"Come on, Dell. I know you can hit harder than this!" Val called.
"Oh shut up, you massive pain in the ass!" I snapped. My fist flew, but the turian deflected it. A stung bruise on my hip was my reward. A growl of frustration roared, eyes narrowing. Poor Val worked his turian ass off get my hand-to-hand skills up to snuff. It wasn't happening, despite our best efforts. A yelped escaped as he snatched me off the ground and tossed me over his shoulder. The landed forced me to grunt. Val sighed, resting his hands on his protruding hips.
"You are... terrible at this, aren't you?" Val clicked his mandibles. My scowl found him from my place on the desk.
"I warned you I was," I grumbled as I rolled myself onto my feet. Val sighed as he gripped the bridge of his nose.
"Right, how best to deal with this..." he said. My arms threw themselves at him, glaring at the floor.
My body crawled to edge of the sparring mat, fumbling with a water bottle. The water flooded my parched throat. Val never stopped, not for teaching. Val accepted nothing less. The back of my hand ribbed the corner of my mouth as Val paced around the mat, tapping his talons on the lightweight outfit he wore, baring his plated shoulders. My beaten ass was content on the bench, waiting for him to reach his conclusion. My shoulder sagged as Mat'al entered the room. He took one look at me on the bench, looking sorry for myself, before raising a brow at Val. The turian snapped his mandibles. Mat'al shook his head. He turned, a hand on his hip. My frown grew as he approached.
"It seems a few of your friends have arrived, Dell," he said. His taut voice deepened my frown. "You failed to mention you had invited krogan," Val stared. My back straightened. Krogan...
I was on my feet, bolting out the door. Mat'al shook his head as he followed me. My feet swallowed up the gleaming halls, forcing salarians to leap from my path. My legs locked, skidding a corner, slipping as they pushed me forward. Within a few seconds, sunlight surrounded me. There was no need for directions, the armed salarians were more than enough indication. My legs shoved me up set of stairs and ran along a higher path to get around the mass of bodies that aggregated around a landing pad. On the landing pad, on an old, banged up shuttle parked. Raisha stood tall with a small smile on her face as she took in the sight of the salarians around her. Behind her, three male and another female krogan waited. The males crashed their fists together, smirking at the salarians. The female huddled behind Raisha. Only Raisha kept the peace.
"Raisha!" I called out as my hands supported my vault over a low wall, shoving salarians out the way. Raisha's low laugh boomed like a base drum. My mad sprint slowed once on the landing pad, panting. The honey-crested female approached.
"It is good to see you again, Endellion. Although, I notice you are more than a little bruised," she said. My hand waved, dismissing it.
"Training, it's not going well," I shrugged. The blue eyed krogan smiled. We hugged, a tight embrace filled with relief. My fingers couldn't even touch my fingers around her back. Raisha chuckled as she returned the sentiment. "It's good to see another friendly face after what's happened," My gaze locked to hers, focusing on the iris. They were clear.
"Indeed, I had heard rumours of what happened on the Citadel. You are in a difficult position with this Reaper inside of you," She said, making me hmmed in my throat. "I wrangled up additional hands. I doubt you will need many krogan to get the job done," One male snorted with laughter, dark teal crest flared and pointed.
"Just point, it'll be dead soon enough," he grinned at the salarians. They glanced to each other, guns clicking. A scowl formed.
"No shooting the salarians," I said.
"Not even one?" he asked, feigning shock.
"Nope," I said as Mat'al approached with a confused Valérien. "Well, there might be one, but just wait for my say," I winked. The krogan smirked. Mat'al raised a brow at me, crossing his arms.
"Already setting bodyguards up?" he asked.
"Hey, got to have all the bases covered," I laughed. The salarian shook his head. Val took in the female krogans, maybe his first. "Raisha, This is Mat'al Delern, my combat mentor," Mat'al bowed his head. "And Valérien Autillin, a good friend of mine. Saved me back in the old days," Val scowled before smirking.
"I look good for 170 years old, huh?" he mocked. A finger wheeled around to point at him with glare at him. He laughed.
"Head out of arse, please," I growled. He chuckled. "Gentleman, this is Jorgal Raisha. You can thank her for getting my spine into shape," I introduced, putting a lid on the rising temper.
"Ah, you are the one who hardened her nerves? I always wished to meet the person who accomplished what I could not," Mat'al held out his hand.
"And I wanted to meet this mysterious Mat'al who honed her combat skills," she took his hand. "She has a powerful courage in combat, fuelled by anger and stubbornness. Endellion required guidance without utilising such emotions but it allowed me to help her. You did not fail," Raisha said. Mat'al smiled at the krogan.
"Indeed? For that I am relieved. She was so skittish when I trained her. She only stopped spooking when the exhaustion kicked in," he explained. Raisha grinned.
"I can imagine," she said.
"Oi!" I cried, trying to patter my pride back into shape. "I wasn't that bad!" Raisha and Mat'al shared a look. "For fuck sake, would people stop doing that!" My finger pointed an accusing finger at Val and Mat'al. "You two did it on the goddam shuttle a week ago as well!" I snapped. Now all three of them stared at each other. Air dragged through between my teeth, resisting the urge to scream.
"She has quite the temper now. Was she like this with you?" Mat'al asked. Raisha blinked at Mat'al for a moment before turning to me. She smiled as she looked back.
"Yes. I believe your methods implanted it in her," she said. Mat'al scrunched his face up.
"Ah, should have thought of that at the time," he said. He rubbed his chin, smirking. "My apologies," My scream bounced off the valleys. My hand snatched up a rock and threw it at Val when he laughed. The turian ducked with a wide smirk. Raisha shook her head. She opened her arm towards the other krogan.
"Allow me to introduce you to Nakmor Ferilsa," Raisha dragged my attention away from battering Val. The dark skinned, slate crested female bowed. "Ganar Shual," the teal crested male grinned, amber eyes blazing with anticipation. "His brother, Ganar Utren," A dusty brown crested male nodded, face straight. "And Khel Verv," the dark royal blue crested male smirked while eyeing up a salarian.
"When do we get to punch something?" Shual laughed.
"Later, I assure you," Mat'al answered, keeping his tone neutral. He dusted his hands, narrowing his eyes as he scowled at me. My tongue stuck out. "Well, let us show you the ship so you are familiar with it," The salarians dropped the weapons with reluctance, shuffling and twitching as the group passed. Steam poured from my ears on the landing pad with Val. He smiled at me.
"She seems nice, how did she toughen your spine?" he asked, fighting to keep the grin off his face. He laughed at my glower.
"By imagining a gun to your head and I have to save you," I said as my legs struck away the landing platform. Val raised a finger and opened his mouth. Then he paused, processing my words. He dropped the finger. A giggle erupted as he cleared his throat and followed me. He hadn't been expecting that one, had he? His long strides caught up with me in seconds.
"Your pilot arrived yet?" I asked once we were out of the burning sun. Val made a sound in his throat.
"He's on Sur'Kesh with the team. STG is transporting them over," he answered. "You'll like him, he's a character," He smirked at my snort, my mind drifting to a particular drell.
"You don't know character until you've met Indira Thermi'a," I sighed. He stared. "Trust me, just... trust me," My hand waved, leaving it there. Best not to ruin the experience. The turian frowned at me, mandibles waving. We entered the hanger of the Starquake, the ship towering above me. My elbows leaned on the railing.
My constant nagging to Mat'al had convinced the STG to put funding back into the Starquake. We would relay any information about the Reapers to the STG in return. Information was power. They improved the shields but little else. The engines' 5-for-FTL limit remained and their defence system – which were magnetic and nanobot versions of aircraft flares and chaff – gave no reliable results. The odd-ball ship held my gaze. STG engineers scrambled all around the ship. A small army occupied the inside to overhaul it for long term living. Raisha and Mat'al disappeared inside.
Mat'al gave me a brief tour during the 5 days since her reveal. The memories of the 2-story high CIC from the walkway. Bright silver walls and dark grey ribbed floors with blue trim lights on the floor. Dark ribbing broke up the blindness of the walls. A doughnut of computers encircled a single chair, upon which you could view the dome like galaxy map around you. The elevator at the rear of the room carried you two all six floors of her, but stairs curled up both sides at the back, in case the electrics failed. They only fed the third and fourth floors though. The cockpit required a set of stairs to reach. It wasn't ideal, but at least the pilot had some protection in case we got boarded. No one liked stairs. The other rooms were blocked off, so my mind hadn't memorised the layout of everything, but that would come with time. The salarians inside masked too much to get an idea of where everything is. It would be more peaceful once we took off. We'd have a small crew rather than the 200 odd people trying to retro-fit the poor thing.
8 hours later, the next group arrived. Val's friends touched down about 10 minutes ago. My attention focused on chasing down the location of another shuttle. It would be with us soon. My feet stepped up to the landing pad, to give Val a chance to settle everyone. Val and Mat'al greeted the new pilot and extra hands when they touched down. Raisha strolled beside me, her honey-covered crest covered despite the humid heat. My focus slipped, unable to trudge through the new crew. The fittings on the Starquake ran into another complication. One engine, while doing a safety test, exploded, damaging part of the rotary system. My shit hit the fan. The salarians around me quivered as my voice thundered about their incompetence.
So, after an earful of curses and 'what kind of standard do you STG bastards work to?' phrases, the engineers had agreed to take more precautions. Their cooperation existed because the three male krogans standing at my back looked ready to crush a few of them. My rage was a good enough reason to begin another galactic war. So the Starquake was getting new engines. The defence system remained a disaster, so they resorted to small shields that hugged the entire frame and engine. Weak, but better than what it had before.
"You seem unnerved, Endellion," Raisha said. I jolted, torn from my mind. Raisha waited by my side. My head shook as my hand waved.
"Just thinking about the Starquake. I expected the STG to have some actual quality for their prototypes," I shrugged.
"That may not be the case for all prototypes," Raisha said as she stared to the group on the landing platform. Val's laughter bounced on the air and the sound of voices creeping louder. "It depends on how far into development it is. Do you use the best seeds to test a new soil or seeds that can be spared?" A frown formed as the words turned in my head.
"I hate you sometimes," I grumbled. Her chuckle rattled the air in my ear. The Normandy had been a prototype as well, but the Normandy was to see active duty, therefore they couldn't skimp on materials. After climbing the stairs to the landing pad. my eye met the gathering of turians, male and female. A few turians caught Raisha from their peripheral vision and studied the scene. Val flicked a glance over his shoulder at us. My shoulders shook out. While my confidence had grown, old instincts remained. My caution rose around new people with the Saboteur threat. All the krogans and salarians who would join us had been checked. All were clean.
"Ah, Dell. Hi," Val waved us over. A tiny smile formed as I moved to Val's shoulder. Mat'al stood by Val's other side, studying the turians. "This is Lanster Taynus, the best pilot I know of," the pale charcoal turian gave me a wide grin. His blue markings reminded me of a neon lights in the dark. He turned to the other seven turians. "These are Corin Lilerus, Aergus Navers, Andria Wilkys, Jacques Krysin, Iona Zyermus and Xervus and Quin Gyneris," Corin, silver skinned and blue marked; Aergus, mucky silver with black marks; Andria, a pale tan and white marked; Jacques; dark silver and off-white marked; Iona, steel grey and marked in amber; and Xervus and Quin, both bright mercury and marked in red; all nodded and gave greetings. My heart jumped at one name.
"Iona?" I echoed. The female blinked. "Were... your parents ever on Earth?" Iona snorted.
"Who knows? Why?" she frowned. My shoulders recoiled. Well, that was a wonderful attitude...
"There's a famous island called Iona near where I lived, that's all," I answered with a side of snide. She glowered.
"Oi, oi," Val growled. "No fighting, spirits," My arms crossed, nose raised a notch. Mat'al chuckled, eyes sparkling at my defensiveness.
"Fighting? We aren't fighting, right, Iona?" I tested. Raisha smothered a smile beside me. Val threw me a heated glare. A heard a shuttle landing beside us, but my focus stayed on the female turian before me.
"Of course not, we're adults, aren't we?" she added, her tone carrying too much questioning for my liking. My hackles rattled as my gaze narrowed.
"But of course we a-" I said.
"DELLION!" a voice squealed. Everyone jumped in surprise. My blood ran cold, tried to run.
"No, nonononononono-AHHHHH!" I screamed as Indira crashed into me, clutching me as she swung me around. I got 2 steps away from Val.
"Dellion! It's so good to see you again! I've missed you!" Indira cried.
"Indira! For fuc- Put me- Stop spinn- LET ME GO, INDIRA!" I screamed as my limbs struggled.
"Oh, ok!" she beamed as she released me. A squeal flew as I soared across the landing pad, swearing when my shoulders smashed into the ground. The force rolled me couple of times before coming to a stop. A moaned creaked in my throat as the entire sky spun before me, stomach twisting as my inner ear tried to correct itself. Someone grabbed my arms, hoisting me up onto shaken feet. My body jerked, eyes landing on the swirling face of a murky gold drell.
"Apologises for Indira, ma'am. We could not calm her since you called," the distorted male voice said.
"I-I'm k-kinda used t-to it, by now," I swallowed, leaning on his stable hands for a moment to tried to get my eyes straight. Indira bounced into my view.
"You've been having so much fun without me!" she huffed. "I shoulda gone with you, we coulda had an absolute blast!" She jumped, punching the air while a sighed escaped me.
"Indira," I called. She paused for a moment. "I've just had my femur and ribs knitted together. Please don't break them again," She snapped her arms to her side, offering a grin with upturned brows.
"Oops, sorry," she whispered. My legs walked without the drell's help. Iona sniggered in the background. Indira perked at the sound, blinking at the turian.
"Did you have a nice flight, 'Dellion'," she asked, flexing her fingers. Val glowered at Iona, but he kept his distance from Indira. My eyes flew to the drell. Indira's face contorted downwards for a moment, a glimmer appearing in her eyes. Ah balls... She pranced to Iona.
"It was a blast!" Indira cried. "Wanna shot?" Iona stared.
"The hell I do-" she snapped
"Awesome!" Indira cried, grabbing the turian with her biotics, spinning her in the air. Iona screamed as Indira danced below. "Just say when!"
"Y-Y-You little bitch! I-I'm gonna kill you when I get down-" she barked.
"Oh, you want down? Ok!" Indira asked. She cancelled her biotics, sending the turian screeching into a tree. My hand slapped over my mouth as the amber drell slapped his hand over his eyes. The turians gawked, jaws agape as Indira skipped over, beaming her ass off with her smug grin. "No one makes fun of you and walks away without a few bruises," she held up a fist. We shared a glance while the turian screamed curses in the tree as salarians 'hurried' to help down. My hand dropped from my mouth, giving Indira a long stare. My fist knocked with hers.
She squeaked and clamped her arms around me, bouncing. I stood there and waited for her to finish. My eyes met Mat'al and Val's. My laughter burst free with explosive force. Indira paused in her bouncing before looking over. Val and Mat'al jaws had fallen to the ground, eyes wide. Val's limbs flopped by his sides. We clung to each other as our laughs bounced around the compound. Indira was a pain in the ass, but it was that love-hate relationship that reminded me that I was alive. My self-control pulled myself together again, stumbling towards Mat'al and Val.
"Gentlemen! Al-Allow me to introduce you to Indira Thermi'a," I greeted. Indira gave a flamboyant bow from the waist. She bounced herself straight again soon after. "She helped me out during the geth attack and let me stay at her place for a while," Val slipped to mine, eyes flicking between us. My eyebrows fluttered, grinning. He slapped his hand over his eyes, the headache blooming.
"This one believes introductions are necessary," a voice said. My gaze snapped around, turning to the owner of the mystical voice. A brilliant blue hanar with white waving markings down its flanks walked over on dainty steps. A second drell by its side. Indira flushed.
"Ah, of course. This is Dellion-" Indira said.
"Endellion," I corrected.
"Shaik, bestest drinking buddy in the galaxy!" she cheered.
"Now wait a moment, you told me you were teetotal," Mat'al frowned. Val furrowed his brow. My cheeks stained red.
"Blame this girl," I shrugged. "I do,"
"Oh, you love it!" Indira laughed. "Anyway, this is Sershin Kyanr," the murky gold drell bowed his head. "My mentor," she whispered to me. "And then there is Erikos Geras," the greenish brown male drell beside the hanar bowed his head. "And Mysinous,"
"This one extends its greetings to you, young Shaik," the blue jellyfish greeted.
"Ah... it is nice to meet you, Mysinous," I said. What do you say to a hanar? Did they always… speak like that? Mat'al crossed the distance. His expression was stoic, but my hands rubbed my shoulders as a chill settled on them. A coughed hid my unease, waving him onwards as he greeted the new members of the crew. My attention turned to the new turians.
"Indira's harmless… more or less. She's just on a constant sugar rush, that's all. Oh and uh, just keep an eye on your pockets. She has a bit of… kleptomania," I shrugged. My endeavour to ease their fears failed. The turians shuffled away from the drell. "S-So! Let's show you the ship!" A lopsided smile tugged at my mouth. Indira stuck like glue and Mat'al's frosty gaze eased as I led her away. He strode behind us, speaking with the three sensible members of the party. How can you tell if a hanar was a Saboteur or not? They had no obvious eyes...