Stepping off the dropship, Morrigan was surprised to find the hangar packed with crew members all surrounding several monitors scattered throughout the massive room. What normally displayed statistics and work orders seemed to be playing a video that enraptured nearly everyone within the hangar, which was a very curious circumstance for Morrigan to see.
Followed by her retinue, they approached one of the monitors to see a series of time lapsed videos playing on the screen. Her mouth fell when she saw a candid shot of her holding baby Emery, a smile plastered across her face as she held her sleeping niece. “What?!” she asked in shock as the scene changed to Jen holding her newborn daughter, at what must have been days after giving birth with Torvil standing proudly over her shoulder as they spoke with whoever recorded the video.
As the videos played, she noticed two things; one being that many of the crewmembers standing along side her were half-Eskarii, all of whom radiated overzealous joy, even some shed tears to compliment their happy emotions. The other thing was that every human in the room supported their half-Eskarii crewmates with gently placed hands, jovial laughter and words of unity as they all watched the Queen of the Eskarii proudly and manically adore her first grandchild up on the screen.
Morrigan turned in shock as Mo’Emori let a giggle slip from her lips, garnering Morrigan’s attention. “Mem-eni knows that mixed species Eskarii exist, and many feel prejudice on both sides,” she said solemnly as she stepped next to Morrigan proudly watching the screen at an amusing shot of Skoll cradling Emery in his tendril and refusing to let Yekku near the baby by guarding her with his snout.
“We may be cautious but we''re a proud race… we know many are against breeding with humans but she wanted to show those that share our blood that they are welcomed with open arms by their queen,” Mo’Emori finished as she looked at Morrigan with a bright smile.
Morrigan couldn’t find the words to express just how beautiful the notion was. Even though the Inquisition welcomed all species, she never stopped to consider what their lives could have been like before the Inquisition. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she wasn''t much different than the half-Eskarii; hated and snubbed by most that would surround them while only having the love and acceptance of loving parents to fall back on. Now, much like Morrigan, finding acceptance within the Inquisition, the half-Eskarii now had open, unabashed truth that they too were accepted by the single most important person of their lineage.
Morrigan appreciated the gesture more than anything, also seeing a reminder that her dream of unifying everyone was in fact a possibility. Knowing she could be wrapped up in the moment forever, she touched Mo’Emori’s arm giving the girl her most serene of smiles.
“Mori? I don’t believe the leader of the Eskarii should be kept waiting,” Shepard interrupted the moment over the comm piece in her ear.
With a groan, Morrigan rolled her eyes, “Come on, guess we have to go face the music…”
Mo’Emori giggled at that as she wrapped her arm in Morrigan’s, letting Morrigan lead the way before saying, “Don''t worry, ?arai, Mem-eni will not take me from you.”
Her bold words of certainty made Morrigan blush as she looked back to Nora who was grinning in their direction with her arms around Stephanie and Taylor’s necks, giving the woman she loved two thumbs up which only made the heat in her face rise.
“We’ll be back… gotta go put out a fire,” Morrigan announced.
On queue, Nora snickered and replied, “I’ll be waiting to help start the second one!” Nora’s laughter at her own perverse joke infected everyone else as Morrigan turned to hide her crimson face before dragging Mo’Emori giggling along behind her.
◇◇◇
“Its good to see you, Mori,” Shepard stated the moment Morrigan stepped onto the bridge. To her surprise, the call from Myshkali wasn’t waiting for her the moment she arrived but instead, Shepard was the one waiting with an unusual energy about her.
Morrigan cocked an eyebrow as she looked at the stoic old woman standing at attention behind her command console while everyone aboard the bridge waved as they prepped the ship for departure.
“Why do I feel like I''m in trouble…” Morrigan said tentatively as she stepped up to her own console, eyeing Shepard as the woman radiated an odd mixture of excitement and relief.
“I can’t speak about trouble but everyone is glad to have you back aboard the Archangel. Same to you as well, Mo’Emori,” Shepard mused as she acknowledged the teal haired Eskarii behind Morrigan with a gentle bow of her head.
Morrigan furrowed her brow at the calm and collective behavior of her bridge crew, “Are we sure Tamina didn''t slip you something?” She asked as she looked at the incoming signal displaying on her screen.
Oh she''s definitely up to something! I mean no one that old is that calm! Apollyon concurred in her head which made Morrigan chuckle.
“Right? Then again, what does that say about you?” she responded.
She could hear Apollyon snort.
I am mass extinction incarnate, what part of that says calm?
Morrigan winged her eyebrows as if agreeing with a thought in her mind as she too snorted at the response before realizing that everyone was now waiting for her to connect to the Queen of the Eskarii, as if expecting a show.
That''s when it dawned on her. Everyone was so evenly tempered because they expected the incoming call to be something entertaining, so instead of distracting her, they patently kept their heads down.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
She wanted to be irritated with them but knew such levels of obscure “interactions” were few and far between while traveling through space. Shaking her head, she let out a deep breath and connected the call.
Unexpectedly, Queen Myshkali wasn’t the only one on screen. Surrounding the throne was everyone else important in her life; her mother, Jen, Torvil, Emery, Tali and Jae’ron, all waving to her until it was noticed that Morrigan too wasn''t alone.
The first thing she saw was Torvil hitch his breath the same time Myshkali’s eyes narrowed, shifting to the side for a moment towards the sound her son made before refocusing on the feed. “My dearest daughter, what do you think you are doing aboard the young Lord Inquisitor’s ship?” Myshkali asked in a restrained tone that caused all the happy greetings to cease.
“Queen Myshkali, I can explain…” Morrigan started nervously only for Mo’Emori to step next to her and interrupt.
“Fi fy’ad ád gwen ? dali mae eto, Mem-eni,” Mo’Emori stated firmly in her own language. Morrigan had yet to learn the Eskarii language like she had with the Marmuro’k but the way Mo’Emori stood with her hands clenched into fists, her tone and the harrowing look her mother gave her, she knew it was defiant.
Myshkali slowly turned to Torvil, “You knew about this?” Her tone carrying not the threat of a queen, but that of a very hostile mother.
Torvil refused to look his mother in the eye as he cleared his throat and looked forward towards the feed, leaving the question unanswered. For a brief moment, Morrigan wondered just who he was more afraid of, but to break the aggressive tension, Jen leaned closer to Myshkali and stated, “You so need to teach me to do that. Between this one,” she nudged her head towards Torvil before indicating her daughter who sat in her arms chewing on her hand, “And this one, I have my hands full.”
Myshkali turned to Jen with a complete sudden shift in demeanor as she smiled brightly at both her and the baby. “Of course, any strong mother should take her place at the head of the family,” she stated with the hint of ire towards her son which made everyone but Torvil snigger.
With an indignant sigh, Myshkali turned back to the feed and lifted her chin, “As impetuous and insolent as you may be, child…” She said aggressively before letting out a defeated breath, “The company you keep is enough for me not to argue.”
Mo’Emori and Morrigan looked at each other, the young Eskarii already forgetting the ire of her mother in a brilliant smile as Morrigan quickly refocused.
“I know you will do anything to keep my daughter safe, and I expect you to be true to your word. No harm shall come to my daughter or the wrath of my empire will be brought down upon you, Lord Inquisitor Morrigan,” Myshkali stated clearly.
Morrigan’s eyes widened at the sudden dark turn of tone before she caught the faintest hint of levity within Myshkali’s eyes. Morrigan pursed lips slowly broke into a coy smile as she nodded, “I understand,” she said knowingly.
“Good, now I take it my gift was well received?” Myshkali switched gears immediately.
Before she could respond, Luisa blurted, “It was beautiful, your majesty!” Sarilla moved to try to spend the half-Eskarii artillery coordinator but it was too late.
Many of the bridge crew chuckled at the exuberant response before the queen asked curiously, “Who is it that just spoke?” Morrigan wanted to groan but after a second, a sinister grin spread across her face.
With a snap of her fingers, she pointed at the woman who squeaked in response before beckoning her over with a single finger. Shepard chuckled in amusement as everyone “ooo’d” at the embarrassed woman like a bunch of children as she tentatively got up and approached Morrigan.
With a partially supporting smile, Morrigan dragged her the rest of the way till both stood in front of the screen. Morrigan could feel Luisa stop breathing which nearly made her giggle before announcing, “Queen Myshkali, this is Luisa Manall, one of my gunnery captains. Luisa, meet Myshkali of House Cirgala, Queen of the Eskarii.”
Luisa vibrated with nervous energy as Myshkali gave a kind smile, “My, she’s as beautiful as any of my children and with such a lovely name as well,” the queen said with heightened kindness.
Luisa turned every shade of red in existence before grabbing onto Morrigan’s arm to keep herself steady. Morrigan snickered as she supported the nearly fainting woman before Luisa finally sucked in a deep breath.
“Ma’am… your Majesty… I just wanted to say how wonderful your message was. It means everything to me and the others aboard the Archangel…” Luisa paused as she looked around the room seeing everyone giving supporting smiles and Mo’Emori motioning for her to continue.
“I, uh… I’m sorry, I’m just so nervous, um…” Luisa muttered before seeing the patient look upon the queen’s face, “My life has been spent around Terrans and other half-Eskarii like myself… much like most of us, I never felt accepted or welcomed until the Inquisition. They uh… Lord Inquisitor Solomon gave me a chance to find a real family and that''s exactly what I found here, on the Archangel… but when I saw your message, I just…”
Tears glistened Luisa''s eyes as she spoke the rest, “It means everything to all of us; Terran and half-Eskarii. Your support makes everything we do all the more meaningful.”
The smile on Myshkali’s face widened as she gave Luisa a gentle yet stoic nod, “I am aware that there is a rift between our kind, sweet Luisa, but if the birth of my granddaughter has taught me one thing it’s that I cannot stand by idly and allow such prejudice to reign free across our people as I have allowed in the past. It is a shame I feel very deeply. Henceforth, those who share the blood of Eskarii will be treated equally and once this war with the Federation has concluded, Terrans who share a bond or lineage will be allowed to join their partners and families across our worlds without fear of bias and animosity.”
To punctuate her mother''s point, Mo’Emori wrapped her arms around Luisa and nearly pulled her off screen saying, “See! We are one!”
Morrigan couldn''t help but grin along with her entire crew as they watched Mo’Emori smother Luisa who tried her best to stay composed. For the first time, Morrigan realized her dream wasn’t just a possibility, but that it was coming true. Granted, despite the fear that it was, she had only made little headway with the Marmuro’k however, Queen Myshkali set the precedent of what unity truly meant.
“Mori,” Myshkali said grabbing her attention. “You know what is as stake. See this through and lead us to the victory our collective species needs.”
Morrigan nodded sternly, “As soon as I take care of the pirates and find the CoU I will let you know. After that, we''ll devise a plan of attack and put an end to this.”
Everyone wished Morrigan farewell before the connection was dropped leaving everyone aboard the bridge to stare in levity and anticipation at their Inquisitor. Morrigan met their gazes before a rejuvenated, confident smirk cracked across her features.
She knew exactly what they were waiting for, the anxious and enlivened expressions anticipating a call to arms. It wasn''t just her bridge crew that was excited. Throughout the ship she could feel the vibrating hum coming from everyone on board.
Stepping forward towards her console, she found the button she wanted at a quick glance, “Attention all Archangel personnel, this is In… Lord Inquisitor Clarke; today we have been given two precious things. One, a grand unity between Terrans, Eskarii and those of mixed birth- a unity that I have always dreamed of and which brings us one step closer to our ultimate goal; galactic unity…”
She paused feeling a spike in emotion across the ship causing her to reflect a smile of her newfound confidence as a Lord Inquisitor, as well as confidence and joy within her crew.
“And two, we have our next destination and target. Today we set sail to hunt for the pirate fortress The Cradle of Eden.”
The moment she released the button her gaze shifted to Sarilla, “Plot a course for the Eldora system.”