Water tumbled over my head, enough to fill entire lakes but it didn't matter how much poured over my head, nothing cleansed the sense of dread growing in my chest. The soup wafted up my nose, a soothing smell that made me want to vomit now. My hands cupped under the water stream, watching it pool and ripple, feeling water escape and crash into my toes. The pool of water smashed into my face; scrubbing for everything they were worth to free myself from the sticky sensation coating my skin. It failed, it only made it worse. Goddam it, this was pointless. All this did was drain the hot water system. A heavy sigh drained my lungs, shutting the water off. My skin tingled as if slick with oil. My dripping hair wringed out, rolling into a messy ball on top of my head before stepping into the chill.
For days now, we floated inside the Eagle Nebula, waiting for an opportune time to dive into the Helix Nebula, home cluster of the Hanar. Helix lay between the Serpent Nebula and the Eagle Nebula, tucked close to the inner parts of the galaxy. A full week passed, waiting for the Council to settle its agents in place and send feedback on the situation to us. When I raised the issue with the Council, they requested we wait until they had a better image. They thought it best not to throw me into too much danger so soon after Dekuuna. They still hadn't come back to us, so we had to wait. But every day that passed only made my skin worse, the dread more difficult to ignore. Dried and dressed in the now well-worn uniform, brandishing the tiny blue, black and grey stripes down the arm. Julian wanted a sign we were part of his fleet, this was the minimum I could get away with.
The routine continued as normal; out of the bathroom, flailing my hair with a towel as Marshal hovered by my side, any messages relayed through the text to voice feature on my mailbox. Mar didn't highlight any messages from the Council as the hairdryer blasted the voice away. It was a good voice, not like those robotic ones from 2016, but still, hairdryers were damn loud. Presentable, the text to voice technology switched off, letting me run through the inbox on the computer. Most messages came from friends or contacts I or the Council made. One message from one such salarian contact mentioned something about weird radio static on civilian frequencies. That message forwarded to the Intel team, it sounded obscure enough to warrant investigation.
Next was the trip to the kitchens for breakfast. The morning bombardment of people rushing with reports didn't bother me so much these days… well, a little, but it was better to get it done and out the way sooner rather than later. Indira beat me down until I accepted it, regardless of the coffee status to boot. It kept everyone else happy though, so it left me with little wiggle room. Nothing abnormal in the reports meant nothing needed my attention today. Irritation prodded my souring mood, hands scrubbing my face with the heels. This waiting around was driving me insane. When was something, anything going to happen?
"Good morning, Captain," A voice called. My eyes flicked up, a frown already growing, as Sitoln sat opposite me. "Having a good day?" a bitter snort sounded.
"I suppose, given the circumstances. I'm itching to do something though. All this waiting around is driving me insane," I said with an agitated sigh. Sitoln laughed.
"I understand the feeling. But perhaps I can remedy that," Sitoln said with a coy smile. My frown creased further, concern rising. "There is a salarian colony close to here that I know well, assuming nothing comes up, how about coffee?" My eyebrows shot up into my hair. He came out and asked?
"As in a… date" I asked, stomach twisting. Sitoln smiled.
"Perhaps," he answered, keeping the coy smile to himself. A slow breath escaped through my nose.
"Sitoln, you know my policy with dating…" I said, a gentle reminder. Every man knew it and every woman knew I didn't swing that way anyway. Sitoln wasn't the first, he wouldn't be the last. Even if he itched me the wrong way and screwed with my crew back on the original Starquake. The salarian waved a hand.
"Indoctrination fears, complications with the crew if it doesn't work out, yes, yes, I am aware. However," he said, grin growing. "I am not a permanent member of the crew. We will disappear one day, Shaik," Another sigh built in my chest, looking for some kind of escape. While the companionship a relationship brought eased the anxieties in my head, too many things complicated the process; indoctrination, a standard to run the ship under, Gideon. Gideon was the deciding factor here. And he hated Sitoln. That alone drove me away from the salarian.
"Sitoln-" I began.
"Coffee; one cup of coffee, a few hours, by ourselves is all I am asking. You never know, we'll see how you feel then," he said, borderline pleading. My eyes shifted around the room, to the people sipping coffee and eating their meals, while my mind tore itself apart. They landed on Gideon munching with Indira, what was it going to take to get this salarian off my ass?
"Alright, one coffee," I said, grumbling. Sitoln's face lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Wonderful, assuming nothing occurs in the next few hours, I can pilot a shuttle down to the colony. Nice, quiet little place," Sitoln said, smile growing with every word. "Far better than the cramp-"
"Captain! Captain Shaik!" Someone cried. My heart leapt higher than me, eyes wheeling around to the door. Saria emerged, striding with purpose as she scanned the faces. She found me, my red hair a brilliant beacon in the sea of aliens. Her pace quickened, shoulders back and back straight.
"Saria, what can I do for you?" I asked, relieved for the distraction. The asari folded her hands behind her back as she stopped beside me.
"Commander Thermi'a sent me ahead with news. She received a message to pass to you from Kahje. Commander Thermi'a then bounced around, thus I had to read the message. It pleaded for you to come to Kahje, saying the situation has deteriorated to the point they can no longer wait for the Council to respond," Saria explained. The anxiety in my gut rumbled, a coldness stealing warmth from my chest.
"Why would they ask me to come to Kahje?" I asked. "Who asked, who knew I was coming to Kahje?"
"Several drell representatives on the planet, Captain Shaik. They have heard of your success on Dekuuna and wish for you to try your hand at solving their own problems. They must have picked up the Council intel teams digging around. The Council sent people to Dekuuna before we arrived so it isn't impossible they connected the dots," Saria said.
"Well, we had best get down there. If they are bypassing the Council, someone must me up. Lanster, set a course for Kahje," I ordered towards a nearby microphone. My eyes caught Sitoln, glowering from his place at the table. "Sorry, Sitoln, looks like coffee will have to wait," I said with a half-hearted smile. The salarian snorted.
"As per usual, something crops up. Fret not, we'll get that coffee after the mission," Sitoln said with a dry chuckle. "And who will join you on the mission?"
"Indira for sure, she knows this place like the back of her hand. Val as well since Mat'al needs a break. He's gotten onto a trail of something and wants time to investigate it further. I won't disturb him. Might bring Rosmani or Drutus, I think they've dealt with the Hanar or Drell in the past but I'll need to ask. You were on the last mission so you're on the bench for this one," I said, standing and freeing myself from the table.
"And yet Valérien is with you on every mission. I have extensive knowledge and experience with the hanar and drell both," Sitoln said. Bitterness stained my tongue until it clapped against the roof of my mouth.
"Because Val is my combat tactics instructor, he has to be with me on every mission especially when Mat'al is not there," I answered, restraining the snap building on my tongue. Sitoln blinked, emptying his expression. "Anyway, need to go deal with some drell and hanar," I sighed, rubbing the back of the head as the kitchen vanished behind me. Outside, the warm, hearty air chilled, the smell of breakfast drifting away. Saria's heels clipped beside me, mirroring my movements. "What information do we have, Saria? What does your experience tell you?" The asari scanned the halls before the elevator doors closed.
"Not very much, I wished to have more details myself alas nothing else turned up. A group of drell have expression concern over several of their Hanar keepers. They failed to give adequate reasoning, but it has sent Commander Thermi'a into a flurry. What descriptions they gave, it matches the indoctrination pattern and yet it does not," Saria explained. My eyes glanced towards her, the doors parting on the top deck.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"It is… complicated. Yes, we have hanar that are climbing the ranks faster than one would think possible. However, we have no sense of traditional Saboteur work. All of the systems are operating as they should and the indoctrination is minor. No one is fascinated or obsessed as we are used to," Saria sighed. "Tread with care, young Shaik. I fear this is no simple case,"
"Nothing can be simple for us, can it?" I moaned, we stepped from the elevator. "Tell Raisha to prepare the crew," Saria raised a brow, face creasing with frown.
"You do not wish to inform her yourself?" Saria asked. A slow, sympathetic smile pressed her lips thin as she heard the near snarl under my breath. "Ah, have you had another skirmish?"
"Oh yeah, we did," I said between my teeth. "When she found out about Gideon last week she's been at my throat ever since. 'Why didn't you keep an eye on him?' or 'should not have let him wander the Constellation without accompaniment' and all that claptrap. Well sorry I was getting my ass handed to me by my brother!" I seethed.
"I will speak with the XO," Saria said with a small smile.
"Thank you," I sighed.
Raisha was the other thorn in my side when not worrying about the Kahje mission. There had to be a way to get the krogan off my case, but damn if I couldn't see it. No, there was time to worry about the krogan later, deal with the mission first. That was a problem I could get off my mind in the next few hours at least. My hands scrubbed my face, striding up the hall towards my room, listening to the elevator close behind me. Marshal bounced around me, an ETA flickering on the screen. One hour, 35 minutes. That wasn't long, but still too long for my itching nerves. One mass relay jump and we'd be at Kahje. The longest part is getting the green from the relay controllers. The queues in this part of the galaxy had an infamous name. My hands grabbed my hair, tying it in a bun. The reflection froze my hands, staring at myself in the mirror. My skin looked chalky. My eyes squeezed shut, securing the elastic and hurling my top off. Something in the pit of my stomach was most upset and was refusing to cooperate. The rest of my clothes fell into a messy heap, the under armour sliding over on. Each click from the armour worsened the trembling. Dammit, what was wrong with me today? The gauntlets snapped on, helmet folded at my hip. Armoured and ready, my chair squeaked after landing in it, deciding to finalise the teams.
Indira and Val were no brainers; I needed Indira and her knowledge and contacts, Val with his experience and guidance. To stop people giving me grief at the door, a Spectre had to come too. MY eyes scanned the dossiers to assess their experience. Just to kick me in the teeth, Marruns had a greater deal of experience with the hanar than Drutus or Rosmeni. His name added to the team with a loud grumble. Utren, Phentos and Alder soon joined for added muscle, Searte for biotic support and Laegan for tech support. It was a safe team. Without Mat'al though, I was down in terms of infiltration. I could ask Shayan… no, no he hated going on missions, terrified even. Poor guy was still too shaken from Cassianus to try again. Who could blame him?
A tap sent the rota off, the crew members would receive a warning they were green for the upcoming mission. I prowled through what I knew of Kahje, drell and hanar. As it turns out, I was horrendously uneducated. At least I would have more experienced aliens around me who have dealt with Hanar and their…wards, I suppose. I scrunched my face up. Ward didn't sound like the right word to use…
As the nerves and dread grew, my body demanded to move, to walk, to anything. My hands wrung, my feet paced, yet nothing settled me. How a trench didn't form in the floor… best not do that, people fretted enough about me. Pace the ship instead, although the danger there was people would see my agitation. My head shook, leaving my room to tour the ship, datapad out as if doing an inspection. You couldn't complete an inspection without spending time on the bridge though, as much as I wished to avoid it otherwise. Along the upper levels, the crew mulled below, but many took notice of the datapad and my scanning eyes and stepped a little quicker, worked a little harder. Raisha's discontented scowls burned through the armour, but she remained ignored until Kahje gleamed on the screen, a true blue marble with little in the way of landmass. The datapad slipped into a secure pouch on the side of the captain's chair, too close to Raisha for my liking. Raisha and I shared a look, more than enough tension to make those around us uncomfortable.
"I'll be glad to get planetside. The sooner it starts, the sooner it can end," I said, eyes on the growing planet. Raisha made a low sound in her throat.
"I can imagine," she said, keeping her tone calm. Her eye slid towards me. "Although I hope that Gideon-"
"Is fine and staying right where he is," I said through grit teeth, my earlier anger surfacing. Raisha received a full glower, staring up from under drawn eyebrows.
"I stand by my earlier comments; you should confiscate that armour before he gets any other bad ideas. If he plays at another stunt in an even less controlled environment-" Raisha said. A low growl rumbled in my throat. Can this woman not go two exchanges without bringing my parenting into question?
"Who is his mother, Raisha? He keeps it. You never know when he'll need it. If he had worn it his leg wouldn't be half as hurt as it is now!" I snapped.
"Yet it may press him to delve into more dangerous situations, you know how hard headed he is when it comes to what he can deal with when we know he cannot," She said. A heavy breath rushed through clenched teeth, eyes on the fire crawling up the flanks of the ship.
"ETA?" I asked.
"5 minutes," Drutus said, walking up behind us. The relief tightened in my chest, refusing to exhale with Raisha so near. A few hours without her hanging over my head, that was all I needed.
"Good, have everyone suit up and meet back at the airlock.
It gave me the chance to flee Raisha and grab my gear. IN the armoury, everyone suited up, grabbed their guns and worked their way back to the airlock. My Paladin and Locust slipped into their holsters, a comforting weight. Indira bounced in after me before the elevator doors closed.
"You and Ray are having a real scrapper of a week," she said. Her grin dropped when a 'hmm' was her response. The ship trembled, loud thuds locking to the ship to dock. "A… friend of mine is waiting for us, he's been doing scouting for me,"
"Glad to know we have friends down here. I don't know what to expect," I said, straining to smile. My shoulders rolled back as the elevator dinged, striding down the hall to the airlock.
Salt laden air smashed me like a sledgehammer, a surprised cough clearing my lungs. My tongue clapped, whining to remove the salt destroying my taste buds. The pale concrete glowed in the sunlight, pouring in from the glass dome soaring above my head. Metal platforms with towering spires decorated the distance through the windows surrounding us. Many platforms decorated the surface and many more below the waves. A blessing soared to whatever God listened that this mission may not require me to go underwater. Deep ocean surrounded us, making my skin crawl, rolling my stomach. The station was beautiful the deeper we traversed. Tubes of water pierced floor to ceiling, strange creatures dancing through the water column. Despite the beauty and distractions, my body whined at the thought of being stranded in the middle of a planet-wide ocean. The metal platform towered like a Reaper, sweeping sail, which only sent shudders down my spine. An emerald coloured drell waited below a huge display of rocks and plants, delicate fish schooling like bubbles. He pushed himself off the banister around the tank. Indira's eyes lit up.
"Drensos!" Indira called, waving a hand. The drell grinned as she sprinted across the distance. My steady pace faltered as the pair clamped their arms around each other, faces pressed together as they lost sight of the world around them. Marruns snorted behind me, sulking at my glare. Our approach slowed. "I've missed you, Dren,"
"And I you, I heard what happened to Sershin. My condolences," Drensos said. Indira smiled but it seemed too hard to lift, her shoulders tensing.
"Thank you," she muttered, tone dropping. The drell glanced over her shoulder, noticing our approach.
"You must be the famous Captain Shaik Indira goes on about. You have my gratitude for your swift arrival, Captain. The situation is… delicate," he said. He swept his arm to the side, his other hooked around Indira's waist as we strode down the bright hall. "We appear to be in the midst of a power struggle within the Illuminated Primacy," His words scrunched my face, knowing where this was going.
"Drensos?" I asked, checking I had the right name. He nodded. "I apologise, but I try to avoid political bouts as much as possible. It is not my field of expertise," I said.
"The politics will work itself out in the end, but we've noticed odd behaviour and strange requests from the hanar. My provider can give you more details," Drensos said. My eyes narrowed, the dread growing as my eyes scanned the halls, the metal structure towering high above us.
"I see, well, not much we can do without speaking to your hanar. Take us to them," I said.
"Not that simple, Captain. Before you can speak to him, we'll need to get you Grade 6 access to get onto the floor and then-" Drensos said, sprouting out a horrific roundabout system that would give me worse nightmares than Nyryntha. My eyes rolled, borderline nausea from my anxiety souring my mood.
"We have a Spectre, Drensos," I said. "So no, we're cutting through the nonsense," The drell paused, furrowing his brow. My head nodded towards Marruns. The turian flattened his expression, frowning at the drell.
"Ah… I… thought you had a salarian Spectre," Drensos said.
"I've got four of them on my ship," I said with a snort. "Now take us to the hanar," Indira narrowed her eyes, lips pressed tight. A weak moan rumbled. What did I say? I didn't need another person angry at me!
"Ah… well, that would speed up the process. Just up the elevator," Drensos said, pointing to a fast approaching door. My eyes caught Indira as she scowled in my direction. My groan stuck in my throat, if only to stop her complaining.
"Fine," I said, holding my grumbles.
"Same place?" Indira asked with bright eyes. Drensos grinned.
"Indeed," he said.
"We'll meet you up there," she winked, taking 2 skipped steps back towards me. He furrowed his brow, following her with his eyes. Drensos turned his gaze towards me and the crew, peering through Indira's thought process. He must've expected her to follow then, but he nodded all the same. He turned, striding down the hall with back straight, aiming for a door at the end of the large hall. Indira stopped in front of me, stopping us from following the drell. Her wide smile stayed in place until he vanished from sight. She spun, a glare planted on her face and she faced me. "What the hell?!" she exclaimed. My eyes closed, squeezing hard.
"Indira, I'm not in the mood," I said, resisting the urge to rub my eyes. Indira opened her mouth. "First, you never told me you had a boyfriend, but I'm happy for you regardless. Second, I'm not feeling too great right now. I just want to get this mission done and go home," I sighed, shaking my shoulders. "Dammit, I might need RIT if I still feel shit after this," My hands scrubbed my face, the sticky sensation still there.
"When did you last have RIT?" Val asked, tone dropping as suspicion boiled.
"…I'm three days over," I said, deciding it best not to argue with him here. He scowled over my head, loud enough for me to hear. "I hate that damn thing, you know that!" Val brought out his omni-tool, keeping eye contact with me as he tapped on the keypad. He ignored my aggravated sigh. He was probably on call to Saere to get it warmed up.
"You need it," Indira said, rumbling as she brought herself back into her usual mood. She must know how stressed I had been over the past few days, she would forgive me. She sighed. "Just… try to be nice. And uh… Drensos isn't a boyfriend," she flushed at my scrunched face "Well, he was but… but he's still… we're friends with benefits but not… wow this is more complicated than I thought," she said, blinking as her brain connected the dots. She shrugged as a sheepish blush stained her cheeks when she noticed my blank stare. "Um…'it's complicated'?"
"Riiiiight," I said, dragging the word. "Well, let's go meet this hanar of his," My foot took a meaningful step forward, to push her back into mission mode. Indira bounced, a bright grin on her face once more as she skipped ahead.
The glass, steel and pale concrete walls surrounded us, glass towering high above us, sunlight in abundance. The hall towered to the top of the sail-like platform. Balconies from the other floors swelled from the central hall, the buzz of people mulling through the building echoing like a speaker. Indira led us to an elevator on the right side of the hall, away from the huge fountain that sat in the middle. No one told me what this platform's purpose was, but it wasn't any of my concern, not yet anyway. If a Saboteur waited, well, then we could be in some trouble. The elevator carried us up 10 floors, the halls well-lit and clean. You would've thought the place was just built if not for the lack of smell of paint. Tanks filled with fish and plants lined the halls, separating hall from the rooms beyond. My skin crawled, an eel like creature following us with a row of teeth longer than my forearm. The whole platform was too quiet, too peaceful. It worsened my anxiety.
We turned a corner in a hall, noting how quiet everything was. Drensos and his hanar were waiting to greet us, somewhere along this hall. Towering high above the ocean, Indira led us into a small office that followed the same tradition of keeping aquatic plants. The emerald green drell and a bright pink hanar waited inside, keeping quiet conversation. Pink was the common colour for hanar, followed by blue, purple, green and red. Oranges, yellows and clear were rare, from what I read. A dark pink stripe ran down the hanar's flanks and a golden stripe zig-zagged over that dark stripe. Drensos smiled as we entered.
"Captain Shaik, allow me to introduce Alurylna, also known as 'One who loves Pink'…don't ask," he added, tone dropping. My lips pressed tight, repressing the surprised cough swelling up. 'Quib Quib' had prepared me for this moment.
"Greetings, Captain. Thank you for coming so quickly. This one is most grateful," Alurylna greeted, the mystic voice stained in a feminine tone.
"I-it is no problem at all, Alurylna, we'll help anyway we can. Now, what is the problem? The information we have is scarce," I asked.
"This one has noticed several strange happenings around the station. The Council requested all high ranking personnel to watch for these signs and report them as soon as possible. We have a hanar who is attracting particular attention; clambering up the ranks with a band of unnaturally loyal subordinates below him. We also have many people complaining of headaches and strange nightmares, it is rampant across the station. This one has also noticed strange business dealing with the drell and mysterious assassinations. This one fears something more sinister is happening," Alurylna explained.
"And who do you think is causing all of this?" I asked, fighting against my impatience.
"This one believes it is one named Iseroans. This one cannot explain how one could attain such a position so soon. But a few weeks ago, he was but a minor name in court," Alurylna said.
"Where is this Iseroans? We'll question them and see what is going on," I said despite the grit teeth.
"Iseroans is at the end of the hall, to the left. The door will have his name beside it," Alurylna said. Drensos slid in beside Indira.
"Indira, I have found information may be useful to your endeavour. I can show you if you wish. Due to the confidentiality, I cannot transfer the data," Drensos said. Indira's eyes sparkled as her gaze found mine. With my reluctant nod, she beamed.
"Alright, let's move then," I ordered, twirling my hand on its wrist, turning towards the door. The team minus Indira followed me out, Indira following Drensos back down the hall. We turned right and pressed on. "God, this mission is a massive yo-yo. Go speak to this person, now go speak to this person, and then go speak to this person. It's like a damn fetch quest," I grumbled.
"Hopefully we can end this soon. We're not seeing any signs that indoctrination is rampant so we have that on our side," Val said. A soft sound rolled in my throat.
We reached the end of the hall, scanning the holographic plates beside the doors. Iseroans was easy to spot, second to last office in the hall. My hand knocked on the door, just to keep the Saboteur from suspecting anything, before watching the door slide into the frame. A lime coloured hanar waited at the back of the room, a group of 5 drell surrounding it. All eyes focused in on me in a second. All hands yanked guns free. The Paladin snapped straight in my hand, clicking into place. The hanar stood quiet, watching as the drell moved into position. My crew fanned out, guns drawn. My eyes narrowed.
"Ah, the Advocacy, this one has been expecting you," Iseroans said.
"Right off the bloody bat, huh? We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way is to just give up, Saboteur. The hard way…" I trailed off, the guns around me clicked. A drell inched closer. "What is it going to be?"
"This one was told that you would be difficult to speak with. Alas, this one will not allow you to continue," Iseroans said, radiant voice calm. Coldness seeped into my bones.
"Hard way it is then," I said.
The room didn't provide much cover, the drell had already taken all the good ones. We had numbers on our side though. The hanar itself didn't fight, instead disappearing as the bullets flew and the drell couldn't punch through Searte and her biotics. Her bubble saved many people from bullet wounds. All I had was an upturned table between me and the bullets. But the numbers were falling. Utren was… well, doing what krogan did best. A drell flew out of the window behind where Iseroans was, missing at least 2 limbs before the krogan smirked at another trembling drell. The fight didn't last long, which only churned my stomach. Why wasn't the Saboteur fighting, putting us down? My thigh burned from a bullet wound, the skin singed and raw. Painful enough to warrant a limp. The Paladin lined up against the hanar cowering in the corner.
"I'm not falling for the 'I'm all helpless' façade, Saboteur," I growled.
The hanar lit up like a bulb, a bioluminescence signal, a flare of emotion beyond my understanding a round of Paladin bullets slammed into the creature. Iseroans lay still before me. A heavy breath escaped, an oily feeling slick over my skin. The Saboteur was down for now, but we had to rip the spine out- A lightning pain flooded me, burning every nerve. My howled screams joined a chorus of others as my body collapsed on the floor, writhing for dear life. Air stilled in my chest, souring. Every bone creaked and threatened to snap. Every muscle tightened until just a hair stood between them and ripping apart. Utren's roars of rage and curses were the only signs that everyone felt my pain alone here. Was this the Saboteur's plan? Lull me into a false sense of security? What I wouldn't do for a redundant nervous system!
"So innocent and ignorant, little Advocacy. But I am relieved to see you carrying out your duty," a voice called out. Through the pain, my head twitched up to look over the twisting bodies of my crew, all on the floor. "Iseroans was most difficult to deal with. He was the only one able to resist my attempts to indoctrinate him. I thank you for removing him,"
The Timeline and Galaxy Map have been updated for this chapter. Please see profile for link to Archive.