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[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"Get this guy. The modesty," Ereba joked. "Hey, but you'll remember to ask her about teaching us some of your moves. She's trying to improve our performance and you never know when something you learn can save your life or that of your squadmate."

[Cknarf]

"You mentioned a gym?" Johnny spoke, glancing up at the a**hole turian from the Armax arena, who stood at least a whole foot taller. "I haven't taken the complete tour, so... If you wanna lead the way..."

 

He looked up at Arian again, briefly imagining how incredibly awkward an elevator ride with the turian might be.

 

"Actually, on second thought, I think I'll just ask VERA."

[TheMajonese]

Arian looked down at Johnny and crossed his arms. "Seems like a good idea..." Being part of something that felt even remotely like a conversation was getting increasingly awkward and the turian didn't want to stay any longer than necessary.

 

"Well, when I find Jenus, I could ask her for you", he said to Ereba before he just turned to leave, knowing how odd his whole appearance in the lounge had been.

[Cknarf]

"So is he always like that, or...?" Johnny asked quietly as Arian was leaving, even though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.

[Redbelle]

"You mean Iyana"? Jess shrugged. "I guess you could say I've been casting a net for her and managed to get jack on her.... When that woman wants to disappear, she goes under deeper than a diver".

 

Jess took a sip of her drink, not letting the taste faze her as her mind whirred. "By chance though, I did end up with a link to her that I don't think even she knows about. Someone who she might or might not miss. I mean, if it were me I'd want this person back, but given Iyana's state of mind I think she needs protection more than being dangled like bait".

 

Jess sighed. "Actually, it turns out Iyana might have some history with Shia'ra. The Consort. Some kind of education there I think. Haven't gotten the details yet. Just the connection and until I confirm it from the horses mouth..... so to speak...... I'm not going to take it as fact. Shia'ra ought to remember her though. Iyana I gather was a problem child even back then.....". Jess suddenly looked up at Naleena. "I'm going to say this though. Iyana's managed to leave a lot of very damaged..... very scared behind in her wake and getting them to talk about her is something the mind actively resists. It's taken a lot to even get as much as I told you just now. I wouldn't recommend diving into their minds either. To much bad wiring to sort out".

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Naleena winced when Jess mentioned diving into their minds. She put her hand on Jess'. "Jess, something dove into my mind on this mission. Morgan can fill you in more. It's... very scary stuff.

 

"Sha'ira? The Consort? Interesting. She seems to orchestrate things like a dominatrix without the safe word. Combine this with her biotic abilities, her willingness to torture and kill, and you have one very dangerous individual. I still wonder how she maintains control. I will speak with Sha'ira. Perhaps she will remember her," Naleena said and then gave Jess a wicked smile. "And as a Spectre, I don't need an appointment. You seem to know a few more things than I do. Care to tag along when I visit her?"

[Redbelle]

Jess considered it. "I can make a hole in my schedule. Morgans got the ships business down pat and Doggers there to help. Dahlia's been working herself hard and until the doc tells her to pace herself I'm not about to complain. I want to see if a couple of my crew want to come though. Might be a more enlightening trip if a couple of former students join the meet".

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"Sounds good," Naleena said. "I'll be in touch. I have to get over to the Council Chambers for a meeting. Good to see you again, Jess."

[Redbelle]

"Likewise". Jess stood and drained her cup before setting it down on the table. "By the way, what did you find at the site? Snatch anything tasty"? She folded her arms and smiled wolfishly

"You know..... If you think theres something that official channels won't take well..... I could always plumb my contacts. Word of warning. They aren't cheap".

[Kel Riever]

(Note:  The following was a collaboration with Jensaarai)

Essul and Iole

Essul sat in the mess hall as he waited for Iole, a cup of coffee in his hands as he let the beverage cool in the air. He stared into the murky brew, letting out a sigh as ringed his fingers softly, not sure what he would say when the commando arrived.

Iole was easy to spot when she arrived, her markings so distinctive.  When she saw Essul and what he was drinking, she said, "That stuff is addictive."  Then after a pause she said, "I'll have a cup too."

A minute later, coffee in hand, Iole took a seat across from Essul.  "Apparently this is the instant stuff.  Couldn't get our hands on the real stuff.  Have to harass Morgan the next time he goes to Earth."  She snorted a little chuckle and took a sip.  "Joke of course.  But chemicals never tasted so good.  And hot!  Goddess...I bet lawsuits have been filed over these things."

Aware of Essul's mood, it seemed Iole was undeterred.  "Have you gotten your hands on any cow leather?  I mean Earth cow, not just some female herd animal.  Sure it isn't as good as preventing the scrapes and cuts as the breeds from other worlds but comfort?  I know why the Spectre won't get herself out of her trenchcoat.  I think that's earth cow hide...I'm not sure now.  Jeans, I want to try jeans next, after watching Molly wear them."

Iole frowned briefly at the memory of Hagen, then calmed her dialogue.  "All right, what's on your mind?"

"I usually prefer teas myself. But I hear this stuff is good for energy...or something like that." He said as he looked frow his brew to the asari, "It could use something though. Cinnamon or chili powder..." he said with a weak smile, which slowly dropped as he took another sip.

He was trying to be pleasant as possible. After what seemed to be an incurring of one commandos dislike, he wanted to try and get on neutral footing with Iole. But he was never a people person, and the talk of leather did little to help. 

'Why would anyone bother with something that isn't the most protective?' He thought to himself, not having a working sense of touch tended to render most talk of "comfort" whether it was easy to move or not. 

"I wanted to ask about the data you found. And about whether you experienced anything...odd the mission. I think the data would be good to ask first..." Essul said, relaxing as he managed to get on point, "In the data...or in the facility...was there any mention of the words Keter Branch...or mention ot a project...Project Amgarak?" His hands and shoulders tensed ad the words left his mouth. And he took a sip of his coffee as he waited for the answer, a faint tremor in his hand as he did so.

Staring into her coffee for a bit, Iole brought her shoulders in and said, "Data...the data I found I picked and haven't picked through yet.  I uploaded it to VERA and it is available if you'd like to read it.  So I'm not sure about the references you're making.  But I'd like to, if it helps."

Tilting her head for a moment, the golden eyed asari went on.  "Experience?  Scary.  I'll tell you because I don't think I'm losing my mind when I say that I heard things there in the vent.  Jenus wasn't happy with the way things were going either, and let me tell you when she has a concern for the way things are going more than she has time to be angry, that really gets to me.  The sounds...the sounds were like pitches, but I know they weren't heard by others.  If it makes sense, it seemed like the sounds went past my eardrum.  But it wasn't so much the annoying pitch or notes, more that I feel they somehow were meant to make sense.  As if they were supposed to mean something to me.  And in a way, I do."

Iole looked concerned, but as she glanced back at Essul, she seemed to relax again.  "Now that I mention it, I actually was weirded out more than I thought.  It helps to talk about it though.  And I suppose I trust you enough to do that."

 

Essul nodded, setting his cup down as he looked to Iole, "In truth...during the mission, I didn't quite feel...right. A bit of difficulty thinking with a clear head. Trouble focusing...and a ringing in my ears I couldn't get rid of the whole way through..." He said as he frowned, a bit of worry in his voice as he said it.

 

"Commander T'sarius seemed shaken by the events...I thought someone on her team could enlighten my as to why...but your mention of odd noises. Did the others besides jenus experience anything?" He asked, absentmindedly reaching up to scratch the back of his head, an odd each near the start of his scars.

"Well, I didn't notice anything else going on with Jenus, but Tallis seemed unusually distracted.  I haven't had a chance to talk to her about it yet.  Maybe I've just been putting it off, hoping whatever happened would just go away."  Iole pondered.  "Do you think whatever...if something at all...happened, that it was some sort of defense mechanism set up by the Hegemony?  I mean about the sounds and all of that?  Maybe to protect that dreadnought they have?"

"No...given what you've told me, and what I experienced, it's impossible..." Essul said, looking gravely serious as he spoke, "The hegemony has sonic incapacitates. They're rare and expensive, but they exist. If they were using them, we'd have all been affected. And we'd have all been on the ground throwing our guts up because of our inner ears. Or whatever human, asari, and krogan have that works like that." He said, unaware of the shared evolutionary trait that allowed creatures to stand upright and maintain their equilibrium.

 

"This...this was too random for that. And it matches recent trends..." Essul said as he looked into his coffee, "Remember that preacher we fought on omega? The batarian, who apparently developed powerful biotics....And that other batarian on Garvug. The one who tried to take us out near the end?" He asked Iole, letting out a sigh as he looked to the ground.

 

"I think...whatevers going on has something to do with that base. That...thing, your team found...And with myself as well..." He said as he wished he had a cup of coffee to distract himself as he told this story.

 

"You've probably lived longer then I have, and seen more then me in terms of the galaxy at large...Have you ever heard of Eezo Node Integration Theory?" He asked, the theory itself one that had gotten attention a long time ago, and had been dismissed widely by most specialist and wildly fantastical and exceedingly dangerous, though little else was known besides that it involved Biotics and their Nervous Systems. The works themselves had been buried decades ago from the scientific community at large.

Iole was deep into the conversation, but the last bit was something she'd never heard of.  "I haven't. I mean, I need you to explain it and put it's importance into context."

[Kel Riever]

(Note: continued the collaboration with Jensaarai)

"It's a theory, proposing that biotics could be artificially created or enhanced, by preforming a tissue and neural transplant of a biotic doner into a host recipient...It was seen as ludicrous, equivalent to pseudoscience. The man who proposed it was a batarian, Professor Emshael Vaykon, whose funding was cut shortly after his work and his person quickly going missing...in truth, I suspect he was taken to one of the black ops bases to see his work brought to fruition..." Essul said as he looked to Iole, hoping she was following what he was saying.

"When I was first brought into the hegemony, my biotics were severely underutilized, the nerves used to activate the eezo in my muscles hadn't been trained until my teens. So the hegemony signed up onto a project...Project Amgarak. It's goal was to enhance biotics, and did so by harvesting the biotic tissue and nervous systems of deceased biotics and transplanting them into living hosts...There were side effects of course, special medications that were designed to stop rejection also caused my nerves to give out continuous pain signals. Without the medication I take to kill my sense of touch, the pain would overwork my body and cripple me." 

"I thought I was the last one, the project to my knowledge was scrapped when they found out about my condition. A man who can barely feel anything might be a good brute, but a costly one if they had to supply so many with the pain killers. But recently...with the enemies we've fought. The lack of any response to physical trauma. The powerful biotics....I don't want to think about more people like me out there...but the more things go on, I can't help but think Project Amgarak may be active once more...and thst this tech has something to do with it."

Iole nodded slowly as she listened.  It was a niceness, as the horrors of the kind of experimentation sank in.  "But you're saying this kind of...project...has ties to what we saw?  This Leviathan?  Or am I jumping to a conclusion that there's a connection."

"I don't know...." Essul said as he reached up to rub his temple, "All I know is the tech needed to do what's been going on is too advanced for the military alone."

"Someone, or Something, has allowed them to jump years ahead of other races...and I have a feeling we've run into it already."

With a smirk of discomfort, Iole stared at Essul.  The thoughts going around her head about what happened were really more than she was able to process, at least in the moment.  But if how she felt was even a little like Essul, she had compassion for him.  

"The things you went through, I won't know even a bit of.  I can say that sometimes I wish asari weren't natural biotics.  I feel like it's part of causing some sort of arms race, and there are people who will do horrible things to get ahead.  But you know, Essul, I can admire someone for not letting themselves descend into misery, or become something horrible themselves."  Her smile transforming into a genuine one, Iole added.  "And I'm really glad you're with us."

[Kel Riever]

Iole

It wasn't much later than her conversation with Essul that Iole was rushing towards the hangar of the Janiri, to make good on her promises to Captain Stone.  When she got there, she saw the Manned Insertion Pod immediately.

"Oh yeah!" Iole blurted.

The MIP didn't have much flair to the outside viewer, but Iole was all about it as she got up to it and inspected its plain form.  First, it was simple, the sort of thing definitely not designed by an asari engineer.  There was no doubt Iole loved some of her sophisticated gear, but sometimes simplicity had its own genius.  Of course, the thing was like strapping its riders to a rocket and sending it off, so it wasn't for the feint of heart.  Life support, Iole considered, could be its weakness, sacrificed for size, speed and distance.  At the same time, if someone was going to go ahead and sit on a thruster, to Iole this was the way to do it.

"Like it?"  The voice came from behind Iole and she turned around to see a woman with long red hair and unusual, though attractive features standing behind her.  "Pardon me, I'm Serafina, and I came over from the Medusa with the Captain."

"I do," Iole replied, and the two shook hands.  "Nice to meet you.  I'm Iole.  That has to be a divine ride!"

"Sort of," Fina said, "It's simple but you want to be aboard with someone who knows what they're doing, at least when it comes to the landing part."

"You weren't piloting?"

"No! No...." Fina rolled her eyes.  "No, that would have been Captain Stone.  I learned what I needed in case of an emergency."

"Yes, well I can't help but say I'd love to get a crack blasting off in this one day."  Iole turned back to the MIP with admiration.  "I've always had a thing for a craft like this."

"Like this?  You've seen one of these before?"

"Well, not really. Jet bikes and that sort of thing.  But this reminds me a bit of that."  Iole paused as she remembered her obligation.  "Serafina, I hope you don't mind but I promised Captain Stone I'd arrange to get the craft back to the Medusa, along with packing her armor up in an equipment box.  Then I have to get back up to the conference room to see if I can use the QE...you aren't going to make a joke, are you?"

"A joke about what?"

"Bo...never mind."

Serafina smiled, "Well, I appreciate the help.  Actually I thought those tasks would fall to me alone.  I'd be thrilled to get things done with you."

"Perfect!"  Iole smiled back.  "I'll probably need someone to keep me on track anyway so I don't gawk at this hot little rocket for the next hour."

Serafina blushed slightly and had to put her hand to her mouth.

"What?" Iole wondered, then it sank in.  "You...oh come on!"

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"Likewise". Jess stood and drained her cup before setting it down on the table. "By the way, what did you find at the site? Snatch anything tasty"? She folded her arms and smiled wolfishly

"You know..... If you think theres something that official channels won't take well..... I could always plumb my contacts. Word of warning. They aren't cheap".

 

Naleena looked at the time. She stood to leave. "When is anything ever cheap? Jess, what do you when the worst stuff you heard as a child about the end of days starts having merit? When your investigation starts gathering actual proof? No one wants to believe it. There will be a faction that will and those in power will dedicate a portion of their precious budget preparing for it, but there is little they really can do. They sent me out there hoping I'd find nothing, The worst case scenario has happened. That's what happened on this mission. But now another Spectre has gone missing and I suspect a tie to Iyana.

 

"Anyway, Jess, I have to leave before the Council marks me tardy for my meeting. One must not keep the politicians waiting. I'll be in touch.... and thanks."

 

With a nod, she turned and left the conference room.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Council Chambers – post Erszbat Mission

 

Naleena had sent her report to Yalson Sao and prepared to address the Council. She knew Sao would have her back on this matter even if things did get out of hand on Erszbat. She blew off the Asari Naval officer’s inquiry, and the Spectre’s Office now had her intel on Iyana, but she would have to again answer for her behavior. She just didn’t trust people these days. Too many people had suffered because they’d trusted the wrong people. She’d had her run-ins with Xanthe but knew her work was important. Xanthe’s fault was that she was by the book.  Naleena didn’t go by any book. She wrote the rules as she went along.

 

Councilors Sparatus, Udina, and Valern waited in the conference room outside of Councilor Tevos’ office going over the formal complaint filed by the Batarians that a Council vessel had violated Batarian Space in the Vular System and sabotaged a communications satellite and entering a military base, destroying several defensive military vehicles, an act of war.

 

Udina tapped his stylus on the table. “It is clear that Spectre T’sarius is out of control. She was not ready to join the Spectres. Look at her last actions: the failure on Garvug; the shootout in the nightclub and then other one in the terminal, both of which endangered innocent civilians; the execution of a C-sec officer; the VIP transport on Lorek that turned into a diplomatic incident when she blew up the research facility; and now this. This was supposed to be a stealth mission. Gather intel and leave,” he said and tossed the stylus on the table. He was still angry over her report about candidate Roman.

 

“For once we are in agreement, Councilor,” Sparatus replied gritting his teeth. “And now a Spectre has gone missing and has a connection with T’sarius: an unpleasant association I might add.”

 

“I should point out that there were mitigating circumstances in every one of those, and that Xanthe Remi cleared T’sarius in her report. T’sarius has no reason to hold any grudge.” Valern said.

 

“And Aria. Why that Asari criminal sent her recommendation through you I’ll never understand,” Sparatus commented, glaring at Councilor Tevos.

 

“Alleged criminal. Aria is a Matriarch and like it or not, she holds a position of respect on the Council of Matriarchs,” Valern replied. “She went through me because, as a representative of the Salarian government, I could ‘call off the varren.’”

 

Sparatus sighed with disgust in true Turian fashion.

 

Councilor Tevos did her best to remain calm and act as mediator. “Let’s not jump to any conclusions until we hear from the Spectre,” she said. “She should be here shortly. And she has a report to deliver.”

 

///////////////////

 

Naleena stood outside of the Council’s Private Chamber for a moment gathering herself. She had several data pads in hand along with a portable quantum entanglement communicator connected to VERA to use if needed. She entered the room and found the councilors seated at one end of the table. She was to stand at the other. A single glass of deionized water and pitcher awaited her at her station.

 

Councilor Tevos bid her to approach the table, and Naleena set her materials down.

 

With her hands folded on the table, Councilor Tevos was first to speak. “Spectre T’sarius, it appears that the stealth mission on which we sent you turned into a major confrontation. The Batarians have complained that a team assaulted a military base on sovereign territory, and that a Council ship took out a vital communications satellite. You were supposed to sneak into the base and gather intel without incident and leave it to us to impose sanctions if the suspicions were true. That course now seems impossible.”

 

“This is not the first time you have been reckless in your involvement in a simple mission,” Sparatus said pointing at her. “On Lorek, a more experienced agent would have been able to extract the resource without incident. Instead you blew up a research facility.”

 

“Not that we weren’t grateful that you prevented the Batarians from curing the genophage and forming an alliance with the Krogan,” Councilor Valern added glancing at the Turian Councilor.

 

Naleena was being bombarded on all sides, and Tevos intervened. “Please, let’s hear her out.”

 

Naleena stood stoically at the end of the table. She took a sip of water, tapped one of the data pads and began. “From the initial intel I received about this mission from Councilor Tevos, the Leviathan of Dis had mysteriously vanished from Jartar under the noses of a Salarian research group, taken by the Batarians that discovered it. Everyone wondered where it went. There was a rumor that it was being researched at this facility on Erszbat in the Vular system. My contact confirmed it.”

 

“Who was your contact?” Councilor Udina asked.

 

“That, Councilor, must remain confidential,” Naleena replied, “Every Spectre relies on informants, and some of them are strategically placed. We will not compromise our resources, nor would you want us to do that. However, if our suspicions of what this was were true, wasting an opportunity to sabotage the research would have been criminally negligent. Allow me explain.”

 

Naleena put an image of Sovereign on the screen, and then the composite of the images she took next to it. They were nearly identical. She went on to show the analyses in the different spectra, and went over the volume of data the Batarians had gathered about the ancient ship. Indeed it matched the technology of Sovereign. Councilor Valern confirmed that their own scientists hadn’t believed the age of 1 billion years, but several different analytical methods confirmed it. The Council Chamber was silent… a cold silence… This was what they had hoped against, and if Naleena’s data was true, the Reapers were indeed real.

 

After a long pause, Councilor Udina spoke. “This is nothing more than conjecture! No machine can last that long! And you say it contains DNA in some kind of synthetic matrix? That’s preposterous!” he said.

 

“I agree,” Councilor Sparatus said. “On top of that you report that this matrix is possibly living?”

 

“I’m only reporting what the Batarians discovered and what our own analysis of that data concluded,” Naleena replied and added with emphasis, “Nothing more, nothing less.”

 

“Is it possible that the Batarians planted false documents among the real data to throw off any spies? They are known to be quite paranoid,” Councilor Valern asked. “Perhaps you retrieved data they wanted you to retrieve?”

 

“And now we have another political sh1tstorm to clean up. You’re walking on thin ice, T’sarius,” Udina said, pointing his stylus at her.

 

Naleena had enough. She took a sip of water while Udina was talking. “Against my better judgement, I took my highly trained team in, including a fire team of Asari Commandos. We executed a well-thought out plan. Security on the base was extremely tight. I had an advanced team in place doing what they do best, and nothing they did can be traced. Things didn’t go completely as planned, but we retrieved what you wanted. I know what I saw. The facts are there. You can choose to believe it, or not,” she said while raising her voice, then continued.

 

“Prior to this, my team found you an Inusannon Archive from Eingana. Why don’t you see if it contains any references to strange ships like this? Or check your own Prothean Archives. I’m sure the Asari Republics would if we had one. Why don’t you do something productive instead of sitting on your asses?” Naleena said while glaring at Udina and Sparatus.

 

“You’re out of line, T’sarius!” Udina said.

 

“That’s enough!” Tevos said and then calmed down. “Spectre T’sarius, surely you can understand that we cannot take any action more than we already have based upon what we have seen in your reports. They look like they could be a horror film script. They’re just difficult to believe.”

 

Naleena sighed. “I hope you’re right. I really do, because it took the entire Alliance Fifth Fleet to take down just one of those things. Evidence we have indicates that all intelligent life mysteriously disappears every 50,000 years. This means there could be a lot more of them. And the Protheans disappeared approximately 50,000 years ago.”

 

“And it’s possible that the Protheans wiped out the Inusannon,” Sparatus said.

 

Naleena’s aura flared and she was about to speak again, but Tevos held up her hand and shook her head at the others. “There’s one other item of business. Spectre Xanthe Remi is missing. You’ve had interactions with her recently. Do you have any idea where she could be?”

 

Naleena calmed down and looked pained trying to keep this to her professional opinion keeping speculation out of it. “My last interaction with Xanthe was when she visited me in the hospital. She mentioned to me that she had requested and accepted a squad of Serrice Guard for her mission in the Terminus. I gave her my files on Garvug which she presented to you, and I gave her some other files regarding a criminal investigation I’ve been conducting.

 

“I have turned copies of all those files over to the Spectre’s Office so that they may aid in recovering Xanthe. I was hoping to make a friend. I don’t have many. If there is anything I can do to assist in finding her, let me know.”

 

Tevos decided this was a good time to close the meeting before tempers flared again. “Thank you, Spectre. That will be all. This meeting is adjourned.”

 

Naleena gathered her materials, turned and left the chambers. If this is life as a Spectre, I need a drink.

 

She tapped her omni-tool.

 

To: Morgan

Priority: Urgent

Topic: Bar

 

I just got out of my meeting with the Council. I need a drink, and I do not wish to drink alone. Meet me at Charlie’s in Zakera Ward, Level 29. See attached map. You’ll like the place, trust me. They have your brand. I’m buying.

 

Naleena.

 

PS. Sorry, their glasses are clean.

 

Naleena hailed a cab and left the Presidium.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

The Citadel - Zakera Ward - Naleena (Kel & Naleena)

 

 

My meeting with the Council went as expected. A bunch of politicians sticking their heads in the sand. Not wanting to face the facts that unless they took some real action the galaxy was in for some real hurt. The sad part was that they seemed to blame me for it. I needed a drink. It was about 7:00 pm so I gave Morgan a ring a ding to meet me at Charlie's. Level 29 was a dark part of Zakera Ward where the working stiffs of the Citadel live. Charlie's serves Morgan's brand of single malt, keeps its vermouth in the refrigerator and their upper end gins on ice. They also have olives without those horrible red pimento things. And unfortunately for Morgan, clean glasses.

 

I hailed a cab and took the 20 minute ride, parked about a block down the street and walked toward the bar. A couple of young guys gave me the once over. I smiled and winked. This wasn't the part of the Citadel where one usually found Asari. Especially one like me. The way I carried myself looked like five-o. I paused for a moment, drew a cigarette from my case and lit it. One thing about the Citadel that I didn't like was the sterility of the place. The air had been recycled from millennia of people living on it. I wondered what the first people who walked this place looked like.

 

I stepped into Charlie's and found a quiet booth where Morgan and I would have some privacy. It was one where we could still see the stage where the band was setting up. I'd been here before. With Johnny. I was sure Morgan would like it. Dark inside with a pall of cigarette smoke and ceiling fans turning way too slowly. My kind of place. A red-headed waitress in a short cocktail dress and legs that went on for hours arrived to take my drink order. I ordered an ICBM, stirred, not shaken. You don't want to bruise the gin. Two olives. I didn't want anything sweet. The waitress left. I watched her walk away wishing that she could have stayed a bit longer. I had to keep myself from staring.

 

Then Morgan entered. After a moment we made eye contact and he walked over to the booth.

 

With only a nod, Morgan took the seat across the booth.  He already waived off a cigarette in anticipation of its offer, though he sure looked like he could use one.  Not a word until the waitress swung back around, delivering the ordered drink and asking for his order.

"Scotch, a double. Splash of water.  No ice."

The waitress seemed to linger a bit on the two at the table, then turned like a pro with a simple, "Coming right up, dear," and walked away.

Dark eyes stared across the table, the kind with a hard edge.  Harder if you knew what you were looking at.  But Morgan was a friend, and his stare was just built in.  In his rough voice, he said, "You're going to have to take it easy at some point, Naleena, because the galaxy isn't going to hand you a vacation."

Like he knew.

Morgan had his own problems, and he didn't talk about them much.  He was second in command now on the Medusa. He'd pulled his family out of certain death with the help of some good friends. And he had a witch of an ex-boss who'd found a way to become everyone's problem.  That last bit didn't sit well with him at all.

The waitress was back, and fast.  She'd put that tumbler right in front of Morgan and you'd imagine he'd be happy about it. But he picked up the clean worn glass and examined it closely.  And it was obvious what he was thinking, too.

 

I took a deep drag off my cigarette. These things were going to kill me someday. Not today... I think. I looked back in Morgan's eyes, lifted my glass and took a sip of the bitter liquid.

 

"You're right," I said, shook my head and chuckled. "Funny, the doc told me the same thing this morning. 'Asari need more time to process things. You try to do too much. You need a vacation.'"

 

I was about to speak again. Then the band started to play, sparing me from further conversation for the moment.

 

Spoiler

 

I closed my eyes and listened for a while enjoying my cigarette. Then, while the band played, I smiled at Morgan. I knew that despite the clean glasses he'd be back. The waitress returned when she saw my glass empty. I ordered another round.

 

It took a few minutes for the redheaded vixen to return. Gin has to sit on the ice cubes a few moments before stirring. Most bars shake them and ruin the drink. Not Charlie's. A good Martini like a good woman takes time. When she set the drinks on the table I caught Morgan staring at her cleavage and kicked him under the table. I laughed softly, then after she left, I lifted my glass.

 

"To loyal friends and long life," I toasted, took a sip and set the glass on the table in front of me, and sighed. Then the words started flowing like water. "Morgan, the Council didn't listen. All that work. All that evidence. It's as if they don't want to know. It’s like things are too hard to believe. I know even you have trouble believing it. You weren't there. I was the only one who saw that thing. I have pictures. Some members of my team think I'm losing it. I can feel it. You're the one person who shoots straight with me. What should I do?"

 

The answer didn't come quick for Morgan, which was a good thing.  It meant he was thinking. That expression he had where people thought he was sullen, but where he was doing his work, accessing his files, using that experience he had keeping himself alive, keeping others alive, threading the needle of an unforgiving world.  When he spoke his words were solid, simple, meaningful.

"You don't have to ask anyone but yourself.  But since you know that and are asking anyway, I'd say you need less believers and more allies."

Morgan tossed back a good bit of his tumbler and signaled for another, even though he wasn't done.  

"Believers can be a dime a dozen, to use an old phrase.  People don't need to believe so much as see you believe.  And when you come across something, the ones who trust you will eventually come around.  So I'd look for the kind of people who might not take every word you say for granted, but they know you're onto something.  Allies.  And if I were you, I'd look for powerful allies.  The kind of people who can make things happen.  The kind of people who can hold you up until the Council is forced to look at the facts, and swallow their medicine."

 

I nodded. As usual, Morgan was right. He told me things I needed to hear, not what I wanted to hear. I needed allies. Powerful allies. Aria was powerful and a friend. She was too caught up in her own world to be what I'd call an ally. Valern seemed to be on my side at the moment, but like the rest of them, he's a politician. I needed someone who wasn't afraid to speak up. Someone who didn't quit. Someone one the Council of Matriarchs. I needed to go to Armali.

 

I reached out and took Morgan's hand and smiled. "Thanks, my friend."

 

The bass solo ended and the full band started playing again, finishing the song. I downed my drink and ordered another round.

[Kel Riever]

Iole

"That'd do it!" Iole slapped the side of the casing around the MIP that would allow it to be lifted easily by a Scythe to transport over to the Medusa.  The equipment box for the armor was already delivered by Septerax up to Anika's spare room for when Jess was ready to get out of it, and have it sent along.  Iole looked around like she was waiting for something.

Serafina noticed her anxiousness. "Are you waiting for something?"

Iole looked over, Golden eyes meeting Fina's green.  "I was hoping we'd already have gotten everything together by now.  I'm...trying to get a message through on a QEC.  Either from here or from the Medusa.  But I have to wait for approval here, or I have to wait to get over there.  Can't do anything until I hear from the Spectre or the Captain."

"QEC," Serafina nodded, "Must be important."

"Commando!"  It was Septerax.  He was calling across the hangar. "Is that MIP ready for transport?"

"Top to bottom.  Who's bringing it over?"

"You are."

Iole looked stunned.  "Me?  But I..."

"Already cleared, Commando.  We're going to fly it because the dock links are a pain here.  It'll take less time than loading it on skids and hauling it. So gear up."

The idea of Iole getting through to Frank on a QEC was fading.  Serafina didn't know what was going on with Iole but saw she was unhappy.

"I'll help," Serafina said, feeling bad for the asari.  "I should go with it anyway.  Maybe it'll be faster."  She could see she wasn't cheering Iole up much.
 

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

The Citadel - Zakera Ward - Naleena (by Naleena)

 

 

Morgan left. I sat through another set and knocked down a couple more Martinis. I was in no shape to drive back to port so I booked a room in the hotel next door where they rent rooms by the hour. I asked the front desk to give me a wake-up call at 9:00 a.m.

 

Clean bedding and a clean bathroom was about all I could ask for. Even the bleached smell of the sheets couldn’t cover up the odor that someone got banged in there a couple of hours earlier. I didn’t care. I couldn’t be choosy. I tossed my coat over the back of one of the wooden chairs, took off my leathers, and crashed on the bed. The mattress was firm but a bit lumpy. One of the springs kept jabbing me in the back if I rolled over on one side. You could hear the noises of things that usually go on in places like this. Fortunately for me the alcohol did its job. I was dead to the world in minutes.

 

As usual, when I was in this condition I didn’t dream. I didn’t sleep well, either. Something about the way biotics mix with excessive booze. My wake-up call came too soon right on schedule with the room phone ringing as loud as the bell atop the Campanile in Serrice. My skin had that sticky film all over from sweating all night. My head pounded. I stuck a cigarette in my mouth, lit it and took a deep drag. There’s nothing like that first cigarette in the morning. Then I took two pain killers and washed them down with the ambrosia I carry in that silver flask – breakfast of champions.

 

After showering and getting dressed, it was time to pay a visit to the Sha’ira, the Asari Consort.

 

I opened my omni-tool and punched in Jess’ number. It rang a few times before Jess picked up. “Jess, Naleena here. I’m in Zakera Ward. Morgan and I had a few drinks. He left. I stayed. Are you ready to see Sha’ira?”

[Redbelle]

Jess slammed down the lid of the box container on her armour.

 

The lid bounced up off the contents and Jess raised it to see what was catching. Seeing her armour nestled amongst the Janiri stamped towels, bathrobe, complementary body scrub and other things Jess had assumed were free to take she toggled her Omnitool's privacy function and her pick-up captured her reply.

 

"Sounds like a plan luv! Where is the old girl anyway? Word is she moved from the Presidium awhile back".

 

Turning around and jumping up into the air, Jess planted her backside on the case and the sudden force let her close it just far enough for her to get one of the seals clamped down. The other however stubbornly refuse to close which resulted in the case's seal slanting up that no amount of effort from Jess could close no matter how hard she tried. Groaning she spoke to Naleena. "Give me an address and I'll get Miss Priss and Babe to meet us there. They may be able to throw some light on things".

[Kel Riever]

Morgan and Babe

Back onboard the Medusa after his drink with Naleena, Morgan, who fortunately took his alcohol fairly well, was hit immediately with a list from Dogger.  Morgan furrowed a brow.  "That's a pretty big list, Dogger.  Are you sure all of this is necessary?"

Dogger simply looked at Morgan.

"All right, I understand you've been putting up with things and it's time to get them in order....what's this about needing a new kitchen counte...all of this?  In the kitch..."

Dogger looked more sternly at Morgan.

"Okay, can we please skip on the China, though.  It's bound to break and..."

Dogger look hurt.

Morgan sighed.  "Just go ahead and get it."  Morgan handed the datapad to Dogger and headed out of the hanger.

When Morgan stepped into the main spine corridor, he spotted Largo heading the opposite direction.  Largo (the barbarian) looked a bit worn out, but it didn't seem to bother him.  Morgan was simply going to walk past when Largo said, "Babe not eat."

That statement took Morgan off guard.  He didn't know Largo was keeping tabs.  Largo didn't have much of an expression on his face, so Morgan asked, "You've been making sure Babe eats?"

"Babe not eat.  Largo knows.  She not eat alone.  Find Babe.  Make sure she eats."

The muscled man seemed to be expressing some sort of care, and now Morgan was wondering exactly how he ended up figuring out Babe's meal schedule.  He wasn't going to argue with him, though.  "All right, Largo.  I'll make sure."

Largo grunted in satisfaction and moved on past Morgan.

Finding Babe when she didn't want to be found was nearly impossible, but Morgan figured if Largo was overly concerned, it still wouldn't hurt to give it a try.  Morgan didn't bother sending a com to Babe.  Instead he just headed to the hard points, starting with the cannons that could load the grapeshot canisters.  On his second, he heard the unmistakable whir of servos.  It was likely that Babe was using a sim linked with the weapon, so Morgan gave a few knocks on the hatch.

"Come in," Babe's voice called through.

Popping the hatch and climbing down, Morgan saw Babe, who had changed her clothes yet again.  Babe had another white, sleeveless cropped tank top, and a set of extremely tight black leather pants with metal studs lining the outside of each leg.  Those disappeared under a pair of scarlet leather cavalier boots folded over at their top just above the knee and laced up the back.  Since her clothes held themselves up just on the contours of her sculpted body, Babe had a large link chain resting on her hips as a faux belt.  Finishing off the look with silvery hoop earings and several bracelets on each wrist, Babe was her usual eyeful.  It's just that this time instead of being a quiet or passive eyeful, Babe was leaning into the seat of the turreted gun, hands gripping the controls tightly, completely engrossed in a combat sim she was running.  Her lips were pulled back in a wild grin.

Morgan gave her a moment, then said, "Break?"

It took Babe a second to acknowledge, then after a victorious laugh at whatever result she had gotten with the sim, she flipped a switch and swiveled on the seat towards Morgan.  After removing a HUD headset, Babe smiled broadly, "Hello, mate!  I've been running a few things since the guns are tip top!  Stopping by for a visit?"

The friendliness took Morgan off guard.  He could hear some sort of old rock music playing through the audio on the HUD headset that Babe had laid to rest on a console.  "A visit, to make sure everything's in order."

"Order?  Hardly.  Good shape?  The best!"  It was hard not to have Babe's emotion roll into his own.  She seemed exuberant, and that washed over Morgan like a wave.  "Mate, I'm having the time of my life."

"Nice to hear."  Morgan let the feeling pass through him, doing his best not to latch on just to keep his head about things.  "You don't come out a lot, so I wanted to see we hadn't lost you, that you have't starved to death, crawled up into a vent, anything like that."

Babe looked surprised, then laughed infectiously.  "Glad you did.  I think I haven't had anything solid for food since yesterday's dinner, though I've kept myself going with a few things."

"How about it then, Babe.  Want to make an appearance for a meal?"

"You mean near Sherie's kitchen?  No!  I mean, no...no its fine, I'm...I'll get there eventually."  Babe looked a bit worried for a minute before her glee returned.

"Right.  How about I bring you up something while you practice then?"

Babe found herself nodding several times.  "Yes.  Yes that would be great!  Would you?"

"Of course."

Babe turned back to the console and put the HUD headset back on.  Realizing she was turning away from Morgan before he might have finished, she said, "Sorry, Mate.  I didn't mean to be rude.  Is there anything else?"

Morgan shook his head.  "No.  I'll bring you back something.  And maybe you can show me how its going on that sim."

"Will do!" Babe grinned from ear to ear before snatching the controls in her hands once more.

After Morgan had left, Babe's Omni-tool signaled. She looked at it to see the message from Jess.


 

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

The Citadel - Zakera Ward - Naleena (by Naleena)

 

Jess’ reply got me wondering. Then I remembered something about a scandal involving Sha’ira.

 

“Let me do some digging and I’ll get back to you,” I said. I wasn’t sure if she was still on the Citadel

 

I decided to give Commander Bailey a call. He had access to all the databases of people coming and going from the Citadel and would know if she still here.

 

I flipped open my omni-tool again and punched in his number. “Bailey? Spectre T’sarius,” I said and sent my verification code.

 

“Yeah, Spectre. What do you want?” Bailey said in his usual gruff manner.

 

“I’m looking for Sha’ira, the Asari….”

 

“I know who you mean,” he interrupted, “You and a dozen paparazzi.”

 

“Is she still on the Citadel?” I asked while pacing around my hotel room.

 

“You know I can’t tell you that, not without a good reason,” Bailey replied.

 

“A Spectre has gone missing,” I said.

 

“You think she’s connected?”

 

“No, but she might have a lead.”

 

Bailey paused a moment. “Let me check…. Records show she left the Citadel, but her whereabouts are sealed. Even I don’t have access. Sorry, T’sarius,” he said with resignation. “If I were you, I’d check with the current Consort. Those people are pretty tight with one another. Good luck.”

 

“Thanks, Bailey,” I said and closed my omni-tool.

 

My first stop of the day was the Asari Consort. I called for a cab and arrived on the Presidium about a half hour later. I entered and was greeted in the lavishly decorated lobby by Kaisa, a cute button nosed Asari maiden with deep eyes.

 

“Welcome to the Consort’s,” she said. “Do you have an appointment?”

 

I took out my badge and displayed it. “Yes. Naleena T’sarius. Special Tactics and Reconnaissance. I’m here on official business.”

 

Kaisa stumbled over her words. “Uh…, one moment. Wait here,” she said and departed. Apparently the Consort was “busy” with a client and needed to cut his session short.

 

Meanwhile I took in the surroundings of the lobby, the smell of incense, wall tapestries that appeared to be from every known world in the galaxy, the awaiting clients being tended to by apprentices. What struck me most was that some of these apprentices were human whereas this was traditionally an Asari only operation. It probably had to do with the fact that human females had the closest physical resemblance to Asari out of all the other species in the known galaxy. And now with humans becoming biotic, some of them might not opt for military service.

 

Kaisa returned. “The Consort will see you now. Elisa will escort you to her chamber.”

 

The place was first class. The Consort had a four month waiting list, and her clientele had credits and a lot of them. As I walked back with Elisa it was obvious how we maintained balance and essentially control over the galaxy without the need for a huge military. Unfortunately this tactic wouldn’t work against the reapers.

 

We entered the Consort’s Chamber. Elisa introduced me to Nu’lyr and left. Nu’lyr was dressed in full length, flowing, silky robes that shimmered in the light just enough to be hypnotic. Her purple eyes sparkled. The water fountain against the wall made a relaxing sound to set nervous clients at ease. But was it her perfume, or was it her training that allowed her to release her natural pheromones that really drew you in and could throw all but the well trained off guard? I displayed my badge and introduced myself.

 

Nu’lyr saw that I wasn’t buying. “So what brings a Spectre here to interrupt my busy schedule?” she asked with a tinge of irritation.

 

I looked directly into her eyes. “I’m looking for Sha’ira, and I’m hoping you can tell me where she went.”

 

“I’m afraid I cannot tell anyone,” she replied, turning her back to me. “Not even you. I gave her my word.”

 

“Then you do know where she is,” I replied. “This is a matter of Galactic Security. A Spectre has gone missing, and she could have a critical lead.”

 

Nu’lyr was unmoved. “I’m sorry, Spectre. You will have to locate her by other means.”

 

I decided to play dirty. I could tell Nu’lyr had something to hide. “I’ve seen your clientele in the waiting room,” I said. “Given the recent history of this business, I could subpoena you to appear before the Council and open an investigation. That would be bad for business. Or you could simply give me her location and I’ll walk away, no harm, no foul.”

 

“You’re bluffing,” she said.

 

“I don’t bluff.”

 

She was silent for a moment, studying me. “Fine, she’s on Nevos, in the capital city of Astella. Here’s her address and contact information. But you didn’t get that information from me.”

 

“Of course not,” I replied and smiled. “Thank you for your time Nu’lyr.”

 

I turned and left. I was bluffing. There was no way I could get a subpoena like that, but knowing that she had very rich clientele and suspecting she was trading information played on her fear of discovery. It told me what really goes on in the Consort’s Chamber. I’d keep it to myself. That knowledge could come in handy later.

 

I returned to the Janiri. Jess was still on board waiting for me, probably a bit irritated that I took so long. She’d be glad to hear the news. Or maybe not.

 

I found Jess working on her armor. “Jess, it took some work, but I located her. Sha’ira moved to Nevos. I have her address. It’s a resort world with arcologies built into the cliffsides. Nice beaches.”

[Redbelle]

Jess was busy inputting text into her omni tool. "Nevos? Great"! She said, typing a few extra bits in that she checked through.

 

To: Babe; Miss Priss.

 

From: Jess

 

Naleena and I are going on a consort hunt and request your company for the meeting. Let me know if you have any reservations about meeting Shi'ra. This is important though. Missing Spectre's in dodgy territories important.

 

If you have questions come back to me with them sooner rather than later but I need you both at the meet.

 

Jess checked the message, then sent it as she looked up from where she sat on her case. "Well then. Guess if the old lady has a beach front property I should pack my sandals. How soon do you need to be off? I've got a few things to take care of so we can afford a little R&R before we go see how comfortably consorts live away from the station".

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

by Naleena

 

I wanted to find Sha'ira as quickly as possible. The longer things took, the less likely Xanthe would be alive. It was foolish of me to go to Charlie's with Morgan, but an Asari can live on stims and nicotine for only so long. I'd needed a break.

 

Nevos was an off the relay network world. This gives it an almost frontier feel away from government regulation and oversight. Consequently, political lobbies have established sizeable presences. A perfect place for Sha'ira to set up shop.

 

"Jess, unless there's something you need to take care of on the Citadel we should leave very soon," I said watching her try to avoid appearing a bit frustrated with her case. "Once we get to the Silean Nebula, we'll be in FTL for 12 hours between systems. 8 hrs with the Janiri running dead out. Should we take my shuttle or the Janiri?"

[Kel Riever]

Back and forth between the Medusa and the Janiri

Iole launched for the quick trip to the Medusa, MIP, Jess's battle suit, and Serafina in tow.  Landing was no problem as the hangar was clear and off-loading was faster than expected.  Still, every minute caused Iole to fret a bit more.  She was about to ask someone if she could make good on Jess' offer to use the QEC when two women appeared in the hangar.

One was a...well a human who had a penchant for dressing in some ancient style, with a flair to color it in pink.  She winked at Iole when she saw her, and walked with hips swinging like a bell. "Look at those eyes, like suns!" the woman in pink said. 

But it was the other woman that stopped Iole from speaking and stole the air right out of her lungs.  Iole didn't really understand what was happening as she looked at the human with coifs of golden hair and eyes like a blue sea, but she felt like she didn't need to either.

"We're hitching a ride back," the woman said.  "You must be Iole.  This is Miss Priss and I'm...well, 'Hi.' "

Iole snapped out of her stupor.  "Hi. Uh, I was supposed to use the...the...the...Kek."

"Q-E-C?" The captivating woman asked "Well, I suppose if the Captain said it's fine.  But Jess wanted us to get back over to the Janiri immediately.  Can you do?"

Serafina couldn't stop staring herself.  But she had sense enough to elbow Iole to get her to answer.

"Yes, of course.  Shuttle to Janiri pronto.  Hop aboard!"

Iole was setting the return course and clearing with Citadel traffic control after the cargo was unloaded, and Miss Priss and the woman who's name she still didn't know had gotten themselves seated.  Void take me! Iole said to herself.  Both because of the woman and because of talking herself into another task before she could get in touch with Frank.  

"This is scythe two to Janiri," Iole said through her com, "On my way back with your newest passengers.  Please have the hangar ready."

Iole cursed under her breath.
 

[Kel Riever]

‘Pandora’

“I can stare at the seas of your eyes all day, calico,” Miss Priss said dreamily across the passenger cabin of the Scythe shuttle to Babe.

“That was a dirty trick you pulled with me using that zapper,” Babe said with a bit of tension in her voice.  “I was in the kitchen when it went off, more than once.”

“Correct to one-five-one.  Craft is not aligned for landing.” The VI warning system calmly chimed from the cockpit to Iole.  She focused her attention again with a bit of an annoyed expression, and threw the door closed to the cockpit, so she wouldn’t be…distracted.

Miss Priss watched the door closed and grinned like a cat that ate a bird.  “Ain’t a little prank just some payback?”  Then Priss got somewhat serious.  “Listen, all is forgiven, because I done talked to Jess.  And don’t be telling my tricks, ‘cause that’s where the fun is at.  But I wish you’d remember back then, back when we was with Sha’ira.  I wish you knew what it was like for me.”

Babe’s expression turned sad, and the mood shot through the shuttle.  Remembering something, Babe reached into the forward pocked of her very tight leather pants and removed a scarlet leather choker with metal studs.  “Sorry, I need this.”  Babe fastened the choker around her neck and she adjusted her thoughts, which subdued the blues that permeated throughout the Scythe.  The mood was replaced with a slight nervousness.  “I’m not sure this is a great idea, going over to that ship.  I know Jess said I need to get out, but…well, you know.  And there are going to be a lot of people over there.”

Priss’ voice became soft.  She moved over to sit next to Babe and Priss placed a comforting hand on her.  “You’re just skittish.  You’re gonna feel like butter on a griddle, maybe.  But you gotta trust a little.  Put a bit into Jess, she’s sharp as a tack.”

The rest of the brief shuttle ride was silent, though Priss watched Babe cheer somewhat.  After a good, steady put down of the craft, Iole opened the door to the passenger cabin again.  “We’re down and pressurized.  Everybody out.”

“Come on, Calico.  Ain’t nothing to be ashamed of.”  Priss helped Babe up with her hand, then walked beside her down the ramp onto the hangar deck of the Janiri.

Miss Priss might have been talking it up a bit to make Babe feel better, because Babe did pretty much know exactly why she was nervous, and what impact she had.  Still, at least Priss did get Babe off that shuttle, and not feeling too bad personally as she stepped onto the hangar deck, causing the immediate shutdown of operations in that hangar with her appearance.

There wasn’t a head on the Janiri’s hangar deck that didn’t turn Babe’s way.  Of all the things dropped out of the hands of the stunned, the only dangerous one was a laser welding torch.  Fortunately it had an automatic cut off.

Up in the CIC, the communications officer was wondering why she couldn’t get anyone in the hangar to respond that the shuttle had disembarked in order.

“Hanger, are you receiving?”  The com officer punched her channel button repeatedly.  “Hanger?”

[Kel Riever]

Morgan

When Morgan got back to the turret that Babe had been running sims in, she was gone.  There was a datapad left on the gun seat with a large text note:

Morgan,

Jess asked me to come over to the other ship with Miss Priss.  Thanks for checking in on me

Babe

"Damnit," Morgan mumbled. Then he stared down at the bowl of hot New England clam chowder Sherie had made.  He didn't even want to think of how much trouble she'd gone through to get it.

Morgan shrugged.  He'd better eat it himself and lie to the chef.  One it would be awful if it went to waste.  Two, Sherie would probably scold him if she knew Babe didn't get it.  Morgan didn't know that for a fact but he had that feeling.

Iole

Iole was outside the conference room of the Janiri as fast as she could be.  She still had her Commando leathers on from the flight, but used her Omni-tool to check in on herself.  Let's see, nothing in the teeth...nothing caught in my crest that I don't want...Goddess, I'm going to come across as needy!  Iole waited and after an eternal minute, couldn't stand to wait any longer and finally asked aloud.  "VERA, did...did Spectre T'Sarius clear me to use the QEC?  I was going to use the one on the Medusa but then there were people wanted back here and...

VERA's disembodied voice came from speakers above.  "You have been cleared to use the QEC for a fifteen minute conversation."

"Oh, thank you thank you thank you!"  Iole gave her gratitude to VERA as if she were Naleena.  Seconds later, Iole was in the conference room, which VERA was automatically altering for quantum entanglement communication.  Somehow, the receiving end of where Frank had called from was already known, and that end began receiving a signal that Iole was calling.

Iole tried to stay still, but it was impossible.  She fidgeted with her fingers and said, "Come on, Frank.  Be there.  Be there..."