[Book Four] Chapter 52: End in sight

Chapter 52: End in sight

Incorporating all he wanted to incorporate into the armor had taken time, especially with only being allowed to work four hours a day on it. He had named it, and all further models, ‘Ragnarok’ for they should only be deployed for great battle and would only leave devastated but fertile land behind afterward. The rest of the time, he divided it by helping Hackett, training his biotics or simply trying to enjoy life. More often than not, it was just strolling in the park at the top of the Cassiopeia to enjoy the quiet sounds of nature, and the sight of the stars. It was during such moments that Jane came to him.

“John?”
“Hmm?”
“Are you free?”

He thought the question stupid. He was after all in the middle of his downtime, that she had imposed on him and in the middle of a park doing nothing. So the only answer to her question was a simple flat look.

“Don’t look at me like that, we both know that you’re thinking of something, you always do and it might be important.” she replied sharply and he nodded in agreement. Thinking was working for him after all.
“What do you need?”
“Need? Time with you. But I’m not here for a need or at least not mine.”
“A want, then.”
“Yes. It’s been almost a month since I… gave you your new working hours. With all the free time you have, you seldom spent it with our family besides the evenings and nights.”
“Did I?” he asked in surprise.
“Yes.”
“... Thinking about it… You’re right. If anything, I spend the most time with you and it’s not much.”
“You… don’t need nor want to spend time with us anymore.” she stated with a bit of sadness in her voice.
“I… never thought about that. At all. I just… lived.”
“I know taking back your marks will take time but if you’re pulling away that much it would be all the harder.”
“... True. It’s just… It’s so tiring. I mean… I enjoy the moments I spend with everyone but I just… feel better away. Now, more than I ever have.”
“Isolating a serious introvert is a fast and sure way to lose them.” she replied with a small smile. “Why don’t we work together on something?”

At that, he raised a brow in puzzlement. Despite being taught over the years together how to hack or use her biotics and of course war, they never have worked together. Their skills were different from each other and didn’t permit much work-relationship.

“You’re not talking about professional work.”
“No, I’m not.”
“What are you thinking about?”
“I thought about making a game?” she said unsure.
“A game?” Now he was interested and Jane didn’t miss it.
“Yes. Table top or one of those escape rooms you and EDI used to do. You’d spend time with us doing something fun.”
“That’s…Are you even interested in it? Beyond me, I mean?”
“Surprisingly? Yes. If I miss one thing about our time on Celeste… It was making obstacle courses for my students. There is also the fact that we’ve been together for nearly forty years, I was bound to pick up interest in puzzles.”
“Hmm. Why not?” he muttered to himself but not low enough for Jane to not hear.
“Good, that means I didn’t waste my time playing all those puzzle games.”
“You played puzzle games?!” he inquired incredulously.
“I was bored.”
“... Oh hell, You did spend too much time with me.” he replied with a chuckle.
“Not enough in my opinion.”
“Alright, let’s do it.”
“I’ll bring any one that wants to participate. That’s the whole point after all. You, spending time with others.”
“Alright. Though I don’t think creating a room will be easy if we’re too many.”
“Oh, no! Creating the room it’s just for you and me. No, I’m calling anyone interested to go through already existing rooms so I could learn how that works. Isn’t it how you do things? Watch, observe, assimilate and adapt it your own way? I thought I would give that method a shot.”

Rick simply looked at her for a moment then shook his head while sporting a small amused smile.

“Definitely, too much time spent with me.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________

“So, if I pull this lever, the weight behind the wall shifts. It goes down and in consequence this panel on the wall rises revealing a piece for that puzzle here, in the middle of the room. When you put it there it activates all the other puzzles in the room that I can do in whichever order I choose. What do you think?” she explained as she was showing her relatively good drawing on her terminal display.
“...”
“John?”

He was focusing on the drawing in silence, lost in thoughts. The twinkling in his eyes made her eyes grow big, understanding what it meant.

“What did you think about?” she inquired, putting a hand on his arm.
“You just found the way to win the war.” he replied with a smile and kissed her lovingly.
“I did?” She was puzzled at the thought but happy for the small reward she got.
“Yes! That was brilliant, Jane!”
“I… Explain, please?”
“We build a station near the center of Andromeda. A big radar if you will! Then we use the relays, or balises or ships or whatever, to relay the signal it emits, to be more accurate in the readings we get back.”
“Won’t that be… detected by the Kets? Or anyone else for that matter.”
“Not if we use the Rachni’s way of communicating! Just like your puzzle, you put something in the middle and without any visible mechanism behind it everything is activated. Truly brilliant.”
“John, that would take years if we focus on this.”
“Not at all! If we build Mass relay the size of the conduit or a bit bigger, we can be done within a couple years, perhaps less! The only thing that would take time is placing them all around the galaxy!”
“I… I’m a genius.” she replied jokingly as she understood now what she had been the origin of. “We must tell Hackett, now.”

Rick nodded and walked hand in hand with her towards the Command Room. The old Admiral was not in a good mood.

“Sir, something’s wrong?”
“I just learned that we lost thirty ships in the Aesclepios cluster. The Kets had received reinforcement out of nowhere and decimated the thirteen fleet.” he answered with a grim face.
“I’ll send the Gaea there.”
“No. The Gaea is necessary in the Ares Cluster. Twice the Kets had tried to retake it. Once the cluster is fortified then yes.”
“What’s the plan, then?” inquired Jane.
“The Aesclepios cluster will be watched but no further advance into it will happen until further notice, Commander.” Ex-primarch Victus came in, from the meeting room. “Not when the armada is spread so thin as it is.”
“Yes, Spreading them to create outposts was a good idea but now the Kets are showing more bite. Until now, they were small fleets of a dozen ships, no more than two and it was easy to handle them with our slightly superior tech with the exception of the Ares cluster.” added the Fleet Admiral.
“Would knowing the Ketts, position and movement help?” Rick said smugly and rhetorically.
“Of course!” exclaimed Victus.
“You found something?” Hackectt asked, hopeful.
“Jane did. Or rather I did after she gave me the idea unknowingly.”

Talking about the idea and most of the details didn’t take long, a few minutes at best. Both military leaders were impressed, if they could pull it off, then yes, the war would quickly be over, or rather way sooner than expected. During the war against the Reapers, things were easy in a way as they could go from one side of the galaxy to another in three weeks and communications were way faster. In Andromeda however, they were in the dark. Not completely as they had a dozen clusters discovered but that wasn’t nearly enough. Rick’s idea would save everyone a monstrous amount of time.

“What about after the war?” the Turian inquired. “Those small Mass Relays could still be used by less than respectable people. That would play into any pirate’s hands.”
“Yes, but not if we tweak them a bit. Like not allowing matter to go through?” explained Rick.
“That’s possible?”
“Oh, Stevie, after forty years, you doubt what I can do? I’m hurt. I’ll be honest though, it’s possible. How? That’s up to my people and I to find out. By the way, that makes me think... Why did no one build those conduits on planets? Instead of sending ships we could send resources directly from one place or another. There is a risk of invasion through it though but putting those conduits in death traps in case of it would solve the problem. One push of a button and the invaders would be promptly dealt with.”
“““....”””
“I both love and hate when you do that.” said Hackett. “Thinking of something simple that no one ever thought of, especially because it was simple.”
“That’s because the people are relatively smart but don’t have the wisdom that comes with it. Now if you’d excuse me I’m working when I shouldn’t be, so I’ll go back to my occupation. Oh by the way, any news from the council?”
“They’re still too busy dealing with the repercussions of their actions and your speech.” answered an amused Victus.
“The krogan, Quarians, Geths and the Jaardan support you in a way. They believe that the Gaea is yours and should not be confiscated as you broke no law. So did the volus for obvious reasons, they never made so much money after all. The Hannars do too but only because they followed Jaavik who is in agreement with your statement. The Elcor do not care, too busy rebuilding their people. The batarian are neutral; I think because on one hand that pisses off the older species of the council on the other…”
“Because of me.” interjected Jane.
“Yes but also because of humanity as a whole. They accepted the peace and working together but only because it helps them and not for a sudden found love for humanity.”
“Of the old council species, the Asari are neutral too. While they do not support your apparent… ‘ownership’ of… well everything, they know they can’t do anything about it and are quite content with what they have as long as they’re in equal standing with other species for some or above for others. The salarian are silent but knowing them they’re just biding their time, trying to find a way to change things in their favor and my people… they’re furious. Too much change for them in recent years and knowing that they’re not at the top military anymore… Hard to swallow.” added Victus.
“It’s not like the Gaea will stay in my possession, once the war is over. Or even in Andromeda, for that matter.”
“What do you mean?”
“Gaea’s purpose is to explore the universe and record everything life has to offer, from minerals, plants, even people. In a way, it’s supposed to be an ark of the entire universe. A species about to go extinct? She sends a drone to collect DNA samples, study it and find along her travels a place to reintroduce it in a better and safer environment and of course to send my company the results. The fact that her fire power is so great is because she needs it to defend herself and her library. She was in no way intended to be used militaristically.”
“Huh. That’s… Good to know. I think that would help calm my government or others but I wouldn’t bet on it.”
“I know, the simple fact that I could make one is enough.”
“What about humanity?” Jane inquired.
“Neutral so to speak. More because they can’t come to an agreement more than anything. The smarter ones understand that, yes, they’re not really in control and either accept it and profit from their stations or support you after everything you’ve done, the both of you. The idiot ones of course disagree.”
“The beauty of it all is that, no matter which side wins, it won’t matter.”
“They have yet to realize that, I’m afraid.” sighed Hackett.
“In any case, if they come after me or mine… Well, I’ll remove the kiddie gloves once again.”

At that, he dragged Jane away, who had an apologetic smile for her superior, and left the room.

“The kiddie gloves?” asked Victus, puzzled.
“It’s a saying meaning he won’t go easy on them.”
“Because, threatening them with conquest was going easy?!”
“For him? Yes. I just hope that the council will wise up and not make my worst nightmare come true.”
“Your worst nightmare?”
“Ever since he confessed his work behind the shadows during the war I… I wasn’t a religious man until that day. Every day after his confession I prayed that he wouldn’t turn into a Tyrant, for power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. You heard his speech, he could take control of everything and he won’t be kind to dissidents. Trillions of people could die.”
“... Really? I know he’s ruthless but...”
“Truly, yes… The plans he had come up with to deal with the kets when he returned to us… Savage and barbaric were not enough to describe it. Thankfully, the Commander brought out his humanity.”
“... Why did no one try to… you know.”
“One, because he does more than some good across the galaxies. More than anyone ever did, in fact and he’s still on this philanthropist path. Second because I’m not sure we could. Third because it’s only him to somehow manage. If he’s murdered? The whole family and company would be out for blood with Sandra Andersson at their head. I’d rather fight him than her, she doesn’t own any kiddie gloves unlike her father.”

Victus nodded at the reasons Hackett gave him and wondered how the world would be shaped in the future. That was only a privilege of the strong and the strong was currently Rick. He just hoped that his people would see reason and leave the man and his alone. For their sakes.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

A discussion with EDI and David about the feasibility of the safeguarding measures he thought of for the new conduits and the galactic radar idea he got from Jane had been long but fruitful. Problems were presented followed by solutions who brought forth new problems. The pros and cons of each way they would go. In the end they settled on something and Rick was working on simulation with the numbers the two others gave him.
Jane’s first foray into making an escape room had been well received by the people (mainly the family), who had tried it. Liara and Aezzia had been particularly happy with it as the theme of the room was an old ruined temple. To Rick however, it was more than just enjoying himself, he got the idea to completely remodel the big house they would leave for once they retired with plenty of secret passages. It was, however, a project pending as there were more important things to do. Finishing the conduits network across Andromeda then working on the Ragnarok armor.

Everything took a bit less than a year before it was deployed. Working on the conduits had been faster as he reached out to Tali, Leeha and EDI for help. He didn’t think of it but Jane was the one who pointed out to him the benefits of asking them for their assistance. Both for a faster completion of the project and for spending more time reconnecting with his loved ones. A success on both accounts.

When it was finally time to launch the conduits, Hackett had been surprised to see that they had put a balise and thrusters on them.

“We don’t want a repeat of the Mu Mass Relay. Furthermore, we can’t waste time putting each conduit in a cluster manually or the manpower.” explained Rick which made sense to Hackett.
“What about the origin? You never specified what would send the signal.” inquired the Admiral.
“I thought it was obvious. The Cassiopeia herself.”

The jaw of the old man dropped when he heard that. After all, The Cassiopeia was the Headquarters of the whole army. Safely located in the Heleus cluster, far from Kets presence and close to the first colonies of the Milky Way.

“We can’t make the point of origin stationary, not when the Kets could find it and take over. One we would be royally screwed and two…”
“Building such a station would be a waste of time and money when the Cassiopeia already has everything.” completed the war veteran. We’ll have to warn…”
“Every ship dispatched and colonies.” replied Rick handing him a datapad. On it was a message about it ready to be sent. “No ships are supposed to get back to the Headquarters for another two weeks. They can easily orbit or be stationed around the colonies if they need supply. As for the defense of the Cassiopeia well… The only ship that could take care of it is the Gaea so…”

Hackett, reading the message on the datapad and finding no fault in it, sent it to every ship in the fleet.

“Time to start putting an end to this war.” said the man handing the datapad back.
“And then retire.” added Rick with a sigh.
“And then retire, yes. I’m getting too old for this shit.”
“Really? You’re not a hundred yet.”
“Thanks to you I feel like twice that number.” was the dry reponse Rick got.
“Puuuh-lease. I stopped bothering you after the Reapers.”
“...”
“Okay, after I opened Celeste.”
“...”
“Came to Andromeda?”
“...”
“...”
“I’m pretty sure ‘Annoy Admiral Hackett’ is on every to-do list of each of your projects.”

The fed up and unamused look the Admiral gave him prompted Rick to change subject. “So retirement? Where? Jane and I, we intend to go back to the planet where she brought me. Lots of rain but they’re rarely heavy ones, very calm and quiet. There is a colony thirty minutes away by shuttle if we ever need something. Nice place, really.”
“... Honestly? I thought about retiring to Earth but… Yes, a less crowded area has more appeal as time goes.”
“The walks in the park got to you, huh?”
“Quite.” the old man confessed.
“I’m sure Sandra would let you stay here in peace. Or you can always ask Kahlee for a job on Celeste if you think you still need to be active somewhat. I’m sure many students would be interested in learning from  you while still having the possibility to enjoy the quiet.”
“Hmm…That deserves some consideration.”
“Don’t take too much time, this war will be over in the blink of an eye.”