Chapter 28 - Reconciliation pt. 1

Nyreen
September 20th, 2176

The day after the attack, I sat in the Base Commander's office, waiting for him to enter. I was nervous, but I set my jaw, determined to clear my name of any wrongdoing. I was only defending my friend, who may well have died.

The door slid open, and Commander Garinis walked in, his face stone-smooth, not revealing any emotions. He sat down behind his desk, clasping his hands in front of him. "Recruit Kandros. Security footage has cleared you of any wrongdoing. Sandos was the instigator and the aggressor and was discharged from the Hierarchy military. He has also been detained."

I gasped, knowing the implication. If a turian failed to complete their required service, they forfeited their citizenship, which included any right to land ownership, the right for their marriage to be acknowledged by the government, and their right to live on Palaven.

Garinis continued, ignoring my interruption. "As for the matter of how the fight ended…." He summoned a file to his omnitool, commanding the aerogel screen to turn so I could see it. It was the security footage from the room. One second, I was held by two people, and the next, I was next to Solana.

"I don't understand."

"You are a biotic, Kandros." Garinis stated, "Because of that, your berth has been changed to the Cabals. Immediately after your class's graduation, you will train with them."

"That can't be possible, Sir…," I started to say, not wanting to believe it was true, even though there was video evidence of it playing in front of me, "No one in my family is biotic."

"I can't begin to understand why it happened. I can only tell you what happens now." A flash of sympathy crossed his face for a split second before returning to its stoic regularity. "Dismissed."

-0-

October 20th, 2176

I laid down on my covers, too battered and bruised to bother getting under them to sleep. I had been in cabal training for three weeks and hated every second of it. I knew that turians generally looked down on biotics, but not to this extent.

Biotics were so rare in turian society that the Hierarchy didn't have any Drill Centurions who were biotics. Instead, Centurions with no idea how to nurture our abilities shouted and bullied them, making us feel more like objects than assets. Asari mercenaries were also employed, but they treated them nearly as badly as the Centurions, tossing us like ragdolls with their superior biotic abilities.

It only took a few weeks to realize the treatment as objects was intentional. The cabals were used as shock troops, thrown into the midst of battle as a living crowbar to wrench a hole in an enemy line. We were game pieces, considered more expendable than the others, second-class citizens, just because of something we were born with and had no control over.

My entire life crumbled under the awakening of my biotics, and I wasn't allowed to mourn it.

-0-

January 1st, 2181

Against all odds, I survived my mandatory four years of service with the cabals. Many friends had come during my tenure, and far fewer had left. I was turned very cynical by my time in the military, and I wondered if they were the lucky ones.

I finished my final muster call, gathering the contents of my footlocker, and walked to the spaceport as fast as my legs could carry me, getting onto a ship bound for Illium.

-0-

February 15th, 2185 - December 17th, 2186

I bounced around the Terminus systems for four years before ending up on Omega, surviving day to day by taking odd jobs for several smaller mercenary organizations. Despite far better pay, I avoided taking jobs from the larger ones because their ranks were getting slaughtered by a vigilante named Archangel. I was concerned about making enough to have a place to sleep and a meal to eat, nothing more.

My notoriety grew, gaining attention from the Talons, eventually earning a permanent role in the organization. After the demise of Archangel, the weakened state of the larger organizations allowed the Talons to expand fast, taking control of vast swathes of territory, controlling entire neighborhoods, and shaking down the poor citizens of Omega.

Part of me was disgusted by what I had become, the formerly honorable woman that would do anything to help the innocent, the intelligent, tactical leader I was raised to be. If I looked in the mirror, I wasn't sure I'd recognize myself anymore.

My business with the Talons brought me into contact with Aria, taking her cut of the profits from the mercenaries' illicit dealings. Something about me caught Aria's eye: the ancient Asari taking a particular interest in my brand of biotics, training me, and teaching me far more than my time in the Cabals had.

Everything followed the new status quo until July 2186, just after the Reapers arrived. Cerberus invaded the station. I had no idea why they were there or their plans for the innocent, downtrodden people, but something inside me reawakened when I saw them being gathered and loaded into ships.

Solana
October 12th, 2188

"I don't know what to say…. It's been so long." I watched my friend's shoulders drop as she stared at the ground in sadness. I took a step towards her and held my hand out, reaching for Nyreen's shoulder, but I hesitated, unsure how the gesture would come off. "You saved my life, Nyreen… I never got to properly thank you for that."

"That is what friends are for," Nyreen said, not looking up.

"That is what friends are for. But I wasn't there for you when you needed me. I'm sorry." I finally broke my indecision, laying my hand across Nyreen's shoulder.

Nyreen looked up and flashed me a thankful smile, "There was nothing you could've done, Sol. I'm sorry for leaving without telling you. I thought it would be easier for everyone if I ceased to exist."

I gave her a concerned look, "Ny… How could that make it easier? After I got out of training, I tried finding you, but your file wasn't on the Hierarchy medical database. I went to your parents, and they were searching for you too. I even went to my father for help."

Nyreen shrugged away my hand, pulling a chair out from the conference table and taking a seat heavily. "That night… I had a biotic breakthrough. I sent that asshole flying through the wall of the sparring room," Nyreen cracked a mirthful smile, clenching her hand into a fist and sending a crackling wave of blue energy down from her elbow, "I was sent to a Cabal unit the next day. Training there… It made me doubt everything I'd spent my entire life believing. We were treated like cogs in a machine, but no one cared if we broke, we were inconsequential to the whole. Every day, I was physically and verbally abused by the Centurions and the asari trainers. As soon as my service ended, I knew I had to leave." She looked out the window, inspecting the newly rebuilt skyline, "Just being on Palaven dredges up all these memories that I spent so long trying to forget."

I sat down adjacent to her, reaching out for her shoulder once more, "Ny, it's different now-"

"Ha!" Nyreen exclaimed, cutting me off and lightly deflecting my hand away, "They always say that, and then nothing changes."

"It really will, Ny. I promise you, Garrus is different. He's already abolished the Cabal units, and not just to appease you." I pulled up my omnitool, sending a file to Nyreen's. "I found your parents. If you want to visit them, their addresses are in that file."

I stood and walked towards the door, reaching for the handle, but paused when Nyreen said, "Thank you, Solana," I looked over my shoulder, giving a small smile to my friend before exiting the room.

Nyreen

I stayed seated for a few minutes after Solana left, conflicted and confused about what to think. I'd spent the last eight years hating the Hierarchy for how it destroyed my life, but for the previous few months, it'd only done right by me.

Still processing what Solana had told me, I opened the file, seeing two different addresses listed, knowing what it meant. Sometime in the last eight years, my parents separated. The unshakable bond that was the foundation of everything in my past life had been shattered, and I couldn't help but feel responsible.

After a moment, I decided to trust my friend and give Garrus a chance. I walked down the hall, back to the secretary's desk, asking if I could enter his office. Altia nodded, and I proceeded inside.

As I entered, Garrus made a gesture at his holographic projector, pausing whatever briefing he was viewing, "Ms. Kandros," He greeted, offering a chair, "What can I do for you?"

"Your sister told me you abolished the Cabals?"

Garrus held a finger up, typing something into the keyboard. Finding what he was looking for, he plucked the file from his terminal and tossed it at me, sending it to my omnitool. "Take a look for yourself. I did it over a year ago after seeing how they treated their members. When I saw how they operated, I ordered it ended immediately."

"You didn't know?" I asked, a slight accusatory edge to my tone.

Garrus showed no reaction to the bite in my voice, "I didn't. If I did, it would have ended much sooner."

Something about his honesty disarmed me, and I couldn't help but believe him. "If the Cabals are gone, what happens to turian biotics?"

"They'll be trained, but they won't be used as pawns anymore. The ones on active duty will be transferred to a shore berth and spend time training one-on-one or with a small group. Ones in bootcamp will be trained once they enter active duty. We're taking advantage of our new alliances to acquire actual biotic teachers."

I stared at Garrus, trying to see if there was any angle that he was playing with me. Something must've shown on my face because Garrus continued, "Our screening has been drastically improved. We can tell if a child is biotic long before their breakthrough events. I designed the system to be something I would want my children in because, in fifteen years, they will be." Garrus let silence fall again, giving me a chance to respond, but I couldn't manage anything.

"Ms. Kandros, you have every reason to hate the Hierarchy and to be wary of me, but I promise you, I am here to fix things."

"I believe you."

"Excellent. My mate and I are hosting dinner tomorrow night after our meeting with the Prime Minister. Would you care to join us?"

Numbly, I nodded, still dumbfounded at how much had changed. "Thank you, Primarch. I will see you tomorrow."

-0-

I made my way out of the tower, flipping up my hood and blending into the crowd, making my way to the city's outskirts.

I eventually made my way to an affluent suburb, stopping in front of a house smaller than the rest but just as nice. Nervously, I made my way up the stairs to the front door, hesitating a moment before rapping on the wood with my knuckle. I heard footsteps approaching the door before it swung open, revealing an older turian male who, despite it being only early afternoon, already looked less than sober. Regardless of time passed, I knew it was my father. "Pada…."

Tiberius Kandros looked annoyed at the interruption at first, but his face quickly went through a gamut of emotions, from anger to depression to happiness, settling on the latter. "Spirits… It can't be… Nyreen? My daughter?" His mandibles warbled uncontrollably, a far sight from what I remembered of my strict, stoic father. Reaching out, he placed a hand on me, looking like he was trying to convince himself it wasn't some elaborate vision.

"It's me, Pada."

Tiberius stepped aside, allowing me to enter, not daring to meet my eyes. Entering the living room, I confirmed my suspicions from earlier; He lived alone. He followed me into the room, walking to the liquor cabinet, grabbing two glasses, and pouring a rich, amber turian bourbon in. A shaky hand offered me a drink, but I politely declined, perching on the edge of a chair and placing my clasped hands in my lap. He took a sip, visibly relaxing as the fiery liquid ran its course through his throat.

"Pada… What happened?" My father finally met my gaze, his sunken eyes showing a deep sadness.

"After-" His voice shook, "After you left, I spent months searching for you. It consumed me until I was spending every second looking. I didn't sleep. I didn't eat. I neglected Tiran and your mother. My work suffered until eventually I was forced to retire."

"Pada… I am so sorry-" I began, feeling a lot younger suddenly, but my father interrupted my apology with a raised hand.

"I've had a long time to think about it, Nyreen. I'm not mad at you. I was, at first, but now I understand why you left. All I wish is that you told us where you were going." Tiberius paused, allowing me a chance to speak, but I didn't. "After three years, I gave up the search. If you wanted to be found, I would've already. That caused a rift between your mother and me, and that all boiled over when Tiran died…."

"Tiran is dead…?" I asked, utterly shocked by the news of my brother's passing. He was a few years younger than me, just entering boot camp when I left.

"You didn't know?"

I looked at the ground, the guilt washing over me, "No…. When?"

"Four years ago," A keen escaped his throat, his subharmonics finally betraying the turmoil of emotions swirling below his placid surface, "He had just rejoined…. I think he did it to make me proud." The dam broke now, flooding his voice with grief. "I didn't protect my daughter, and I got my son killed. Maybe Menevia was right…."

My entire world shook. In front of me was the man I had always seen as an immovable boulder; and he was crumbling to dust, and there was nothing I could say to help him. "Right about what?"

"She said I was responsible for what happened to you and Tiran," He shook with grief, "She was right. I drove my daughter away and got my son killed."

"Pada… You aren't responsible for what happened to me. You couldn't predict that I was biotic. I was angry at you when I left, but now I know it wasn't your fault." I paused, gathering my thoughts, "I love you, Pada."