Time froze, a shudder trembling my body as the bullet skimmed over my head. I dare not breathe. Erikos stumbled back, collapsing on the ground with blood pouring from a narrow wound on his forehead. The tinkling of falling glass chimed behind me, dragging my attention to the cockpit windows. The port window now had a neat hole in it. In the distance, a turian sniper watched with a keen eye and a steady finger. My eyes fell back on Erikos, the gentle drell now turned corpse. God why did… why did indoctrination do this? My body couldn't move, frozen to the ground, too afraid in case someone rushed me. Under the watchful sniper, it was safe here. The entire Starquake filled with screams, shouts, explosions and gunfire. It was worse than before. The demands to drop weapons screamed over the din, but the indoctrinated servants ignored them and opened fire. Gunfire intensified within seconds. The cockpit doors lay open, no power left to power the automatic closure. Heat from the fire grew too hot, the drive core caved. The ship plunged into darkness. The emergency lights crackled on, lit by struggling generators. Strobes of lights from torches danced. The fight in the bridge cooled enough for the turian army to branch out, the beams of light turning their attention towards me. My fingers tightened on Lani's arm.
"Unit Four in the cockpit, 4 occupants. One dead, two unknown, one alive. UAP located," a female flanged voice called. My eyes squeezed shut, trying to hide while the 5 soldiers swept through the cockpit.
"I've got the kid," a voice called from the hall. The silver female half-turned as a pale brass male turian with dark markings sprinted into the room. In the red stained darkness, it was impossible to see beyond that. The design looked familiar though. "I talked him down, I'll get him off the ship,"
"I… aye, aye, Commander," the female said, saluting as her crew gathered up the bodies, dead or alive. They tore Lani from my grip, ignoring my panicked cries and reaching hands. The brass male swooped down and plucked me off the ground, already ducking out of the cockpit and into the corridor. My adrenaline exhausted body flailed, but there was nothing left, it required too much effort. He pushed my face into his carapace as he slipped down one of the side halls to reach an airlock.
"Good to meet you, Gideon," he said. "I'm Oseriun, in case you forgot. You… don't want to see what's going on in there, kiddo. Spirits, you've seen enough already," he murmured.
Once free from the confines of the burning, bloodied ship, He freed my head, letting me drag in fresh air. He refused to let me walk though, as if not trusting my strength or my resolve to stay away from the ship. The air clobbered me like a bat, sending me into a coughing fit. Oseriun secured my knees, hoisting me into a more secure carrying position. Oseriun was a tall turian, but I was tall too, closing in on mum's height. My eyes looked over the Starquake. Plates lay mangled on her once smooth skin, dark patches marking every hole. Her wings were more spike pit than wing and the fire roared even under the sea of foam, plumes of smoke collecting at the top of the hanger. The smokescreen masked everything in the back in a sea of black. She looked like a landmine ripped through her. But she was in one piece, she could be fixed. She lost one engine and may need a new drive core but she would be flying, at some point.
Oseriun carried me up the gangway towards the Vanquish, away from the Starquake and whatever the chaos remained. The scene vanished once the Vanquish's airlock blocked my view. The adrenaline crash hit hard, unable to fight. Inside the smaller frigate, despite the darker interior, was no less roomy than the Starquake. She was all battleship grey and black with bright lights to let people see where they were going. It was jarring compared to the lighter Starquake. With care, Oseriun eased me onto a consoles in the CIC, a new turian scurrying up with a stethoscope around his neck. My body couldn't stop shaking, every muscle burning. Kala chimed in my ear, trying to reassure me – or herself – that we did everything possible. Did we though? The turian prodded around my chest, pain flaring like a supernova. He clicked his mandibles at my yelps.
"May have broken some ribs, he has cracked some of them for sure. A few burns, scratches and a little shaken but he'll be fine. We don't carry levo-human painkillers though, the hospital might though," he said. "He was lucky, Commander Autillin. Thank the Spirits he could get away from whatever caused that damage,"
"Agreed," the pale brass turian said. My jaw dropped.
"Autillin?" I said. Oseriun looked down. "Do you… know Valérien?"
"Valérien?" he asked. My head bobbed. "Copper coloured, bulges on his mandibles, cocky as shit?" A grin rose, nodding again. "That would be my little brother. Why?" Cops had a brother? Why did he never tell me?
"He's uh… well, I guess he's my mum's boyfriend now. H-He's one of the commanders," I said. Oseriun's mandibles flared.
"Wait, this is the ship Val works under?" he asked, eyes bulging. "Oh Spirits…"
"Commander, do you wish to…?" the doctor asked. Oseriun clicked his mandibles, calculating his next move. He shook his head.
"No, no. I'll find out what hospital or facility the crew are heading to and see him then. Spirits, what happened? You said it was a mutiny," Oseriun asked.
"Ah… of sorts," I said, shuffling. "We got infiltrated by our enemies, h-he…" my voice trailed off as the image of mum's bloodied hand on the floor snapped to the frame. My hands gripped the edge of the console, the shaking worsened; fire burned in my chest. "He hurt my mum… dammit, he tried to kill her! I'll kill him! I'll kill that salarian bastard!" the words roared with such heat mum would be proud.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, kiddo," Oseriun said, grabbing my shoulders. Only then did I feel the true extent of the shaking. "Kiddo, I don't know what happened, but you are in no state to be killing anyone. Now, try to give us a statement so we can get this reported and while you do that, the crew and your mum will be taken to the nearest medical facility. OK?" he soothed, dropping his voice. My jaw tensed, fire and fear twisting a storm in my gut.
Minutes passed before the rage subsided enough to speak. The adrenaline fuelled haze of what happened was even harder to recall than I thought. Kala had to keep me right, although her involvement throughout the whole thing was kept quiet. Oseriun listened, typing his report on a datapad. All my while my head reeled, it all happened so fast. Why did Sitoln wait until now to kill mum, what was his plan? At least Kala and I got the Starquake to land safe and sound. What was the body count though, was… mum part of it? The thought sent a shudder down my spine. 2 hours later, we were on the move, Oseriun and a small group of his crew escorting me to Armaxus Military Hospital. Even when the shuttle landed outside the massive steel coloured angular building, the atmosphere crushed me. Security piled high, the turian military taking no chances. Oseriun went through 3 different security levels to get inside. Hell, they questioned whether or not I was part of the crew, despite wearing the uniform. Oseriun was the only reason they accepted that. Once inside, the situation shifted, my mind floating, surreal.
Once they checked over my credentials, thanks to mum uploading a special encoded file to my omni-tool, they led me into the back of the hospital. White halls blinded every corner, mint green floors twisting my stomach. Were they taking me to see mum, was she alive and awake? All the while, Oseriun chased off lower ranked officers to stay by my side. The turian military wanted to keep as few people getting into the protected ward as much as possible. He wasn't leaving me on my own, no matter what the turians around him said. 4 floors later, a softer female turian scurried over, already briefed on who was arriving.
"Good afternoon, Commander. And you must be Gideon Shaik. A few of the crew have been asking for you," she said. Hope bubbled.
"My mum?" I asked. Her mandibles sagged, brow plates upturning.
"Your… mother is not in good shape just now, Gideon," she said. My heart sank.
"What… What did that bastard do to her?" I asked, all hardness melting in my voice. The doctor glanced to Oseriun. "Please," She crouched down, mandibles held tight to her cheeks.
"Your mother has suffered severe abdominal trauma. She's in surgery just now and we are doing all we can but the damages are... extensive. An asari and turian eased the trauma; I believe she was under the influence of a Stasis to minimise blood loss. We will do our best however you should be prepared for the worst," she said. "Do you have any other family who can look after you? I am afraid all the crew will need medical care,"
That bastard… that salarian bastard! Molten lava replaced blood, burning every exhausted nerve and cell. He shot her or stabbed her! He tried to kill her! I'll kill him! I'll-… My rage fluttered, remembering my earlier chance. He had been right there, right there, and everything just froze. Nothing worked, nothing wanted to do anything but sit, wait and die. Even thinking about it made me tremble now. What spared me was someone with some balls snapped me from my stupor. My fists shook by my side. There wasn't a damn thing I could do. Not when Erikos pointed a gun at me, or Haden tried to break in, or when Henry fired at me. I ran like a coward and I couldn't fight anyone, not without someone dragging my ass out of the fire. My eyes squeezed shut as tears threatened to fall.
"Shh, shh, I know, you've been through a lot," the doctor said, taking my shoulders in her hands. My lips trembled, teeth clamping down to stop them. "Do you have anyone who can look after you?" My eyes fluttered, moisture worsening.
Anyone to…? Who could look after me or us as it should be? Well, Shepard was a possibility, he saved the galaxy from Sovereign and whatnot, he seemed nice enough too but he drove mum mental. Why that happened, well, mum worked in mysterious ways. But he was just one person, he couldn't look after all of us… The only other person would be- fuck. Maybe mum had a friend that would take me instead? That bad attitude turian in C-Sec, for example? My eyes trailed down the hall, chewing my lip. A few turians wandered around by the next junction. A Saboteur snuck aboard the ship, fooled us and… my heart stopped. We were on Palaven, the turian homeworld. We hadn't identified any of the turian Saboteurs. Oh fuck, what if they learned we were here and came to finish the job? No, no, no, no, we were sitting ducks! I had to protect them, everyone was a Realisation dawned. I couldn't do it. No matter how much I shouted at myself, I was small, weak and have no combat training. Someone else had to come and protect us, assuming all the crew was out of action. A quiet shudder raised goosebumps on my arms. The entire crew would be dead if we didn't have someone to watch our backs. Everyone was a suspect. My throat tightened. I knew who to call…
"C-Could I get my mum's omni-tool? I… I-I need to call my uncle, I-I don't have his number," I said, already dreading the screaming.
"Of course, I'll be back in a moment," the turian said with a smile. She pulled herself straight and disappearing down the hall, leaving me to run my hands down my face.
I had to do this. The Council had to know too, they had to know Sitoln was a Saboteur. My teeth grit. Dammit, why wasn't there someone else to do all of this? The doctor returned with the omni-tool, the metal ring falling into my cupped hands. Flecks of blood danced over the band, stomach plunging. The doctor led me to a small room to have the call in private. The plain white room with blue instead of mint on the floor, a welcome change. A communication hub sat on the head of the small O shaped desk, a screen covering the back wall. A small conference room. Oseriun guarded the door outside while silence surrounded me, left abandoned to face the scathing words of my uncle alone. Dammit, where was mum? My eyes squeezed shut, snapping the omni-tool onto my wrist. Her omni-tool powered on.
The purple interface looked like something straight out of the 2000s. The layout had been overhauled completely; no radial menus or fluttering cascades. She rearranged and changed a few of the icons to better suit her older familiarity. An old style 20th or 21st century phone and a book for the contacts instead of the more common antenna with the square screen. And the icon layout! Instead of having icons along edges with a few in the middle, she had everything laid out on the left hand side. Apart from the Bin icon, that was in the lower right corner. I frowned. Was this meant to… replicate an old computer OS? My head shook, returning to my original purpose. Inside her contacts list, my eyes bulged. Mum had so many people on here, far more than she ever spoke of. 90% of them didn't even sound familiar. Most had titles to describe them; Councillor, STG Agent, Turian Admiral, Asari Commando, Krogan Shaman, Phoenix Captain, Commander Asshole- oh well, that one was obvious. The list went on. Who the hell were these people? My frown deepened, scrolling down the list until Uncle Julian appeared, his title? "Backstabbing Shitfucker". Wow… mum… really hated him. His number tapped into the conference centre. It took ages to locate his fleet to connect the call in the expanse of the galaxy. When it rang, it took its sweet time to answer. Just before I was about to give up and call him again, it connected. Everything jittered when Uncle Julian's face appeared on the screen, a severe frown on his face and his arms folded over his chest. When he saw my face, his face scrunched up, eyes narrowing as he assessed the area around me. He straightened.
"Gideon," he greeted. My throat tightened.
"Uncle Julian," I said.
"To what do I owe the pleasure? A strange number to be calling me from. Your mother didn't say anything about visiting Palaven," he said. My hands squeezed each other until they hurt.
"Mum's been hurt," I said, desperate to get this call over and done with. He didn't react at first, the words sinking in. His lips snapped down.
"What happened?" he asked, his tone deadpan. My throat refused to work.
"One of the Spectres is a Saboteur," I said, voice pitching with lack of air. Uncle Julian's expression froze, churning his words. He waited for me to break down into giggles and laugh at the funny prank. But maybe he saw something that didn't match since he dropped his arms to his lap, the predator rising.
"What. The fuck. Happened?" he managed through gritted teeth.
"I-I dunno! The first I heard of it was mum over the intercom saying Sitoln was a Saboteur! W-When I ran out of the room, M-Marruns was fighting him and m-mum was lying on the ground. He must've indoctrinated some of the crew because t-they tried to kill me and fighting was breaking out everywhere! T-They destroyed the servers and t-tried to vent the ship a-and blow it up with another frigate and fire was everywhere but I piloted us towards Palaven a-and landed. I-I don't know how many are dead…" I said, voice stuttering. Julian studied me with narrowed eyes, not focusing on anything in particular. He raised a hand, tapping at a screen nearby. He breathed, anger rippling over his face. A faint whimper escaped.
"Did you not use the RIT?" he asked, his voice melting everything in its path.
"Yes! Yes we have! I-I don't know how he got around it!" I cried. Uncle Julian ground his teeth.
"I'll need to see the RIT procedures to see what the hell went wrong," he growled. "Why would he wait until now?"
"I-I don't know, b-but the whole crew is down! I-If the turian Saboteurs are on the planet and learn we're here and defenceless…" I said, voice trailing off. Uncle Julian slid his gaze towards me. "We're sitting ducks here! I'm the only one who can fight!" But that was assuming I could fight to begin with. He blinked once.
"Where are you?" he asked.
"A-Armaxus Military Hospital," I said. He nodded.
"Trust no one," he said.
The call ended, giving me time to breathe and stop the quivering consuming me. My body in the chair. He… he must be coming here then, or sending an army. I hope. My hands wiped my face, sweat soaking them. So on top of an entire crew down and out of action, Saboteurs in every shadow and Indoctrinated servants wandering the halls, the bonus of dealing with my uncle – without mum – joined the fray. What if Sitoln appeared again? He'd kill everyone and everything in his path! Especially… me. His cold grin surfaced, a stone forming in my stomach. My eyes fell to mum's omni-tool again. My stomach sank, knowing my job wasn't done yet. With the whole crew out of action, it fell to me to… to do all the legwork. There was still one more call to make.
The Council needed to know. They had to know about Sitoln in case he headed to the Citadel. He had to be stripped of his Spectre rank and warnings put out about him. But what to do? Call all of them at once or just one? After my last experience with the Council together… mum meant well but without her here to support me… no, just call one. Who was the more approachable member though? Or should I the salarian one since this was about Sitoln? Fuck!
My finger danced between the three names, ignoring the human Councillor. He was a prick and set my teeth on edge. No way I did I want to deal with him without mum to back me up, or someone else. My eyes squeezed shut, touching a name. The number flashed on the screen, hiding the name from view. Once the conference centre connected, my lungs filled with shallow breaths. When the face appeared, a stern scowl greeted me. Then a brow raised.
"Young Gideon Shaik, if I am not mistaken. Not common for the Starquake to call via Palaven," Sparatus said. Fuck, I had to call him, didn't I?
"Ah, well, w-we're not on the Starquake, there's been an… incident," I said, rubbing my hands over my shaking knees. Sparatus frowned, a slow, subtle movement.
"What kind of incident?" he asked, shuffling in his chair. A slow exhale cleared my tight throat.
"W-We've been infiltrated by a Saboteur," I said. Sparatus straightened. "He indoctrinated some of the crew and… m-mum's having an emergency operation just now," I said, trembling. Sparatus clicked his mandibles.
"Do you have identification for this Saboteur?" he asked. My neck ached from the quick nod.
"S-Spectre Sitoln Noverok," I said. Sparatus fell silent, an immovable statue as he considered my words. He breathed, a heavy rush of air reaching the microphone.
"What is the status of the crew?" he asked.
"U-Unknown dead, unknown indoctrinated," I said. "I… I-I was the only person in any state t-to fly the Starquake to Palaven. S-She's damaged, like badly damaged. T-The fire was so big I-I'm amazed the drive core lasted as long as it did. They tried to do a mass vent of the ship j-just in case they failed to shoot us to pieces b-but…" I said, stumbling. My voice failed. Sparatus blinked once.
"We will ignore the piloting transgression, this is not the time for it, but I need a full update on the crew. We need to arrange security, I do not trust a second attack when you are at your most vulnerable," Sparatus said, his voice switching. The military man emerging. Oh thank God, he was thinking on the same lines as me! "I need you to collect as much information as possible, the number dead, estimated indoctrinated, number of injured, length of recovery time," His tone snapped my back straight.
"I-I've already contacted our friendly Saboteur. H-He's on the way to protect us. B-But the medical staff might not tell me much because I'm a kid-" I said. Sparatus' clicking mandibles silenced me.
"Then bring in a member of the medical staff. We need that information. I will get the permission granted," he said. The adrenaline returned, trembling before finding my feet. My wrecked system cried, wanting nothing more than to curl up and sleep in a dark, quiet corner. My head poked out into the hall, catching sight of the turian doctor and Oseriun guarding the door. They were talking about Cops, before they fell silent.
"Um, t-the Turian Councillor would like to speak to you," I said to the doctor. She flicked her brows up.
"The turian… o-of course," she said, straightening. She brushed off the surprise, crossing the threshold. When she entered the cameras sight, she bowed her head. "Councillor, good afternoon," she said. Sparatus nodded.
"Doctor, I apologise for any brashness but we have little time and I need a full update on the status of the crew. The Starquake is a Council funded operation, we require every piece of information possible. As the only remaining crew member, and going by our previous experience with the boy, I want Gideon Shaik to report the findings. Ensure he gets access to all crew members, dead or alive. I understand this is unorthodox, but in the line of work this crew is in… we cannot take chances. I want silence from all medical personnel on the matter of the Starquake crew's arrival here. They are a security risk. We are already arranging security to protect the crew. Until then you must keep this as quiet as possible. This is of the utmost importance. Do I make myself clear, Doctor…?" Sparatus ordered.
"Doctor Sheria," she said. "I understand, Councillor. I… I dislike the idea of a child seeing the injuries we have seen – let alone those in the mortuary – due to his age, but if you are sure it is wise, then I'll ensure he gets access to what you need,"
"Good. Ensure your superiors are aware. Shaik, I want a full update as soon as possible. I also need you to verify the identity of the security arriving to protect the crew. You are familiar with them?" he asked.
"Y-Yes, I am," I said, even if I wished otherwise.
"Tell me when they are due to arrive, I'll arrange some turian security for the time being while being aware of our… situation. I'll forward you documentation to fill out and send back, get what information you can," Sparatus said.
"Yes s-sir!" I saluted, fingers just missing my eye and another painful injury. The call ended, leaving me in silence with the doctor and Oseriun poking his head into the room. A quiet moan escaped. He had to know… but why was he making me do this?!
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