Carbon Life

by HR Ringer

  Xiùlán’s mouth fell open at this revelation. “Then I guess it’s a good thing they were all deactivated before they could detonate. The report I read mentioned Shepard personally disabled each of them. And the geth didn’t bring them – that damned turian procured them from somewhere, probably from Arcturus – then had them shipped to that transfer station. He couldn’t take the artifact with him – he actually had no further use for it – so he was going to make damned sure no one else could use it after he left.”

  McKenzie shook her head in amazement. “Commander Shepard is really something. Don’t know how she managed it, but rumors are – from multiple sources – that the Council gave her command of the Normandy so she can track down Saren and put a stop to whatever he’s planning.”

  It was Xiùlán’s turn to look amazed. “If that’s true, what about Captain Anderson? Surely he was given some assignment in consideration of his rank and standing.”

  “If he was given a new job, there’s no news of it.” Pausing for a moment, she then dropped an unexpected bombshell. “Ambassador Udina felt that Anderson’s past involvement with Saren would taint any investigation he was involved in. The good news is the Council named Shepard a Spectre… the first human ever. It was the only way to free her from Alliance oversight, and with Anderson ashore on the Citadel, Shepard’s free to pursue Saren wherever he goes.”

  Xiùlán’s mind was reeling at everything she’d just learned from McKenzie. Finally finding her voice again, she asked, “So, what in hell is Saren’s endgame, Kenzie? I gather from everything he did on Eden Prime and the fact the Council felt it necessary to name Shepard a Spectre that the bastard really hates humans. Is that his goal? Eliminate humankind from the galaxy? Why else would he employ the geth?”

  “Don’t know,” came the response, accompanied with a shrug of the shoulders. “I’ll speak with Commander Nolan, see if he has any official word from Fleet Command – they must know something, although I’d bet they won’t want to share anything.”

  “Guess we just have to be ready for whatever shitstorm is coming our way,” Xiùlán concluded.

  * * *

  * SSV TOKYO · ORBITING EARTH, SOL SYSTEM *

  Instead of traveling to Arcturus Station, the Tokyo had been ordered back to the Sol System, there to transfer the unexploded bombs picked up from a transshipment platform on the outskirts of Constant on Eden Prime to an an Alliance engineering depot at the Quonset Point spaceport in Rhode Island, where the recovered ordinance would be ferried down – one at a time – to a fortified bunker near the spaceport. Once their cargo was secured in Alliance custody on the planet, the Tokyo would return to Arcturus to await further orders – scuttlebutt going around had it that a significant number of geth had been discovered on the Knossos system’s planet of Therum, with lots of wildly fanciful reasons put forth to justify their presence there.

  On the off chance that Sammy could get away for a day… or even half a day, Xiùlán sent an encrypted message to her Inamorata as soon as the Tokyo entered the system. A shuttle flight from Oxford would only take a short time; with any luck, she could have lunch or dinner with Sammy before the Tokyo’s scheduled departure.

  Traynor had a surprise of her own – she and a pair of junior technicians was going to be ferried up to the Tokyo, along with the parts, equipment and tools needed to install a QEC terminal in the ship's secure communications compartment. The link for this second terminal would be placed at the northwestern division of Alliance HQ in Vancouver, which would be Sammy's next port of call. The Tokyo would remain in Earth orbit until Traynor declared the new QEC terminal ready for use.

  * * *

  Sammy bounded out of the shuttle ahead of techs and jogged up to an impatiently waiting Lieutenant. Literally skidding to a stop in front of Yuán, Traynor came to attention and executed a smart salute, which was enthusiastically answered by Yuán. “Sà mǐ… it is so wonderful to see you!”

  As they were standing in the very public light transport shuttle bay, Traynor managed to keep her exuberance reined in as she replied, “Nǐ de ài shǐ wǒ de shēnghuó wánzhěngle!” [你的愛使我的生活完整了, 秀蘭 – Your love makes my life complete, Xiùlán!] I cannot begin to tell you how much I have missed you since you departed for Eden Prime; it looks like we’ll be able to have our meals together – if being seen with a non-com specialist won’t get you into trouble, Ai [愛 – Love (Sam’s meaning is ‘luv’)].”

  “Sounds wonderful, Sà mǐ! I’ll speak with Commander Nolan, see if we can synch our meal breaks.” A brief wave of discontent washed over Xiùlán’s expression, to be instantly replaced by her happy smile. “Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll be able to share sleeping quarters aboard – I generally won’t be allowed in the guest quarters, and you certainly won’t be allowed in officer’s country.” Nodding towards the shuttle, she concluded by saying, “At least I can show you around the ship just a bit. Go get your bags so I can escort you and your tech team to your quarters.”

  * * *

  Specialist Traynor and her team spent an intense eleven days installing and testing the QEC terminal on the Tokyo – the first on any Alliance ship that was not connected to a matching QEC on Arcturus Station. On her next to last day aboard ship, she had been led down an unfamiliar passageway by XO Nolen; he knocked on an unmarked door at the end. When the Haptic interface turned green, he opened the door and waved Traynor inside ahead of him. Standing behind and to one side of Sammy, he announced to the woman sitting behind a massive desk, “Captain, this is Specialist Samantha Traynor… Specialist, Captain Tyler. She wanted to speak with you before your departure from the ship tomorrow.”

  Tyler stood and offered her hand across the desk, which Sammy took and pumped once before stepping back and waiting. Tyler waved her to a chair next to her desk as she said, “Specialist, I need you to fill me in on the modifications you and your team have made to my comms system… specifically as to why in hell we need a second QEC node in a compartment already crowded with equipment.”

  The corners of Sammy’s mouth tipped up ever so slightly as she sat down; she offered a succinct explanation of her theory concerning the likelihood that an unknown enemy could conceivably blind Alliance command and the fleets by simply destroying a few comm buoys and the communications center on Arcturus Station. “I’ve been doing research on advanced quantum comms for the past eight weeks – two weeks ago, I presented my findings and proposed remedies to the major in charge of my R&D unit. He presented all of the facts and figures to the Alliance Defense Committee, who ultimately agreed with our warnings.”

  Alicia smiled slightly as she scanned through the report on her datapad. “Specialist, the Defense Committee is not known for thinking about the future – certainly not to the degree we would like. I find it just a bit incredible that you were able to convince them to spend millions of credits to retrofit ships with additional QEC capacity.” After a brief pause, she asked, “So, the other node for this additional system will be on Earth?”

  “Yes, Ma’am. In Vancouver, to be precise.”

  “Can you tell me how being able to communicate with Earth will benefit this ship?”

  “The unit will be your comms backup, Captain. Under normal conditions, you’ll work through Arcturus, just like always. You’ll only need to use our add-on during extreme conditions.”

  Tyler sat back in her chair; clasping her hands together in her lap, she said, “Specialist, I’m going to take you at your word. I don’t really believe there’s an enemy powerful enough to simultaneously knock out comms at Arcturus and destroy the comm buoys in four or five systems. If that were to happen, I’d expect Earth would be attacked as well.”

  “The QEC nodes on the planet will be installed in hardened bunkers, away from the actual core of operations in Vancouver, Ma’am. The Defense Committee doesn’t want the comms on Earth to be as vulnerable as those on a space station.”

  Tyler nodded as she thought about Traynor’s words. �
�Well, let’s hope your version of the apocalypse doesn’t come to pass.” Standing, she asked, “So, you and your team heading for Vancouver when you leave the Tokyo?”

  “Yes Ma’am,” Sammy replied as she matched Tyler’s move. “We have to install the mate to the system we just placed in your comms center.” Offering her hand, she said, “It’s been a pleasure to meet you, Captain. With any luck, you’ll have real-time comms ability with Earth by the end of next week.”

  * * *

  Xiùlán faced Traynor as she stood beside the waiting shuttle. “This just seems to get more difficult each time, Sà mǐ, and not having had any alone time really makes it tough.”

  Sammy was having a difficult time keeping her emotions in check. “I can only hope we’ll get some time together when you get your next shore leave. I’ll be in Vancouver doing installations for the foreseeable future – two more teams will deploy from R&D in Oxford to carry out installations on the heavy cruisers and dreadnaughts.” Pausing for a moment, she glanced around the vast hanger before returning her attention to Xiùlán. “You think we should… I don’t know… maybe… get married, Ai?”

  Xiùlán had to force herself to remain calm. “Where in hell did that come from, Sà mǐ?”

  Traynor’s face, for all its normal coloration, could not completely hide the blush she felt was setting her cheeks on fire. “I’ve been thinking about it… a lot… ever since my blowup on Arcturus. It’s just… I cannot live without you in my life, Xiùlán… you know that, don’t you? I want to be your wife, and I want you to be mine. Is that wrong, or…”

  Xiùlán placed a finger vertically across Sammy’s lips to stop her from rambling. “It’s not wrong, Sà mǐ. I admit, I have thought about it myself. And the answer is yes, Sà mǐ.”

  Xiùlán thought the sun couldn’t get any brighter than the radiant smile on Traynor’s face. “Let’s think about it, okay – see what we need to do in order to pull it off.”

  Sammy could only nod as she attempted to get her voice working against the tightness in her throat; changing the subject completely, she asked, “So, where’s the next port of call for you and the Tokyo?”

  “Scuttlebutt says we’ll be going to a colony in Attican Beta – something about krogan mercenaries and geth attacking ExoGeni colonists on Feros. The Normandy is already in the system – we’ll be going in as their backup, should they need us. Can’t imagine there’s that many geth or krogan out there.”

  “Well, you be careful if you have to go dirtside. I don’t think they’ll let me come rescue your ass if you get in trouble,” Traynor concluded with a grin. “I love you, Yuán Xiùlán.”

  “Wǒ ài nǐ, sà mǐ. [我愛你，薩米 – I love you, Sami] Zhùyì ānquán.” [注意安全。– Stay safe.]

  Chapter 42: INVASION!

  In the dying embers and blackened twigs of a ravaged forest, who could distinguish where the first spark was lit? Only the arsonist knows the exact location where that match was struck. – Lang Leav, Sad Girls

  * * *

  CO – Commanding Officer

  DC – Damage Control

  Inamorata – A woman with whom one is in love or has intimate relations; a female lover (Italian)

  NDA – Non-Disclosure Agreement, signed by Yuán and Traynor at termination of the O7 program

  OOD – Officer of the Deck, direct representative of the captain, having responsibility for the ship

  SDU – Standard Duty Uniform

  VI – Virtual Intelligence

  X3M – a contragravity speeder designed for transporting individuals in metropolises and space stations.

  XO – Executive Officer

  * * *

  * VANCOUVER, BC · SYSTEMS ALLIANCE SHIPYARD *

  * MONDAY, 27 MARCH 2186 *

  Alliance Chief Warrant Officer Samantha Traynor had been living and working in Vancouver for just over two years, having been transferred from the Alliance R&D facility outside of London in order to develop and test the Earth-bound QEC nodes that would be the matching connections to nodes installed on the fleet’s dreadnaughts, heavy cruisers and carriers. She had just returned from a ten-day leave in Shanghai, where she had been the guest of Xiùlán’s parents, Yuán Chaoxiang and Yuán Lì húa. Of course, the main attraction had been Xiùlán – the two women had become inseparable in just the relatively short time they had known each other – if Xiùlán was on Earth, Sammy was bound and determined to be with her.

  There were one or two people in Sam’s immediate chain of command that suspected Traynor of hacking the Alliance computers responsible for scheduling leave time, in order to guarantee she’d be granted the dates she wanted, but nothing could ever be proven. Virtually no one in the Alliance – with the exception of General RaeLee Park and Captain David Anderson – had any inkling of just how good Traynor was at cyber-intrusion; Park felt she was an absolute genius and could be pulling down ten or twenty times her current pay by working in the private sector. General Park was waiting for Traynor to arrive for a meeting – a meeting she hoped would provide the specialist with a challenge befitting her abilities.

  As if on cue, a sharp knock on her door was preceded by her receptionist entering Park’s office. “CWO Samantha Traynor has arrived for her appointment, General.”

  Park smiled, saying, “Thank you, Corporal. Please show her in.”

  The young man stood aside to allow a beaming Sammy to enter; she walked up to the general’s desk, stopped, saluted, then offered her hand to RaeLee. “General… it’s really good to see you after so much time.”

  Park grasped Traynor’s hand and pumped it twice before releasing her and waving her to a nearby chair. “Always a pleasure, Samantha. It’s been too long.” She poured a cup of tea for the specialist, refilled her own mug with coffee and took a seat. “Specialist, I called you here today so I can personally hand you a new assignment.”

  Traynor sipped a bit of tea from her cup before responding. “General, begging your pardon, Ma’am, but… well, Alliance generals have better things to do than meet with the likes of me to discuss reassignments. Must be a really plum job, or a major shitstorm.”

  Park chuckled at that. “You’re absolutely correct, Sammy… I really do have other things to attend to – more important things, based on talk from those up the chain. I’ve been monitoring your work on the QEC project. You’re ideas have cost us a lot of credits, credits that have been well spent, in my humble opinion.” RaeLee slid a datapad across her desk. “Take a look at the info in that report, Specialist. Take your time.”

  Traynor picked up the datapad and quickly scanned through the report; when she was done, she looked up at the General and said, “The Normandy, Ma’am?

  “Not the original ship, Sammy – you must know that one was blown to hell over Alchera, in the Omega Nebula. No, this is the SR-2 – constructed by Cerberus…” Park noticed an expression of utter hatred wash over Traynor’s features – if she hadn’t been watching intently, she might have missed it. “… for Commander Shepard to use in the fight to eradicate the Collectors.”

  Traynor read a bit more, then set the data pad on Parks desk and leaned back in her chair. “So Shepard did destroy the Viper System relay… I thought that was bad intel, Ma’am. So… now what? Shepard’s been arrested and the ship has been confiscated?”

  “Not confiscated, Samantha. Shepard’s a Council Spectre – as such, she outranks every officer in every race’s military, including me, and she’s… well, let’s just say she’s in protective custody – Admiral Anderson traveled to Omega Station to escort her back here, to Vancouver. If the batarians were to get their hands on her, she’d be dead within a week.”

  Park sipped her coffee before continuing. “Shepard confiscated that ship from Cerberus and presented it to the Council for Spectre use. But… we get first crack at her, Sammy.” RaeLee was smiling at the thought. “The ship will be brought to the yard here in Vancouver, where our engineers will analyze the hell out of every nut, bolt, screw an
d wire.” The general leaned forward and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial tone. “You’re new assignment is going to be that ship, Sammy. My understanding is it will be reconfigured to Alliance specifications, never mind who owns it – and you’ll be in charge of refitting the comms and situational display gear to our standards, along with installing the improved QEC equipment you helped design. We’ll paint our logo on the hull and inside, but honestly, the Normandy is a Spectre vessel, the first of its kind.” Park took a sip from her mug, set it down gently and added, “What Cerberus stole from the Alliance to design and build an improved stealth frigate, the Alliance will take back in order to build a whole new generation of stealth frigates for our navy.”

  * * *

  * SYSTEMS ALLIANCE FLEET HQ, CITADEL · WIDOW SYSTEM *

  * MONDAY, 24 APRIL 2186 *

  Looking resplendent in her dress blue uniform, Staff Lieutenant Yuán Xiùlán stepped out of the UT-47a that had ferried her from the SSV Tokyo to the Alliance docks on the station. A Marine private met her at the main entrance, inquiring politely, “Begging your pardon, Ma’am, but are you Lieutenant Xiùlán?”

  Xiùlán smiled indulgently at the young man. It wasn’t often that someone would address her by her given name; most of the people in the Alliance had been instructed in proper protocol for addressing people of Chinese ancestry. “I am Lieutenant Yuán, Private,” she responded, placing emphasis on her family name. “Xiùlán is my given name. What may I do for you, Private…?”

  The young man’s face colored slightly. He had been sent here to intercept the Staff Lieutenant in order to accompany her to a meeting with his new captain. “Begging your pardon, Ma’am. Name’s Hamilton.” Looking at his datapad, he added, “Admin must have inadvertently reversed your name, Ma’am.”