*****A Cursed Existence*****
Entry 20: No Rest For the Wicked
AN: This one is, unfortunately, quite small, but not every chapter will be a beast. Not much to be done about it really. Anyway, onward!
"-ood. Very good. And with that recording, each of you will be bound to this even should you change your mind." I ended, surprised at myself for not breathing a sigh of relief.
Fucking FINALLY! Good God, that was nerve-wracking! I feel like I'm about to start shaking! But finally, safety at last!
Keeping up the façade of a cool and collected executive, I allowed my… well, I'm honestly not sure what to call it, really. Influence field? That works I suppose. I allowed my influence field to retract, to the point it stopped existing entirely. I was able to focus it on individuals to apply a certain affect to them that could be generally summarized as "sliced bread is only good when I'm the one making it for you," but it still had a noticeable affect on the group as a whole. All in all? A fantastic and successful experiment that passed with flying colors.
Almost immediately the trio went from relatively calm and collected to varying forms of stressed. The youngest swayed a little bit, looking generally lost over what had just happened, while the expression of the eldest soured considerably. The only person relatively unchanged was Inspector Minellick, who simply grimaced a little before sighing, which, along with how she had reacted throughout the entire conversation, managed to catch my attention. It took a stronger than normal will to resist even something as subtle as what I just did, especially if you weren't expecting it, but considering everything I'd noticed, she had a mental strength the other two simply lacked. Or maybe it was just her genetics and she was lucky; hard to say, really, but the effect is the same either way.
Oh yes, having her in my back pocket will come in handy later, when reaper tech starts showing up more and more often. Well, so long as she's actually willing to work with me, anyway. According to what I got from the memories of Isayla and her investigation, Ciaris here is the only one with any actual potential knowledge on what I am, but even then, there's no guarantee she knows for sure given nothing was confirmed. Ah, thank you, Justicar Isayla, for that at least: your paranoia regarding this case was well founded given what you knew of Morinth, but sadly for you, it didn't work out in your favor.
While I was having an internal monologue, my three… partners? Cooperators? Blackmailed helpers? Hmm, no, the terms are getting worse the longer I go on. Regardless, the three guests – sure, we'll go with that – appeared to have fully come to grips with what had just happened.
"Well then," I said, clapping my hands together and changing my tune entirely, if only to keep them off-balance even without my… unfair genetic advantage, shall we say. "Now that that's dealt with, we should probably agree on a believable story."
"'We'?" Minellick asked. Oddly enough, she wasn't even doing so out of hostility from what I could tell, merely curiosity; her tone was guarded, true, but far from accusatory.
"Yes, we. Each of you effectively just signed your names to a confession saying you aided in the death of a Justicar, so like I said earlier, we should make a convincing story to cover it. They don't simply die, after all. Just doesn't happen. So… ideas? I'm open to suggestions."
Looking at each of them, I was greeted with odd expressions I couldn't identify on them all. "What?" I asked, confused.
"You, barely a minute ago now, turned us into criminals whether we like it or not, and now you're asking for our input?" Minellick, once again leading the way it seemed, asked me in a tone bordering on hysterical. "Are you insane?"
Already predicting it, I gestured at Aena before she could go full on terminator mode. "Down girl, I can handle this." That earned me another look from the group, so I decided to dial it back. "That, dear Inspector, is up for debate given what I know. Regardless, I only asked because while I made a whole villain speech about what I'd do to you should you turn me down, I was still being honest in that I want each of you to leave here better than you came, so long as you stick with me. And besides, I'm not so egotistical that I think all of my plans will be perfect; I have a thought or two about what to do with this, but that's all. So, before I reveal it, I'll ask again: do any of you have ideas for how to handle this?"
I'm not sure how to properly describe their reaction after that. It was somewhere between "wait, is this bitch being serious?" and "now that you mention it, I always wondered if…" Truly, curiosity over the taboo being allowed and encouraged is a more insidious thing than any space squid could ever hope to be. The age old question everyone has asked themselves at least once, and very few have ever tried to test, albeit for good reason: "How could I get away with murder?"
"Well…" the shiny of the group, who I noticed wasn't quite so shiny anymore, started. "Local wildlife perhaps?"
Before I could give a response, Old Ira beat me to it. "Nah, wouldn't work. The critters around my place are only the small type, wouldn't even nibble on ya if you let 'em."
Yet again unknowingly cutting me off, the elder cop spoke up. "Not only that, the damage around the shop is extreme. A skilled crew could repair it in a few hours, but that would still require a crew, which is something that would attract attention. Now if you really wanted to, a bomb threat can be called in, but in the official report, it was called in too late, and it exploded before anything could be done."
Now having a chance for input of my own, I went along with the idea to see where they would take it. "Perhaps, but that wouldn't explain the damage to the roof."
Looking at me quizzically, I raised a brow in question. "I'm guessing that no one here got a good look at what happened to the building's roof then?"
A resounding silence was the answer.
"Right then, moving on. While a threat being called in could work, it would seem a little suspicious if it had already been carried out. Rather, what if it was instead a targeted attack? An attempt on her life, my own, or all of our lives, by a group or perhaps a single, highly skilled, assailant?" In the back of my mind, I pictured a devious killer in black leathers with a sultry smile and a fascination for drugs, swords, and 'interesting people'. Who better to blame for my problems than the one who was ultimately most likely at fault anyway? Well… from a certain point of view that is.
"That…" Minellick began, looking thoughtful in spite of the uncomfortable expression she'd worn since the conversation started, "might work. However, that wouldn't explain where the Justicar's body disappeared to."
Wait, what does she mean by… oh… wait a moment…
"Aena? I'm assuming that was you?"
"All related hazardous organic waste was indeed disposed of, Mistress," my ever helpful assistant told me, sounding cheery as ever.
Translation: her body was given the post-coital incineration treatment. *sigh* That's my AI butler, alright…
Again facing the more or less willing (probably less if we're being honest) co-conspirators, I continued. "Hmm… you're right. What if it was an ambush then?"
"In what way?" Minellick asked, seemingly the most at ease among the trio with the topic we were discussing, yet again proving her mindset was a cut above the others in terms of adaptability.
"Rather than a bomb threat, or assassination attempt, it was an ambush? One where each of us were incapacitated in one form or another by masked assailants, and when we woke up, the building was damaged and the Justicar was gone."
Pondering it for a few seconds, Minellick hummed in thought. "That might work. It would also explain the missing security footage, as well as our omni-tools being disabled for the duration; you could even make it out as if to repair them, you brought us back to your mansion so that you could throw off anyone trying to tie off loose ends. Huh. Not bad."
Uhh… yeah, sure, that's exactly what I meant.
Playing it off as that, I nodded sagely in agreement. "Precisely. And if anyone asks why it wasn't called in sooner once everything was fixed, a mysterious jamming device was found on your police cruiser that, when removed, utterly destroyed itself."
Humming either in thought or agreement, I couldn't tell, but the cop picked up where I left off. "And just like that, we have no idea where the Justicar went, what happened to the restaurant, or who attacked us. Really it only leaves open the question of why we survived if they intended to kill everyone there."
Thinking on it for a moment, I came to a conclusion. "Simple really. Aena fought them off."
A dubious look was her response. "I'm not saying your VI is incapable of doing that if it needed to, but doing so against people that took us all out without even killing us? Never mind the Justicar? Realistically they would be a level of skilled that puts even some commandos to shame."
Having already thought of that, I smirked. "Oh no worries there. Aena, would you be able to create a flawless recording of the 'assassins' being beaten back by you and the Justicar, with the Justicar chasing after them into the woods and leaving you alone?"
Aena processed the request for a good moment before projecting a screen for our viewing pleasure. It showed a first person view of Aena fighting a fully armored feminine figure, with no discerning characteristics on the black armor, at a much slower speed than I knew she was capable of moving. Off to the side was the Justicar, who was going through a remarkably familiar fight scene with yet another black clad person. The reason it was similar, I realized, was because it was literally a recording of myself fighting the bitch yesterday, simply from an outsider's perspective.
Given Aena had access to the actual security recordings, it made sense she would be able to replicate it down to the individual punches, and she only changed what happened once it got to the point where my car was destroyed. After that, both 'assassins' retreated into the woods, Aena's opponent freezing her in place with a rather convincing looking stasis, with the Justicar hot on their heels. A third one dashed by her then while holding a generic dagger or knife with some blood on it, having come from inside the shop, chasing after the Justicar 'unnoticed' as they all disappeared from view.
Well I'll be damned. I mean, I knew simulation technology has come a long way, but she was able to make an entire movie scene out of practically nothing, and still have it line up with what actually happened with regards to the damage. Holy shit is technology terrifying sometimes… but hey, it works in my favor.
"Excellent work, Aena. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that was what actually happened. In fact, that's exactly what happened… right?" I directed that last bit to the audience of three watching it with me, receiving various types of nods in the affirmative. It looked as if they had, for the most part, been cowed into going along with it.
"Alright then. Now that we're all in agreement… Aena? You can let it through now."
Almost immediately I heard each of their omni-tools release a long stream of notification noises, the various tones blending together for a solid few seconds. The no-longer-a-shiny cop actually perked up at that, looking like the renewed extranet access had given her a sense of relief. Normally that wouldn't be an issue, but call me paranoid – is it really paranoia at this point though? – I felt like of all the areas of this plan that could possibly fail, she was probably the weakest link. It wasn't bias or personal knowledge I had on her or anything like that (well, outside of the Justicar's opinions on her) but rather simple practicality: she was the youngest, most impressionable, and given what she told me about her family, most targetable person here.
Hmm. I'll need to keep an eye on that one. Hopefully nothing comes of it, but we'll see…
"Officer… would it be alright if I called you Ciaris?" I asked, the officer in question glancing up from her omni-tool at hearing me.
"Yes?" she… asked? Well, I suppose her being unsure how to answer isn't a surprise.
"Thank you, Ciaris. Would you mind coming with me for a bit?"
She kept the same questioning look on her face, not immediately reacting. "Why? What for? For how long?"
Maybe it was my pride acting up, but I huffed in exasperation. "Come now, I don't intend to do anything to you." Feeling a little playful, I tacked on a bit more at the end, my tone of voice sounding completely serious. "Unless you want me to, of course."
She blushed a little at that, yet refused to answer, and considering my job done, I smirked to myself at another one down. "Another time then. No, I was just about to make a few calls to report the attack on all of us yesterday, though only after a thorough 'investigation of the crime scene' naturally. Having your assistance would be appreciated; I'm fairly certain I have the number for your chief of police, but I'd prefer if we both reported it. Add as much credibility as we can and all that. Besides, with your wounds, some proper medical attention wouldn't be a bad idea."
Having recovered during my explanation, Ciaris nodded in the affirmative, following beside me as I slowly made my way toward the stairs, only to then glance at my cheek followed by my impromptu robe. Coincidentally, I just remembered I was wearing only the bare minimum to classify as being clothed. Perhaps a change in wardrobe was in order. "What about you?"
"Nothing that a day or two to rest, some medicine, and my personal physician can't handle. Besides, now that I'm cleared of any 'suspicion' in your investigation," I swore I heard a muttered 'that's one way to put it' but I decided to ignore the comment and keep going, "I can continue on with my planned business trip. I'm sure your department commissioner will be understanding of my situation… they will, won't they?"
The question was genuine, as I had no real idea how her superiors would react. If necessary, I could always just call in a favor with the sitting senator, but I'd prefer to only use that if absolutely necessary.
"Honestly? Depends on what kind of mood she's in. A justicar being around has had her jumpy, but a missing justicar? Well… it might make her actually do something for once."
"Hmm. It's always the predator you don't see that manages to kill you…" I said, more to myself than anyone else. Granted, I'm fairly certain the original saying had something to do with crocodiles, but those aren't exactly a thing out here on Calabsa.
"Yup. Though if you ask me, the ones that hide in plain sight are a lot more dangerous, because even if you can see them coming, you never expect it when they strike," she commented in turn, making me pause briefly at the seeming insinuation.
I noted how she kept walking for a moment, only to turn to look at me without giving anything away on her face, apparently waiting for me to lead the way. Doing my best to push past it, I continued walking, a dozen different thoughts swirling around in my head. "Yes, I suppose you're not wrong. It's one thing to hide out of sight, another entirely to blend in. Anyway, do watch your step going up; these stairs aren't exactly fun to use for either of us right now, I'm sure."
Wouldn't want you tripping, after all…
January 2nd, 2183, 3:51 am, somewhere in asari space. (Two days later)
"More empty space… how exciting…"
Traveling through the space between stars, even at FTL speeds, tended to be a drawn out affair. Moreso when one needed to go through multiple secondary relays to get anywhere. It was even more of a pain when you had no choice but to let autopilot do its job, given that the only shortcuts that existed tended to travel through parts of the void too dangerous for any sane person to even attempt traveling through. Not that it would stop her if it came down to it, but unless that happened, she was happy not throwing herself into territory with potential black holes or an untracked asteroid field.
"*siiiiiggghhhh*"
Trying to find something to pass the time, she opened her omni-tool to look at the message that had her traipsing through the back alleys of the galaxy to reach a random world that rode the edge between civilization and the terminus.
"Follow the Justicar. Learn what she is doing on Calabsa. Report in your findings when finished. Payment will be determined following the usual arrangement."
A message sent to her three days ago, having been a follow-up for some info she'd sent in as payment for a prior tip she'd gotten from the Shadow Broker, that she hadn't been able to do anything about because of her other job taking priority at the time. A terrorist group/religious cult had sprouted up on a refueling station halfway between Thessia and Illium, threatening to blow up the nearby fuel refineries if their demands weren't met, and wouldn't you know it? She just so happened to be in a convenient spot to go and handle it.
"Honestly, sometimes it's not even worth it being a Spectre. I deal with too many idiots and psychopaths at times… ah well, at least the pay is good, and the action is oh so satisfying."
Thinking back fondly to how she had blitzed her way through the front ranks of the terrorists that had tried blocking her entry to the refueling station, the smell of ozone having filled her nostrils during the fight, Tela Vasir smiled to herself. As dangerous as her job was, at the end of the day, she had to admit that she enjoyed it. "Safety of the galaxy" and all that meant she didn't even need to feel bad about what she did, because if anything, she was doing the collective galactic genepool a favor by removing morons that honestly thought they could bully the Republics and the Council into getting their way.
Her current reasoning to her superiors was that she was going to Calabsa because in her last mission she found some evidence that the terrorists had ties to a smuggling ring that had been getting absolutely wiped out by Calabsan police forces over the past few weeks. May as well ensure they "found all the goods" related to the cult, you know? Might be some stolen fuel or bombs just sitting in a warehouse somewhere; you can never be too sure with these types, they could be hiding practically anything.
Dragging herself back to the present, she watched as her ship finally came out of FTL in the system with the nearest secondary relay in it. Unfortunately for her, the relay currently happened to be on the opposite end of the system, and she sighed again at the additional delay. Sure, she could briefly jump to FTL to shorten the trip down to seconds, or start lifting some of the weights she had in the back to get a quick session in, but honestly? She didn't really feel like it. So instead, she leaned back in the cabin chair as much as it would go and dimmed the interior lights, deciding to get a nap in while she could. She seriously doubted she would get any rest like this once she arrived at Calabsa, what with needing to deal with a Justicar and all, so she could hold off on her workout routine for now. Who knows? Maybe she'd be able to knock it out between the next set of secondary relays.
Meanwhile, Athena Nebula, Parnitha System, Thessia.
A cool breeze. Warm sunlight. A bird singing its' mating call in a nearby tree. The chatter of distant people. Vehicles traveling overhead.
In… serenity.
Her breathing was slow and smooth, a pattern mastered from centuries of practice. There were few things that brought her comfort now, after her long years of life, but meditation always managed to be one of them.
Out… balance.
She stayed there for a few minutes longer before determining she had achieved her desired mental state, and as such stood up and began walking back to her quarters. Few were the moments where she was allowed to simply breathe. The life of a Justicar demanded much, after all.
Arriving back at her quarters without encountering anyone else, she opened the door, revealing the rather spartan living space she had made for herself. The Code shunned extravagance, and she lived by the code. Besides such, she had learned fairly early in life that worldly possessions, outside of the necessities, tended to be nothing more than a distraction from what needed to be done. Despite that, she still had a few personal items of note: several spare uniforms neatly folded in her dresser, some night wear, a simple holo monitor along with a chair, and a picture frame holding a single image. It was that of a happy family of five: two adults, and three children. Even now, she had a small, melancholic smile while looking at it, remembering better times.
Sitting down, she opened the terminal, once more checking to see if she had received an update from one of her fellows sent out on a mission a month prior. Admittedly, she would have preferred to go on the mission herself, but needs must. She was busy with a group of pirates on a distant colony, and didn't want to allow them to keep roaming free to instead go and chase rumors.
Hmm. Strange. This makes six days now without an update. She is typically not one to neglect a promise. No doubt something occurred… and I feel as if it ended badly.
Wondering if perhaps she had missed something in an earlier message, she looked through them. There weren't many, only seven in fact, and each one was… painfully minimal in terms of details. One of the sender's greatest flaws, she had come to realize, was lack of trust, even for other Justicars. It was mildly upsetting, but each of them differed in some way or another, and so long as it followed the Code, there were no real issues with their differences.
Her thoughts aside, she found herself staring at the final message, as if watching it would make new information suddenly appear. Unfortunately, nothing new revealed itself, as the final message only brought up how the investigation had "found multiple potential suspects." Which, suffice to say, did not help whatsoever with smoothing over her concerns, and she closed it out.
She was about to stand up and leave for the morning meal when she caught sight of the new message indicator. Sighing briefly, part in relief and part exasperation, she sat back down and opened it. The contents, however, had her laser focusing on the three lines it had, eyes narrowing to slits.
"All signs point to an ardat-yakshi. Unsure if it is 'Morinth.' Have narrowed list of potential malefactors to five, one more likely than others. Will deal with appropriately."
Standing up immediately, she didn't waste a moment longer, deeply troubled by the message. She had asked to be informed before any sort of encounter could be made, and it was obvious that her request had either been ignored or forgotten. Or worse, there was no possible way to inform her in time, and action had to be taken right now.
Either way, Samara marched her way out of her room, only spending enough time to grab a change of clothes and hygiene materials, intending to make her way to the armory and grab her weapons so as to leave for Calabsa as soon as possible. She was moving so quickly she never stopped to note the date on the email: it was from three days earlier, and by all rights, should've been received by her three days earlier.
As she stepped out her door, she felt a shiver go up her spine, but brushed it off as mere concern over what Isayla had gotten herself into… completely missing the small, human-like girl now sitting in her desk chair, grinning wickedly at the Justicar's back in an all too unnatural expression for one appearing so young…
Well now, so ends one arc, and thus begins another.
You know, I remember one reviewer mentioning way back when how Agatha seemed a lot like The Man in the Wall from warframe, and I gotta say… while it was not my original intention, as I didn't even play warframe when I first started writing this, my God does it fit. To whoever you are that said it, you hit the nail on the head. Thanks for the inspiration!
Anyway, that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you next time.