Sparatus was stalking between aides burdened with personal shipping containers. All of the Council's digital and hardcopy records had been removed yesterday. Now all that was left were the personal documents from the Councilors' offices.
He stopped when his omnitool chirped. "This is Sparatus," he barked. "Is it happening?"
No sir, Castis Vakarian spoke from his command center in the CSEC Headquarters, no activity yet from either the Ilos receiver relay, or the Citadel array.
Sparatus heaved a sigh of relief. When the Nierra had burst into the Widow Nebula and transmitted its report, he'd almost wanted to call it a UTSG information operation to drive them from the Citadel. However, a joint team of Salarian and Elcor engineers confirmed the report: the Citadel was, in fact, an enormous dormant relay.
When a similar scan of the Relay Monument proved the rest of the report, the Council had initiated a full evacuation of the station. That was yesterday, and they were only a tenth complete.
"If it's not the Relay, then what?"
We are receiving a message from the UTSG forces at Eden Prime. They want to know if we need any additional support.
Sparatus bit back a scoff. Even with the all-call for support, the CDF would be woefully out matched by the Hanar and Nazara.
We waited too long to innovate and modernize, he hissed and buzzed in anger.
"Send my compliments to UTSG Commander, and," he sighed, "and under my authority as Turian Councilor and Diplomat in Extraordinary, they may proceed through Council space to support defense and evacuation efforts."
He turned back to the business of packing up his office, in preparation for transfer to the Providence Ascension. Destiny Ascension's sister ship had been moved by Vollus slipspace transport to an undisclosed location. Once there, it would serve as the temporary capital of the Citadel Alliance, until a more permanent facility could be constructed.
He fully expected that, once the transfer was complete, both the Elcor and the Vollus would "request" Council seats.
But that would be a problem for Councilor-Elect Quentius, not Sparatus.
...
Wrex hovered over Tali as the team waited for a UNSC drop ship. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes, Uncle Wrex," Tali batted one of his hands away from her suit's life-support pack, "I'm fine; just shaken and..." She trailed off and hugged herself. "I just can't believe Peebee is gone."
"Creator Tali Zorah," Hecatonchires spoke from his box on her suit, "we monitored the attack by subject Shoggoth: warp event time scale was smaller than Asari nerve induction speed. She felt no pain."
Wrex rested a heavy hand on her shoulder. "I've been fighting a long time, Pyjack, and I've seen a lot of people die. There are much worse ways to go."
"Tali," she looked up at Garrus, "You have more than done your part; you don't have to go any further. I'm sure the UNSC can provide transport for you back to Rannoch."
Her suit's voxmitter gave an unfamiliar noise as she stood up. "No, I want to see this through."
"Good," Jane pointed at a growing dot in the air, "cause our ride's here."
Everyone formed up in the middle of the ravine as the Pelican transport leveled off and landed. The rear ramp dropped and a pair of UNSC flight crew stepped out. "She's all yours, Spartan." They headed over to where the Gurkha's were organizing the various bits of Shoggoth for transport and analysis.
Everyone on the team climbed into the jump seats, while Jane and Ashley headed into the cockpit. "Pelicans have okay inertial compensators, but I don't think anyone's ever taken one through a relay by itself before," Ash called back into the troop bay. "You may want to brace for a rough ride." She sat in the co-pilot's chair as Jane finished her prelaunch checks. "Ten minutes until we're out of alignment. Everyone strapped in?"
"Good to go back here, Gunny," Kaidan said as he locked himself in after checking everyone else's restraints.
Jane lifted off, then pitched the nose up and inched the belly of the spaceplane closer to the Relay. For a moment, there was a hum and a glow. Kaiden was reminded of watching the auroras on Harvest with his father.
Then the universe stretched and shrank impossibly as the Pelican and its occupants existed in every point between Ilos and the Citadel simultaneously.
The universe snapped back into shape, and Bubo screeched in Kaidan's ears as the Pelican lurched and rolled for several seconds.
"Shit! Got it! Shit! Shit! Got it!" Jane and Ash swore as they wrangled the spaceplane back into level flight. "Move, dumbasses; we're landing there!"
The plane bumped onto the ground, and the rear ramp dropped. Garrus was closest to the door, so he stepped out first; or would have, if it hadn't felt like his inner ear was still in the space between worlds. He flopped onto his back, and looked up at a very familiar face. "Hi dad." He feebly waved, as he waited for the universe to stop spinning."
Castis flexed his mandibles in alarm. First that amorphous blob of charred flesh had been vomited up by the Relay monument, and now a Human military dropship with his son.
"SPECTRE Vak... Garrus, what's going on?"
Garrus sat up, and allowed his father to help him stand. "Oh, just trying to save the galaxy dad." He looked around at the scene.
The Presidium was empty of civilians, but packed with CSEC officers in full civil defense gear. All of them were pointing weapons at the growing menagerie of people stumbling out of the Pelican. The Presidium lake had a layer of smoldering something floating on it. "Looks like the Shoggoth made it through. Do you know which way it headed?"
Castis clicked and buzzed in concern. "If you mean that thing that came in before you," Garrus nodded, "it headed to the Citadel tower. It absorbed two of my people and a Keeper before slithering into the Keeper tunnels. It could be anywhere now."
Jane finally exited the Pelican, and tapped her helmet. "Hey Vigil, any idea where the Shoggoth would need to go to activate the Citadel?"
"Unfortunately no; my data set was limited to alteration of Keeper response to the Reapers. As in this Cycle, the Protheans were ill inclined to delve into the deeper mysteries of the Citadel itself."
Jane grimaced as she looked around, then noticed an Avina pedestal near the elevator for the tower. "Well, how about I jack you into the system; let you have a look-see where it might have gone?"
Garrus looked at Jane and nodded, then looked at the tense CSEC officers. "Under my SPECTRE authority, I'm authorizing this action." He grabbed his father's shoulder and squeezed. "Once the universe isn't coming apart at the seams, I'll tell you all about it." He then jogged after the rest of the team.
He arrived just as Jane plugged Vigil into the pedestal. There was a momentary flash of conflicting images: Avina, a yellow four-eyed bug-like creature, and a silvery white Reaper. Then the pedestal sparked, and Vigil's chip was launched into the bushes.
Jane rushed over and plugged Vigil back into her helmet. "Vigil, buddy, you alright?"
"AlerT, hostile AI detected in the Citadel mainframe." There was a pause as Vigil stabilized. "I detected nothing of the sort during the Shoggoth's assaults on my systems on Ilos, though this program remained docile until I accessed information on controlling the Citadel activation sequence."
Kaidan hissed in frustration. "Did you get anything other than a black eye out of it?"
"Yes." Everyone's omnitools lit up with a schematic of the Citadel Tower. "There is a manual command input console in the Throne Room, at the pinnacle of the tower."
"Throne room," came up short, "you mean the Council Chambers?"
"Yes. The Citadel was the capital of the Empire. Naturally, the Emperors and their Courts ruled from here."
Therris grabbed Liara's shoulder and began pulling her towards the elevator. "Culture lesson later; save the galaxy now!"
...
Matriarch Admiral Lidanya watched the controlled chaos of the Citadel from the bridge of the Destiny Ascension. Below her, thousands of ships of every shape and size swarmed inside the arms of the Citadel wards. Any that could land, did so in designated parks and building docks. Others hovered in the center space, while fleets of shuttles ferried citizens away from the station.
The Citadel Defense Fleet was scattered in staggered formations between the Citadel and the Widow Relay; they were both corralling the ships into stable holding orbits while the Relay periodically reoriented towards one of the Council systems, while also standing guard against a Hanar incursion.
She had done her best to keep tabs on the goings on among the Council and their SPECTREs, but this recent business with Saren was absurd almost to the point of parody.
She would not have given the matter any more concern than a random pirate raid, if half the Citadel Defense Fleet were not currently awaiting modernization in various fleetyards. Meanwhile, every report coming from scout forces said the Hanar fleet was already fully upgraded, and poised to attack the Citadel.
"Admiral," one of the communications officers called over her shoulder, "Scoutship Loila reports the relay is resetting for an incoming transfer!"
Lidanya didn't need to confirm that this was irregular: the Turians and Salarians had calculated the ship transfer schedule down to the second, and nothing was supposed to be inbound at that time.
"This is Destiny Ascension Actual to all ships: set Condition One! All civilian craft will launch for survival to your designated rally points. All Citadel Defense Force ships move to screen evacuation transports. Signal the Citadel to evacuate the Council to Frigate Citadel Defense One. Destiny Ascension and cruiser Cybaen will screen the Council until they are clear!"
The chaos in open space of ships scattering away from the route between the Widow Relay and the Citadel was nothing compared to the bedlam inside the Citadel's arms. Shuttles laden with refugees swarmed around trying to find any ship to dock with, while freighters began maneuvering for open space. She could just make out the CSEC cutters darting around, trying to herd ships into safe traffic lanes.
There was little she could do about that, as her chief concern was the executive transport frigate carrying the Citadel Council. While she knew the incoming Councilors were already aboard the Providence Ascension, and that an official transfer of power ceremony was merely a formality, she would not shirk in her duty to the incumbent Councilors simply because it was inconvenient.
Radio chatter from Turian picket forces around the relay spiked, while her sensor board showed the relay spinning up for an incoming capture. She also saw the CDF formation begin blossoming outward as civilian ships moved out of harm's way. She didn't need to micromanage the force; the various captains knew better than to keep bunched up, or they'd risk being encircled by the Hanar.
The Hanar came through the Relay as a single mass that broke like a ball of confetti. At the center of the mass was a massive alien ship, easily as large as the largest Human warship Lidanya had ever seen.
"All ships, attack!"
...
The team looked around as a claxon interrupted the elevator's muzak. Garrus shouldered his Widow rifle and stared straight at the doors. "Nothing we can do about whatever that is right now.
The mercifully short trip ended with a cheery ding, and the doors opened onto the Citadel Council Chambers. The team stalked forward, panning weapons left and right, up and down.
"Hold up," Wrex slowed down. "Do you hear that?"
The team paused long enough to hear a faint thumping coming from underneath them.
"It's coming through the Keeper tunnels," Garrus yelled as he broke into a sprint. "Come on!"
The team ran all the way to the Councilors' platform. While nothing was changed in the Gallery, they could all see the Shoggoth squirming its way into the garden below.
"Vigil, there's no control console," Jane yelled as she began shooting down into the growing mass of alien flesh.
"The console must be activated before its functions can be accessed."
"Can you keep it from being activated," Ashley asked just before blasting a rising tentacle.
"Alert, hostile AI still detected within Citadel computer systems," Jane winced at the borderline panic in Vigil's voice. "I will not be able to make sufficient progress against this program."
"What about all of them," Tali yelled as she unclipped Hecatoncheris' box from her suit. "Have all three of our AI go in and fight this other AI, while we deal with the Shoggoth?"
Garrus tossed an incendiary grenade at a rising mass of tentacles and faces. "Do it!"
"Initiating Handshake," the combined voices of the team's AIs blared out. A nearby console lit up with a shifting image: a blue bird, a yellow bug, and a green blur of digits. They were soon joined by the white Reaper form, though the image continued shifting back between all the shapes.
Everyone jolted as the Petitioner's platform began to extend, then retract as the four AIs dueled for control.
Wrex looked down while backhanding a Shoggoth tentacle. "Wait, it's under us? Kaidan, get that slicer of yours over here!"
The biotic Spartan didn't need the plan explained, as he lunged forward and stabbed his Doru towards the partially extended platform.
-bwomp-
The blade glanced off of a biotic barrier, as the Shoggoth began slithering over the lip. It had nearly engulfed the platform edge, when Liara screamed out a war cry and blasted the creature with a monstrously powerful warp. The Shoggoth frayed and shredded as the warp detonated, and Kaidan stabbed down again. This time, the superheated silicon-carbide blade sank into the extending platform. The Shoggoth screeched in rage from a dozen mouths as the platform continued to erratically extend, with the Doru carving a molten channel the entire way.
There was another screech from the Shoggoth, as it subdivided and crawled up to attack from several angles at once. One Shoggoth extruded the shattered skull of Saren, and launched a singularity at Jane, Ash and Garrus. Another scurried up the gallery walls until it was over Wrex and Kaidan, then dropped on top of them. A third tried to engulf the terminal the team's AI were using, while Tali, Liara, Thane, and Therris fought frantically to keep the terminal open.
All the while, a last Shoggoth fragment stretched itself between the damaged platform and the Councilors' dais.
"Kaidan," Ash yelled over her shoulder, "Castle!"
Kaidan let Wrex hold off the drop-Shoggoth, as he simultaneously pulled Ash to him while charging to Jane and Garrus. Ash ignored the hovering, gnashing mass of flesh and disembodied faces, and fired a plasma bolt into the flesh bridge.
Kaidan hammered the biotic spewing Shoggoth with a warp just before Jane and Garrus poured fire into it, causing the creature to scurry back onto the balcony for cover. This allowed Garrus and Kaidan to refocus on Wrex's fight, while Jane ran to the podium and smashed the offending creature with her Brute hammer.
The wounded Shoggoths all retreated while hissing in inarticulate rage and defiance. With all the threats in retreat for the moment, Garrus and Tali got to work backing up the AIs in their fight.
Wrex panned his shotgun around at the sound of the Shoggoths slithering in the deep shadows. "That can't be all the fight you got," he growled.
Jane heaved a sigh as her armor's biomonitoring program finally caught up to her exertions. "Take the moment to catch your breath and have a snack. We're not finished by a long shot."
...
Matriarch Admiral Lidanya swore as the Destiny Ascension lurched out of the path of fire from the black super dreadnought. They'd already lost the port broadside mass accelerator when one of the enemy's crimson beams sheared that arm clean off.
However, both the Ascension and the Cybaen were still in the fight. The enemy ship was not invulnerable or invincible, just hellishly powerful. They had managed to keep the monster away from the Citadel by orbiting the ship and hammering it with mass accelerator fire.
They had learned that the crimson beams, which her technicians said was an Eezo doped mix of molten Uranium salts and iron, had wide fire arcs in the front of the ship, but nothing to the stern. The ship compensated by being tremendously maneuverable.
Had Lidanya been alone in facing the monster, the Ascension would have been destroyed within seconds. The support from the Cybaen had not only saved them, but allowed them to keep the super dreadnought from advancing too close to the Citadel.
However it was not enough to stop the enemy outright. With the remainder of the defense fleet tangled in a swirling melee with the invading Hanar, she didn't have the firepower to do more than knock the enemy around. Something had to give.
The enemy suddenly lurched towards the Cybaen. While the nimble cruiser managed one last shot, severing one of the forward tentacles at the last knuckle, the dreadnought still connected. Once upon the Cybaen it rolled like a Varen with a kill, putting the cruiser between it and the Ascension. The radio filled with screams of panic, just before the monster squeezed. Lidanya looked on helplessly as the Cybaen's spaceframe bent under the grip of the enemy.
With one ship disabled, the enemy turned on the Ascension.
"Helm, accelerate to flank speed and get between that thing and the Citadel! Keep one of our batteries in that thing!"
Even down one cannon, the Ascension still had three guns in the remaining fire arcs. Unfortunately, while she was fast enough to get in the enemy's way, the Ascension wasn't maneuverable enough to keep a cannon in the alien ship. It flew an impossible spiral course and slipped around Lidanya, and straight towards the center of the Citadel.
She gritted her teeth. "This is the Destiny Ascension to all ships; launch for survival. I say again, launch for survival. Helm, make your course for the relay."
"Admiral," one of the sensor technicians called out, "new activity from the Relay!"
Goddess, what now, she thought as she looked at the only available path of retreat. What came through stunned her, as nearly one hundred ships rushed into the fray: Admiral Orinia's Expeditionary Force, as well as thirty UNSC warships.
This is Admiral Kastanie Drescher, Cruiser Strike Group Matterhorn commanding. How may we assist?
...
All the warning anyone had was Liara's gasping, "Oh Goddess; hang on!"
A shadow swelled in the panoramic windows, just before Nazara latched onto the tower. The shock knocked everyone off their feet. There was a nearly deafening trumpeting, then the Shoggoth sprang from the shadows. It was wreathed in red lightning, and it shrieked in both agony and ecstasy as it latched onto the platform. The flesh of its tendrils burned as it formed a crystalline lattice, killing itself to rebuild the connection.
Meanwhile, the terminal the AIs had been fighting over sparked with more of the red static, as Hecatoncheris, Bubo, and Vigil were violently expelled.
"AleRt," Vigil garbled out as it reconnected with Jane's armor, "Nazara has reinforced the hostile AI. We will no longer be able to prevent system reactivation."
"How long do we have," Garrus buzzed out, while the team poured futile fire into the Shoggoth.
"Subject 'Shoggoth' appears to be sacrificing itself to rebuild terminal controls," Heca called from his box on Tali. "Estimated five minutes until repairs are complete, and Nazara Old Machine seizes control."
Garrus looked around the Council Chambers in desperation. "Is there anywhere else we can access the system to try and stop them?"
"Sorry, no," Bubo chirped mournfully. "Our analysis during the fight showed that this is the single point of control."
Therris gave a bitter laugh. "Hey Jane, you wouldn't happen to have another nuke snuggled away somewhere?"
"No," Ash yelled, "but the Fleet does! I just got pinged by the Matterhorn!"
Garrus moved over to Ashley. "Can you signal out?"
"No, too much interference from Mister Himself over there." She jerked a thumb towards Nazara.
"Yes you can," Wrex declared as he strode over, and grabbed the back of Garrus' hardsuit. He dug a claw into the helmet cavity, raised the other arm and started to glow. "I can't keep this up for long, so say what you gotta say fast!"
Garrus nodded, then brought up his suit radio. "This is SPECTRE Garrus Vakarian to any receiving ships; Nazara is attempting to activate the Citadel Relay. You need to sever the Citadel Tower within the next five minutes. I say again, you need to sev-"
"Ghahg!" Wrex collapsed onto the partially extended platform, smoldering and with blood trickling from his eyes and ears.
Kaidan rushed over and helped the Battlemaster sit up. "What the hell was that?"
"You...urp... can manipulate your biotics to... huff-huff... amplify any electromagnetic frequency you are exposed to. Ow. If you don't mind cooking your liver and one of your lungs. Gimme a minute."
"Did it work," Liara looked over towards Nazara.
Garrus huffed and looked around. "If it did, we'd be standing on ground zero. Everyone, into the Councilor's chambers: they're supposed to serve as an emergency bunker, in case the Citadel is attacked."
...
Lidanya looked at the holograms of the two other Admirals. They had been coordinating their counter offensive against the Hanar when Garrus' call had come in. "I know what SPECTRE Vakarian said, but we just don't have the firepower to punch through the barriers that super dreadnought has thrown up."
"Are they any different than your standard K-barriers," the Human admiral asked.
Admiral Orinia glanced to the side, then shook her head. "No, just impossibly powerful."
Kastanie nodded with a humorless grin. "Then I have a plan. Several of my frigates and destroyers are equipped with nuclear reaction driven laser systems. We can target the midpoint of the tower access spire and superheat it. Then you hammer that bastard with kinetic fire. Shields or not, the tower will fold like a limp dick."
Lidanya snorted. "Charming." She tapped a few commands on her console, and sent a tactical file to the other two admirals. "Keep out of this cone, and it shouldn't be able to target you."
The admirals all nodded, and disconnected to focus on their respective commands. Lidanya watched as five of the smaller UNSC ships broke off from their attacks, and moved into a circular formation. Once poised at the entrance to the Citadel, one lined up with each ward. They began firing one after another, every three seconds.
The Ascension's sensors clearly showed the Citadel Tower access spire begin to glow under the onslaught. The elevator shaft exploded, as superheated air melted the glass.
The Matriarch's attention was drawn back to the Hanar, as several cruisers and a dreadnought broke off from harassing the defenders, and dove towards the Human ships.
"Admiral Orinia, deploy a screen for the UNSC laser ships."
Two of the Hanar cruisers exploded, and the dreadnought was rocked as one of the advanced Turian frigate Varen-Packs swooped in and hammered them with Thanix fire.
It happened in an instant. After a minute of bombardment, the spire began to twist on its own.
Lidanya hit the fleet Comms. "All available craft, target the super dreadnought. Maximum firepower!"
The Ascension bucked as she fired her starboard cannon, while squadrons of fighter-bombers slashed in, launching their payloads between the Ward arms. The super dreadnought itself was largely unharmed, but the spire bent, folded, stretched and twisted under the sudden kinetic force.
The final blow was struck as a lone Ormandy frigate, the Nierra, swooped up through the Presidium. She fired her full payload of disruptor torpedoes into Nazara's belly, and the tower broke free of the Citadel.
All radio frequencies were drowned out in an electronic scream of fathomless rage, as Nazara let go of the tower. It ignored the barrage of fire coming at it from all sides as it sped towards the Widow Relay. All throughout the nebula, Hanar ships broke off their attacks and followed their master's retreat into the relay network.
...
Kaidan, Liara, Therris and Thane sagged in exhaustion as they let their biotic hold on the team relax. The tumult of the fleet's assault on the tower had finally come to an end. Everyone floated in the microgravity for a few seconds, before activating their magnetic boots.
"Are we dead yet," Wrex groggily asked. "I don't think we're dead yet; I hurt too much."
Jane put a hand to her helmet. "Vigil, can you tell us anything going on outside?"
"Standby." Vigil scanned the network for access. "I am detecting no hostile presence in the local network. Various emergency shutters have been engaged, and there is a breathable atmosphere in the Throne Room."
Garrus looked around, then walked to the door. "Well, if we want to signal for a pick up, we need out." He opened a panel next to the door, and opened the way back to the main gallery.
The hall was lit only by the nebula outside. Water from the foyer fountain had formed a massive spherical pool, while the contents of the various planters drifted everywhere. They could see all the wards as they slowly tumbled. There were several ships, both Citadel and UNSC, moving around, and some damage could be seen on the Ward arms.
The only other feature of note was the faintly glowing charred crystalline mass of the Shoggoth. A few tendrils waved feebly, while Saren's ruined skull hissed and chattered at them.
Jane considered the once fearsome creature as she unlimbered her Brute hammer. She turned to Garrus, offering the weapon. "Want to do the honors?"
He grasped the hammer and clicked as he hopped over to the Councilors' dais. The skull gnashed at him as he readied the weapon. "You are, and always were the worst of us, you bare-faced bastard!"
His mag boots barely held him down, as his blow shattered the remnants of the Shoggoth into a million pieces. He hopped back to the rest of the team, and gave Jane her hammer back. "I hope you don't mind if I 'request' a copy of your helmet footage. I think a looping holo of Saren's death will make a nice Unification Day gift for my dad."
"Commander," Garrus looked over as Therris drifted towards him, "I got through to Jo'Kar. It's a mess out there, so it may take a bit until someone can come pick us up."
Everyone relaxed a little at the prospect of rescue from the ruins of the Citadel Tower.
"Well," the team looked at Thane as he drifted lazily, "does anyone have a deck of cards?"
...
Miranda A-153 strained as she heaved the wing of a crashed shuttle off of the safe house. "Aria, Oriana, answer me god...dess dammit!" While she was thankful for Henry Lawson's disguise as a particularly tall and muscular Asari, she still needed to maintain the ruse in mannerisms.
She tossed the wreckage aside, and saw the telltale glow of Biotics. A few more minutes of digging got her to the flickering dome of blue energy, and the two exhausted figures underneath. Once the threat of rubble collapsing on top of them had passed, Aria and Oriana sagged against one another.
Miri stepped up to give them both a once over. When she came over to Oriana, the young superhuman tried to swat her hand away.
"Fuck off," she slurred at the Spartan. "This is because of you!"
Miri grabbed Ori's wrist and checked her vitals. "Yeah, because I called fucking Cthuluh to wreck the station we were all on. You're good. Eat something." She pressed a ration bar into Ori's hand, then knelt beside Aria.
"Come on you miserable old bint; you're not fucking up the plan by dying here."
"Grrr," Aria flopped back onto the carpet. "I'm with Ori on this one; fuck you and your plan."
Miri spat a laugh. "Ori can be forgiven for being childish; she is a child," she ignored her sibling's weak growl, "but you're older than humanity's interstellar space program. So woman the fuck up, and get on your feet. We've got maybe a thirty minute window; then everyone from SPECTREs and IIS, to Jack Harper and the Shadow Broker will have boots on the ground here, and eyes on us."
Ori finished her ration bar and glared suspiciously at her older 'sister'. "And what do you plan to do about it? We're all kinda conspicuous."
Miri walked back over to Oriana, and jabbed her arm with an auto-injector. The device dispensed its payload before Ori obliterated it in a biotic flash, then slumped to the ground with a nosebleed.
"There," Miri moved her sister to sit against a wall, "in five minutes, you'll look like an Asari. It lasts about a week, and I have several backups. Perfect disguise in a pocket, courtesy of our father.
"Now if you two are done faffing off, there are still evacuation shuttles taking people off this station. We have this one chance to disappear from everyone's radar." She looked dispassionately at Oriana. "Unless you're in a hurry to get back to 'daddy dearest' and 'Uncle Jack'?"
Ori glared at the taller woman, resisting the urge to scratch at her scalp, then stood up and tossed a curtain over the Spartan's head. "Hunch over. You're still too fucking tall, and people will remember that."
Miri heaved a sigh of relief, as she bent over to help Aria up. She stayed bent over as the three made their way towards the sound of shuttles ferrying refugees away from the Zakera Ward of the Citadel.