Everything could have been so much worse, as hard as it was to admit. It left me with several… problems to deal with though, none of them nice. Getting back on track for Saboteur hunting hovered in the forefront, but we couldn't do that until we booked the physio and psychiatrists. But other than that it wasn't a catastrophe. But they had to wait for now, wait until this little fucker was dealt with. Gideon's report, although lacking in great detail, gave enough insight to the battle to tremble. My heart clenched and rage singed my bones to ash. Mat'al and Val had both given their version of the assault, Indira, Raisha and Shayan were still getting their story straight. A face slid over the screen and my blood turned nuclear. A brown faced salarian with a death wish. He fucked with the wrong Shaik. The time for surprise and backstabbing is over. Time to break out the heavily artillery-
"Delly," the constant drone scolded. Julian didn't flinch from my frown, leaning back in his chair. Getting 5 minutes peace from him proved hard, the bastard attentive at my side. "You are well enough to eat on your own. Now, unless you want me to do airplanes, eat," My eyes did the once over the tray of 'pasta' or whatever it was. It didn't spell like pasta…
"Ship got fucked, crew got fucked, I got fucked, son got fucked, all because of this motherfucker," I snapped.
"Delly," Julian said again, slowing his voice to sooth my rage. "Don't blow a casket. We'll get him," He nodded his head to the food, ignoring my snort as a forceful slam skewered the offending pasta. My teeth ripped it off the fork a moment later.
"I've had enough. I'm butchering every fucker I see," I said, chest rumbling. The offending photo slid from view. "I'm well enough to take the work off Gideon," Julian narrowed his eyes.
"I'm sure you are, but the Council has requested you take it easy. Your injuries are severe-" Julian said.
"Yeah, I've had an extensive hysterectomy, not that I was planning on more kids aside from Gid, and have a cracking scar up my abdomen. But, hey, no more periods!" I cheered, raising both hands in the air before they dropped limp. "Aside from the hormone replacements, I'm well enough to stop lying around, even Nyryntha can't keep me down this long," My hand shoved the pasta to one side, my appetite gone. Julian moaned as my legs swung over the edge of the bed. He heaved himself up, walking around the bed as my knees struggled to take my weight. Julian took a hand, putting it on his shoulder. My grip tightened, but he didn't complain as my other hand grabbed his other in a mad flail. He gripped my hip, helping me walk out the door without a wheelchair. He knew better than to throw me in one of those when there was nothing wrong with my legs. Time to stop being a lazy ass and get back to work.
But before I could do anything, speaking to Raisha and co was my priority. My eyes trailed over the open doors, spotting recovering crew members. 95% were back on their feet, after a month and a half out of action. How much longer would it be before we were ready to go once more? A damn bloody month and a half lost, all because of me. My carelessness… My hands tightened into fists, legs remembering how to work. With tentative twitches, my hands released Julian, teeth grit while wobbling down the hall. Julian kept his hand on my hip for support. Despite the wobbles, my legs pushed on, eyes scanning the doors. The one room I needed appeared, the door parting. Relief flooded my body like a soothing balm. Raisha sat in a chair, her rumbling voice falling silent as the door parted. Mat'al leaned against a wall, eyes drifting towards me. A smile lifted his lips. Indira smiled, unable to beam with half her face bandaged. Shayan had a new suit, the last one too punctured to salvage. He had spent time in a bubble from what the reports said, but he looked well enough. Val grinned from his perch on a bed in the corner, ignoring the glower from Julian. All the while, his trailed over me, looking for injuries. Everyone was ok, everyone made it… thank God.
"Well… that sucked," I said. Raisha frowned, face crinkling. Well, she suspected I would be more serious after all of this. Mat'al chuckled while Val, Indira and Shayan breathed sighs of relief.
"I'm glad to see you on your feet, Captain," Shayan said from his chair beside Raisha. "It'll be a boost to the rest of the crew,"
"I think we all need a pick-me-up, Shayan," I said, swaying. Julian's grip tightened. "What is the status of the crew?"
"You have to ask Gideon. He's the one dealing with everything it seems," Val said. A glower formed, aimed at the floor. What the hell has that boy been doing since I was out?
"Can you get him for me, Julian?" I asked. Julian blinked, breathing through his nose. His eyes found an empty bed, drifting back to my shaking knees. He applied pressure to my back until my feet stumbled up to the bed. He once again ignored my glare before releasing his hold on my hip. My hands flailed for stability, grabbing the bedside table to keep me upright. Julian's hands hovered over me just in case, but he smiled once he was sure I was stable. My glare heated, the smug bastard retreating from the room. "Prick,"
My body struggled to get on the bed, a tiny voice whimpering at the thought of worsening my injured abdomen. Val dashed to his feet, taking my hips in his hands and hoisting me to safety. My quiet sigh didn't escape notice, Val smirking beside me. He pressed his head into the side of mine, a gentle squeeze of the hips to assure me. A moment of weakness, a moment to drop the anger and frustration. Val retreated after a moment, not wanting to start another spat with my dear big brother. The aliens in the room stood or sat attentive, awaiting my command. A slow breath reignited the fire, a rush of aggravated air escaping my aching lungs. My mind refocused, scanning the aliens.
"Sitoln," I said, a venom leaking. "Where is he?"
"No idea," Val said. My gaze slid to focus on him. "Gid said he last saw him before he went through the relay for Palaven. Sitoln didn't follow,"
"The Council haven't been able to locate him either. He's vanished," Indira said. My frown worsened.
"When I find that bastard, I will rip out his intestines, hang him with them, gorge his fucking eyes out and rip him limb from limb," I seethed.
"We need to find him first before we can do that," Gideon said. My head swivelled to the door, Gideon trotting ahead of Julian. "Are you sure you should be up?" he asked, a tremor in his tone. My frown softened, his quiet fear tempering the anger.
"I'm find, Gideon," I said. Gideon shuffled, turning to the others for confirmation. Gideon's shoulders sagged.
"What do you need?" he asked.
"How are the crew? Have you been in contact with the Council? Any news?" I asked. Gideon flicked out his omni-tool, navigating the interfaces for the millionth time.
"Nearly everyone is back up and at 'em, but we did lost a lot of people. Everyone else should be on their feet in the next week or two though, so we're almost there. Physio is going well too, 68% of the crew are fit for duty. The Starquake is out for test trials to make sure nothing is going crazy and I got a message from the Primarch, he wants to see you as soon as you are fit but he stresses 'when you are fit'. Nothing from the Council though," Gideon said.
"Good, let him know I'll call him in the next few minutes," I said. Gideon scowled.
"Mother…" he said. My eyebrows shot up before slamming back down.
"Don't you use that tone with me, young man, or I'll let Mat'al take you out on a Geth occupied planet for a day or so," I said. Gideon's gaze slid to Mat'al before snapping back.
"Yes Ma'am," he said, voice pitching high.
"We'll talk later, sweet, but I need to talk work for a while," I said, nodding my head to the door. Gideon scanned the room before nodding, shuffling out of the room. Julian closed the door behind him.
"As if you would let me drag him to geth occupied world," Mat'al chuckled. My head shook.
"He's getting older and cockier, maybe some national service will cool his head," I said with a grumble. Mat'al's eyes sparkled while my attention returned to the room. "Onto more important details. How did Sitoln indoctrinate people? How did they slip the RIT net?" Mat'al rubbed an eye.
"I can only assume Sitoln indoctrinated Etal, she the only other members in charge of RIT with Saere. My guess? Indoctrinate her, make her falsify records or fake the RIT and Sitoln could have indoctrinated the others over time," My eyes found Julian, the man frowning.
"You were careless, you should have more than two people in charge of RIT" he said. He frowned at my barked laugh.
"Please, you may have a more widespread problem, Julian," I said. His frown deepened. "Sitoln was with us when you 'kidnapped' us after killing Alea. You never flagged him then," The broad man stood frozen, my words reeling. Julian breathed, a deliberate act to settle whatever nerves or emotions built in his chest. He pressed a finger to his ear before it twitched, moving away. He set his jaw.
"I'll deal with it when I return to the Constellation. Calling it in now would only raise suspicions if I've been infiltrated," he said, a forceful grit in his tone. My shoulders sagged, relieved Julian's attention turned to more pressing matters than my ass. My eyes found the clock in the corner.
"Right, I need a word with the Primarch and see what he wants. I want all RIT records checked, test Mat'al's theory. If Etal was in charge of all those who were indoctrinated, then we know she was the first. After that, I want to know how she fell when she was meant to be getting RIT too. Also, how soon we can get back and moving. We've lost a lot of ground," I ordered.
"Aye, aye, Captain," the aliens said.
With care, my feet touched the ground. Val set his jaw as Julian grabbed me before my body tumbled to the ground. Julian swung his jaw, silent as he planned countermeasures to the potential indoctrination issue on his ships. It took too long to travel down the ward, leaving my commanders and XO to whatever schemes they plotted. A few more corners and long hallways, Gideon's little 'office' appeared. As the door opened, a mess greeted me, my face wrinkling. Paper, plastic drink cups, data pads, wiring and computer bits while he did his hobbies during what free time he had. What was half of this stuff anyway? And why didn't he- oh that boy was getting a talking to later! Julian snorted behind me, mimicking my sentiment as my hands flicked paper and wiring away from the console, ass landing on the chair with a thud. Gideon needed a lesson about organisation and general tidiness, it seems. Alas the mess could be dealt with later, but the Primarch needed more attention. The pale gold coloured turian soon filled the screen, the decorative white marking of Palaven donned on his face. The amber eyed turian smiled when he recognised me, leaning back in his chair. With Julian out of range of the camera, my smile returned the sentiment to the well-dressed turian.
"Primarch Fedorian, good evening," I greeted.
"Captain Shaik, I am relieved to see you are on your feet. Your recovery comes at an opportune time," Fedorian said, bright tone dying until a lining of fear slipped in. My eyebrows dropped, unease creeping through my spine. Julian's pointed stare burned into the side of my skull.
"Saboteurs, Primarch?" I asked. The turian flicked a smile, the mandibles wagging as his expression collapsed.
"Yes. I am afraid I will need your help as soon as you are able. I am not sure how much longer our defence systems can hold," Fedorian said.
"Palaven Shield still fluctuating?" I asked.
"Worse. One of our dreadnaughts and several cruisers who patrol Palaven are not communicating with us. The Shield we can deal with, but those ships are too valuable to lose. They refuse to dock or allow any other ship to board. They haven't shot at us yet but I fear it won't be long before we hit that stage," Fedorian explained. A quiet moan escaped, rubbing an eye.
"Dreadnaughts?" I said rather than asked. "How many ships?"
"1 dreadnaught and 3 cruisers," Fedorian said. My gaze narrowed, mind working overtime. The Saboteurs were upping the ante. My gaze drifted to Julian, watching his expression twist, heated stare pinning me to the chair. My eyes returned to the monitor.
"I will need to speak with your military to create a plan. We also need to identify which ship the Saboteur is on. You said you had Saboteur suspects?" I asked.
"We do, however I do not wish to speak over an unsecured line. Once you are fit, please come to Cipritine and we can speak in person. I will have my military admirals ready, we must deal with as soon as we can," Fedorian said, tone dire. My head nodded.
"We will be there as soon as we get discharged, Primarch," I answered. The call disconnected, leaving me to the discontented scowl from my brother. I ignored him while my mind turned to how soon they would discharge me. The concept didn't please me, staying here. My answer was worse. Julian pushed himself off the wall, lowering himself on a chair beside me.
"Delly, you don't have the resources for a mission like this," he said.
"You do though," I said, sighing. My eyes glanced to the door, wondering how easy escape would be.
"Delly, if what you say is correct – and I believe you are – then my crew is compromised. I could have a Saboteur or two within my crew and not know. If they realise we are moving against a turian Saboteur then they'll do everything in their power to stop it. I cannot guarantee the safety of you or the turians," he said.
"We'll be fine," I said. "We won't need much-"
"Delly, have you ever fought against a dreadnaught before?" Julian asked.
"It's just a bigger, slower ship, sure, the cruisers could be a problem but we can-" I said, fire lighting my voice.
"You've never fought one, you wouldn't be saying that if you had," Julian said, holding himself back.
"I'll be fine-" I snapped.
"Please!" Julian shouted, overcoming my voice. My lips pressed into a tight line, eyes narrowing. "Please, Delly. I…" he dragged in a slow breath. "I don't want you hurt. Please listen to what I have to say, it could save your life and those on your ship," My eyes found a wall to melt, shoulders quivering at the bristling fire in my chest.
"I'm not a child," I grumbled. "I have advisors,"
"Advisors are one thing, Delly, experience is something else. I've fought against dreadnaughts. They may be slower but they pack a helluva punch. The side cannons alone can take out cruisers. The turian dreadnaughts are even worse than normal. Their armour is uncontested, their weapons have felled an entire swarm of fighters in one shot. All it takes is for frigates and cruisers to herd you into position and you're dead. They aren't meant to be used on their own and they are deadly with packs of ships. You've never faced a dreadnaught. The Primarch said there were cruisers, I'm willing to bet there are frigates involved as well. Maybe even fighters if we are very unlucky,"
"Then help me," I said.
"Delly I… Until we know what the situation is I cannot promise anything. I don't know how stable the situation is back on the Constellation in my absence. I may be able to spare fighters if I can get a guestimate on the number of people who have infiltrated my ranks but I don't know, Delly. That's the hard and fast of it,"
"Then come with me to Cipritine," I said. Julian swung his jaw, eyes on the messy table. He breathed hard though his nose.
"And having me tag along isn't going to raise problems with the Council? I'm aware you've been working hard to keep them from away from me," he said.
"Only because if they find out you are like me then they'll do something stupid. Or you, I've not decided yet," I said. "I can deal with the Council so long as you don't lose your head and kill a Spectre or something, Saboteurs aside,"
"No promises," he said. "Unlike you, my arms don't twist so well,"
"I've realised," I said, sourness dripping like venom. "Look just… come and listen. We may not even need your help,"
"It depends on how much the turians are willing to throw at them," he said. He sighed. "Fine, we'll see what the turians have to say about the whole thing,"
"Good. Now be a good big brother and get Gideon, I need to talk to him," I said.
Julian frowned, eyes narrowing. He knew better than to complain, know I would walk without help otherwise. The chair pushed back with a screech, Julian leaving the room and giving me peace. My hands fussed with the things littering the table, throwing everything into piles. It wasn't perfect but it was better. My head hung, hands rubbing sore eyes. The pain medication helped with the throbbing, but it still stung, at least mentally. Everyone would need psychologists or something, even me as much as it hurt to admit. It took several minutes for Gideon to come into the room. Julian leaned against the wall, refusing to shift despite my glares. Gideon shuffled, noticing the office was tidier than his last visit. He lowered himself down on the chair.
"Everything ok?" he asked.
"I'm the one meant to ask that," I said. Gideon flicked up a small smile. "I'm sorry,"
"For what?" Gideon blinked.
"Forcing you to do all of this. I'll bulldoze into your uncle later about it too," I said, throwing a glare at Julian. He did nothing, not even change his expression. "I don't know why the Council was so insistent on you doing everything, even after I regained consciousness," I sighed, running a hand through my hair.
"It wasn't your fault. It was Sitoln's, if that bastard hadn't done anything then we wouldn't be here," he said, fire snorting out his nose. "The Council said they'll forgive the piloting this time because no one else could do it, going by the injuries of everyone. They wanted me to do the reports and stuff because they knew I'm not a Saboteur. They trust no one now," he said.
"I'm sorry," I said, pulling him into a hug. "I should've been more careful,"
"Stop apologising, mum," Gideon's muffled scold said.
"I'm your mother, shush," I said. Gideon whined, wriggling free. "I'll kick Julian in the ass for not helping you," Gideon blinked, eyes diverting to his stoic uncle for a moment, he chewed a lip as his eyes flicked back up.
"I… Don't be too hard on him," I said.
"…What?" I said. Gideon sighed, shuffling.
"Just… just before you regained consciousness, those people from the Citadel adoption place came by," he said. My heart stopped. "They wanted to take me away and all that but Uncle Julian… he didn't let them. I-It got to the point where he used his Reaper Specialisation to get them off your back. So you shouldn't hear from them… ever,"
"He… he did what?" I asked, head reeling. My head spun to face Julian, the blond man's eyes on Gideon. Why didn't Julian tell me? Or did he think I wouldn't believe him? My hands fidgeted. "Why?" Julian shrugged.
"How would you have felt if you woke up onto to find out the kid had taken away?" he asked.
"I… I didn't know you could use your Reaper Specialisation," I said. Julian shook his head.
"With difficulty. I only have about another 3 or 4 uses of it before Palalrian will kill me with it. He gets pissy when I use it," he said. "Don't bother trying to master yours. Please, I cannot describe the pain…"
"Yeah, I have enough problems with Nyryntha without inflaming the issue," I said, eyes trailing over Gideon. He managed a small smile. "…Thank you, Julian,"
"I'm your brother, I have to act like it sometimes," he said with another shrug.
"Better late than never, I suppose," I said, not able to think of anything else. Julian shook his head.
"It's time for your meds, Delly. We can talk more later," he said.
"Fine… but only if you help Gideon with this shit, or let me do it," I said. Julian moaned.
"I'll think about it," he said.
"Then I'll stay right here," I said, folding my arms. Julian rubbed his eyes.
"I'd carry you if you were hurt," he rumbled. Gideon twitched a nervous smile, shuffling away from the pair of us.