Visionary Cycles (Atroxa & Azecreth)

[Atroxa]

If there was anything more than dreaming that she hated, she couldn't think of it. Dreams and visions, it seemed like she was plagued by them. And now she was in one again, but she couldn't tell which it was. Was is it a dream or a vision? Or maybe something of both? Garbled messages, noise, screams, voices familiar and alien, memories of her and memories of others forced into her mind by no choice of her own. It all mixed into a cacophony of chaos and panic, desperation. That was what she gout the most out of it all. Desperation. Desperate to live, to survive, she had to survive, they had to survive.

Roxanne groaned softly, her head rolling to the side as she began to wake, though she was still refusing to open her eyes just yet. Her mind groggily continued to try and make sense of the lingering message from her dream. Fear and chaos and an strong sense of impending doom. Something was coming, the end. The end was coming, but how? Why? A hand, calloused from years of war, lifted to run down her face and rub her eyes lids, giving a rough sigh before she finally opened her eyes.

Sitting up, she looked around to realize she was in the med bay. What had happened? Why was she here? She turned to dangle her legs off the side of the medical bed she was laying on, pushing some of her short red hair out her face. She felt exhausted, and like she had been hit by a truck or something.

There was the soft hiss of a door's hydraulics and Roxanne looked up to see Dr. Chakwas walking over to her, the doctor her usual image of salt and pepper propriety. “Ah, you're awake I see, how are you feeling?”

“Like shit,” Roxanne grumbled.

The doctor walked over to her and held out both hands, one held a glass of water and another looked to be holding something small, likely pills, “Here, take these, they'll help with that headache.”

Roxanne took the pills and the water, downing them quickly and draining the entire glass, feeling like she hadn't had a drink of water in ages. Handing the empty glass back the commander frowned, “What happened?”

 

[Azecreth]

It had been something like fifteen hours since the squad had returned from the Eden Prime mission. Well, more like a fiasco as some would call it, with the colony wrecked by the geth (though fortunately not blown up), and Commander Sheppard unconscious, with bio readings way beyond normal. He had stabilized, but it looked dicey for a bit, and Kaidan found himself practically stuck in the observation room, feeling responsible for what had happened.

As Roxanne started to come about, Kaidan started, moving away from the window. "Doctor Chakwas, she's waking up." he watched on as the Doctor went on to tend to her patient, and doing a fine job of it too.

When she asked what happened, that was Kaidan's cue to step in, entering the room and standing near the bed slash examination table she was currently on. "Welcome back Commander," he said with a grin, before taking on a more serious look. "It was my fault. I must have activated some sort of defense field when I got too close to the Beacon. You pushed me out of the way and then got zapped by it. Sorry ma'am."

He did feel bad about what had happened, given that they didn't know what the beacon might have done to her, and the fact that it shattered afterwards, leaving it useless. He had to focus on the positives though, rather than what they might have gained in terms of knowledge had things gone different.

For Roxanne though, even though the memories were still jumbled, she would start to get a sense of deja vu from this entire experience.

 

[Atroxa]

Roxanne looked up when her lieutenant stepped in to answer her question, frowning slightly. Eden Prime... that's right, they were going to Eden Prime, for the beacon, the Prothean beacon, but the geth were there.That was about all she could remember though, it all seemed like a blur, a bit fuzzy, like an old memory. Most of the big points were there, but the details all seemed smeared by time. She felt like Eden Prime had been a lifetime ago. How long had she been out? Not that long if she was still on the ship. If she'd been out for too long they would have moved her to a hospital.

And all of it, it all had this... familiarity to it. She couldn't help but feel like she'd had this conversation before. Everything, from how Chakwas and Kaidan were standing in the room to the things they were saying, it all felt like she'd done this before. It'd been a while since she'd had a sense of deja vu, but it'd never been this strong before.

Dr. Chakwas was hovering about the commander, poking and prodding, taking her pulse, taking readings with her omni tool, making sure everything was in order. Roxanne let her, looking at Kaidan still. “It's uh... it's fine,” she frowned, looking at him like she was trying to figure something out. Flashes of memories, blurry and formless, having to do with him. Maybe he'd been in her dream? She blinked and shook her head, trying to clear it, “Where's the beacon now? Are we on the way back to the Citadel?”

 

[Azecreth]

Kaidan made sure to stay well and good out of the way of Chakwas as she went about taking care of the Commander. The last thing he wanted or needed was a browbeating for interfering in medical procedure or something like that. From his perspective at least she seemed to be doing well, and that was what was important. After all, accidentally nearly getting his commanding officer killed wouldn't exactly look good on his record.

He dismissed the look Sheppard wore as a result of getting zapped, and turned to her question. "The Beacon exploded after it was done doing....whatever it did," he replied. "They think it was damaged already. So we won't be getting anything useful out of it." That hadn't gone over well, especially with everything else that had happened.

To her next question he nodded. "We're nearly there. We bugged out pretty fast once they picked you up. Apparently we caused a bit of a ruckus back on the home front, though I wouldn't really know about that." He'd been a bit distracted by everything that had happened to be paying much attention to rumours for the moment.

 

[Atroxa]

Roxanne frowned slightly, something Kaidan said hanging in her mind 'whatever it did'. What did it do? What had it done? She thought about her dream, and suddenly it came back, that feeling of desperation, that rush of need on the most basic of levels, the need to survive. The rest of what the lieutenant said was honestly lost on her, she was reliving the vision, her dark green eyes going wide and she stood suddenly, almost knocking to doctor over.

“Where's Captain Anderson?” She asked Kaidan, turning to him suddenly, “I need to speak with him immediately.” She had to tell him about what she had seen, she had to tell him about the end, it was coming. They were coming. Who or what they were she didn't know, but she knew in her heart that they were coming, and that they would destroy them all. Images flashed through her mind, giant monsters bearing down on Earth, chaos and destruction everywhere. The galaxy crumbling under her.

Or maybe that was her knees, as she suddenly found herself weak and having to lean heavily on the table to keep herself from falling over. “Now then, calm down,” Doctor Chakwas told her in a disapproving tone, “You're still a little weak from the beacon. So sit down and just stay calm.”

“But I need to speak with Captain Anderson,” Roxanne insisted, her tone urgent, almost desperate.

 

[Azecreth]

Kaidan was getting worried now, the panick on her face growing more and more obvious. Whatever the Beacon had done, it had spooked her. Fortunately, he didn't need to try and struggle for an answer as the requested man's voice cut clean through the hubbub of the med bay as Chakwas tried to placate Sheppard.

"I'm right here Commander," said Anderson as he stepped into the room, coming to a stop near the examination table. He turned to Chakwas first. "How's she doing?"

Chakwas directed her attention to Anderson while keeping an eye on Roxanne. "We detected some unusual brainwave activity that seemed to indicate heavy dreaming, but other than that and the usual cuts and bruises, she's doing well."

Anderson nodded. "Good. Now, I'd like to talk to the Commander. Privately."

Kaidan nodded and saluted, turning to Roxanne. "I'll be in the mess if you want to talk alter," he said, before turning to leave. Chakwas followed after, leaving the two of hem alone in med bay so they could talk. "Well Sheppard, we have quite a situation here. The Geth on Eden Prime, the Beacon destroyed, Nihilus dead. The Council is going to want answers for this." He didn't sound harsh, more matter of fact, aware that she had just woken up and trying to not exacerbate things further.

 

[Atroxa]

Roxanne looked over at the sound of Anderson's deep, soothing voice, seeming to calm down a little. She didn't know why, but she was glad to see him, very glad. She liked Anderson just fine, but they had a fairly professional relationship. This time though, she felt a swell of sentimental affection when she saw him, like she had missed him. She'd only seen him a little while ago, but it felt like she had been worried she would never see him again, as if something had happened to him.

She was quiet as they discussed her like she wasn't there, trying to decide how to tell him about what she had seen. Then it was just the two of them and Roxanne heaved a rough sigh, still feeling exhasuted. And she still felt the overwhelming sensation of deja vu, as if this had all happened before.

“Not a dream...” she told him, “It wasn't a dream,” she corrected from when Chakwas had been talking about her brain waves. “The beacon gave me a vision, I saw...” she paused, trying to think of how to describe it, “I saw visions. I don't understand them completely but... something is going to happen. I saw destruction and fear and death. The beacon is a warning from the Protheans.” She shook her head and sighed, “I sound crazy... I feel crazy...” She felt disoriented, wrong. She couldn't describe it.

“I didn't do anything though,” She frowned, “I didn't call the geth there, I didn't blow up the beacon, and I certainly didn't kill Nihlus.”

 

[Azecreth]

Anderson listened silently, calmly, as Sheppard spoke, expanding on what Chakwas had meant, that it wasn't just a dream she had seen, but some kind of vision. Some kind of warning from the Protheans about something that he certainly couldn't understand, given that he hadn't been the one to see it. Still, this was Sheppard, and he was willing to give he the benefit of the doubt.

He shook his head. "I don't think you're crazy. We still don't understand the kinds of things the Protheans were capable of, so what you say you saw isn't impossible. I would suggest we keep this to ourselves for now though, until you have a better idea of what it was the Beacon showed you."

He held back a sigh, not aimed at her but rather at the Citadel Council, head dipping in a nod with arms at his sides. "I know Shepard, but they're looking for a scapegoat, and they don't have all the facts yet either. Which is why we're back at the Citadel. They want to talk to me about what happened, and I'm bringing you with to fill them in on what you saw." He hated bureaucracy as much as the next military officer, but sadly they couldn't ignore it.

 

[Atroxa]

Roxanne shook her head, sighing as he told her to just keep her 'visions' to herself. She'd known he would say that somehow. She sighed again though when he spoke of the Council, that they'd see her as a scapegoat for this whole fiasco. Politicians, they'd do anything to save their own hide, they'd throw anyone under the bus in an instant if it meant they didn't have to take the blame for something. The commander rubbed between her eyes, her head ache was starting to back off, but not quickly enough in her opinion.

“Yeah... alright, I'll meet you at the Citadel Tower then,” She told him, sliding off the table, a little more carefully this time since she still wasn't feeling quite steady. She looked at Anderson, frowning for a moment, and she had the same sensation as she had before when she'd looked at Kaidan. Like there was something she was trying to remember. She could feel something, sitting just under the surface of her thoughts, like when you forgot what you were going to say just before you said it, but couldn't recall it to save your life.

She gave up and shook her head, “Maybe I should get my head scanned or something, no telling what that stupid beacon did to my brain...” Roxanne muttered. “I'll see you on the Citadel,” and she left, wanting to take a shower before they docked.

She had gone up to the bridge after her shower, standing beside Joker as they approached. It had been standing there, still awash in the sensation of deja vu, that she'd seen the Citadel. Staring at it, she could shake the feeling that there was something about it, something that was important, besides the obvious of course. Roxanne frowned, growing tired of this sensation, and walked away as they docked. She was joined by Kaidan, and their newest acquisition, Chief Ashley Williams. Like everyone else, Roxanne felt like there was something sitting just under the surface of her mind, something she needed to remember, but she couldn't recall it.

They left the Normandy, leaving her in Pressley's hands, and after a pit stop at Udina's office to let the Ambassador gripe and bitch about the whole mess like it was some how Shepard's fault, they headed to the Council Tower for the meeting. Stepping off the elevator, Roxanne somehow knew the layout of the place, even though she had never been here before, and walked up the steps feeling agitated. She saw two turians ahead arguing, one of whom looked very familiar...

 

[Azecreth]

Anderson watched Sheppard with a calm expression, though his face was tinted with a bit of concern. They still had no idea what the beacon had done, much less what side effects would arise. To be honest, it was a testament to her strength that she was moving about right now, so soon after being knocked unconscious for fifteen hours. It wasn't something many people could match, at least among humans. But he knew Sheppard enough to know that she didn't lack for grit or determination.

"Chakwas did that already, but I won't blame you if you'd prefer a second opinion," he replied, stepping back to give her a clear path. He curtly nodded. "I'll see you on the Citadel then. Meet me at Ambassador Udina's office first. He needs to come with us."

Once Sheppard left, he did as well, to fill out reports and all the other affairs that post mission duties required. More bureaucracy, though this was more aimed at making sure his people were safe from reprisal over what had occurred on Eden Prime. He himself knew they did the best they could, but again, politicians.

To the Citadel then, past the Destiny Ascension and the guards, past Udina's office where the Earth Ambassador expressed his....dissatisfaction with the Council, Earth's government, and the crew of the Normandy in general for all the difficulty they were putting him through. Still, it was easy to see the problems he was having with the botched Eden Prime mission, given that they walked in with him having an argument with the Council.

From there they moved to the Council Tower for a meeting with said Council to make their case. before they could get there though they found two turians having an interesting conversation, one in the regulation blue armor of C-Sec with blue paint underlining his eyes, to the bridge of his nose, and then at the base of his mandibles, while the other wore the official uniform of an Executor, blue with white highlights and red lines, his own face paint white and covering his forehead, running along his top ridge to the back of his head and along his lowest ridges, more running down past his teeth to the base of his chin.

"Saren's hiding something. Give me more time. Stall them," said the C-Sec officer, Garrus. Agitation played across his face, this evidently an important topic for him.

"Stall the Council?" Pallin shook his head, disapproval and disbelief a counterpoint to Garrus's energy. "Don't be ridiculous. Your investigation is over Garrus." His arm swept to the side, to indicate this conversation was over as he turned and left, leaving Garrus there, shaking his head and mandibles flickering in agitation.

Conceding defeat for the moment, he turned to go, eyes falling upon Sheppard and those he was traveling with. He stepped forward, giving a small bow as he introduced himself. "Commander Sheppard? Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren." Former investigation anyway, a decision that didn't sit too well with him in spite of the wishes of the Executor.