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I pursued the obstinate creature for the fourth time today, struggling to persuade her to listen. I scanned behind us, Valérien stalking us with a scowl on his face. It was difficult enough for Endellion to listen to me with Valérien in attendance, thus I had to ignore him and tend to the human before me. The scent of her dextro-amino neutralising soap wafting off the freshly washed human, wrinkling my nose. Endellion would have slammed open the doors in her way into the war room had they not been automatic, her expression was thunderous.
"What the fuck, Raisha?" she shouted, whirling around to face me now that were had privacy. "Why the fuck did you tell Lanster to divert us to the ass end of nowhere? We have fucking Saboteurs to find!"
"Endellion, after that last little skirmish on Benning, I believe you need some time to calm yourself. We had to pick up supplies and yet somehow you manage to anger every merc within 2 systems," I said. Endellion ground her teeth.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'll just allow us to get ripped the fuck off by some stupid ass 'Alliance' asshole. He was a fucking merc who managed to get his hands on our stuff and you know it!" she jabbed her finger towards me. "Besides, we got our shit and left via the relay before anyone else appeared. Indira has told me they think the Alliance busting their little scheme," I retained the sigh building up in my chest.
"Endellion, we cannot take such risks. Should the Starquake or any of the crew become injured, it will be detrimental to our mission," I said.
"I am not paying 500 fucking thousand credits for fucking food! Who in their right mind would pay that for 208 crates of food? It only costs 1500 for a crew member's weekly supply and that's because I'm splashing out on some half-decent shit! We have a full team again, Raisha, I need to make sure we have enough food. It only costs us 312'000 credits for a month supply for the full team!" she shouted.
I sighed, waiting for her to conclude her budget tirade. She paced, snapping about bloated figures and people trying to rip her off, about the number of times she had to wave a gun in people's faces for them to drop the façade or when she had to call in some more muscle from the ship to remind them who they were dealing with. Times like this made me long that Endellion had not been raised with a parent within the business industry. When she finished, she spun around to me once more, bitterness souring her tone.
"Jesus, Raisha, our funding is still restricting after Gideon flew the Starquake in the Citadel, and you can shut up about that!" she snapped, another finger aimed in my direction.
"I said nothing, Endellion," I said.
"Oh, so you're not going to say anything after realising some of the crew was indoctrinated? Totally my fault, right? I should have noticed the fucking Saboteur in our ranks!" she said sarcastically.
"You have made your point, Endellion. We were careless," I admitted.
"Oh, it's we were careless now. Fuck sake, Raisha," Endellion rumbled. "I am trying to run a goddam ship here and you keep snapping at every tiny little mistake I make. As soon as it turns out it wasn't my fault, suddenly everything is fine again! You-"
"Enough, Endellion!" I shouted, snapping a hand to bring her back to her senses. Her jaw tightened. "You rush off into these situations without thinking most of the time! The derelict Reaper, our first visit to Thessia, Dekuuna, Kahje, several visits to the Citadel. Endellion, to be more cautious-"
"And I'm not? I am not a child to be scolded, Raisha! Sure, I don't have the combat experience of Mat'al, but neither do you! Name one time when I have mishandled the upkeep and running of this ship, missions aside. One, Fucking. Time!" she roared. I attempted to suppress the irritation rattling my hackles, focusing on a serene calm to keep my head clear.
"Your performance in the managerial work for the Starquake is flawless. However my concern is not how you do your business on the ship, it is with your groundwork. I do not know many captains who go on as many ground missions as you do, Endellion," I pressed.
"She needs experience, Raisha," Valérien said. I turned to him. "She is the greenest member of the team in terms of combat. She needs to get out there now so she can prepare for when the Reapers arrive,"
"While I can appreciate that sentiment, Valérien, she is our Captain. If something were to happen, what would happen to our mission, what of Gideon?" I asked.
"That's where I come in," Valérien replied. I raised a brow. His shoulders shuddered and tensed. "We've already discussed it with Gideon. While the idea of something happening to Dell upsets him, he's agreed with the backup plan," I sighed as I rubbed my eyes, imaging the brash turian caring for such a boisterous child. He wouldn't know what to do with him.
"Endellion, while I am happy that you have found yourself a partner, it is not too early to be naming him as a guardian?" I asked. Her expression fell, pupils narrowing to pin points. "I would say that, despite the distaste on both sides of the relationship, Julian is his uncle and should be the primary caretaker in an emergency," I explained. Endellion's demeanour shifted, rage consuming her common sense.
"I beg your pardon?" Valérien snapped. I drew him a dry look. "I can look after the kid, he's nearly a teenager for spirits sake!"
"Valérien, with all due respect, becoming the partner of the captain does not mean you know how to raise children, I believe many of his misdemeanours have stemmed from you. And while we are on the subject of rank, I have noticed some insubordination from you over the past week or so. I realise the turian army struggled to control you but I had thought that after the derelict Reaper incident that you had that under control. Being involved with the captain does not grant you any additional powers," I said.
"You... what? What insubordination? I do what you tell me other than when your orders don't make sense! Then I go to Dell to get that verified! And you've not seen me with children, Raisha," Valérien growled. I flattened my expression, monitoring him as his anger bristled. "Gideon has been with us for nearly 2 years, how the fuck have you... Dell?" Valérien asked, side-tracked. I spun to face Endellion, her hands supporting her weight as she leaned over the war table. She was immovable, a statue in a sea of turmoil. Her whole frame trembled, nails leaving small scratches on the wooden table. She stood there for a minute before her body settled. She breathed inwards.
"Lanster, plot a course for Tuchanka," Endellion ordered. She pushed herself straight, turning to face me. The earlier fury had stilled, a hardness settling over her expression. "Our XO needs a vacation,"
"Pardon?" I asked, startled.
"You heard me. Pack your stuff, we're dumping you on Tuchanka," she started walking towards the door. My heart rattled in my chest.
"Endellion, now you are behaving childish-" I said. Endellion whirled around, her hair swirled like a sea of red that matched the anger surfacing in her eyes.
"No, Raisha, you are being ridiculous. You are meant to be my XO, my voice in my absence. You defy me by ordering Lanster to take us 'somewhere safe' so we can 'recollect ourselves'? Completely unnecessary and utterly unacceptable. We are at war, Raisha! I am not you daughter to wrap in a bubble. I need to get out there, I need to get experience because when the Reapers arrive – and they will arrive – I will need every drop of experience possible. We will be overwhelmed in days! They'll be no managing the war when they strike!
"Val has come to me with concerns about some of his orders; changes and rechecks the weapon and amour checks and thus making them bloated and confusing, homogenising how we do our physical assessments of the crew and thereby straining those who have little combat experience and not taxing those who do, new and useless reports on crew training despite that every crew member has a customised routine that is reviewed every 2 weeks. Raisha, you ask Val to do these assessments. These aren't Val's jobs. We have lieutenants for that, people who will assess and report to Val with their findings. Val has much more important things to worry about, more managerial tasks that require skilled data management because if he fucks up, I fuck up. Not only that, but Shayan has been asking questions about some of his orders. Why the hell did you ask him to perform drive core tests the other day? Not only does that delay our patrolling routine – which, by the way, the turian army really appreciates when we're late passing through their territory – but Lanster has not reported any strange behaviour from the ship, we test it weekly and after every major combat and it was tested 3 days ago along with the kinetic barriers. You have full access to reports and the daily engineering reports if you are concerned.
"Raisha, to me, this sounds like you have nothing better to do and are trying to make yourself look important. Either that or you are mothering me, which I do not appreciate. Your combat experience is not much better than mine, you and Shayan never leave the ship. On top of this, I had to keep you in an XO position on the last mission because you didn't have the right experience for it. Right, fine, I can't say about that myself without being hypocritical. But Mat'al has told me you were not all that interested in learning, too busy looking at ship performance graphs and checking to see if people did not have jobs. So, no, Raisha, I've had enough. I'm dropping you on Tuchanka, we'll go off to do some work and when you are ready to act like a fucking XO, then you can come back on," Endellion said. "Lanster, get Delern in here,"
I was incapacitated, mortified by her words. I gaped at the human before me, pacing the space between Valérien and me with an aggravated click to her boots on the floor. Endellion planned to remove me from the team? But who would speak sense to her when she started to bite more than she could chew? Who would remind her what was at stake if she was not careful? She was going to throw herself into danger head first again! I turned to the door as Mat'al strode through, the salarian scanning the room with narrowed eyes once the heavy atmosphere held him.
"You wished to see me, Dell?" he asked, glancing to Valérien who gave him a quick glimpse.
"Until further notice, you are XO. Raisha will be leaving us for a while," Endellion ordered. Mat'al remained still, assessing the situation. He nodded.
"As you wish, Captain. When will Raisha be leaving us?" he asked.
"However long it takes to get to Tuchanka," Endellion grumbled. "I'll leave you in charge of rearranging the teams to compensate. If you need another member, I'll call Julian," Endellion stormed out of the war room. Valérien rubbed his eyes. He held up his hands, backing out of the room. Mat'al turned to me.
"What the hell happened?" he demanded. I folded my arms, turning my gaze away.
"I... appear to have exasperated Endellion beyond what she is willing to cope with," I said. "Mat'al, reason with her. She is not thinking clearly. She'll get hurt at this rate-" I tried to reason. Mat'al snorted, cutting me off.
"Raisha, she is not a child," he scolded. I recoiled at his tone. "She is more than capable of fending for herself and when she can't she has a full team behind her. She is not the uneducated child that you first met. She has grown into her role as captain. During the early stages of our mission, your support was appreciated, helpful even when trying to calm Dell down from her panic attacks. Now it is an annoyance. She no longer hides away and needs someone to hold her hand. She needs people around her that can push her forward, not hold her back. Consider this as an opportunity to get your act together. Dell does not need mothering, not any more. She needs an XO," Mat'al warned. "Now, judging by Dell's expression, I suggest you stay out of Dell's way until Tuchanka, for your sake,"
The salarian abandoned me, leaving me to the silence of the room. As the leaden atmosphere weighed down on my shoulders I shuffled towards the elevator, catching a glimpse of Endellion in the CIC, pacing wildly. I slipped into the elevator, pressing my head onto a wall, my mind unable to process the delivered news. Endellion and I certainly had been 'headbutting', for a lack of a better term, for months now. But I failed to see what was different between Endellion and I and Valérien and Endellion. They appeared to have cured their issues without Endellion reaching this point, why had I not? Surely I had been supportive enough? I moved out the elevator, shuffling into my room.
I lowered myself on the chair at the desk, ignoring the notes and timetables coating the walls around the table in neat rows. I cast my eye over the notes that Endellion had given me, including detailed spreadsheets on the economics of running the ship and supplies. Sheet after sheet with places to buy supplies, what they supplied, their prices, if we had any agreements with them, if they had pulled anything against us, what their quality was. I had to have a folder with the full details of her investigations, there was not enough space on the wall for them. Endellion was always on top of such things, she never neglected such duties. I was just concerned with her boldness on the battlefield. Although, her attitude had evolved after the last attack.
My eyes then fell on the photographs of my family on Tuchanka. Women and children from all ages. Nieces, nephews and children I had adopted from mothers who had passed on. I had no biological children, the genophage had seen to that, but I had taken in too many to not count them as my own. It had been years since I had last seen them, Endellion's mission with the Saboteurs had distracted me. Perhaps leaving the Starquake for a time was an opportunity to reset, to return fresh. With Mat'al as her right hand, she will not be in any danger, but the man was known for his aggressive punishments and training. There were two possible outcomes; either Endellion would realise that my methods suited her personality or that my method of acting as her second had not yet evolved to match her own changes. Either way, time would tell.
I sent a message to my eldest daughter, Innot, to inform her that I would be arriving on Tuchanka soon for some time. I would also need transport to return me to the Jorgal female grounds. Innot would do so, she had always been diligent in her duties. I turned my attention to the stars, waiting for our arrival in Tuchanka. I would not need much, everything I required was already at home. I gathered what things I required, more than willing to allow Endellion her space as time passed.
It took 2 days to reach Tuchanka. The tension in my old bones eased now that my 'incarceration' was complete. Mat'al had recommended that I remain in my quarters until we arrived. He had informed me Endellion had failed to calm herself and would fly into a fury at the mere mention of my name. Endellion did not come to see me off as I gathered my single knapsack and travelled to the cargo hold. Indira and Mat'al awaited my arrival, a single shuttle piloted by Kai on standby.
"Hope you have a safe journey, we'll keep Dellion safe, you know her," Indira bounced. I strained a smile.
"I know, please attempt to keep Endellion from erupting, Indira, I do not think her blood pressure could handle it," I said. "Please ensure she does not do anything reckless,"
"Dell will do as Dell does," Mat'al shrugged. "She will be fine,"
"We are ready to leave, XO," Kai called.
"Very we-" Mat'al and I began. We swivelled towards each other, Mat'al's eyes narrowed, a coldness seeping in. I managed a small laugh to lighten the tense atmosphere.
"My apologies, habits do not die easily," I said. Mat'al smiled, although his eyes remained chilled.
"Of course. Have a safe journey," he said as I boarded the shuttle.
Once the doors closed and the shuttle was free from the Starquake, I turned my attention to the oncoming planet. Tuchanka, the barren planet with only patches of the old empire littering the surface. Yet despite this, I smiled. I had left the care of the Jorgal female clan in the safe hands on Serenka, a woman not much younger than I. Then there were the little ones. How many would now be ready to start visiting the male clans now? How many had been born since I had last returned?
As the battered landscape of Tuchanka reared below me, the shuttle swooped low, lining itself up with a populated area. I furrowed my brows. Was this not... Urdnot territory? I sat straighter in the chair as we lowered ourselves towards the deadened soil. My fears were somewhat alleviated with the presence of Innot and Jorgal males, but my concern did not fade. Once the shuttle landed, I secured my knapsack and slipped free from the shuttle, ignoring the offered hands from the Jorgal males. I approached Innot with open arms.
"Innot, my dear, how are you?" I asked, clasping the 469 year old krogan. The mint crested, chocolate skinned krogan squeezed back.
"Mother, it has been too long." she answered. She pulled back, startling silver/blue eyes gleaming. "Welcome home. How fare your travels? Were you successful?" she asked, leading us towards a waiting tomkah. The males flanked us, casting suspicious stares to the surrounding Urdnot males.
"Ah, the travels have been... difficult. I am not sure how long I shall be here before I am required to return," I said. "Why are we in Urdnot territory, my dear?" Innot blinked, turning to me.
"Ah, Urdnot Wrex has been uniting the clans, he created neutral areas where all the clans are welcome. He has offered the full protection of Urdnot and his allies to all female clans as well. Much has changed in the last few years, mother," Innot ducked inside the tomkah, offering a hand to help me. "When I told Serenka that you were returning, she rushed to tell everyone. Be warned, expect a feast," Innot laughed. I chuckled.
"I shall, my dear, I certainly shall," I answered, listening to the rumble of the tomkah as it took me home.
A/N: Well, time to give Raisha some love (and character development). Right, onto the first book updates. I've almost finished all the complete overhauls. I've finished up to chapter 14 (I've been distracted with chapter 31 of this book and the poster for the fourth book to explain why it's taken me thing long!) and now it's only chapter 15 to finish up the massive edits (the end of the chapter is still the same).
For those who are too lazy to go back and read the chapters (like me, although unlike me you don't have to reread the chapters), here is a rundown of what has happened. If you are planning to read the chapters and don't want spoilers, do no read beyond this point! There is no more news related information from here. For those who want the changes in a nutshell, here we go!
Ok, Chapters 1-5 are pretty much unchanged; Dell found on Xawin, taken on Normandy, taken to Citadel, nearly kidnapped, Val rescues her, slight kick up at the hospital when Shepard arrives, Dell goes back onto Normandy. Chapter 6 is the new big guy (well, the first one). Here, Dell goes out onto a planet for the first time to do some geological stuff. This was meant to be 'Striking Gold' in Inclusion... although it should be 'Striking Plutonium'. Dell being Dell, troubles happens; thresher maw! They have some fun and then Shepard drives in to save the day with the trusty Mako (I've also stabilised his personality to bring out the... pyromania a little more).
Chapter 7 and 8 has received a reasonable facelift, 7 in terms of keeping Dell in character [Therum mission] and giving a bit more background to Keplar and her, Chapter 8 expanding further for the Keplar/Dell thing and that poker game is still there, to give Dell something to scream about in the later books. Chapter 9-12 (Feros) have remained the same, more or less. I've removed a lot of the boring crap no one cares about since they skip the conversations to get the quests as quickly as possible. Also changed up how Dell leaves the colony (Mat'al pisses her off rather than convinces her THEN Mat'al blows up the bridge as she tries to leave since she realises this is a horrible idea).
Chapter 13 is an interesting one. I have Dell nearly stab Shepard here (Mat'al instilling bad [or good] instincts in her) and Dell decides to get some fresh air on the Citadel. When she gets back, no Normandy! You have Mat'al to thank for that, so he scurries her away since she is pretty much stranded while Shepard goes and chases geth. Chapter 14 replaces and improves the conversation Dell had with Val (and gets her Carnifex and Overload here) and she has undergone some intense training. Also changed up the timeline from here to give Dell more time to train, so there is 2 weeks between Feros and Noveria rather than a few days. Chapter ends with Dell and Mat'al heading to Noveria to intercept more of Saren's geth for STG investigations.
Chapter 15 (which is still to be written at this point) will end the same with Dell being captured and taken aboard Sovereign. The start will just be Dell and Mat'al running around, Dell getting separated, running across Shepard (for all of 5 seconds since she is being chased here) and all of that lovely jazz. After that, as far as I have planned, everything else will remain the same, it'll just read better.