CHAPTER 42: I'm Still Standing
2185 CE
Javik was sitting on Aria's couch.
It shouldn't surprise me, given all the redecoration going on in Omega, but somehow it still did.
There were still Asari and Humans dancing on poles; but somehow they seemed less like strippers and more like... security. Maybe it was the addition of the holsters filled with pistols. Did Javik decide to rebrand Afterlife to market primarily to Krogan instead of Asari?
Shiala led us up the stairs. I couldn't see Aria anywhere. Did he kill her? This was bothering me a lot more than I thought it would. What the hell was going on?
'Krell! My friend! The one who organized my rescue! Twice! Truly you must be the most cunning being in the galaxy!' Javik greeted me with about 50% too much bombast.
As far as I knew I'd only organized his rescue once. There was definitely some sort of misunderstanding going on here. I probably shouldn't ask him for clarification.
'Javik! My friend! This is my comrade, Kaidan Alenko.' Javik and I'd only really known each other for three weeks so friend was perhaps a bit ambitious, but he used the word first.
'I know of this Human! I saw your fight on Aratoht! You are a fine warrior; possessed of limitless rage in pursuit of your vengeance!' Javik praised.
'Yeah, that's me. Limitless rage.' Kaidan agreed, possibly out of shock.
'Tell me your adventures since we last met!' I encouraged. Javik loved talking about himself and his accomplishments.
'Well, as you already knew, the Asari stole us all from the last bastion on the world you renamed Krelltopia. This was done under the cover of night, which is really the only thing the Asari have managed to master about military combat in the time since we Protheans stopped helping them.' Javik explained, perhaps a bit more racistly than I would have put it.
'They separated me from my men, and my men from each other and stuck us all in laboratories!' he laughed.
'They thought you were scientists!?' I laughed. None of Javik's men were scientists. The closest thing to a scientist that I managed to save was an armorer!
'They did not think to ask! For months! They kept us in their lab in a space station, that we might not be found. I told them of course how useless and pathetic they were; It did not seem to phase them to know their own ineptitude. Since my men and I had already learned their language from you, my friend, there was no reason to give them the cipher until they ceded to my demands.' Javik revealed.
'An army.' I stated instantly. What his likely demands were would have been blindingly obvious to literally anyone who ever spoke to Javik for more than two seconds; I had lived with the man for three weeks.
'They wasted over a decade sending me useless Asari! Researchers! Not even military researchers! Archeologists! It became my sole entertainment to find out how quickly I could break each one and reduce them to the sobbing wrecks that be Asari managed to evolve into; a disappointment, to be certain. We had hoped for them to lead this cycle into military victory. But they have brought only decadence and defeat after defeat. They have won no wars of consequence. It was sickening to be surrounded by them.' Javik explained.
'What changed?' Miranda asked, fascinated.
'Krell, of course. And you.' Javik replied.
'Me?' Miranda asked; shocked.
'No. Not you. I do not know you. Humans, as a whole. The Asari became terrified of your military might. They finally gave me and my men an army to train; their army, they assumed. Foolish. An army follows the one who trains it. They moved us to their homeworld and hid us. We would train their army, but we would do so in secret to preserve the corrupt and decadent diplomacy of the Asari. They had learned about the Cipher from you. I was allowed free access to all of your papers. Well, I say allowed, but it was not so intentional. Every time you wrote a paper on the Protheans, a Matriarch would come to me and my men; one of the incompetent ones, she ran their school where they taught nothing of use. She would come to us and ask us if your words were true. I do not understand how someone who refused to teach her students how to wage war came to be in charge of such an important institution. She called herself a Prothean expert, but she knew nothing of even the slightest use regarding my people. She thought our empire was wrought through peace and diplomacy!' Javik laughed.
'It was conquered.' Kaidan remembered.
'Of course it was conquered! You cannot use diplomacy to create an Empire. You must use the uniting threat of force.' Javik declared. I didn't really disagree with him on that point, at least historically; where we differed was in whether pursuing an empire was useful in the first place. Of course, one might be useful now, but that didn't mean Diplomacy was completely off the table.
'Ah, but the foolishness of the Asari distracts me once more!' Javik lamented.
'The most foolish of the Asari gave us access to your works so that we might read them all and she might question us on them. One of my men was forced to read all of your papers for the Asari. Not just your Prothean papers, all of them. Your entire body of work. He learned enough about the underlying science of the mass effect that he is now my chief weapons designer. Already we have 50 asteroid cannons in production!'
'Asteroid cannon? Is that a cannon built into an asteroid for stealth?' Kaidan asked.
'Hah! You think to small, Human! Krell designed a reconfigurable, resizable cannon that shoots asteroids!'
Kaidan turned and stared at me. Perhaps remembering my comment about man-portable asteroid cannons being impractical to build.
'The work was theoretical.' I lied.
I'd actually built a couple to use as strategic deterrents. I'd used them to great effect after the Genophage. You'd think that it'd be hard to restrict their use to purely military targets since they tended to render worlds they fired at uninhabitable; and that would definitely be a problem, if the Turians had a category for civilians outside their client races. All Turian planets are military targets as a result. That policy didn't work out well for them during the Rebellions, but they haven't changed either it, or the way they wage war since. Honestly, if anything they seem to have gotten worse about it.
'If that is the case, why did you title the book it is contained in 'Mass Effect Made Easy: 314 Experiments for Kids'?' Javik asked puzzled.
'Isn't that the book you gave Tali? The one her parents wouldn't allow her to use?' Miranda asked.
'It's for Krogan kids.' I defended, lacklusterly.
'You want Krogan children to fire asteroids out of cannons?' Kaidan asked skeptically.
'Fine! Fine! You want the Truth!? I'll tell you the truth! I had a deal with my publisher to publish a children's book. And I did have 314 experiments for kids! They were safe, and fun! With minimal chance of either explosion or Eezo poisoning! But the publisher wouldn't accept a Krogan-written children's book that had neither weapons, nor explosions in it! They kept sending the manuscript back asking me to put in more kid-safe weapons! There are no kid safe weapons, Kaidan! And even if there were, most of my weapon designs were for winning the Reaper War! And the Krogan Rebellions! I didn't have kid safe weapons! I had super weapons! But they kept sending the manuscript back and I had already spent my advance, Kaidan! I had spent it! I didn't have any money! I was broke! So I loaded the book with the only weapon designs I did have! I put so many weapons in that book that there was only room for like, 5 actual experiments left! I even put in the plans to build an NK-47! I thought that they would give up! That they'd realize what a stupid idea it was! Only a maniac would publish that!'
Honestly Kaidan knew better than to suspect my intentions. He'd known me the longest in terms of actual length of time that we were in each other's presence. He was well aware that I wasn't in favor of giving kids weapons until they were able to handle them safely. And even if they could build and handle them safely, it violated at least twelve different treaties to actually build the things. Honestly the whole thing was a clusterfuck. The only planet that mere possession of my book wasn't banned on was Tuchanka. I had just wanted to make science fun for kids!
'They published it, didn't they?' Miranda realized. Possibly because we were talking about a already published book.
I nodded. 'Of course they did.'
'Everything you need to fight a no holds barred war against the Reapers and it's published in a Krogan children's book.' Kaidan laughed, with a tinge of hysteria.
'Indeed! This is humorous because Krogan children are clearly the only ones ready to fight this invasion!' Javik laughed.
Miranda joined him in mocking me.
I glared at everyone, even the damn Hanar who were clearly eavesdropping on us; hanging on every word that Javik said.
No respect, I tell you. No respect.
'Still. Your plan was well thought out. Either your foes agreed to your aims, or you spread the means to kill the Reapers to even the basest child. Not one path to victory. All paths.' Javik admired.
'You remembered!' I smiled, happy he remembered my advice. Of course, he was giving me credit for something that absolutely was not intentional, but if anyone asked me about it who I think would buy that reasoning, I was definitely going to use it.
'It was wise advice. I trained the Asari army, and my men trained themselves with your assistance. We were even able to replicate the particle rifles from your theoretical papers! It took decades to bear fruit. Of course. My men were soldiers, not scientists. Even our armorer didn't create the plasma conversion chambers during the days we ruled the stars. But now, with your help and example, they are both.' Javik nodded.
'But how did you escape?' Miranda asked, curious.
'Krell, once more. I do not know how he learned of it, but I had finished training the first corps of my new army. The Reapers were finally attacking and instead of allowing us to kill them or to build the weapons needed to do so, the Asari isolated us, and prevented us from joining the fight. Once Krell realized this he took steps to obtain our freedom.'
'I was on the Normandy with Krell for most of that time and I don't remember that happening.' Kaidan admitted.
'That is because your skills lie in the brutal arts of war. You harness your rage to crush all who stand against you. This is admirable! But you are not as subtle or clever as Krell. This is understandable. Few are, and it is not your focus.' Javik reassured Kaidan.
From the look on Kaidan's face, I don't think he knew how to feel about that compliment; or about any part of that declaration, really.
'Krell encountered a Salarian STG team. They had taken our beacon from him at Krelltopia. I had long thought this a mistake on the part of my friend. It was true that he had managed to retrieve all the data that the beacon contained, but he lost access to the beacon itself to primitives who did not understand how to use it. I underestimated him. The Salarians could not use the beacon without the cipher, that was true enough. But this was not a flaw in Krell's plan but a strength! When the time was right, Krell and his granddaughter faked an argument in front if the nosiest of the Salarians and 'accidentally' revealed both my existence, and the fact that I could grant them the cipher that they sought. The length and thought put into this plan cannot be underestimated! Krell knew of the wariness of the Salarians toward his knowledge. He cultivated it over centuries, stoking equal parts fear and covetousness. The Salarians needed my knowledge, but in fear of Krell they could not risk exposing themselves directly. Then came the second part of Krell's plan. He saw potential in the Hanar where we had not. He knew of their loyalty and their fervor. He stoked their aggression by teaching them uncomfortable truths so that they might be ready for their confirmation. He created what appeared to be the perfect patsies for the Salarians to control, and with the reveal of our existence and imprisonment by the Asari he also created the perfect excuse to use them. The Salarians could not resist.'
'Revealed the... you waited until I was dead to pull this off?' Kaidan realized. He sounded hurt. He also sounded like he wholeheartedly believed every last word of nonsense coming out of Javik's mouth, for some reason.
I looked over at Miranda for support but she was just staring at me in wide eyed wonder; an expression mirrored on Shiala when I looked at her.
The Hanar next to us was feeling some kind of emotion, but the only Hanar body language I was actually familiar with were rage, hatred, horror, disgust, offense, and an emotion I wasn't sure anyone else in the Galaxy experienced but which I saw almost without fail in any Hanar who heard my name spoken aloud.
I didn't really have a name for that last one.
Whatever this Hanar was feeling, it wasn't any Hanar emotion I was familiar with.
'You got better. Honestly, you and Shepard act like Humans can't just recover from having their space ships blown out from under them.'
'We can't!' Kaidan roared back.
'Both you and Shepard managed to wrangle it. Actually, you should probably tell Shepard your secret. Whatever trick you Humans use, she didn't manage to do it correctly when the Normandy got blown up.' I joked with as straight a face as I could possibly manage under the circumstances.
'With enough rage and dedication of purpose, all things in life are possible. Having seen records of all three of you in battle it is not surprising that Kaidan managed to escape.' Javik explained.
Kaidan blinked, wondering what was happening.
'Shepard's dedication is terrifying to behold.' Miranda agreed.
Kaidan took a deep breath and let it out slowly as Javik looked on approvingly. 'Your rage is an asset, but it is to your credit that you are its master.'
'Alright, what happened once the Hanar got involved?' Kaidan asked as he finally got himself under control.
'Ah. Blasto can tell the tale better than I.' Javik decided, looking at the Hanar.
'Blasto!?' Kaidan sputtered in horrified shock.
'This one is the one known by both his enemies and his friends as Blasto; though that is neither this one's face, nor soul name. The name Blasto was granted to this one by the chief Enkindler upon masterminding his rescue. This one does not mind the appellation.' The Hanar explained.
'How did you rescue Javik?' Miranda asked, before Kaidan could spontaneously combust.
'Once the Salarians informed this one's government of the existence of the Asari facility containing imprisoned Enkindlers, this one led a small covert force onto Thessia and used explosives to blow through the walls of the compound until all Enkindlers were located and freed. This one then transported the Enkindlers and their army to Kajhe, at their request.'
'After that the rest was straightforward. The Hanar assembled our navy according to your plans over the past three years as we united the Terminus systems. Since you were already working on uniting the worlds of the Citadel under the banner of your chosen commander, Shepard, we avoided them so as not to interfere with your plans.' Javik admitted, probably referencing the various ship designs I'd disseminated and which the council had banned the construction of, one after another.
I nodded as if all of this was perfectly reasonable and something I expected to happen. Wrex would have seen through me in an instant. My poker face is terrible. Luckily Javik didn't seem to have a clue.
'How did you conquer Omega?' Miranda asked.
'By force.' Javik replied.
'You left Afterlife as a dance club though... What happened to Aria?' I inquire, finally able to ask the question that had been eating at me since we landed.
'My lieutenant is currently on the Citadel in talks with the counselor of her species. She rules Omega in my name and manages the logistics of the other Terminus worlds with the assistance of Blasto. She will return. Some minor aesthetic changes have been donated by the Elcor artist, Forta. He is currently working on your statue.' Javik said, as if all of that was perfectly reasonable.
'You managed to subjugate Aria!?' Kaidan asked, absolutely flabbergasted.
'She has the same opportunity as all members of my Empire. The same opportunity as those ruled over by the first Prothean Empire. If she wishes to rule she may attempt to take rulership by force. It is curious, however; as long as she rules over Omega I do not think she cares whose empire Omega is part of.' Javik admitted.
I nodded.
'And after the Reaper War?' I asked.
'She will remain my lieutenant, ruling Omega in my name. Whether this is in name only, or if I am forced to step in to reassess that agreement is up to her. But it will be in my name at least.' Javik revealed.
That made sense. Aria hated being humiliated, but she was also a realist. She probably thought she could just outlive Javik and deal with whoever replaced him. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if she could.
'And what are your plans next?' I asked.
'That depends on you.' Javik admitted.
'Me?' I asked.
'As chief strategist of the Empire of the Enkindlers, you are in charge of our overall strategy. There is no one in the Galaxy more qualified. No one with as extensive knowledge of both the Reapers, and the sentients of this time.' Javik explained.
I blinked. This was new.
'Chief strategist, huh? I can definitely work with that. We have a little more than six months until the Reapers invade. Six months from the destruction of the Alpha relay. Will we be prepared to fight the Reapers at that point?' I asked.
'We are always prepared to fight the Reapers. In six months, we will be prepared to destroy them.' Javik assured me.
'In that case, I have some calls to make, and some emails to write. And, I think it's finally time to update my calendar.'
Author's Notes: So, I've been writing some other stuff in the break and got a bit carried away. Karen (what I was writing) is on pause for a bit while I deal with some writer's block. This story however still comes ridiculously easily. I'm currently at around 154k words. 300 or so pages in open office. This chapter started at page 274, so I have a comfortable amount of backlog.
I won't be posting every day, but I'm not sure as to my schedule yet. At least once a week, I think. We'll see what happens.
Anyway, hope you're interested in a wild ride. We've just gone completely off the rails.
