Carbon Life

by HR Ringer

  With an affirmation from both her guests, she continued, “Excellent! In that case, tonight’s dinner is a warrior specialty. It is an asari fighting fish... the galea. It requires special preparation; in addition to biotics, it uses poison to assist in its kills, and care must be taken to not rupture the venom sacks.” She laughed once more at the expression on the humans’ faces. “Please, do not concern yourselves; the fish is tested for traces of the toxin before cooking, to be sure it was filleted correctly. I have no intention of poisoning the first guests we have had aboard in months!”

  Xiùlán smiled in response. “How interesting! We have a similar delicacy in Japan, called fugu, which also requires special preparation.”

  Agana’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “For vastly different worlds and cultures, I am always amazed at the number of similarities amidst our independent evolutions.”

  Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the steward, bringing their dinner and drinks on a large rolling cart. As she placed the trays on the table, Agana explained each dish. The first was the aforementioned fish, followed quickly by a large bowl of ke’ah, a type of dough similar to pasta, and a platter of various flavors of uloth, the asari equivalent of cheese. Each diner then received two plates; a large plate set directly in front of them and a smaller plate set off to the side, holding what appeared to be a pile of leaves.

  “Let me demonstrate.” Agana quickly picked up two of the large green leaves off the side plate and nested them in one hand. “The greens are called yefal.” She promptly identified each item as she continued, first scooping a spoonful of ke’ah onto the leaves, followed immediately with a thin layer of uloth. She then added a generous portion of galea, and finished by topping it with a spoonful of a thick sauce from a selection that occupied the center of the table arrangement. “The various sauces have vastly different flavors. I would suggest you taste a little of each one before dousing your dinner with any of them.” She quickly pointed to each as she continued, “This is very hot, this not so much...” She pointed to the one she had poured so generously on her own galea and smiled, “... and this one is sweet and spicy, but not in a hot way. I won’t even begin to attempt to describe the flavors. I have found the human sense of taste to be quite different from ours.”

  Both Xiùlán’s and Sammy’s eyes lit with understanding as Agana rolled it all together into what closely resembled a Japanese leaf roll. It was Xiùlán’s turn to laugh as she exclaimed, “Our cultures are even more similar than you believe, Agana!”

  Traynor, being a bit more conservative with her food choices, chose the sweet and spicy sauce; Xiùlán the sauce T’Lori described as ‘not so much’. After tentatively tasting their chosen sauces, they each added more generous amounts to their own galea, rolled the yefal around the lot and took a small bite.

  Xiùlán, having a palate accustomed to the various dishes of her native land, quickly discovered herself to be a fan of asari food and drink, and managed to eat two of the asari leaf rolls before Sammy had finished her first one, something that did not go unnoticed by Captain T’Lori, who worriedly asked, “The galea not to your liking, Sammy?”

  Traynor blushed slightly at the question, answering, “I’m just not used to all the flavors, Agana. It is…” she paused momentarily to think about her response, “… quite delicious. I expect the trace amount of Eezo may be altering my perception of the tastes. Other than the slight bitter tang, it is really quite similar to some of the foods I ate during my visit to Xiùlán’s home last summer.” Taking a sip of Elasa, she added, “Perhaps what I need is total immersion – a two or three month visit to Thessia once this job is completed – really allow me to sample all the different foods the asari have to offer.”

  Xiùlán chuckled, observing, “I don’t know if having Sammy taking a liking to your cuisine is a good idea, Agana. You haven’t seen how much she normally eats!” Xiùlán’s loving look at Sammy was also noticed by the perceptive T’Lori. “She uses a lot of energy when she’s pummeling me with her nángùn.”

  Captain T’Lori glanced at each of them over the rim of her glass as she sipped her drink, then directed her next question at both of them. “Do you think you’ll be able to stay together in the Alliance Navy?”

  Sammy looked surprised. “What would lead you to believe we are… together?”

  It was T’Lori’s turn to chuckle. “The way you look at each other when you think no one else is watching.” Looking intently at Traynor, she nearly whispered, “Your celebratory passion after besting Xiùlán earlier was widely remarked upon by the ship’s crew, Sammy… some were seemingly surprised at your species inability to meld, to the point of expressing quiet regret that you can never know that level of intimacy.”

  Sammy spooned a bit more sauce on her plate, in which she deftly dipped a stray bite of Galea. “I have no point of reference to understand what we may, or may not, be missing, Agana, but our relationship is…” Traynor looked at Xiùlán as she placed a hand on her arm, “… intensely intimate, and immensely satisfying.” She delicately took the small bite of sauce covered fish between the thumb and forefinger of her free hand and deftly placed it between Xiùlán’s lips. “To answer your question concerning our future together, we’re committed to making our relationship work, Agana.” Samantha said as she massaged Xiùlán’s arm beneath her hand. “Regardless of our postings, which I seriously doubt will be on the same base or ship, I love Xiùlán with all that I am.”

  Xiùlán added, “My love for Sammy is just as intense. We’re taking advantage of every minute we have together, just as if it’s our last.

  The captain was actually surprised at Traynor’s explicit action and her declaration of undying love, but she quickly recovered with a wide smile as she said, “I wish the best for both of you. It is a rare thing to know without any doubt that you have each found your Siame… that is a Thessian word, literally meaning one who is all… a loved one cherished above all others.” Agana raised her glass and tipped it towards them as she finished with, “I wish you both all the happiness the galaxy has to offer. May the Goddess watch over you always.”

  * * *

  Chapter 22: Finding Trouble

  Find it on the map, you can always get to it. Try to follow someone’s half-assed directions, and once you lose the trail, you’re sunk. – Neal Stephenson, Zodiac

  * * *

  Galea: Species of fighting fish common off Armali shores; also the name given to asari capital ships ('dreadnought' in Terran) (asari)

  Húdié dāo: [ 蝴蝶刀– Butterfly sword (knife in English)]

  Ionsaí: Strike, or attack (asari)

  * * *

  * CRESCENT NEBULA • TASALE SYSTEM, ILLIUM • NOS ASTRA *

  *BLAM* Samantha Traynor grimaced as the pleasant dream she had been having abruptly evaporated with the sound of something hitting the exterior of the decrepit looking shuttle in which she was sleeping. As she carefully brought her torso up to rest on her forearm, she heard the same type of sound again – *BLAM-KLING* – not as loud, but definitely something hitting the shuttle’s roof panels and possibly bouncing.

  Looking across the compartment, she could barely make out an empty berth in the dim light, meaning Xiùlán was already up, and probably outside – hopefully close by. She squinted her eyes at the chronometer over the port-side hatch, the dimmed digital numbers displaying what to Sam was an ungodly early hour to be awakened, especially from such a nice dream. The noise hadn’t repeated after the second crash of… whatever had landed on her roof.

  After gingerly climbing down from her berth, she took a sip of water from a bottle hanging from the bulkhead, slipped into her clothes – non-descript civilian laborer wear in place of her SDU – checked the view outside displayed on the six-quadrant monitor, then exited through the port-side hatch.

  Upon departing the asari corvette Ionsaí two days ago, Xiùlán and Sam had set their shuttle down in the midst of just one of the many industrial warehouse area
s located in the lower levels of the massive city. Their covert mission depended on anonymity, thus their dependence on a jointly operated asari/human support facility – part legitimate restaurant and bar – part illegal red sand supplier. Sam had questioned the latter description and was simply told, ‘Shit’s legal on Illium, but one has to have a ‘license’ to sell it.’ That emphasis on ‘license’ meant a substantial monthly bribe needed to be paid to the main red sand import/export business group on Illium – the Eclipse.

  Sammy walked around the shuttle in an attempt to discover the objects that had fallen onto the top; she found nothing on the deck around the thruster pods. Shading her eyes with her hand she looked up at the edge of the warehouse floor immediately above her location. In order to make use of the Ionsaí’s long-range communications ability, Traynor had deliberately parked the shuttle in a location where its roof-mounted antenna array had a relatively unobstructed ‘view’ of the sky – and the orbiting asari corvette overhead. Perhaps something had been shoved of kicked from the upper deck. With no trace of anything that hadn’t already been there, ‘I didn’t dream those noises, especially not the second one!’, she decided to stop at the upper level on her way back from breakfast at the ‘restaurant’.

  Touching the comlink in her ear, she whispered, “Xiùlán. Where are you?”

  After several seconds, during which time Traynor grew increasingly nervous that something had happened to her partner, a whispered reply, barely louder than the background noise of the city, sounded in her ear. “Looking for trouble, Sēn měi. Think I may have found it…” Xiùlán sounded a bit out of breath, as if she’d been running.

  “What kind of trouble? Where’n’ell are you!?”

  “Can’t talk… on the run! I’ll text you.”

  Now Sam was worried. It was almost beyond belief that Xiùlán had left the shuttle to go… somewhere, and had already run into trouble; worse, Sam had no idea where she was, and without an aircar, couldn’t get to her anyway! ‘Shit!’

  Returning to the shuttle, Traynor reengaged the external cameras as she sat in the pilot’s seat and started running a hacking routine on the system of surveillance cameras in her vicinity. Despite the dangers of its products – some might say because of the dangers – Illium’s reputation for safety came at the cost of near-total surveillance, something Traynor could quite easily exploit for her own benefit. She searched outwards from her location, first on her own level, then on the levels below. With no indication of anything amiss on the three levels below her, she shifted her search upwards.

  On the first level above there were a huge number of standard ‘dry’ shipping containers, arranged in rows and stacked two and three high. The camera coverage here was not as complete, but she could see something… a figure, clad in black, moving across the top of one three-high stack, near the edge above Traynor’s own location in the shuttle. Was that Xiùlán? Had she dropped something on the shuttle to wake her… to get her attention? As she watched, the figure seemed to shimmer, then disappeared from view. “Xiùlán!” Traynor tried using her comlink and was disappointed by the lack of a response.

  Shifting the camera into infrared reception, Traynor once again picked up the mysterious figure. “Xiùlán, I can see you. What… or who… is after you?”

  The figure went to a knee and looked around for a moment before reaching up to her head. “Sà mǐ? Are you in the security cams?”

  “Shi! [是 – Yes!] What can I do to help?”

  “Look around this level… there are a pair of pissed off turians chasing me.”

  “Standby…” Traynor ‘jumped’ to several different security cams, looking for anyone moving in the area around Yuán’s location. She finally spotted one of the turians in the shadows between the container stacks, just two rows to the west.

  “Found one, two rows west. Can you get to the level with an aircar, or an elevator?”

  “Freight elevator. West four rows.”

  “Okay, you need a distraction. I’m coming up.” Traynor performed an emergency pre-flight and eased the elderly UT-47t off the concrete deck; she headed away from the parking area in a steep climb before spinning the craft 180° on its axis and leveling out at the same ‘altitude’ as the cargo yard above which they had been parked. She slowly approached the containers lining the very edge of the platform, looking intently for any sign of Xiùlán.

  As she approached, she began taking small arms fire from the area where she’d pinpointed the turian. She decreased the shuttle’s altitude in response, hoping to draw the turian to the edge of the platform. She still couldn’t see Xiùlán, but trusted she’d know how to react to the turian’s sudden loss of interest in her location.

  “Okay Sà mǐ, I’m moving for the elevator. Keep him busy…”

  Traynor slid the shuttle sideways to the east, hoping the high frequency whine of the -47’s thrusters would draw the turian’s interest away from Xiùlán’s destination. She activated her proximity sensors as she moved – wouldn’t help anyone if she blindly ran into a loading crane or automated cargo handler while she was so focused on the level in front of her.

  “Sà mǐ! … in… elev… r. Set down… where… were parked… need to relocate!”

  Xiùlán’s speech was garbled, probably by some sort of electronic jammer. Traynor had heard enough to understand; she performed a descending corkscrew turn to return the ungainly craft to its original location, where she gently set down; with engines at idle, she moved to the portside hatch and opened it after grabbing her shotgun. Stepping out onto the concrete, she kneeled beside the open hatch in order to provide covering fire if needed. It was only a matter of moments before her lover appeared from behind a massive, wheeled cargo handler, long legs rapidly putting distance between her and her pursuer. Her cloaking generator must have taken some damage, as her form pixilated between totally cloaked and partially visible with every vibration induced footfall.

  Samantha rapidly placed her shotgun on the deck as she drew her heavy pistol; taking careful aim, she fired twice. Two bullets whizzed past Xiùlán’s right side and connected with the rather determined looking turian that had appeared on Xiùlán’s trail. The second bullet was superfluous… the first one entered the turian’s head through his nose plates, jerking his upper body to a sudden stop in a cloud of blue mist. Momentum alone kept his lower torso and legs moving forward for the briefest of moments before his entire body crashed backwards onto the deck.

  Xiùlán spared a quick glance over her shoulder as Traynor retrieved her shotgun and stood up; her lover slowed to a walk, then stopped in front of her and embraced her. “Dammit, Sà mǐ! This place may as well be Omega! I was minding my own business, inquiring about a shipment received from there. Big bastard behind the counter took offense… claimed I was sticking my spotted nose in where it didn’t belong.” Her voice turned contemplative as she finished with, “I don’t think he’d ever seen freckles before.”

  “So, now we have to relocate the shuttle,” Samantha complained. “It would have been nice to have had breakfast before you kicked that Blue Suns hornet nest. How many of ‘em were trying to find you?” Sam climbed back inside the shuttle as she talked, taking the co-pilot’s seat in order to operate the computer interfaces.

  “Three. You killed one of ‘em… I nailed another one. The one that fired on you is probably still up there searching for me” Xiùlán took the pilot’s seat after closing the hatch. “Where should we go?”

  “There’s a landing pad two klicks to the east. We’ll have to obtain a replacement aircar if you can’t recover the one we had. And I still need breakfast, dammit.”

  Xiùlán reengaged the Eezo core and engines; bringing the shuttle to a low hover, she pivoted the craft slowly on its axis and guided it away and to the left from the platform. “What are you doing, Sà mǐ?” Traynor was busy inputting commands on her haptic interface.

  “Attempting to erase the video record of everywhere you were seen this morning… lot
s of bloody cameras, lot of video of my favorite woman,” she replied with a smirk. “Going to be a real trick to take you out of all the pictures. Need to keep you from being tied to two turians that were killed rather violently.”

  “You killed that last one.”

  “True enough, but he was chasing you. I expect you might have killed ‘im as well if I hadn’t been looking after your six.” Traynor continued inputting code, hacking Nos Astra’s security records in order to erase all the evidence of their presence on the docks. “By the way, was that you dropping stuff on the roof of this thing?”

  “Had to wake you up somehow, wǒ de ài [我的愛 – my love]… couldn’t reach you on comm, couldn’t stop long enough to send a text.”

  “What the ‘ell didja use? Sounded heavy, but I never found anything on the top or on the ground.”

  “Found some frozen CO2 in a broken container near the edge… shit was turning to smoke, so I broke off a couple of chunks, tossed ‘em down.” Yuán’s voice turned snarky. “Not my fault it takes you so long to get outta the sack, Sà mǐ.”

  Sam merely shook her head and kept entering code as Yuán turned back for the cargo handling docks.

  “Here we go… looks like a good spot to park for a few.” Xiùlán was easing the craft into a parking slot when she observed, “This deck must have been added after the docks were constructed originally… looks as if it’s halfway between the lower and upper platform, wǒ de ài. Might be a better location for what we need to do.”

  “Doesn’t matter, Luv, as long as it’s open to the sky. Any overhang will interfere with comms between us and the Ionsaí, and I really need that ship’s deep-space comms ability.”

  Xiùlán had the UT-47 hovering just centimeters from the deck as she spun it to face outwards. “This good enough, Sà mǐ?”

  Traynor held up a hand, index finger up to indicate ‘give me a moment’ as she checked reception and transmission between the shuttle and the corvette. After a few moments, she replied, “Set it down right here, Luv. Soon as we can secure this thing, let’s find an aircar, go get cleaned up and get some food.”