The poor bastard continued to thrash and scream in pain, at least until I drew my knife and aimed it at the remaining upper eye, keeping the blade close. "You still have three eyes, I suggest you start talking before this number drops to two. How about starting with something more understandable, like English?"
He responded, or at least I think he responded in his bizarre language, lower and slower compared to the vehement explosion from before. Maybe it's not a curse, but it's far from being something I can use. I slowly brought the knife closer to the dark eye orb, partially sinking the tip of the blade just enough to create some real discomfort there. The creature kept repeating the same sets of words, but more desperately and almost pleadingly.
It doesn't matter how hard I pull, does it? This remnant of a… unknown being is not going to be able to tell me anything even if he wants to. Against times, against times, against times. I reached for the pistol at my hip, pressing it against the thing's mouth, ending his pleas and his life with a pull of the trigger.
I think we can rule out nightmare world or any other psychic plane. Even when things got really weird, any nasty little thing living there still spoke English. I put the pistol back, dropping the corpse and stepping over the others towards the source of the small movement I'd noticed out of the corner of my peripheral vision earlier, a human with gunshot-pierced legs crawling towards a shotgun.
How many bloody survivors have left? I must be getting out of shape. Well, opportunities sometimes come from small mistakes made in the heat of the moment they say. I demonstrated my awareness of the boy's survival by stepping on the torn tendon to the point where there was only something partially attached to the body before turning him over to face me with his battered face..
"Now kid, be nice and say something."
"Fuck you, you monster!"
"And there you go! We finally have good old English! Well, if you ignore the Danish accent anyway… you can't have it all I guess." I brought my knife again, keeping it in hand but out of sight. "Now, you seem to be the only one who speaks something that doesn't sound like a mix of Hebrew and Hindi, so how about we play question and answer?"
"Fuck you… I'm not going to tell you shit you lunatic!" He growled, or at least tried. I'm pretty sure I hit at least one lung based on the sound of a drowning cat that it came out. "Do your best, you can't do anything else to hurt me. So suck my balls and go to hell!"
"I've been, kid, I've been for a long time. And if you ask me, it's not hot in there." I brought my blade up to his face, running the tip slowly across his skin as I stared at the space filled with fresh blood and bodies that was this room. The gunshot holes gushing blood, the faces devoid of life… it brings back memories. "Not like it's in the books, you know? It's not the physical torture that hits you, it's the stuff there. Everything you see…what you learn, everything invades your head in a way that makes you question the decisions you've made, who you really are."
I felt the blade sink against flesh, and looking back at the guy on the ground showed me real fear in his eyes, pleading eyes betraying that whole tough-ass pose from seconds ago. "And when you see, you're willing to do things you never thought you would do in your whole damn career, like slit the face off a young man who could have saved hours of discomfort just by being polite. So I ask you, feeling talkative now?"
"What you want?" he asked, avoiding eye contact with me and my knife so close to catching something important.
"Information, the sweet and poisonous information. For starters, what is all this place about?" I gestured to the blood-stained, advanced metallic environment around with my free hand.
"An…abandoned ship that we plundered a few weeks ago."
"Ship huh…" Kind of advanced for a ship, but who knows what ATC was working on recently. Even smugglers need a means of transport, and what's better than a discarded prototype? Hell… that last contraction sent me away. "How far from the US territorial sea are we?"
"What?"
"Territorial. Sea. Of. United States." I repeated slowly and nonchalantly, digging the blade further against my cheek, which resulted in more blood running down my knife. "How far are we? Don't play dumb now, kid. You were making progress."
"We're not… we're not on earth…" I stared at him with a look that showed pretty well how much credence I was giving to this shitty information. Maybe this guy is a better actor than I initially gave him credit for, as he seemed honestly surprised by my reaction.
"And I'm not cutting your face off until you start saying something legitimate I can use." Reminder: don't go to the bone, he might pass out and then I won't have anything.
"I'm telling you the truth! What the fuck do you want from me! Man, for God's sake what do you want from me!"
I looked at him quite surprised by this little outburst, mainly because it couldn't have been easy for him with his lungs as they are. The raw desperation in his eyes made me consider a different way to proceed with this. "Listen to something, you little liar, I was in ground combat in Fairport just a few minutes ago, which is the equivalent of goddamn earth."
"I don't know where the hell Fairport is, and I also have no idea how you boarded our cruiser, but you're not on earth for a long shot." He spat to the side, blood for saliva. Definitely a lung. "It doesn't matter if you believe me or not… that's all I can tell you… I have no fucking reason to lie… shit, you screwed up my lung!"
"You should thank me for not taking your eyes out and sticking it up your ass hole." I put away my knife, wiping the blood off the blade on the dying man's leg before sheathing it. In space? That sounds just as crazy as… fuck it, my life has been complete insane for the past few months. So what, Armacham dragged my unconscious ass to some prototype spaceship?
I stared at the scattered bodies, their fallen weapons, their armor full of bullet holes and the differences between all the inhuman characteristics between some of them. Armed and armored, but clumsy and lacking in the minimum discipline that replicas or any attempt at a derivative experiment would have . . . it doesn't feel right. The flashing red lights added a horror-movie feel to the atmosphere, expository enough to know there's something else going on in this place.
This is something else.
"Hey, wake up." A slap to the face was enough to bring the sleeping beauty back to the waking world, though the carcass was barely keeping conscious. "Assuming I believe, what the hell is it with the light show all over the place?"
"The merchandise… the quarian bitch took it… to the engineering deck. She fried the engines… of the cruiser."
"Quarian?" Improbable derogatory term and he's not really in a position to curse anyone. Hell, this guy is almost dead. I'm working with a dead body with minimal battery life here. "Any of your little friends I shot down, were any of them a 'quarian' too?"
He just shook his head weakly, tired eyes reflecting what was just the remnants of life that was slowly evaporating. Better get some direction before the lights go out.
"Which way is the engineering deck?"
"... A little more... down from here."
"Have fun choking to death when the last dose of air evaporates from your lungs, or when the blood fills them. Hard to say what will happen first." I picked up one of the assault rifle-shaped weapons lying on the blood-painted floor. No need to reload, but less adjustable than a patten. You really can't have it all.
Frantic footsteps came from the end of the hall, a glance over my shoulder revealed a small group of five, all predictably armed and ready to start a mess with bullets or…whatever kind of projectile these things use. I smiled to myself as the red came back into the corner of my vision again, aiming the rifle at the head of the first one and letting the rounds fly by in slow motion.
It's going to be a fun ride.
The deteriorating engineering core pulsing with its crimson glow emitted just a spark of light, symbolizing the neutralization of most systems while its partial functionality provided some decent lighting for every refugee slavery victim in the room.
"Keelah… got it." The quarian sat against the metal floor, allowing herself to breathe for the first time since she began working with the limited resources present in the room. "Omni-gen can only do so much… but at least we have it."
"A piece of patched scrap…." The tired figure of a middle-aged man with gray hair in worn clothes clutching his bloodied torso spoke from his seat in the corner. "Forgive me if I'm a little skeptical, kid. But I don't see how this can help us."
"You would be surprised." She responded, working to wire the device's circuitry. Hard but not impossible. She had neutralized the entire cruiser without making the whole thing explode despite the precarious and unstable condition of the vessel. Fixing this is child's play. "The truth is that keeping us still can only help so far. We need to get help, Robert. A radio even in a bad state is still a radio and our best bet."
"I guess." He stared at the thing starting to emit the static that didn't last a few seconds before he died and then around the room, at the human families crying and hugging, the batarians so barbaric they could barely move on their own, the asari so violated inwardly they grew sullen, and the only solitary turian in the corner. They all had something in common besides their so diverse wounds, the bruises around his neck that even he had, the symbol of the removal of his shackles.
"I just hope this thing works fast, I don't know how much longer we can last the way we are."
Not enough… oh keelah. She thought to herself. Many present there needed medical attention that was not available, not only physically but mentally. She was a newcomer to this hell and only her ancestors knew what torments these people were enduring, and it was that cruel doubt that made her work so hard.
"Long enough to get help and get off this damn cruiser, Robert. I promise." she said, trying not only to convince him but also to convince herself. Since the whole mutiny, things looked increasingly against them.
"Don't make promises you can't keep, kid. Anyway, if there's anything I can do to help with this, please-"
"You've done enough, Robert. Rest, I can take care of it."
"How have you been taking care of us so far?" He asked, but a question to himself than anything as he stared at the ground thoughtfully. "If it weren't for you we'd still be in our cells, or being sold by now. At least… let me help with what little I can."
"You can help me by keeping a firm grip on your pistol and resting to keep your aim good." she said, handing him the pistol he had set aside since they barricaded themselves there. "And I didn't do anything, I just…shot. It was your idea to go down here and stop the ship. As far as I'm concerned, you're the reason we're all alive."
"You always say the best things Tali." He smiled at the young quarian, catching a glimpse of his battered reflection in her purple visor. "Even if it's not true."
"It is the truth." she said before walking away towards the makeshift radio again. "It is the truth…"
The truth was, she no longer knew what she was doing. With the radio, of course, technology was always her strong suit. But here, with these people… she had no idea. Keeping morale high until help comes, or just denying the near end? Her pilgrimage had been…a complete disaster. Her ship down, these pirates, everything just going wrong. The truth was, if it weren't for the old human who was the only person she'd been talking to since this "riot" started, she'd still be in a cell with those nasties... trying to remove...
She shook her head, pushing away the memory, pushing away that feeling of panic. The training on the fleet, the lessons she'd received… none of it prepared her for the real thing, for the shock of taking another life. If not for the poor old human, she wouldn't have been able to pull the trigger a second time, let alone lead everyone to the temporary safety of engineering. But they were here now and she was going to do better, she was going to keep everyone alive enough to find a way out of this hell, she was going to find her captain and she was going to get out of this alive.
"I fixed!" She tinkered with the frequencies using the omni-tool, tuning in to any open channel she might be listening to. "If anyone is listening, we are aboard a cruiser on the Crescent Nebula cluster and we need help! I repeat, Crescent Nebula cluster, requesting help from anyone listening on this frequency. We have personal in need of medical attention!"
She waited for an answer that never came, just silence and the constant sound of static. She repeated the call for help again and again, hoping someone was listening, that someone outside would come and bring the help she needed. But with each attempt, it seemed just a mere hope further and further away.
"Tali." he called, covering his mouth as another cough came. "Enough."
"Bosh'tet." She muttered in frustration at the thing. If not for the fact that it was the only source of communication they had with any outside help, she would have punched too. "Nothing but static… sorry."
"It might still help us in another way, try synchronizing with the frequency of these bastards. It might give us a little hint of what they're up to."
"Maybe." She gave fast another try, tuning in to the frequency of the slavers on board and already being bombarded by various confused and chaotic sounds.
"I told you to fix the situation you idiots, not blow the damn cruiser to pieces!" A thick, intimidating voice swimming in a fury so overpowering it sent shivers through the suit sounded over the radio. "What the hell do you think you are doing?!"
"Captain, we have a proble-shit!" The sound of several rounds of mass accelerator being fired frantically burst violently through the comm, turning that frequency into a chaotic mess of curse words.
Keelah… what are they doing?
"What the hell is going on down there you assholes?"
"Shit, shit! Captain, we're being annihilated here!"
"Annihilated? I'll annihilate you all and eat your remains if you don't tell me what's going on there!"
"There's someone… something… I don't know, there's an intruder on the cruiser! It's already taken half the men on the lower decks… pillars… Ramirez is really hurt, the bastard tried to disembowel him!"
"What you're saying doesn't make any sense! How an intruder-"
"Fuck!" Shots that sweated in retaliation sweated through the comm for a moment before only the batarian's gasping breath remained. "He… he's gone."
"See anything?"
"Nothing, I don't see anything here! By the spirits... where did he go?"
"Tell me what are your fucking status!" The captain yelled angrily, causing Tali to step out of range of the deafening sound before listening again with some reluctance.
"Captain, we can't say for sure but the guy is gone."
"What the hell do you mean he is gone?"
"He's incredibly fast Captain. We're not able to put him down! We- FUCK!"
The comm was once again immersed in sounds of what this time felt like a massacre. Heavy objects hitting the ground with a dull thud and the repetitive sound of more gunshots were the only things to be heard on the radio before everything just stopped as quickly as it started.
"What is happening?"
"Looks like they're… fighting someone." Tali responded, trying to hear beyond the screech of curses and threats from the ship's captain, who was back to yelling elaborate ways about how he would kill his own men. "I can't tell who it is, but it doesn't sound good."
"Well, sounds pretty good to me, kid. If someone's giving those bastards a black eye, believe me it's good. Maybe the hierarchy has finally arrived to do their damn job."
"I don't think it's the hierarchy…"
They both froze as the sealed engineering door began to emit several sparks as the sharp edge of a saw cut through, slowly starting to make a cut in the metal that would soon result in an opening for the pirates on the other side of the door.
The slaves cringed, some squeezing the sides of their heads in an attempt to block out the sound, while others just silently wept or hugged each other as they awaited the inevitable. The only occupants of the room fit for any kind of resistance drew their weapons and took aim at the door..
Tali kept a firm finger on the trigger of her shotgun, tense muscles and a nervous posture. Soon it would be just her and a wounded human armed with only a pistol against who knows how many pirates ready to kill anything inside this room. She was new to this sort of thing no doubt, but she wasn't dumb enough to think they make it.
And she didn't want to die... not like this, not right after leaving the only thing closest to a house she or any other Quarian has, not without even contributing to her people, not on a filthy pirate scum cruiser.
She didn't want to end up this way, but she wouldn't leave without a fight. And it was that thought that made her feel something other than panic, something that made her face the door with a glint of defiance that could even be seen through the mask. At least until it turned to confusion when the spark ceased and the saw retracted from the door, flooding the entire deck in prolonged silence.
"I am not liking this." Said the old human. His concerns amplified when a sudden violent rumble that seemed to slightly shake everything around him echoed throughout the ship, making them jump. It didn't help that the source of the concussion looked close, almost as if it were getting closer to her position.
The uncomfortable silence was broken by a wave of horrible war sounds being produced this time on the other side of the door, much closer than anyone would have liked. She kept her finger close to the trigger as she was forced to listen in horror to the gunshots, the curses being the unrestrained screaming, the thud of something heavy hitting the floor and finally a deafening scream of pain that chilled the spines of all who had ears to hear.
Tali jumped briefly as the orange, holographic shape of a saw came through the door, the solid holographic blade dripping with blue blood that began to form a small puddle on the room floor. She was forced to watch in horror and disgust as what was obviously a turian on the other side was destroyed by the saw that was weakening the metal frame, creating a hole through which the remains of a mutilated corpse and a figure collapsed.
A dirty humanoid figure, covered in blood, guts and what appeared to be a mixture of dust, ash and other things she didn't even want to imagine. All she knew was that it was ugly, terrifying, brutal, murderous, and it was rising from the pile of entrails to look at her with a pair of gray eyes that were blank and so supernaturally piercing it was terrifying.
"Kyaaaa!" She reacted with fear, not realizing until her finger was already pressing the trigger and the gun reacted accordingly.
"Wait-" The rounds of mass accelerator flew from the barrel and towards their target, slamming into the target's shoulder and knocking him violently to the ground. "Fuck! Don't shoot, okay? It would be kind of embarrassing to die with a shot in the face after all the damn run here!"
Tali didn't pull the trigger again, but kept the gun locked on the newcomer. Not in the least rational precaution, not out of legitimate fear that made her pull the trigger, but out of the shock of what he'd just done. She could have killed him, killed him, finished him. And whoever he was, he would have simply been murdered for her inability to control herself.
"Keelah… I didn't mean to… I'm sorry… who… ok, who are you?!" she demanded, pointing angrily at the scary human. "What are you doing here anyway?"
She screamed for an answer that never came, instead the human continued to stare at her for a very uncomfortable long moment as if he were studying her. His gaze went to Robert in the corner and between her again before heading towards the back of the room where everyone else was. Yes, all this bothered her. Although it was the fact that he was unfazed even though he'd been shot or because she was channeling the shock of what she'd just done into anger, it was hard to tell.
"Hey, answer me dammit!"
"Can you stop screaming just for a minute? I don't understand a fucking word you're saying." He finally spoke, his voice containing only a very uncomfortable neutrality and drops of what she recognized as irony but no anger. "And if you're hearing this from a guy who spent a little time in Somalia, it really means something."
"Somalia? What is – you know what, never mind. What do you mean you can't understand me? I understand you!"
"Tali, I don't think he has a translator." Robert commented, muffling a cough with his arm.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm not sure about anything, but you're pointing a gun in his face and he's looking at you like you're speaking Greek. Besides, pirates don't tend to skimp when they want something, if they think his omni-tool was valuable that can explain."
"Maybe you're right… "
"Sick bastards." They went back to looking at the human whose attention was on all the slaves eyeing him warily. This time there was anger, not directed at her or the others and certainly not in his face, but in his body language and movements that even governed by the wound were still quite readable. "What the hell happened to you guys anyway?"
"We…" Tali hesitated for a moment, but chose to lower the shotgun, letting out a sigh. He wasn't her enemy, certainly scary, but he didn't seem like a threat of any kind, at least not to her and the others. "We were all kidnapped and brought-"
"Look, I'm sorry but I don't really understand a thing you say." He interrupted, clutching his shoulder, looking more bored than actually annoyed or dying from the wound. "And while I really appreciate traces of Russian, I think our communication would be better if everyone could understand each other here."
"I wouldn't say her language sounds exactly like Russian, kid. But I think I can help with the last part." Robert said, getting up from his seat and walking to the side of the engineer quarian. "Basically, we are all victims of a major misfortune of the universe. Name's Robert Nelson, this nice girl is Tali Zorah."
"Joe Winters, always a pleasure to meet people in fucked up life and death situations." He gave them both an awkward greeting. "How did you end up here?"
"You can thank Tali here, she who made this all possible when she overpowered one of the guards. She's a crack shot with a shotgun."
"Yeah, I could have a taste of it." Joe gestured to his bloodied shoulder, a genuine smile of amusement crossing his features as Tali looked away in embarrassment. "But this seems like a bad place to stay for the long term, even with a cute girl with a shotgun supporting you."
"We didn't exactly have a lot of options when we ran out of our cells, kid. Pirates hunting you don't leave much room for a better course of action, we lost good people on the way down here…"
"Well, use this. Keeping the people you lost fresh in your memory will make the alternative I'm going to give you that much easier to live with." He walked past the two of them without elaborating on what that meant, walking over to the barely functioning makeshift communication device. "Is this thing a radio?"
"Yes, but it's not working as it should. I haven't been able to contact anyone outside-"
"Translator please!" He announced loudly as he studied the radio, interrupting her to his great frustration. This was becoming irritating very fast.
"She basically said it won't do you any good if you try to contact help."
"That's not what I had in mind actually." He watched the device's interface as if it were something totally unfamiliar and surreal. This caused an exchange of glances between the old human and the engineer quarian before he spoke again. "I'd rather not end up screwing this up. So would you be able to synchronize with the frequency of our problems?"
Tali just nodded in response, choosing not to waste words he wouldn't understand and spare himself another sharp interruption. She interacted with her omni-tool, tuning in to the slavers' frequency once more..
"Status report!"
"Several bodies, blood and more blood in a horror movie mess here, no sign of the bastard who did it. Starting to think he just ran off in a pod."
"I doubt it, I found more bodies on a trail to the lower decks, as well as traces of using explosives."
"Did he break inside the armory?"
"I don't think so, maybe he went to the engineering deck. I remember hearing something earlier about one of the guys planning to blow up the door with a controlled charge."
"What are they saying?" Joe asked, the words ringing over the radio no more than dialects so distinct from each other that they didn't really make any sense to him. "Something more useful than which team won the game this week I hope."
"Looks like they found the mess I imagine you left behind." Robert pointed, which only caused Joe to shrug.
"Alright, no more looking for the intruder! I'm not sending more people so he can keep reducing our numbers more and more. Go all to the armory, let's bring the heavy shit to this bastard! Now move!""
"Roger that."
"Yes, on the way captain."
"They are going to the armory." Robert said. "You made an impression, they're going to arm themselves… things are going to get ugly."
"I always worked better in shitty scenarios anyway." Joe declared, stepping away from the radio and heading towards the rifle lying on the ground. "They wouldn't keep in radio contact just to condemn themselves, they seem too sloppy. So tell me, who's the person calling the shots?"
"You mean the captain?"
"Yes, the captain." He placed such great emphasis on the title that he seemed to be mocking, although it was hard for them to understand why. "Who is he and where can I find him?"
"Well, I can't say for sure but I'd say he's a krogan. A pretty angry one, which is never a good thing. As far as where to find him…" Robert gave Tali a questioning look.
Between the two of them only she had any experience with craft layouts of any kind. The only forms of transport he ever boarded were shuttles.
"Cockpit. He can coordinate from there and pick a destination on the galaxy map, if this messy old thing has one anyway." Tali said, how this cruiser remained in the air was still a mystery to her. "It should be more or less at the top, several decks above where we are."
"Cockpit, upstairs." Robert said, translating the engineer's words.
"A trip to the top of the world…I like the sound of that." Joe said, aiming his rifle at an empty corner of the room giving some free shots that made some of the slaves jump. "Yeah, I've definitely been to worse scenarios. Lock the door when I leave, I can't guarantee the safety of anyone who thinks walking around is a good idea."
This effectively left them silent and he took it as his cue to leave, until he stopped again to look back at the source of the footsteps following him, at the quarian holding steady.
"What are you doing?"
"I'll go with you." Tali replied, more out of pure reflex than anything else. And even though he couldn't understand her, she elaborated. "Maybe you're 'good in shit situations' as you say you are, but you'll need my help. Besides, I need to find my captain, he might still be-"
"Translator! Seriously, I feel like a fucking tourist in the phillipnas." He exclaimed loudly almost as if he wanted to add a personal dramatic touch, and she rolled her eyes at that.
"She wants to go with you, balance your chances. Not that two against many is better, it's dangerous Tali."
"I don't know, she looks like a big girl to me." Joe stated, giving her a look at the very least…uncomfortable. He looked focused, like he was reading her like a book, but at the same time…away. "Can you handle yourself in a shootout?
She gave a nod. It was true that the last few events were more horrific than she was used to, but she knew her way with weapons and technology well enough to keep up with him.
"Fine, I'm not going to refuse extra help, let alone being offered by such a badass girl." He blinked at her before looking at nothing for a moment with a thoughtful expression. "However, how to solve this communication problem between us… hey, old Robe. How can you understand her and I don't?"
"Translators are configured on our omni-tools."
"The omni-tool being?"
Robert stared at him for a long moment, as if he'd grown a second head. But regardless of his strangeness, the farmer answered the young man's question by lighting his forearm with a solid holographic interface. "That's an omni-tool. Now tell the truth kid, how can you live in this galaxy and not know what an omni-"
"No questions. So from what I understand we all have an omni-tool correct?"
"... Yes?"
With that said he walked to the turian's mutilated remains through the door, carefully placing his rifle on the ground before grabbing a severed forearm. They stared in horror and disgust as he drew his knife and began digging through the amputated limb, removing a chip he had placed in his own forearm that he had opened with the blade.
If it weren't for the occasional grimace, they could have sworn he wasn't feeling anything. This went on for a while until he suddenly grabbed the pistol and pointed it into the empty corner, firing until it smoked, symbolizing the overheating of the weapon whose barrel he pressed against his forearm, shuddering and even roaring low as he kept in contact with his skin.
"There… That should solve it." He staggered a moment to compose himself, grabbing the assault rifle and standing up before looking at the engineer, terrified by the scene. "Say something."
"Keelah… that was horrible! How did you-"
"Yeah, I still don't understand her. I'll just have to wait and see how this little thing fits me." He commented before heading to the hole in the door, so casual it didn't look like he'd opened his own forearm seconds ago. "Ready to go?"
"Are you sure you want to go, Tali?"
"I need to go, one way or another. Captain Breizh may still be in his cell, I won't leave him at the mercy of these savages." Tali responded, taking a deep breath and approaching the blank-eyed individual in front of the door, just nodding his head before following..
"Good luck kid."
Once the pair walked through the door, the engineering refugees were quick to barricade the opening as their forms disappeared down corridors decorated in bodies and blood against a backdrop of a brutal battle that would soon extend to the highest parts of these cruisers.
"Alright, it's better if we coordinate before we get into the dance together." Joe said, stopping his walk to face her. "First of all, you can understand me right?"
Tali just nodded in response, verbal communication wouldn't do any good, even after he'd gone through the discomfort of opening his own arm in a failed attempt to change that. How he wasn't showing strain from his injuries was still a mystery to her.
"Well, one less problem. Now that's the thing, in situations like these I usually run around shooting, chopping, tearing and ripping until I'm done." He crushed a severed toe into the ground with the sole of his boot as an example, eyeing the small bloodstain in a way. almost reflective."But I feel like my normal strategy won't exactly work with you here."
Tali just stared at him with a look she just hoped could convey how genuinely surprised she was that he'd lived so long with such a strategy, it was just so… unlikely. But again… evidence of what he could do was everywhere and the earlier screaming on the radio was something to be reckoned with.
"So I'll be taking the point and shooting any scumbags on sight while you take care of my back. If anything gets too close, you'll blow them off. We calmly proceed, clean the armory and then cut off the snake's head." He ran his index finger down his neck in an awkward slashing motion, as if for emphasis. "Sounds good to you?"
She gave a nod of agreement. After all, being in the supporting role was probably the most productive thing she could do with her tech attacks and short-range weapon anyway, so for her there were no objections.
"Let's kick some ass." He smiled at her before turning around and starting to walk. She followed at first, at least until she began to notice his gait, the way her left shoulder moved subtly every few seconds, and the stiffness that seemed to be the result of a great deal of discomfort in her posture. Taking a step forward, she stopped him in his tracks as she got right in front of him to his great confusion. "What are you doing?"
The omni-tool's orange interface covered her entire left forearm, her three-fingered hand touched her healing shoulder, making him shiver as the substances contained in the medi-gel did their job of bringing a very welcome relief to the his pain suppressed only by his tolerance that he could only do so much.
"Now that feels good… really, really good." He shivered at the contact, allowing himself to lose himself in the liberating feeling of having his wound treated. "Not as good as sex, but it comes close…or not."
Whatever the species, males never change, I guess. Tali thought with an eye roll before taking his hand, doing the same with his forearm. That was the least she could do, after all she was the cause of his pain. While tending the wound, she noticed that it was strangely almost closed…and healed. This is… very curious. Do all humans heal like this?
"Something wrong?"
His question brought her back to her senses to realize she was staring and circling her fingers over the healing skin in an oddly long moment of study, longer than she'd intended, much to her embarrassment. Shaking her head frantically and cursing her heightened curiosity, Tali backed away, returning to her rear position with shotgun in hand.
The quarian engineer's nervous attitude brought a laugh out of him that soon turned into a smile, but without any form of sadism or irony as before, just genuine gratitude. "Thanks."
She gave a nod, preferring words over such limited gestures, but they really had no choice. With that done, the two of them moved on again, Tali keeping her eyes wide open and Joe walking ahead with a more relaxed posture compared to before, but one that still reminded her of the Marines in the fleet.
She wondered if he was in any military branch, perhaps with the alliance due to the ease with which he got past the pirates on that deck. But that theory weakened with every glimpse she got of the results of his actions on the cruiser; bodies mostly full of gunshot holes still gushing the blood that painted the corridors and others brutally assaulted, opened in a savage way. Even the Turian crew members' natural armor did little to save them from the same brutal fate.
No soldier would go that far…or maybe it would? Who she was to know. All she knew was that silence reigned with the grotesque vision that sent shivers down her spine and made her stomach lurch. Whoever he was… he had a lot of rage inside, that was for sure.
The walk through the barbaric scene of carnage seemed to end when Joe stopped at a corner, signaling with one hand for her to do the same. A peek around the corner revealed several pirates running frantically towards a door to a more spacious room, which closed as the last of them entered. The letters glowing in holographic letters above the door formed the word "arsenal."
"Here we are." Joe muttered, walking to the door with the rifle in his hand. He would have carried it at the door if she hadn't poked him in the arm, showing off the small tech disk that he smiled hugely upon seeing, understanding its use. "You're a tricky girl, aren't you? Can you hook them up to a remote detonator or whatever you have in there?"
She nodded, removing a decent amount of mines and planting them in the doorway, all tuned to her omni-tool. She gave him a questioning look, to which he just responded with his own "smash that button" look, which she did, sending the door flying into the room in a cloud of smoke and destruction.
The startled murmurs began, and she watched as Joe's form charged into the room in literally blurring chaos. She only had glimpses of his silhouette marching with ghost speed before he disappeared into the room where the firefight had broken out.
"Keelah." Tali muttered, bringing out her omni-tool and activating her combat drone. "Go get them Chiktikka!"
Whatever the occasion, blades never get old. I pulled the knife away from the body, falling at speed reduced by the slow-mo effect, putting it back in its place and spraying the birdman close by with a blast to the chest.
The small cloud of smoke raised by the explosion proved to be an invaluable ally, camouflaging my already difficult form for these idiots to keep up with due to my speed. A four-eyed one barely noticed me until he was almost in front of me and I hit a round of the rifle in the face and kicked him in the diaphragm, sending him crashing into the metal wall.
Rounds began to fly without any direction or real accuracy, making it just a matter of getting out of the way of an energy slug occasionally and retaliating against the shooters. Which wasn't as simple as I'd imagined, as my rounds seemed to be negated by a kind of bluish barrier similar to phase cyborg shields surrounding the bird slavers.
Dispelling smoke, short time. I concentrated on staying away from the gunfire and unleashing violent bursts as the barrier's structure seemed to weaken. Certainly very similar to phase bastards' shields. However, dropping a shield proved its toll when my assault rifle stopped working, barrel steaming and the entire structure quite hot. Everything has a price, doesn't it? Damn heat-operated technological system!
Taking cover behind a metal crate, I turned off my reflexes and grabbed what is undeniably a nearby shotgun. Shots crashed into the crate and provocative words were spoken. I smiled at that and prepared to charge, but a kind of sudden electrical discharge hit the two birdmen who went into violent spasms, leaving them vulnerable to a headshot that dropped one and the electrical discharge produced by a strange floating holographic purple drone-like object that knocked out the other.
This is a good trick. I contemplated the little… robot I think, for an instant, not even noticing until Tali was firing her pistol at more slavers through a door at the back and sending one of those explosive discs into said room, creating a small mess.. Good aim and interesting toys in the palm of her little hands, she's better at this than I initially thought. Cute.
"Although that was the cutest thing I've seen in hours, you missed one." I said, aiming for the bird's head knocking him out and putting in a blast. "I don't recommend making a habit of it, the thing about jumping on you when you thought you were done with them doesn't just happen to zombies."
She looked at me with what looked like confusion before narrowing her eyes and looking away without saying anything. Following her gaze revealed nothing to me but the mess of blue fluids and dead bird man's brain material, meh. Shrugging, I just continued, charging at the door and blowing up the head of a four-eyed one whose shields had crumbled.
Close enough shots also do the job, good.The explosion of blood caught the attention of two more four eyes armed with what seemed to me more sophisticated armor and better weapons than they aimed at me. Activating my reflexes, I charged the first one, which was protected by these energy shields much to my frustration. Time to improvise. Closing the distance between us and avoiding the rounds flying towards me, I hit him with the butt of the shotgun and pressed the barrel of the gun against his chest, pulling the trigger and sending him flying.
The second had a similar fate, or perhaps more elaborate as I used the shotgun as a club and hit him in the jaw, sending him staggering backwards before I pressed the barrel of the gun against the back of his head and blew his head and helmet into a mixture of blood and destroyed metal. Both of their bodies fell together against the floor at normal speed as I turned off my reflexes.
"Keelah… you couldn't just… I don't know, just shoot instead of making a mess!" A voice sounded, making me glance at its owner, who revealed himself to be my partner to my fucking astonishment. "That's just…awful, horrible—kyaaaa!"
Tali pointed her omni-tool at the newcomer in the room, who had a fit of spasms when the earlier electrical charge hit him. I took the chance and charge, shooting point blank
"That's what I mean!" She yelled at me, she really yelled at me, and I understood everything! Understanding and managing to hear beyond the Russian accent still resting on his tongue, but precisely the sweet, youthful intonation disguised by indignation and dread. "Just stop doing this…please."
"I liked your voice." I said smiling, which seemed to have taken her completely by surprise. Her voice wasn't exactly inhumane, it was…good. Almost sweet but with a touch of toughness born of the stubbornness of someone who wouldn't hesitate to kick your ass if the situation calls for it. "Not that I'm complaining, but how can I-"
Answers derived from fate are always the most obvious and this time it was no different. My left forearm was completely covered by the holographic interface characteristic of the superior technological paraphernalia that I had to cram into my arm in the least practical way possible.
"Heh! I didn't know if it would work. Play it safe is what they say." I played the thing solid and totally outside my area of expertise. I could do a thing or two with random hardware, but that's out of the basic command training league. "I think I'm going to need some basic lessons…"
"Is this normal behavior for you?" She asked me and I stared at her in confusion, earning her a hand gesture to the bodies around the room. "Brutalizing people like that I mean. This is so…awful. Doesn't bother you?"
"Yes" No. "But from my perspective, they brought it to themselves. It's not exactly the saints we have here, Tali."
"Still… could you just stop? I know we have to fight our way to the cockpit, but would you please stop hurting people?" She asked me with the most pleading little eyes I've ever seen in my life.. Jesus Christ, she looks like a puppy asking for some water!
"Okay, I'll try to make things cleaner from now on."
"Thanks."
"Anything for a pretty girl." Seeing her squeak and move nervously at my comment was totally worth it! But let's get back to business, we have a captain to settle. "Help me pick up anything useful I have around here, we have a candy store at our disposal and I won't let this opportunity pass us by."
And well… I really didn't. There were enough explosives to blow a hole in this "cruiser", plus a few mods she was reluctant to pick up until I convinced her. After that, we went on with our hunt for the big golden dragon which became quite repetitive pretty quickly. I would destroy any opposition more quickly and surgically for my cute partner's mental well-being, and she would support me with gunfire and trinkets, frying whoever had shields and occasionally sending everyone to hell with a blast of her disks.
Overall, we were a good pair and we took a veritable path of destruction that would have made Keira proud if she could have seen us. And in the end, we were in front of the cockpit door with a few pounds of explosives planted and piles of bodies left behind.
"Want to do the honors?"
"I don't know if I can do this…"
"Well I can do it." Syncing my omni-tool as a remote detonator was the best thing she could have done for me. "Hail to the king, assholes."
The door was blown away by detonation, destruction and chaos were sown inside the cockpit that became a graveyard as I came forward with the shotgun ready, Tali in the rear and equally ready, show time. I activated my reflexes, pulverizing the confused and stunned pirates who didn't even have a chance to react before the rounds hit them. Shocks from a purple robot, electrical discharges and shotgun blasts took over anyone who didn't get caught by me.
It was all slow due to my inherited ability from a vengeful goddess, allowing me to calmly observe the life leaving every scum I slaughtered. It was beautiful and it only lasted a few moments, the last slaver in my line of sight had his brain blown off by a blast from my gun and I turned off my reflexes as the last remnants were dispatched by Tali and her offensive holographic object.
"Well, if you want something done right, do it yourself. Do you think you can fuck up my crew and ruin my entire operation? You are dead!" A large figure in red armor snarled angrily above a platform in the center of the room, leaping through a hologram of the constellations and landing in front of us with a thud. "I'll rip you two apart and eat what's left!"
Now this is an ugly son of a bitch. I've seen a lot of freaks, but this guy won the front row seat. The black scaly skin, the pointed crest on top of the head and all the reptilian features are pretty unsavory to the point of being intimidating when added to the size of this guy. It's like if a heavy armor and a dinosaur have a child.
A grumpy son and with what is without a shadow of a doubt judging by the designer, width and shape of the barrel a built-in grenade launcher… shit.
"I am krogan!" He roared, raising the launcher and pulling the trigger.
My feet reacted on impulse and I launched myself at Tali, pushing her out of the path of destruction and fire that exploded around us as the lizard just fired without any real accuracy, just venting its rage through the weapon in a familiar display of chaos. . I kept my head down and she below me, only one of us has ATC enhancements after all. We stayed that way until the explosions stopped altogether, followed by an audible and quite recognizable click of a gun running out of ammo.
Now here we go. I grabbed my shotgun, ready to give a dose of my own rain of fire, adrenaline pounding through my veins like a flaming fuel keeping me alert, but not enough to anticipate the massive reptilian muscles in a technological armor equipped with shields charging at me. One shot that didn't even seem to slow him down was all I could manage and even activating my reflexes didn't give me a chance to do anything when he crashed violently into me.
The violent impact rippled across my front, pain settling in my back and front areas as I was crushed against something metallic and hard, probably the wall. Pain…always a drug and easy to swallow like bad medicine. Fierce fists traveled slowly towards my face due to the slow-mo effect, the good old time dilation effect I used to punch the captain's reptilian face repeatedly and frantically with all the force I could muster. Though it sent him a few tiny steps back, he still had me in range and cornered against the wall with most of his upper weight pressed against me, not good..
Drawing the pistol from my hip, I slammed the butt into his face before aiming for the chest area and crushing the trigger. Round after round penetrated the heart region, and it was only then that I noticed the minimal bruises my punches had caused to his face, slowly healing but healing, before the pistol overheated and his fist finally found my face with a punch that sent my head banging back against the wall.
I saw stars, transient vertigo and stars before the slow-mo's effects faded from my vision, signaling its end. I was once again hit by the biped lizard, this time with its own shotgun repeatedly. The metallic taste of blood paid a visit to my lips and the familiar impact of an armored fist to my face. He brought the barrel of the shotgun against my face and I forced it to the side, making him miss the shot. The captain made another attempt to blow my head off, which didn't have a very different result than the first, but he made up for it by pressing the hot barrel against my shoulder and pulling the trigger.
My world became an agonizing sting of pain as the rounds pierced my shoulder and I shuddered and roared in pain and rage, pressing the very smoking barrel of my pistol to my eye. The creature roared in pain much to my delight before grunting as an electrical charge hit it, followed by several rounds. A brief peek over my opponent's shoulder revealed me Tali shooting with desperate eyes beside her purple robot at the captain, who grabbed me around the neck and hurled me at her.
Gravity is a bitch sometimes and now it was no different. I bumped into her, a brief hiss that was a clear indication that it wasn't painless. My shoulder throbbed with an excruciating pain that I channeled into something more useful when I saw the armored dinosaur charge towards us, eye remaining fully…unfocused and dilated into a frenzy-like state.
I drew my knife and forced myself to my feet as he smashed the drone and came at us, only to be greeted and sent flying against the wall by a sudden burst of a massive ball of red energy fired from my partner's shotgun barrel with an itch on the trigger.
"Yeah, you definitely got him." I spat out some blood mixed with saliva, watching with some satisfaction the charred and beaten carcass of the captain. "What the hell was that anyway?"
"Just one shot of carnage, and I… didn't know if it would work. You are never prepared to see a krogan regenerate in practice." So that's the name of the thing… good to know. Her breathing was labored and her little hands so trembling they could barely contain the shotgun that fell to the ground when she looked at me. "Your shoulder… keelah, you need a doctor!"
"I'll be fine Tali." As soon as I consume every damn crate of the strongest drink I can find. "It's not the first time some big idiot with a gun has make a number on me, I just need some time."
"I don't know about numbers, but what you need is medi-gel." She came to my side, omni-tool activated. Her stiffness in movement and uncomfortable posture were an obvious indication that I wasn't the only injured person here. The interface was about to touch my shoulder when I stopped it. "What's it?"
"Better save for yourself, I don't think I'm the only one with some injuries here. Mr krogan threw me at you hard."
"I must only have some slight bruises, you're the one who got the shoulder shot point-blank by a shotgun."
"I already said I'll be fine."
"And I already said you need medi-gel." She didn't really give me any choice in the matter, instead she slapped my hand holding it and brought the omni-tool closer to me against my will. The feeling of relief from the medi-gel seeped into my nerves for the second time and I let out a moan of relief that didn't go unnoticed by the quarian. "Feeling better?"
"You are a stubborn girl." I pointed out. If I had to guess I'd say she's smiling under her mask. I almost gave a smile of my own before noticing the small breathing movements produced by the scorched carcass in the background. "Tali, can I borrow your shotgun for a moment?"
"Of course… but why?" I just held out my good arm, patiently waiting until she finally handed me the gun with some reluctance. "What will you do?"
"Rule number 2." I rose from my sitting position, going over to the fallen creature who lifted his head weakly to give me a dirty glare that turned into a blank stare when I blew his head off with a shotgun shot. "Double tap."
"...What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that big bastard is no longer getting up now or in any near future to remain a pain in the ass." I collapsed against the floor, closing my eyes, giving a sigh that felt smothered for ages and enjoying the feel of the cold metal floor without caring about the corpse beside me. I just need a goddamn moment I haven't had since I got back to that graveyard of a ruined city. "Jesus… when was the last time I took a breath? I could use a drink now… Hell, I'd drink a whole damn bar and throw up just to keep drinking if I had the chance."
"You are a strange human, Joe."
"You have no idea, several behavioral analysis experts on the ATC payroll had different opinions about me."
"What?"
"Nothing." Behavioral analysis… heh, they probably had a different opinion about all of us. If you can analyze two enraged spirits and a mute guy anyway. "So what's the next step?"
"I think… better let everyone know they're safe now. They might start thinking the worst if we don't show any signs of life after all this commotion."
"Good thinking." I opened my eyes as her figure passed me and the body beside me, heading for consoles with glowing holographic keyboards and all that…paraphernalia out of my time.
The angle was horrible and I didn't understand a thing she was doing, which made the small window in the ceiling above a difficult sight to resist, especially when I realized it was a vision for a great black void of constellations glowing in a myriad of darkness comparable to the crooked shadows in the vault where those bastards tried to smother their dirty little secret.
Space… out of my time… hell. Blood, death, fight… it's all as easy and common as any Monday that I ended up forgetting to ask, really ask, where did I end up? Contemplating the cosmos so close makes you think more deeply than you'd like. Quarians, four-eyed bastards, bird men, blue women, and technology that can't be compared to anything they plot has ever produced in their cursed career… am I really so far from home or that last contraction finally did what the replicas, family dramas and supernaturals shit failed to do; make me lose my mind.
And if that's not the case then what, future? Sent from a hell of abuse, pain, anger and fear to a new world like a doom slayer?
"Guys… this is Tali. We have the cockpit and I'll be returning with food, water and whatever medicine we can find for anyone who needs it." The still slightly shaky voice of a girl on what is probably her first adventure in a wild setting came over the intercom, pulling me out of my thoughts. "And… it's over, we're all safe now."
I think there's only one way to find out.
"You know…" don't be a total weirdo, now is a bad time to use sarcasm. Yes, I have trouble having normal conversations sometimes. Try to be sociable when the people who are most interested in chatting are ghosts! "You've probably just made these people's days much more…brighter."
"What do you mean?" She asked, turning from the controls to look at me.
"Fucking situations like this tend to break people down in deep and complex ways." I replied, standing up against my body's protests, my aching shoulder making it even more complicated. "What I mean is, after so much pain in a place like this, hearing what you just said can... raise up hopes. Good job."
"No, good job you. If you hadn't shown up me and everyone else would still be stuck in that engineering or worse, back in our cells and then…sold out. You're the one who made it all possible, Joe."
"No, not really. I just showed up and…well, I just followed my instincts without much legitimate motivation. You're the one who decided to put yourself at risk for the people down there, Tali. And besides, you're the one who saved me from the captain hook there, so in my books you're the one who made things possible."
"Let's just agree that we both did a good job then."
"I'll still be spreading the word about how the badass Miss Zorah took care of a crew of pirates all by herself." She just shook her head and I chuckled. "Well what do we do now?"
"I'm going to the storage deck to get as much food, water and anything else that can help. I'm also going to the cell decks…I have to look for someone." She walked away from the terminals, running to the door before stopping and looking at me. "See you later!"
"Ok..." I replied, she mapl heard me before running away. I waited a few seconds for the sound of her footsteps to fade until they were inaudible before walking to the terminals. "It's probably going to cost me my dignity and hours of my time before I learn to handle this crap.""
Much for my convenience or bad luck, there is a work area, a very disorganized one with a lot of crap on the screen. Discard what you don't need and you'll find what you're looking for, in my case an icon of a planet with a kind of circle around it and a symbol I don't recognize in the middle. No mouse in sight, is that…. Play it safe, a click on the holographic screen had the expected effect and a window opened with a search bar. Interactive screen… so at least most things use this solid holographic technology.
Alright… let's start with the year. Typing year didn't do exactly what I expected, as… well, several thousand results aren't exactly a big improvement. All ranging from… well, events in places whose name doesn't tell me anything. Definitely lots of interesting results for those who care, but nothing I can really use. What to do… what to do… to do… to do with a computer in space… space… space!
Earth year, obvious answer and it brought exactly what I was looking for. What I didn't realize is that the answer to the billion dollar question of 'what years are we in' would be 2181.
You got to be fucking kidding me… I stared at the numbers in disbelief, blinking and then simply staring at the screen as my mind tried to process. Thrown 159 years into the future… 159 years! This just…this just couldn't be something a psychic contraction would do…right?
Psychic contractions in... Fairport! What happened to Fairport? It's strange… trying to imagine the future of a city on the brink of total desolation, stranger still the message of no results found referring to its name. No results… nothing. That… no… no, those damn bastards wouldn't have… they wouldn't have…
ATC.
No results found.
Ah fuck this!
Armacham Technology Corporation.
No results found.
… Now I'm starting to get scared. Look for the achievements and not the achiever is what they say.
Project Pythagoras.
No results found.
I'm going to blow up this screen and burn what's left! Okay, you can even make a city disappear, assholes, but you can't erase one of your own names from the books after so many contracts signed with the armed forces and revolutionary research… ugh.
Genevieve... Aristide.
No results found.
This is simply not possible. What about the command? What about Captain Rayns, Jin, Morales… Keira…
1st special forces operational detachment-delta.
The image of a soldier in his standard equipment came up among the various results, and I've never been so relieved to see an illustration from Wikipedia in my life. I clicked without thinking twice, being bombarded by the vast amount of information.
The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta, commonly referred to as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group, "The Unit", or within JSOC as Task Force Green, was a special operations force of the United States Army, under operational control of the Joint Special Operations Command. The unit was tasked with missions primarily involving counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, direct action, and special reconnaissance, often against high-value targets. Delta Force and its formerly Navy and Air Force counterparts, DEVGRU and 24th Special Tactics Squadron, were the U.S. military's tier one special mission units tasked with performing the most complex, classified, and dangerous missions directed by the National Command Authority.
This all checks out, I just don't like the pronouns used… there's something wrong.
As with all special operations units of its time, tactics, training and as well as the entire unit itself was absorbed and incorporated into the systems alliance navy not long after its political body was established in conjunction with its military branch, which has been humanity's exploratory exploratory and economic spearhead since the discovery of the ruins of mars.
Acquitted… incorporated… well, shit. Shit. Just… shit. I… I brought my hand to my face, only then noticing the amount of dust and ash there was as a portion slipped between my fingers. Where is the damn bathroom?
The cleansing feel of the water against my face and the short haircut, the feeling of the impurities being washed away was the most welcome thing I've felt in the last few hours, discoveries made on a computer were the most uncomfortable. Not only finding out that you've been gone for 159 years but also finding out that your old unit has been scrapped tends to leave an impression.
I stared at my own reflection for an answer, but only found my own confusion directed at myself through a remnant whose younger, beardless features were a twisted portrait of a killer machine incapable of having a real life, just…war. . I always thought I was less fucked up for having enough life, conversational skills, and personal experiences to consider myself at least half human, but look where I've ended up.
Out of my place... and I'm not even sure where I am. Future or alternate universe… what a difference… difference… make a difference… be different… Annie! Damn, was she… was she born? She… she… I… My hands curled into fists, my reflection looking less and less tolerable the longer I stared at it. Empty promises and failure, that's all I can see, that's all I want to wash away with a juice that has replaced my despicable image with a cracked cobweb in the mirror. She could have been born or she could have died and I don't even know…I didn't even…was there. I wasn't there for her like I said I would be. I… failed again.
A sound cracking a solid surface sounded in the bathroom, making me lift my head to look at the cobweb on the glass. Damaged enough to save me from looking at my reflection, but… at the same time reflecting them. I was tempted to grab the pistol on my hip and pop the thing for good, but the drop of blood running down one of the cracks in the glass caught my eye. Soon it wasn't just a drop, but a massive amount leaking from the cracks and overflowing into the sink.
The mirror was blasted from the inside out to release an ice-cold breeze and an endless black chasm echoing incomprehensible whispers. A pale, starved hand appeared from the shadows, grabbing my face before I could have any reaction. My vision became a painful glare until all this lighting was reduced to tolerable levels, allowing me to see the familiar surroundings of a makeshift military base and two figures I recognized very well, one holding a newborn baby carefully covered in a cloth.
"Do you have any idea what you did!" She screamed, which was an odd sight to say the least. There were few times you could get under her skin, let alone have a reaction of that level. "You're putting all of us at risk, do you have any idea what the F.E.A.R will do when they find out?!
He didn't react, just stared at her for a long moment before using his free hand to gesture to the window with his thumb. A look of my own revealed nothing but the same glare as before, but that seemed to have left her speechless for a moment.
"Look… the anomalies, the contractions may have stopped, but you and I don't know… we have no idea what this child is going to become! You should… you should have stopped the birth."
No response, no reaction, I would really be surprised if he did. She was furious though… but there was something else in her dark brown eyes that I hadn't seen before, not even when I met her at the memorial hospital, fear. She was scared, and the reaction to fear is always hate and aggression and this time it was no different. She pulled out a gun and I just acted on impulse and charge onto her, only to pass right through like she wasn't solid
I stood up wide-eyed, my heart hammering like an angry jackhammer driven by panic, but the sight before me stopped me. The first prototype of the project Origins, cold, relentless and emotionless as a machine, was drawing his own pistol, aiming at his fellow technician who barely had time to aim her own.
A small smile crossed my lips as I got over the shock and understood the whole situation, they stayed like that for a while until she finally gave up. Her trembling hands could not hold the gun that fell to the ground.
"...What are we going to do? I...my god." She put her hand to her forehead, massaging it and sighing heavily. "I've always supported you, but this… I just don't want this nightmare to continue."
He lowered his weapon, approaching her, who flinched back in hesitation. Which resulted in just one more step from him until she was against the wall and was forced to face the peaceful form of the baby that was staring at her with gray eyes that she inherited from a sergeant who has seen better days. To her great surprise, the child held out her tiny hand and the technical officer looked at her colleague, who nodded. With some hesitation, she touched the newborn's hand and her eyes went distant in a kind of trance.
I watched the scene unfold from a more preferable angle, close enough to be able to study the child more closely. It's strange to think that such a small being has great power and…maybe a greater portion of humanity between the three of us. I wanted to touch her, talk to her one last time, but I've been in this kind of scenario long enough to know the outcome would be the same.
I stared at Jin again as the movements returned to his body. She looked shocked, impressed and… quite embarrassed. It would have been almost funny if I wasn't in the mood to wring her neck for her last course of action. I didn't have to think about it too much, as the glare returned once more and everything disappeared, consumed by the light.
I was back in the bathroom, face clear and looking like everything was just…an episode from a distant memory. The glass was intact again, but there was still blood used to write the word 'she is safe'.
I allowed myself to breathe, the first real breath I'd taken in a long period of time. I don't know where I am, but she is safe and that for me is enough to be able to continue living with myself.
"Hmm… Joe?" I walked to the door, opening it to the small quarian on the other side. "Are you okay?"
"Oh yeah, just… thinking and coming to some conclusions. What's up?"
"I distributed food and medicine as best I could. Everyone is…better as far as possible."
"Oh, you took care of everyone downstairs in just twenty minutes?"
"Twenty minutes?" It was hard to decipher her expressions because of the mask, but I can tell she's looking at me like I've grown a third head. "Joe, you've been in there for at least two hours!"
"Ah…." I stared at the mirror mysteriously without the message written in blood and then at her again. "I think I must have dozed off… came to check on me?"
"No… well, I mean yes. I need help. When I looked for you in the cockpit and saw you weren't there, I took a look at the pirates' notes and… I need help."
"Problems organizing that garbage?"
"More like trouble finding what I'm looking for. I'm more than proficient with hardware or software, but…keelah, I still don't understand how they sailed this ship without getting caught! Can you help me?"
"Sure." I grabbed my sweater, even though dirty is all I have, and started putting her on. I caught a glimpse of Tali looking away and I just laughed. "Lead the way… I kind of had trouble finding the bathroom in the first place."
"Guess spaceships aren't really your thing?"
"I... have never actually been to one. We can say it's my first time, a very wild first time."
"Oh. I… I'm sorry it was a bad experience."
"Nah, it was something that would have happened on land anyway. Problems like these tend to follow me. But what about you, do you see the stars often?"
"I'm a Quarian, Joe. Ships are a fundamental part of my people's daily life."
"Right." Note for later: Study alien culture and how many there are out there. "Perhaps you can teach me a thing or two about your people?"
"Sure, why not."
