet in surprise.
"We will continue this later," she said.
"Wait," I called, stopping her at the door. "What happened to... The one inside the ship. Ma... What was her name?"
"Mareeri," Shiala said. "She's dead. She went through nearly fifty combat mechs before she was taken down."
"Damn," I muttered.
They didn't answer. They just left, and left me wondering what the hell were they going to do next.
Author's Notes: Bloody hell, these exchanges with Benezia are really draining. It's quite hard to get in the mindset of a nine hundred years old asari politician who's pissed off at me for using her daughter, suspicious of all my motives, and still worried about what she has seen and heard from the human's tales. I probably should spend some time going over her thoughts. Next chapter.
On the other hand, it's easy to write Roy on these ones. He's as confused as I am during them.
Now, if you're wondering why Benezia left... Well, basically mid-interrogation, you'll have to wait for next chapter. I'm actually looking forward to it, because it's not going to be easy to write. Oh, and one way or another, it's going to come to a head with Roy and Benezia next time. Stay tuned!
Ah, and one announcement: This! IS! DIVERGENCE! *Ahem* This fic now has 300 Favourites, which is a whole heap more than I ever expected it would gather. I'm shocked, and very grateful for the support!
Lots of reviews as well, thanks heaps! To answer questions:
5 Coloured Walker: Roy and I (me and me?) are of the opinion that if you're going to do something, may as well do it big. Go for the crazy Matriarch instead :D
Mizuki: I took a little inspiration from Spirit of Redemption (I think it's the longest fic ever or something), but most of it is headcanon. I'd like to think of it as MST3K for memories, hehe. There's going to be a lot more to come, so hopefully I'll be able to give a clearer picture of what I think it is :)
War-Torn Hero: I expect lots of feels between the two of them in the near future :)
General: Yup! The good thing is probably that Roy's stupidly honest, so its going to confuse the hell out of the asari.
BJ Hanssen: Thanks! It's going to be... ironic, if Roy gets some field medic training. You'll eventually see why :D
Tusken: Thanks a lot! So far he's getting away with it, but it's not going to be smooth sailing, trust me :)
Sci-fifan95: Haha! Nice, not exactly but you'll see soon enough!
Lfan8: Thanks, it's really hard to get in Benezia's boots, next chapter is going to be the hardest to write so far.
Thanks again, for following, favouriting, reviewing, and specially for reading! Next time, decisions have to be made, and the Sheppy is getting restless. Stay tuned!