"We need to double check with the Council about the status of several Saboteurs… also have they gotten back to us about those weapon upgrades?" I asked, feet storming down the hall.
"Dell," Val called behind me, smile in his voice.
"Oh and we need to do a stock check for the ammunition, so if you can get someone to send you those too that'll be great," I added, eyes on the datapad in my hand.
"Dell," Val called again, laughter leaking free.
"And then we need to double check the intel drops, Indira's report isn't here either. When are we going to reach the Upsilon Steppe? I swear we've been travelling for weeks," I grumbled, bursting out into the bridge. "Also I need to check with Julian on the fleet status, which frigate am I going on after this?"
"The Starquake," a voice droned.
"Ha ha, very funny, Julian, seriously which…" I trailed off, pausing mid-step. Val stopped a second behind me, catching himself before he crashed into my back. My head swivelled to face the blond man leaning against a console in the Control Ring. My mouth opened, frowning. It closed again, brows furrowed, my brain faltering on its path. "Why… are you here?"
"You're docked in the Constellation, Delly, like we told you yesterday," he said.
"And the day before, and the day before that and the day before that," Indira called from a console on the port side. Gideon lifted his eyes, attention snapping up from the console the pair was so engrossed in. What did… no, no that didn't feel right. Val took the datapad out of my hand, grinning at me as he looked over it.
"Don't need to do that, or that, did that yesterday, don't need that… Indira, any word from the Council?" Val asked.
"They're asking to stay in the loop. But they are sending a get well soon card," she laughed. Val rolled his eyes, striking it off. What… no, no, what was going on? Julian's hands found my shoulders, shaking me awake.
"Take it easy, Delly. Your brain is running on auto-pilot… and stuck in an endless loop," he said with a smile.
"No it's not!" I snapped.
"What's today's date?" Julian asked.
"16th of February, 2186," I said through grit teeth. Julian smiled, nodding his head to my omni-tool. His smile widened at my aggravated sigh as the purple interface glowed. "6th of July… 2186…" I said, the date striking me. No… No it couldn't be July… Could it?
"Captain," Drutus called.
"Yes?" Val and I said together. My eyes zipped to the turian with jaw dropped, a growing grin on his face. Drutus shook his head.
"She's still catching up. What's up, Drutus?" Val asked, crossing the distance between them. My hand found my head, bewildered. Gideon tore towards me, his job forgotten and eyes growing larger with each second. Julian steered me to the captain's chair dropping me down. He knelt before me, arms resting on my thighs.
"Delly, just sit here for a little bit. Try and get your head straight," Julian said, patting my shoulder, straightening to frown at Val. Drutus saluted and parted ways, freeing Val to speak with Julian. My eyes tracked him, prying my ears to listen to the hushed whispers. God what I wouldn't do for Val's hearing! "This isn't working, Autillin," Julian whispered. "It's been a week and she just relives the same day over and over. We need to do something different," Val waved his mandibles, eyes skimming over me. He sighed, shaking his head.
"Do you have any other suggestions?" he asked. Julian swung his jaw, eyes dropping as Gideon sidled up towards them.
"We're missing something. Maybe her mind is resetting every night because it hasn't settled everything. Maybe we need a new trigger," he said. Val sighed, running a hand over his crest. "Let's see if running through her memories can trigger something,"
"Would it be better to start just before the Collectors took her?" Gideon asked. Julian scowled, but said nothing. He knew better than to screw with Gideon. Julian raised a brow at the silence, Gideon's shoulders trembling as his eyebrows snapped down. "Think about it, when the collectors first made her, they took a few memories away. Then when she got away from you and Shepard found her, she lost more memories. Never once has the Reapers given her memories since her creation and they knew how to do the whole zapping process to settle everything. We didn't so we couldn't replicate it. Maybe the reason her brain can't form new memories is because we've re-added the memories from not only after the Collectors took her but didn't make her a Saboteur yet and from before she met Shepard. Maybe her brain can't put them in order and is thinking they are her most recent memories. We never said the memory transfer was full-proof, we aren't Reapers. We don't know if what we did was 100% right," he said.
"You came up with this theory?" Julian asked. Gideon shuffled, fiddling with her hands.
"It's something, Sassy, Kala and I came up with," he said. Julian breathed through his nose.
"Then let's find out," Julian turned, returning to my side. He sat on the arm of the chair, ignoring my glower. OK, now I understood why Lanster got so upset… "Delly, I think at this point we can say leaving you to sort yourself out isn't working," he said. My eyes lifted, finding his. "So we're going to play a little game called 'Let's put memory lane in reverse gear'," A frown pulled my lips down.
"You can't reverse for shit," I said. He laughed.
"Still better than you, Miss Reverses-Mum's-Super-Expensive-Land-Rover-into-a-Bush," he smirked. A hot flush stained my cheeks, blood burning as the memory flashed. Mum's face in her hands, smothering the curses and laughter while my head banged against the steering wheel, sending us both screaming when the horn blared.
"I couldn't see shit! The rear window was too high to see anything and the car was huge!" I snapped, his laughter stoking my anger. "It was!"
"How many times did it take you to pass your test?" he asked.
"Less times than you, Mr Failed-his-test-2-minutes-after-leaving-the-test-centre!" I said between my teeth.
"That Lollipop man jumped out of nowhere!" Julian snapped. His blush improved my mood, my wide smirk pinning a scowl to the man's face. "Anyway, we are not driving," he added, driving home the point… heh, driving. He scowled at my giggling. "No, we're going to see if we can get your brain caught up with where we're at and keep it there,"
"Oh, can I play?" Indira asked.
"Fuck off, drell," Julian said, glowering in her direction. He sulked at the rumble in my throat. Julian sighed, shaking his head. He knew better, but he still wanted to be a dick about it, "Maybe your brain hasn't gotten everything in order yet and that's why you can't seem to keep your more recent ones. Now, what is the last memory you have before the Collectors took you?"
My brows dropped, a harsh sigh ripping between my teeth. There was nothing wrong… ok, maybe there was something wrong with me, but it didn't mean I had to walk through my entire life. My hand scrubbed my face, relenting to my brother's demands. Before the Collectors took me… A dark, cavernous room sprung to mind… no, that was after. A leafy avenue, the summer a welcome break from the clouds and rain that fell upon home. Beside me, a man walked, Travis. Sour emotions rose, anxiety stirring every negative thought into a demon. It had to end, had to get away from this. He had been right, Julian had been so right about him. Why did I ignore him, why didn't I listen to the one man who I trusted...? because he left. Travis was all I had left to escape the expectations of my family, with Julian gone. Not a word, that hurt the most. Was Julian even still alive? My heart wrenched, tears swelling. The pain ripped through me like it just happened. My hand rose, dabbing my stinging eyes. They came back wet. A white tissue flashed dangled before me, snapping me back. My eyes followed the arm, to Julian sitting beside me. My mind burned, struggling to… oh shit, was I crying?! My hand snatched the tissue, rubbing my eyes. The paper moistened. Shit! Why couldn't my brain distinguish between memory and reality?!
"Delly?" Julian asked, rubbing my shoulder. A shuddering breath escaped, recomposing myself through the swell of ache burning in my heart. That was in the past now. Julian was here now… why did that make me angry and happy at the same time?
"I was… planning to break up with Travis. W-We were walking through a forest, to the old elm," I said. Julian trembled beside me. "Fuck, you were right, Julian. You were so fucking right. He was all I had though after you…"
"I know. I know," Julian said, shaking his head hard. "What happened then?"
"It… it goes black. There isn't much after that," I said. "…why? Why doesn't it finish?"
"I'll tell you at the end, Delly," Julian said. "But we can explain it, just keep a mental note of it. What's the next memory?"
"Next memory is… uh… Feros?" I said, frowning. Feros? When had I gone to Feros? It wasn't… wasn't with Julian.
"Can't be Feros, Dell," Val said, leaning over the top of my chair. My head flopped back. "That was after Therum and after you first met Shepard," My mouth opened, fighting for words. That… sounded right. Yeah, I couldn't have been to Feros after disappearing. How… did I know I disappeared? Oh this was making no sense.
"We might be on to something here. Ok, right after it goes black, what do you think happened?" Julian stressed, dropping off the arm to kneel in front of me.
My eyes squeezed shut, pouring through the memories. Next memory, next memory… no, it wasn't Thessia, not with Val by my side. Couldn't be the Citadel, even if Julian walked by my heel. There had to be a time when I was alone, surrounded by aliens and no anyone I… a face flashed, a nervous, twitchy voice quivering. A lone alien huddled in the corner of a filthy room, the rumbles of strange creatures all around us. No one knew what I was, everyone stayed away from me. Yes… yes, that felt right. Tumbling down a shoot, screaming with my ears in agony after those bugs shoved something in them, the strange aliens disappearing from view. At the bottom of the pipe, the hard floor crashed into my chest. Seconds later, my eyes found the forms of strange creatures that weren't the ones who took me. Another scream, backing away to the wall, trying to crawl my way back up the pipe. Those faces looked familiar, some didn't. A dark blue skinned creature, an asari my now educated mind supplied, approached. Her wrinkled face looked human, even if the tentacles and skin colour didn't. She reached out to me, crooning quiet words to sooth me, coaxing me from the pipe to tremble on the floor. Alea, her name was Alea. Another asari approached, paler and less wrinkled than Alea. Wilaia, her name was. Bulking brutes hobbled into view, krogan, but my terrified brain screamed and scrambled away, only Alea's open arms kept me safe.
"I… was in… a room, with other aliens, aliens I didn't know existed," I said. "Alea comforted me, calmed me down. She took me over to where other asari were, they kept the krogan away," my head shook, a headache pounding. "I recognise some of the faces, they… some became Saboteurs. Some didn't,"
"You remember that?" Julian asked, voice quiet. My head nodded, searching through the memories linked to that time. They were related and had the same brown muted walls, must be around the same time.
"People came and went, some disappeared for good, few came back. Zael came a few months after I did. He was a nervous wreck, must've had severe mental problems because even other members of his species didn't want to be near him. I felt sorry for him, spoke to him a few times. A… turian, a bronze one told me to stay away from him, that he wasn't safe," my eyes rose, tracking the memories, staring at faces who had fallen to my hand later in life. No, they weren't them, they had died long ago. Julian's face fell into view. "Then you tumbled down the pipe… like all the rest,"
"You're… remembering more than me," Julian said.
"You tried to fight a krogan," I said with a smile. "After you realised I was here and he snapped at the noise," Julian snorted in surprise, eyebrows flying up. "You stayed with me, you never left my side. You even tore me away from Zael and chased him off whenever he got close, you knew he was bad news. And after Travis… after Travis I believed you. Then he disappeared one day… then they came for me," Julian's hands tightened. "You wanted to fight, but the bugs came, like they always do. It… It goes black after that,"
"They… must've taken you away to become a Saboteur," Julian wheezed. His head pressed into his open hands, gulping down air. "What then?"
Now came the confusion again. My mind went to reach for the next memory, but it fell on Tuchanka. That couldn't be right either, I had already met Shepard by that point, and Raisha. My eyes squeezed, the headache worsening. With a light shake, my mind returned to the first memory, to walking beside Travis and progressing from there. It reached for a memory on the Citadel after it faded to black, but I knew it wasn't right. It went back to the time with the aliens held captive by the Collectors. My mind did this a few more times until the memories conceded, accepting the new order. Sharp pain ripped through me, muscles twitching as it a fit held me. Julian's hands grabbed me, holding me in the chair as Val's hands held my shoulders. The fit passed, the stabbing pain in my head too great, blotting out my vision. A pained moan escaped. A cool flush waved over me like a breeze, pulling an eye open. Julian's omni-tool disappeared, a flash of medi-gel finishing its course through me. His eyebrows curled up, grip on my hand tightening. When… did he take my hand?
"Let's take a break," Julian said. "I don't want to push her too much-"
"Alarms," I mumbled. Julian's gaze snapped to mine. "There were alarms… and gunfire and yelling. I was cold and numb, I couldn't move, couldn't see," Why was this memory surfacing now? Something in my mind clicked into place, holding fast. "I heard your voice, but it was muffled. Something about escaping, getting away," Julian's eyes widened.
"You were conscious?" he asked, a hushed whisper.
"When was this?" Gideon asked.
"When we were escaping the Collector base," Julian said. "I don't remember much, Palalrian has repressed most the memories, but I remember enough to know what we were doing. The Collectors woke me up with a few others. A turian, Sabium, rallied us and we fought free. Sabium, myself, Xanthe, Raheem and a batarian I cannot name or even remember his face. Sabium fought free, killed the Collectors around us and broke our shackles. We ran, looking for an escape and found weapons along the way. Then I saw Dell in a Saboteur Cell. I broke her out, I wasn't leaving her, despite Sabium's complains. Xanthe… Saria, helped me and the batarian watched us while we tore the pod open. We ran once we got her but everything blurs. My next memory was in the Constellation, although it wasn't called that. She was a wreck, but she flew," Julian said. "Delly wasn't responsive when I pulled her out, I didn't think she was conscious,"
"It's hazy after that," I said, mumbling. "Then it goes dark again,"
"That'll be when we put into the new Saboteur Cell," Julian said, flexing his fingers. "Then?" he breathed.
"What happened to giving her a break?" Val grumbled. Julian growled, hackles quivering.
"Stop fighting, dammit!" Gideon snapped. The two men frowned, but any further scathing remarks stopped. "Do you want to stop, mum?"
"Thank you, Gid," I sighed, shaking my head. "I… I don't know. Something… something is clicking, I think,"
What happened then? My mind rushed to Xawin, waking on the Normandy. Part of me felt content with that, but something didn't add up. These memories of Julian on the Constellation didn't fit in. Dates flew to mind, before ever stepping foot on the Normandy. They must have happened before, but what happened? My mind tossed aside everything that had Val, Indira, Shepard, Raisha, Mat'al, Gideon, Shayan, everyone who wasn't there before the Normandy. It left me with a bundle of images and emotions. Memories of Julian and I, of his fleet and crew, of all the horrible mistakes I made, forgetting what I was. Julian fought for me, fought to give me every little request or question. Guilt swam like a sour tide, but it didn't answer my question; what came first? A bubbling memory teased me, a memory that had flashed before me already when I first woke up. Green fluid dripping off my skin, the air freezing my body, Julian's voice droning above my head. Aliens all around that my mind couldn't put a name to. Why, why hadn't my mind remembered what they were? Was it- The Reapers. They took memories away, Julian told me that when I woke. A tremor of pain crawled up my neck, reaching for my brain. Something was close, oh so close.
"I woke… I was on the floor, freezing, coughing out fluid. Julian was there, telling me he wouldn't let anyone hurt me. That he'd keep me safe," My hand ran through my hair, moaning as the pain grew. "You… took me somewhere, to get dry and warm. You told me we weren't where I thought we were, that a lot happened. But you had… you let the team study me, you stayed with me," my eyes found Julian, his whole body trembled. "I heard Nyryntha for the first time… I… the pain," My hands covered my eyes. "I screamed and screamed, I didn't know what was going on. You begged me to fight, begged me to fend her off," a pained moan escaped. "I… rolling, on the floor, her voice killing me, I could feel it. I didn't know how to fight, how to make it stop. What… what did you tell me? I can't…"
"Think of your favourite song, sing it, hum it, think of the happiest memory you have. Keep your mind busy," Julian said.
"What did… she never… did that since," I said.
"She knew she didn't have a chance of a slow victory with me around you and RIT in full swing. She had to take you fast and try to blend in after. Nyryntha waited for you to weaken and threw everything she had against you. She was trying to kill you," Julian said.
"You cried…" I mumbled. Julian diverted his eyes, chewing his lip. "You cried when I chased her off,"
"That was the single most terrifying moment of my life, Delly. Please don't top it," Julian said. A small smile lifted my lips.
"Things changed after that… you told me about Reapers, about Saboteurs, about what we were. I… I tried to watch what I said, I was afraid of putting you in danger. We went everywhere. We went home…" My eyes popped open. "The cryptograph-"
"It wasn't your fault," Julian said.
"It was!" I snapped. "I begged you to take me! I wanted to see home! You told me it was too dangerous and I still begged! That cryptograph got you because I was too stupid to recognise what it was!"
"Delly, we didn't even know cryptographs existed at the time!" Julian thundered, forcing me back into my chair. His expression softened, noting my glistening eyes. "It wasn't your fault. I wanted to go home too," My eyes dropped, hands gripping my trousers. It… dammit, it was my fault. My fault Julian got hurt, he always got hurt because of me.
"I should've guessed from the metal," I muttered.
"Enough, Delly," Julian said. "We're not dealing with this. What's done is done," his eyes dropped to Gideon, the boy glaring hot suns in his direction. "Do you remember what happened then?"
"I ran, it was raining and dark. I radioed for help, called you but you never answered. But I got lost on the path, I couldn't run anymore. The rain soaked me, I was cold, hungry and terrified, afraid that thing would come for me next. Hours, hours passed before I saw you limping down towards me. Your eyes were glowing, I-I thought you had… lost," I said.
"Not yet," Julian smiled.
"We got back to the Constellation, you disappeared for days, weeks while they studied you. That's… when I made your jacket," My head shook, fingers touching the sleeves around Julian's hands. They were shorter than the memory, I must've shortened them. "I-I also renamed all the ships. I-I could do paperwork while you got better,"
"A little surprise for me coming back on duty," Julian said with a smile.
"We travelled for a while, b-but then something happened. An explosion, alarms everywhere, ships assaulting us. Three Saboteurs came… for me," I said. The heels of my hands pressed into my eyes, the pain beyond imagine, a hammer smashing into my skull with every passing second. "Fire… there was a lot of fire. W-We took a frigate to escape, to sacrifice the fleet but they followed. It… something… the Aquila… we don't have her anymore?"
"The Saboteurs destroyed her," Julian said. "We had to evac on a shuttle,"
"She was my favourite… I named her first," I said.
"I know," Julian said.
"We crashed on Xawin, everyone was yelling and shouting. We ran, finding a building in the distance. You decided we couldn't run, you had crew members dig in the snow to burrow me. Y-You said Nyryntha wouldn't let me die from the cold," My hand rose to my ear. "You took my translator, everything electrical and put a beacon down to cancel out Saboteur signals. You hid in the building, it was bulky and heavy. Before you left, you promised you'd come back. It… It goes black after that,"
"I came back, Delly," Julian said. "But by the time I did, someone had already found you and taken you away. I missed you by an hour,"
The thumping headache worsened, doubling me over in the chair. Short rasps puffed through my teeth, muscles rippling as fire licked over them. This felt right, everything felt right but why… why was part of me fighting against this? This couldn't be right. It couldn't. I made sense chronologically, everything made sense so why was something wrong?! Why so many conflicting emotions? I woke up on the Normandy with none of the earlier memories of Julian, later revealed to be Nyryntha's doing. Was that why I was angry? I was angry because Julian never came back, or I thought he never came back? The rest of time flowed like water, nothing stepping out of place. Until the end. Something still didn't make sense.
"How," I started, wheezing through the crippling headache. "Do I remember these things if Nyryntha made me forget?"
"You died, mum," Gideon said. My body jolted, snapping upright. "You said we aren't at the Upsilon Steppe yet, but we went there," he pulled out his omni-tool, pulling out a video from the databases. A camera feed from my suit. A slow frown grew as the video played, from the explosions to the new husks, to meeting the Saboteur. Gideon glanced to Julian before stopping it once the Saboteur carried me into the core. My heart thumped, every heartbeat pounding harder than the last. I died…? Did that mean…
"That other me… was me?" I whispered, touching the hologram video.
"That's your Saboteur body, mum. We made you a new one and got your memories from Nyryntha. That's why you can remember things you didn't remember before. We gave you back those memories. Welcome to body number 3," he finished with a sheepish smile.
Gave me back… Body number… oh no. My legs tensed, curling up as every muscle slashed with pain, the headache overpowering. Hands grabbed me, saving me from a tumble to the floor. After that, nothing. One sharp pain, a bullet to the brain, and the warm arms of darkness held me once more. Died… I had died. I was dead but still here. How the hell did that work? Was that me, was this a new body? Was that why Nyryntha didn't haunt me, because they made a new body without the Reaper tech? Feeling returned, a slow twitch at a time. My eyes fluttered open, staring up at the metal ceiling. Julian and Val stared over me, their voices muffled. My head felt… felt like the last puzzle piece was almost there, just one more nudge to kick it into place. Just one more… it almost felt normal. The memories flowed, sense backing up the confusion that blinded me earlier. They returned certain memories, they must've taken memories too, to keep me sane. That's why I couldn't remember my kidnapping but remembered watching the video. What, what needed to kick my brain back together, what… Instinct knew, it knew and it screamed the answer. All this pain, all this frustration… the reason lay there.
In a heartbeat my body launched, memories of previous fights kicking into gear, body responding as it smacked with a crop. Val yelped as he fell back under my weight, unable to call my name before my legs kicked me up and sprinted towards the rear bridge door. Julian cried my name, tearing after me seconds later. More names, more people crying captain. My eyes focused on the target, on the final penny. The door in the hall parted, a few more running steps before skidding into the med bay. Saere snapped up, half out her chair by the time my hands reached the box. The first clip released, then the second, the hiss of cold air freezing my fingers. Hands found me, yanked me back but my legs kicked out and hurled them away, throwing open the lid. My old body lay before me, blue and cold, expression dead, eyes closed. Parts of the body had been cut open, bones with neat cuts and missing sections but my targets still lay there. Trembling fingers traced over scar upon the brow, fingers freezing. Part of me expected the body to move, to grab my hand and maul me like a husk, but it lay still and dead. My eyes lifted to a mirror, staring at my unmarked face, the short cut hair. It was my face before Saria ruined it, albeit with shorter hair… why was my hair short, why did I only notice that now?! If they cloned me-… if they cloned my body then my hair wouldn't have grown, depending on how fast my body grew. My eyes dropped, focusing on the pale face. That was me, that was the body I was expecting. But they put me in a new one… My hands leaned on the edge of the coffin, eyes closing. Everything made sense now. My hand rose, grasping the lid of the shielded box. That was me… the old me. I died and came back, Saboteur-free. The lid slammed shut with a hard snap.
"I want to see it," I said.
"See what?" Julian asked, cautious.
"The video of how you made this new body," my eyes lifted, finding him nursing his stomach. "I want to know everything that happened between the Upsilon Steppe and now,"
"You'll need to ask Gideon," Julian said. My face scrunched up. "He was the mastermind,"
"Gideon did this? All of this?" I asked.
"He took you a few days after the mission and went to Earth, looking to get Shepard to help," Val said, coaxing me away from the cryo-coffin. "He can fill you in on the details,"
"And where were you?" I asked.
"Gideon run off in a shuttle, Dell. By the time anyone knew he ran off, we had no idea where he was. We promoted Raisha to captain and… things went to shit," he sighed. "I'm sorry… I-I know you asked me to look after him but he… got away from me. Mat'al and Marruns were with him though."
"I want a full report. Pictures, video, body cams the lot. I want to see all of it," I said. My eyes glanced back to the box. "And I want that… thing dissected. If… if I'm not a Saboteur, I can't feel the damn things now. We need to feel them out,"
"It's something we've been working on, Delly," Julian said. "We have a few prototypes, I'll forward you to the test results,"
"Good, we need something. Oh and big brother," I said, putting on my sweetest voice. Julian frowned, eyes narrowing. "You love me, don't you?"
"I do…" he said, concern ripe in his tone.
"Awesome, so you can pay for me to get hair extensions then," I said with a smirk, striding out towards the door.
"What?! Use your own fucking money!" Julian snapped. "You get paid by the fucking Council, I don't! I've just coughed out for four ships, thank you very much...! and you're pulling my fucking chain. Bitch," he snapped. He sulked at my resounding laughter. "Ask your dear sweet boyfriend, I'm sure he owes you a treat,"
"Hey, I've seen her haircut bills. I ain't paying for specialist stuff," Val balked. "Have you seen how much crap she keeps in her bathroom?"
"Of course I do, I lived with her, remember?" Julian rumbled. My smile brightened my moon, the wrecking headache fading into memory.
Three days passed, three days of watching videos, reading reports and staring at countless images. Gideon and Mat'al kept a thorough documentation of everything, just in case. At some point, Julian joined me, to catch up on what he missed. A light smile rose, remembering how he roared when he realised he had been lied to. Or misled would be a better word. I think he was still chasing Gideon and Val around the Starquake and the Constellation. His eyes didn't glow, so there was no fear he would turn, but it still scared the hell out of them. The last video closed, the final clip of Saere dumping medication into my system after waking for the third time over a period of a 5 days. Everything felt settled now, much to everyone's relief. And much to Val's relief, the 'endless loop' seemed to stop. Although my mind was still reeling; 6 months, 6 months to grow a full body. Albeit with my unusual growth and military grade growth chemicals. Being a new body meant I was back in the gym, back at square one. A quiet moan escaped as the doors slid open, a muttering of curses surfacing. Julian mounted the steps, hair ruffled, frown slapped on his face. He dropped on the sofa beside me, rumbling.
"I'll kill them when I get my hands on them," he snapped.
"If they told you the truth, would you have hung on?" I asked, sliding the reports away. Julian popped his jaw, quiet. "If it makes you feel any better, I need to go to Earth to give Shepard his damn tags back. With a goddam smile no less,"
"Can I come so I can punch him in the face for finding your before I did?" he asked. A smile bubbled up, the omni-tool flaring on my arm. "What now then?"
"Now? Now I get myself back into shape and get back out there and kick Saboteur ass. Although it seems the numbers have thinned since I was… on holiday. Or in a coma, depends on who you ask," I said. Julian shuddered with an unhappy sigh. "Julian, there is a war coming. I may be human now, but I still have my responsibilities. The Council depend on me, now more than ever," Julian's eyes stared into the distance, jaw swinging like a pendulum.
"When are you retaking the Captain position?" Julian asked.
"When Saere and Mat'al say they think I'm ready. Saere still wants to track my brain activity for another week. Mat'al needs to make sure my body isn't going to do weird shit and turn into QWOP Endellion Shaik Edition," Laughter snapped out of Julian, a sharp sound of surprise before he composed himself.
"I'll get you to Earth," he said. "Maybe by that time, you'll be ready to put those stripes back on,"
"So can I lead for shit now?" I asked. Julian snorted.
"You can lead a piece of string across the road. I wouldn't try it in the wind though," he said with a rising smirk. He laughed when a pillow flew in his direction, blocked by his arms. "Although, the Alliance may not like the Constellation dropping into their space after Nyryntha attacked them,"
"I'll talk to the Council and Alliance. I might still have a few strings to tug," I said. Julian nodded, watching me stand to reach for the controls by the desk. He lounged back, waiting to watch me work my magic. My hands danced on the dials, fingers remembering the encryption codes without thinking. Seconds later it dialled, bouncing through relays to reach the Citadel. The faces of the Council formed on the screen, their eyes lighting at seeing my face.
"Captain Shaik! We were not expecting to hear from you for some time yet. You look well," Tevos greeted.
"This is just a short call, Councillors. I'm still not back on duty so I'm not sure the Captain is necessary. I have things to do on Earth, but I am with my contact just now and… well, his fleet is quite intimidating. After Nyryntha, they are nervous so I don't know if the Udina can smooth over us dropping into the Sol system in the Constellation," I said.
"I'm not sure, Shaik. The Sol system is still on high alert. Few ships are landing these days," Udina said.
"Can I get a number to call the Alliance then? Otherwise I'll have to go through Shepard… I'd rather avoid that right now," I asked.
"We'll forward you some contact details," Sparatus said. "So, you are with this 'Julian Shaik' who stranded one of our Spectres,"
"And will continue to do so if they don't leave me be," Julian called in the background.
"Julian!" I snapped.
"Not my fault they're thick as chips," he chuckled.
"Fuck you, I'm the one who gets fucked over when the Council get mad," I seethed. "Excuse him, he's kind of a dick," Julian laughed, a sound that both boiled my blood and bloomed my heart. The Council sucked in deep breath, settling themselves.
"Then we'll just have to trust you to keep an eye on his fleet then, Shaik," Valern said. "We cannot risk our Spectres like this," Even through the hologram, Julian's smug smirk poked through. My tongue stuck out in his direction.
"I'll do what I can, Councillors," I said. "But I need to go to Earth. I have… a promise to deal with, thanks to my bloody son," My teeth ground, remembering the video of Shepard and Gideon's talk in the pits of the Normandy. "I also have a date in Kinlockleven, I plan to wreck a certain piece of Reaper tech,"
"Absolutely not!" Julian thundered. "You are not going after that cryptograph!"
"I'm not a Saboteur, remember?" I said with a grin.
"It can still kill you, Delly!" Julian snapped. He seethed at my exposed tongue.
"We'll see what we can do, although that dreadnaught may need to stay in the back of the system," Tevos said, listening to our exchanges with a curious smile.
"Thank you. Now I need to get my armour checked-" I said. A scream ripped from my throat as Julian grabbed me around the waist, hoisting me up with one arm drag me away. "Put me down! Fuck you, Julian! I'm going!"
"The fuck you are!" he snapped, hurling me on the sofa.
"What are you, my father?!" I snapped.
"At this moment in time, yes! Yes I am!" Julian growled. His eyes trailed over the open comm before stomping down to the controls. "Have a nice day," he said, sugaring his tone before hanging up.
"Julian, I can handle it!" I said, fire scorching my voice.
"Delly, you've just come back from the dead, don't give me that shit," Julian growled. My eyes narrowed, unable to argue against that. "I'll take you to Earth to so whatever you need to do, but I am not letting you go to Kinlockleven!"
"Why don't you trust me?" I asked.
"I do, what I don't trust is that thing waiting to pounce on you in a heartbeat. You might feel like you're back to normal, but I assure you, you aren't," Julian rumbled.
"Then help me. I'm not letting you go down there to get fucked over by that thing again. But you can prepare me," I said. Julian rolled his shoulders back, jaw clenching. "Help me, Julian… I need to do this," Julian closed his eyes, hands squeezing into fists by his side. "Please, help me," Air rushed out Julian's nose.
"Why do I do these things for you…" he grumbled. A grin lit my face. "Fine, but your training starts now,"
"Now?" I asked. My scream bounced off the walls when he lunged for me, hurling me to the floor and pinning me. My body wriggled like crazy, his limbs resisting every twist. An enraged roar thundered free, wriggling harder.
"Come on, Delly! If this thing grabs you how are you going to break free?" Julian grunted.
"SECURITY!" I yelled. Julian cursed as a clang resounded above me. An angry beep soon followed as Julian freed one arm to bat the drone away.
"Goddam it, Delly!" Julian cursed.
"You asked!" I snapped, writhing under his weight. Julian growled before slashing at Marshal, the drone vanishing with his omni-blade. He yelped as an Overload ran over us, but his grip remained true. He put more pressure on my shoulder, but nothing I did could break his hold.
"Jesus Christ, you are shit at hand-to-hand," Julian said. My roar bounded down the vents, but no one dared come to help. Either that or they didn't care.
The Galaxy Map has been updated for this chapter. Please see profile for link to Archive