"Dell. Ah fuck, Dell, are you alright?" Val asked, his hands hovering over me. He didn't know if he could touch me. My gaze blanked up at the copper turian as he grasped my shoulders to yank me up on my shaken knees. They couldn't hold my weight, trembling as my thigh wailed at any weight placed upon it. Val snatched me up before my limp body crashed into the ground. My ribs moaned with each breath. My voice still paralysed, nothing could escape, to say a word to Valérien as he all but snatched a blanket from one of the other turians to wrap over me. With the loss of the rain trickling down upon me, my senses returned, able to see through the maddening haze that had held me for hours. My emotions were too dead to cry, to moan even. A flicker of hope burned. Would he protect me, keep me safe? A cautious glance from Val to the surrounding turians suggested that was not the case.
"You know this human, soldier?" a gruff sounding charcoal coloured turian asked, crossing his arms. Val glanced at him with narrowed eyes. He gave him a slow nod, the gears grinding in his head. He glanced to me for a heartbeat before turning back.
"I do, sir," he answered. Val's back was too tense. "Dellsyla Saeger. She helped pull me out of a bad situation before," My eyes blinked, bleary. Why was he giving me... was he trying to... Val ignored my looks. Rather, he turned to escape pod behind me with a frown. "Looks like that cargo ship you were travelling with got hit by pirates, huh?" My throat sized, air forced into my lungs. He wanted to save my worthless ass. Or at least bide me some time.
"Y-Yeah," I managed.
Val clicked his mandibles as he glanced at his team. His grip on me tightened with each second. He shuffled himself between the team and me. My head flopped onto his chest, unable to keep it up. If this was the same team Val complained about, then this was not a safe place to be. If they found out that I was a wanted murderer… Val coaxed me to stand in a better position. He hauled me into his arms, lifting me off the sodden ground. My eyes shut against the sharp rain as he carted me to a tank. Exhaustion burned my muscles, another pain to contend with. Val eased me into a chair, pulling the harness down. My body sagged against it. Val clamped his mandibles to his cheeks as he jumped back out into the rain. My voice tried to speak before he abandoned me, but only a weakened croak. Inside the tank, the rattles worsened the head trauma struck.
Cuddled in the harness, the hard seats and the orange holograms hurt my senses. My face rubbed against the chair, too weak to lift my arms. Until Val moved me to the ass-end of nowhere, far from the Alliance and the Citadel, there was no time to relax. If Val fretted for my safety, around his own team, then my guard remained up. Despite how my best wishes. Who could me now, who would help me now? My teeth nipped my lip. The guard said something about the STG trying to take custody of me. Would Mat'al drag my ass out of this? He was the only person who could drag me out of this. Aside from Indira, she was my back-up plan. An error blinked before me. 'User not found'. Bastards had deleted my Alliance account! Time to say goodbye to 'E_ShaikB41_Alliance_Normandy' address... and all my contacts...
Fuck!
"I need to get your out of here, Dell," Val said, making me jump. He clambered into the vehicle, roaring the engine to life before he even sat down. "I will get you somewhere safe," he explained as he turned the tank around. But he paused long enough to stare at me with plates drawn down. "And then you can explain to me what the fuck was going through your head!"
The bull whip crack in his voice sent my spine quaking. He sounded pissed… Had the news of my murder spread this far? God, would the STG even try to protect me now? A sigh sounded as my body slumped against the chair, listening to the metal rattle around me. The seat hid all but Val's crest, poking out over the top like a second pair of eyes. My blood turned cold at the thought Nyryntha terrified me enough without that thought. And while on that train of thought. Other Saboteurs existed, everyone was a suspect now. Was Val one of them? My throat tightened, strangling every sane thought. Was Mat'al? Raisha? Everyone? No, no they couldn't. Nyryntha complained about a turian and salarian. Val and Mat'al were the only two who fit the bill! My back pulled itself straighter in the chair, just in case. If he was a Saboteur, then I had to be ready to defend myself. With a broken leg – a femur at that – and some busted ribs against a biotic? They'd kick my ass asunder.
As hours ticked by, my caution died as exhaustion drained me. Where Val planned to take me who knew. A hospital? No, too risky, not with a known criminal. Was he taking me somewhere safe? The threat he was a Saboteur snagged my breath. The suspense wanted to stop my heart. But the tank ceased, the engine cut. My throat tightened as Val pulled himself free. With the turian gone, my hands shoved the harness off. Determination gave me the strength to raise my arms and grabbed hold of some ribbing on the wall. They strained as I tested my shaken feet. Move, just move in case he was a Saboteur. What could my body do and not do. Everything screamed, every muscle thundered with pain, every bone creaked with strain. I'd been still for too long. My body shut itself to heal.
Val wouldn't be long, so fear drove me on, to get me on my feet before he pulled himself back inside. My legs sprawled like some drunken spider half-way up my ascent. The turian ogled at me, mandibles flared, studying the sight. Maybe he thought I wouldn't even try to move due to exhaustion. In his defence, he is correct, as my legs have just found out now. My arms trembled as my grip weakened, my knees knocked and my injured leg caved. My good leg stumbled under me to push me up but fatigue won. Val snapped out of his stupor. He grabbed my waist to save me from falling. So he didn't despise me, at least. He took my weight while he positioned his arm behind my knees. Val scooped me up in his arms and pulled me outside the tank in one swift movement.
There was no time to study the angled architecture of the city in the distance. It vanished from sight as tall warehouses blocked my view. A glance around the dark metal, run down warehouses surrounding us showed nothing. Val carted me inside one of them. A small shuttle lay inside, looking more than unloved with the peeling paint. It didn't look space worthy. Val glanced at me to keep my mouth shut. Flames shimmered in them. Val tucked me on a chair inside the tiny shuttle.
The engines warmed, the drive core hummed and the rattily shuttle eased out of the warehouse. The forces flung me back into the chair as the shuttle bolted for the sky. Val's radio calls for vectors sent small shivers down my legs. Through a window in the cockpit, the sparkles of space greeted me. A mass relay glowed ever closer. My muscles tensed as the lightning danced over the shuttle. It launched forward. This thing could hit FTL? It didn't sound all that happy with it though. The drive core whined like a worn bearing. My mouth to speak, but he glared over his shoulder. He didn't let me speak for another two mass relay jumps. Val put the shuttle on auto-pilot and turned to face me with a stern glare. My good leg pushed me to my feet, holding my injured leg.
"Alright Dell, I'm going to give you 5 minutes to tell me what happened and what the hell is wrong with you," he growled. A quiver ran through me, eyes widening. "And please, remember I've broken every rule in the Turian Hierarchy to get you here, including taking a tank without my team loaded in it and stole this shuttle to make sure you were away from any populous centres before anyone recognised you," he said. His eyes narrowed, a raging inferno. My voice remained silent at first, mind turned to Saria. There was only one way to identify a Saboteur... Val narrowed his eyes as I approached.
"Dell, you can stop right there," he snapped. My legs froze. "You think I'm just going to let you get within 5m of me after you're accused of murder?" A lump growing in my throat dropped to my stomach.
"Val, I wouldn't hurt you," I said. Val raised a brow. "Unless," I added, quivering before him. Val fell static, staring at me. "You are… what I'm afraid of," Val's shoulders bristled. "Please, Val,"
"Not until I get an explanation!" he snapped.
"And I can't tell you a single thing until I know what you are!" I said.
"What I am? Dell, for fuck sake, I'm a turian, can't you see that?!" he thundered, spreading his arms. I had to see his eyes, had to get close. My leg launched me forward, wincing at my damaged leg as it complained. My hands grappled Val by the loop of his armour, slamming him to a wall as my injured leg failed. The good leg hobbled into a semi-stable position.
"Dammit, just stand still! Please!" I cried. The tears swelled up, they threatened to fall. My vision blurred. The turian towering above me glared at me, narrow eyes with drawn down plates. Something shuffled under my chin something cold. A gun. My lungs forgot to breathe, millimetres from his face with a gun ready to blast my brains out. A breath of air dragged, focusing on his eyes. My eyes squeezed to clear them, ignoring the tears rolling down my cheeks. The viridian orbs darted as he took me in, a smouldering fire burning in them. On his irises... was nothing. They were clean of any circuitry.
My breath released, hobbled backwards as my grip released his armour. He wasn't a Saboteur. He was just a normal turian. It made sense, it made so much sense but I had to be sure. The gun vanished from my chin, but it remained pointed at me as my legs limped backwards. My back hit the wall. My strength failed. I slumped to the floor. He wasn't a Saboteur. Val lowered the pistol, clicking his mandibles as he judged my sanity. A hand ran down my face, soaked from the tears. He deserved an explanation for that. For everything. My arm fell limp, My gaze rose to his.
"I'm sorry, Val, I've just had the worst couple of days in my life," I said. "I... had to make sure you weren't a Saboteur, like me," Val frowned, he shuffled his weight as his hand twitched on his pistol.
"Saboteur?" he echoed. "Like you? Dell... what the hell are you talking about?"
"I'm a... see I'm... Christ, where to start," I said, holding my head, knees curling up. "Ok, just hear me out. Please. What I'm going to say will sound insane, but... please," Val remained silent, a frozen statue of copper and green. He lowered himself on one of the many chairs in this small section of the shuttle, resting the pistol on his lap.
"Alright, talk," he said. He tried to make his voice light, but his held himself too, shoulders too scrunched. A breath sucked in.
"I'll start from the beginning, before I even met you. I was born on the 28th of November, 1990, on Earth. I... suppose you could imagine my horror when I woke up and found myself on Xawin, 170 years later. I don't know how I got there, or why, but that was where I found myself," I said. Silence on Val's part. His gaze gave nothing away, a predator watching a potential threat. "When Shepard rescued me, told me he was taking me to the human embassy since they couldn't find any records of me on the Normandy, I panicked. They would never believe me, right? What would they have done? Charge me with fraud or whatever? Udina… Udina couldn't find me either. W-We had to recreate my profile from scratch. A-Although he never asked for any ID. I-I ran with the story I-I was kidnapped by pirates or something. He was sending me back to Earth. But what could I do on Earth? Everything I knew was long gone, Earth could have, and has, changed since I was last there! A-And I don't know what happened to my family. I-I couldn't trace them!" Still nothing. No change in expression. He sat, listening. Here comes the hard bit.
"While on Noveria I had been... captured by Saren. He took me onto Sovereign, Saren's 'ship'," A twitch, a furrow of the brow plates. "There I learned I was something called a 'Saboteur'. They're like, I don't know, Reaper sleeper agents? We had been – what did Nyryntha say? Oh, that's 'my' Reaper, so you know – we had been... 'created' to house a Reaper, to infiltrate and undermine the species of the galaxy. My particular role is the 'Advocacy'. So if anyone calls me that please for God sake, shoot them," His mandibles fluttered. "I'm not sure what her job is to be fair... but I know there is an unknown number of mass effect and fusion generators in my body, somewhere," My arms flailed around me.
"Nyryntha is fighting me, she wants to control me. She has succeeded in temporary control twice already, once were I knew of what she was doing. The other... I remember a white haze. She... that was when she murdered Keplar. It was my body but not my mind. I'm... scared about being around people too much. People could be indoctrinated with me around them for all I know. I don't know how to stop her short of sending myself into the nearest sun. And my crash here? Another Saboteur, one deep inside C-Sec. S-She freed me, sent me crashing down on that planet in an escape pod. I guess they still want to give my Reaper time to control me," I said. "I... well, t-that… made little sense," Well, that was more of a ramble than anticipated. Brilliant.
Val clicked his mandibles, turning the information in his head. His entire frame stood like solid copper, contemplating my sanity, no doubt. He would never believe me. It was too insane, too wild, too out-of-this world – even by my standards. First, did he even know about Reapers other than the tiny tit-bits just given to him? Were the Council still trying to cover up that little 'problem'? Second, my time travelling, already a fantastic start. Val opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again, frowning. The tapping of his armoured talons ground nerves, setting me on edge. He spoke.
"You look good for your age," he commented.
My jaw dropped, glued to the floor. That was not expected. If it wasn't for the pain, I would have been laughing. My attempt to compose myself failed as Val sighed, speaking before I could react.
"So you are part Reaper. Shit, guess Shepard wasn't a complete tool. That is the right word, right? I prefer kraktof but hey, languages," he paused, staring at the metal wall beside him, collecting his words. "It… clears up some of the reports though, a little. They mentioned that the injuries sustained couldn't have occurred by guns or bare hands and were too ragged for an omni-blade," he turned to me. "How did she do it?"
"Cables and wires," I answered. Val frowned. My cheeks warmed. Dammit, this was my time to ask a bloody question! My lungs pulled air in. "A main cable with tiny wires, like fingers but... not," Val tilted his head to the side. Oh god, what if he was indoctrinated? Was that why he was being so calm, so believing? He pulled a knee up, wrapping his arms around it. The gun was finally away.
"So, if we were to scan you, we would find machinery inside you?" he asked. "Would we?" he pressed.
"Ah, m-maybe. B-But nothing has shown up on any medical scan I've undertaken before. I-It would need to be powerful, advanced-"
"So we need to find someone with advanced tech... and willing to work with a criminal on the run, even if they don't recognise you at first..." Val muttered.
"Val? I-I don't understand..." I tried. Val released a breath.
"I want to believe you, Dell. I want to believe you aren't capable of cold blooded murder, regardless how much he deserved it," he said. "But I need proof. I doubt these cables just pop out when you want them to, seeing as you have told me you are fighting with this thing. So I'm going to find someone that has some of the most advanced scanning tech in the galaxy, if possible. Know anyone?"
My face could only gawk Val, unable to put any tension in my muscles. He didn't believe me, but he wasn't writing me off. He clung to a thread of truth. Maybe he wasn't indoctrinated. What did I know about indoctrination? Not very much, just that it takes weeks at least. There had to be more to it, more to learn, for everyone's sake. But to learn that, studying the electronics inside of me had to occur. How to tell him that all of my contacts were lost... Would they arrest me on sight if we landed somewhere?
"Dell," Val's voice brought me back.
"I-I can't get access to my mailing address. I-I've lost my contacts," I admitted. Val's raised brow plate did nothing to comfort me.
"You... don't know 90% of how an omni-tool works, huh?" he grumbled. "Contacts are saved to the omni-tool, not the mail address... Spirits. Here," he rose to his feet, approaching me. My eyes stared up at him as he brought up my omni-tool and dove into the heart of my omni-tool files. Mat'al should not have made me an Engineer class. Or at least needed a 'computers for dummy' class. Val was right though, all my contacts stared up before me. My shoulders relaxed. Thank God! Now I had a means to contact them.
"Guess I still have a lot to learn... huh?" I said with a weak smile. Val managed a small flick back. We sat in silence, but for the first time since we met, it didn't feel tense.
"Shuttle K34-DC1. You are entering private space. State your business. A frigate has you locked in its sights if you fail to respond," A voice crackled over the radio. Val jumped, but military training kicked in and he returned to the cockpit in a heartbeat.
"Shuttle K34-DC1 reporting. Apologies for the interception, there is nothing on the nav point to say this is privatised space. Requesting vector to nearest exit point, over," he responded, switching the auto-pilot off. My feet hobbled to the cockpit, taking hold of the back of the chair.
"Shuttle K34-DC1, please follow vector 380-234-258. Due to security, we will search your shuttle to ensure no smuggled goods have left or entered the system," the response came. Val twitched. He turned to one of his camera points, fixated on a large ship with massive gun barrels in the distance. Val steered the shuttle.
"Roger that, on track to vector 380-234-258," he looked far from happy as we powered towards the vector. "Prepare yourself. Might be pirates," he checked his guns. My heart jumped. My body scrambled to my bag. If those hard things on my bag were my guns, we might have a chance. If they were usable.
That was when a door opened. The only thing stopping us tumbling into space was a blue field separating the near vacuum of space with the pressure of this vessel. My scream deafened me when two salarians leapt in, pinning me to the back wall with pistols in hand. The guns jammed under my chin. My hands up beside my head. What the hell was going on?! Val cried out, but cut short. A glance showed he was in no better position than me with another two shotguns armed salarians.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," Another salarian hopped from a shuttle floating beside us. "Let us take a look," My head yanked back by the hair, forcing me stare up at the helmeted salarian. He stood taller than I. The salarians waited for the next command. We stood helpless. "You've been busy, Dell," the voice commented, none too pleased. My eyes popped open. The salarian wandered over to my bag, hoisting it up. It rattled. "Wheel, girl. What did you do to it?" the salarian removed the Locust. My expression sagged. The majority of the outer plates had been ripped and torn. Most hung on by a single bolt. The front handle had snapped clean off.
"Who are you?" Val snarled. He glared as the shotguns clicked before him. The salarian with the damaged Locust turned to face him, straightening.
"I'm surprised, Dell, although you are always full of little surprises," the salarian said, pulling out a sniper rifle, a Mantis. My hands lowered to my side. "I suppose I should have expected this, seeing as we have not spoken in so long,"
"...Mat'al?" I asked.
The salarian turned to me before he removed the helmet. My shoulders sagged at the sight of the white-faced, dark salarian, the tense muscles in my chest relaxing. Or they would have if he didn't frown at me. Dropping the Locust on my bag, he pulled out a Predator pistol. He shot me in the lower leg. On my remaining good leg. A screech tore from my lungs before tumbled forward, the salarians around me moving out the way. My teeth gnashed together upon landing on my injured ribs. My fist slammed on the ground, suppressing the tears swelling. Val struggled with the two salarians as Mat'al put the pistol away. He marched around me, arms folded and that frown pinned to his face. A gun clicked and Val's struggles ceased. The salarians pinning me turned their attention to him. My eyebrows pulled down, glowering up at the silver speckled, deep blue eyes of Mat'al Delern.
"What the hell were you thinking, Dell?" he asked with a sigh. "If you're going to kill someone, a simple bullet to the head would suffice," he scolded. A growl rumbled in my chest, tired of trying to defend myself against this damn murder.
"It wasn't me," I winced, ribs throbbing. Mat'al raised a brow. "It wasn't! I didn't kill him!" Mat'al stopped in front of me, kneeling down. My arms shoved me off my ribs.
"Then who did?" he asked.
"A Reaper," I answered. He wouldn't believe me anyway.
"And where, if I may ask, is this Reaper?" he asked. My eyes narrowed. Not where I saw the conversation going. I pushed myself to sit on my uninjured backside. My arms flung out
"Inside of me... somewhere," I said.
"And how do we remove said Reaper?" he prodded.
I knew he wouldn't… what? He believed me? My eyes widened, unable to put my train of thought back on the rails. He raised a brow, straightening my spine. A coughed snapped me back, wincing at my aching ribs. Sure, it was something I had contemplated it but to have someone... give an answer that they believed me. It was... refreshing if nothing else. But how do we remove Nyryntha? No idea. Nothing that allowed me to survive at least. Nyryntha's location inside of me – and how she was wired – was still unknown. You didn't have to be an engineer to know before you remove something, you need to know how it works first.
"A... one way trip into the nearest star?" I offered. Mat'al scowled, even shot me again. My yell echoed, hand flying to my arm. There was no blood, the skin was not broken. My eyes snapped to Mat'al. It wasn't the Predator he had used that time. Well, the Predator with the live ammo. Pale blue lights of the air rounds radiated beside the gun.
"Now that doesn't sound like the girl I trained," he scolded. "Now try again. How do we remove said Reaper?" My mouth floundered for words.
"I-I don't know... I-I don't know how she works... or where she is," I said.
"Then we had best find out then. Nersa, suit her up and carry her to the shuttle. Lorvex, get this ship on course for a crash course with those pirate ships," Mat'al ordered.
"The turian, sir?" A salarian asked. Mat'al turned his gaze to Val, as if only noticing him for the first time. Mat'al remained silent, studying and critical.
"That depends on Endellion's answer," he turned to me as a salarian hauled up, neither leg workable just now. They dumped me on a chair as they threw a suit on me. My glare found Mat'al. No one would hurt Val. The thought boiled my blood, and Raisha's words rang true in my skull. Val wouldn't be hurt.
"He's with me," I told him. Mat'al opened his mouth. "He's. With. Me," I answered again. Mat'al studied for only a second before turning to the salarians pinning Val.
"Throw his helmet on and get him to the shuttle. We don't have much time," Mat'al ordered.