*****A Cursed Existence*****
Entry 14: Home Sweet… Home?
AN: Well. Over a year since an update for this… procrastination is a thing, and dammit if there haven't been some amazing games eating up my time (BG3, multiple warframe updates, Helldivers 2, elden ring dlc, black myth wukong, and more) but I'm here now.
Right then. Crippling (and THAT is an understatement if ever there was one) writer's block aside, so continues this story, and as has been the theme with the last few chapters, it's about time for the plot to start catching up with the MC. Actions have consequences, after all.
December 19th, 2182, 11:02 am. (2 days later)
Having finished up what I wanted to do on the Citadel, I left the station behind and started the journey back home. Before I left it, however, I'd gotten a brief message from a person claiming to be a part of the Andromeda Initiative's funding department, and they brought up my interest in "donating."
A conversation later, and after confirming they were in fact who they said they were, I sent a "small" donation of a couple million credits to guarantee a reservation. Apparently they were even labeled as a scientific charity thanks to some obscure Citadel law (weird, but I wasn't complaining) which meant I could write the donation off on my taxes… at least that's what they said. Honestly, that particular landmine was something I was happy to have my legal team deal with. Having centuries old asari lawyers on the payroll comes in handy sometimes.
As for my research into Alec Ryder, it came up remarkably clean for someone who was a prior N7. Too clean, really. The only thing of note was his dishonorable discharge from the Alliance military, and a scandal involving some illegal research that he was involved in, but even that had any information on it buried under a mountain of political jargon and bureaucratic red tape. Whatever it was, the cover-up was quite thorough, and required more effort than I was willing to invest to uncover.
And so here I was, currently passing close by a random white star on my way back home. The reason for that was quite simple, really: I still had a package to get rid of, after all, and it was currently sitting comfortably in my garbage chute right now, just waiting to be shot out into the blazing nuclear inferno.
Fingering the button to open the chute brought me a measure of satisfaction at what was to come, and I waited impatiently for Aena to say we were close enough for the shot to be guaranteed.
"Mistress," she started, making me glance in her direction, "we are in range. You may fire when ready."
Taking a breath, I pressed the button, noting the thoomp sound of the chute opening and instantly turning into a vacuum, the sudden lack of atmosphere sending the crate containing the reaper object flying out at a speed I could barely track. I tried to follow it into its final destination, but the cockpit's auto dim features could only do so much to filter the light of a star. Regardless, once I lost track of it, I was certain it had been destroyed.
Feeling a little good, I nodded to myself and stood up.
"Alright, we can go back home now, Aena. That was the only detour I had in mind."
I waited for a response, only to be surprised by Aena staring at the spot where the reaper artifact had just been launched, her crest shimmering a silver white to match the star. It made me narrow my eyes, as this wasn't the first time she'd "zoned out" for lack of a better term. The first few times I didn't really pay much attention, but they were getting more and more common as of late, and every time they showed a concerning trend with Aena's personality.
Before I could say anything else, Aena turned towards me with an odd expression that took a moment for me to recognize: curiosity. "Mistress, if I may, what was so concerning about that object that it required incineration?"
The question made me mentally trip, and I stared back at her for a couple seconds, thoughts I'd been putting off for later coming to the forefront.
Well then. Suppose that makes it official. VI's can't get curious – can't ask questions for no reason – can't question their owner's decisions. AI on the other hand… shit, and here I was hoping it was just me overthinking it. *sigh* Well, not like the Republics and Citadel government didn't already have a reason to see me dead or in chains, even if they don't know it yet. I mean, at least she didn't ask "Do I have a soul?" That would've been a bit more… worrying. Though now that it's official… maybe I should look into getting her kitted out even more. Maybe give her a server aboard the ship for information storage and computing power…
"Did I say something wrong, Mistress?" she asked, glow shifting between deep purple and silver.
"No, nothing like that. You just made me realize something is all," I responded, resulting in her glow to change to a mix of confused green, apologetic purple, and silver-white. I didn't really know what that last one was supposed to represent, but given it only appears whenever she starts acting out of the ordinary, it clearly had something to do with her awakening as an AI. "To explain why that object was so dangerous however… well, that requires an explanation about a number of other topics, most of them sounding unbelievable even to me."
It took a moment of silence, along with a still curious Aena, for me to realize that regardless of whether or not she was sentient, she would listen to, and most likely believe, whatever I told her. And going over the pros and cons of doing so in my head…
I mean, she could at least learn about the Reapers and what they do to all life, artificial or not. If anything, it wouldn't hurt to have her in the know, and if she asks where I learned it from, I can just pass it off as something one of my prior victim/bondmates knew about. Besides, there's no need to explain the whole "Oh, I'm actually a human from another universe living in your maker's body" thing. No point to it, really. Nope, none at all.
And so, with that in mind, I began the process of explaining the true fate of the protheans, the reapers and what they can do, who really made the relays and the Citadel, and how it all tied together into a vicious little trap labeled as The Cycle by the geriatric genocidal AI who made it.
Surprisingly she was quiet throughout the entire, rather winded explanation, seemingly absorbing every bit of information I gave her with the diligence of an attentive school girl. It wasn't until I finished and asked if she had any questions that she spoke up.
"How long have you been aware of their existence?"
Thinking about it, there was only one answer I could give that avoided telling who I used to be while still being honest. "Just over a month now."
She processed that for a moment, doubtless the gears literally and metaphorically grinding. Eventually, all she responded with was a smile and a simple: "Understood, Mistress."
I blinked at that, expecting something… I don't know actually. More, I guess. Instead, I raised a questioning brow, which must've been enough for her to know she needed to say more than that.
"Given this new information, all current ongoing investigations into potential security risks from outside sources will be focused on erratic behavior and unexplained decision-making."
"Wait, ongoing investigations? What do you mean by that?" I asked, being caught off guard.
"Given the security measure improvements granted to my software and hardware upon the last upgrade phase, and accounting for your ongoing order to guard you against all intrusions and harm, digital or physical, I have tasked multiple autonomous processes with tracking observed security risks." She informed me, as if that explained it.
"Security risks such as?"
Her eyes briefly flickered, and before I had a moment to wonder why, the cockpit had a series of images appear of random people from multiple species, replacing the holographic charts showing the ship's conditions. Given Aena was the pilot, they were more for show anyway.
The people shown – eight in total, three asari, two salarians, two humans, and a turian – all looked to be relatively normal for their species all things considered. The most noteworthy feature was that none of them really had noteworthy features. A quick glance below the images showed they had a… very detailed log of their daily activities.
…why do I have the vague feeling that Aena has been an AI for a while now without realizing it? None of this should've been covered in mere security protocol updates. She had to go out of her way to learn how to do all this, and… wait, isn't that asari the clerk that was working at the apartment building I was staying at on the Citadel? And that turian… one of Barla Von's janitors? But that doesn't…
I read further on the turian's daily log, and what he did after leaving work for the day… well, let's just say the Hierarchy really needs to work harder on their security if Aena could simply intercept their messages like that. Granted, most people aren't expecting an AI designed snooping program to come digging around in their system, but still. A glance at the other daily logs showed each one to be just as detailed, and while a few didn't have where their allegiance lay marked down (a simple "Unknown" placed next to their affiliation) it still recorded the regular times for when they would send out messages and receive them in turn.
Looks like most of them are either corporate or government plants. All but these two…
Focusing on the pair in question, they were a human and salarian, both office workers on Noveria, and both having been marked as Unknown. A hunch had me guessing that the human one was Cerberus, given he had a noted tendency to avoid interacting with his fellow office workers (who were mostly aliens), and the salarian… probably the Shadow Broker, mainly just because it made the most sense.
"Aena, how much effort have you put into tracking these people?"
"30% of my total processing power is dedicated to monitoring and expanding the security network."
Thinking for a moment, I asked another question. "And how is it affecting your overall performance?"
Her response was near instant, which was a good sign at least. "System speed has been slowed by 1.97%. The majority of the 30% was only made available due to the improvements in my frame's design, allowing for less stress to be placed on my normal operation programs, which was a result of the recent upgrade process."
"I see… good work then. Keep it up."
She flashed into a happy blue at that, silver slowly ebbing away to the edges of her crest. "Of course, Mistress!"
Walking away to go back to my room and think, I couldn't help but feel a slight headache at the (probably overdue) reveal. It's not that I didn't think it could happen – if anything, it makes a lot of what I wanted to do easier – but more that I was hoping it would take a little longer before it was confirmed. The cat was out of the bag now.
What exactly am I going to do with that is the question…
Calabsa, December 21st, 2182, 10:11 am. (2 days later)
After waiting patiently for the overhead garage door to close, I stepped out of the skycar and breathed in the smell of the vehicle bay. Oil and steel. The perfect aroma considering until now I'd been on a sterile ship, followed by a sterile colony, followed again by a sterile ship, followed by a sterile station (the presidium took this to an extreme, even if the rest of the Citadel was normal), followed yet again by the ship, for a solid two weeks. Honestly, I never thought I'd get tired of smelling sanitizer and cleaning agents, but you can only take the same blend of chemicals invading your nostrils for so long.
"Alright, what to do now…" I muttered, running over my options. Thankfully, one popped into mind rather quickly, and it hit all the right buttons for what I wanted. "Aena!"
"Yes Mistress?" she called out from the back of the car, in the process of moving my luggage.
"I'll be in the bath if you need me. Just place all that in my room; I can deal with it later."
"Of course, Mistress," she responded with a smile, doing as I asked.
Hmm… the bath will give me plenty of time to put together everything that's happened, and everything that still needs to happen. What should I do next, anyway? Noveria is a work in progress for now, the Citadel has been handled at least so far as I want to at the moment, and Aena hasn't caused any problems outside of what she usually does, so maybe… Feros? Maybe…
…
…
…
Having soaked for a good few minutes, listening to some music from home as I did, I stepped out and started the process of drying myself off. Halfway through, I decided to find a mirror, just to pose for a moment and flex/stretch.
Huh. Think I may be gaining a little muscle. I didn't look as trimmed a month ago.
Stretching a leg out, I tracked how my skin tightened around muscle, my thighs showing the work I'd been putting in. It also… allowed me to appreciate certain things about myself.
Shaking my head at the random thought, and thoroughly smacking the human side (at least I think it was the human) of my brain, I went back to examining my body, only to freeze as I caught sight of a small figure resembling a human girl in the reflection just standing by the far wall of the room and grinning. When I whirled around to look at her, she had disappeared, leaving behind a distant echo that sounded like giggling that sent a shiver up my spine.
Figured it was going too well lately. Of course that thing decided to make an appearance. Now the only question is what's about to explode in my face…
Staring at the spot the apparition was standing in moments prior, I shivered a little and went back to drying off, deciding I'd deal with whatever it was when it happened.
I swear, that little gremlin is the definition of a bad omen. The only good thing that's ever happened as a result of her showing up is the omni-tool with all my music on it…
Remembering the "gift" in question was currently on my wrist, I sighed and opened it up to pause the music. Good thing I did, too, as that was when I heard the ring of my doorbell. Knowing Aena would handle the initial part of greeting or turning away whoever it was, I moved to get dressed, having placed my outfit for the day off to the side.
A minute or so later, and now wearing a baggy t-shirt and some sweatpants (sue me, I like being comfortable) I walked downstairs to greet whoever had apparently been let in, given that I could hear them speaking to Aena.
"-o thank you, the inspector and I are simply here to speak to your owner." I just caught the end of whatever it was they were discussing, taking the last step down from my stairwell and turning the corner to see who it was. I was met with the sight of two asari, one wearing the uniform of what I recognized as the local police force, while the other was dressed in a set of odd-looking commando leathers, who were both facing away from me and speaking to Aena.
The assistant in question caught sight of me, but as I made a gesture to keep quiet, she continued to act as if she hadn't.
"Mistress V'Seila has been made aware of your presence. Is there anything you wish me to inform her of?"
"Nothing we can't tell her in person," the officer of the pair answered, effectively ending the conversation.
Figuring now was as good a time as any, I decided to draw attention to myself and spoke up. "And what, do tell, would that be?"
The duo both snapped their heads in my direction, seemingly having been surprised by my presence. To be fair, I was barefoot right now, and barely made a sound as I walked up.
Recovering from their surprise, the officer spoke up first, turning to face me properly. "Are you Mirilley V'Seila?"
Raising a brow, I nodded slowly. "I am indeed. Why? What happened?"
"My name is Investigator Minellick of TCPD. I need to ask you some questions related to a case we're looking into."
Well that's a red flag if I've ever seen one. But who's the commando?
Deciding to find out, I simply asked. "And what about your… friend?" She tried hiding it, but there was a clear grimace that appeared when I said it, while the asari in question simply stared at me, looking like she was examining every one of my features with a magnifying glass. It made me a little uncomfortable to be honest. "Who is she?"
"That… she is-" the inspector was cut off as the commando answered instead.
"I am Justicar Isayla. I am here to investigate a number of missing persons that have been reported in this region, and during the investigation, it was found you may have met one of those who recently went missing prior to their disappearance."
That had me stopped in my tracks, as there would be only one reason why a justicar would be looking into disappearances, and I happened to be that reason. Already I could feel certain parts of my brain activating in preparation to strike at the potential life threatening hunter in front of me, while others still were telling me to run while I can. Justicars earned their reputation of warrior monks, after all, and I happened to be one of the things they specialized in fighting. Doing my best to pass off the silence as shock, I managed to respond after a beat, thankfully keeping my voice calm and level.
"I see. What can I do to help?"
The Justicar gestured to the Investigator at that, apparently deciding to let the cop do her job. "Do you remember meeting Arenne D'Vese around two standard months ago?"
Why does that… a brief memory surfaced, showing the face of the corpse I woke up next to on first day arriving here, along with a quick flash of picking her up in my car the night prior by an empty spot outside the city, and now that I had her name… well, that certainly explained why Ceora D'Vese, the cashier I had that date with, looked so familiar when I met her. A shame that that was her sister; she's a nice kid.
Putting on a thinking face, I eventually answered the officer with a question. "Could you provide additional information? Where she worked; her age; that sort of thing? My memory isn't perfect, after all."
Nodding, the asari pulled up her omni-tool and started reading from a list. "Older Maiden, neutral blue skin, was employed at the store, Oceanside, as a customer assistance manager while working towards a degree at one of the universities nearby."
Sifting through the jumbled memories rattling in my head, I mentally nodded to each one. Yup, sounds about right, though they forgot to mention the small scar on her cheek.
Physically, however, I frowned and tilted my head, eventually answering with, "No, I don't think I met her. At least, if I did, I don't remember it."
The pair looked at each other for a moment – why I didn't know – followed by the officer sighing. "Alright, then thank you for your time. If anything else comes up that we need to ask you related to the case, we'll get in touch."
"Of course," I responded, as genuine as I could be, silently relieved at their departure, while they turned to exit.
Watching them walk away via the doorbell camera after said door shut, I narrowed my eyes, humming in thought. Truth be told, it probably came out more like a growl, but it served to help me think.
Shit. Now I can't leave the planet for the next few weeks, otherwise it'll look like I know more than I let on. Or, alternatively, I can leave, as it would be expected of a businesswoman to go out and carry on with life like nothing happened, which would make staying even more suspicious. Either way, I have no way to know which is the best choice. Fucking shit.
Feeling my biotics begin to flare, I stopped and closed my eyes, taking in a breath to calm down. Once I had, I opened my eyes again, now glaring at nothing in particular; the pair of visitors had already gotten in a car parked by my front gate and were about to take off. Idly I noted there was a third person in the car when they got there, but I had bigger concerns at the moment.
Getting mad won't fix anything. What are my options?
A brief idea surfaced of simply killing the Justicar via an assassin of some sort, or perhaps an "accident," but I almost immediately shot it down. All things considered, even if successful, all it does is paint a bigger target on me; after all, how many of the suspects could afford an assassin in the first place? On top of that, a Justicar simply dying to, say, tripping at a bad angle, would quickly result in greater scrutiny from the Republic's leadership, which is the last thing I wanted (aside from, you know, getting killed by a ruthless enforcer of asari "justice"). Maybe if I had a better timeframe to organize it, it could be possible, but as it stood, not worth the risk.
Idly I thought about trying to get advice from the other Miri, but strangely, try as I might to contact that part of me, the only mental feeling I got was concern, which easily could've just been my own.
Hmm. Guess I'll just have to figure it out myself. So: Stay, and ensure that it doesn't look like I'm trying to run, or go, and make it look like I'm carrying on with business as usual. Then again, I did just get back from a long trip, so it wouldn't be out of character to stay home to unwind a little before getting back into it. A compromise then? Stay for a week to "relax" and make preparations, maybe test out the new gear, followed by heading off to Feros? After all, neither of them told me to stay put, so why would I?
The more I thought on it, the more appropriate a response it seemed. Even if it seemed suspicious to them, the explanation was simple and made sense: I have a life of my own, money to earn, and wealth won't accumulate by itself. If anything, they can just get my contact info from that new VI I bought before I left, if they didn't already get it from Aena.
Humming in agreement and pleased with myself for having come up with it, I slowly started nodding, the finer details automatically being figured out the more I thought. Deciding this was the way to go, I opened my omni-tool and started the process of organizing the trip. If my math was right, I could leave right after new year's without drawing any suspicion.
While I'm at it… I wonder… should I try to get in touch with Liara at some point? Hmm. Why not send a quick message her way once I find out her email? I could pass it off as investigating Benezia before I "fully invest" in that joint venture of hers, and it wouldn't hurt to have an in with her daughter once mommy dearest flies off the rails and I absorb most of her assets… and there's also Zaeed to get in touch with. All it would take is a not-so-subtle hint about killing Santiago, and he'd practically be willing to pay me to get the job done… Hell, even further outside the box, I could head over to Eden Prime and maybe see about locating Javik's cradle, or at least its general location… decisions, decisions…
Meanwhile…
Walking back to the police cruiser, Ciaris, having almost called herself "Inspector Minellick" even in the privacy of her thoughts, couldn't help but side-eye the Justicar. The Justicar, catching her look, instead gestured to the cruiser.
Accepting that she wouldn't get an explanation until they were back in the vehicle, Ciaris grumbled internally and kept walking. It only took a few more seconds before the doors opened, she acknowledged Officer Tilasius (who may as well have been her assistant at this point, given the rookie had spent more time under her than actually being a part of the force) and they then sat down, her up front in the driver's seat with the rookie in the passenger, while the Justicar occupied the back along with the gear they hadn't stored in the trunk.
"So, are you willing to explain now?" she asked, only barely keeping the annoyance out of her tone. Headache the Justicar was, she still had to respect the dedication it took to become and remain one.
"Naturally," the person in question answered calmly. "This one, 'Mirilley V'Seila,' has piqued my interest. For now, however, we will continue with the investigation as we have before."
Privately wondering what it was that had the Justicar curious (and almost, almost, pitying how the second wealthiest person on the planet had attracted the attention of a centuries old legalized killer) Ciaris instead huffed and focused back on their next destination, inputting it into the car's VI. They were headed for the D'Vese family home to talk to the victim's mother and sister – while calling the missing student a "victim" may have been in bad taste considering they hadn't found a body, Ciaris had been a cop long enough to realize when someone was more than likely dead, and suddenly disappearing from society without warning was a fairly strong indicator.
"Well alright then. I can lead the conversation like the last few stops; doubtless the family still thinks Arenne will show up back home, so the diplomatic approach would be better to avoid harming them."
"Justicars are well trained in diplomacy, and are required to learn its many facets as part of our initiation," was the response of the Justicar, which made Ciaris groan internally.
I'm fairly certain the only diplomacy you ever learned was the kind at the end of a gun, she wanted to say, but instead kept her thoughts to herself, allowing the cruiser's autopilot to take over on their journey.
Having a spare moment, her thoughts wandered a little, and a question she'd been thinking on made itself known. Feeling a little brave, she decided to ask it. "Why are you so interested in this missing person's case, anyway?"
"To carry out justice, as is the Order's duty," the Justicar stated, as if it was obvious.
"Right…" was all she could respond with, doubt clear in her voice. Apparently though, her "partner" caught the tone, and hummed before speaking.
"If you must know, it is a favor to a colleague of mine."
And with that, she went back to meditating, or whatever it is that Justicars do while traveling.
Helping out another Justicar? Odd. Ah well, a vague answer is better than none at all I suppose. Here's hoping we find whoever's responsible for the disappearances soon. I'm starting to worry about my sanity around this "bastion of law and order." Why didn't I start out adult life pole dancing like most normal maidens? Nooooo, I just had to join the police academy and focus on my career instead. Goddess, do I hate younger me sometimes…
Alright, chapter 14, and made in a… well, not terrible amount of time once I started working on it. A couple weeks is all it took once the ideas started coming, which has honestly felt amazing considering I've been on a writing dry spell for so long. Before that, though, I'd like to thank a few regular reviewers for them taking the time to leave behind their thoughts on my work. If you're not really interested, go ahead and skip to the big X. You'll know it when you see it.
Scurra71900: While I know a lot of what you say is simply thanking me for updating, you'd be surprised how much I enjoy seeing the notification that you left a review.
sniperbro1998: Your messages are short, but they always show you've thought out what you believe I'm aiming for, on top of displaying a keen insight to the untold side of the plot, and I greatly appreciate it.
Blaze1992: It's nice seeing your reviews, when they show up, because it lets me know I still have some of the OG followers keeping an eye on this.
Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: I love the energy you bring with each review; always makes me smile.
To each of you, and all the reviewers I didn't mention: thank you. You're one of the reasons I'm still writing stories, and while I know I'm not the most consistent, it always makes my day to see that I managed to brighten yours. Hope I'll keep seeing you around all the way to the end.
X
Okay, gushy stuff out of the way, let's talk the story. Mainly, how it's starting to pick up the pace. What do y'all think? Is the pacing fine? What about the plot choices? Me need details, because my writing brain has gotten a little rusty, and audience input helps like you wouldn't believe.
Anyway, all's said and done. Hopefully you all enjoyed, and if not, well, you know how to let me know. See you next time!