Aggravated breaths steamed through my throat, the constant click of my feet on the metal floor echoing around me. It was only a matter of time before this happened, after months of waiting, why now though? It made no sense. He didn't contact me before the whole Citadel affair and has waited over two weeks since the incident at the Citadel. A growl rumbled in my chest, mandibles clicking as my eyes skimmed the screen of the computer, the message clear as day. Why would he wait so long to get in touch with me? It had been months since I left the Cabals and the turian military! And now he contacts me… for the first time in years. My pacing stopped, hands running down my face. Dell would divert the ship for me, that didn't bother me but… dammit, this had to be some kind of trap. It had to be! Even re-reading the message refused to put those fears aside. The man's voice droned in my ear despite his absence from the ship. Fuck, he lectured me more than I cared to remember. A meeting, he just wanted to meet? Bullshit! Frustration boiled my bones beyond words. Why would he wait to get in contact with me for just a meeting?!
And my father at that. That my mother hadn't called me, a tear ridden plead to come home, surprised me. My father, no so much. My arms folded, dropping a hip as my mandibles clicked, eyes to the floor. Maybe my paranoia had taken its toll on me, but one couldn't be too careful with these things. That founded my fears. If my actions threw Dell into a situation she couldn't pull us out from, spirits, the thought terrified me. My teeth on a talon, gnawed it while my brain rattled itself for answers to explain my father's motive for this. Nothing sprung to mind.
My head shook as my hands reached for my armour, eager to find something to distract myself with. Each click, each clamp fell under the scrutiny of my eyes but my mind wandered still. Our course pointed us in the vague direction of Omega regardless, but to stop in Omega? And why Omega? My father in the Terminus Systems? That didn't sound like him. The scum of the galaxy, he said, better to purge the whole thing. My eyes scanned the armour once more, ensuring everything looked in place lest it give away my distressed thoughts. This early in the morning, the ship would be rowdy with the shift change. My shoulders rolled back as my feet crossed the threshold out of my room, aiming for the elevator. At this time in the morning, Dell would still be asleep for at least another half hour, with any luck. She didn't need me barging in and forcing my little problem onto her. The last week pitted everything against her; enemy ships, crew problems, revenant flaws reappearing without our various pit stops. Dell smiled through it all but it took its toll, despite every attempt to keep her spirits up.
The Spectre ship hadn't reappeared and no word on their status had spread on the news. They tried to keep the news of a Spectre ship taken out of action quiet. For the best, if you asked me. From a moral standpoint, Dell's reasoning for letting that ship go made sense, but in this line of work, her compassion acted as an obstacle for her. My opinion; we should've destroyed them. I think everyone agreed with that. Now they had valuable intel on our fighting capabilities. My mandibles clicked as the elevator coughed me out into the Mess Hall. The carnage of the changeover radiated from here while those tried to get one last meal before bed and others prepared to take on the day. A sigh released as bodies passed close, my eyes on the dextro-amino food on display. I promised Dell to support her in her decisions but… she needed a gentle talk about when to exercise mercy. Hang on, better ask Raisha or Mat'al if they had already given her one. She didn't need bombarded with the same message and guilt trip her in anyway.
Aside from that, the week had left us with more ships to flee from and one major skirmish which left one of the flared plates in a sorry state. The repairs to Deck 4 and 5 were ongoing, squeezed in with the rest of the ship's repairs. When the ship fell apart the last time, we had the freedom to stop whenever we wished to repair or maintain everything. Now we couldn't stop, the Starquake crumbled by the seams. Dell's position as Captain was not a sought after position these days. My hand grabbed a plate of tasteless military rations from the counter before dropping opposite Lanster, the pilot holding his head with the heels of his hands. After all these years, my knowledge of the turian told me to leave him be. Startling him now put him in a rotten mood until he got back to bed. My mouth chapped at the food, everything drying the instant it hit something. No one could be picky these days, food shortage hung over everyone's head now. We would cheer whenever we found a safe location to stop and pick up new supplies. Lanster picked the destinations since she had to learn the major and minor ports of the galaxy map.
"Just over two weeks in and I want to curl into a ball and die," Lanster sighed. A hmm purred in my throat. "I wouldn't mind it so much if we could get a few days peace but every day, every night there is someone out there gunning for us,"
"It's taking its toll on all of us, Lanster," I said. "Hell, trying to keep the guns manned and maintained is hard enough as it is. One of the secondary guns has a cracked barrel,"
"I know, I know. Don't tell Dell though. She had a horrible freak out when she went to bed last night. She always waits until she's alone. There was a lot of tears, a lot of screaming," Lanster admitted. A frown dropped my lips, mandibles pinned to my cheeks. Lots of screaming, yet I heard nothing? Did she wait until the officer changeover when we were in the CIC? That Lanster could hear and see everything on the Starquake was common knowledge but to spy on the captain, why would he…
"Raisha?" I asked, figuring the krogan's concern for her health pushed Lanster onto guard duty. Lanster shook his head.
"Indira," Lanster said, taking a long drink from his coffee cup. My brow plates rose in surprise. "Indira is fighting to keep her sane but Dell gets too overwhelmed by the space battles. The lights, the noise, the crush and rush of people… you see it in her face. And with Raisha and Mat'al now on night shift, Dell just has us to keep her going,"
"What about Gideon, where was he through all of this? I doubt she would flip with him there," I said, wincing as the coffee scalded my tongue. Lanster snorted, a small smile flitting his face.
"He's down in engineering, helping Shayan repair parts of the Starquake," Lanster grinned. My mandibles sagged. "Again, don't tell Dell. That will send her in a fit. Nothing big, mind you, small repairs like cables and small replacements in to pipes and such like. When he is a little better trained, Shayan wants him in the vents. He's the perfect build for it,"
"Dell will lose her shit…" I said. Dell's protectiveness of the boy rose with each passing day. Gideon didn't mind either, which hurt matters. She fussed over his well-being at every turn. She voiced concerns over his education a few days ago, saying he needed a school education. It wasn't something we put much thought into until we realised Gideon might be staying. My coffee swirled in the cup, frowning. "I'll keep it quiet, just make sure the engineers keep quiet about it too,"
"Shayan has already said. Gid wants to help and we need every extra hand we can get. The hull breech will take weeks at this rate. We need new plating," Lanster said as his hand ran over his crest. "Among other things," he downed the rest of his coffee. "Ah well, better let Sershin get off then. I wonder how many people we'll run into today…" he grumbled as he shoved himself to his feet. My mandibles waved, wondering the same. My head shook, to shake off the dread before following Lanster to the CIC.
Within a few minutes, several reports about the main battery's terrible alignment, the rear cannons' wear and tear and the secondary guns' misfiring issues fell into my hands. The joy of helping balance power as the shield generators struggled to draw enough power to keep the ship safe heightened my agitation. Why did the main battery draw so much power? Dammit, something else for the engineers to look at if I couldn't find the issue here. A grumble rolled in my throat as my eyes examined the numbers, frustrated by the lack of data we had. The Starquake wasn't the highest in terms of tech, it had been a prototype but still, power sensors needed to be everywhere, not just some part of the ship!
"Gideon, by the Goddess, be careful!" an asari cried. My eyes glanced over my shoulder in time to see the blond devil skid to a stop in the Control Ring, a look of innocence on his face. Dell slunk behind him, rubbing her eyes with the heel of her hands.
"I ain't doing anything-" Gideon said.
"Gideon, enough. I've had to deal with enough of your nonsense this morning already," Dell sighed. Gideon pouted, but he hushed. My grumble rolled. Looks like we would have to babysit Gideon on top of everything else. Why didn't she leave the kid with Satrino to take to the human embassy? This was no place for a child. Dell dropped herself into the Captain's chair, bringing up the galaxy map. Dammit, better ask her now before she makes plans.
"Morning, Dell," I greeted, abandoning the power system terminals. Dell flicked a smile, strain lines marring her forehead.
"Morning. Anything to report?" she asked. My teeth nipped my tongue to shut myself up.
"Just the usual, wear and tear," I said. Dell hmmed as she stared at her datapad, Gideon stood beside her, mesmerised by the terminals near to him. My mandibles clicked, my hand scruffing the boy. He yelped in surprise. "Bugger off for a while, you little terror," Gideon squirmed in my grip.
"Let me go, you fat bird!" he cried, hoping his flailing would free him from my grip on the back of his shirt. My eyes shifted to Dell as her eyes lit up. A grin spread, catching sight of Verv and Shaul nearby.
"Go play with a krogan for a while," I called towards the pair, tossing the boy in their direction. He squealed before Verv snatched him out the air. Gideon stared up at the blue crested krogan, eyes wide. The two krogan grinned, giving each other a knowing look.
"Rancid varren!" Verv laughed as he tossed Gideon to Shaul. Gideon cried out, begging for freedom as the pair tossed him between them. Dell's joyous laughter bounced off the walls, releasing tension from my shoulders as a well needed sound filled the CIC. Gideon cursed the krogan and pleaded to Endellion to help, but with most of the CIC walking around with their first grins in a week on their faces, no one would interfere.
"Bless him, you wonder why he doesn't have a phobia of krogan by this point," Dell said with a smile. My mandibles clicked, a grin spread wide.
"Gideon's a good sport," I said. Dell snorted, amusement chasing the strain from her face for a time. "I have… a favour to ask, Dell," My lungs coughed to clear them, shuffling before the human. Dell stared up, curious.
"Depends. What kind of favour?" she asked. Despite my best attempts, no smile rose.
"My… father has been in touch. He wants to meet me on Omega," I said. Dell fell silent, the smile gone from her face despite the commotion nearby.
"I thought you and your father were not close," she said.
"We're not," I sighed. "But I do not understand why he would meet me, on Omega no less," I grumbled, my earlier frustration surfacing.
"We are on the run from the Council, Val. Maybe he understood going home wasn't possible?" she said with a shrug. My mandibles pinned to my cheeks. The one time Dell makes sense!
"Maybe, but still, it's unusual. I want to see what he wants. Stopping in Omega would give us the chance to restock and repair what damage we can," I said, struggling to find other reasons to divert. Dell blinked, staring at me with a vacant expression. Had she woken up yet?
"Morning, Sunshine, give me an ETA to Omega," Dell called. A breath crawled out, tension tightening over my shoulders.
"Morning, Dell. About 3 hours. Should I plot a course, uh, Captain?" Lanster said after a moment, coughing when he remembered 'captain'. Dell scowled as drummed her fingers on the arms of her chair, chewing her lip.
"Get that course plotted, Lanster. Indira!" Dell commanded. Within seconds of Lanster signing off, the bouncing drell skidded to a stop by her side, hands clasped behind her back as she leaned down to Dell's height.
"Ah yes, Captain?" she drawled. Dell flattened her expression. Indira grinned.
"I need requisition orders in ASAP. We're stopping in Omega for a time. Warn the engineers, they'll want to do repairs. Nothing major, however. I doubt we will be there for long," she said, her eyes skimming past me. "Will we be there for some time?" My shoulders begged for a shake, to ease the tension, but that would give her the wrong impression.
"With luck, no," I said. She nodded before giving a firm nod to Indira. The drell bounded away. "Thanks Dell, the sooner I clear this up, the better," A small smile flirted her lips, attention dragged back to Gideon who clung to Verv's crest, flailing his legs as the krogan tried to pry him off.
"Alright gentlemen, enough," Dell called. The krogan grumbled, complaining over the cheer of relief from Gideon.
With the ship on course to Omega, I needed to find something to distract me before my agitation asked Dell to forget the whole thing. Arthan found my distraction within the earlier problem before Dell arrived on deck; that blasted power draw. Within minutes, artillery oil coated every plate on my body while my eyes scanned for anything unusual in the physical gun. 2 hours in, the electrical fault Arthan had detected refused to reveal itself. Arthan took over to let me wash off the oil from my skin before reaching Omega. By the time my skin was oil free and clean, Dell called the shore party to the airlock. A swear escaped me as the armour struggled into position, determined to make me work for my protection. My hands grabbed my guns before scrambling to the airlock, gritting my teeth as a quiver shook my spine. Dell waited, suited up, with Verv, Corin, Eriea and Xervus. The small party created a frown but Dell made no room for arguments. Indira bounced nearby although she wasn't suited up to leave.
"And don't forget, Dellion, don't talk to strangers, ignore everything, watch your pockets but you can pull your gun out here, it's common," Indira said. Dell snorted a laugh.
"Thanks. Have fun babysitting," she grinned. Indira winked.
"We'll have a blast! Lanster will go crazy when we jack his chair," Indira laughed.
"Hey! Leave my chair alone! What did it ever do to you?!" Lanster wailed over the intercom. Indira smirked, plotting her next move. Dell patted her shoulder as she stepped into the airlock, my cue to follow.
"You alright?" I asked. Dell snorted.
"When we get stocked up and back on the move, I'll be fine," she said, smiling to ease my fears. My mandibles clicked, grimacing as we stepped out onto Omega.
We couldn't let a repeat of Illium happen here, not with the Council on our ass and with Omega's open gun policy. Dell stayed in my peripheral vision at all times, watching her fight her curiosity to gape at the landscape, the towering metal structures that plunged into oblivion and soared to the stars. The dark, rusty coloured atmosphere never helped Omega's image of a rough, crime riddled station. Once an asteroid, Omega surfaced after people repurposed it into a city. My sole visit to the station had a full team of Cabals behind me. That one visit was more than enough. The red lights stained everything a rust colour, the air heavy and made Eriea cough, the stench something else, curling more than a few toes. Omega stood as the counterpart to Illium, only without the disguise of a safe city. Omega, as the humans say, is a wolf without the sheep's clothing as the humans say.
The address my father give me wasn't somewhere familiar, if one visit made you familiar with anywhere. We docked near the Kima District and headed towards the edge of the district but the only part of Omega my crew had visited was Tuhi District. That's why Dell brought Verv, the krogan knew Omega and this area better than we, guiding us around the swells of people and dodging the more… unsavoury areas, if only for Dell's sake. My knees trembled by the time we stopped outside the address my father left me. On the outside, nothing looked out of the ordinary, built into the towering wall of the tower, nothing usual about it other than dilapidation…
"Alright, I'll be a few minutes. We'll head back once I'm done," I said. Dell crossed her arms, leaning against the wall.
"We'll be here," she said with purpose. "Any trouble, Val, any at all and we break the door down. Do I make myself clear?" My lips sagged. "You think I haven't feared that this is a Spectre trap, Val?" I… shit, I didn't think of that!
"I'll be a few minutes," I repeated, although my anxiety rocketed through to the stars. With reluctance, my hand popped the door open and forced myself through the door, abandoning the group – and the safety it brought – behind me.
The bare room stank, as if the abandoned building sat for years like this, gutted like a fish until the bare walls and floor remained. Brown stains soaked the metal skin below like large rivers of rust, the carpet ripped and stained, sodden beneath my boots. The smell of musk and damp stuck in the back of my throat, sending me into a coughing fit. Boards blocked off all but one door, a second external door to the building. With the windows boarded too, the only light in here leaked in from the gaps in the boards and from a lone lamp in the corner of the room, a meagre light by anyone's standard.
"So you came," the deep flanged voice said. My eyes snapped to the left side of the room, lungs tensing. There he was; the muted, pale copper coloured bastard himself. Nertius Autillin. My mandibles clicked to my cheeks in agitation as he pushed himself off the wall, taking two steps towards me before stopping. He stood a good head and a half taller than I, a trait not passed down to me. That his firstborn son didn't mimic him in every way bothered him, for some obscure reason. His brow plates drew down, eyes narrow, mandibles snapping hard against his cheeks. My shoulders rolled back as my arms folded over my chest.
"Father," I greeted. He didn't respond, his green marks dark streaks in the dull room.
"Where did I go wrong, why do you disappoint me so?" he rumbled. A sour breath stained my tongue. Here we go, right off the bat… "A vigilante, assisted murderer… taking orders from a human? A child no less! Have you no shame, no pride?" he snapped as my blood boiled.
"Shaik is the leader you never could be," I said, clenching a fist. The resounding crack of his mandibles ignited his fury.
"Coming from you? You have no right to speak of things I never could be! A failure at school, demoted twice because of the utter catastrophe that is your inability to recognise authority, thrown out of the military because of your… biotics," he hissed with disgust. My back tensed. "You even abandoned your own Cabal team and ignored summons from the Hierarchy! You were supposed to attain what I could not! Now look at you! Not even worth the air you breathe, I didn't think you could do our family name any worse!"
"You have another son and 2 daughters, father," I snarled. "Oseriun is already a commander!"
"Your bastard brother?" Nertius said.
"I can't blame mum for sleeping with a better man," I snapped. "Uncle Mac was quite the catch-" My words cut short when my father marched across the distance between us, expression thunderous.
"Your uncle is dead and scattered, just as he should be," he hissed, millimetres off my face. My eyes narrowed, matching his molten eyes.
"What, are you jealous your little brother could make such a great man and yet this is the best you could do?" I asked, holding my arms out as anger burned me from the insde. Nertius breathed for a time, reining his temper in. At least we knew were my temper had come from. He growled as he settled his plates.
"Yes," he said. My frown deepened. "I made you, didn't I?" he stalked away for a time, thoughtful. "You were to be a commander, a general, anything higher than I. That's what a father wants, his children to succeed where he failed, to bring pride to the family," he clicked his mandibles. My weight shuffled, fighting to follow his logic. The lieutenant before me fell silent, pondering.
"Well, I'm a commander now," I said. His harsh laugher rattled my hackles.
"The only way you could be a commander, boy," he snarled. "Is by sleeping with that ape! How was that, by the way? My only experience of humans is after I've but a bullet in their heads," A snarl bared my pointed teeth.
"Why does everyone assume I have slept with Dell? Dammit, can't you believe I might have earned this?" I snapped. Nertius snorted as he picked up a glass of water from the boarded up window sill.
"No," he said. "There is no way you could have earned that position through merit alone," he stalked over.
"So what, you just called me here to yell at me? To have me arrested or dragged before mum or the Hierarchy to shame me?" I demanded. Nertius stopped before me, eyes hard.
"No. Your actions have shamed the entire family; me, your sisters and your mother. We cannot take such a battering of pride against our family name any longer. Even you mother agrees enough is enough," he said, his earlier rage now tamed with contempt. My brows furrowed, mandibles pinned to my cheeks. Mum… said that? No, no she didn't give a shit about the Autillin name! "I brought you here to see for myself what kind of monster you had become, to see what I created and raised. The son your mother and I poured so much of our love and care into… At least I see you with clear eyes now. This is my fault for granting you so much leniency growing up. Your sisters have proven that when we raised them with a stricter hand. No, I made the problem, therefore it is my duty to deal with the problem,"
"Oh please, they don't have my problems, Father, because they aren't biotics! Ever since these things came around, you've never treated me the same!" I snapped.
"You can't blame the biotics for everything, you had problems even before they arose," he said with narrowed eyes.
"So what are you going to do, father, to this so called failure of a son?" I asked, folding my arms. He turned, walked a few steps away from me.
"That, Valérien, is the last time you'll call me that," he said, cool as ice. My muscles froze, jaw gaping after him. What was he- "You have brought too much shame to the family. I wonder how your sisters will cope with having such a stain on the Autillin name, how will they be able to ascend in their careers? No… I cannot let everything our family has done, everything we have worked for to be for naught! Enough is enough!" he thundered, throwing the glass and its contents towards me. Frozen, it smashed in my face, soaking my entire face.
"You bastard!" I cursed, doubling over as the sharp pain hit me. "What the fuck is t-ah… ahhh," I gagged, my words halted as a new pain took hold. A tingling pain, igniting everything it touched into a molten pool of lava. Water didn't fill that glass…
Pain ripped screams from the lungs, finding myself on the floor, instinct demanding to hold my face, to cover the burning pain. It only made the problem worse, the armour covering my hands succumbing to the liquid, smoking and burning. The scalding cold liquid leaked between my plates, to the delicate skin beneath, releasing a new set of screeches as my body contorted in pain. Sight vanished, too afraid to open my eyes should the liquid reach them, couldn't think, the scorching pain overrode all senses. A loud crash dragged sense back, back from my blind madness. Endellion's cry of horror and a krogan's roar of rage rang above my screams. Hands grabbed me, clawing my burning hands away from my face.
"What the fuck ha-" Xervus said.
"Acid! Fuck, it's melting his face! Get him up, get him up! Come on!" Corin cried. My pained screams heightened as the two turians hauled me up. The pair slung me between them, holding me tight against my thrashes.
"Captain, come on, leave him!" Eriea called, the air rushing past me felt like salt in a wound as they hauled me away from the building. My muscles were beyond my control, twitching and thrashing as the turians carried, my screeches ringing as the darkness, the pain, drove me mad. Heavy footfalls sounded behind me soon after as we tore off down the streets. Three blasts of gunfire popped behind me as they carried me in my dark, pain ridden world.
The Timeline and Galaxy Map have been updated for this chapter. Please see profile for link to Archive.