"Glasgow Control, this is the RSS-2 Starquake, requesting docking permission," Lani said with an irritated tone. My eyes stared out the window near Mari on the left side of the cockpit, Del- Mum, dammit, had to remember that, paced by Lani shoulder as we passed over a place called Carlisle. The weaving traffic below us glinted as tiny sparkles in the patchy cloud. The green fields rolled out on all directions, pockets of grey marking civilisation. I think mum was more than ready to jump off the ship and taste fresh air again. Her fingers tapped on her arm, her steps jerked with each step and her tongue whipped out over her lips every few seconds.
"RSS-2 Starquake, this is Glasgow Control. We uh, don't allow frigates docking here. We only allow domestic traffic apart from in an emergency or other special cases. I would recommend either Edinburgh," the controller said, his accent as broad as the Cairngorms Mountains, as mum said.
"Edinburgh? God forbid," mum groaned. Lani frowned as he glanced towards her. "Sure, only an hour away by shuttle but the tariffs for parking in Edinburgh are extortionate. Did you see how much it was? I'm not paying 9000 Credits a day for blooding docking there!" Lani sighed, ignoring her.
"This is why I hate docking in non-international docks! 'Oh, you can't dock here, oh but we can send you back to the international port or this port in the middle of nowhere'. We should have stayed in London and taken the shuttles up!" Lani snapped. Mum raised an eyebrow, a coldness settling on her shoulders.
"This ship does not dock in Heathrow or any other London spaceport. Do I make myself clear? Jesus, I dread to think what state London is in now. The Starquake will have its engines nicked in a heartbeat! Besides, no one wants to go to London," she rumbled.
"So what do we do? Do we even have charts for this damn place?" Lani asked.
"Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, so yeah, I would expect you to at least have a chart of that one," mum said. "Oh give it here!" she leaned over Lani's chair to the radio, her hand shoving his face away as he flailed under her. "Glasgow Control, this is the captain of the RSS-2 Starquake. My apologies, but we are on a Spectre mission, do you have the facility to take frigates at all?" she asked.
"Och, awright 'er, hen!" the controller cheered, recognising her accent. Mum grinned, a shadow lifting from her face. "Fer a Spectre job, aye we kin tak' 'er. Spectre run, eh? Ach, cannae be guid," Lani gawked at mum. The language dropped my jaw, struggling to even pick out normal words from the controller. It didn't seem like any language ever. Mum rolled my eyes.
"He said yes, they can take the ship," She said. Lani wagged his mandibles, jaw dropped. My eyes returned to the window again, spotting a city creeping up on the horizon "Cheers, big man. Appreciate it,"
"Ach, nae bother, hen. Juist need tae check yer Spectre 'n a' that. Sendin' docking vectors noo," he responded. Mum straightened, holding her hands out.
"Now was that difficult?" She asked. Lani looked around the flight deck, arms held out at his side.
"Did anyone understand him? Anyone?!" He asked.
"Sounded Irish," Connor said with a raised brow. Mum gaped in horror, jaw dropping to the floor as colour flushed to her face, fury ignited. My snigger betrayed me, mum whipping around to point a finger at me with a glare frozen to her face.
"Don't you agree with him, Gideon!" she snapped. My chin raised, a smirk spreading on my lips
"He kinda did," I said. Mum sucked in a shallow breath as she wagged her finger. A tremor shook me, wondering if she would carry through with what was going through her head.
"You're getting a smacked bottom at this rate," she said, tone low. To hide my doubt, a smile spread over my face. An annoyed sound bursting through mum's lips. "Alright people, let's dock and get the shuttle up to Kinlochleven ASAP. I… I want this over and done with," Mum said with hesitation, spotting the city on the horizon. "The less time I have to deal with Kinlochleven, the better I'll be,"
"Roger that. Have you got the team ready for touchdown?" Lani asked. Mum chewed her lip, eyes raising to the window as the city grew closer.
"Aye. Mari, I'd like you the pilot the shuttle, Lanster can babysit the Starquake," mum said. Mari blinked in surprise.
"If that's what you wish but… isn't Bralem, Una and Lesley the usual shuttle pilots?" Mari asked, quivering.
"I want to keep this mission… personal, I don't know what kind of state I'll be in once we get there. I don't doubt their abilities I'd just rather have… more familiar faces in case…" Mum trailed off, emotion catching her voice. "In case I break down,"
"Dell, no one will judge you," Lani said. My gaze tore away from the incoming city, watching mum bounce on her toes, chewing her lip. "We got a brief last night about what might happen. We know this will hit you hard so we're making precautions," Mum's head snapped to face him, eyebrows raised as panic crossed her expression.
"Wait, there was a briefing last night? When? I wasn't informed," Mum asked, swinging her gaze around the cockpit.
"XO Jorgal thought you might get distressed if you attended the meeting. After Thessia, everyone is a little wary in case your Reaper fights for control again. We're don't want to trigger her before the whole thing happens. She thought it best to fill us in without you there to keep a lid on Nyryntha," Connor explained.
"And?" Mum asked, her tone drifting higher a touch.
"Just that this was a personal mission for you and to expect command to change hands from you to the commanders. They said to give you space and not question anything," I said. Mum fell silent, breathing in uneven breaths.
"I'll speak with Raisha later," she said. "Alright, let's get the team assembled," She shook her head, turning from the cockpit to march with a dulled step towards the Control Ring. Seconds later, my quicker steps joined hers, a frown drawn as her downcast eyes refused to lift. She stopped by the intercom, shaking her shoulders free from whatever tension held them bunched to her neck. "Attention all crew, attentional all crew. Crew assignment roll call for the Kinlochleven mission. We will dock in Glasgow within the next few minutes, I need Shual, Andria, Saldan, Jarlan, Henry, Phylla, Anthon, Mari, Spectre Bargatus and Commanders Autillin, Delern and Thermi'a to suit up. We move as soon as we have cleared our Spectres with the controllers. Suit up people and report to the armoury for weapon dispensing. We're taking the 20-seater shuttle. Dismissed," mum said into the speaker. An idea popped into my head. The 20-seater shuttle had spare seats, only 13 people were going on this mission.
"Can I come?" I asked. Mum jolted, jerking her gaze down as her jaw floundered. She shook her head, jaw tightening as she controlled herself.
"Are you kidding me? No," she said. "If there is a trap waiting for me there, I want you as far away from it as I can," She marched towards the elevator.
"Aw, c'mon, please! You never let me go anywhere, even though you got me that armour! I just wanna get out of the ship for a while!" I pleaded. Mum sighed as she hit the button for the top deck.
"I got you that armour in case we had to go out onto the Citadel while the station was on high alert. My answer is still no," she said, but her tone weakened.
"Please, I wanna see where you grew up, I wanna see what Earth looks like! I'll be super careful, I'll stay close to everyone, I swear!" I begged, bouncing around her to keep her face staring at mine. Mum rubbed her eyes as circled for the entire time in the elevator to lose me somehow. When the elevator parted, she walked up the hall to her room.
"Gideon-" she said once more, finding her voice. My eyebrows tipped upwards, harnessing my puppy dog eyes to break down her resistance. This might be my only chance to see where mum grew up and where she lived and stuff. We may never come back here again and with the Reapers coming, they might destroy the place.
"Please?" I asked. Mum sighed, struggling to keep eye contact with me. Her eyes diverted and her shoulders sagged. Hope perked, my body quivering. Had I won the fight?
"Fine, but you stay next to Mat'al and you do not leave his side, do I make myself clear?" she said, waved her finger at me. My triumph died as she stepped around me to enter her room.
"Sassy!? B-But why Sassy?" I asked, chasing after her. My eyes locked onto Sassy's door as it passed, wondering if he was in there… a shudder ripped through me, powerful enough to pause my progress mid-step. Mum continued on without me "Can't Cops look after me?"
"No, Cops can't look after you," a flanged voice snorted. My head twirled around as Cops emerged from his room wearing his dark purple armour decorated in green stripes. My upper body collapsed forward, staring up at the massive alien. "Cops is busy babysitting everyone else," he smirked. His head turned to mum, lowering to her ear. He whispered something in her ear, too quiet for me to hear. Mum's lips flicked up.
"Thanks Val, I appreciate it," mum said, a small smile fighting free before she walked into her room.
"But-" I tried.
"But nothing. Now if you want to come, go put your armour on, you are not going out there in the middle of January dressed like that! You'll freeze!" Mum snapped, balking at the thought. "And if there is a trap, at least you'll have some protection," A whine droned from my throat, looking back to see Val disappearing into the elevator. After a war between going to see where mum grew up and staying with Sassy, my shoulders slumped, a sighed whistling free.
"Yes, mum," I said. Mum nodded before the door closed. My sulk soured my expression as my feet scuffed down the hall to my room. It was the third on the port side.
Entering the room made me realise how little time I spent here. Although 'my room', more often than not, you found me asleep in mum's room. Nothing had shifted, everything stayed in its original location. A faint layer of dust coated the desk, the bed, just about everywhere. The only places not dusty was the bathroom and that was because mum took forever in the mornings. The bed remained unmade, the sheets, duvet and pillow cases folded on top, ready to cover the bed. It was too dangerous to sleep alone, not that the crew caused me any worry for my safety but you could never be sure. Too many experiences told me it was a stupid idea to assume safety. The desk had nothing on it other than the small computer and the sofa didn't even a crease on it. My room existed, nothing more.
The wardrobe between my desk and bathroom held 90% air. 4 uniforms for wearing around the ship, a few other clothes for shore leave – whenever that materialised – and my armour sat in boxes on the bottom. My hands yanked the dark purple armour out of the boxes, pulling the casual uniform off my head. The child version of the Kassa Fabrication armour, from what mum told me, was a custom build from the Council. She said something about a 'growing' warranty since she claimed I still had a good few centimetres to grow. Circles in the middle of the torso stood out as a lighter purple colour, like mum's armour. Purple stripes on the thighs and on the back also reminded me of mum's armour. Purple wasn't my colour, but it was the uniform colour and no one else complained so... nothing I could do about it. Everything clicked into place like clockwork. Armour, while in many pieces, wasn't hard to put on once you did it a few times. Ready, my hand reached into a box at the bottom of the wardrobe. Inside lay a sorry looking pistol and an old Swiss army knife that fell into my hands while jumping from ship to ship. This blade had sliced more than a few throats in its lifespan… The blade vanished into one pocket on my belt and the pistol snapped to my hip. Compared to mum's new guns, which came in a few days ago, my pistol old pistol wouldn't shoot through paper. Problem was it had saved me too many times to throw it away though. After checking everything, my jaw set as my feet charged out of the door. Had to get to the armoury before mum left me behi- My yelp banged off the walls as something grabbed the back of my armour and yanked be back. My arms flailed around to keep balance, grabbing onto whatever had snagged me. My eyes turned up, a shudder trembling down my back.
"H-Hi Sassy," I said with a nervous smile. The salarian flicked a half smile before lifting me off the ground and planting me in a more steady position. My cheeks stained red, shuffling next to the tall salarian.
"Good morning, Gideon," Sassy greeted, striding down the hall. My eyes scanned the hall, seeking help but found none. My shoulders sagged before trudging after him. "So, Dell has informed me I am to watch you for this mission,"
"Y-Yeah, Cops is too busy with everyone else to worry about me too," I said as the elevator doors closed behind us. Sassy glanced at a camera in the corner of the elevator before bringing out his omni-tool. The light went out on the camera. My body shook, eyes shifting to Sassy with a twitch. What was he doing?
"Gideon, listen and listen well, boy. I am not known to repeat things," Sassy said, crossing his arms as his narrow eyes stared me down. A shaken step backwards didn't help, a heavy weight settling in my chest. "Your mother is under a great deal of stress and anxiety right now-" Oh goddam it, this again?
"I know, I'm not blind," I muttered. Sassy raised a brow, silencing me while my blood froze.
"I know you have eyes, Gideon," Sassy said with a bull-whip snap. "But this is your first mission and I will not allow you to put your mother, or anyone else, in danger because of your folly or arrogance. You will see a side to your mother you have never seen before and with any luck, will never see again,"
"I've seen mum cry before," I said, disheartened but frustrated by the repeated talk from last night.
"But you haven't seen your mother neck deep in grief," Sassy said. A frown dropped the corner of my lips, weight shuffling as my eyes shifted to watch the numbers counting down. Were they going slower than usual? Sassy slipped a hand inside one of his pouches at his hip. He dragged out an omni-tool ring. He held it out.
"…I've already got an omni-tool," I said. A slow smirk spread over his face, chilling me.
"You'll want this one. Don't let your mother find it though," he said. My mouth opened, but the words suffocated in my throat. After a moment, my fingers took the omni-tool, snapping it on my wrist. My older one vanished into one of my pouches. The sound of the doors opening sent me jittering The ground crew was waiting for us by the large light grey, black and purple shuttle on the left side of the ship. They were checking their weapons as Sassy dragged me towards them.
"Took your time, Delern," Cops said. Sassy shrugged.
"Elevator malfunctioned, decided it wanted to slow down," Sassy answered as he strode over the weapons bench. Mum was fiddling with her new Locust, a new pistol at her hip.
"Grab your gear and let's move," Mum ordered, leaving the armoury to enter the shuttle deck. Inside, cranes lowered the 20-seater shuttle from its cradle onto the landing pad. She hopped into the shuttle and sitting down at a far-side window. Cops was a step behind and Diri herded everyone else in. A quick bounce off the ground and my backside landed on the chair opposite mum. Sassy was the last one in. "Alright Mari, we're ready. Raisha is handling the whole Spectre business with Rosmani and Sitoln so we shouldn't need to worry too much about that," she babbled.
"Aye, aye, Captain. Co-ordinates set for Kinlochleven," Mari said. The engines hummed before the shuttle lifted off the ground on the landing pad. After a few seconds, Mari steered us out and clear of the Starquake.
"You had much practice with the Paladin yet?" Cops asked. Mum flicked a smile.
"Some. It's… well, it isn't too different from the Carnifex. Mat'al put a stabiliser mod until I get used to the recoil. I'll get used to… it," her words died as the city appeared on the right side of the shuttle.
My eyes bugged at the city below me. A river cut through the city, towering skyscrapers surrounding smaller, old stone buildings that looked hundreds of years old. A huge road with lights directing the shuttles above wiggled through the city, the grey ribbon cracked with age with plants growing on it, but the towering beacons above them were new and shiny. It was as if they couldn't be bothered to remove the old infrastructure when hovering vehicles came around and just built the traffic beacons on top of the old roads and motorways. It looked… well, it looked like the city refused to let go of some of its past. The most packed part of the city was stone and brick buildings, the odd modern skyscraper, all the modern ones were skirting the edges of it. Mum choked, hand quivering over her mouth. My gaze snapped away from the window, finding her hypnotised at the scene. But looking at her contorted face, it wasn't wonder that held her. Cops dropped a hand and squeezed her knee, eyes on the city around us. Mum's finger trembled away from her mouth, pointing at something.
"T-That's my old university. I spent four years of my life cursing that blasted place. Oh Christ, Hogwarts hasn't changed. A-And that's where I stayed in halls, although…although awful flats are gone now… I-I think those newer buildings are the new residencies. Oh Jesus, is that bar still open? How hell is that rip-off piece of shit still open?" Mum bit her thumb, struggling to hold back the tears. "God, everything is… I-I can recognise a few places but everything else... my uni, Kelvingrove Museum, parts of the city centre. I didn't think Glasgow would get such a facelift,"
"You alright?" Cops asked. Mum swallowed hard.
"Y-yeah. I-It's like meeting a friend you haven't spoken to in years… only they've had massive plastic surgery," Mum said with a weak smile. Cops smirked, his expression lighting up a little.
"Don't forget the sex change!" Diri added. Dell spurted out a laugh, surprised. She turned back to the city.
"You can't forget the sex change," she said, distracted. A tense atmosphere captured the air, no one dared said a thing. No one wanted to hurt her…
The chatter hummed, too afraid to get any louder apart from the odd titbit from mum about somewhere she recognised. We hit the mountains now, huge lakes spanning the jagged valleys. My forehead rested against wall, staring at the hologram giving us the windows on the sides. The clouds billowed around us, rain spitting past us. Rain greeted us in Glasgow, but it only became worse the further north we went. And the wind would buffer against us all the time too, sending my stomach jumping. Mum didn't seem all that bothered, as if she had expected this. Creeping closer to Kinlochleven, a rapid tapping sound filled the shuttle, getting louder and faster with each passing moment. My eyes skimmed past mum, tapping her foot. 5 minutes from landing, mum whipped around to Mari in the cockpit.
"Mari, drop us off on Garbh Bheinn for a few minutes," she said. Mari's blank expression spoke volumes. Mum sighed, agitated. "I'll point it out, it's a Munro," she pulled herself out of the chair, diving into the cockpit. The shuttle turned dead as we listened in. "Not that mountain there, that's Aonach Eagach Ridge. We want the mountain just behind that… no, that one… well it is that one. That's the actual peak but in this weather I just want to go to that lower peak there, just to the northeast,"
My head jerked around the shuttle as people yanking on their helmets. A few moments later, the engines hummed as we hovered above the mountain, easing the flat bellied shuttle onto the uneven ground. Mum threw the door open, jumping out as if possessed. Cops and Diri leapt behind her as the rest of the shuttle emptied. My ankle balanced me as a stone sent my balance out of whack. Cobbles littered the hillside as the slippery rocks made trekking the distance wobbled as my feet traversed the loose rocks that littered this flat part of the mountain. Mum didn't even bother to pull her helmet on, her red hair whipping in the gusts. By the time I caught up with the rest of the crew, mum was on her knees.
"Take your time," Cops murmured, a hands on mum's shoulders, squeezing them to assure her we were there. "We're all here for you,"
My eyes narrowed, leaning forward beside her, quivering. What did she look like, staring at her home? Mum's skin looked dead, pale and colourless. The tips of her fingers pressed so tight to her lips the tips had turned white too. Her eyes were wide, fixated on the scene before her. Tears threatened to spill free in the howling wind and battering rain, eyes glistening in the dreary day. This was… Mum had never been like this, never this pale. Never so vulnerable. She always seemed so strong and to see her break so… My eyebrows snapped down, turning to the scene before me, determined to find a reason for her tears, to make someone pay!
But there was no one to blame, staring at the scene. People abandoned the small town long ago, trees overwhelmed the entire valley, not a single building held an intact roof and in most cases, the walls had collapsed from age, abandonment and vegetation. The most dominating feature was a massive landslip, a huge scar on the hillside in the distance that vegetation still hadn't recovered from. It had consumed the northern part of the town, sparing only the far eastern side of the town. The landslip obliterated everything, ruining whatever lay beneath it. The southern half had warped and cracked through trees and time. There wasn't much left. How long would take to get through those trees, there didn't seem to be a clear path through them. Minutes passed before mum mustered the strength to find her feet, leaning against Cops for support as she staggered back towards the shuttle. The ground crew now knew what we faced, and mum knew what her home had become. Inside the shuttle, someone passed a towel to dry mum's head, but she never noticed. Her head remained in her hands, elbows on her thigh as Mari lifted off, moving deeper down the valley to find a safe place to land. She found it on the valley floor on a swampy moor outside the town. Mum tapped her foot the entire way down until she parked on the remains of a broken road.
With the shuttle parked a safe distance away from the dense trees and Mari on standby in case we ran into trouble, we trekked towards the town. Trees blocked out view from the lake – or loch as mum called it – on the left side, but the bubbling creeks still trickled beneath our feet as water gushed down the mountains above us. Only the cloud topped mountain peaks towered high enough through the deadened tree branches, winter leaving a tangled remnant of once lush vegetation. Mum kept her gaze ahead, but it wandered as we got closer, but her entire boy trembled as we got closer to the town. Surrounded by the trees, mum proved to be factor that would decide when we reached the damn place. She kept stopping, pausing mid-step. Her gaze flew everywhere, as if something haunted her in the trees. Cops kept a hand on her shoulder, never pushing her but his eyes scanned the trees. My frustration grew as the pace slowed. Everyone told me this would be hard for mum so why couldn't we just go on ahead while she freaked out? Any attempt to voice my opinions stopped dead though, mum looked stressed enough as it was. Mum dragged her feet as she walked forward, hunched over as she scanned the trees. The road we weaved through had trees jutting out in every crevice. Trees popped up through the old tarmac that had long cracked and given up its fight for survival. Mum jolted, shying away from something in the trees. Peeking around the mass of bodies, nothing seemed obvious. Mum's breathing jarred through her, the jolt spooking her. We weren't even at the edge of the town yet!
"It's January…" she gasped under her breath. Cops clicked his mandibles, eyes ahead.
"It is, yeah," he said. Mum shuddered as her hand ran through her hair.
"There shouldn't be bugs…" she whispered. Diri skipped by her side, a small frown on her lips.
"Bugs? What bugs? I see none," Diri said, rising on her toes to poke over the heads of those around her. Mum stopped, staring at her with eyes the size of saucers.
"You can't hear it…?" she asked, confusion curling her eyebrows up.
"Hear what?" Cops asked with a frown, turning his head.
"The… the buzzing. Like… like bees," mum said, eyes spinning around to the rest of her crew. My muscles froze, transfixed. Mum's skin was paler here than it was on the hill. She looked translucent.
"Dell, my hearing is about 3 times more sensitive than yours. If there was buzzing, I would hear it," Cops said. "Are you sure it's not in your head?"
"I… I don't know?" she stammered. She turned her head. "I'm… I'm sure it's not. I-It's coming from that direction. S-Something in my head wouldn't have direction… right?" she pointed over the loch, towards the hill just behind the town. Diri gave her a hug, dropping her voice. Even shuffling closer, her words escaped me. Mum swallowed, water trickling down her. From her expression, the water dropping from her was sweat not rain. "I… L-Let's see if I can get closer. I-It might just be a barrier?" she whimpered. Diri patted her shoulder, glued to her side.
We reached the edge of the town, the shattered remains of buildings poking out from the trees like ghosts. My arms secured around me, terrified as the creep factor skyrocketed. Progress slowed as mum stalled. At one point, mum whipped around and took quick 6 steps in the other direction before stopping herself. Turning around, her sluggish progress returning as she re-joined Diri. She cupped her hands over her ears, leaning on Diri. She doubled over, face riddled with agony.
"It's so loud!" she cried. "I can't… I-I can't even…" Mum shook her head, rocking. "I-I don't wanna be here, I-I need to go, I have to go, I need to-" she shambled forward a step, lifting her head. She turned into a statue, not even breathing.
"M-Mum?" I asked. Something held mum spellbound, like she had seen a bear or something in the trees… but there wasn't anything there! My hand reached out. Gripping her belt, my tug did nothing to snap her back. "C'mon, we can go back to the shuttle, you'll be safe there," I said, creeping around to look at her face. Her eyes glowed electronic blue. "M-Mum! C-C'mon! Let's go, something ain't right here, c'mon!" I babbled, nuclear meltdown destroying my brain function. My weight pushed her away from the town, to make her move. She stumbled back a step.
The wind whipped the trees then. It was one step too far. Next thing, an ear shattering scream ripped from her throat. She whipped around and bolted into the trees. The crew cried her name, an attempt to bring her back. Diri chased after her a heartbeat later and the pair of them vanished into the trees. Cops' voice thundered over the noise, demanding silence, rallying the crew. The crew froze as Cops recollected everyone, holding them in place. A tremble ran down me, staring into the darkness of the trees on the gloomy day as mum's screams echoed through them like ghosts. My eyes fell on a tall tree just beside the vague road. In a bound, my hands reached for it, clambering up it to peer over the trees. Cops snapped at me, calling me down but it never stopped me. My eyes fixated to the top of the tree, nothing else mattered. Not the wet trunk, the jagged branches, not the birds that squawked and scattered. Just the top of the tree. My hands hauled me up on the tallest, strongest branch available. Now able to see over the majority of the trees, an empty stretch of land running by the loch poked over the trees. Two dots raced over the moor, moving away from the town.
"Mari, bring the shuttle down the lake! Dellion needs evac!" Diri's voice rang in my ear piece.
"O-On the way, Commander!" Mari answered. My breath stuck in my throat as Diri slipped, using her biotics to regain her footing on the boggy land. Mum was unstoppable, not stopped by the deep, boggy and slippery ground.
"What do you see, Gideon?" Sassy called up. His voice startled me, gaze snapping down towards the ground. Wow, I was high up… "What do you see?" he repeated. My throat tightened, swallowing.
"M-Mum and Diri are running along the banks of the lake, running west," I called, turning my attention back to the forms on the moor. The shuttle soared overhead, one door opening as Mari hovered near mum's path. Mum recognise the shuttle in her blind panic since she changed directions to run for it. A sour breath escaped when she scrambled aboard, limbs flying. Through the radio, her panicked breaths rang on the borders of screaming as Diri closed in on the shuttle.
"Get me out of here!" mum screeched. A loud thud sounded as she crashed into the opposite wall of the shuttle. "Get me out!" Diri leapt in after her.
"Go, Mari, go! It's ok, Dellion, you're alright. You're safe, you're safe," Diri crooned.
Mum still screamed in bursts, panicked into blindness before Mari turned off her intercom. The shuttle door closed and drifted upwards, away from the town. it flew up towards the mountain we had stopped on before, to get her away from the town. Disheartened, my gaze dropped to my hands, realising that my hands held the tree in a death grip. Each finger released, breathing as my nerves settled, before climbing back down the tree. About ¾ of the way down, my grip slipped. A stammered yell cried out as my ass crashed on the broken ground. Sniggers rose from the crew, lighting my cheeks up. My attempt to hide the blush with a glare failed.
"It's slippy!" I snapped.
"I'm sure it is," Shual smirked. My grumbling gave rise to another set of chuckles.
"Alright, we're moving to Plan B. Indira will calm Dell down and see if she can direct us from a safe location. I am assuming command of the ground team. Are we clear?" Cops asked, giving Sassy an accusing tone. Sassy smiled.
"Understood," he said.
"Good, let's move out people! We've got a lot of ground to cover. Anthon, get the mission briefing Dell wrote. Did she mention where she stayed?" Val ordered as he marched down the road. Everyone followed suit. Anthon opened his omni-tool, humming.
"We're looking for a street called 'Sutherland Avenue'. Dell didn't give us any other information, she assumed she would be here," Anthon said. "We should teach her to make detailed plans in the future,"
"Great, then we're scavenging. Everyone group up, 3s or 4s and split up. Any trouble, you call. Find old road signs, with any luck, they'll be readable. Everyone pull out a map on the omni-tools and cross out any streets you can confirm as not being Sutherland Avenue. Dell can direct us soon," Val ordered.
We split up once we noticed branching roads creeping off into the trees. Phylla, Shual and Andria followed a road up to the right. After walking around a bend, another road appeared on the right which Jarlan, Henry and Saldan took. More roads on the right appeared in quick succession, so we passed those for until we closed in on the river. Ruined buildings built up the closer to the river we got. From here, the foot of the massive landslip towered 3 floors high across the way, forcing the river to bulge out and erode into the road. Collapsed buildings lay in the middle of the altered river. The remains of roofs and buildings poking out from the landslip foot. Val, Drutus and Anthon disappeared up the second to last road on the right, next to a large, brick building that had lost its roof and second floor. It left just Sassy and me when we reached the river.
"Shouldn't… Shouldn't we find another team to group up with?" I asked, staring at the bridge, snapped clean in half and washed part of the way down the river.
"Oh we'll be fine. Besides, I can look after myself," Sassy smiled. "You just need to focus on running," My jaw tightened, glowering as my eyes scanned the ruined town in the gloom.
"Thanks," I muttered. Sassy ignored me, looking around the river's edge, he found a metal sign with writing on one side. He wiped the dirt off.
"You can read Human English, yes?" Sassy asked. My head nodded. He held up the sign.
"It says public toilet," I sighed. "Y'know, we're not going find this street without mum. After 170 years, any metal signs wouldn't survive,"
"That is a problem to consider. Metal rusts and weather strips paint. If it got buried, however, there is a chance the text could remain. Let's check up this road a little," Sassy pointed down a long road, following the river.
"…What if it's under the landslip on the other side of the river?" I asked. Sassy frowned.
"We'll check one side of a river at a time, Gideon. But pray that it isn't under that slip," he said. His tone sent a chill down my spine.
"Ah, you little shit!" a voice echoed down the valley. We spun around, focusing on the sound.
"We've got mechs, people! Someone has been here! Wheel forgive, how many of them are there?!" Anthon cried. Sassy grabbed his shotgun and ran towards the voices.
"Hide in that building and stay there. And if you see any mechs, run back to where the shuttle was and radio Mari. Do I make myself clear?" Sassy ordered, pointing to the old building further up the road we had walked up. My mouth opened, but the salarian already ran to the gunfire popping through the air.
My feet rooted onto the ground with the river behind me. Mechs? A frown turned my lips down. During my travels across the galaxy, mechs were a common sight. Why here though, was this some Saboteur plan or… or was there something else going on here? My tongue clucked before looking at the river. A sigh of defeat sounded before running up the road as Sassy told me to. Although a gap in the path blocked me. A 5m drop waited for me between me and that building. It looked like a man-made channel and the bridge across to it had collapsed and washed away. It wasn't a massive gap. With enough speed and luck, My legs pushed me over the gap, although my arms clung to the side. After hauling myself up, My muscles shook themselves out, trudging towards the building. The sorry looking building wasn't massive, but part of the roof had long collapsed. It didn't protect me from the rain. One side had dropped too. Nothing but piles of stone and brick lay here, with trees reclaiming the ground. The collapsed wall gave me a nice view of the river though, it looked narrow here, if rough from the rain. My feet kicked up the floorboards, rotted and wet, to reveal a piece of laminated paper. Curiosity hand me pick up the water washed paper to read it.
"Blackwater Hostel and Campsite, twin and family rooms, blah, blah, blah… Lab Road?" I read. Well, that scored this road out then. Agitation bunched my shoulders as my omni-tool lit up the rotted room, digging around until the map appeared. My finger scored out the road as a possibility, joining others before the fighting started. Abandoning the pamphlet, boredom set in within seconds. Kicking up stones proved useless as my feet carried me to the river, through the trees. A bundle of buildings on the other side poked through the hibernating trees. My teeth nibbled my lips. These were the only surviving buildings from the north side of the town… and there wasn't all that much there. My eyes glanced behind me, the pops of gunfire still cracking through the sky. It wouldn't take long to check a few of them… right? My jaw set. Dammit, I was part of the team, I would not sit around and do nothing!
My foot entered the river, air forced out my lungs as the cold temperature snapped at my skin. My arms flew out to keep my balance as the slippy rocks and raging swells pushed against me. It wasn't deep here and it was narrow but God it was freezing! My feet kicked me out the river towards a tree on the opposite bank to stop myself falling face first into the water. Free from the freezing water, my feet stamped on the sodden ground to get blood back into them, shaking my legs to get water out my boots. My feet stumbled through the trees until an open area appeared. An old, rotted lamppost lay collapsed against a tree, a leg of a street sign remaining. Road signs, gotta look for road signs. My feet stamped the ground until metal crunched under my boot. My hands pulled away grass, moss and bracken, yanking a metal plate off. Worms and bugs scuttled away as my eyes scanned the name.
'Wades Road' stared back. My gaze turned down the street, glancing to the map in my hand. Why didn't this map have any names on it? How were we to find anything here? My eyes stared down the long road with a semi-circle of streets. Why didn't mum just tell us where her street was, or put the names on the map? Maybe she forgot? A grumble sounded as my finger turned the whole long road red, running around a corner until it hit the landslide area. My eyes scanned the whole area, looking for any other signs that could tell me where this was. Walking up a small crescent nearby, but not even rotted metal posts of old street names remained or hid in the knee high brown bracken. Mum said they sometimes put the street name on the side of buildings, which only make this harder since so many trees towered and climbed up the walls, ivy too was thick in places. They next street up had none obvious signs either, most of the buildings were wrecks but not as damaged as those across the river. Some still had their roofs. Still, my scanning continued, stepping around the thick bracken, walking around the semi-circle until the second street.
This one had a sign on it, or the legs that used to hold one anyway. My feet crushed the bracken to find any sign of what this street's name was. Nothing materialised, well, not until my eyes spotted something pale leaning against a tree. There, a sign sat propped up against it, as if someone had picked it up and put it down again. Worry grew, dread filling my stomach as my hand dropped to my beaten up pistol, approaching it. Two languages jittered on the worn surface, the first one made no sense at all. The second said Sutherland Avenue. My heart leapt in my chest. This was mum's street, here? My gaze turned up to the row of buildings, most intact compared to those surrounding it. This was where mum stayed, where she grew up. She went to school here, she had lived most of her life here! And… look at it. My eyebrows upturned. Ruined, destroyed, happy memories gone… was this what mum meant? My eyes drew back to the sign lain against the tree. What worried me was who had put the road sign there. This smelt like a trap! A Saboteur could have found the sign, cleaned it up and put it there for mum to find. My teeth grit, bringing up my map. The road turned green under my fingers, hoping someone would see it when the firefight ended. Whenever it ended since pops still shattered the quiet. My pistol popped free in my hand, preparing for whatever came my way. My experience before mum found me taught me enough about being cautious in unknown situations that smelt rotten.
Only the houses on the right side faced out onto the street, the left side had overgrown paths leading off from Sutherland Avenue but none of them seemed to be part of the street itself. Check one side of the street first, just like they were checking one side of the river. My jaw tightened as my eyes studied the street before me to see if there was anything obvious first before poking my head inside buildings. The first little bungalow was a write off, the roof collapsed long ago but there was nothing obvious, bloody plants! The second building, however, caught me. It was two stories tall and wasn't in too terrible a state. It still had slates attached in the space between the upper and lower windows, even though most of the glass had long broken away. Part of the roof had collapsed but overall looked good. What held me, however, was a number plate that had moss cleaned from it sitting on a stone pillar next to what would have been the driveway. '3-4 Shaik' engraved the black plaque. The tension in my jaw tightened. I'd found it. It was here… In a place this small, there couldn't be any other Shaiks, it wasn't a common surname according to mum. This plaque was also clean, just like the road sign. The pistol raised, both hands holding it still as my feet walked up the trampled vegetation.
Inside the building, the air suffocated me from musky air. A hole in the front part of the roof exposed part of the second floor. No signs about which one was mum's, all the paint and wallpaper had long since gone, but there were the remains of soft toys swallowed up from a moss bed. On the ground floor, an old piano lay in pieces before me, the wood rotten through. A few pieces of furniture, or what remained of them, lay under brick, wood and slate. Plants had consumed the ground floor and crept up the walls. The empty house sent chills up my spine.
"So this is mum's house, huh? I wonder what it looked like before…" I muttered, looking around for anything that could be a clue, old photos or something to salvage for mum.
A sound shattered the heavy silence. An electronic 'wish woosh', the rustling of paper like an old-school printer. My gun jerked straight, eyes wide in surprise. The sound stopped with a definite crack. My eyes darted around the house, through the holes in the walls. What was that, where had it come from? The back? In the kitchen? My feet jerked over the tall grass, each foot placed with care before ducking under a buckling doorway. A kitchen opened up, a few remaining tiles clinging to the walls as an old cooker lay rotting on its side. My eyes caught the back garden and blood rushed to my toes. Someone cut back the vegetation, exposing green grass looked like it had been basking in sun for a few months. All the loose rubble piled up in the back corner and a hut made from metal, clean and new, stood against the back wall. My head ducked under the doorway, back out into the fresh, sodden air. The large, shed-like container said 'DSST Constellation Temporary Shelter' printed on the side, it showed no sign of moss or dirt on it, as if placed yesterday. My frown deepened. DSST… what did that mean? Was it a company, where these the guys who put the mechs here? A quick skirt around it showed me a door. A touch of the hologram by the door parted the door.
Inside was… I don't know what it was. A computer monitor with a few lights and circles above it stared back at me, text blinking on the hazy screen, unreadable. Cables poured out of the back of a complex array of boxes, make to look like an ordinary wooden cabinet with a monitor built into it. Those cables went into the house. An old computer? Well, whatever it was, the cabinet had rusted, proving the 'wood' was metal made to look like wood. No sign of what caused the noise though. My gaze flicked over my shoulder in case anyone crept up on me. The whole thing seemed powered by a generator in the corner beside this strange computer. According to a label on the generator, it had been on for tested at least 8 months ago… which was very recent for a place that was abandoned for 200 years. My upper body leaned down for a closer look, to read the hazy text on the monitor. Then a circle above the monitor rotated. My eyes widened. A camera. Instinct pushed me away, pistol drawn and aimed at the damn machine in terror. A camera?! Why the hell would this have a camera? An active camera at that! What the hell was it? Then the sound came again, louder. My eyes jumped around the room until a roll of paper spat out of a slit on one of the wood-like metal 'drawers'. My hand trembled as it reached for it, taking hold of the long, thin tape like paper. When the printing finished, my hand tugged it free. There was text with gaps between what would have been separate messages.
'Good Day, sir. And who are you?' the paper said. My frown grew, confused. My eyes darted to the previous message which said 'Unknown voice, identify yourself'. The camera above the screen captured my gaze once more.
"Uh… Gideon?" I said. After a few seconds, the paper rolled again, a new message on it. With furrowed eyebrows, my fingers tore it off and read it.
'And to what brings you here, Gideon?' it said. My jaw dropped. What the hell was this?!
"I-I'm on here with my crew, led by Endellion Shaik! Who the hell are you?!" I demanded. Was this a prank, some guy typing away on the other end of this computer? If it was- my promise of vengeance stopped dead as the paper printed again.
"I am A32-B9-S, known as 'Marshal'. I was a rudimentary AI, one of the first, given sentience in 2011 by Mr Adrian Shaik to serve his family and their estates. However, I am more concerned of your mentioning of Miss Shaik. Where is Miss Shaik? Is she well?' the near essay asked. My jaw found itself on the ground. An AI?
"An AI? So… you're what she named her drone after," I said. "But Dell… she was here but she was freaking out, something about buzzing and we took her to a safe place away from here. I-I think she's ok," Another pause consumed the machine as it processed my words but the printer began once more.
'Miss Shaik must never step foot in this place. Her IPC appears to be functioning for her to leave the area,' the paper said. Why would she leave… what was an IPC? What the hell was going on!?
"What… what's an IPC?" I asked.
'Indoctrination Prevention Chip. It was implanted in her between her awakening and the Saboteur Assault of May the 10th, 2183' Marshal said. A chip to stop indoctrination? Then why was she succumbing to indoctrination?!
"Well that chip isn't doing very much now! Nyryntha is winning! Her eyes glow blue every now and then!" I snapped. "And… how do you know about all this stuff about Saboteurs anyway?" There was a long pause, the screen showed a whirl of activity, blurry text impossible to read. The paper surfaced.
'Listen, child. The IPC was a short term solution to possible indoctrination should Miss Shaik ever become separated. It is not meant to last 20 months. It has an overclocking function you can activate it when you pass 3 volts over the green connection. The IPC is on the spine at the base of the neck. Miss Shaik will be out of action for several days, but it should cleanse the indoctrination to a more manageable level. Miss Shaik must receive full RIT as soon as physically able, however' Marshal explained.
"RIT, chip on her neck, what the hell… how do you know about all this indoctrination and Saboteur stuff! You're an AI in the middle of nowhere! Why the hell should I even listen to you?" I demanded. The printer started before I even finished speaking.
'Child, I have just met you. Under what jurisdiction do you have that allows you to know such confidential information such as that?' the paper sounded amused judging the computers grinded. 'And if I had wished harm upon Miss Shaik, why would I tell you to not bring her here, how to operate the IPC? I cannot judge your experience of AIs, young sir, but I have my duty and my duty is to the Shaik Household, not with petty meddling from other humans or machines' Marshal retorted. My teeth ground.
"I have your bloody jurisdiction! I am a Shaik and Dell's my mum!" I snapped. A long pause followed. Did it turn itself off? The paper printed.
'That is not possible. Miss Shaik was not pregnant at the time of her disappearance. Nor has enough time passed to have that child grow to your stage' Marshal said. My jaw popped.
"It's called adoption, you idiot! Mum rescued me from batarian slavers! She saved me, saved me running around the galaxy without a place to go, gave me food, water, a warm bed, a home. She gave me a fucking home! I've never had a home before…" I said, voice dying, a lump crimpling my voice. "She has given me more than you could ever know. I won't let anyone hurt her. No one! Not a Saboteur, not some crazy AI, not anyone!" My glare did nothing to the computer, impatience burning me while the replay computed. At least this shelter kept the rain off me.
"H-Hey everyone. D-Dell here," A voice stutter over the radio. Relief floored me, air rushing from me.
"How are you feeling, Captain?" Saldan asked. There was a minor pause.
"Better, I think. I-I'm up on the mountain again. I can't hear the buzzing from up here. What's the situation?" She asked.
"We've cleaned up some mechs we ran into. Although, someone has forgotten his own mission and Gideon is nowhere to be found," Cops said with an accusing tone. My heart stopped, imagining mum's terror. My finger pressed to my ear.
"I'm ok, mum. I found your house!" I called. "But um… well… do you know what DSST means?"
"No, I don't, and don't you try to change the subject! I told you to stay with Mat'al!" Mum snapped.
"I did! Sassy told me to go hide in some hostel building or something and then I uh… I uh…" I said, falling silent as realisation dawned.
"And then you wandered away," mum finished with an agitated sigh. "Team, you need to cross the river,"
"Uh, also I uh… I'm having a very interesting conversation with a …Marshal? But is… it's complicated. He keeps mention Saboteurs but won't tell me why because its 'confidential information' and he doesn't know who I am. He also says there some kind of indoctrination prevention chip or something on your spine at your neck," I added, wondering how long it would take for Sassy to get here and kick my ass. "And uh, someone's been here in the past 6 months too, I think,"
"I didn't… I didn't think Marshal's electronics would still work…," mum said, distracted. The printer sounding, forcing my heart to crash against my chest. A glare pinned to my face as the paper spat out the drawer.
'Put Miss Shaik on loudspeaker. Relay the messages back, I'm afraid my speaker system is malfunctioning. Request for her ID codes' Marshal said. My jaw popped, grumbling as my omni-tool lit up and patched the radio through.
"Mum, Marshal wants you on loudspeaker for some reason," I said with a grumble. "He's asking for your ID codes,"
"My ID codes? Why would he want those…" Mum asked, tone frowning, her voice echoing off my omni-tool. "Well, the ID-1 is J7AHS-24, ID-3 is KASIH-32 and ID-19 is LA4OJ-53… Marshal, what's going on?" she asked. The printer whined as the paper heads worked like crazy. My grumblings rose as my hand tore the paper off and read it.
"IDs accepted, last login is 24/03/2016. Apologies, Miss Shaik, but I have had several thousand attempts to enter the Vault in the past decade alone with your details. I had to ensure it was you," I said, reading from the paper.
"And why would they want to get into the vault?" mum asked. A shadow fell over me. Every muscle tensed, my hand grabbing the pistol and whipped around. My eyes popped as Cops towering over me. He lowered his pistol. A cut ran along his left mandible. My pistol dropped as the printer creaked behind me. My attention turned back to the printer.
"Uh, he says the only contents of the vault now is the evidence of your… disappearance?" I said, blinking. Mum fell silent for a long time.
"You, boy, are in so much trouble, spirits forgive," Cops vowed. My mouth pulled a sheepish smile. Cops' mandibles snapped in answer, making me flinch.
"If there's… nothing left in the house, everyone back to the shuttle. We're going to Ireland," Mum said. The computers squealed, the printer couldn't print the paper fast enough. My hand tugged the paper free, concerned that the machine would blow.
"Ah, he says don't do that. One of the human Saboteurs is there, trying to get into the Vault," I said. Mum snorted.
"All the more reason to go! C'mon people, we came here for answers and a Saboteur. Both of those are waiting for us in Ireland. Let's go kill the bastard! Mum rallied. My legs pushed me up, the printer still going crazy. The light from my omni-tool vanished, cutting mum off from the speaker. My eyes spared the paper one last look.
"Miss Shaik, I advise against such action! If you wish to enter the Vault, then aid can be there within a week!' Marshal said.
"Sorry Mar, mum's decided! C'mon, let's go to Ireland!" I cried. Cops scruffed me. My legs kicked in the air, flailing in his grip. My whining only brought bone crunching snaps from his mandibles.
"Oh no, you don't. You're going back to the Starquake," Cops growled as he carried me through the house.
"But Cops!" I whined.
"No buts! We are not throwing you anywhere near a Saboteur. End of discussion!" He snapped, waving a talon at me. He left me to sulk in his grip, hanging like a wet puppy, the entire way back to the shuttle. At least he didn't make me march through the freezing river!
The Timeline and Galaxy Map have been updated for this chapter. Please see profile for link to Archive.