stood next to her in the lift, and it rose dramatically.
The crewmembers that she saw looked at her for a moment before returning to their duties. Whatever the man next to her was, he was definitely in charge of his people.
She had no weapons, she was barely clothed and she had no idea where she was. This was not the time to attack the black back of metal in front of her. She needed to find her men, and she needed to be alive to do it.
He paused next to an archway, and the door slid open. He waved for her to enter. “I apologise. We are not kitted out properly for Life Bringers on this ship. This was the best we could do.”
His words were still stilted, but she made out the phrasing clearly.
“What is a Life Bringer?” She struggled with the concept. In Prothean society, there were no classes, only ranks in the guard. Everyone else was equal.
He cocked his head. “You are. There is clothing for you and a place to bathe. Refresh yourself, and we will speak again.”
He waited until she passed the threshold, and the door slid shut. Unable to stop herself, she pounded her fist on it, shocking herself when it opened and she tumbled into the hall.
Her escort turned, and there was amusement in his tone. “You wanted something?”
She scrambled to her feet and stumbled back into the room. “No. I tripped.”
“Keep your temper and you will trip less, little warrior.”
The door closed, and she turned to face what they considered to be substandard for a Life Bringer. Even her apartment carved into the stone caverns had not had this much space.
Wide, arched ceilings swirled above her. A bathing pool set into the floor was full of steaming water and swirling with flower petals. Whatever a Life Bringer was, they lived very well.
Saloa removed the suit she was wearing, and it sighed to the floor in a sad and tattered heap. Steps led into the pool, so she eased into the heat of the water, shivering as it relaxed muscles tensed by the frozen armour.
She inhaled and ducked under the water, letting her hair swirl around her in a golden cloud. A few drops passed her lips, and she contemplated inhaling the liquid. Her family was gone, her people were seeking out another world to live on and she was alone.
Being alone was not something she had planned for and the feeling of emptiness was swamping over her.
A little more water entered and she stood up, coughing. The urge to live was far stronger than giving in to despair. Her future was murky, but it was still a future, and she was going to live in it until it ran dry.
A short exploration ended with her sitting on a bench beneath the water, and as she sat, a shelf rose from the metal next to her. Soaps, oils, lotions and a few other concoctions were in a series of bottles and vials.
She washed her hair, cleaned her nails and scrubbed her body. When she had gone over every inch twice, just to kill time, she rose to her feet and walked back up the steps. Another shelf rose, this one with lengths of white cloth that absorbed the water and draped around her. Clean and shivering, she explored the exterior of the room and found not only a wide bed hung with all sorts of gauzy lengths but a huge wardrobe. She had seen an image of an ancient decorating manual, and it had had something extravagantly similar in it.
There were only two gowns in the wardrobe and no bodysuits. She slipped on one of the gowns and its matching shrug. It was pretty, pastel and looked nothing like anything she had ever worn in her life.
Her hair hung down her back in a damp tangle, so she went in search of a brush and found a small lav with a lady-like preparation station. The women of this world must be the most useless creatures imaginable or at least so lovely that the men were willing to bend over and give them nothing to do.
She had no idea. She wasn’t even sure what it was that had possession of her.
She found a brush and went to work on her hair, cursing convention. She had wanted to shear
The crewmembers that she saw looked at her for a moment before returning to their duties. Whatever the man next to her was, he was definitely in charge of his people.
She had no weapons, she was barely clothed and she had no idea where she was. This was not the time to attack the black back of metal in front of her. She needed to find her men, and she needed to be alive to do it.
He paused next to an archway, and the door slid open. He waved for her to enter. “I apologise. We are not kitted out properly for Life Bringers on this ship. This was the best we could do.”
His words were still stilted, but she made out the phrasing clearly.
“What is a Life Bringer?” She struggled with the concept. In Prothean society, there were no classes, only ranks in the guard. Everyone else was equal.
He cocked his head. “You are. There is clothing for you and a place to bathe. Refresh yourself, and we will speak again.”
He waited until she passed the threshold, and the door slid shut. Unable to stop herself, she pounded her fist on it, shocking herself when it opened and she tumbled into the hall.
Her escort turned, and there was amusement in his tone. “You wanted something?”
She scrambled to her feet and stumbled back into the room. “No. I tripped.”
“Keep your temper and you will trip less, little warrior.”
The door closed, and she turned to face what they considered to be substandard for a Life Bringer. Even her apartment carved into the stone caverns had not had this much space.
Wide, arched ceilings swirled above her. A bathing pool set into the floor was full of steaming water and swirling with flower petals. Whatever a Life Bringer was, they lived very well.
Saloa removed the suit she was wearing, and it sighed to the floor in a sad and tattered heap. Steps led into the pool, so she eased into the heat of the water, shivering as it relaxed muscles tensed by the frozen armour.
She inhaled and ducked under the water, letting her hair swirl around her in a golden cloud. A few drops passed her lips, and she contemplated inhaling the liquid. Her family was gone, her people were seeking out another world to live on and she was alone.
Being alone was not something she had planned for and the feeling of emptiness was swamping over her.
A little more water entered and she stood up, coughing. The urge to live was far stronger than giving in to despair. Her future was murky, but it was still a future, and she was going to live in it until it ran dry.
A short exploration ended with her sitting on a bench beneath the water, and as she sat, a shelf rose from the metal next to her. Soaps, oils, lotions and a few other concoctions were in a series of bottles and vials.
She washed her hair, cleaned her nails and scrubbed her body. When she had gone over every inch twice, just to kill time, she rose to her feet and walked back up the steps. Another shelf rose, this one with lengths of white cloth that absorbed the water and draped around her. Clean and shivering, she explored the exterior of the room and found not only a wide bed hung with all sorts of gauzy lengths but a huge wardrobe. She had seen an image of an ancient decorating manual, and it had had something extravagantly similar in it.
There were only two gowns in the wardrobe and no bodysuits. She slipped on one of the gowns and its matching shrug. It was pretty, pastel and looked nothing like anything she had ever worn in her life.
Her hair hung down her back in a damp tangle, so she went in search of a brush and found a small lav with a lady-like preparation station. The women of this world must be the most useless creatures imaginable or at least so lovely that the men were willing to bend over and give them nothing to do.
She had no idea. She wasn’t even sure what it was that had possession of her.
She found a brush and went to work on her hair, cursing convention. She had wanted to shear
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