#meinvictus

Chalkos was a hot, richly green and blue garden world, in a perpetual spinning dance with it's barren twin, Selvos.  Unlike Selvos, Chalkos had been home to roughly 5,000 people.  Today though, each planet had something in common, as roughly half their surface area was either blackened and scorched, or still actively on fire. 

Council Spectre Kaidan Alenko stood in the small cockpit that doubled as their pilot's personal quarters and stared out the windows at the devastation below.  This was not Earth, he reminded himself, even as his fists clenched reflexively and sweat beaded on his brow.  His father's ashes were not among the dead.  His mother was not down there to save.  The victims down below had all been real people, with rich full lives, but he'd known none of them by name. 

Pretending that truth made genocide easier to bear, Kaidan reached down deep and pulled up the emotional walls all his years as a soldier had built, brick by brick.  If the reapers hadn't broken him when they were alive, he certainly wouldn't let them do it now that they were dead. 

MSV - Invictus floor plan of crew deck. The five small square rooms are 20x20 with the large one in the center being 50x50.  It is a converted merchant vessel.  To see the floor plan in it's entirety, please go here.

From Left to right:

- back tip is the airlock, for docking with other ships and space stations.

- Above the airlock is the Invictus's unique drive core,  with a raised balcony all the way around it and two access ladders on either side.  A hammock for Tana, the lovely pink volus engineer, can be seen in the top right corner.

- Below the airlock is the armory, with a tool bench for customization, lockers for gear, shelves for storage, and an access ladder to reach the small garage on the deck below.  .  A small, all terrain ground vehicle is housed in the garage.

- Right of the airlock and down the hall is a large 50x50 room divided up into five open sections:  

1) TOP LEFT -   workout/fitness area with (from left to right) a treadmill with a vid screen on the wall, an arm machine, a leg machine, free weights and bench and a water cooler.  The blue mats are for wrestling, stretching, and "dancing."  A chin up bar is on the wall above the mats. 

2)  TOP RIGHT -   "The Mess," or kitchen and eating area.  As well as housing all the standard appliances (fridge, freezer, stove, oven, microwave, dishwasher, clothes washer/dryer, and ration rehydrator), there are also two large tables for eating and crew meetings.

3) BOTTOM RIGHT- As thereis no bridge, per say, this main living area doubles as a secondary command center, when crew members are not in the cockpit.   The coffee table is also a large data pad/computer console that activates the vid screen on the wall.  This area can be used for anything from watching movies and playing video games, to scanning planets, vid conferences with the council, and planning their next mission.  The seating is all second hand, but in good condition and very comfortable.

4) BOTTOM CENTER -    Entertainment area with a pool table, card table, and dart board (electronic of course, we don't want any pointy objects in space - except bullets and omniblades).

5) BOTTOM LEFT - Communal office space with  two computer work stations and above that is a bookshelf for data pads and such. Perfect for getting reports done, or just writing a message home to family.   

- To the right of the large main room is a hallway.  Directly above the hallway is a storage room on the left and the computer core for the whole ship is on the right.

-  Above the storage room and computer core is another 20x20 room.  This is the Captains Cabin that Gabby and Kaidan share.  They have a small bathroom with a shower in the top right corner.  You an also see their large bed, fishtank, (because it didn't feel right without one), a cage for Boo the genetically enhanced Space Hamster, wardrobes, dressers, a sofa,  and a little office nook for Spectre business.   They have a large window at the head of their bed.  Gabby's piano emulator sits on top of the bed in this picture (but is usually stored under it). 

- Below the hallway to the right of the large open living space is the crew/passenger shower room on the left and the crew/passenger toilets on the right. 

- below the shower room and toilets is the crew/passenger bedroom.  It has three sets of bunk beds (two beds each), one of which is extra large and sturdy to accommodate the occasional Krogan passenger.  There are also sofas, wardrobes, tables with chairs, end tables, lamps, and a large window. 

They were leaving tomorrow.

The Invictus was as ready as she'd ever be, without a stop at Ilium or one of the other minimally damaged colonies.  She'd been tuned up, shined, and outfitted beyond even Kaidan's wildest dreams when they'd started this venture.  She was a fine ship.

As simple as the first few missions were designed to be, it would still be months before he, Gabby, and Joker set foot back on the Citadel. Most everything had been prepared for their journey, but Kaidan still had a promise to keep. 

Most of the children in the clinic Kaidan had informally adopted as his pet project were recovered well enough to be relocated.  Many of them had been, courtesy of the c-sec officer he'd put in charge of tracking down their next of kin.  However, there were still about ten stragglers left, with no one to care for them but a few exhausted medical aides that could be better used somewhere else.  He suspected it wouldn't be long before they were shipped off station as well, to one of many overcrowded colony orphanages, but not before Kaidan had a change to brighten their day just a little bit.

Slinging the sack of old toys he'd appropriated from the Council warehouse across his back, the Major felt a little bit like Santa Clause.   There were a couple of  balls to replace the on the stodgy c-sec officer had confiscated, three old board games, a few dolls and plush animals, and one very precious hand held vid player.  He couldn't wait to see their little faces when he arrived with the gifts - and one other surprise.

As long as one didn't look too closely at this particular stretch of the wards, they might actually be able to pretend the war had never happened.  Minimally damaged in the first place, this part of the Citadel had seen the first of the repairs.  Four months later, the shops were all open for business, brand new glass in the windows and their wares all on display on rebuilt shelves.  The restaurants had actual food in them now; both grown in the restored labs two levels down and shipped in from the few untouched colonies in the Traverse.  There were holographic plants pretending to emit oxygen and all the floating repair drones - found here in abundance mere weeks ago - had all moved on to other parts of the station.

Walking down the well lit street, Kaidan shoved a lab grown, but perfectly grilled, hot dog between his teeth and chewed delightedly.   The bun was soft, the dog was juicy, and the ketchup had just the right tang.  Like his impromptu lunch, some things about this tiny slice of pristine, in an otherwise dark and dingy galaxy, were glorious.  He'd been able to order new boots, armor, and serviceable duty uniforms for him and Gabby, as well as buy provisions for the lengthily voyage they were about to embark on.  Purchasing supplies like that would have been impossible mere weeks ago before the relays were back online.  

On the other hand, a few decks below and above this one, the Citadel still looked like a burnt out husk, with huge gaping holes torn into the hull like mortal wounds.  And even in this place of bright, artificial sunlight and fragrant fast food, the healing was only skin deep.  The people, the lifeblood of the Citadel, were still broken; shell shocked and weary.  They wore tight, forced smiles and walked without making eye contact.  Every loud noise made them jump and skitter, as if everything they'd just been given was suddenly going to be snatched away again. 

Drinking with Dominic Osoba on the way back to the Citadel had been as much a revelation as it had been fun.  The man was a lot more laid back than he’d expected from a politician, especially one trying to bring about a post-war reconstruction.  They had talked about that a bit, mostly how the council was planning to claim the terminus systems in an attempt to stabilize the galaxy - something Kaidan had mixed feelings about – and their troubles with property rights, now that Cerberus had been disbanded.  Mostly though, they just sat and talked about simple things, like romantic troubles, the best breed of puppy, and which country on Earth made the strongest whiskey.  As much as Kaidan loved Gabby, it was nice to talk with someone else for a change and relax a bit.  The slight buzz Kaidan got from Osoba’s excellent Irish whiskey didn’t hurt either, (although Kaidan personally preferred Scotch). 

Afterwards, he felt a bit at a loss, not really feeling like waiting in the apartment for Shepard’s wrath to come storming down on him.  He’d had his reasons for not discussing with her the promotion he’d turned down before leaving the Alliance.  Now he was going to have to explain those reasons to her and more likely than not, it wasn’t going to be a civil conversation.  He supposed he kind of deserved it, but that didn’t mean it was something he was looking forward to.

Wandering around a bit, Kaidan eventually found himself down by the docks.  The refugee camps were eerily quiet, most of their residents all crammed into the observation decks and vid rooms upstairs, so they could watch the relay activation festivities.  The sick kids in the clinic were still there of course, and Kaidan delighted in handing each one of them healthy enough to eat, an orange or a bagel.  Their little faces lit up like he’d just handed them the world and it made his eyes sting a bit. 

Despite all the terrible things that came along with this post-war galaxy - the loss of his father, Gabby’s damaged, but slowly healing body, the nightmares and sudden flashbacks - Kaidan had been living in a bit of an idealized, optimistic dream world for the past few weeks.  He wouldn’t let himself dwell on the pain and sadness, pushing it deep down again and again, the very instant it started to rear its ugly head.   

They’d won.  Kaidan was whole and intact; miraculously not missing any limbs or large pieces of his heart.  He had a place to live, clean clothes to wear, and enough rations to survive.  Somehow it felt disrespectful to dwell on the negatives in that case.  So many others had lost much more than him; sacrificed so much more.  What right did Kaidan Alenko have to cry, to scream, or to curse the universe?  By most standards he was one of the luckiest bastards alive.

But now, skirting through streets that had once been Citadel docks – D34, D36, D38 – but were now overpopulated, noisy, unwashed refugee camps; Kaidan could barely breathe through the tightness in his chest. 

The people here had nothing and nowhere to go.  Most of them just stared as he and Shepard walked passed, their blank, emotionless faces telling him more than their tears ever could.  There was a makeshift hospital at the end of a row, full of soldiers so pale and still, he’d have nailed them in boxes himself if the machinery hadn’t been displaying their vitals.  The other end of the clinic was full of civilians – mostly children.  Some rocked back and forth, wracked with deep, barking coughs from smoke damage, or disease.  A few managed to sleep on one of the few remaining cots, or curled around each other.

Being a high ranking officer, and a spectre to boot, certainly had it perks on occasion.  With general communications still down in most areas on Earth, talking and texting between personal omnitools without a signal booster was problematic.  Instead of waiting in the endlessly long line to use one of the public terminals the Alliance had set up though, Kaidan had been shown immediately into one of the private communication hubs at the makeshift headquarters. 

Currently, this room was primarily used to relay information between recovery teams and refugee camps.  Cleanup crews were still working round the clock, trying to collect and incinerate every minute scrap of dead reaper they could find and trying – somewhat futilely at this point – to identify the fallen.  However today, as Kaidan sat down in a wheeled office chair and punched in a command on the holographic interface, he was using it for much more personal reasons.

The holo screen crackled to life immediately, its orange glow illuminating the otherwise dim office.  A woman’s face, framed in a waterfall of dark curls and still lovely despite being nearly sixty years old, shimmered into view.  Her large, caramel colored eyes grew wide when she recognized him.  Her jaw dropped open for a moment in disbelief, before her hand covered her lips.  She didn’t make a sound, but Kaidan could see her trembling, even though the grainy, rust tinted image.