The ship slowly descended onto the landing pad, and I stepped out with a slight smile, though it couldn't be seen right now because of the helmet completely concealing my face.
"Greetings..."
"And greetings to you."
I gave a short nod to the Asari who came out to meet me.
"You've arrived..."
"On the instructions of Councilor Tevos. She asked me to assist with your relocation."
"Yes, we were informed."
The girl gave a short nod and gestured for me to follow her.
"To be honest, we still can't believe they decided to move us elsewhere. We've lived in this monastery for quite a long time, and it's managed to become home, and now..."
She shook her head.
"Well, I can't say I understand you. There are no other races in the galaxy as long-lived as the Asari and Krogan... As you probably gathered from my voice, I don't belong to the former, and my build rules out the latter."
"Yes."
A smile could be heard in the girl's voice.
"So I can only say that in the place you're moving to, all conditions will be provided for you to feel cozy and comfortable."
"That... will be enough."
For a while, we walked in silence until we found ourselves in a fairly large hall where there were about a hundred Asari standing with small travel bags.
"Um... is that all?"
"Did you think there would be more of us?"
A light smile could be heard in the voice of the Asari accompanying me.
"No, I meant the things... I thought girls would be... a bit more burdened with belongings."
"Perhaps."
A smile was heard in the girl's voice again.
"However, our secluded life isn't very conducive to accumulating things. Not that we couldn't afford it... it's just that we can only show off things to each other, and in such a tight-knit group..."
She shook her head.
"...it would lead more to conflicts, and we don't need those."
"Alright. So, ladies, I am your escort who will help you move to your new home. Do you have any questions?"
"Yes..."
A girl whose photo I had stepped forward.
"...I want to know the reason we're being transferred."
"You see, Falere..."
I called my little sister by name, and she opened her eyes in slight surprise.
"...there's going to be a very big war in the galaxy soon. So big that the Asari won't be able to afford to maintain such remote monasteries. Even remote colonies will likely either be evacuated or have to look after themselves."
"And what did we do to deserve such attention?"
The girl wouldn't settle down.
"We are in voluntary exile, of course, but... it is exile. We are cared for, but only as much as is needed so we don't die..."
"Falere!"
"What, Rila? You want to say I'm wrong? Yes, we're not destitute, only because many of us have fairly wealthy mothers. The Republic, on the other hand..."
The girl shook her head.
"Well, I can honestly say that not all Republic politicians have forgotten about you. Also, you have well-wishers on the outside."
"Well-wishers on the outside? Not the ones who have been providing aid to our monastery in recent years?"
"Exactly them."
I answered with a good-natured smirk.
"And you know who these well-wishers are?"
"I do, but that's not a topic for this conversation. Any more questions?"
"Where exactly are we being moved?"
"It's a human colony, you could even call it a resort."
"A resort?"
The Asari who heard this began to whisper.
"Yes, it's a planet almost entirely covered in water; currently, there are many hotels and beaches there where both very wealthy people from all over the galaxy and not-so-wealthy ones vacation... there are also quite budget-friendly hotels and beaches... if, of course, you can call a vacation that requires flying on a spaceship through a Mass Relay 'budget-friendly'."
The girls laughed slightly.
"You will be placed in one of the elite districts."
"Wait..."
Another Asari took a couple of steps forward.
"Won't we be separated from society? Don't you understand that it's dangerous?!"
"Miss Tagi, it would be dangerous if you were running around the galaxy and doing whatever you pleased like some others. You, however, live here voluntarily..."
"Ha!"
"I understand you want to say it's not exactly a voluntary choice, however, I've studied the Justicar Code... in general, nothing stops you from traveling... the main thing is not to cause problems for those around you. Yes, it won't be encouraged; most likely, they'll try to pressure you, force you to return to the monastery, some 'responsible' ones might even try to do it by force. But for the most part, Justicars won't use force against you until there's proof that you've started... using your gift for evil."
"Gift?"
The Asari who had led me here smirked bitterly.
"Don't throw words like that around. It's a curse... a curse that has laid a heavy burden on us."
"Perhaps so, I can't argue with that, but... I can say that this curse can either be turned to your advantage or you can just live without paying attention to it. Any more questions?"
"Um..."
One of the girls timidly raised her hand and only after I nodded to her did she start speaking.
"...if it's a resort, can we go swimming? Just once?"
"Of course you can. The place where you'll be settled is equipped with a pool, there are also water slides, and access to a private beach."
"A private beach?"
"What will we owe for this?"
Falere looked at me distrustfully.
"Not much... all of you, having gone into voluntary exile, focused on your own education. And the owner of the colony won't mind if you work for him. Remotely if you wish, and if you have the desire, you can work in the office."
The girls whispered, and mostly I heard them anticipating the upcoming change in their lives, but there were those who were distrustful of my words. However, the Republic had already presented them with the fact that they were moving, and they had no choice. They understood that perfectly well.
"Alright, I think I've answered the main questions?"
A chorus of agreement was heard.
"Well then, please follow me to the ship. We have a flight ahead of us to a place that I hope will become your new home."
** Some time later. **
The flight to Bali was quiet and peaceful. And now, with a slight smile on my lips, I watched as the Asari who were carriers of the Ardat-Yakshi curse climbed out of the ship. The girls were somewhat lost and kept looking around.
"Um... where do we go?"
One of the Asari stopped beside me and looked at me questioningly.
"Into this complex, it's entirely allocated for you..."
I nodded toward a former five-star hotel that had been set aside specifically for the Asari.
"...so you can go in and get settled."
"Isn't this... too much?"
Doubt could be heard in the girl's voice.
"No..."
I shook my head.
"Not only you will live here, but also Asari from several other monasteries. A total of about a thousand people will be able to live here, and all of this is now in your hands."
"Really?"
"Yes."
I nodded, and she, as well as the other Asari, looked somewhat shocked at the hotel, which was indeed large. And I witnessed the girls making their way from the landing pad to the hotel, and then starting to choose the apartments they most wanted to stay in. Given that the hotel was elite, the views from all the rooms here were extremely beautiful, so no quarrels arose between the Asari.
More accurately, no quarrels arose about the apartments, but at the same time, some disputes arose over which floor they would live on, as the girls decided to settle so they could live right next to each other.
** Some time later. **
"And why were we called here?"
Two Asari sat at the table and looked at me, while I sat opposite them with slight anxiety. I understood perfectly well that this conversation was necessary... because otherwise, they would be able to figure everything out themselves. And if I was lucky with Ori and she understood everything correctly, how would these two understand the situation?
In short, I didn't want to take any risks.
"To be honest, I don't know where to begin..."
How to start this conversation...
"Start from the beginning..."
Rila said this with a slight sneer, and Falere shot her sister a somewhat annoyed look.
"Well, for starters... I'll start from a distance. How much are you aware of the situation in the galaxy?"
"Sufficiently."
Falere decided to take over the negotiations.
"What recent events have you heard about?"
"Well... from the important ones... a human became a Spectre? A large ship attacked the Citadel?"
Falere looked at her sister with doubt, and the latter nodded thoughtfully, as if confirming that these were indeed the last of the big news items that had reached them.
"I see... well, this news will reach you soon, but that very Spectre died."
"Died? Anyway, what does that have to do with anything?"
They looked at me in surprise.
"And next comes information from the 'top secret, burn before reading' category. I am that very Spectre, and as you can understand, my death was fabricated to carry out a mission."
"To transport us to Bali?"
Rila's voice practically dripped with: "They're sending Spectres for this kind of thing now?"
"Sister..."
"Don't bother, in general, Rila is right; they might not have sent a Spectre for this, and this is where we come to the reason I was sent to your temple."
I fell silent for a couple of seconds.
"In short... I wanted to meet my sisters—that is, you."
"Huh?"
Both girls blinked in confusion, looked at each other, and then looked back at me just as bewildered.
"If anything, I have an express analyzer that can establish kinship."
I placed a small case on the table, which contained the analyzer, then opened it and touched the sampling spot with my finger. A faint prick, and I pulled my finger away, while the girls looked at me with doubt.
"This is some kind of stupid joke..."
"It's not a joke."
I shook my head, "But first, I suggest you still run the analysis to confirm my words, after which I will explain how it happened that you have a younger brother."
"This is..."
"Sister..."
Falere cut her sister off, not letting her say anything; judging by her voice, she had wanted to say something very, very caustic.
"...this guy started all this just to talk to us. Let's assume for at least a couple of seconds that this is all true. In the end, his analyzer and the story will put everything in its place. And after that, we can call Mom..."
They looked at me with a slight question, to which I nodded, confirming that they would indeed be able to call Samara.
"...and she'll be able to verify this story herself."
With those words, she pulled the analyzer toward her and applied her finger, then pressed the comparison button, and literally a minute later, the result was obtained.
"What?!"
Rila stared at the result in massive shock.
"You faked everything, didn't you? This is a hacked analyzer..."
"No..."
I shook my head at the voice full of various emotions.
"...to tell the story briefly, my father bought Samara's blood when she ended up in the hospital. He bought it, and with the help of various genetic procedures, I was grown in a flask."
I pointed a finger at myself.
"And in more detail?"
Rila looked at me with a frown.
"Well, in more detail..."
We had a difficult conversation ahead of us, but I hoped that after it, we would establish at least partially friendly relations.
***
Read the story months before public release — early chapters are on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Granulan