Chapter 53
Captain Kirrahee clutched his broken arm, wincing as his crew worked feverishly around him to keep things together. His Frigate, the Salaan was taking fire the three Salarian cruisers in pursuit. He had no idea who had tipped off the Dalatrasses, but the crew of the Talluu were all marked men, surrender would not be an option.
"Captain, if we shunt power from shields to our drive core, we can make it to the relay." Commander Veoul, his second in command said.
"Do it. Get ready to evacuate unnecessary sections and seal them off." He said. The ship lurched forward as it made for the relay. Normally the Salarian cruisers would have immediately been able to take them down, but there was something decidedly wrong with the crews of the enemy ships. They made it to the Relay just as the first mass accelerator rounds began ricocheting harmlessly off the mass effect field projected by the relay. None found purchase on the Talluu before they jumped to ftl.
A few hours later, Kirrahee was in sick bay having his arm when they dropped out of FTL at the edge of Salarian space. Bordering with the Quarian part of Alliance space. Long range sensors showed no Salarian vessels in sensor range. "Captain, we're near Quarian space." Veoul said, having jogged straight to the sickbay after arriving.
"See if we can reach any nearby Alliance ships, but don't cross into their territory unless we're attacked." Kirrahee ordered. Veoul nodded and returned to his station. Kirrahee had not come to this decision lightly. He was a proud military man, and betraying the Union did not sit well with him, however when he discovered the corruption in the highest levels of government, he felt for the good of his people he had to act.
"Sir, we've got an alliance cruiser in comms range." Veoul said, Kirrahee nodded and he hailed the alien vessel.
"This is Captain Kirrahee, STG, Salarian Union, and we have deeply urgent information for the Alliance. We're requesting permission to pass into your space." Kirrahee said. The Cruiser responded with a video feed of the ship's bridge. The captain, a middle-aged Krogan wearing alliance-colored armor answered.
"Captain Kirrahee, this is Captain Khaal of the Systems Alliance. You have provisional permission to enter our space, keep your weapons powered down." The captain said.
"Of course. Thank you." Kirrahee said, as the communication was cut from the other side. Kirrahee ordered the ship to make for the Cruiser with weapons powered down.
"They have Krogan commanding their ships? What are these humans thinking?" Veoul asked.
"We're going to have to abandon a lot of preconceived notions about the Galaxy, Veoul. Think about how much we've been lied to by the Dalatrasses, how much they were wrong about." Kirrahee said. Veoul nodded wordlessly. Soon enough they were docked with the Alliance cruiser and their ship was being inspected by a crew of Human, Quarian, Krogan and Geth while Khaal invited Kirrahee to join him in a conference room.
"Captain Kirrahee, we have much to discuss but now is not the time. What I need to know now is why you're here." Khaal asked, his tone far calmer than Kirrahee had ever seen any Krogan.
"The Salarian union is compromised. We don't know by whom or what, but the Dalatrasses are either insanely corrupt, or being manipulated by an outside force. " Kirrahee reported.
"I see. But that doesn't answer my question. Why are you and your crew here?" Khaal asked.
"I love my people, Captain Khaal. I love them and it hurts me to betray my government, but they have gone too far. They plan to move on Earth, Tuchanka and Rannoch. The Dalatrasses are convinced the Council will back the Salarians in an open conflict, and they're likely correct in that assumption, however I doubt the Turian Hierarchy and Asari Republics would back the Council in that case. War with the alliance would result in billions of dead Salarians." Kirrahee said.
"I appreciate your honesty, and I respect your devotion to your people. That also answers a question I was pondering. Tell me, your ship, does it have sentimental value to you?" Khaal asked.
"No, but I doubt there's anything onboard that compares to the technology you already have here." Kirrahee said.
"I have no desire to loot your technology, Captain. The question I was pondering earlier, was whether you were aware of the five dreadnoughts closing in on our location from the Salarian side of the border." Khaal said.
"What?! Damn. Take our message to your government, please. We'll head back over the border and lead them away from you." Kirrahee said.
"No need. We already have a plan. We're going to evacuate your ship, and then destroy it. Our stealth systems will hide us from the dreadnoughts They just need to see us shooting you down. As far as they know we destroyed you and killed the lot of you." Khaal said, grinning.
"That won't work, they'll look for bodies. If they can't find even a fragment of a Salarian body they'll know we weren't aboard. Even a reactor breach would leave some remnants behind." Kirrahee said.
"You underestimate our weaponry, Captain Kirrahee." Khaal said, grinning again. He walked out, inviting Kirrahee to follow, as they made their way to the bridge.
"Estimated time to arrival on the dreadnoughts?" Khaal asked.
"Ten minutes sir." one of his crew said.
"Are all of the Salarians aboard?" Khaal asked.
"Yes sir." The crew member said.
"Prepare two heavy torpedoes, and lock onto the Salarian ship." Khaal said.
"Aye, sir." The gunner said, punching commands into their controls.
"Sir, thirty seconds until the Salarian dreadnoughts are in sensor range." The crewman said.
"Understood." Khaal said, looking down at pocket watch, clearly of Human design but sized for a Krogan. He watched the seconds tick down.
"They see us sir." The crewman reported.
"Fire the torpedoes." Khaal said. The ship vibrated slightly as the torpedoes left, and moments later in the largest explosion Captain Kirrahee had ever witnessed, his ship was virtually atomized.
"Ok, go to active stealth and make for Rannoch." Khaal said.
"Aye sir." The crewman said.
"So, let's go have a chat about your former bosses." Khaal said smiling at Captain Kirrahee who was standing slack jawed in utter amazement.
Liara was not at all accustomed to her current situation. She was surrounded by charts, photographs and diagrams, standing in an auditorium absolutely full to capacity with Humans, Quarians, Krogan, and even a few Turians and Asari who were visiting, and all were paying rapt attention to her presentation.
"So the Protheans learned of earlier races, most notably the Inusannon, who had fallen victim to this race of machines that reappear every fifty thousand years and annihilate all of the space faring species. My predecessors at the University of Serrice had found on remote planets in the traverse signs of these Inusannon and other older species, but never concrete information. We didn't even know their names until the excavation of the Sphinx. It seems, and the Protheans came to this conclusion as well, that as they wipe out species, they also attempt to scrub as much evidence of their existence from the galaxy as possible. We speculate, and this is by no means definitive, that they did this to prevent the next spacefarers from advancing too quickly by appropriating the technology of previous civilizations." Liara said. One of the attendees raised their hand and Liara called on him.
"Dr. T'soni, if they tried to scrub evidence away, why are so many of the capital planets cluttered with Prothean relics?" The young human student said.
"That's an excellent question. Once again, this is speculation, without meeting a Prothean we could not confirm, but we theorize that the Protheans discovered the oncoming threat early enough that they began preparing. The humans they taught to preserve the cache underneath the sphinx is an example of this. There are entire Prothean cities on planets like Feros, but none have useful information except for ideas as to their architectural tastes. It's likely these places were abandoned early on to avoid being discovered by the Reapers." Liara said.
"Dr. T'soni, you said every fifty thousand years, the Protheans went extinct approximately fifty thousand years ago. Are you saying it's possible they will be returning soon?" Another student, a Quarian this time.
"Indeed I am. That's why all of our discoveries are being shared with any scientists interested in exploring our findings. The Alliance of course have been devouring everything we give them, but the Council has gone out of its way to prevent widespread dissemination of our data to the Council races." Liara explained.
"Dr. T'soni, what about that suit you found in the cache under the Sphinx?" another human student asked.
"We have a bit more information on that. It is being studied extensively by Alliance R&D, basically it functioned as armor, but it was more than that. When you put it on, it is flooded with a thick gel that absorbs shock, conducts heat off the body, and acts as a bridge between the nervous system and the suit. I couldn't try it because it is not developed for Asari physiology, but my Colleague Dr. Abdallah was able to wear it, and he explained that he could feel the outside of the armor as though it were a second skin. It also reduces fatigue by assisting movement, and increases the wearer's strength significantly. We're close to replicating it ourselves, but it seems the Protheans knew more about human biology than we currently do, so it is taking time." Liara said.
"Are we preparing for their return, in case that happens?" another human student asked.
"Obviously I cannot divulge details, especially since I have so few, but the short answer would be yes we are doing what we can to prepare for a war with these machines. We discovered that the Protheans somehow sabotaged the Citadel, which was where the invasion that wiped them out started, but we don't have all the details on that. We have sent scientific expeditions towards the galactic core as well as the dark space beyond the rim to see if any more information can be gleaned about it and any of the other predecessor races. Weapons and defensive technology are also constantly increasing, and Earth, Tuchanka and Rannoch are being fortified and prepared for large-scale bombardment and invasion. We're also working through diplomatic envoys to prepare Palaven and Thessia." Liara explained.
For Liara it was easy to compartmentalize the academic analysis of the oncoming threat and the fear of its implications, especially since for once her theories were being met with interest and questions rather than slander and ridicule. Still, at the back of her mind, she was deeply concerned that something capable of toppling the once mighty, galaxy-wide Prothean empire was on its way in her lifetime. She stood at that podium answering questions for hours, and at the end of it she was left exhausted but satisfied. She removed her boots and sat down in her favorite couch, one of many Human inventions she could now not see herself living without. With a flick of her omnitool a vid window above her fireplace lit up displaying a news feed as well as several notifications of messages awaiting her attention. She initiated the first message.
"Little wing, I need to speak to you in person soon. It's not an emergency but it is important. Please call me when you can. Also... Mohamed says hello." Benezia said
"Hi Liara!" Mohamed said off screen. The video ended. Liara rolled her eyes. She really wanted to be disgusted, but honestly the two were perfect for each other, Mohamed was young enough to keep up with a matriarch's... appetite, and the two seemed happy together. Liara really just didn't need to know any details, and was thankful her mother's playful barb left off where it did. She started up the next message and listened, it was audio only.
"Doctor T'Soni, this is Colonel Angus Hastings, Alliance intelligence. We've had a few breakthroughs on that suit you found, but the scientists working on it hit a stumbling block. We've accessed what looks like an operating system in the system's control circuitry but the data it's giving us is indecipherable. We would like for you to take a look at it when you are available. Have a pleasant evening." He said before the message cut out. Liara was intrigued, she would book passage to Geneva where the suit was being studied in the morning. However, first she brought up her comm app and called Benezia, who answered, grinning to see the back of Liara's head facing the camera.
"Mother, I hope you're decent." Liara said.
"Dear, I can be accused of many things, but decency is not one of them. I am however dressed." She said. Liara turned around to see Mohamed and she sitting at a desk, thankfully fully clothed.
"Liara, I'm glad you called us when you did. I spoke to the Matriarchs this morning about the potential upcoming conflict between the Alliance and Batarian Hegemony." Benezia said.
"Mother, please don't tell me we have to leave Earth now, we've just made a number of significant advances in our research." Liara said, interrupting.
"No, not at all. Quite the opposite in fact. Is this channel secure?" Benezia said.
"Uh, should I be here for this?" Mohamed asked.
"We both trust you implicitly, Mohamed, and yes it is. I have asked the Geth to encrypt all of my communications, there are a few less reputable firms based on Illium that have been trying to intercept my communications. I don't know whether they're working with the shadow broker or just trying to get marketable information." Liara said.
"Good. The Matriarchs have agreed, when the Alliance goes to war against the Batarian Hegemony, it will have the full support of the Asari Republics. For too long, they've been enslaving our people, and the Alliance are the first to ever stand up to stop them. That's not why I'm calling though. I discovered during the course of my conversation with the Matriarchs that a significant Prothean relic has been hidden, in plain sight, on Thessia for thousands of years. One that we have not alerted the council about." Benezia said.
"That is a severe breach of Council law." Liara said.
"Yes, severe enough that only the Senior matriarchs are aware of it. I was only informed today. They want you to come to Thessia to investigate it, they think you'll have some insight based on the information you discovered under the Sphinx." Benezia said.
"Of course. I have to take care of something for Alliance intelligence before I leave, but as soon as I can I'll book passage to Thessia. I will only be able to spare a week or so, there is much to do in Egypt." Liara said.
"Of course, darling. Thank you for looking into it. " Benezia said. Mohamed's omnitool went off, and he frowned, looking at it.
"Excuse me, I need to take this." He said, walking off screen and into another room. When he was out of earshot.
"Liara, there is one other thing.." Benezia said.
"Goddess, you're not pregnant are you?" Liara asked. Benezia laughed so hard she almost crumpled to the floor. After taking a few minutes to compose herself she responded.
"No, dear no. Those days are behind me. I'm more concerned about your love life." Benezia said.
"Mother, I told you, I have too much work it would be unfair for me to expect a partner to wait for me while I'm moving from project to project." Liara said. She felt a twinge of regret at saying that, she was satisfied with her life but it did leave her quite lonely.
"I know dear, but I don't want you to let your life pass you by. Your matron years are still a few hundred years off, but still I want you to go out and make friends outside of work. Find people to share your life with, even non-romantically. It pains me to see you always so... alone." Benezia said.
"I will try, mother. I cannot promise anything beyond that." Liara said.
"Good. I love you, little wing. Please call me when you return from Thessia." Benezia said.
"I will, I love you too mother." Liara said, ending the call. She looked back at her omnitool and chartered a shuttle to Geneva in the morning. She'd look into the Thessia trip later, for now she had a date with her bathtub, some wine and a thoroughly trashy Earth romance novel.