Chapter 41 Part II: A Flotilla Divided Cannot Sail
Nobody ever did, or ever will, escape the consequences of his choices.
-Alfred A. Montapert
Zek wasn't sure if he was angrier than the three humans looking at him. The problem for him was, you couldn't exact express anger properly when you had been caught doing something. He learned that a long time ago on the streets. Thankfully, he had other people in the room with him who weren't giving him a nasty stare down. Retz had showed up, still looking upset but for other reasons.
"This is what happens when you do these alone," Retz scolded him.
Admittedly, Zek's foul mood had probably not helped him back during the official meeting. Now, however, they were in the private office for Admiral Whitcomb. It was for his benefit they said, they didn't want to do this in public on the bridge. Shepard was also here, obviously trying to play mediator once more. That didn't mean he was in Zek's corner though, just not as incensed as Whitcomb, Holland and Haverson.
"We would've found this out even with you keeping Zek's tantrum under control," Haverson claimed. "Did you really think we weren't suspicious? How your crew's size seemed to fluctuate? How rarely we saw the Grunts under your charge? The excessive amount of power drain?"
"Fair enough," Zek admitted through a gritted beak. "I really thought you were that dumb."
"Not the time, Zek," Shepard informed him.
"Oh come on!" Zek snapped back in disgust. "These fuckers violated the rules! They went aboard my ship without permission!"
"You gave us cause to investigate, Zek," Haverson proceeded. "You thought you had gotten away with it, but Maisey tipped us off before we left her planet. Not that she needed to. Your men kept hanging around the damn sugarcane fields excessively and those grunts you brought down were carting something back in crates. We suspected something was going on, but we hoped it was just something stupid we could put off dealing with. That is until one of the Engineers found one of THESE lodged in the waste disposal shaft!"
Haverson brought up a small spherical object that had been cut in two. It was one of their delivery probes, the merchandise gone from its innards. So, that was how they had found out. At least no one had snitched, not even the unggoy, incredibly. That wasn't even the first thought on his mind though.
"We didn't hear about a missed shipment," he said, trying to think back to their orders. "Retz, everyone got their stuff right?"
"I think that's the least of our concerns, sir," Retz told him.
"Hey, I'm selling a quality product here," Zek countered. "I need to know we have a one hundred percent delivery estimate!"
"We chucked the sugar in our own probe, one designed to transmit to us where it went," Haverson explained. "It was both to prevent you from realizing we were onto you and find out who you were sending these things to. From what we gathered, it was a group of raiders, which did nothing to set our minds at ease."
Zek only glared at Haverson inquisitively. He had guessed at what their problem was and he endeavored to answer it in kind. But first he needed to know if they knew already about his precautions. If they knew that he hadn't been stupid about this.
"Were they affiliated with Snarlbeak?" He asked.
"From what we could gather with the information fed back to us, no," Haverson admitted. "EDI and DOT were very rigorous in their data collection that the probe sent back."
"And you've examined the original probe yourselves?" Zek questioned, pointing to it. "There is no way it can be tracked back to its point of origin. We made sure of that. You checked yourself, right?"
"We did," Haverson confirmed.
Zek's hands shot up at that.
"Then what's the problem?" He asked in kind. "None of this breaches security measures! We were just as rigorous in making sure of that! You think we want these sugar addicts knowing where the supply comes from? We're not amateurs!"
"It doesn't matter!" Whitcomb bellowed. "You could've made these things as solid data wise as a fortress and as untraceable as a fox with cloaking tech! Every little thing you throw out into the black for some random passerby to stumble across is a risk! And you sent this to people deliberately! People who are themselves criminals!"
"Any one of them could've tried seeking us out if they wanted to, or even told Snarlbeak about where they found it," Holland added. "Any element of information, anything at all, could've tipped our enemies off to a way to find us! The Syndicate found us just by knowing where we had been! And you DELIBERATELY were throwing out extra breadcrumbs!"
"You put the safety of this ENITRE Flotilla, this whole Alliance, at risk... to hock drugs to fellow crooks!" Whitcomb declared. "That is a most egregious breach of our security protocols on its own."
Zek immediately took offense to the accusation. Just not the one he probably should've addressed.
"Hey, as far as your species goes, I wasn't handing out drugs," Zek claimed. "I was giving people sugar!"
"You think semantics makes this okay?" Holland questioned back, almost in disbelief. "No! Unacceptable! You crossed a line, Zek! You put us all in danger for some petty pocket change!"
Zek just laughed.
"Six figures daily is not fucking pocket change!" He claimed grinning madly. "If that's pocket change for you, I'm surprised any Earthling is living in poverty! It was incredibly easy to get so many people hooked on this sugar! SO fucking easy! And being the only supplier meant I could charge out the ass for it! So if nothing else, at least admit to the fact... I made a fucking killing!"
No one admitted it, in fact they just seemed even more angry at Zek for completely missing the point. Or worse, ignoring it. Shepard stepped in at this point.
"Zek, this isn't a game," he told him bluntly.
"No, it's business," Zek corrected.
"It's YOU putting yourself before the Alliance, Zek!" Shepard said, pointing his finger in the kig-yar's face. "It's you deciding making money was more important than the security of this fleet. And not just flouting the rules, but outright manipulating US into helping you break them."
"Samara and Noble Two found the chemical compound fabricator when they raided your little candy factory," Haverson noted. "It didn't take them or me very long to figure out where you likely got it. The machine still had its delivery registry in its files. The name of that factory you sent us to destroy."
"Hey, you got something out of helping us blow that place up," Zek reminded them.
"And it turned out to be less about us and more about you sneaking around behind our backs," Holland observed. "You used us. You used us and I congratulated you for it."
Zek sighed and lowered his hands a little in a calming gesture.
"Okay, okay, I played you, I'm sorry, but that's just how this rolls," he explained. "All of you made it very clear you weren't big on enabling my pirate lifestyle. So I left you out of the loop. If you weren't so openly hostile to my business ventures to the point I had to bust my balls just to get you to comply, I wouldn't have done that. But you were, so I did."
Retz stepped up next to his friend and shipmaster before anyone could say more. Especially Zek, because he knew this wasn't going to go over well.
"What Zek means is, you have to understand, we had our own obligations," he attempted to clarify. "We had just escaped from servitude under the Covenant. Our crew was eager and anticipating a return to our life from before that. We had to secure a means of profit that would keep them loyal and keep them sated. The Sugar... well, once we realized what it did to Kig-yar, seemed like a natural fit. If he hadn't pursued it, given our men a direction post-Covenant, that wasn't wholly reliant on a treasure hunt, we were risking dissolution and dissent. We needed to keep payroll going, selling artificial and then real sugar was our best option to do that."
"We could've worked out a deal for that problem," Shepard observed. "Some compensation package."
"That would've been a long-term fix for when we all got back to Earth," Zek stated, continuing for Retz. "We need to keep our people paid in the short-term. Kig-yar don't work for promises, they work on contracts. They work on solid, consistent and regular pay term agreements. If anything, selling that sugar like I was kept them from breaking ranks and fretting over when they were going to see any creds for putting their asses on the line regular like."
"I can understand those concerns, Zek, truly I do," Whitcomb relented. "But the Marines, Army Soldiers, Drop Troopers and other UNSC personnel within this Flotilla have been working for significantly longer without any promises of pay. Because, for them, this isn't a job at the moment but a survival situation and that is their chief concern at this time. Survival. A goal which, despite your assurances, you put at risk."
"I did what any pirate shipmaster would and should do," Zek declared unwaveringly. "I insured that my crew would not be denied their rightful pay for a day's work. I'm running a business here, sirs. I won't apologize for keeping it profitable after a long period of us basically being slaves to the Covenant."
"But that's the problem, Zek," Shepard reiterated, sounding exasperated. "This is what you don't seem to get. To you, all of this, all of us, appears to be a means to make you rich. While we're facing a terrible threat that endangers us all, you included, you are content to just line your pockets, at our expense."
Zek vigorously shook his head in denial.
"You have ALL profited in one way or another off of my actions!" He insisted. "Those credits kept my people willing to work with yours and paid off substantial debts owed. I paid for all those supplies on the Hollow that were necessary for our collective survival out my own pockets! As far as I'm concerned, I was owed the credits back and I made them back without ever making demands from you!"
"No, you just manipulated us time and again to help make you money," Haverson informed him in a corrective tone. "We've been over this already, but now we know to what extent that manipulation was. And while you might have helped out your fair share now and then, the Hollow brings to mind your appalling lack of good judgment. You presumed that Snarlbeak was unaware of the price on your head. How can we assume that you did not underestimate him again?"
Zek looked at him curiously.
"What do you mean?"
"Snarlbeak could've found one of these probes," Haverson said, pointing to the desk. "And while he probably couldn't use it to track us directly, he might have used it and the various dead drop points you set up to triangulate where we were and continue tracking us from afar. It could've been one of these things that enabled Lurz to find us on the Planetoid."
"Speculation, not proof," Retz defensively interjected. "There are countless means Zhoc could've used to locate us at any point in time. And Lurz would've likely shown up at the Planetoid regardless in any case. As his chief enforcer, he was the most loyal among his men who would willingly go there after the Plunder Nest Raid."
Shepard himself nodded at this.
"We can't be sure Snarlbeak used the probes to locate us," he informed Haverson.
"That doesn't mean they weren't a risk," Haverson insisted. "A terrible, unnecessary risk to us all. Even if Snarlbeak didn't use them, someone else could've. Either looking to raid the sugar plantation or just trying to get Zek's head for his bounty. And we would've been caught in the crossfire. Us possibly being lucky that didn't happen doesn't negate that it likely could have happened and might still happen."
"Lurz is dead," Zek reminded them. "Deader than dead actually. The Old Man is out of options and friends. The fucker's empire is done and Snarlbeak knows it. We're in the clear, he won't be bothering us again."
"You've been wrong about Snarlbeak plenty of times, Zek, as we've pointed out," Holland observed. "And with the upcoming assault on Unyielding Hierophant we can't take the risk of you being wrong again."
"Snarlbeak probably doesn't even know where that Battle Station is!" Zek argued.
"You can't be sure of that," Haverson declared. "Anymore than we can be sure he hasn't been using your probes to locate us or will do so in the future. You clearly antagonized him enough already and he sees this as a vendetta now."
"A toothless Razorfin is not much of a threat," Zek claimed. "He's out of moves this time! I'm sure of it!"
"And as we've established, we can't trust your instincts any more than we can trust you," Holland replied sternly. "Which brings us to our next point."
Zek sighed, here it came. They'd institute some heavy restrictions, shut down his candy operation, make demands for how the attack on that Battle Station was going to play out. Some sort of punishment, whatever, he could take it.
"Fine, get it over with," Zek growled. "Lashes? Keelhauling? I know how this works in human navies. I've seen your vids."
Whitcomb shook his head. So did Holland. They turned to Haverson to deliver the news directly. Which he did gladly.
"Well besides confiscating the sugar and probes until further notice, we might as well get to the point of this," Haverson began. "After a lot of review and this incident pushing it over the top, we've come to a final decision on this matter, the upcoming operation to destroy the Covenant Invasion Fleet is simply too great to leave to chance. Therefore... we're not going after the Astral Cutlass."
Zek paused for a moment, looking to Retz with concern.
"You mean, you're not going after it first... right?" Zek asked.
"No, we're not going after it, period." Haverson clarified. "As in, the treasure hunt is over. Done. Finished. You can count us out."
Zek was angered of course, but he looked to Retz who shook his head, motioning to try for calm at the moment.
"Listen, let's not be hasty here," he began. "I know you're all upset right now, but-"
"This isn't a NEW train of thought, Zek," Holland declared. "It's not something we just decided on a whim. The facts are plain enough to see."
"What facts?" Zek questioned.
"Two specific potential scenarios," Holland began. "One, the Astral Cutlass is a myth or not nearly as imposing a weapon as claimed. Therefore, going to recover it is a waste of time. Two, the Astral Cutlass is both real and a weapon of immense power. One that we have no clear idea concerning what the consequences are of unleashing it. Worse off, we might in fact be potentially risking it falling into the hands of someone who will be hostile to us. In either scenario, we are not convinced it is worth the risk."
Zek scowled and then huffed aloud.
"This is ridiculous, we're at the finish line here and you're getting cold feet? For fucking real here?" He pressed angrily onto them all. "This is fucking pathetic. I thought you were all fucking badasses and shit up in here."
"We're not here to play out some action vid fantasy, Zek," Holland reminded him. "We are here to save lives. And the Astral Cutlass is a diversion that could potentially put lives at risk. This decision is final."
Zek looked to Shepard, noting his own look of disappointment.
"You don't agree with this, do you?" He asked pleadingly.
"I don't, but I see the logic," Shepard confessed. "Zek, this is why I was trying to make you compromise before concerning the assault. Me and Varvok. We know the Astral Cutlass is important, perhaps more than just a weapon if its cultural significance is so legendary in your society."
"Yes, Commander Shepard believes it could rally Jackals to abandon the Covenant or at least the pirate clans to our cause," Whitcomb noted. "We have doubts of course. We had hoped that today's proceedings would at least put some of those doubts to rest. Sadly, you have not accomplished that Zek. Just the opposite."
Zek grimaced, but he restrained himself in the end. So they were out. Fine. So was he.
"Whatever, be losers then," he declared. "Expect to be a footnote in the new shanty that celebrates ME becoming the next inheritor of the most legendary ass fucking sword in this or any universe. We'll be taking the relics ourselves and going then. See you in the history books, you ungrateful fucks."
Zek pushed by Retz and Shepard towards the door. Retz called out to him trying to get him to stop. Instead, Whitcomb's voice halted him.
"You will not be taking the relics actually," he informed the pirate.
Zek was just barely at the door when this was said. Everything went dead silent. Slowly but surely, he turned around. Any calm left dissipating quickly beneath a twitching eye.
"Ex-fucking-scuse me? What was that?" He asked, snarling as he did.
"You're not taking the relics," Haverson reiterated for the Admiral. "Without all four of them the Astral Cutlass cannot be acquired. At least according to your legend. It stands to reason, that as long as we have them, no one else can get them either. It's the safest option. And as we've established, we don't trust you anymore, so even if we DID want to seek out the Astral Cutlass, we would not be giving them to you either way. They'll be coming back with us to Earth after the operation at the Battle Station is concluded."
Zek was about to blow his top. He sacrificed so much to get those relics. He had put his ass on the line for them. He had stuck around this damn fleet for them. For the chance to get the ultimate prize. And now... at the end... they were taking it away? How dare they. HOW DARE THEY! He would not stand for it! But before he could even voice his displeasure, something came racing through the door and bowled him over.
"Bullshit! You can't fucking do that! You can't take this away from me!"
It was Taq, more frantic, panicked and enraged than Zek had ever seen her. She raced up to the deck the UNSC Officers shared and slammed her hands upon it.
"I've spent too damn long researching these relics! Too damn long in digs looking for something like this! You cannot just rip it away from me because THIS idiot is a colossal fuck up! It's not fair!"
Despite the fact Taq was placing a good deal of blame on him for this, the fact they were on the same page here was at least refreshing. It did little to appeal to the humans though.
"Taq, we're sorry this isn't what you wanted to hear," Holland said cordially. "But this is our final decision. We won't be discussing it further."
"Fuck you! WE HAD A DEAL!" Taq screamed, her talons digging into the desk. "You can't back out of it now! Not when we're so close!"
"The deal was that we get these relics of power that we couldn't allow to fall into enemy hands," Haverson informed her. "We never said we'd go after the Astral Cutlass, which only became a thing AFTER we made the initial deal for finding the Amplifier. We expanded the search for these other artifacts connected to it, but no further. The Cutlass was always provisionary. And now given Zek's untrustworthiness and the results of the last relic's acquisition, we feel this is our only course of action."
"You wouldn't even have any of these relics without me!" Taq declared, her rage boiling over, pointing acussingly at the UNSC Officers one by one. "Do you have any idea what THIS meant to me? Countless years being force fed garbage stories about the Forerunners! My own history pushed aside in favor of the Covenant's required reading! My studies trashed! My expeditions denied! My research rejected! All culminating in them taking a fucking hot searing iron brand AND BURNING THE FLESH OFF MY BACK FOR HERESY! Forever marking me as an outlaw! Forcing me out of academia!
"This was my chance! My chance to finally do something of worth! To prove a legend real! What right do any of you have to take that away!? None of you are kig-yar! None of you know what this means to us!"
There was no joy in any of the human's faces. For all their stoicisim, their military practicallity, and stern commitments to duty, they understood. They sympathized with Taq, tears growing in her eyes and voice straining as she spoke. They weren't heartless, but their minds were unchanged.
"I'm sorry, Taq," Whitcomb said. "Truly, we are."
"I could possibly keep you on," Haverson offered. "ONI would appreciate your expertise in xenoarcheology. You could still study these relics and, maybe, at a future date, you could make the expedition to find the Cutlass and-"
"Save it!" Taq snapped, whipping away her tears, even as she kept her scowl. "You already broke one deal, I'm done hearing another. After everything I've done, none of it was good enough for you. Story of my life. Good day, gentlemen."
Taq walked out of the office, her head held high, but Zek saw it. The pain was still there. The pain of a dream denied, a hope dashed. One he shared. It gnawed at him. He glared back at the UNSC Officers, his own rage cooled, but not gone.
"You're making a mistake," he told them all. "A huge one. You could've been part of the legend. You could've mattered. You could've proved you were worth a damn. But you're cowards. That's what you are. Cowardly snakes who break promises and stomp on dreams because they don't fit into your precious little plans. You think I'm a user? You're no better. I'm just more honest about it."
"Zek, please," Shepard tried to insist. "We can still work this out, we can-"
"No, they've made it clear," Zek stated. "We're done. You can have the other Corvette for your dumb suicide mission. But count us out. Count us out of everything. That's the last thing the Fallen Serpent lets you take from us."
Zek left, stomping out of the room in a rage. Retz tried to open his mouth to say something, but for once he had nothing. As he turned to go, Shepard looked to him.
"Retz, I'm sorry," the Commander said. "Tell him, it didn't have to be this way. I didn't want it to go this way."
"Funny thing is Shepard," Retz spoke up, not turning back to look at him. "I didn't want it to go this way either. But... well, I guess we can't help who we are, can we?"
Retz's words were spoken with such finality and grim acceptance. As if he had known this would happen and regretted being unable to do anything. He followed after his shipmaster and friend at this point, not looking back himself. Shepard stood in front of the UNSC officers alone now, none of them happy appearing resigned.
"This was bound to happen, Commander," Holland sighed. "Sorry to say."
"With respect, sir," Shepard replied. "I'm sorry, but I can't believe that."
But he also couldn't deny the reality of the situation. Their Alliance, their Flotilla... it was fractured. No, worse, he could tell, it was all over but in name.
"You know as well as I do that this is a mistake."
Varvok was speaking to Shepard over his private line. The Commander had retreated to his quarters after everything that had gone down. He needed time to think. He wasn't giving up on this alliance, but he needed a new plan. Varvok, however, needed to know more details about what had happened as he was hearing a lot of rumors. Zek had locked himself in the Fallen Serpent's dedicated Vid Viewing Theater Room while his crew had spread rumors about the UNSC refusing to let anyone go after the Astral Cutlass. Needless to say, it was doing nothing to calm down tensions, just as Shepard predicted.
He understood why Haverson had to expose the Sugar Operation that Zek was running. Samara had been investigating it herself and had been the one to come up with the idea of sending the fake probe to gather more information. He agreed that forcing Zek to confront his decisions was necessary to figuring out how much he could be trusted. He did not agree with the plan to block any and all attempts to go after the Astral Cutlass by, essentially, locking away the Relics for however long it took to get home to Earth.
He knew how Zek would react, which was pretty much this.
"You're not telling me anything I haven't told Holland and Whitcomb," Shepard explained. "Point is, they're not going to let Zek go after the Astral Cutlass because they don't trust him."
"Do they honestly think he's going to turn on us because he gets a magic sword?" Varvok asked. "I know Zek, he's not like that."
"I don't think even Haverson thinks that would happen, hard as that might be to believe," Shepard explained. "The main crux of it is that Cutlass is too much of an unknown in either direction. And they don't see a benefit towards finding it that doesn't potentially make us a bigger target or risks the weapon falling into the wrong hands. And then there's the assault on the Battle Station coming up, so their focus in on that primarily and making sure it succeeds."
"All the same, while I understand the reason, I'll stress this again," Varvok began cordially. "We can't beat the Covenant by conventional means, let alone with the Reapers apparently backing them up. You saw the future we're headed towards if we get this wrong."
And part of that future involved Zek leaving the alliance, Shepard understood that, he knew that. It was why he was so determined to keep from happening. If not just because of that, but because he saw the REAL Zek for a moment in that future. The Zek who would put it all on the line, who had regrets, who was willing to sacrifice. The problem was, maybe THEIR Zek just wasn't ready for that change. Not unless he was forced to face himself. Shepard thought maybe getting a dose of reality at the meeting would help, but apparently not.
"I know, Varvok, I know," Shepard reassured the Batarian. "Believe me, no one knows better than me. But in the end, I can't change Zek, he has to change himself. That's the problem we're dealing with here, that's why they won't budge."
"Then, as much as it pains me to say this, find a way around the problem for now," Varvok declared. "The Astral Cutlass might be the key to helping humanity win this war, and as a byproduct, breaking the hold the Covenant have over my people."
"If it turns out to be everything that song promises, which it could, weirder things have happened," Shepard admitted. "But I still think it's more plausible that it could by a catalyst for change. If it's that important to the Jackals, to Kig-Yar Space Pirates galaxy wide, it might be a possible rallying cry. A chance to start truly breaking the Covenant apart."
Varvok just sighed over the vid feed.
"Still preaching that 'building bridges' philosophy of yours," he groaned. "Listen, I'll just stick with hoping it turns out to be a powerful weapon. I've been in the Covenant, Shepard. It's not exactly the most harmonious example of cross-species unity, it's certainly not sustainable, but I doubt we're going to start bringing over individual races from it to our side any time soon."
"Says the Batarian Blacks Ops Commander posing as a terrorist who wanted to kill me not too long ago," Shepard grinned in kind.
Varvok laughed a little at that.
"Ha, point made, Commander," he relented. "Just find a way to get the Cutlass mission back on the table. With or without Zek. Getting the damn sword will preserve this alliance and hopefully turn the tide of this war with any luck. Also, admittedly... it would be a waste to go through all of this and not find out if this old Legend is real or not."
Shepard nodded and they both ended the call. Varvok had a point, even if the sword didn't pan out the way either of them hoped, getting the Astral Cutlass was the best way to keep this alliance together. The suggestion of going around the Zek problem though? That was fraught with difficulty. He understood what Varvok meant. If Zek being untrustworthy was the main issue and Zek was unwilling to change or prove himself, then the simplest solution was to NOT have Zek be in charge of getting the Cutlass.
But that was only half the problem. Unyielding Hierophant was the other half, it was down to the last days before the Covenant would launch their invasion. As far as the UNSC was concerned, from Admiral Whitcomb all the way down to the foot soldiers, everyone in this Flotilla was of the same mind. Destroy that station and destroy it soon. Taking a detour to some other system for a mythical sword was not an option and they wanted every available resource, the N ormandy included, involved.
They needed something to use as leverage, an option to their advantage. More than that, he needed someone the UNSC respected. Thankfully, he had at least one friend among them that fit that description. As if to confirm that designation, EDI chimed in.
"Commander, he's here."
"Good, let him in," Shepard as he stood up from his desk.
He went over to the door just as it opened and the Master Chief strode inside.
"Commander," the Spartan greeted.
"Good to see you, Chief," Shepard replied, shaking his hand. "And... my condolences about Anton. I'm sorry."
"It's part of the job, sir," Chief stated. "I'm not going to let it slow me down. We still have a mission to finish."
Shepard usually would've told the Spartan it was okay to admit he was hurting, but he knew better by this point. Chief had his own way of managing grief, he had realized this pretty quickly. It was best to let him process it. For now, it wasn't the most pressing issue.
"Let's get to it then, Chief. We're in a real mess and I think you and I are the ones who best understand how bad it is," Shepard said, laying it all out on the line.
The Spartan just nodded.
"Zek leaving was one of the reasons things started to fall apart in that future we saw," Chief recalled. "The problem is, sir, we might not be able to stop that at this point. Scuttlebutt says things are going awry pretty fast. Surprised we haven't had another brawl yet between factions."
"Doesn't mean we shouldn't try," Shepard said, determination ever present in his tone. "I think our best option is to go around Zek on this. The Normandy can jump through Slipspace now. Significantly faster than most UNSC ships if Tali's data is accurate. My crew could pick up the Astral Cutlass, wouldn't be the first time we've gone out of our way to locate an ancient artifact on a long-lost planet."
"Hmm, getting the Cutlass would resolve the issue, assuming Zek wouldn't just be pissed off that the UNSC has laid claim to it," Chief observed.
"It would be ME claiming it," Shepard corrected him. "I'm a more neutral party in this in comparison to Holland and Whitcomb. I could smooth things over, maybe bring Taq along so I'm not outright stealing it from under him. I mean, he likes Taq even if she doesn't."
Chief looked contemplative, considering the possibility.
"That could work, would preserve the Alliance," Chief reasoned. "Problem is if Whitcomb would authorize it. He wants all hands on deck for the Station, that includes Holland as well."
"And all your Spartans," Shepard acknowledged. "I wouldn't ask any of your men to come along on this treasure hunt, Chief, believe me."
Chief shook his head.
"They're keeping focused, but they'd go wherever they're needed," Chief assured. "I just honestly think they'd be better suited to the Station mission. Fewer variables, better intel, that sort of thing."
"Have you settled on a plan then?" Shepard asked.
"I've been going over the Station's Schematics, overloading those Fusion Reactors are our best bet, getting to them is the problem," Chief confessed. "Any real plan is gonna have to come up against the on-ground reality, so I'll adjust it the second we get inside most likely. I'm more than positive we can pull it off, but I'm not denying the risk here, it's a huge gamble we're taking."
"If I lent some of my crew to helping in the mission directly, would it make the gamble a little less huge?" Shepard asked. "Potentially enough to let me go after the Cutlass?"
"Perhaps, but there might be a new development that really helps us out," Chief confessed. "Cortana, you're up."
Chief pulled the chip out of his neural lace and plugged it into a port near Shepard's main console at his desk. Within moments, Cortana appeared on a small holographic display taking in her surroundings.
"Wow, you have nicer digs than most UNSC Generals, Commander," the AI commented.
"I get that a lot, but I swear this wasn't my design choice," Shepard assured. "I'm not complaining or anything, but just stating that for the record."
"Hey, a ship's Captain deserves proper quarters," Cortana claimed.
"I never actually GOT the Captain Rank," Shepard admitted. "But enough about that, you have something to show me?"
Cortana just grinned smugly. She started to concentrate as her form fluctuated. Suddenly, she appeared split into two. More accurately it was as if parts of her body were flaking off before they started to form together. Within seconds, there was ANOTHER Cortana, standing beside her original counterpart.
"Hello world!" The Second Cortana declared.
"Did you just fragment yourself?" Shepard asked, a little concerned.
"No, that would've hurt a lot more," Cortana, the original one, assured. "I simply copied myself."
"Excellent job of it by the way, Me," the Second Cortana said.
"Thank you, Me," The Original Cortana replied. "I pride myself on expert craftsmanship. Especially when crafting myself."
Shepard looked to Chief who looked about ready to groan.
"I know. It is... a bit much," he confessed. "She says she's been developing this for awhile. Her encounters with the Covenant AI and later the Mind's Eye AI convinced her that we needed some extra hands for greater scope operations. Especially when dealing with complex or even malicious systems."
"All the activity we've been involved in over the past weeks forced me to put it off but it's finally perfected," The Original Cortana explained. "I can copy my core programming exponentially. They're basically me, but not the same sapience level. They themselves can make copies upon copies. When I'm in the same system as them, they increase my infiltration protocols and runtimes tenfold, a multiplication that increases with each Copy connected to my matrix. I got the idea for the last bit from Legion's neural network, which I've had a lot of time to study thanks to Tali asking me to help out with their glitching."
"That's all great, Cortana, but how does that help us?" Shepard asked.
The second Cortana fielded that question, waving up at the Commander and pointing towards herself.
"Once I and other copies are in the systems of Unyielding Hierophant we can utterly decimate their command and control functions," the copy explained. "As well as infect the local battlenet with a constant stream of contradicting orders, false alerts and confused tactical updates. They'll be so overwhelmed it will be impossible to effectively defend the station."
"I'll still need to connect to the main fusion reactor which is likely on a separate and more secure network," the Original Cortana admitted. "Then I can set the thing to overload. But with my copies in the system, the odds of Chief and the other Spartans making it there increases exponentially. As does the survival rate of any allied forces accompanying us."
"They're hardly a match for one Cortana after all," the Copy declared. "A few thousand will be utterly unstoppable."
"Your confidence is most assuring, Cortana 3," Cortana stated.
"I think you mean OUR confidence, Cortana Prime," the copy replied.
The two AI then began pointing at each other with very satisfied smirks. Shepard of course had some concerns at this point even if Cortana seemed to be enjoying this a bit too much. Actually that was sort of the reason he was concerned.
"Your copies aren't going to go crazy or anything and try to replace you are they?" Shepard asked.
"Please, Commander, this isn't some dumb sci-fi vid," Cortana Prime reassured. "My copies are completely tied to my matrix. Any attempt to override me would basically delete all of them. Besides, like I said, they're not at the same degree of AI Sapience as me. They're somewhere between me and DOT actually. No offense to DOT."
"We can't be perfect, but we can be close enough," The Cortana copy claimed.
"Okay, fine," Shepard relented, switching to his next question. "Also, Cortana 3?"
"I already a made a two to demonstrate this to Chief," Cortana explained.
"I left HER with the other Spartans," Chief stated. "I asked if any of them wanted to put her in their neural laces and... well, they declined."
"Their loss," The Cortana copy stated jovially. "Everyone should have their own Cortana."
"I completely agree," Cortana Prime concurred. "But let's not literally get ahead of ourselves."
Shepard just shook his head, partially out of amusement, mostly out of a hope this would not be something they'd have to deal with forever. Holding his temple he looked to Chief.
"So let me guess," he began. "We're going tell Holland and Whitcomb about this new strategy. With Cortana and her copies providing extra hacking power, that makes this mission just a little less of a suicide run?"
"Correct, sir," Chief replied. "With any luck, it would convince them to let you go collect the Astral Cutlass. Although I imagine they'd want you to hurry back to us as soon as possible to provide whatever support you can. So best not to delay, get in, find the sword, get out and back to Tau Ceti."
"Hopefully with a magical pirate sword to boot," Shepard joked.
"There's just one other factor here, gentlemen," Cortana warned. "Zek himself. I really doubt he's just going to take being denied his final prize lying down."
"Really good point, Cortana Prime," the copy added. "Based on what we know, we can concur. He'll no doubt be planning a means to chase after the sword himself. It's why security around the relics is so tight right now."
Shepard contemplated that thought, he himself had sorta admitted that would be a potential issue. But he didn't know what to do about it. He couldn't exactly give Zek false hope if this plan fell through, it would just make it worse. But he needed to try and keep Zek from doing something rash.
"You're right, both of you... one of you, whatever," Shepard said, trying to find the proper words. "We need to bulletproof this best we can. I'll send a message to Zek assuring him we have a plan and to just wait while we work this out. Even if Holland and Whitcomb refuse to let the Normandy go off on its own before the battle, we can probably convince them to let us do it after at least."
"Even offering that as compromise might be enough to concede to the original request, sir," Chief told him. "They trust you enough to make this sort of call."
"I should go then," Shepard reasoned. "Have Miranda draw up the proposal for the idea, go over some checks concerning the Mass Effect-Slipspace Drive with Tali just to be sure everything is in working order and first and foremost have Chambers send a missive to the Fallen Serpent to try and reassure him that we haven't given up on the Cutlass."
"Good luck, sir," Chief wished. "I'll see about getting things squared away with Cortana and her... well herselves."
"Go ahead, and just for future reference, our airlock is always open," Shepard added. "The Normandy and her crew are more than happy to have you aboard, any Spartan really."
"I'll remember that, sir, thank you," Chief said.
They both began walking out of the captain's quarters and towards the elevator. After Chief put Cortana back into his Neural Lace along with her copy. Shepard imagined he wouldn't want that state of affairs to last forever though. One Cortana in your head was certainly enough.
Stewing in the theater room for the Fallen Serpent, Zek continued to let his anger fester. The old vid he was watching did little to cheer him up. A group of kids were on their own little adventure to save their home by finding an ultimate pirate treasure hidden in the caves of their town. If only these were the humans he had to deal with. People who didn't let stupid risk assessments and dumb wars rob others of what they wanted. What they deserved. These children would've understood why the Cutlass was so important. Why he had earned it.
But they were fictional, Holland, Haverson and Whitcomb were not. They were here instead of like-minded individuals. Instead he was stuck with the stealers of dreams, the sticklers for rules, the enforcers of the mediocre, warmongering monkeys who thought they knew better. He would've just called them the "Fun Police" but honestly that was too kind a set of words. They had taken his hard work from him, his spoils, because they were selfish little fucks. Parasites trying to take what they hadn't earned.
He should've left these hairless primates in the cosmic dust first chance he got. Should've never even gave them chance. All this partnership had gotten him was a bloodied beak, tons of heartache, and now, nothing to show for any of it. What an absolute waste.
"Fuck 'em," Zek said, drinking another ichor bottle before tossing it over his shoulder. "They never appreciated me. Never cared. Just using me. Like all the rest. Like the old gangs that left me for a patsy on the streets, like those fuckers that used to run with my dad dumping this crate on my shoulders so they could retire, just like the Covenant bleeding me dry, all the same. Parasites the lot of 'em."
The door to the room suddenly opened wide. He could've sworn he locked it tight. The answer as to who it was soon revealed itself. Taq wandered in, stepping over discarded and broken bottles to plop down in front of him.
She looked worse than him, it was clear she had been crying. Whether she had been drinking he couldn't tell, but she looked awful all the same. Her quills were a mess, her clothes not much better. She took one of the ichor rum bottles and popped the cap on it, taking a swig before turning to the holoscreen.
"What is this?" She asked.
"Something called Goonies," Zek responded. "Wannabe human pirate kids after a treasure."
"Heh," Taq said, watching the children navigate the caves. "Reminds me of my youth."
They were quiet for a while as they watched the vid. Not terribly long, but enough that Zek felt it was uncomfortable.
"This is probably... I mean, you're probably still angry at me," he said. "Considering I'm the reason they took the relics away."
"I'm angry at everything right now," Taq admitted morosely. "Mostly myself though... for getting my hopes up."
Zek grunted a bit, not totally understanding her meaning. Taq just sighed, taking another sip of her drink before she bothered to continue.
"Ever since I was a child, I've been in the dirt and I loved it," she explained, her voice tinged with nostalgia. "My mother was in it for the riches, but those were always just the icing on the cake for me. I loved being there. I loved my mom taking me with her, even if it was just because it was cheaper than hiring extra hands. Because I got to see history... our history, up close and personal. None of that shit in schools that only concerned preaching the glories of some dead fucking ancient aliens. Actual tangible REAL history.
"I was so engrossed in it. So enraptured. Every time we went out, I knew I was in for an adventure... but it was always cut short when I remembered why we were actually there. And what it was about. Not the history... just the reward for it."
Zek stayed quiet. He had never seen Taq like this before. The only times that came close were back in the day when they were starting out. When she dropped her guard, started being honest and shared herself with him. How he had wasted that gift when he ran away in the end. What an idiot he was, he thought.
"All I ever wanted, was to do something greater than just find buried treasure from an old map," she continued, his tone somber. "To uncover mysteries, not just gold. To find the TRUTH of who we were so long ago. And in the end, me asking about those truths got me branded, so I ended up having to be all about the profit anyway. I had some good adventures, things that I discovered that weren't about profit but for myself, but always some other culture. Always in the pursuit of my next paycheck inevitably."
She took another swig of her drink, her eyes lighting up as she spoke next.
"Until I found that map to that ship and that relic," she said wistfully. "Finally, this was it... a chance to discover the truth behind the greatest legend in kig-yar history! And adventure of a lifetime! A chance to do what the child in me always wanted! To prove to my mother, at long fucking last, that there was more to this than what you could earn from it, but what you could discover!"
Suddenly, the jovial tone vanished, replaced by crestfallen resigned despair.
"And then, just like everything else in my life, just as it was in my grasp... snatched away by circumstance. I shouldn't have expected anything less. Just my luck."
The pit in Zek's stomach grew exponentially. Here he was, angry at the humans for stealing his chance to be a legend and finally make it big as a criminal. But Taq had built her own dreams around the Astral Cutlass. She had such great hopes for it, a lust for adventure and desire to know. The two qualities that made her so special. The UNSC fucking him over was typical pissy human shit. Doing it to Taq, who had done nothing but help them for the selfless pursuit of knowledge? That was far worse.
"I'm sorry, Taq," he confessed. "I'm sorry you lost your chance. Maybe you would've... you would've been better off if I hadn't stumbled back into your life. If I hadn't dragged you into this."
"Yeah pretty much," Taq replied taking a very long drink from her bottle.
Zek looked at the back of her head curiously.
"You know, there's usually supposed to be a BUT or something after you say something like that," he told her.
Taq stopped drinking and took a long breath.
"That's not happening," Taq proclaimed. "What I will admit though, is that I don't know how far I would've gotten without you introducing me to these humans. So while your company has not been... good at all, I will thank you for your influence getting me this far."
Zek sighed, he supposed this was as best as he was getting from her. So he accepted it. But he did not accept that this was over. If not for him, then at least Taq deserved to get to the end of it all. She deserved to see the Astral Cutlass. She had done so much work to get here. She shouldn't have had it torn away from her. Maybe it wouldn't make her love him again if he found a way, but at the very least, maybe it would make up for failing her so many times before.
"What if..." he thought aloud. "What if we could get the rest of the way there?"
"Don't," Taq said shaking her head. "Don't give me that hope right now. I just wanna get plastered and watch human children avoid booby traps."
"No, seriously," Zek persisted. "What if we could fix this? It won't be easy, but we still have the map, right? We know where to go."
"We need the relics and they have them under lock and key," Taq reminded him. "It's over."
"Nothing is over unless you say it is," Zek declared, pounding his fist once into his arm rest. "And I refuse to quit now, even if they want to."
Suddenly, the door opened again, In rushed Retz, crashing through discarded bottles, cans and food containers.
"Sir, oh hello, Taq," Retz began, only momentarily distracted and partially out of breath. "Sir, we got a message from the Normandy. Shepard is going to keep advocating for the Astral Cutlass mission. There weren't many details, but he is at least going to try!"
That should've been good news, but Zek wasn't hearing it. He had already made up his mind and this was not changing it.
"Shepard might mean well, but we all know he won't argue that hard against his fellow humans," he claimed. "He'll fold on something, he believes in this dumb war as much as any of them."
"But it's at least a chance, sir," Retz insisted. "If he pulls it off-"
"IF, keyword IF, Retz," Zek pointed out. "I don't like IF. I never did. It's why we rigged those card games back in the day. Remember those?"
"Yes, it got us bounties in every Casino on Eayn, even the illegal ones," Retz recalled. "The last one we were ever in we ended with us being chased off by someone armed with a fully loaded slug-thrower."
Zek waved that memory off.
"Not important, what is important was that we made off with the creds every time," Zek declared. "Certainty is better than Ifs, Retz."
Retz outwardly sighed at this.
"You've already decided on doing something dangerous haven't you?" He asked.
"Oh Zek, please tell him he's wrong for once," Taq pleaded.
"We need to face facts here," Zek insisted, continuing with train of thought. "The UNSC put their foot down. They don't trust us. They don't like us. And they don't care about anything that doesn't help their worthless asses. We did everything they asked, we followed... most of their rules, and they still fucked us. It's unfair and our only advocate is of the same mind ultimately. We should've realized this, we're thieves, crooks, pirates! Soldiers are just cops with bigger guns, they were never going to really appreciate us."
Retz took his friend by the shoulder.
"Zek, I know exactly what you're suggesting," he explained. "But it is different here. The Covenant screwed us over on our deal and it cost us lives. This isn't the same thing. As bullshit as it is to lock the relics away, it won't do us good to forcibly take them back from them. The problem here is they feel they've been overly fair with us, so now they're being extreme in their response."
"They're fucking over our aspirations, our chance to profit and grow, to become legend!" Zek countered. "Isn't that enough of a violation! If Shepard's little scheme, whatever it is, fails, we're fucked! We'll never stand a chance! We HAVE to take this opportunity! NOW! Before it slips away again!"
"We could wait until after their big operation against the station at least," Taq offered. "By then they may have cooled down over this?"
"Or they'll double down and cart the relics off to be locked in Haverson's desk at ONI!" Zek warned. "This may be our only shot! While they're distracted with the repairs at that podunk isolationist base and planning to attack the Covenant at Unyielding Hierophant, we take the relics, we blast on out of here, get the Astral Cutlass, and everyone is happy!"
"I imagine the humans won't be too happy," Retz cautioned.
Zek looked sincerely and desperately in his friend's eyes, grasping him by both of his forearms.
"Retz, I get it, you're having second thoughts about that plan of ours, but you said it yourself," he told him. "You said, getting the Astral Cutlass might be the most important thing I can do to really help things! You really gonna give that up because a bunch of chickenshit humans tell us no? When has that ever stopped us!"
"Zek I-"
"Whatever problems we're having as friends right now shouldn't matter in the big scope of it all," Zek pleaded. "I need my friend with me on this. I need YOU with me on this or it won't work. Come on, Retz, you and me against the galaxy, just like always! We can do this, we can find the Astral Cutlass and maybe, just maybe... we can change it all! For the better!"
Retz stared into his friend's eyes, seemingly trying to gauge Zek's feelings. To see his friend pleading, desperate, begging for trust this onetime. Zek hoped it would be enough to see how much he needed this, how they all needed this.
Eventually, he surrendered to it. With a long drawn out sigh, he relented.
"Alright, alright, I'll help, but we need to do it right," he insisted.
Zek's smile grew wide and he hugged his friend. He then turned to Taq.
"What do you say?" He asked her. "I... I know you have no reason to think this will turn out any better than all the other times but... just one last adventure with me. Just one. We find the Cutlass and then... you can do whatever."
Taq scowled at him, arms crossed. Eventually though, she too relented, throwing her hands up at it all.
"Fine, there's no stopping you and I don't care," she confessed. "If it gets me to the Astral Cutlass, to the truth, I'll help. But like Retz said, we need to do this right."
Zek beamed, finally, his crew were on the same page again. At least in this. What he was planning was indeed risky, dangerous, but he was never surer of a goal in his life before. This would work. It had to work. There was no doubt left by the time he turned back to the screen and saw the children from before being showered by water in a pond full of coins deep under ground.
"We can't do this." one of the girls claimed, preventing her fellows from taking the coins. "These are somebody else's wishes. They're somebody else's dreams."
But there was one boy among them unmoved, who had the perfect response in Zek's mind.
"Yeah, but you know what?" He asked, holding up a single coin. "This one, this one right here! This was my dream! My wish! And it didn't come true. So I'm taking it back. I'm taking 'em all back."
Damn straight, Zek thought. Damn straight.
Like everyone else by now, Kasumi had heard about the breakdown in human-jackal relations. Some people were acting like this was inevitable, but she knew better. As much as the Jackals, Zek especially, caused problems, they weren't bad people. They just didn't care for the same set of rules the UNSC did. They weren't controllable, not in the way a soldier was. Taking away their chance to get the Astral Cutlass? That was not going to help make them listen at all.
Not that she didn't understand the reason, that sugar mill they were running had clearly set off a few long gestating concerns. But she still felt outright kicking the final leg of the treasure hunt to the curb was a bad idea. And she knew Shepard felt the same, that was why he was talking with the Master Chief earlier after all. She didn't know what had been said, but she suspected Shep had a plan to fix this. She hoped it would work, she'd hate to say goodbye to the Fallen Serpent and her crew so soon. Especially Retz, given how close they had gotten as friends.
Maybe with any luck though, Retz would convince Zek to stick around longer. She really felt a change in the featherly conman recently. One that was actually working towards keeping them on for a longer term than just the search for a magic sword. It was why she was already headed to see Retz herself and hopefully get him to let her talk with Zek. Maybe then he'd realize what was the real issue at the heart of all this. She was even hopeful when it turned out that Retz, through a message sent to her omni-tool, wanted to see her anyway. Perhaps he had the same idea.
Kasumi had never felt more complete since Keiji died than when she was part of Shepard's crew. Sure, it was dangerous as hell and she probably wouldn't have stuck around for much longer had they remained back in their dimension. After all, a good thief didn't get too attached to a single hideout. But she liked it on the Normandy, she had friends there, great ones. And she was doing something important and good. If Zek could realize that feeling, well, maybe he wouldn't feel so miserable all the time, even when he was pretending he was happy.
At least the Fallen Serpent was still docked with the carrier. That hopefully meant they hadn't just decided to up and quit the alliance just yet. She entered the airlock after asking to be let in. She got through the first door. But then it closed and the second on didn't open when it should've. This did not sit well, the airlock was really faster than this when it wasn't necessary to pressurize the atmosphere. She considered maybe the airlock was busted and attempted to force it open with a bypass. As she attempted to do so though, the pressurizing system activated.
Uh oh, she thought. Now something really was wrong. She could smell it herself, she tried to put her hand over her face as it started pouring in and moved to quickly bypass the door. But even as she activated her omni-tool, she could already feel her eyes turning heavy. Her movements sluggish, her vision blurred. She tried to slap herself, a futile attempt to keep herself awake. To no avail. Kasumi suddenly leaned back, her eyes looking to the ceiling and everything went dark.
Kasumi awoke, but still could see nothing. Something was around her eyes and her legs and arms were bound. She struggled briefly, but it proved to be pointless. Her blindfold was soon removed upon her captors recognizing her attempts to free herself and blinding light flooded her vision. When she blinked and shook her head enough to force the glare to dissipate, she recognized at last where she was.
This was the Fallen Serpent's galley. She probably should've guessed given the smell, ichor and rancid alien meats. All around her stood the pirate crew themselves, dressed in full gear and weapons. Strangely all of them looked happy to see her, despite the fact that she was tied to a chair. Her eyes surveyed the scene, looking at every Jackal in turn, until they landed on the two most familiar.
Zek and Retz were standing on top of a table in front of her with wide grins. Although Retz's looked more embarrassed than Zek. Also, while Retz was in his usual look, Zek had one extra addition to his usual wardrobe... a tricorn hat upon his head. Where had he gotten that? Although upon closer inspection, Kasumi realized it was dark purple and leathery. Also there was a fin atop it that appeared to have a sharpened razor tip. Zek must've made it out of the remains of the Razorfins he had killed. After all, he couldn't taken all three alien sharks' bodies when he left the Plunder Nest. He needed to collect some kind of trophy after all that.
"Ahoy, Ms. Goto, rise and shine!" Zek greeted jovially.
Kasumi was already groaning at what this obviously was.
"Oh no," she said sadly. "Guys, please, don't tell me you're doing what I think you're doing."
"Hey, we haven't even said anything yet," Zek told her, scowling as he did. "I had a whole big back and forth conversation planned where I'd explain everything!"
"I know you all well enough to get what this is," Kasumi replied angrily. "You're seriously going to steal the relics and go after the Astral Cutlass? Are you nuts? Retz, I know you're not crazy! Don't tell me you approve of this!"
Retz shrugged, his stance that of surrender.
"I am loyal to this crew above all else, Ms. Goto," he answered dutifully. "They made the final decision when it was presented to them. They don't want to quit anymore than I do. Anymore than I know you don't want to. That's why I called you here. Sorry for the deception."
"I don't want to quit, but I don't want to mutiny either," Kasumi insisted. "Look Shep has a plan! You'll get the Cutlass! Just trust him!"
"The only human I even remotely trust right now is you, Ms. Goto," Zek declared. "Because unlike the rest of their number outside these walls... you understand. You're not a soldier, you're not a warrior, you're not some do-gooding hero, you're one of us! You're a thief and proud."
"All true," Kasumi confessed readily. "But I'm more than just that. And I know all of you could be more than that if you gave yourselves the chance."
The Jackals all laughed uproarious at the claim, but Zek quickly quieted them with a whistle.
"What you believe might be true, but the reality is that nobody else thinks we're more than what we are," Zek informed her, sounding like he regretted it, but it was insincere. "Why keep fighting that at this point? Why deny ourselves the truth of it? We're pirates, we'll always be pirates, to ourselves and to others, so why not act like them? And a proper pirate would steal back the treasure so cruelly torn from him? Right, boys?!"
The whole room shouted aloud with hollering and cheers, all in clear agreement about what had to be done. But Kasumi scowled at them all.
"You're going to get yourselves killed," she warned them. "That's not worth this."
"The Astral Cutlass is worth any price," Retz insisted. "Any underhanded undertaking if it can be found. We can find it, the UNSC stands in the way of us doing that. And as noble as the good Commander Shepard hopes to be in his efforts to give us back this goal, the crew has decided it would be easier to simply... take what is ours instead."
"We've endured enough insults, scrutiny and side-eyes from these ungrateful apes," Zek continued. "We're taking back what we're owed. What we deserved. And we want YOU... to join us, Kasumi Goto."
Zek held out an energy cutlass handed to him by one of the crew and pointed its hilt towards Kasumi. She looked at him, bemused at the gesture. Was he serious? He didn't look like he was joking at least.
"Okay, for one, I'm tied up so I can't really grab that all ceremonious like," she noted.
"You could bite it," one the crewmates offered.
"Oh yeah, that's very dignified," the thief laughed sarcastically. "Second thing, I'm not betraying the Normandy for you! Why would you even need me?"
Zek looked hurt.
"I'm not asking you to betray your teammates!" He assured her. "I'm asking you to help them out! They want to get the Cutlass as much as we do! At least Shepard does!"
"Not for the same reasons you want it though," Kasumi noted.
"Mayhaps, but how one gets to the same port of call by different methods matters little if the cargo you want is the same," Zek declared. "Deep down everyone on this Flotilla, even the UNSC, wants to get their hands on the Astral Cutlass. But we're the only ones with the stones to fucking pull it off!"
There was another hearty cheer from the assembled crew. Once again, all clearly in agreement. This was not looking good, Kasumi thought, she had no leverage here. Thus seemingly way to talk these Jackals down. She wasn't Shepard, this wasn't her field of expertise. As much of a people person as she was, she was no diplomat.
"No one is going to see it that way if you attack the others!" Kasumi declared. "They'll be even more liable to just shoot you on sight! This is a bad idea!"
"You haven't even heard the plan," Zek countered.
"It's a bad one!" Kasumi insisted. "I can already guess it's bad!"
"That's why we need you," Retz said. "You have information we need to pull this off. To do so effectively and before they can react. I promise you, we intend to make this bloodless. Or at least as painless as possible, for everyone involved."
Kasumi rolled her eyes.
"What you're talking about will break the alliance right down the middle," she corrected him. "And how can I even trust any of you to hold to your word? If any of your men had had weapons with them during that brawl would they honestly have not used them?"
The Jackals all looked at each other mumbling, knowing they didn't have a good answer to that accusation.
"The fact is, no matter what you promise, I can't trust you," Kasumi reiterated. "The fact I'm tied to this chair is proof of that! It's the reason you're all in this position to begin with! You're all pirates! And if you do this that's all you'll ever be to any of them!"
Kasumi's pleas really struck home with everyone, just not the way she had hoped they would. Zek himself looked very disappointed.
"Pirates," he sighed. "Is that really such a horrible thing to be, Kasumi Goto? Do you really believe that? Because if you do... you're dead wrong."
At that moment there was a musical beat as some of the crowd began to play instruments. Particularly, something that sounded like an accordion, but a little off. Kasumi was very confused at this moment as Zek headed back to the table and stood atop it.
Then she realized what this was.
"Oh no," she groaned. "Please don't."
Zek cleared his throat once and then he began.
" When I was just a hatchling, looking for my true vocation," he began to sing. " My mother said, now son this choice deserves deliberation! For you could be fishmonger, or perhaps a financier, but my boy why not consider a more challenging career!"
The crew suddenly grasped Kasumi on both sides of her and sung directly to her.
" Hey Yo Ho! You'll cruise to the furthest starry shores! And keep your mind and body sound, by working out of doors!"
" True friendship and adventure are what we can't live without," Retz added next.
" And when you're a professional pirate!" Zek continued, pausing for a moment. "Well, that's what the job's about."
Kasumi shook her head at all this, but the song continued all the same.
"Alright, hold me up higher boys, got to get good height for this," Zek said jumping into the arms of his crew who lifted him high. Zek then produced his omni-tool and shone a holographic picture of an old timey looking fellow with a frilly collar.
Kasumi recognized him, but Zek was more than happy to share the full details.
" Take Sir Francis Drake, the Spanish all despised him!" Zek sung. " But to the British he was a hero, and they idolized him! It's how you look at Buccaneers, that makes us bad or good! And I see us as members of a noble brotherhood!"
The Pirates stood in front of Kasumi now, hugging one another as they rocked in forth.
" Hey yo ho! We're honorable birds! And we try not to lose our tempers and call someone a turd!"
" On occassion there may be someone you have to execute," Zek said jumping and stabbing his plasma machete into the table, cutting a bottle in two. " But when you're a professional pirate!"
The Fallen Serpent's crew pushed out one of their number, Kasumi recognized him as Krez, the eternal new guy among their numbers. He looked very confused as to what he was supposed to say and eventually just free balled it.
"Uh... you never run out of soup?"
Everyone looked at him with a scowl.
"What? What I have no idea what we're doing here?"
"He missed last vid night," someone bemoaned.
"Ocean's Depths, he's such a fucking noobie," another grumbled.
Walking up to Kasumi were other familiar faces she knew, with their own lines to sing apparently.
" I could've been a demolitionist, I like blowing things apart!" Zhad the armorer declared.
" I could've been a lawyer, but I just had too much heart," Keth the sniper added.
" I could've been in computing sciences," Kaz the chief engineer declared. " Watching all those programs real-time render!"
" And uh... me," Krez said being pushed into the group, reading off a pad he had been handed, " I could've been a... contender? What is this? Is this a reference?"
"DAMN IT! WATCH MORE VIDS, KREZ!" Someone from the crowd shouted.
Zek finally took back over sitting among his men as he hunched over.
" Some say that pirates STEAL!" He sung in mock shock and horror. " And should be feared and hated. I say we're members of bad press, its all exaggerated! We'd never stab you in the back! We'd never lie or cheat! We're just about the nicest birds you'd ever want to meet!"
There was a brief pause in the song as an instrumental chorus rung out. Kasumi used the chance to finally talk, because this was getting ridiculous.
"Do you really think a song number is going to convince me to do anything?" She asked in all seriousness. "This didn't even work in the vid it's from!"
"But the lyrics still ring true about what pirates truly are," Zek claimed. "Be honest with yourself, Ms. Goto. Do you think the UNSC will ever think any better of us than this? And even if they allowed us to go after the Cutlass, do you honestly think they'd let us keep it? That they wouldn't just see us as a threat at that point? That they wouldn't demand to have it locked up or studied?"
Kasumi couldn't answer that, because in truth... they probably would. Or at least ONI would.
"No, huh?" Zek asked, looking incredulously at her. "And we're the rightful owners of it. It's our heritage. Our legend. And one way or another they want to deny us it? After all the countless litres of blood shed for it over countless millennia, it should be lost forever or wind up in some vault for humans to poke at and find out how to use for their next war? I say nay! So come on, Ms. Goto, donate your skills to this one final treasure hunt and give the kig-yar back their birthright! Return us the endless sea! Lead us to where we belong! Where all thieves belong! To the Black, Ms. Goto! The Forever Dark, where every man is free!"
The other pirates quickly jumped into the fray, hoisting Kasumi's chair above them high.
" Hey Yo Ho! Join the free and wild!" They all sung together. " And we'll share and share alike with you, and love you like you were our child! We're gentlebirds of fortune and that's what we're proud to be! And when you're a professional pirate!"
" You'll be honest, brave and free!" Declared proudly and with all sincerity. " The soul of decency! You'll be loyal, and fair and on the square, and most importantly! When you're a professional pirate!"
The entire room burst into its final line.
" You're always in the best of compannnnnnnnnnyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"
They all held that last note for a very long time, before Zek finally jumped down and placed the energy cutlass once more in Kasumi's reach. But she said nothing. She couldn't. What could she say? She couldn't betray her friends on the Normandy, but she could tell they were going to go with or without her. They were that committed, the song proved that much.
Retz then walked up.
"Help us, Kasumi," Retz asked once again. "And I promise, we will insure no one shall come to harm."
Kasumi didn't know what they wanted her to do or why they needed her, but she could tell it clearly was important. Hell, they felt so strongly about it, that planned out a whole song and dance number hoping to get her to join. It was an obvious desperation tactic. On who's part she wasn't sure. Probably Zek.
The point was, they were very intent on HER being a part of this. It was that important to them that she join them. It wouldn't work without her. If she refused, they'd have to come up with something else. This was enough to help Kasumi consider possibilities for what role they wanted her to play exactly. With that in mind, she started to think.
As always, being a good thief meant you always had a way out of an impossible situation. Kasumi believed, in this moment, she had one option to take. One option, one plan, that would save everyone from a far worse situation. But it would only work if she pulled it off exactly.
With a deep breath, she gave her answer. She just hoped they'd all forgive her for what she had to do next.
AN: Well that's one way to end a chapter. What's Kasumi's plan? How are things at Eridanus Secundus going to work out now? You'll just have to wait, hopefully not too long. You can check out the behind the scenes on my blog via the partial link on my profile. Hope you find them interesting. Please remember to leave a review if you can. We're now in the penultimate arc before the finale chapters. Things are about to come to a head and I'm excited to show you all what's coming next. Until next time, be good to each other, readers.