Chapter 46
Asura listened to the plan. She didn't like it though she didn't comment. Instead she found herself glancing behind her occasionally, watching for Abby or Jack or even Grom though Abby had told her that he was in the storage room with instructions to stay there till she called him. Till now, the vorcha had not made an appearance for which she was grateful because she didn't want him to complicate the situation.
What Shepard was asking…
It wasn't too much; it would never be too much if it kept Abigail safe. In all the turmoil of the past few days, their relationship had grown and blossomed. It had already been a precious gift but now… She didn't know what had created the shift, whether it was all of this madness or not, but she didn't care.
She loved her more than her own life itself.
"Asura?" Jane's voice was sharp but not unkind. "Do you know what you need to do?"
Blinking slowly, the asari nodded, struggling to keep a hold of herself. The tension in the room was beginning to get to her, even sated as she was. Sated? Her subconscious mocked her. Are you ever?
"I do," she said slowly, then turned to Councilman David Anderson. She had followed politics all her life and knew of him and his ascension to the Council, the first of his species to do so. Commander Jane Shepard had been instrumental in it, but looking at him now, Asura wondered why she had chosen him. The man was soldier, everything about him screamed it. She was particularly cautious around him, not wishing to give away how easily she could manipulate people but throughout their time together, she had found him glancing at her appreciatively before his senses returned to him and he seemed startled by his own interest.
"Did you manage to come through?"
Anderson nodded, holding out a note he had scribbled down.
"This is what she'll need," he said, handing it to her. "Everything else has been arranged." He directed this at Jane, who had stood up and was checking her pistol. Her mother, Asura had noted earlier, had done the same and seeing the gesture echoed by her daughter made her anxiety peak. She grabbed the note from him and rushed to the corridor where Abby stood, waiting for her but also keeping Jack away from the group as they laid out what would happen next. Trusting them to do what was right without her input.
Asura found that she couldn't look at her lover.
"Do you have this in stock?" she asked as she handed Abby the note. "We'll need two syringes, those doses exactly."
Abby glanced at her, her expression tense as she gripped the paper and squinted as she tried to decipher the man's handwriting. "I'll have to check," she said, her brow furrowing as she ran the product through the repository of chemicals that she had memorised. "This is a fast-acting tranquilizer. What are we doing?" Asura didn't miss the fear in her voice but it wasn't as alluring as before, which was a welcome shift. She reached out and put her hand on Abby's shoulders.
"I'll explain everything," she said. "Where's Jack?"
Abby motioned behind her before she turned and went to her tiny office where they kept the more serious medication locked up. Watching her as she moved, Asura couldn't help but notice that even her arm was trembling as she gripped the crutch for balance.
"I've told her to just sit while she can as I am still clinging to the illusion that her wound will get enough time to settle and not tear open. There's really hardly anything of worth for us to pack up here. I've put together a kind of… medical kit, bandages, some antibiotics and pain medication that's also registered for human application. Just in case." She stopped at her desk and turned back to Asura, her expression uncertain.
"Love, is Jane really expecting us to go with her?"
Asura couldn't lie. "No," she clarified. "But I realise how it sounded. They'll be going, the humans. We'll stay here, feign… being forced or held captive. We can't go with them, Abigail. You're not…" She trailed off, but Abby grimaced and nodded, not needing her to finish the sentence. Asura watched as a strange mixture of relief and regret war in her partner's heart before she breathed deeply and pressed her hand against her chest. She looked frail in that moment, her features tense with worry and her hand shaking from both her disease and nerves. Still, when she collected herself, she nodded at Asura and went to the security cabinet to unlock it with her omnitool.
"And the tranquilisers?" she asked. "What is that for?"
"Anderson and her mother," Asura spoke quickly, rushing the explanation. "Jane wants to leave them behind as well, but… I guess make it seem as if they didn't have a choice either."
Abby looked a little uncomfortable at this, hesitating over the medication.
"This isn't something to be done trivially," she said, pushing herself up with a bottle in hand. "These sorts of drugs are dangerous, especially if they are not deemed worthy of regular human use. I mean, I used some to…" She trailed off abruptly, but her body jerked.
I used some to kill myself.
Asura went forward and hugged Abby, holding her as tightly as she dared.
"We'll be okay," she breathed. "As will they. I don't know all the details, but that is what Jane is the answer, Abigail."
It was, she told herself when she felt the woman lean into the hug for a moment then gather herself and move away.
"Come with me," Abby said. "I need you to just keep an eye that I don't stab myself. The hypodermics are on the other side."
They crossed the corridor again and went back into the examination room. Asura was aware of Jack's gaze on them, but made a point of not making eye contact with the biotic,choosing focus on what Abigail was doing. The veterinarian had taken two automatic release hypodermics and were slowly pulling up the medication, but she looked troubled. There was a shift behind them as Jane entered the infirmary. Asura made eye contact, then looked at Abby again as Jane joined Jack's side.
"What's the plan?" the biotic asked, shifting off the examination table. "We're about ready to go? Asura said we were running out of fucking time."
Jane shifted. "The plan hasn't chaged," she said simply. "We run. We run as far as we can, as fast as we can. We fight if we need to…" She trailed off. "But we leave them here to keep them safe."
Asura could tell that Jack was disappointed as she motioned to the asari.
"She's got more punch than I have Shepard and she ran off the grid for a while." Glancing back at the biotic, Asura wondered whether that was a compliment. Jane met her gaze as she did so.
"I know, Asura and I have talked, she's helping us out with a few of her contacts and stashes," she hesitated. "I am in your debt, Asura."
"Consider us even," Asura spoke, then focused on Abby who had turned to look at Jane.
"How much do you weight, Commander?" she asked as she finished preparing the second syringe. "About… what? 160 pounds?"
Jane didn't miss a beat. "That's quite forward, even for you, Dr. Gable."
Abby's pale cheeks coloured a little. "I'm just… making sure the math's right," she confessed. "I'm worried about your mother's dose. Maybe I can ask her to… I think I have a scale somewhere in storage… She can't be heavier than you, can she?" Abby started to move but Asura stopped her.
"I'll have a look," she said, remembering Grom. "Give me a moment."
She turned on her heel and walked to the corridor, slowing her step as she neared the door. She listened for any sound behind it and though she could hear the vorcha muttering to himself, or perhaps even to Oz, it didn't sound as if he was planning on coming out. Asura raised her omni-tool and locked the door then hurried back to the examination room.
"Grom will bring it," she said quickly, but Jane had already moved to take the syringes.
"I'm sure it will be fine," she was telling Abby, who still looked concerned. She had taken the doctor's hand and was squeezing it. "Dr. Gable… Abby, I am so sorry about all of this."
The veterinarian shrugged, even chuckled as she waved Jane off. "Jane you got shot and thrown off of a building for trouble I brought to your doorstep," she said. "This is nothing."
Jane turned and made eye-contact with Asura. "Maybe," she said. "But I still appreciate everything that you have done for us. Asura?"
The world slowed.
Asura stepped closer to Abby, reaching out to her as she took a slow and deep breath all while releasing… herself. She felt her power and need rise as the dark-haired woman turned to her, first in puzzlement which then quickly turned to stark fear when she saw the blackness in Asura's eyes. She held up her hand, stumbling backwards as she tried to get away from the ardat yakshi. Close to them, Jane moved, already putting a hand over Jack's chest to stop her from interfering even though the biotic had no idea what was happening.
"No, Asura!" Abby yelled. "Wait…"
"Embrace eternity," Asura whispered as she let the breath she drew in go when her fingers and Abby's entwined. Other asari could attempt a melding without touching but she always had to. Always. The world shifted, the second stretching to eternity as she felt Abby's fingers in hers, then her mind and soul in her heart as they became one.
"Hold Jack!" Jane commanded as she pulled the biotic back. "No, let it happen!" Yet, a part of her wanted to stop it as well. She didn't know what she had thought she would see when Asura melded with Abby. They had had so precious little time to discuss their plan, to explore all avenues that would keep all safe. Taking Abby out this way had seemed the most harmless but now…
The vet's legs collapsed underneath her, the crutch she kept at her side falling to the ground though Asura caught her before she did the same. The woman's body was shuddering slightly, her eyes open but unseeing as her mouth opened to gasp the sound either from pain or… perhaps that intimate pleasure that an ardat yakshi's touch was said to bring. Jane turned away and found herself staring into Jack's glaring gaze. She was a smart girl, her Jack, and very shortly after her initial response figured out what was happening. Still, it didn't soften her as she stared daggers at Jane, flinging her hand in the couple's direction. Asura had sank down, pulling Abby into her lap as she held her, her back now shielding them from seeing the veterinarian's face. Images came to mind, stories of vampires and succubi that she had enjoyed reading as a child. With those images in mind, she realised now how they appalled her because she was staring at a creature that could have come straight from such a tale of horror.
"God damn it, Shepard," Jack growled. "Couldn't you have found some other way? Fuck!" She looked ready to turn her fury on Asura again, but Jane still held her back, not wanting her to interfere. She didn't know when the deed would be done.
"We didn't have a lot of time to plan," she hissed. "I don't want her involvement questioned."
"Yeah?" Jack hissed. "Well what the fuck is the plan? I thought we were just gonna fucking run. We're taking a fuck load of time…"
"Not yet," Jane said and looked to see Asura stir, her face filled with anguish as she carefully lowered the vet to the ground and closed her eyes. She fussed for a moment, checking Abby's pulse and turning her head left and right where Jane could see small trails of blood starting to form from her ears and nose.
"Goddess damn it," Asura cursed and got up, reaching into the cabinet to grab some gauze. "Goddess, I shouldn't have done it. Goddess." Alarmed, Jane realised that Asura was crying. She stepped closer, sinking down next to Abby to find her pulse. It took her a heart stopping second to do so.
"What's wrong?" She asked as Asura knelt beside her again and proceeded to wipe away at the blood before taking a bandage and putting it around Abby's head to cover her eyes. She laughed, bitterly at Jane's question.
"All of this," she said, her voice shaking. "There are side effects, you know this. Mordin's been able to give us some medication that halts some of it. The haemorrhaging for one," she motioned to Abby's nose. "And it helps with some of the pain… Goddess, what the fuck am I doing?" Jane didn't dare touch her but put a hand on Abby's chest.
"Is there anything else that's wrong?" She asked. "Is this more than usual?!" If I've killed her…
Asura sat back for a moment and took a breath, collecting herself. Jane watched as she swallowed then turned a cold gaze on her.
"No," she said. "Not that I can see, but Mordin needs to look at her as soon as possible." Her eyes grew harder as she stared daggers at Jane. "Help me get her up. Play your part." The last was a hissed reminder that this wasn't over. Jane grimaced and knelt beside Abby's feet, trying to lift her for a moment before she grimaced in pain.
"Jack?" she called. "Please come and help here. I can't lift with this damned hip."
The biotic growled at them and rushed to the position Jane had vacated. Yet, for all the anger in her body, her touch was gentle as she moved forward and hooked an arm underneath Abby's knees. There was pain in her eyes as well, which made Jane winch a little, reminded of the biotic's injury.
"How the fuck do you justify this?" Jack snapped at Asura. "How the fuck do you keep on doing this to her?"
Asura didn't look at Jack but continued to stare at Jane. "Because I have to," she said, still visibly upset. "Because we don't have a choice. On three…"
Jane closed her eyes. Because we don't have a choice.
She put a hand on Jack's back. "Let's get her to the bed," she said. "On my count. One, two…" As Jack tensed to pick Abby's legs up, with Asura still at her head and her hands underneath Abby's limp arms, Jane unexpectedly stepped up to the biotic, the hypodermics she had taken from Abby in hand. In a fluid motion that she had mentally practiced in her mind ever since she took a hold of the two instruments, she injected one then the other into Jack in quick succession.
The biotic hadn't seen it coming but that didn't lessen her response. She yelled like an animal, her biotics flaring from her body as she swept her arm out, taking a swipe at Jane and whatever else was close by. Cupboard rattled and spilled open as the shockwave pulsed through the small room. Asura pulled Abby close to her, wrapping her protectively around the vet as she threw up a biotic shield to protect the two of them.
She didn't make a move against Jack because Jane had told her not to. She wanted to leave... some good will between the three of them at least.
Jane staggered back from the impact, but had expected the blow, and moved to avoid it. Jack scrambled up, a low howl still on her lips as she took one, two steps forward. Jane made ready to grab her, to stop her from bolting, but on the next step, Jack collapsed suddenly, the biotics that had formed around her like a storm, flickering out. Jane moved forward to catch her before she fell on her face, but even as she did, Jack punched her though her strength was already weakening.
"What… the fuck… Shepard," she gasped as Jane lowered her to the floor. "What… What…" She was fading quickly as Anderson had explained to her she would. This drug, needed in larger quantities to take down biotics, was used at Grissom Academy when their students got out of control. Kahlee Sanders had given Anderson the name of the medication and the dosage one would require for someone of Jack's size and power herself.
"This is what I have to do, Jack," Jane said. "I'm sorry, but you can't follow me. Not this time. Not again."
Jack's fury was the last to drift away to unconsciousness.
"Fuck… you," she spat, but her hand reached out and found Jane's, gripping it tightly. "Fuck you,Shepard."
Jane said nothing as Jack faded away, then looked up to find Asura looking at her, their guilt shared. Asura was the first to move, shifting Abby into a position that allowed her to pick her up effortlessly, the gesture so practiced it made Jane wonder how many times she had done so before. She put Abby on the steel examination bed, then took off her jacket and put it underneath the vet's head. She didn't look at Jack, nor moved when two figures joined them.
"Is it done?" Anderson asked, his dark gaze shifting between the asari to the unmoving figure on the floor. "They are nearly here." He looked at Abby, his brow tightening. "What's wrong with her?"
"She got caught in the middle," Jane offered. "What about Jack?"
Anderson met her gaze with reassurance as he nodded. "Everything's arranged," he said. "I won't leave her side till they are here. I made you a promise, Jane."
The little room was becoming very crowded as Hannah joined them as well. She looked at the chaos, mouthing a curse as she moved to the examination table, her hand moving to Abby's brow. Asura gave her a warning look, but didn't hinder her as she rested her hand on Abby.
"Why the bandages?" She asked Asura, her fingers touching those that covered Abby's eyes.
"Stimulation," Asura spoke simply. "Mordin's said I should try and limit it..." She trailed off and squeezed her eyes shut. To Jane's surprise, her mother reached out and put a comforting hand on Asura's arm. Jane realised that they had fought together and, if Asura had deployed this tactic to neutralise an enemy, her mother must have seen it's deadly effect.
Abby continued to be Asura's miracle.
Anderson had knelt beside Jack and, after putting his own jacket over her, lifted her into his arms, cradling her as one would a child. Because of Jack's size, she looked a little like one in that moment and it made Jane's heart ache. She allowed her mother to pull her to her feet, looking at the marks Jack had left on Abby's cupboards.
"I don't suppose you can arrange for this all to be fixed as well," she half joked in Anderson's direction but couldn't take her eyes away from Jack's body that was cradled in his arms.
"Jane," her mother called her to attention. "The stage is not set yet."
Ah yes.
Jane looked at Asura who grimaced and turned to her. She had gotten her emotions under control and was now looking at the commander with a sardonic smile.
"Out, out, brief candle," the asari whispered, surprising both Hannah and Anderson, who seemed to recognize the turn of phrase. "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
"Macbeth," Anderson supplied an answer to Jane's unspoken question. "William Shakespeare."
Asura's gaze was a little sad as she nodded. "My mother loved his work," she supplied then looked to Jane. "Get on and be done with it."
Looking at her awaiting her fate, Jane grimaced and realised that she had lost her appetite for what she was about to do.
"Asura," she said as she positioned the pistol in her hand. "I owe you."
Asura didn't blink but she motioned to Abby. "She believes that she owes you for saving her," she spoke slowly and clearly. "She will always do anything you ask of her. Even after today. It is a debt she feels will never be repaid. If you feel you owe me, then I will call in that debt. When you leave this clinic now, stay out of our lives."
Jane opened her mouth to make that promise, but found that she couldn't. Instead, she balled her fists and smiled, stepping up to Asura.
"When I step out of this clinic, I don't think I will have a choice," she said. "I'm sorry, Asura."
She punched her, hard.
Asura, who saw the punch coming, did noting to deter her and took the full strike on her temple. Jane had used the but end of the pistol for extra impact and it had the desired effect. Asura dropped, unconscious and bleeding from the gash left by the impact. Hannah immediately moved to her and instead of putting her into a more comfortable position, used some bandages from the kit Abby had packed to secure Asura's hand with them before she put a bandage around her head as well, wrapping it tightly around the asari's eyes to make it look as if they were trying to stop her from using her power effectively.
"You have always had good form daughter," Hannah's tone was dry. "It's good to see none of that has been lost in death."
Jane sighed and felt bone weary, a headache starting to pound between her own temples. She dug in Abby's kit and found some standard headache tablets which she swallowed dry. The day was going to be too long for her to let that fester.
"Now is not the time, mother," she said and handed her the pistol. "Take it and give it back to Admiral de Sevigny personally. I'd say to thank him for letting me use it, but…"
"Now wouldn't be the time or place," her mother supplied. "Thank goodness you got your tact from your father." Anderson glanced at the two of them and then left the room with his precious cargo. Beyond it, Jane realised that there had been a sound just below their periphery. A dull thud coming from down the corridor where Abby had her storage room. She suspected that the vorcha was trying to get out.
"Thank goodness for that," she said and turned her attention back to her mother. "But thank goodness, I got everything else from you."
Hannah's face softened as she held out her arms, inviting Jane into an embrace she immediately accepted. She closed her eyes as she buried her face into her mother's shoulder and simply stood there for a moment, allowing the woman to hold her as tightly as she dared.
"I am so proud of you," Hannah whispered. "You should have let me take this for you."
Jane thought about the last couple of days. She thought of Amanda Kenson, of Object Rho… She thought about Samara and prayed to her Goddess that she would see her again. And she thought about Abby and Asura, the two people who had changed her life so unexpectedly, who had been a part of the catalyst that set all of this in motion.
"This was meant for me, mum," she said and took in a deep breath, finding comfort in the familiarity of her mother's embrace and smell.
"This was always meant for me." She tightened her grip on her, then pulled away so that she could kiss her on the cheek. "Come on, walk me out, will you? The stage has been set. Let us give them the grand finale."
The Alliance forces had hoped that they would be at the location first, but they weren't because humans were never first on Omega. A small crowd had gathered in the corridors already, mostly consisting of vorcha who had been seen to frequent the area lately. There were mercenaries mingling about, some of Aria's private security and finally… Finally the Alliance. They were trying to figure out how they would launch an offensive and were waiting for a schematic of the area because their source had said that Shepard held hostages. They shouldn't have cared, but this was Omega and, if they went in shooting and accidentally killed some citizen the mercenaries were fond off, they would have a whole new different problem on their hands.
And then, there had been the press. They didn't even know that Omega had some, but there they were with a few shitty cameras, wondering what all the fuss was about.
Admiral de Sevigny, who had served his species with distinction throughout his life, was trying to salvage the situation while actually doing his job. He wasn't bad at it, in fact it was the reason he had been sent to get Shepard.
He was unsympathetic to her crusade and he did not believe in her reapers.
Yet, he'd have believed in them rather than believe that what transpired next could have occurred. His soldiers had managed to make a space in front of the facilities only entrance but it only served to allow the cameras a better view. He had been about to give the order to have those individual removed, because there was no amendment of freedom of speech on Omega that he was aware of, when the door opened and Shepard stepped out.
Only, the moment she stepped out all realised that this wasn't Shepard. This was a woman she would resemble one day, when age thinned her and softened her hair colour. Captain Hannah Shepard stepped into the doorway but didn't move beyond it.
"I have negotiated with my daughter," she raised her voice. "She's giving herself up, peacefully. The force which had coerced her from the Alliance's custody has been… neutralised." She fixed a stern look on the soldiers around her which those who had served under her recognize well. "I suggest we all relax so matters can conclude peacefully. Stand down gentlemen, ladies." Her eyes turned to Admiral de Sevigny and there was some debate later whether she simply acknowledged his presence or expected him to comply with her order.
"Admiral de Sevigny."
There was a long pause. Longer than it should have been for someone of her station.
"I'm bringing my daughter out."
Hannah Shepard didn't speak her name but turned and slipped her hand into one awaiting her by the door. She pulled Jane Shepard out who walked with her into the small open space before the clinic. While her one hand was clasped in her mother's the other was held at her side. Empty of weapons and open.
Relaxed.
They walked to Admiral de Sevigny with all eyes focused on them. It was in that moment that one camera caught a half-blurred image, that of a man slipping out of the clinic carrying what looked like a child in his arms.
It was only later, in the whirlwind of events which followed this day, that he was identified as Councilman David Anderson.
"There were innocents caught in the crossfire," Jane spoke loudly and clearly, addressing not the admiral but the public around her. "A doctor and her partner. Their condition isn't life threatening but please. Can someone see that they get help?" There was a blur of commotion then as a face familiar to those around the area came to view.
"I'm a medic," a man yelled. "I'm familiar with the couple, I'm from Mordin's clinic!" The name brought a murmur to the crowd because the salarian was very respected on Omega. The man pushed through those gathered around and slipped through the door, though nobody bothered to look at him or film him. The space around the area was becoming smaller as all pressed closer to see and hear what was happening as Admiral de Sevigny and Commander Jane Shepard stared at each other. The older man's mouth was pressed in a line, but all the cameras were on them so he said nothing. Instead he turned and motioned to a path his people had cleared for them to the nearest transport.
"This way," he said and allowed the two Shepards to walk on ahead of him. The cameras stayed on the party as no escort approached them. Instead, Commander Jane Shepard was simply lead to the transport by her mother, who got in first and settled comfortably beside where her daughter would be. Some of the final images of Commander Jane Shepard in public were captured in that moment as she paused before sitting down, her green eyes scanning the crowd before they halted on a person. The cameras caught the way her eyes narrowed slightly before she inclined her head in acknowledgement to someone standing some distance away. They were too late to capture the exact details of the person's face as it was only a dark blue blur in passing before it disappeared into the crowds, but some had seen who it was and the rumours spread quickly.
Commander Jane Shepard left Omega with Aria T'Loak's blessing – something the Alliance perhaps, in their first effort to detain her, did not have.
The End of Chapter 46
To be Continued…