Myr probably went on a 100 order scanning mission covering a hundred objects in a dozen systems around the colony and doesn't have time to contact home in between scanning and running away from spae amoebas 
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Yes, it is a new situation, a lot of inexperienced leaders, over inexperienced subjects.
We shall see...Myr probably went on a 100 order scanning mission covering a hundred objects in a dozen systems around the colony and doesn't have time to contact home in between scanning and running away from spae amoebas
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Blood Moons – Group Chat
DrClamashi74: Hello, you guys
lilTramp121: hi
DrClamashi74: It’s Sheassze
DrClamashi74: I just wanted to thank you
Imina207: hello, shea, welcome to the team.
Extra_leku9000: yeah
DrClamashi74: for this big opportunity, I hope I live up to it.
Pterosiame: You’re welcome, Sheassze. Do not worry, you’ll do fine.
lilTramp121: who’s she?
DrP333m: myr’s successor
DrClamashi74: I’m doctor Sheassze T’somi, the Commander picked me for the new exploration team.
Imina207: still sad about Myr.
DrP333m: yeah
SuperMicco777: same here
Extra_leku9000: :’(
Extra_leku9000: woulde liked to be ther in time
Extra_leku9000: F***ing space dust
SuperMicco777: What even was that?
Imina207: Weird interactive energy anomaly thingie
DrP333m: no s***
DrP333m: void energy cloud
DrP333m: aka no matter inside
Extra_leku9000: Blew up pretty handily
=EVLani=: What I don’t understand is how did she get them so close to do damage
=EVLani=: like
DrP333m: she didnt
=EVLani=: she was kinda reckless, but not stupid
DrP333m: electromagnetic pulse
DrP333m: it got the illapan from afar
SuperMicco777: da f***
SuperMicco777: smart light?
DrP333m: prolly just a reaction
DrP333m: more research needed
DrP333m: definitely not smart light though
Extra_leku9000: if only we’d been there
DrP333m: lol
DrP333m: other myr feels first myrs pain
Extra_leku9000: f*** you
Extra_leku9000: ma’am
Extra_leku9000: I’m serious
Pterosiame: At least now the threat has been neutralized.
Extra_leku9000: If there aren’t moar
DrP333m: very possible yup
lilTramp121: what says Elio?
lilTramp121: she doesn’t really come here often anymore.
DrP333m: busy training whelps
=EVLani=: It might be best to leave the subject be, until Lys and Elio have figured it out 4 themselves.
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“Don’t you think you’re taking this a little too hard?” Elioka barely managed to end the sentence before rushing to create a dark energy field and catch a datapad which had been just thrown at her.
“And I think you’re taking it way too easy!” shouted Sulysy, on the other side of the room. “Goddess, Elio! We just lost Myr, and you’re already sending another young scientist to her doom?”
“It’s different this time. We have Ptero’s birds checking in on them regularly.”
“They should ALWAYS be with them!”
“C’mon, Lys,” Elioka crossed her arms. “You know that is not possible. This is as much of a compromise as I can get to. We can’t leave the colony too exposed.”
“But you didn’t care about leaving Myr entirely exposed!”
“Am I missing something? Didn’t you get the memo on the f***ing WAR we’re into right now, currently, at this very f***ing goddess-damned moment? Casualties are expected. I cared about Myr, but-”
Sulysy crossed the room in a few steps, interrupting Elioka with a loud slap on her cheek. “The only casualties I’ll ever accept are the inevitable ones!”
If it had been any other asari, Elioka would have answered in kind, but she limited herself to just give Sulysy a cold stare in return.
“It’s just this sick fret of yours!” continued Sulysy. “To just get home, as soon as possible, no matter what! What has that accomplished? Another year has passed, no progress, only to search for whatever was left of our friend! And now you’re going to risk another asari, another of the few brilliant minds that managed to survive the Reapers, maybe the only ones we have left, has to be squandered because of your lack of patience!”
“What would you want me to do, Lys? Have them just locked tight here, doing nothing? Have your Matron instincts kicked in or something? Let’s just hug everyone tight to our tits and wait for a miracle? ...When more ships are ready for battle, I might consider giving a proper escort team, but until then, the Blood Moons must be always close to Neoilium.”
“For what? A dozen or so rebels, who may be already dead? Holy f***ing s***, Elio, I didn’t realize you were that f***ing paranoid! If they come to Neoilium, we’ll just use the AA cannons to bring them down, even if we can’t manage that, you have an army at this point. What the f*** are you scared of?”
“Psh-yeah, right...” Elioka brought up her hands to wiggle her fingers. “An ‘army’... The only thing they can do is shoot straight, and even that I have doubts about...”
“The Blood Moon huntresses are still enough of a garrison against a couple of rebels.”
“Yeah but you are having some trouble getting that I don’t f***ing trust the people, or the new recruits for that matter. There’s no way of knowing how many would turn on us if they feel like the tides are turning.”
That last statement was enough to give Sulysy some pause; she exchanged a few angry glares in silence with Elioka before finally answering: “Ok, I see your point there, but-” She pointed her finger at Elioka’s chest. “-that’s also kinda your own fault, partly. And, even then, things are getting better.”
“And I know that they are, Lys. And I appreciate yours and Lani’s work to make them better. But we’re not quite there yet.”
“We would be getting there if you’d just allow us to make the Matrons see their-”
“That’s not happening, Lys. We’re gonna get there the hard way, because that’s the way we’re making long-term results.”
Sulysy sighed and shook her head. “If only you had the same way of thinking for getting home...”
“Different priorities.”
“Are they?”
Elioka raised her eyes, trying to calm herself, and made a step closer to Sulysy, placing her hands on her shoulders. “Just.. bear with me a little longer, Lys. I’m sure this is the right way to go.”
Sulysy let out a long sigh, keeping her eyes low. “I guess... But I still don’t like this, Elio. It feels wrong.”
*****************
Elioka returned to the encampment with a lightened heart. It had been annoying to fly back to the Mothership just in order to discuss things with Lys and the others, but, after the news of Myrayme’s death had reached her, she knew it would have been better to have that discussion in person.
The Illapan had been completely destroyed, there had been barely anything salvageable left, and all the crewmembers were lost as well. In the spirit of transparency, the news had been revealed to the people of Neoilium almost immediately after Vethy’s fleet returned from her mission, but the reception had been mixed.
“Zac, report.” She left her backpack on the ground as she entered her tent, waiting for the VI interface to materialize and start speaking.
“Good evening, Commander T’lakai.”
“Cut to it.” She threw her jacket on the side of the bed and started her usual exercises.
“There has been no significant development since you left, Commander. The patrol reports were...” the VI proceeded with the list of events happened in the camp during her absence. Elioka listened without too much attention, focusing first on her push-ups, then on holding herself up in the air with her biotics. The last months before Vethy’s return she had felt under pressure again, fearing the lack of news from Myrayme was the result of her ship having been ambushed by the loyalists. It had been something of a relief to know her death had been caused by a space anomaly, though Elioka herself felt bad for looking at the news that way.
Though there was progress on most fronts, she felt like they were losing sight of their goals again. The longer the peace lasted without news on how to get back home, the more she felt uncertain on what to do. At every month that passed it was becoming harder for her to convince herself that they were ‘almost there’. Every time she found herself alone after a training session but not tired enough to go immediately to sleep, she could not stop herself from thinking about what she was supposed to do if they never returned home.
The idea that they were truly the last of the asari, that they would have been forever trapped in that foreign galaxy, was both frustrating, frightening and exciting. Elioka hated feeling so helpless in her attempts to find the way back home, to be incapable of overcoming the astronomical distance separating her from Thessia and the Council Space.
Although she could not admit it to Lys, she knew that Myrayme’s death was her fault, that her sense of urgency drove her to put her friend needlessly in danger, and yet, even after the fact, Elioka could still not bring herself to change her course of action: she still sent another willing group of scientists to brave the unknown mostly unprotected.
We just need to find a route back home. Just that. Even if it’s too far to travel to it immediately, at least knowing that we’re not lost anymore..! I could..!
The idea of ruling Neoilium indefinitely was another matter. Building a new society was not easy: she barely knew herself what she wanted to do, and had very little ideas on how to achieve it. And that was without taking into account the resistance against her revolution from the Matrons and nearly half of the Maidens, nor the threat of the loyalists still hanging over her head.
The only thing she was absolutely certain about was that training the new recruits was essential for any further progress. Once the Blood Moons had become a real army, loyal to her and her ideals, everything else would have fallen into place.
*****************
“Ptero!” Elioka waved her hand, trying to shout over the booming sound of the transport landing in the middle of the military base. To make things worse, the line of recruits making target practice just behind her fired shots right at that moment, covering her voice entirely.
The Commander walked towards the transport until she was sure that Vethy had seen her, then she stopped to wait for her. A couple of guards and another young officer accompanied the Blood Moons’ Admiral, who marched straight away to greet Elioka with a firm shake of hands. “It’s been some time, Elio. We barely hear from you anymore.”
“It’s sorta temporary.”
“It’s been sorta temporary for, what, three years?”
“We just have so much to do here...”
“The jungle has been treating you well, though.”
Elioka put her arms akimbo, with a satisfied grin on her face. “I know right? Consider me fully recovered from the Justicar f***up, I feel just great.”
“We should fight again sometimes, then. When we have time.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that, Ptero.” Elioka smirked and gave a nudge at Vethy’s arm. “I mean, I’m game, but what about you?”
“Last I checked, I was pretty handily putting my foot right up your le’kus, Elio.”
“Yeah, but that was like four years ago or something, which...” Elioka wrinkled her forehead, with a half-smile. “Did you just spend them sitting on your a**? Because Goddess..! I mean, I know the admiral’s chair must be comforting...”
“Hmpf.” Vethy gave her an angry glare and crossed her arms. “Is s***talking part of your official training program?”
“You know it.”
“Whatever. Let’s get this wrapped up, we both have tight schedules.”
“Mine are already on their way, check it out.” Elioka pointed behind Vethy’s back, where a line of fully equipped huntresses was moving to embark on the transport. “Just have to wait it out. Why don’t you give me the last news from dear ol’ Mothership in the meantime?”
“I don’t know if this idea of yours will help ease tensions...”
“They’re not going there to ease the f***ing tensions, they’re going there to keep the peace.”
Vethy gave her a doubtful look. “Aren’t the two of them connected?”
“Then they’re going there to keep just my personal, fragile, precious peace of mind. F***ing happy now?”
Elioka had finally brought herself to send some of the new recruits back to the colony: it was mostly older Maidens who had already received military training before joining the Blood Moons and had at least in some way proven their loyalty to the cause. Though she didn’t feel entirely comfortable in sending them away, Elioka had reached the conclusion that it was the only viable course of action to better protect the colony during the periods of time when Vethy and the warships moved to the nearby systems to check on the new exploration team.
“You just keep sticking it up to Peem, Ptero. The sooner her team has an actually working production line to make more starship, the sooner you guys will be free of my so-called crazy paranoid delusions. Speaking of which...” Elioka hinted at the other officer next to Vethy. “Who’s your friend? Did you just break up with Lys while I was gone?”
“Oh, you know her...” Vethy ignored the quip and placed one hand at the other asari’s back, encouraging her to step forward. “...this is Ray, I don’t think you two met in person before.”
After an awkward moment of silence, the young officer straightened herself up, visibly uncomfortable. “Captain Myrayme T’Keix, ma’am! In charge of starship Missura, of the Blood Moons’ fleet!”
“Oh, riiight..!” Elioka crossed her arms and gave her a long look, from head to toes. “You’re the new Myrayme. I did read quite a few reports on you. Ptero here says you’re the s***.”
“I am.. flattered, Commander.” The Captain lowered her eyes. “Though I haven’t really had the chance to test myself in a real battle yet.”
“She’s just being modest, Elio.” Retorted Vethy. “The Captain has found the wreckage of the Illapan and destroyed the void cloud, and she’s been instrumental in exposing the Unforgotten supporters back at the colony.”
“My my...” Elioka smiled, replying in a dry tone. “...it is love. Well, since we’re at it, you might want to give me a recap on that other handful of crap, Ray? That is, after all, one of the reasons I’m sending more huntresses back to the colony...”
“Y-yes, ma’am!” answered the Captain. “We’ve originally tracked their movements on the ‘Celio Arising’ private chat, though initially we weren’t certain of a direct connection with the loyalists, the ‘Unforgotten’, as they call them. The movement gained followers through exchange of basic resources and sexual favours-”
“Figures...” Elioka rolled her eyes. “Continue.”
“Yes, ma’am. The identity of the contact is still unknown, but all evidence would lead to her being Ajunra Raria, a Matron missing from the days of the revolution, likely part of the group of fugitive loyalists who left the Mothership Larelei soon after the crash. If this hypothesis is correct, it would follow that one or more loyalist cells are still active on Neoilium, or in the nearby systems. It has been theorized that the new comm buoys placed on the orbiting mining stations in the Saraklis and Crimdor systems might have had some of their lines hijacked by the loyalists to send QTE messages to their supporters in Neoilium. The supporters have been identified and apprehended during the course of the past five months, effectively dismantling the Unforgotten’s sleeper cells in Neoilium, but there has been no success in identifying the secret hideout of the Unforgotten themselves.”
“No surviving cells that we know of.”
“Yes, ma’am, though it’s unlikely that-”
“Yes, yes, yes...” sighed Elioka. “Unlikely that there may be more of them, peace has been secured once more blah blah blah... You started so well, Ray, don’t screw up right now. I assume you’re still in charge of this operation?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Nodded the Captain. “That is.. when I’m not on the Missura away from the home system.”
“Of course.” Elioka walked closer to her, lowering her tone and her back, trying to look at the Captain’s eyes. “Then, here’s the tip from your Commander-in-chief, Ray: until the loyalists are all dead or captured, there will be supporters of theirs in the colony. Heck, even after that there might be still some f***ers around for a few decades, and that is if all goes well.”
“I understand, Commander.”
“Good girl.” She gave her a pat on the back and turned back to Vethy. “I think we’re all good to go, then.”
“Elio, you might want to rethink your st-”
“My stance on policing the colony.” Dryly interrupted her Elioka. “I’m getting too gosh-darn harsh on those poor poor lazy, whining, useless Matrons and Maidens, why can’t I just leave them alone? F***ing Goddess on a pole, Ptero! Is this just some sort of divine punishment I’ve got to endure? To hear you and Lys and Lani keep repeating the same f***ing thing over and over and over and OVER? Everything I allow, it’s just a f***ing given, everything I forbid, it’s the most unacceptable and horribly cruel thing that anybody could ever imagine in the entire history of our f***ing species. You just worry about keeping Clama safe and about getting more ships built. I’ll worry about getting the people in line. Deal?”
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Not yet, though I will eventually update the image one once the situation has settled.
Not too surprising, but it's sad that you're losing some of the original Blood Moons. A bit disturbing that Eli just calls the newer generation as the "new" of whoever they replaced.
Piracy! This'll be fun.
Piracy! This'll be fun.
Oh, no, Sheassze is the successor of Myrayme M'jalus, Elioka called Ray the "new" Myrayme, because she's also called Myrayme (T'Keix).
“I don’t even see a reason why, Lys!” complained Elioka, distractingly checking her gun. “Peem has finally got the production line working, we’ll have more warships to keep the peace.”
Sulysy’s hologram sighed. “I don’t understand why you’re making such a big deal out of this. I shouldn’t have even brought up the matter to you. I should have just built it.”
“Nah nah nah nah...” Elioka shook her finger. “...you knew I cared about it. That’s why you’re asking. You don’t want me to find out later and bomb the s*** out of it from orbit.”
“It’s just something to improve morale. If we don’t provide the service, people are still gonna be looking for it elsewhere. It becomes a way for Unforgotten to gain leverage.”
“Hmpf.” Elioka left the gun on the table and turned to the hologram. “Oh, you have to do better than that, Lys.”
“Look at it this way, then: you wanted to make it meaningful to be a Blood Moon, right? This is one way to do it: just limit the service to civilians. If we have Peem’s VIs keep tabs on the local activities, it’ll be even easier to check for possible troublemakers.”
“But what about the slippery slope?”
“Oh, for f***’s sake, Elio, it’s just a recreational center! I just-”
Elioka gestured her to stop as a beep from her omni-tool informed her of a new message. “Wait a sec, tagged as urgent.” She tapped on the omni-gel interface and Vethy’s registered voice started playing.
“The Blood Moons’ fleet has intercepted an automated distress signal from the research station orbiting Crimdor III while performing its scheduled patrol. According to the message, the station appears to be under attack by Unforgotten forces. At current date, I’ve ordered the fleet to move in to verify and intercept the potential threat. I hope this message reaches central command on Neoilium and prevents other possible ambushes.”
“S***.” Elioka passed a hand on her face and slammed the other on the table. “Better sooner than later, I guess...”
“I.. don’t understand.” Said Sulysy, already looking visibly more uncomfortable at the thought of Vethy going to battle. “Why attack now?”
“Why not? Our army is growing, our fleet is about to grow too... That is, it’s gonna be a f***ing real fleet, not a couple of half-broken refitted corvettes. They must have seen we were managing to keep the civilians in check, so better for them to attack now than when our position had become stronger.”
“Then.. maybe we shouldn’t play into it?”
“Into what? They want to raid one of our stations, but Ptero got wind of it and now’s gonna f*** them up.”
Sulysy worriedly stroked her fingers. “What if it’s a trap? Perhaps it is better to have the base evacuated and then tell Ptero to come back here, to protect Mothership.”
“Hey, don’t get your le’kus in a twist, Lys. Ptero knows what she’s doing.”
“Sounds familiar...” coldly answered Sulysy, giving her a hard look.
“Are you gonna bring that up again? Really?” Elioka took the gun from the table and started to walk out of her tent. “Listen, we’ll talk later, just spread the news and put Mothership on alert. I’m bringing some of the recruits back there, just in case. See if Peem can manage to get updates on Crimdor in the meantime.”
*****************
The FTL hyperlane had allowed the Blood Moons to reach the Crimdor system relatively quickly, but their reliance on clear routes to make the jump had forced them to travel the last distance on slower-than-light speed. The distress signal had been silenced and any attempt at establishing contact with the research base had been unsuccessful; at that point Vethy could only hope the station’s defenses would hold the attackers off long enough for her to arrive.
In the past few days, she had received several messages from Neoilium, some official some private, most of them from Sulysy and Elioka. The official stance on the chat was to keep on track and catch the Unforgotten before they could get away, but Sulysy had pressed enough Elioka to make the Commander admit that, in case the research station had already been overcome, it would have been preferable to just scout on the enemy forces without engaging, hopefully managing to track their movements back to their secret hideout. Everybody though agreed that, if the research base was still holding off the attackers, the priority was to rescue its crew: Neoilium didn’t have many scientific minds left, it was imperative to protect the few they had, so that their expertise would not be lost.
“Admiral, we have a visual.”
A holographic reconstruction of the research base and the higher hemisphere of Crimdor III appeared on the round table of the command room, correlated with all details on the station’s defenses and damage.
Vethy moved slowly around the table, looking carefully at the data presented. “Four ships surrounding it.”
“Yes, ma’am, asari design confirmed. Though they appear to be in pretty bad shape.” Said Captain Ray, connected through hologram to the room. “Made of salvaged material, probably.”
Vethy pointed to an area of the hologram, wrinkling her forehead. “F***ing Goddess, that’s hyperdrive residual, isn’t it? Peem was right: the missing specialist was with them.”
“I don’t know, Admiral... It could also be a spy within the colony, leaking information and materials to build them?”
Vethy crossed her arms and stroked her mouth. “Yeah, also a possibility. Don’t know what could be worse... Are communications still locked from the station?”
“One second, ma’am.” Said one of the operators, typing on her console. “Yep. We’re still cut off.”
The Admiral leaned on the table and narrowed her eyes. “I don’t like the odds in a direct confrontation, but they’re still in attack formation around the base, we might be able to swoop in and land some troops inside to evacuate the station, then jump away.”
“What if there are other ships hiding nearby?” asked the Captain. “They could be trying to lure us out, and then signal them to cut off our escape.”
“That’s pretty f***ing hard to do in space, Captain.” Vethy sighed and moved away from the table. “Every hour spent gets them closer to destroying the base. They don’t seem interested in taking hostages. Strange. ...Very well, take us in. Captain Ray, have a squad ready, I’m getting the Missura to play rescue duty. The Kalinke and we will provide you the distraction.”
“Yes, ma’am!” readily answered Ray, straightening herself up. “You can count on us.”
“Dismissed.”
*****************
“Enemy ships changing course.” Warned one of the operators on the bridge. “Calculating new vector.”
“They’re maneuvering to engage us.” Said Vethy. “Keep the Missura covered, change interception point. I don’t want us to be too far from the station.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Try and contact them. Maybe we could buy ourselves some time...”
Vethy moved her eyes away from the holographic reconstruction of the two fleets, the station and the planet, to look at the other asari working on the bridge. She could feel the tension in the air: it was the first naval battle in years, and the true first space battle against the Unforgotten.
The hours passed slowly as the opposing starships moved closer and closer to each other. It was a surreal experience for Vethy, something she had never been accustomed, since before they were cut off from the relay network: the idea that they could have crossed astronomical distances in so little time and then have to spend days to cover much shorter space.
“We’re in range. No answer to our hails yet.”
“Fire at will, focus on artillery batteries and engines. Alternate shots against every ship, we don’t want any sneaking up on the Missura.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The Blood Moons were the first to strike, but the Unforgotten vessels were ready to answer in kind. Their ships were smaller and built with lesser materials, but, with the Missura disengaging to assist the scientists, they surpassed Vethy’s forces two to one.
“Second and fourth ship moving to L6C, ma’am.”
“Counteract, have the Kalinke keep her position, we’ll move towards-” Vethy was suddenly interrupted by an explosion shaking the flagship’s bridge. A cascade of sparkled showered through a few consoles, but the operators were ready to contain them in biotic barriers, using their dark energy fields to put off the fires before they could spread.
“S***, report on the situation?” Vethy moved away from the table to help one of the operators holding a barrier.
“Our main life support has been damaged! Shields down!”
“Evasive maneuvers! Have the Kalinke cover us while we recharge. Update on the Missura?”
“The Missura has reached the base, enemy interference is blocking our signal. We cannot establish a contact.”
Vethy tried to think while holding the barrier with a hand and looking at the holographic images on the table. “Great. F*** it. Change of plans. ...The third enemy ship is the more isolated one right now; signal all cannons to focus on it, aim for life support. We need to take off some pressure to get through this.”
“Orders sent, Admiral.”
In the following hours, Vethy continued to coordinate the attack and help the operators to keep the command room functional. With the ships surrounded and outnumbered, it was hard to make any progress, but the two corvettes were finally able to overcome the defenses of one of the Unforgotten vessels. The enemy ship was engulfed in a bright flash and exploded, leaving only a few pieces behind.
“Yes!” Vethy slammed triumphantly her fists on the table. “Now we get to turn this around. What’s Missura’s status? We-”
A second explosion on the holographic projection interrupted her, leaving her with eyes wide open.
“Lost contact with the Kalinke, Admiral!”
“Kalinke confirmed down!”
“Brace for backlash!” The warning came right before the bridge was shaken a second time by the shockwave coming from the Kalinke’s destruction.
“Goddess!” shouted Vethy. “Move closer, the wreckage can still offer some cover. Scan for escape pods, quick!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Admiral! The Missura is detaching from the base!”
“F***ing finally!” Vethy moved back near the table, trying to get an idea of the new situation. “Second enemy ship is already damaged, if the Missura reaches us in time... We need to re-establish contact with Captain T’Keix. Clear the line!”
The remaining three enemy ships were already maneuvering around the Kalinke’s wreckage, to surround the Blood Moons’ flagship and shoot it down.
“Hull is sustaining heavy damage, Vethy, we can’t-!” a new explosion threw the lieutenant away from her post, with other asari quickly rushing to her place to raise more biotic fields and close the breach. Vethy swore between her teeth, looking at the chaos and destruction spreading across the room.
“We have a connection with the Missura, Admiral!” Finally shouted one of the operators.
“Pass her through!” yelled the Admiral, moving to the control panel. “Captain, are you there?”
“Affbzzzzz- mission accompl-szzzzzrt, Admiral.” Ray’s hologram waved and twisted on the platform.
“Clear that up, damn it!” ordered Vethy. “Ray, the Kalinke’s gone, we’re sustaining heavy losses.”
“We’re coming to take you, ma’am, just hold on!” answered Ray as the connection was being stabilized. “If you abandon ship, we can catch your pods before jumping off!”
“Negative, if you engage the enemy, you won’t have enough time to make the jump before they shoot you down!”
“What are you saying? What are the orders?”
Vethy took a long breath, looking one last time around herself, before turning back to Ray’s hologram. “Just- just leave.”
“Admiral!”
“Securing the scientists is the priority, and we can’t risk losing all of our ships! Neoilium must be protected. Go back to Mothership Larelei and warn the others! Go!”
*****************
Captain Myrayme watched the Admiral’s hologram vanishing from her command room. The navigator was expecting her to finalize the order, but she felt like doing so would have been a betrayal to her sisters on the flagship, even though it was what Vethy had requested.
“Ray?” asked one of the operators.
Myrayme passed her hands on her le’kus, nervously pulling the tips. “We have to leave. Prepare for hyperspeed.”
“Yes, Captain. Route to Neoilium?”
“Hm.” Myrayme kept silent for a few seconds, concentrating on the holographic battlespace glowing below her. “No actually. If the Unforgotten have to have a victory, it’s going to be a sour one.”
It seems the Unforgotten are prepared to battle the building government. Hopefully this defeat isn't a permanent setback.
When Captain Myrayme reached the war room of the Mothership Larelei, Elioka already suspected what her report would have been like: she had read that the Captain had returned with the scientists and only a single, damaged ship. As she walked back and forth in the room, the Commander was only waiting to receive confirmation of the news and fully justify her anger and frustration.
Peeemsy, connected by hologram from the spaceport, did not seem to be as invested, busy as usual typing on a console. Sulysy, who was sitting on a chair next to the projection chief physicist, looked distant and detached, but Elioka could feel the tension and fear brewing in her; Sulysy knew what Vethy’s absence likely meant just as much as the Commander did.
“Commander, T’lakai.” Said Captain Myrayme, keeping her eyes low as she reached the middle of the room: “Captain T’Keix, reporting in from Crimdor.”
Elioka made another turn and finally stopped, looking straight at her. “Speak.”
“As Admiral Makesus assumed, the research facility of Crimdor III had been under attack by Unforgotten forces. Our mission also confirmed that their vessels have been fitted with hyperdrives analogue to our own.”
“F***ing wonderful.” Said Peeemsy, shaking her head.
“We have been able to recover all of our researchers, who have been now reinstated for duty on the Neoilium spaceport. Unfortunately, the research base itself has been destroyed. The enemy ships outnumbered the Blood Moons two-to-one. I’m sad to report the Sister flagship and the Kalinke sacrificed themselves to allow a safe route for the Missura to escape, as per Adimral Makesus’s orders.”
“Is...” Sulysy passed a hand on her face, barely whispering. “Is the Admiral..?”
“Yes.” Answered Myrayme, uncomfortably clearing her throat. “Admiral Makesus died with her ship. I’m sorry, ma’am.”
Sulysy nodded to herself and let out a long sigh, keeping her eyes low. It hurt Elioka to see her that way, but she couldn’t allow herself to be sucked into Sulysy’s grief at that time.
“Are you sure of this?” asked the Commander. “They could have taken her captive.”
“Negative, ma’am. They destroyed the two ships without boarding them.”
“That makes no sense.” Replied Peeemsy, distractingly typing on her board. “Why should they waste precious ships and prisoners? And, even if we take away the pragmatic benefits, aren’t the Unforgotten meant to paint themselves as bearers of some pure pu**y ideals of friendship and f***ery?”
“I.. am not sure, ma’am.” Answered Myrayme. “The Admiral found that weird as well. They were also firing on the research base before we arrived, with the civilians still inside. I think-” she interrupted herself, seeing Sulysy standing up in silence. Elioka turned to her friend, but she was met only with a cold gaze, filled with sorrow. Before the Commander could think of something to say, Sulysy turned away and left the room.
Elioka’s first instinct was to stop her and tell her that she needed to harden herself and focus, but she knew how heartbreaking the news was for Sulysy and, right a moment after that, she felt the urge to leave the room as well to console her. In the end, she couldn’t do that either: on one hand, it was a moment of crisis and she couldn’t let personal matters get in the way of her responsibilities towards the Blood Moons and the colony; on the other hand, she knew Sulysy was as much sad for Vethy’s death as she was angry at her for letting the fleet engage the Unforgotten on Crimdor in the first place. Talking to her right at that moment might have not been the best way to help her.
She needs time to process this. I’ll talk with her later. Now we must deal with this s***fest before it gets worse.
“Keep going, Captain.” She said, with her eyes still on the door Sulysy walked out from.
“I.. I was saying... it is possible the fleet was under command of a Justicar: it would explain the no quarters given nor prisoners taken, Commander.”
“Hm. I don’t think so.” Grimaced Peeemsy. “Justicars are f***ing c***s, but attacking civilians is against their code, right?”
“I’m not sure, ma’am. Maybe?”
“F*** reasons.” Hissed Elioka, making Myrayme back off a step. The Commander realized only after speaking that her fist had started to glow with dark energy, and forced herself to dissipate the biotic charge. “We’ve lost our fleet and a space station. I want them dead, all of them. I want them lined up on the public square and flayed one by one!”
“Someone touched a nerve...” sighed Peeemsy.
“Shut your s***hole, Peem!”
Peeemsy’s hologram finally moved away from her console and looked at Elioka, addressing her in a dry tone. “Yeah yeah, having you go all bloodthirsty does get me all wet everytime, but... we’ve obviously underestimated Unforgotten forces. If they can use the hyperlane, they could be hiding anywhere. We’ve lost a lot of Blood Moons. That makes us in a pretty shaky position, if you ask me.”
“Which is why we need to fix the problem now.”
“Right, but, even if we had the forces to do so, which we totally don’t, we don’t know where to send them, right?”
“Actually, ma’am...” the Captain shyly walked between the Elioka and the hologram. “...that is not entirely correct.”
Elioka pointed at her. “This better be good, Captain.”
“Well, ma’am... after Admiral Makesus ordered me to retreat back to Neoilium, I.. I did not exactly complied. At least, not immediately. I was able to trick the enemy fleet into believing that I had left the system and hid the Missura in Crimdor VI’s asteroid field. We monitored, and later followed the Unforgotten’s movements from there in the following eight hours. That is why I knew both the research station and the rest of the fleet had been obliterated entirely.”
“You wasted half a day only for that?” chuckled Peeemsy. “Not counting, you risked them spotting you and losing our last ship and our scientists, which were in your care at the time.”
“I...” the Captain lowered her eyes again, in shame. “I was aware of the risks, ma’am.”
“And, piling on that, you wasted half a day for your little espionage venture. Half a day we could have used to better prepare ourselves against further attacks.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m ready to face punishment for my actions, but you must know: by monitoring the Unforgotten, I was able to track their hyperdrives’ trail back to their base.”
Elioka narrowed her eyes. “Are you certain?”
“I could not risk the ship and the scientists in a recon mission in the final system, but I’m certain of it.”
“And what system would that be?” asked Peeemsy.
“The Jurnast system. The Unforgotten have a base in its asteroid belt.”
“The Jurnast?” chuckled Peeemsy. “The f*** they were doing on Crimdor, then? It’s on the other side of the f***ing arm!”
“To throw us off, you f***ing idiot.” Retorted Elioka.
“Probably.” Said Myrayme, still uncomfortable. “They moved on the far side of the arm, to prevent our orbital sensors from picking their movements.”
“Alright, alright...” Peeemsy raised her arms in defeat. “That’s pretty good intel, I guess. But that doesn’t change much, Elio, you know that.”
Elioka wanted to cuss at her again, but she knew she was right. After a second of indecisiveness, she begrudgingly nodded. “Yeah, I’ll give you that. We need to rebuild our fleet first. Then we get to strike them straight into their f***ing heart. You keep quiet about this, Ray. Same goes for your crew. We don’t know if there’s still loyalist spies within Mothership, we cannot risk them to know that we know.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Myrayme gave her a worried look. “Commander..? What about..?”
“With Ptero gone, you were technically in charge of what remained of the fleet, Ray, so no harm done.”
“But I’ve disobeyed her orders, put at risk the lives of the scientists!”
“So f***ing what? We have a lead on the loyalists’ base. I can’t wait to crush those roaches for good, and you’re the highest navy officer of the Blood Moons left. If I punish you, who’s gonna lead the new fleet?”
The Captain gasped. “Me? Leading the fleet?”
“Yeah...” said Peeemsy, looking at Elioka with narrowed eyes. “Her?”
“Oh, please, Peem,” retorted Elioka. “As if Ptero wasn’t setting her up for that anyway. And, even if not, no other options left.”
“I just-”
“I don’t want to hear it. My patience has already left the room a while ago. New fleet. Get to it. I’ll worry about the rest.”
*****************
“Elio?” Enlikla peaked from the cabin’s door. “Peem just filled me in. Is everything alright?”
Elioka, curved over her desk, sighed, placing the cold glass on her forehead. “It might be better if I could get drunk.” She sipped whatever was left of the liquor and left the glass on the table with a sigh. “But that’s not gonna happen on s***ty honey mead.”
“Oh.” Enlikla made a few steps inside, giving the command to close the door. “About that, now that our new artificial agricultural facility is in place, I think it wouldn’t be that bad to start producing some more amenable products, that should-”
“Lani?"
“Yes?”
“I give exactly zero f***s about drinks and food right now.”
“Yeah.” Enlikla walked closer to her, stopping a few steps behind the chair she was sitting on. “Yeah, I get that. Did you.. did you talk with Lys yet?”
Elioka shook her head, still avoiding to face Enlikla.
“She hasn’t been seen on the chat since the news. We’re getting worried about her. I mean, you too, but you haven’t been online for a lot already, and-”
“For f***’s sake, just give her time! It’s only been a week, she’ll get over it.”
“It must be horrible for her. So soon after Myr, too...”
“I let them down.” Elioka kept her eyes at the bottom of the glass. Saying it out loud did not give her the relief that she hoped for, but it still felt like the right thing to do. “I just.. just hoped that we could fix, like, all of this, go back home..?”
Enlikla finally sat at her side, timidly placing her arm over the Commander’s shoulders. “We all know you’re trying your best, Elio. You can’t always expect to get it right, you know? S*** happens.” She tried to smile at her, but Elioka kept her head down, in silence. “I know you’ll get us through this. We all do.”
Elioka glanced at her, but recoiled entirely immediately after, leaving her chair. “More the reason for me to feel like s***. I asked you to trust me, I asked them to trust me and I meant it!” She tilted her head, as if looking for something. “I was.. I was wrong. I was so totally f***ing wrong, Lani!”
“You said it many times, Elio...” Enlikla turned on her chair, hands on her lap. “...casualties in war are-”
“No. No! Lys was right, it wasn’t a calculated risk, it was me being a f***ing idiot! I should have taken precautions, instead I pushed them into it! Heck, if it wasn’t for Lys and the others pushing against me, it might have been even worse! Now we have no fleet, no pilots, no way home..!” Elioka stopped to take breath, with a dismayed look on her face. “I just.. f***ed everything...”
Enlikla left her chair, trying to get to her again, but Elioka gestured her to stop, and walked back to the table, reaching for the bottle.
“You’re too hard on yourself, Elio. We all thought the loyalists had died out in space, even Lys thought that. In fact, IIRC, you were the only one still considering them a threat.”
Elioka shook her head as she swallowed another half-glass of mead. “Don’t you see?! That makes it worse! I knew they were still a problem, but I couldn’t keep my head clear enough to deal with them! Goddess, I’m still doing it! Even now that I know what a dumbf*** I have been, I’m still pushing Peem and Ray for the new fleet! I still want to strike back at the old c***s the first f***ing moment I can!”
“Well.. you can’t really blame yourself for wanting some payback.” Enlikla uncomfortably stroke her own arm, trying to find the right words. “You were close to Ptero too. Goddess, I want to teach those c***s a lesson too. So would Lys, you’ll do it for her as well...”
“No...” Elioka passed a hand on her face, almost as to make sure her eyes were still dry. “...Lys is not like that.”
“It’s not your fault, Elio. I mean, you’re not even close to one hundred, but you’ve already more responsibilities than any Matriarch ever had. We’ve got enemies that have had centuries to learn how to rule.”
“Yeah, but don’t you see? If we admit that that’s what you need to rule, a f***ton of years watching your own elders, then we’re not better than the Matriarchs.”
“But I’m not admitting it: you are.”
The last statement upset Elioka a little, enough to make her give an angry look at Enlikla and forget about her grief for a brief moment.
“Listen...” continued Enlikla, in a more conciliatory tone. “Didn’t you manage to get us to overthrow the Matriarchs? We took Mothership. We’re still in control of Neoilium. We’ve kept Matrons and Maidens in check, for six years!”
“That’s different. The revolution...”
“How was it different?”
“I don’t know, ok?” Elioka sighed. She had managed to vent out some of her frustration, but it had just left her more confused. “It was. Everything went exactly as I wanted. Not as I had imagined it before we left Thessia, but- f***... What I’m saying is: from the moment I shot that b*** BlueHawke to when I took over the main control room, I knew what was going to happen, and it did happen.”
“I guess maybe we had more time to prep it up?”
“Yeah, I guess... I knew what to expect from the old c***s, I thought I still did, after. But that’s not true. They’re totally f***ing me on the long run. Guess that happens when you count in f***ing days rather than minutes.”
“Oh!” Enlikla widened her eyes, patting Elioka’s arm.
“What.”
“I’ve got it! Why don’t you have a talk with mama Faraldae?”
“The f*** has mama c*** have to do with it?”
“Well.. she’s a Matriarch.”
“Yeah. Who was captured right before the loyalists escaped. The f*** does she know about them? She’s been locked up until back then. Bet she doesn’t even know they exist.”
“I know, but she’s still a Matriarch, she knows them, like, personally, right? You interrogate her, get the insight you need... it’s pretty basic, really. At least we get something out of the prisoners, what else you’d be doing with them?”
Elioka opened her mouth to answer, but she was just left in a disconcerted silence.
Idiot! How did you even not think of that!?!
“Well, Goddess damn it...” She shook her head in disbelief, finally giving a smile of gratitude to Enlikla. “...you’re totally f***ing right, Lani.”
Enlikla nodded in encouragement. “You should do it, first thing in the morning.”
“Nah nah nah nah, I have to draw the line somewhere with this f***ing hurry. It’s gonna be months until the new fleet is ready, maybe more if I can keep myself tied down long enough to build it properly: I’m gonna prepare this interrogation right, not just rush into it like an idiot.”
She left the glass still in her hand, and called for the VI to send her some files, quickly walking towards the exit. “Thanks for the talk, Lani. Some f***ing perspective was just what I needed.”
She ran outside, barely hearing Enlikla’s answer from behind.
“Anytime, Elio.”
The chains of command continue to weigh down on Elioka... sad to see her so stressed, but it is warranted considering how little thought she puts into most her moves. Should be fun to see how she interrogates Faraldae.
Yes, seems like it'll take the entirety of the next chapter; I'm surprised we're still just six years in, it's getting way thicker than I expected.
“Yo, Lewina, get me to the detention level, section A12.”
The elevator closed behind Elioka as she leaned with her back on the cabin.
“As you wish, Commander!” quickly responded the Virtual Intelligence, putting the elevator in motion.
“Make it fast. Oh, and warn security that I’m coming, I want mama defrosted by the time I get there.”
“Orders sent, Commander!”
Today’s the big day, I guess. Kinda excited, who would have thought?
Elioka had spent months to prepare herself for the interrogation session with Matriarch Faraldae. In the end, she had spent only half of her free time doing that, as being on Mothership had inevitably forced her to look at the progress made by her friends on the colony. She had kept herself in the jungle just to avoid meddling with them and to allow tensions between the civilians and the Blood Moons to lessen, but, with Vethy gone and Sulysy still mourning, she had decided it had passed enough time for her to take the helm again, at least temporarily.
In just a few years, the colony had grown surprisingly well: with the basic needs for food and mineral resources having been met, Sulysy and Enlikla had decided to invest something for the betterment the conditions of living of the neoilians. It wasn’t much yet, but Elioka could see how quickly the colony was turning into an actual city. Imina and her team of self-trained engineers were trying to re-create a familiar feeling in the new constructions, taking more time to mimic the architectural designs of Thessia and Illium: Elioka could see the area turning into a proper asari metropolis in just a few decades. Of course, provided that they didn’t find a way back home before that, or the Unforgotten took over, or the people managed to overthrow them on their own.
The concern growing more and more important as the weeks had passed had been how to deal with the new generation of infants, who were currently being nurtured by the VIs installed on the Mothership. The virtual intelligence programs might have been adequate to provide basic education, with the assistance of some crude omni-tool utilities, but the kids would have needed actual teachers and tutors in a few years.
In light of her recent epiphany, Elioka had tried to re-evaluate the issue, speaking both with Enlikla and Imina. She would have liked to include Sulysy in the conversation as well, but that meant confronting her friend on Vethy’s death, which was something that Elioka did not feel like doing just yet.
She had originally hoped to have the entire new generation of asari educated in some way inside the Mothership, so that they could not be subjected to the old ways, but she had had to admit that the Blood Moons simply lacked the resources to do that. To persist in her idea would have just meant to raise a dysfunctional and poorly educated population. If they had had an already functional infrastructure, it would have been an entirely different matter, but their own top scientists were largely young and unexperienced as well, trying to salvage and rebuild asari lore and technology from what little the Mothership offered. Their way back home was exclusively through scientific discovery, and Elioka was aware having the new asari educated in mass by electronical proxies was not the right way to create an environment that would facilitate that sort of advancement.
It was almost certain that the Matriarchs they were holding captive harbored plenty of useful information, but Elioka would have never trusted them to spread it freely. She hoped her talk with Faraldae could open new possibilities in that regard, but, regardless of the help offered, she would have never freed her, nor any of the other Matriarchs. She was certain that doing so would have doomed her reformation no matter what precautions she used: the Matriarchs would have just slowly encroached on the new government and everything would have returned as it was before the rebellion.
Lacking help from the Matriarchs, the only other option left was the Matrons themselves. According to Enlikla, some of them would have been willing and qualified to be professional teachers; in fact, several of them had already been relieved of the less dignified tasks to join the scientific teams of Peeemsy, Imina and Enlika herself in the last years, with permission from Sulysy. Not all of them were trusted to uphold the ideals of the Blood Moons, some of them were even openly opposed to them in public chats, but they all recognized the dangers and necessities of the situation, and were not sympathetic towards the old government either.
To allow some selected Matrons inside Mothership, making them teach the new generation while following the Blood Moons’ guidelines, and releasing the children back into their mothers’ custody would have been the ideal solution according Enlikla: the Matrons would have been appeased, and their block of opposition against the new government would have likely fractured the moment the Blood Moons stopped treating them all invariantly as second-class citizens. At the same time, the new asari’s education would have still been partially under the Blood Moons’ control, with the VIs acting more as guardians for the teachers, making sure they were not spreading dissent or corrupt ideals.
Finally, tests could have been made later on to identify the most loyal and brilliant amongst the younglings, who could have then been kept entirely separated, as Elioka originally intended, and given better education, to turn them into Blood Moons themselves when they grew up, with no ties with their mothers.
In order for that to be possible, Elioka needed to go back on her previous decision and she had to trust the Matrons. The first thing was painful but doable, whereas the very thought of the second made her shudder in disgust.
Although she had promised to herself to never do so again, she had postponed her decision on the matter, using the imminent threat of the Unforgotten as an excuse: giving into the Matrons demands right after a successful attack by the loyalists would have been a show of weakness and could have only encouraged them to do more damage, after all.
“Mothership Larelei, section A12: detention level.” Announced the synthetic voice of the VI while the elevetor’s door opened with a delicate ring. Elioka casted out all of her other worries to focus on the impending interrogation, she left the cabin and saluted the two commandos guarding the first security checkpoint.
The Mothership’s original detention level was relatively small and ill-equipped. After the coup, Elioka had instructed Peeemsy and Imina to refit several cabins to serve as containment cells for the Matriarchs, each on a different area of the ship, to minimize the risks of a cascading breakout. The one Faraldae had been frozen into used to be a storage compartment, but, during the course of the last weeks, Elioka had Imina prepare a new cell, better equipped to hold her safely during the interrogation.
“All security measures are in place, ma’am.” Told her one of the commandos, running the final checks before opening the last door. “The hibernation process has been reverted successfully, but the prisoner is likely to be confused for some time.”
“That’s what I’m counting on.” Elioka smirked and, after having given her pistol to the guard, she walked into the cell.
Matriarch Faraldae was locked inside her containment pod, mounted on the wall opposite to the door. She had been awaken, but was still entirely locked inside, with only her face visible through a round window. Four pressure beams kept the pod tightly closed; a first force field had been activated around, and a second one enveloped the walls and the door right after Elioka stepped inside. The sensation made her shiver: it felt as if being half-deafened. At least she could find solace in the hope the sensation would likely be even worse for the Matriarch.
“If you haven’t noticed...” she said, moving closer to the pod. “...you’re stuck, mama Faraldae.”
She tried to look through the thick glass, to catch the Matriarch’s expression. She was still blinking and wrinkling her face, trying to clear her sight; hard to say if she was already awake enough to understand anything, though Elioka was certain that her voice reached her loud and clear through the pod’s intercom.
“You might as well get used to it- I mean, your body probably already has, what with all the alone time you’ve already had there...” Elioka leaned over the pod, but the second force field had her recoil almost immediately after. “Fair warning, by the way: we’re being watched. The moment you try any funny business, I’ve got my guys ready to fry you like that.” She snapped her fingers right next to the window. “Got it?”
The Matriarch looked still somewhat confused, but now she was looking directly at her and seemed to be listening.
“ ...Now, if we’re clear on the rules, how about we have a nice friendly girl-to-crone chat?”
“My my...” Matriarch Faraldae finally spoke, her hoarse voice passing through the intercom. “...you must be really scared to take all of these precautions.”
“Try cautious. I know how your kind operates...”
“Such hateful words, Elioka.” Answered Faraldae, with a tired and conciliatory tone. “But do you really?”
Elioka narrowed her eyes, moving closer to the window separating them. “The f**k you know my name?” she whispered, as her mind already nervously raced, looking for an explanation.
“IIRC, Elioka...” Faraldae cleared her throat. “You were concerned a lot about us. I understand your surprise, but you see, we do care about all our girls. My mind.. it’s a little doozy, but.. I remember reading some of your posts during the voyage. You raised some very concerning points... I just wished we could have talked back then. I really wanted to help you understand, and to make me understand as well.”
Elioka was left disconcerted for a couple of seconds, stepping back from the pod.
“Varren s**t!” she finally spouted. “You’re just saying that because I can have you zapped on a whim, you sneaky dried-out c**t. You’re not sweet-talking your way out of there, so you might as well tell it like it is.”
“I’m sorry if my words sound untrustworthy, Elioka. I wish I could do something to prove my honesty.” The Matriarch was keeping her voice calm and her expression filled with concern; Elioka was certain it was nothing but a ruse to let her guard down. The fact that she knew her name caught her off guard, but she had already thought out the scenario of the Matriarch pretending to be a clueless victim.
“Well, gee, when you put it that way, mama Faraldae...” she chuckled, with a finger on the side of her mouth. “You can start by telling me all you know about Ajunra Raria, Justicar Welima, and, since you’re at it, the truth about the New Matrons project? You know, just for starters.”
“I see.” The Matriarch lowered her head as much as she was allowed to by her boundaries, thinking for a few seconds. “Might this concern Alikara?”
“Maybe...” Elioka shifted her arms behind her back, activating her omni-tool to message the local VI for information on that name.
“I was afraid of that...” Faraldae sighed. “They told me she was acting strangely in the last days, but I believed it to be only the stress of leaving Thessia so suddenly. I’m sorry you and your sisters are now suffering because of it... I can only imagine what you’ve been put through. I understand it if you are scared to show me kindness while you’re being watched, and let me tell you: you don’t need to be worried. I promise you: I’ll do whatever I can to end this nightmare.”
The f**k is she even talking about?
Elioka kept quiet, only giving the occasional nod to let the Matriarch keep going, while trying to understand her line of reasoning.
“You’re setting pretty high expectations, aren’t you?” she asked, trying to mask her confusion.
“It will be hard.” Answered Faraldae. “After what happened with the huntresses, I started to suspect she might have smuggled Reaper tech onto the Mothership. You must fight it, my child. Their influence. It’s-”
“So.. Alikara, uh?” Elioka glanced at her back, looking at the holographic screen projected on her arm, showing the information on the subject in question, and held off a smile, finally understanding where the Matriarch was going at.
“Please, Elioka...” asked the Matriarch. “...could you.. could you give me something to- I’m so weak, you see... Even just-”
“Why not Ajunra herself? Her band cooked up a new FTL hyperdrive, you know? Sounds Reaper-y to me...”
“No. No, my child. That is the genuine result of asari intellect, not Reaper influence. I.. it’s becoming harder.. to talk.. and focus... If I could just have something to eat.. and drink... I feel so tired. I don’t know how much you’ve been here, but you need to leave Mothership, be away from it long enough to break the hold, then-”
“Nah, it’s fine. The b***h is dead.” She answered, with a smirk on her face. “Alikara, I mean. Has been for quite a while, actually. Also, no Reaper tech. Or Reapers, for that matter. But you know that, don’t you, that was the goal of your pathetic, cowardly mission, after all. To shoot us as far away from them as possible.”
“I...” The look of genuine confusion on the Matriarch’s face made Elioka chuckle.
“Oh, aren’t you cute. A millennia-a** worth of life, still got duped by wittle kwid?” She pointed with the thumb at her chest. “I’m the one in charge, here. It’s so hilariously pathetic, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t expect it. You still think that all of this is some other indoctrinated old c**t, sabotaging your perfect plan? Ah! This is revolution, mama! The young and smart taking back the power from the old and cowardly!” Elioka moved closer to the pod, with a triumphant look on her face; she wanted to savor every little detail of the Matriarch’s reaction, as she finally understood how wrong she had been. “We’re building a new society here, six years and going! A modern, smart society, not ruled by Justicar murderers, corrupt old-a** mamas, cowardly dumb Matrons, or f**king porn-stars! We’re making an army, and fleet. A real f**king army and a real f**king fleet, so that when we do get home, which we’re f**king doing by the way, we’ll kick the Reapers straight into dark space where they belong!” she finally stopped to take breath, eager to see the Matriarch’s response.
Faraldae certainly looked surprised, but, when she addressed her captor, her voice was filled with the same sugary concern. “Oh, my poor sweet child. Now I understand why you came to me. You must feel so lost.”
“What.” Elioka clenched her teeth, giving her a cold stare.
“Alone in a foreign land, isolated from everyone, trying to learn everything on your own. I’m so sorry, Elioka! It is a relief that you are not under the Reapers’ thrall, but still... Such a new and frightful experience must be for you all!”
“Nah nah nah nah nah, you don’t get it. F**king hag, we got free! We like it. We’re building a new world, a better world, without you!”
“We are the same, Elioka.” The kindness exuding from the Matriarch’s voice sounded dripping with condescension to Elioka’s ears; it was as uncomfortable for her to listen as much as it was annoying.
She had to bring the discussion back on track, but at that moment she could not hold the rant: part of her always wanted to have that head-to-head confrontation with a Matriarch, the very symbol of the old and corrupt system.
“Not even close.” She rebutted.
“I know what it means to be young, Elioka. Full of energy and eager for adventure and excitement. Do you think I was not a Maiden once?”
“Psh-yeah,” Elioka turned on the side, crossing her arms. “The three-stage life is just a social construct you old c**ts made up to keep the rest of us down, just make us think that you know better, just because you wasted a few centuries more shaking your a** in front of a drooling turian, I’m supposed to be awed? *I* do not conform to this corrupt regressive way of life, *I* choose my own path!”
“And I applaud you for that, my child. That is what an asari should do in her youth: search for her place in the Galaxy.”
“Yeah, possibly far away from Thessia, or other asari, keeping her mind dumb and empty, isn’t that so?”
“Elioka, I do not understand: first you insinuate that we are tyrants, then that we do not discipline our children enough?”
“Oh, you know exactly what I’m talking about, you vicious, conniving b***h.” she hissed, underlining any word with an angry tap on the window.
“I’m sorry, but I do not. Perhaps, if I could have something to eat, maybe I’m just too tired to-”
“You’re not getting out of there.”
“I am of no threat to you, Elioka. Even if I wanted to harm you, I can barely remain conscious, let alone move, or fight. If you do not feed me, I might very well faint soon. I would be of no use to you or anyone else.”
“That’s just too damn bad. Luckily I have plenty of spare Matriarchs in my refrigerator, so guess how many f**ks I give?” Elioka silently cursed at herself while she spoke the last sentence, realizing it would have been safer to not let Faraldae know about the state of the other Matriarchs only right after she did just that.
Meh, she’s barely keeping awake, she’ll probably forget it by the time I freeze her again. Fingers crossed.
“I.. I understand.” Answered Faraldae, taking a long breath to try and clear her mind. “But, Elioka, I think you must be confused: Maiden, Matron, Matriarch.. these stages, they’re not mandatory, they’re not fixed. You seem to think of them as strict castes, but-”
“Which they are! Sure, the law didn’t force you to pass from one to another, but everybody expected you to do it, and you were told that you’d have gone through it anyway, when you reached the right age. And if you didn’t, you were just weird...”
“Weird does not mean bad, my child.”
“Cut with the child s**t! I’m not your f**king daughter! I’m nearly forty! If I’d been a turian, I’d be an adult! If I’d been a salarian, I’d be already dead!”
“But, if you were a krogan you would be still a child. And as you are an asari, you-”
“I can organize a kicka** revolution and overthrow all of you decrepit-a** c**ts.”
“And rule over a new asari society.”
“Damn straight!”
“But then, Elioka, why do you come here, searching for the wisdom of your elder?”
“I didn’t-! I..! I mean..!”
Elioka clenched her teeth, ending the sentence in a grunt of frustration. If it hadn’t been for the double force field hampering her biotics, she knew she would have been glowing with dark energy by that point she was so angry.
“I am sorry if my words offend you, Elioka. But I do want to offer you my assistance, as much as I am able to.”
Elioka gave her a look of pure hatred. She knew it had to be a trick of some sort, to let her guard down. She had taken into account the possibility of Faraldae acting like that, but she also thought that, pressuring her hard enough would have made the Matriarch reveal her true colors. She didn’t expect her to keep acting the part of the caring mother for so long, it was starting to get unsettling.
Well, as long as she actually tells me what I want to know... Maybe she hopes I’ll mellow down and let her free. Like that’s ever gonna happen...
“Then speak. And do it fast.”
Bravo for conveying just how good the Matriarch is at manipulating the conversation in her favor. I believe Elioka is in over her head and she doesn't even realize it.
Thank you, glad you liked it.
Hopefully next chapter should have more action to compensate.
Hopefully next chapter should have more action to compensate.
She could be a valuable source of information, if she can be trusted...
And i second, well written!
And i second, well written!
Elioka pushed herself with her legs further deeper in the water, swimming closer to the bottom of the sea. She wasn’t too far from the coast nor the surface: the light beams of Neoilium’s white star reached the weird corals covering the sea floor, reflecting over their translucent surface and creating iridescent cascades of colors. Transparent fishes dwelled amongst their branches, hiding and hunting each other.
This is kind of cool. ...At least we didn’t crash on dump.
Elioka wasn’t usually interested in that sort of things, but Enlikla had insisted that she took some time to relax before departing, and going at the beach gave her at least an excuse to exercise by swimming.
Plus, if a sea monster comes around, things could get pretty interesting...
She let herself float near one of the larger fishes for a while, and then swam towards the surface to take some air.
It’s not fair. I shouldn’t enjoy myself. While I’m having fun here, my sisters are getting slaughtered home. If any are even still alive. I mean, even if Thessia fell, and Illium fell, and all the Council governments have been defeated, it could still take decades, if not centuries, for the Reapers to exterminate us all. Right now, asari might be fighting for their lives in a losing battle, entrenched in a barren wasteland, breathing irradiated air, while we’re here, slouching on a tropical paradise.
It was getting harder for her to think about it: she was powerless to find any solution to that problem and that only ended in meaningless frustration. And there were many other new problems appearing every day that she had to deal with, but that was no excuse to forget her original goal, no matter how further away it was becoming.
Elioka emerged from the water, took a deep breath, and threw herself back in. She had not expected the water to be that cold compared to how hot it always was on dry land, but it had been a pleasant surprise.
Goddess, it has been AGES since I got a proper bath. ...Turns out skinny-dipping in the wild was the right call. There’s something kind of intriguing and primal.. ancestral call, I guess? Should probably write a blog when I have the time...
The moments of escapism passed fast, as she went again through the last reports with her mind. It had been a couple of months since her chat with Faraldae, but she had yet to process every detail and possible hidden message of their conversation together. She had had it all recorded, of course, and had spent several afternoons re-watching it time and again, but she still felt like missing something. She had had the Matriarch re-frozen right after the interrogation, and so Faraldae had remained ever since. Elioka had thought about having another chat right before the mission, but she feared it might just confuse her.
If things go wrong, and if the intel she provided looks good and verified, I guess I could pay another visit. If things go right, then there’s no need, if the intel was incorrect then she cannot be trusted.
It annoyed her how conciliatory the Matriarch had been, she just wanted to find something to prove to herself that Faraldae was trying to deceive her. It had come to the point she had found herself hoping for the intel provided on the leaders of the Unforgotten to be wrong, just so she could spit it on her face.
Even if the Matriarch had collaborated in complete honesty, Elioka did not want to speak with her more than the bare minimum, simply because she didn’t want to start relying on her too much.
It starts just with some kind words, she buys herself some credibility, gets to be seen as a friend, then maybe she gets to not be in the pod while she’s interrogated, then she’s no longer hibernated at all, just confined to her quarters. A few decades in and she rules the entire planet. Tsk tsk. Not gonna happen.
Of course, pretty much nobody except for Peeemsy shared that concern: they told her Faraldae was acting like that only because she was scared and confused, and that Elioka was just being too paranoid as usual. She had sent the footage of her interrogation to Sulysy by proxy of VI, but had received no comment from her, even though Enlikla had told her that Sulysy was starting to work again on the administration of the colony.
F**k, I really need to speak with Lys. It has been too long. Just need to do this one last thing. I’ll make things right, it’ll be a lot easier after. It wouldn’t make any sense to do it now, after waiting so much. And why did it come to BE so much, you s**tless coward? Such a friend, Elioka. Leaving her alone for all of this time, now getting annoyed that she’s not here to help you make decisions...
Elioka swam back to the surface and then towards the beach.
She’s not a vengeful person, she won’t care if I bring her the butcherers who blew up Ptero, but that’s the only thing I can really do at this point. It’ll have to be worth something...
Creating small biotic fields on the palm of her feet to not walk directly on the coast covered in sharp rocks and corals, Elioka emerged from the sea. She let the water drip from her on its own until she reached her pile of clothes, then she briefly enveloped herself into an ephemeral barrier of dark energy, which expelled every drop in one instant, leaving her dry and clean.
“Enough lazying about, Elioka.” She said to herself, picking up her jacket and starting to dress herself. “Time for some real action, for a change...”
*****************
“Five minutes to jump.” Announced the navigator on the bridge.
“Commander...” called Myrayme, standing next to the holographic table, near Elioka. “...I must ask you one last time if you’re absolutely certain about this.”
Elioka gave her an exasperated look in response. The new Admiral wasn’t as tall as her predecessor; she was fit, but more nimble than Vethy. It wasn’t really surprising, considering Myrayme had more experience as a strategist and a pilot than as a ground soldier.
“And for the last f**king time, Ray...” answered Elioka. “...this is the way we’re doing it. And, trust me, personally, I would totally love to just do it your way, but, doing it like this, it’ll be better for the long run.”
The Admiral didn’t look too convinced, but Elioka was confident that she would have followed her orders.
“I’m going in the cargo bay with the huntresses, we’ll keep connected for the entirety of the operation.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Elioka reached her troops right before the fleet made its jump through the hyperlane, emerging in the asteroid belt of the Jurnast system. “This is it, people.”
The holographic window on her omni-tool cleared out, showing Myrayme in the command room.
“Commander, we’ve engaged the base’s defenses.” She communicated through the device.
“What about the enemy fleet?”
“That might be a problem...” Myrayme disappeared for a few seconds, giving orders to her officers off-screen.
“Ray? C’mon, don’t leave us hanging here.”
It had taken a year and a half for Peeemsy to rebuild a proper fleet, six corvettes plus assorted transport and minor support vessels, but the lack of any hostility from the Unforgotten during all that time could only mean one of two things: either the battle against Vethy had crippled them permanently and they lacked the resources to rebuild their own forces, or they were preparing something big and therefore were taking their own time.
Elioka knew that, with some more time and resources, Neoilium too could have been able to field a larger fleet, but that would have meant wasting more years quelling their own exploration and scientific efforts for fear of other attacks by the Unforgotten.
“Sorry.” Finally, Myrayme’s face returned on screen. “The enemy fleet is present on the system, but it is not docked on the base.”
“Supposed catching them off guard was too much to ask...”
“Their signal has been caught on the fringes of the star system.”
“How many?”
“Three vessels, presumably the same fleet from the attack on Crimdor.”
“Oh, that’d just be too good...” Elioka impatiently waited another few seconds while Myrayme went off-screen giving orders.
“They are not moving towards us, though, Commander.” The Admiral finally answered. “Their signal shows they’re about to make a hyperjump.”
Before Elioka could respond, the ship trembled, shaken by the fire of the enemy base’s cannons; the other asari huntresses held onto the safety rail without too much trouble, yet the Commander took longer to find her stability again: she wasn’t used to wear full body armor, but, for that mission, the risk of a breach depressurizing the battlefield was too high for her to go without precautions.
While Elioka tried to keep herself balanced, Myrayme continued to speak from the Commander’s omni-tool: “We might be able to disengage some of our ships and send them in pursuit, Commander. Should I give the order?”
“Just a sec...” Elioka pushed away one of her huntresses and thought about the matter for a few seconds, trying to block out the booming echoes reverberating through the ship. “Nah. F**k them. Keep the pressure on the main target, deploy us as soon as there’s a straight line through their block.”
“But, Commander, if we let the enemy fleet go, they could-”
“Neoilium is well prepared against a pitiful three-ship crummy old fleet; they’ll hold.”
“What if they attack some of our other bases, like in Crimdor? Civilians could get killed!”
“Yeah, that’d suck. But it’ll be the last time it happens if we destroy their base today. Listen, there’s no way the Justicar is fleeing battle when we’re threatening her friends, which means either their fleet is mutinying, or it’s just Raira escaping. Here they’ve got resources, people and their biggest asset, so, we take this down, they’re history. ...So, continue with the attack.”
“I.. yes, Commander.”
It took several hours of intense fighting and one corvette being severely damaged before a way was finally cleared for the boarding parties. Elioka had already studied holographic maps of the Unforgotten base for days, but seeing it directly, from the window of her transport, left her at least somewhat impressed: the loyalists had managed to cobble several small asteroids together, using them as foundations for their fortified refuges, each interconnected with long and thick beams. The whole construction did not look at all pretty, but it was functional and well defended. The amount of weapons and tech that it showed was a testament to the success of the smuggling ring in Neoilium in the past years, but the lack of new enemy ships could have implied Myrayme’s investigations on the colony to catch Unforgotten supporters had been largely successful.
Now we just need to take down the nest. After today, everything is going to run smoothly.
“Brace for impact!” she shouted, while the transport blasted through one of the docking bays of the eastern section of the base.
“Team one, out! Go, go, go!”
She waited for the first ten huntresses to jump out, then she followed them alongside her commandos. The asari enveloped themselves in a barrier of dark energy as they fell down, to slow their descent and protect themselves from enemy fire.
“Remember, I want prisoners!” Elioka raised her hand, summoning a biotic push against three enemies hiding behind a few containment crates. “Move it, people!”
The Neoiliac fleet was still firing at that section to weaken its external defenses, and its strikes were making the ground tremble and Elioka’s aim shaky.
Would be easier to shoot straight if it weren’t for this f**king armor anyway.
She fired a few shots with her pistol and crouched behind heavy machinery to charge her amp, and then jumped out again, rushing in a biotic charge to elbow her target to the neck. She turned around just in time to shoot a second asari on the leg and kneel her face in as she fell, then took a moment to rest and look around.
Transport’s still intact. Good. Now, where-?
Elioka interrupted her trail of thought to shoot a loyalist before the enemy could take down one of her own huntresses, then enveloped herself in another barrier to counteract a biotic pull and re-directed the dark energy against the new target, leaving the enemy floating in the air.
“Commander!” shouted one of the commando from the interlink in her helmet. “Area secured, enemy in route. We suffered three casualties and two wounded; eleven enemies captured.”
“Fan-f**king-tastic. Leave someone to keep the transport safe, just in case; the rest of us, we move to the connector beam, and straight for the center. ...Ray! First area secured, stop bombing, focus fire on the other peripheral points, I’m heading for the center.”
“Roger that.”
After a passing glance to check that everyone was behind her, Elioka ran towards the corridor.
“Valves closing!” warned one of the commandos, pointing at the series of metal barriers starting to cut off the sections of the connector beam.
“Double time, people!” shouted Elioka, putting away her gun. “We planned for this: commandos with me, we cut through!”
She kept running, with the commandos at her back, and they all charged their amps, releasing a surge of dark energy to rush forward in a biotic dash, flashing through the conduit and the closing door.
It all happened in an instant: Elioka saw the corridor walls zap by, showing passing images of the star fight happening outside from the windows, then a sudden halt shook her from her very being.
That’s.. not.. right...
She rolled on the ground, moaning, alongside some of the commandos as well.
Something stopped us!
She reached for her gun and tried to clear her sight, crawling away from her current position, just in time to avoid a few shots.
“Ambush!” shouted one of the commandos, already wounded on the chest and her arm.
“Forget about that, run for the center!” answered Elioka, shooting blindly behind herself while turning to the end of the corridor, only to see the last door close, cutting their way out.
“Well, s**t.”
They were bottled in that section, with the rest of the huntresses trapped through the other slices of the corridor.
If we don’t reach the control room, we can’t unlock the other sections!
“I need this door breached, now!” She dragged away from the fire the wounded commando and struck one of her opponents with a biotic slam, crushing the asari inside her armor and on the floor.
Never a salarian tech when you need one...
“I expected you would come...” the familiar voice made Elioka shudder. The asari speaking was covered in full armor, like her, but, after hearing her, she immediately recognized her as Justicar Welima. “...I will end you today.”
Crap.
“Wanna bet?” shouted Elioka, shooting a few times in her direction and then charging a powerful biotic push towards her. The Justicar raised her hand and absorbed the attack with a thick shield of dark energy.
“Change of plans, guys! First kill the Justicar, then open a breach!” Some of the commandos were already occupied fighting the other ambushers, but a couple of the ones who had reached the locked door managed to hear her call and join her, adding their energies to Elioka’s just in time to resist the Justicar’s counterattack.
Elioka held on for what looked like an eternity, but, even with the help from the commandos, the junction point between the two opposing swirling forces was slowly getting closer to them and away from the lone Justicar. Sustaining the wave with one hand, she reached for her shotgun with the other, trying to aim at Welima’s legs, the only target visible beyond the blinding beacon of dark energy pulsating in the middle of the corridor.
Yet, before she could fire a single shot, the Justicar released another wave of energy to reinforce the first one, turning the two clashing forces into a huge singularity.
“Crafty b***h...”
Elioka held on the arm of one of her commandos, who was herself holding on the door’s safety handle, to avoid getting dragged away from the ground and into the sphere of dark energy.
“Mag boots, everyone! I’m ending this!” she shouted, fiddling with her belt to pull a biotic grenade and toss it at the singularity. “Choke on it, b***h! ...Barrier!” She raised both hands, alongside the two commandos, creating a dome of dark energy right before the explosive released its gravitational shockwave.
The singularity collapsed, but their barrier also shattered as soon as it was created, while Elioka and her commandos were slammed against the locked door. The pressure caused by the explosion was too much for the conduit to sustain, and the top junction of a wall cracked, depressurizing the section of the corridor they were in.
One of the last enemy soldiers was sucked out into space, leaving only the Justicar, who, although pulled away after the explosion, was still holding on the edge of the breach, slowly crawling back in.
With the mag boots holding her on the ground, Elioka walked towards her, charging her shotgun.
“Why.. won’t.. you.. just.. DIE already!?!” she shouted, punctuating every word firing a shot; the Justicar was able to deflect the first shots with a biotic barrier, but doing so made her lose hold on the edge of the breach. The fifth shot finally hit her, pushing her towards the emptiness of space, but Welima was still able to charge a biotic pull against Elioka, tearing her from the floor and towards herself. Three of the commandos who had already recovered from the blast, seeing their Commander flying away towards the breach, focused their energies to grab her from afar and pull her down. At the same time, Elioka, who had been grappled by the Justicar, desperately wrestled with her opponent, trying to get free from her hold.
“Just..! Just f**king SHOOT HER!” she shouted from the interlink, ignoring all the messages coming in from the fleet.
“You’re too close to her, Commander!”
The Justicar tightened the grip of her legs around Elioka’s waist, charged her fist with biotic energy and punched her straight in the face.
Elioka heard a deafening crack and blacked out for a moment; when her vision returned, the Justicar was already charging another punch. This time the Commander managed to free one of her hands and create a mild barrier to intercept it, but Welima’s power was still strong enough to crack the defense and strike her anyway, although not as violently.
They were finally close enough to the floor again for one of the commandos to walk to them and point the gun directly at the Justicar’s temple to avoid accidentally hitting her Commander, but, before she could pull the trigger, Welima released a biotic shockwave around herself, throwing all three commandos on the walls.
Elioka, instead, was pushed on the floor, and used that opportunity to lock herself down once more with the mag boots, but was unable to stand up: her vision was blurry, and her sense of balance had been completely shattered after all of that floating and gravitational bending. The Justicar was enveloping herself in a bubble of energy, floating in the middle on the room, while recharging for her next attack.
The ringing in Elioka’s ears had subdued enough to make her catch the worrying creaking coming from her helmet: although the Justicar’s blows had not cracked it open immediately, they had been enough to critically damage it. If she didn’t manage to unlock the door soon and get in a pressurized environment, she might not survive regardless of the Justicar.
I hate that c**t.. SO MUCH. She’s still f**king BLASTING!!
Giving up on standing on her feet, Elioka grasped for her gun, firing an overcharged shot at the Justicar floating right above her. It was enough to let her barrier wane for a bit, but not to do any lasting damage.
“Even if you had managed to prevail today...” spoke the Justicar. “...it would have been but a fleeting victory. The righteous always triumphs over the wicked in the end.” Taking advantage of the fact that they were still floating after the blast, Welima pulled the three commandos around, turning in her protective sphere as she violently scraped them on the walls of the corridor.
“That...” Elioka coughed. “That supposed to be you? Righteous, Miss-I-kill-civilians-in-the-lab?” She managed to shoot a second time, forcing the Justicar to break her hold on the commandos, but Welima just enveloped Elioka’s gun in a bluish light and tore it away from her hold and into her own.
“This is a Disciple model. You use our own weapons, but know nothing of the Code, child. Transgression results only in one kind of punishment. At the very least, embrace your end with dignity.”
Elioka raised her hands to shield her face, seeing the Justicar pointing the gun down towards her, but she had barely any energy left to create another barrier. “You dumb, psycho-b***h!”
The Justicar flinched and started to charge up the weapon. “So be it.”
Elioka clenched her teeth, closed her eyes and waited for the shot, which came in the form of a rattling series of blasts.
...Hey!.. That’s not how mine sounds...
She didn’t feel any more pain than she already did, and her barrier was surprisingly still holding. She opened her eyes only to find out that the gunshot was directed against the Justicar and was coming from outside the breach, where some of the huntresses had flown in with the transport to board the junction, sealing the hole.
The barrage of fire coming from the mounted gun on the side of the transport had forced Welima to focus entirely on her protection sphere, but Elioka knew that might have been not enough.
Not wanting to lose that opportunity, she forced herself to ignore the pain, demagnetized her soles, let her own momentum float her back up, re-magnetized the boots and called the other commandos through the interlink.
“Come on, it’s now or never, b***hes! Get off your lazy a**es and help me!”
Only two of the commandos answered, and even then, one of them was too hurt to stand.
The Justicar was already charging a new shockwave to get rid of the huntresses on the transport, but the focus needed to deflect the barrage of fire was disrupting her focus, already eroded by the intense and prolonged fight.
Elioka directed the united efforts of the commandos, pushing against the barrier from every angle.
“Keep the pressure, you on the transport! We’re making her sweat now, I can feel it!”
The bubble of energy protecting the Justicar waned, but it was still too strong to be crushed. Welima managed to lash out another time, directing a biotic push against the huntresses on the transport, succeeding in destroying the turret and severely damaging the ship.
Some of the huntresses were able to jump in the conduit in time, but the rest was dragged away when the transport detached from the breach and moved out of sight.
Burning with rage, Elioka poured every last shred of energy she had to fight against the barrier.
F**k no! She’s not getting away again!
“Down!” she shouted, leading the efforts of the two commandos to use their partial hold on the bubble in order to slam the Justicar on the ground. Welima struggled to keep her focus, stretching both arms and concentrating to keep the barrier from shattering.
“Up!” The three asari reversed the polarization of their biotics, throwing the Justicar onto the ceiling. Elioka’s vision was blurry and she could only hear a ringing noise, but she could feel that, at every strike, the resistance against their hold from the Justicar was lessening.
“F**king down! Again!” When Welima was pushed on the floor for the second time, Elioka knew they had finally done some damage: she couldn’t exactly feel the crack in the Justicar, but she felt it.
Unfortunately, she could not sustain the attack any longer; her hold waned and her body floated in the depressurized room, locked down on the ground but completely unresponsive to her commands.
No! Not now! Not now! We’re so f**king close!
She wanted to shout at the others to continue, but the two commandos were down as well, drained entirely. Only the three huntresses who had managed to jump off the transport were still active, but they were barely capable of shooting at the Justicar while floating aimlessly in the room, unable to pull themselves on the ground.
Elioka kept her eyes on the enemy laying near the ground and tried to focus, blacking out and back in at almost every breath she took.
C’mon, c’mon!
Welima winced, and clumsily pushed the ground with her hands to float back in a straight position; there was no glow enveloping her, her shoulders were crooked and her head hung on the side, but she was still moving. She stepped on the floor, thrusting herself in a gentle glide towards the Commander, stretching her arms as much as she could to reach for her. Some of the huntresses managed to shoot at her, worsening the damage on her armor, but it was still not enough to stop her.
Elioka desperately tried to move, then cursed her own useless limbs, and went back to focus exclusively on recharging her amp.
Welima grabbed her from an arm, dragging herself closer and moving her other hand towards Elioka’s damaged helmet. “May...” the Justicar’s voice came out distorted by the broken interlink. “May you find peace.. in the...”
“F**king embrace her for me!” Elioka let out one last biotic push before the Justicar could pick her helmet off. Welima lost her hold on the Commander’s arm and floated up in the corridor. She waved frantically her arms, trying to grasp at something, but finally flew out of the breach and in the emptiness of space.
As she looked gleefully at that wonderful sight, Elioka’s only regret was that she had no strength to flip her off.