Shepard stared down at me with fury rolling off his shoulders as he paced before me in the CIC. It had only been half a day but it didn't take long for someone to inform him a mere 15 minutes stood between our boarding's. Bandages wrapped around my torso and every wound produced piercing pain. Dr Chakwas kept Shepard off me long enough to get a power nap. The Locust SMG remained at my hip, no God would tear it from my side. My eyes stared at his blue ones when he turned, body quaking, my mind preparing for his eruption. The knowledge of the past few hours, of the challenges that pushed me to the brink, of the chance Mat'al had offered me. None of that could help me now.
"What the fuck were you thinking?" Shepard thundered. My body recoiled, taking a step backwards. "You leave my sight for 5 fucking minutes and you run away from the colony? What the fuck!?" he slammed his hands to his side, leaning over my shrinking frame.
"Sh-Shepard, i-it is m-more c-complex-" I stuttered.
"Bullshit!" he roared. "Two broken ribs, 7 bullet wounds, countless bruises and burns and you stand there and tell me it is just 'more complex than I think'? Take one look at you hand, for fuck sake!" he grabbed my wrist, swinging it before my face. My jaw to suppress the yelp swelling up, the bandaged hand waving in my face. "Where the hell did you go?"
"I-I'm n-not sure-" I said.
"You don't even know?" he balked. "You don't even know! For fuck sake!" he stormed away, pacing before me. "You jump away from the colony at the first opportunity to go for a fucking adventure when geth are attacking us? I was happy at first! I can't believe I was happy! You seemed to come out your shell! But no, you fucked off to wander the geth invested, unstable ruins by yourself-"
"I-I wasn't alone," I said. He whirled around, mouth ajar, but his eyebrows drew down and pupils the size of ants.
"I'm sorry?" he asked. It was hard to swallow the stone forming in my throat. It proved impossible to vanquish.
"I-I wasn't alone, I-I had a s-salarian from t-the STG-" I said.
"The STG? What the fuck were the STG doing here?" he barked.
"T-They were studying the geth!" I squeaked.
"And you followed them?!" he snapped.
"N-No! They tricked me," I quivered. Shepard glared, scanning my face.
"Why didn't you radio for help?" he asked between his teeth. My throat tightened.
"I-I thought a-about it b-but-" I said.
"You thought about it!? Oh for- I was on the brink of forgiving you for your stupidity. I was on the fucking brink of forgiving you but you thought about calling for help? Then you decided 'na, this is fine'? Are you insane?!" he roared.
"I was fine!" I cried. "By the time I thought about asking for help, I was fine!" Shepard wheeled around, finger aimed in my direction.
"Look at your hand and tell me that again!" he snapped.
"Why are you being such an asshole?" I sobbed, unable to fight the rising swell. "For once in my life I proved to myself I could defend myself, can't you let me have this moment?"
"Defend yourself? Defend yourself? Fine, prove this new combat experience and defend yourself from me!" he snarled.
My mind froze, gawking at the man as he crossed the distance between us in two strides. Instinct overrode common sense. My knees collapsed, omni-tool igniting as the blade formed. My arm jabbed up, only catching sight of the blade myself before I could stop myself. Shepard twisted himself to avoid the blade, eyes swelling out of his skull. Next thing my brain processed was his hand snapped my bladed wrist and slammed it to the ground. My teeth clamped down on tongue to stop the scream as pain rolled up my arm. Shepard gazed at the purple blade, fixated until it faded away. He turned.
"Where… where the fuck did you get that from?" he asked, struggling to remove the shock from his voice.
"A present," I sniffed, flexing my wrist to see if it would free itself. His grip was true. "To protect myself from assholes like you!" Shepard's hand quivered.
"You could have killed me," he said, emotion drained from his voice.
"Good!" I barked, shaking my head to dislodge the tears from my cheeks. Shepard knelt there, my wrist pinned to the floor while he debated a philosophical problem in his thick head. He exhaled, standing with my wrist still in his hand. He tossed it back before backing up. My other hand held my wrist, flailing to my feet. Shepard clucked his tongue.
"Liara, take her back to the lab, please," he said. My weak glower quivered through the watery haze as Liara placed gentle hands on my shoulders, steering me away from the CIC. Away from Shepard, away from all of them, My head stayed down, eyes to the floor as antiseptic filled the air. The blinding floor lighting watered my eyes further as a door whooshed before me. The familiar hazy concoction of chemicals failed to release tension from my shoulders.
"Are you alright, Dell?" Liara asked. I shook my head, hands clenching the uniform. Liara squeezed my shoulders, but my body shrank away, bending over to curl up. Liara shuffled behind me. "I uh… I'll go get you some water," she said, looking over her shoulder as she left the room. The seconds passed, counting each one before my trembling knees rose, hand reaching to lock the door. When that indicator turned red, the tears erupted. My knees could no longer hold me, sliding down the door to the floor.
Goddam it… goddam it all! Why didn't I go with Mat'al? What possessed me to stay in this hellhole? On hands and knees, I crawled back to the chair, too weak to push myself to my feet. In the chair, my head flopped on the desk. If nothing else, at least we knew were we stood, maybe Shepard would leave me alone, these pranks would stop. It would get even worse from here out. My eyes skimmed past my omni-tool, hand clenched until the knuckles turned white. Even after everything that happened, my situation was still shit! My hand ran down my face, groaning as a new strength pushed me to my feet. There was only one thing for it. One last thing to keep my sanity. It had to wait until the next port however.
Shepard didn't visit after that. My routine moved me between bedroom to the kitchen to the lab and back again. Even with the commander's absence, my mind didn't trust the situation. I was never in the mess hall for more than a few seconds. The other crew members avoided me, as if one too many screws had loosened in my mind since Feros. It was preferable in a way, no one got in my way and there was no obligation to make idle chatter. Alas, Garrus, Tali and Liara still spoke to me. Wrex sometimes but the krogan sent me sprinting for cover. Ashley would throw the odd dirty look my way, Kaiden blanked me. Zero fucks were given.
As we approached the Citadel, the compressed Locust slipped into a one of the large side pockets of the casual uniform. Not a uniform that was worn often but required for leaving the ship. There was little else of value around me. It was time to get fresh air, to do as Mat'al said and try to harden my nerves. The best way to do that was to force myself to wander around the Citadel. Not far, mind you, just to the shops or the Presidium or something. My mission was to explore what life was like out here while the opportunity remained. And after that message this morning...
My time on the Normandy was drawing to a close. In two weeks' time, Normandy would divert to Earth to drop me off in Houston, Texas. Although the message said my work would traverse the globe; Seoul, London, Reykjavik, Johannesburg, Cairo, Hong Kong, Rio de Janerio, Berlin. My journeys would show me how much Earth had changed. 170 years in the future was a good time to do that. My head shook as I shuffled out the bedroom towards the CIC. Everyone ignored me and it was returned. It was a mutual relationship. Up the stairs to the CIC, My body pressed against the wall as someone passed me.
The CIC was alive with activity, the purple haze surrounding the Citadel illuminating the cockpit. I stood at the back, out of the way as people rushed along. Shepard stood in the cockpit, chatting to Joker as the arms of the Citadel reared through the mist. My stomach fluttered, but my spine stayed straight, watching the holograms dance along the numerous computers along the sides of the CIC. Ships weave around each other as we approached the dock. Within minutes, the ship docked without incident. Shepard, Ashley and Wrex were already powering into the airlock to leave. After counting to 10, I approached Presley, the XO glancing down. He noted my clothing.
"Going ashore?" he asked.
"A-Ah, y-yes. I-I wanted to get air, m-maybe get some shopping done," I said. Presley returned his attention to the datapad in hand.
"Very well, just stay close to the area, we'll be leaving in an hour. Commander is off to pick up supplies," Presley said. I nodded, walking away from the man towards the airlock. The airlock decontaminated before it burst me out onto the dock.
It took a good 5 minutes staring at the space beyond the dock. A burning white light blinded me through the purple fog, covering parts of the upper arms and their amber streaks of light. Before me, ships flew in dozens of lines, all meandering either to or from dock. Below even them, the city of the Citadel arm reached out, a sea of light and life. The skyscrapers poked into the sky, but perhaps there was a limit as they never grew tall, like on Feros. All coated in a purple hue and white/yellow dots of light. This was a space station. The scale still boggled my mind. My eyes tore me away from the sight, turning towards the elevator behind me.
After the agonising wait, the C-Sec Academy rose to meet me. The hairs of my neck stood on end as my feet shuffled after the signs for the Presidium. It would be a nice, quiet place to force myself to acclimatise. My attention demanded to look at everything; the metal hallways of lights, the massive billboards that coated every wall a strange language. My shoulders still tightened as people drew near, relaxing as they passed. The numbers thinned as we approached the Presidium, but the musty scent of bodies still hanged in the air.
That changed when the Presidium greeted me. The light watered my eyes after the darkened Wards. The smell of grass, even if my mind wondered if it was real grass or not, brought a small bubble of warmth to my heart. That would be a welcome experience when I returned to Earth. The fountains gurgled nearby as the stroll eased my anxiety. The Presidium had plenty to see, from the Mass Relay monument and krogan statue to a statue commemorating the first asari to find this place. A small café approached, although the prices outside sent me balking in the opposite direction.
The Presidium became repetitive after a time. It was the same look in a massive ring. It could be miles before it looped back to the Wards entrance to the C-Sec Academy. It took 20 minutes to find the human embassy. The elevator took me back down to the wards, trying to keep my head on track for signs to the C-Sec Academy. While I hadn't spoken to anyone, my nerves held during my exploration of a strange place, a step in the right direction. It took a while of stumbling around in the C-Sec Academy to find the elevator to raise me to the correct dock. After circling back on myself at least 3 times, an area of familiarity appeared. The elevator rose as it carried me up. The heavy weight in my stomach was difficult to ignore as my mind prepared to ignore most of the crew for the next two weeks. Although, the prospect of being on the same planet as Arnold Keplar sent chills down my knees.
On the dock, however, the sight that greeted me was an empty one. My eyes widened at the empty dock, the Normandy had vanished. My eyes flailed around. Was this the wrong dock? My body quivered. Shit, shit, shit, shit! Someone stood near the retracted airlock bay. Swallowing was impossible, my throat had seized as I stopped beside them.
"E-Excuse me," I stammered. The dark skinned human in the Alliance uniform turned. "W-Was there a ship docked here?" I asked.
"The SSV-Normandy was here but it took off about 20 minutes ago. The commander demanded a quick exit, something about some developing problem," he shrugged.
"O-Oh… t-thank you," I said, shuffling away, limbs numb.
The ship vanished. they had abandoned me on the Citadel. It got me away from Shepard, but what to do? I barely had any money! What about the human embassy? Go there and explain the situation? Or was an Alliance station the right option? What was the protocol!? My body leaned against the wall in the elevator, my mind unable to come up with any reasonable. During the long wait, My fingers reached out to Val via omni-tool, hoping he was free to send me a message about how the turian army dealt with this. Maybe it would be the same for the Alliance? My head buried into my hands, shaking my head. More ammunition for Shepard to use against me if he wanted to put me back in my place. What was he planning on doing after that whole near stabbing incident? Unless this was done on purpose… Had he abandoned me on purpose?!
I stumbled out of the elevator, aiming for the Presidium once more. If nothing else, the human embassy was there. Help would be there. The elevator took me back up to the Presidium, The salarian and asari who shared the elevator with me were ignored. My feet stumbled out, only to find a banister before me and leaning over it, staring at the water below. This was the last bloody thing I needed. Air, to stretch my legs, to get away from the people on the bloody ship! That's all I wanted! Stranded on the Citadel…
"Pleasant day for a stroll," a voice chuckled. My head spun around, hand reaching for the Locust in my pocket. Mat'al joined me at the banister. My jaw dropped. "Come now, don't look so shocked. I put an awful lot of time and effort into making a big fuss out in the Armstrong Cluster. The commander rushed off under orders from those up top easy enough," he waved a hand.
"You did that?" I said, voice failing. "W-Why?"
"Oh please, it isn't difficult to bug someone," he smirked. "You in particular. You were half dead," My spine straightening. My hands patted me down.
"You bugged me!?" I squeaked. He chuckled, reaching behind my ear. Something pop free. My eyes widened. He removed a small black spot, crushing it between his fingers.
"You don't clean behind your ears often, do you?" he asked. A croak escaped "Now then, shall we?"
"W-Wait, you did all of this to…" I stammered.
"Well, I had to. Much longer and there would be no getting you back from the Alliance. Once you are on Earth, it would be… troublesome for you to leave again. If we include this Keplar man I heard you ranting about one evening, then it will be more difficult," he said, walking towards an elevator. I winced, following the salarian. He led me back into the Wards.
"W-Where are we going?" I asked.
"Nowhere special. I think it would be best to get you away from the Alliance as soon as possible. Before Shepard realises he has left crew behind and asks the Alliance to find them," he turned with a smile. "They'll find a paper trail leading to Earth,"
"You had this all planned out, you bastard!" I growled. Mat'al chuckled as he entered an elevator, my grumbling following as I trotted in behind. "Salarians are slippery bastards,"
"Thank you, we worked hard for that name," he chuckled. My scowl didn't faze him.
When the elevator parted and we stepped free from the stuffy confines, we arrived on a shuttle deck. My eyes scanned the boxy machines, blinded by an array of colours and patterns. Mat'al led me through the rumble of people, ignoring the flashing notice boards above our heads directing people to docks. Close to Mat'al, nearly snapping at Mat'al's heels, a new lesson rose to meet me; not stepping on people smaller than I. Volus plodded by my feet, looking so small and light Would one nudge would send them sailing? The crush died down and the species homogenised. Soon, salarians outnumbered the other species. Mat'al approached one shuttle, a plain shuttle with no obvious markings. The salarians saluted as he approached.
"Commander, we're ready for take-off," a grey salarian said. Mat'al nodded.
"Good, let us leave," he said, jumping inside the shuttle. My feet stepped in after him, if only to not become abandoned again.
The salarians jumped in after us, taking up seats in the small shuttle. Mat'al herded me into an end seat, lowering himself beside me. A console before me grabbed my attention, glowing like a bright red button. Mat'al shook his head as he reached out, hitting a button. A small screen hovered at head height showing the sights outside the shuttle. My curiosity perked, transfixed. Mat'al leaned back in the chair as the shuttle tore away from the docking bay and into the purple hue. The engine hummed behind my head, the faint vibrations shaking in my feet as the Citadel faded away. A relay peeked nearby as we approached. Could a shuttle use a mass relay? None of the salarians seemed bothered by the prospect. The answer revealed as the engine squealed, my stomach finding my abdomen as it launched onwards.
The journey lasted about 2 hours with nothing interesting to see other than the rippling blue mass effect field as we hurtled FTL. My omni-tool kept me distracted, browsed the various information sites to bring me up to speed in this world as we thumped into normal travelling speeds. What greeted me was a space station shaped like a gyroscope. The towering vertical structure straightened and bulged like ancient Arabian spires. The silver sheen caught the light from the sun and sparkled. A large ring wrapped halfway down the tower, a scattering of small towers poking up or down from them. Nearby, a world spun nearby. The massive continents awed me, the dark blue oceans. It almost looked like Earth. The shuttle aimed for the space station.
"Welcome to Pranas System, the home system for the salarians," he said. My eyes turned back to the screen beside me, trying to peer through the vast distances to the other planets. None were near.
The shuttle sailed through a port in the station, submerging us in a 4 floor high shuttle dock. Shuttles coated the flanks of the shuttle bay, cranes running along the roof and up the sides ready to collect one at any moment. We landed on one of several bright landing pads in the middle of the room. Mat'al pushed himself to his feet, forcing me to scramble after him. He hopped out of the shuttle, scanning the face of salarians waiting to meet him. I shuffled behind him, noting their narrowed eyes in my direction. The smell on oil clung to the air, making my nose wrinkle.
"Delern, why is a human here?" the chocolate coloured salarian before us asked.
"Admiral, do you not trust my judgement?" Mat'al asked. The salarian blinked once. "She's one of my students, Admiral, you can relax,"
"A human, Delern?" he asked, tone quick and snappish.
"A human," Mat'al responded. "Who will not be joining the STG, I assure you," he walked away, turning towards the doors at the far side of the room. That left me scrambling after him with a sheepish smile to the salarian admiral. "We always struggle to find good agents, Admiral. I think it is time to train our own," Mat'al called back. The cold glare from the Admiral froze my back.
Mat'al led me down the silver sheened halls. The air was heavy with moisture with a twinge of marsh or something, making me sniff and scrunch my nose. The salarians around me ignored me, a few curious glances but once sated, they were back to work once more. Mat'al took me down a corridor, opening out into a two story room about the size of your average lawn bowls green. The right bottom corner had a small platform jutting out on what would have been the second floor, a ladder leading up to it. The rest of the room was empty and white. Mat'al held a hand out.
"Locust," he said. My hand sunk into the pocket to pull the gun out. He took it, walking towards the area under the platform. Mat'al pushed a section of the wall, it popped free and flipped open, activating a control panel. He touched a button. Panels from the wall popped open and spun around. My face slackened.
Training equipment from targets to floor mats to balance beams and other weird and wonderful things you would throw together as an obstacle course. Hell, there were mesh nets! Gods, three walls full of nothing but exercise and training equipment. Mat'al placed the Locust inside a gun cabinet under the platform. Returning to the console, he pushed another button. A heard a panel move, but my eyes couldn't see where.
"This is where you shall reside for the time being. I shall arrange for some human food brought aboard. I'm sure the admiral will sign for it," he waved a hand.
"Are y-you sure you aren't chancing it with him? He is your admiral," I said. Mat'al chuckled.
"Good luck replacing me. And he knows it," he grinned. "Now, you'll be living upstairs. Settle in while I sort out of the paperwork," he pointed to the platform above me. Mat'al strode past me, leaving the room and securing it behind him.
My frowned lessened, approaching the ladders. The vertical climb already sent dread to my stomach for the decent. Upon arriving at the top, my eyes found the sprinkle of stars. My eyes focused on a window beside a single bed. The platform was just big enough for the bed, a small desk with a computer and a tiny rectangle right in the corner. My head poked inside, spotting the shower head and toilet. Everything was spotless. Thick glass panels surrounded two sides to stop me falling a story onto the ground below. I sat down on the bed, staring out of the window beside me. Well, at least I had my own shower.
The Galaxy Map has been updated for this chapter. Please see profile for link to Archive.