Thessia - Serrice - Matriarch Syra & Naleena
The sky limo flight to the Academy was only a few minutes long. Matriarch Syra and Naleena sat together in the passenger compartment without anyone else, though Tesha was up front with the driver. Security was provided by two smaller skycars that flew in formation. Below, the exercise grounds of the Academy were clearly seen on approach for landing in front of the temple.
As they disembarked, Matriarch Syra, now in full regalia with decorative robes and headdress, peered out across the exercise grounds where a group of Commandos were drilling. The Matriarch hid most of a smile, though Naleena noticed, and perhaps it was intended to be that way. "See the lieutenant leading that drill formation? I've had my eye on her. Excellent, loyal, I've never talked to her but I know of her. She has an elder sister racing at Armali, a regular up and coming star. Both have my admiration for the same quality. Imagination. Yes, that Commando is top ranked in her performance ratings, and that is incredibly admirable given the competition. But it is her unmeasured quality I respect most in her. An enemy who is unknown demands creativity to face.”
Naleena looked out the window and smiled. “Someone coming with your recommendation would be most welcome aboard the Janiri,” she said. “No, I couldn’t ask.”
"I like her." Syra said and turned to Naleena. "Much as I like you. Come."
The Temple to Athame was austere, representing not only the ancient asari religion but the tone of the military academy, minimalistic, effective and yet awe inspiring. The priestesses attending moved throughout in purple robes, much of the same color as Tesha's, but with a more simple pattern. Many heads turned and politely nodded to Syra as she moved with Naleena through the inner chambers. After all, it was hard to miss her in the scarlet robes and golden headdress. None bothered her, however, save a polite verbal greeting from the High Priestess to see if Syra needed anything. "The Sand Room for meditation, if it is available," was Syra's only request and the High Priestess agreed, leading them on.
Led up a short flight of steps to the second level by the High Priestess, Naleena saw a number of passage offshoots and breakout rooms. When they approached one, Tesha and Syra's security waited outside, and the High Priestess left. The Matriarch brought Naleena into what was unmistakably the Sand Room, as the floor was made entirely of sand.
"This is one of my favorite places for meditation," Matriarch Syra said, removing her formal robes, headdress and shoes to lay them neatly on the sand. It left her in a simple, very light undergarment. "The sand is warm, I love the way it feels. I've had to tell people not to fall asleep in here." She chuckled and went to the center of the circular chamber, which was lit from above by natural sunlight filtering through to shine down centrally. There were no furnishings in the room, not even statues of the old gods. It had been redesigned for Siarist meditation, and in this case, it was the absence of décor that was meant to leave the mind at peace.
The Matriarch sat down near the center, her legs sideways. She enjoyed the sunlight of Parnitha, and ran her fingers around the floor. "We can talk first, if you'd like. I know you offered the chance to show me things in your mind, and you may if you still wish. But before anything else, I would like to tell you that you will not have to convince me of the existence of the Reapers. I am already convinced they and their threat are abundantly real."
“I would like your counsel on a few things,” Naleena asked taking her seat cross legged in the sand resting her hands on her knees. “I fear I may have been hasty in making an appointment, and reversing it would be devastating. I needed an XO. Someone who was good with details, someone who saw things differently. Someone who could think tactically and get the team out if I were killed. CPO Mira T’riel, Commando fire team leader was gone and her replacement was hospitalized.
“Essul Ran’perah is former BSIU. He proved himself at Dome 410 on Caleston by taking down the two terrorist leaders, one of whom was holding a hostage, now team member at knife point. Both these leaders were BSIU. He saved my life on Garvug and organized the evacuation. He is competent and has given us intelligence on the Batarians we would never have had otherwise. His appointment was approved by Councilor Tevos. He took his oath and renounced his Hegemony citizenship.
“The problem is not competency. He’s very competent. The problem is racism among the crew. I can understand humans, but Asari? I thought we were better than this. But then it came back to hit me in the face when I looked into my Salarian doctor’s eyes. We’re not. Dr. Tolus is a good man. Essul was of the slave caste. Do you have any counsel on how to handle this?”
Matriarch Syra pondered and replied, "I could, but why second guess yourself? It is my firm assertion that you must be free to judge as you deem necessary. If this Batarian is who deserves his position, then the others must align behind his command or move on. This may sound like I am recommending getting rid of those who disagree, but I do not. My first recommendation is to set circumstances in which these others you value, yet who don't see things the way you do, come to learn. That's different than changing minds. Learn to work with those who they don't have faith in. Acceptance is a bridge at first, I've thought. Find the bridges of agreement and maybe you will be surprised at how willingly they will be crossed. I would only remove someone as a last resort, and if you must do it, it will only reinforce failure. That is not what you want, I am sure."
Relaxing in the sand, Syra said, "My advice may be presumptuous, but in this brief meeting, I sense that your challenges are not in whether you pursue your goals, but how you will go about them. I understand there are lives at stake, Naleena. Facing that is part of why you must question what you do. But do nothing and I think you know that lives will be lost regardless. That ship, Sovereign, and the Leviathan, who will find a way to stop them if we misuse the station appointed to us? The fleets of the galaxy will not stop them. The solution to halting an enemy beyond our physical power to defeat is hardly known. It will take someone like you to come up with answers. And that will mean looking for them. Worrying about failure isn't a luxury we have much room for. You and I must use our errors to find new ways, so that the sacrifices that our made are worth something. If only a chance for a solution."
The Matriarch closed her eyes. "I hope these words from an old Asari help you, Naleena. My life has been long and may be longer still, but it will not last forever."
“You have confirmed how I’ve felt, but I have been second guessing myself. I will stand by my decision unless he proves otherwise,” Naleena replied. “One thing I do know about facing an enemy like this is that we cannot allow things like prejudices divide us.”
Naleena cracked her neck and upper back releasing some of the tension. “Sha’ira said a Matriarch could help me get centered again. Aria said you could help me with this. So I will turn myself over to you now. Let us begin.”
"Yes." Matriarch Syra moved closer to Naleena and offered her hands. "Show me what you will but I only need to see what you feel compelled to show me, what you must to return to yourself. In this meld, I am here for you, Naleena. It is less important that you feel comfortable than it is that you are aware again, awake, and ready. Now, if you will, embrace eternity."
Naleena took Syra’s hands and her eyes blackened. They met in the space Naleena created in her mind. It was calm there, but it was in the eye of a storm. Syra saw that the compartments were breaking down.
Syra glanced over at Naleena with a worried look. “How long has it been like this?”
“A while now. I had always been able to keep things in balance through meditation, but when that Reaper touched my mind it searched for weaknesses, old wounds, until it found very old ones: the deaths of my sister and mother,” Naleena said, “The causes of pain that set me on the path of darkness for over 200 years, first for revenge, then for profit. It wanted me to give in. I resisted, but I wasn’t the same afterward. It said they were the vanguard of my ascendance, and that they would find me again. Here, I will show it to you.”
Naleena took Syra to the Reaper probe and recruitment attempt, hoping she would have an insight. She took it in. But she saw other things that leaked through. Naleena was no longer in full control. Thoughts of Luscious leaked through, as did the thoughts of Jrudek and the Drell assassin, and artifacts of others. She’d been a courier doing dirty work for the Council as a contractor probing minds of enemies and transferring the memories to others via meld. This now had taken its toll.
Syra knew what happened. “You are very strong, Naleena. You have taken many chances, many risks. You no longer walk the path of darkness, but the grey path. It is a difficult path. You know that things are not always the way they appear.
“This Reaper is a mind made up of billions of minds. Fortunately for you it was not fully awake. It was the fact that you were not Batarian and sought to destroy it that drew its interest,” she said. “A less disciplined mind would have crumbled, not been indoctrinated, but crumbled. Your mental barriers have weakened. I will not restore them for you, but I will show you how to restore them.”
In the meld she took Naleena’s hand. “One day, you will be a Matriarch, and it will be necessary for you to do the same for another. Are you ready?”
Naleena nodded. Syra instructed her on what to do and Naleena followed the instructions and nearly sealed the first barrier but failed. It took several tries, but eventually Naleena sealed it. She walked Naleena through sealing all of the major barriers. The storm in Naleena’s mind began to calm, and soon it the stars shone brightly again through the clouds. Naleena had become proficient. All that was left to do was close the minor breaches.
“We will leave the meld now,” Syra said and smiled. “You can handle the rest on your own.”
The two minds separated. Syra took a deep breath, and picked up a small mallet and tapped the bell that was on the floor next to them. The meld was quite exhausting. An acolyte brought tea and two sweet rolls.
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