"What do you mean he's gone?!" I gawked.
"He's gone, vanished, disappeared into thin air!" Indira said. "Mat'al too, and Marruns. A shuttle is missing too and someone disabled the tracker. And someone took Kala's servers too! And Dell's body! I though Gid went insane and stole Dell and a shuttle and took off and Mat'al and Marruns went after him but other than the one shuttle and a few guns and experimental equipment, nothing else is missing,"
"Oh Spirits… oh spirits no. Dell trusted me to look after him. She trusted me to keep him safe! And he just took off with Mat'al, Marruns and his AI?!" I babbled, running my hands over my crest. "She trusted me…"
"We will find him, Valérien," Raisha said. "It may take time with the tracker disabled, but he could not have gone far. We have reported the incident, so all ships will be on lookout for a shuttle bearing our colours. We have reported it missing, not stolen so they are in no danger of being shot down,"
"Why did Mat'al go with him?" Shayan asked.
"To keep him safe?" Indira shrugged. "It's hard to say what goes on inside his head. He… didn't take Dellion's death too well,"
"Find me one person who is," I said, tone drying. Indira frowned. "I haven't seen a spirits-forsaken person here who's pleased about this whole thing. And you're surprised Mat'al isn't taking it well?" The drell's brows dropped, fire burning in her eyes.
"Oh sorry, Mr Heartbreak, sorry for stating the fucking obvious!" Indira snapped.
"Enough!" Raisha rumbled, snapping our attention to her. "Ancestors have mercy, fourth day after Endellion's passing and the glue that held us together is giving. What would Endellion say if she saw us like this?"
"She is the only reason we're here," Indira said. "Without her, I would've quit 2 years ago!"
"I would still be in the turian military," I sighed.
"And I would be on Tuchanka, falling to the indoctrination from my bastardised child! It matters not what brought us together but what drives us on. We assume that Mat'al and Marruns are both with Gideon. No other vessels are missing other than the one shuttle," Raisha said.
"But she asked me to-" I muttered.
"We know, but we cannot worry about Gideon. Our attention must refocus back onto the Saboteurs. We must not fail, for Endellion's sake," Raisha said.
"W-Well, if Gideon is with Mat'al, t-then he has a good chance. D-Don't worry, M-Mat'al won't let anything happen to him,"
"While true, with the departure of Mat'al and Endellion's passing, we have two open positions which we must fill," Raisha said. "I will assume captain position, as previous XO. We need a new XO however. As the most senior officer, Valérien will take the position,"
"What? No!" I said, muscles tensing. "I am not going back to the XO position, I am not-"
"You do not have a choice. Until Mat'al returns, you will assume the XO position. This opens the Commander of Combat position. I have spoken with Anthon and he has agreed to take Mat'al's place for the time being, however I have not yet spoken to anyone for Valerian's position. Any recommendations?" Raisha asked.
"Ah… P-Phentos would be a good shout," I said, swaying. XO… I was back in the XO position… oh spirits have mercy.
"Good, I will speak with him. Change your stripes, Valérien, We are on course to start a mission," Raisha said. That jolted me.
"But we need to find-" I cried. Raisha pinned me with a hard stare.
"Gideon will be fine for the time being. Until we get word, we cannot do anything. What we can do is hunt Saboteurs. Nyryntha is no longer chasing us and I suspect she thinks they have broken our spirits. We must use this opportunity to push forward and remind ourselves why we fight. If we do nothing, then the Council will suspect something and may learn of Endellion's condition. Therefore, we push onwards. We have received word that suspicious activity on Noveria has grabbed people's attention. Suspicious even for Noveria standards. It matches the data Kala linked before she disappeared with Gideon. We are to investigate,"
"...aye, aye," I mumbled, hands shoving themselves in my pockets. Raisha turned to return to the bridge, Shayan rubbed his arm.
"I'll… I'll get the old crew arrangement logs from when Raisha was out of action. W-We can use that to help with promotions. We will have spots open though," he said.
"We'll manage. Right now though, we need to worry about getting to Noveria and getting this Saboteur," Indira said. "Dellion wants them dead… therefore they die," she muttered as she stalked from the room. My fingers tightened on the table behind me, a tremor shaking my knees. Shayan shuffled closer, omni-tool open. Mine lit up, the old crew position log transferring. Shayan made a hasty escape, leaving me to the silence of the room.
Gideon had disappeared in the night. The security cameras had died, either Kala or Mat'al's work, leaving us in the dark as to what the hell happened. Marruns' disappearance also rose eyebrows with the remaining two Spectres. This behaviour was not normal for the turian, although after losing Dell, his only purpose for being on the ship had died. My arm lifted, staring at the old crew table. The screen quivered as my arm trembled, the portrait of the red haired human visible. We shouldn't have risked the mission. Dammit, why did I let her go? Dell was desperate to do something, yes, but that didn't mean she had to go on the ground missions. She could have stayed on the ship… no, she wouldn't have. She would have refused. Spirits, the things we did for those we love. And now Nyryntha wandered the galaxy doing spirits knows what! We should've been more careful, more aware that Nyryntha may have lain a trap. She may have reprogrammed the relay, that may be why it changed colour from blue to yellow. Although, she used an inactive relay to get here. That relay deactivated after she travelled through though. From the Council reports, the relay started by itself and glowed yellow. Shepard said the Reapers made these things, was it possible they could use the relays to appear anywhere they wished, or was this a one off thing?
My head shook, diverting my thoughts to the chores ahead. For Dell, I had to follow Raisha's commands. Rearranging the crew structure would occupy me for a while, until my head got itself straight. And my heart. My eyes squeezed shut as Dell's named vanished from the Officer's row. Think of the job, think of the job. The easiest thing to do was to promote those we promoted before and raise them as high as necessary. Deciding who the two new promotions though, well, that required me to read through the dossiers. Or Raisha. Dammit, whose damn job was that? Why was I XO?! A sigh escaped as my legs found the will to leave the war room and traverse back to my room. While my eyes trailed over the door to Endellion's room, an echoed memory of her laugh clogging the air in my throat. My fingers touched the hologram, trembling as the doors parted.
Her smell smashed me like a hammer, a sweet smell soured by levo-amino acids. My eyes closed, heart clenching. My eyes couldn't turn to the upper tier, to the photographs she piled on the table beside the sofa. Not where we spent so many nights talking, ranting, crying, loving. A shaken hand reached for a drawer, a series of boxes with rank stripes inside. XO stripes slipped free, crushed between my fingers. My eyes shut once more, marching out the room to escape the smell and memories torturing me. The door closed, the memories fading like ghosts behind me as my feet carried me away. Away from the pain, my hands steadied enough to change the stripes to the XO markings. Within seconds, their weight crushed me. The Commander stripes found themselves on my desk. Fingers flexing, I returned to the bridge for new orders. Raisha stood under the galaxy map, frowning at the blips of light on it. Passing through the hologram to join her, my eyes glimpsed Nyryntha's last known position; The Annos Basin. Where she was now, no one knew. We just had to wait for the next sighting.
"Phentos has agreed to take the Commander position. His original position when the RSS-2 construction finished had been for the position, so he will need only a refresher course," Raisha said. Her eyes shifted, scanning me. "Drutus has agreed to mentor you in the duties of an XO. I hope you are a keen learner, Valérien, for we move with haste. These Saboteurs have stolen too much from me already,"
"Aren't I meant to be one to go on the revenge rampage?" I asked, turning to study the room. Raisha snorted.
"Perhaps, but seeing as you have no recovered from the shock, that may take time to kick in," she said.
"I just need to find Gideon. Spirits, I hoped he would stay open with me but with Dell…" I sighed.
"He does not know how to deal with the grief," Raisha said. "Much like myself after realising my daughter was a Saboteur and my family had fallen into her snare. Weeks, I took weeks for the shock to wear off, to understand what it meant. At that point you decide; succumb to your grief or gain strength from it. It is easier said than done. Perhaps you will have an easier time deciding what you wish to do when the time comes. For now, focus your mind. I will require you to lead the ground missions with Endellion no longer able to," Raisha glanced to the cockpit. "I would also appreciate it if you speak with members of the crew. Some are not taking the change of captain well,"
"I'll see what I can do," I sighed, shaking my head as I crossed the distance to the cockpit. With Noveria only a mass relay jump away, I had time to kill. With my hands in my pocket, my eyes set the sights on the cockpit and the turian within. Lanster kept his eyes on the dials, tapping a talon on the arm rest of his chair. His eyes flicked up when he heard me.
"Heard about Gid," he said.
"Yeah… seems like everyone has these days," I sighed.
"We'll fine him. He couldn't have gone far," Lanster said with a shake of his head, throwing a screen away to the side. "He'll be alright, he's a tough kid. Gid always claimed he looked after himself before we found him. He had a pistol for spirits sake. And with Kala with him… well, let's hope that Kala doesn't go rogue AI on us,"
"Please don't say that. Spirits knows I have enough to worry about as it is. Dammit, Lanster, everything's falling apart," I moaned, rubbing my face. "Dell passing, Raisha forcing me into the XO position and now Gideon has vanished. There's not much else that can fuck this over,"
"Now it's my turn to say don't say that, there is always worse. The only thing I'm worried about right now is keeping the team together," Lanster sighed. My plates furrowed, frowning at the turian.
"Endellion was the glue that held the team together," Mari said, turning her attention from the console before her. "Most of us joined because of individual people; Lanster and many of the turians are here because of you, I am here because of Commander Delern. Dell held the Commanders together and therefore us. Then we got new crew members who became loyal to Dell. I can see some older members of the crew drifting,"
"And not everyone agrees with the change of leadership. While a handful like the change," Lanster pulled a face. "Many like Shaul stayed because Dell could satisfy their needs, or she asserted her position as a good leader. Sure, things were rough in the beginning, but we got the job done and she grew," Lanster said. "Unless Raisha proves herself to be as resourceful, as flexible and as determined, we will run into problems,"
"Then I hope the crew is ready, because Raisha isn't very flexible these days. She's got drive, but resources? The damn krogan is leaving me to the planning. Dell arranged the teams she took with her, or any team going out on a mission. Hell, after the attempted assault of the ship at the Citadel, Dell arranged who got shore leave and when," I said. Dammit, was that something else I had to deal with?
"Yeah, don't see Raisha doing much beyond that. After we found out her daughter was a Saboteur, she's been… harder," Lanster shook his head. "If she didn't become so harsh, then the crew wouldn't be on edge. We don't know what she's like anymore," Lanster grumbled as he swiped a menu away. "So, what did Raisha want you to convince me of?" A snort escaped me.
"Who the fuck knows. I'm just resigned to my fate. I won't be escaping the XO position," I said. Lanster clicked his mandibles, eyes lost on the orange holograms before him.
"I think Dell would've liked it," he said. My mandibles flared, gaping at him. "She's always had problems with Raisha and Mat'al. You don't hear the shit Dell and Raisha the past little while. Raisha's been snapping at her to step up the Saboteur strikes. She's been pushing her so bloody much. Why do you think she was desperate to do work? She wanted Raisha off her case. That's why Raisha can 'get to fuck', as Dell says. Dammit, that's why people fear the crew won't hold up. I don't think Raisha has what's needed to hold so many people of so many species together. Hell, Dell threatened to demote her and replace her with you. She always said you had great potential if only you tried. She'd like to see you try, at least," My eyes diverted, pain twisting my heart. Wanted me… to lead? Spirits, she dreamed big, she always dreamed big… "Are you holding up alright?" My head shook. "We'll get Gid back. He's struggling with grief. At least we assume Mat'al and Marruns are with him, he'll be fine,"
"But I promised Dell to look after him something happened," I sighed. "I can't even do that for her,"
"Gideon is as stubborn as she is," Lanster snorted. "He'll come around once the shock wears off," A sound rolled in my throat, lost in thought. "So, Noveria. Know much of what to expect?"
"I've not looked at the mission brief. Raisha and Indira are still throwing it together. We're looking at a chemical plant that is going a little bit crazy. Could be whatever the hell happens on Noveria but fuck it, Kala marked it as a possible hit. We're hoping this will give something for the crew to focus on, something to bring us together without Dell here to stick us," I said. Lanster shook his head.
"Good luck, XO," Lanster said. A frown crossed my lips, grumbling as my attention pulled away from the cockpit.
Mission, set your mind on the mission. My head shook, an attempt to dislodge the memories clogging my mind. It took another hour before the final mission brief was ready, giving me time to gather the combat team in the Ground Ops room. Shaul rumbled, discontented as he listened to the mission. One of Noveria's minor companies, Lysinos-Serus, had shown signs and activities not normal with the work they developed, strange orders, sudden explosions that couldn't match the experiments their clients ordered and odd sounds coming from the valley. The bio-engineering company had received complaints from employees who fled the facility of testing biological weapons on people, but could not give details before their untimely death, giving us the permission required to raid the place. Due to what the lab studied, we needed to wear full suits with a membrane. Even if the armour shredded, then the membrane would give you enough time to get out before whatever biological studies infected you. The biological weapons were bad enough, but a Saboteur may be in the place only added another layer of danger. What would a Saboteur, the Reapers, do with a biological engineering company? No, their plans had to stop before something sinister escaped there.
The Starquake dropped beside the relay, making tracks to push towards Noveria and the trouble that awaited us there. This was where Dell had become her own… Spirits, would everything remind me of her now? We suited up, checking the guns and clips before loading mechs on board. We couldn't take risks, not on Noveria. Now to get the weapons and mechs past customs. We had Drutus with us, if only to watch me and ensure we had all the Spectre access we could dream of. In this snow though, would the shuttle be able to handle it? The thought of borrowing a tank of vehicle with all these people and the mechs… No, just hope that the damn weather played nice for once. The frozen world had caused many a heart attack on my part already. There was no way I would allow it to give me another if I could help it. With Lanster giving the green light, we made our way back up to the airlock to get through the security systems. Just to get the shuttle through so we could make out own way up the lab. Whatever happened in Basin 33 will have people on edge. A Spectre running around with an armed team would not help matters.
A mass effect field kept the snow from blanketing the Starquake and freezing us. Although until we got off the docks, the temperatures wouldn't improve. The Combat team followed me, falling into the familiar pattern albeit short one red-hea- oh for Spirits sake, stop! Drutus folded his hands behind his back as armed security officers met us, guns held to eye level. My shoulders squared, staring down the security team while my crew stopped behind me, watching me to wait for any hidden signals. Drutus remained calm, keeping his plates still as someone stepped forward, visor over one eye.
"We have been expecting you, although your notice to arrive is sudden. It's not normal procedures to allow people to land here without due notice," the guard said. Drutus raised a brow.
"We are not your normal visitors," he said. The human before us shuffled, watching the older Spectre as he flaunted his rank. Drutus wore his experience as an aura, unsettling everyone around him. "We have permission to make out way up to Basin 33,"
"We are aware. You'll all go through security before we arrange transport for you. You must leave your guns behind-" the human said. Drutus laughed, the harsh tone freezing the human.
"Try and take my weapon from me. I dare you," he drawled. The dark haired human quivered.
"B-But i-it's just s-standard procedure-" the human stammered.
"Spectres don't follow standard procedure," Drutus said with a frown. The human trembled, eyes threatening to roll back in his skull. The human nodded, too afraid to speak against the turian Spectre. My mandibles clicked, wondering how Dell would've reacted- Spirits, stop! My head shook as Drutus stepped forward, eyes ignoring the scurrying human and the pitiful excuse for guards behind him.
Despite having clearance to get access to Basin 33, politics were impossible to bypass, even for Spectres. This included getting the ok to shuttle our way up the facility. Otherwise, they would have to drag a tank or other vehicle together to get us through. That would provide me with the headache of getting the mechs through. Knowing Drutus, he'd leave that little torment to me to figure out. We passed by the security scanners, blaring as they detected our weapons but security silenced them. One look from the Spectre put the fear of death into them. They let us pass into the facility, allowing us to meander through the lobby. We found a quiet place near the snowy window to wait. With luck, we could be on our way before the potential target got wind of us and prepared a trap for us. Although, at this rate, our luck wouldn't hold. We had had no luck for a while. I didn't trust it to improve now.
The Fact Sheet, Timeline and Galaxy Map have been updated for this chapter.