Revelation by Drew Karpyshyn

Author:Drew Karpyshyn [Karpyshyn, Drew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Speculative Fiction
ISBN: 9780345498168
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2006-12-31T13:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Anderson and the Spectre sat in the kitchen, staring across the table at each other without speaking. The living room would have been more comfortable, but none of the chairs in there had survived the krogan's rampage.

Like all turians, Saren's face was covered by a mask of hard cartilage. But Saren's mask was the pale color of bone; it looked like a skull. He reminded Anderson of the old Earth paintings depicting the Grim Reaper, the embodiment of death itself.

Kahlee was in the back, tending to Grissom's wounds. The admiral had tried to protest, but he was weak from loss of blood and she'd managed to get him to lie down. She found a military field kit in his medicine chest with enough medigel to stabilize his condition, and now she was dressing his wound.

She'd wanted to take him to a hospital, or at least call an ambulance, but the Spectre had adamantly refused. "After you answer my questions" was all he'd say.

Anderson knew right then that he didn't like Saren. Anyone who would use the prolonged pain and suffering of a family member for leverage was a sadist and a bully.

"He's resting now," Kahlee said, emerging from the back. "I gave him a sedative."

She entered the kitchen and took a seat beside Anderson, instinctively aligning herself with one of her own kind. "Hurry up and ask your questions," she said tersely, "so I can get my father to a hospital."

"Cooperate and this will be over soon," Saren assured her, then added, "Tell me about the Sidon military base."

"It was wiped out in a terrorist attack," Anderson answered, jumping in before Kahlee could say anything incriminating.

The turian glared at him. "Don't play me for a fool, human. That krogan who nearly killed you all is a bounty hunter named Skarr. I've been following him for the past two days."

"What does that have to do with us?" Kahlee asked, her voice so innocent Anderson almost believed she really didn't know what was going on.

"He was hired by the man who ordered the attack on Sidon," Saren replied with a scowl. "They sent him to eliminate the only survivor from the base. You."

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"Sounds like you know more about this than we do," Anderson countered.

The turian slammed his fist down on the table. "Why was the base attacked?! What were you working on there?"

"Prototype technology," Kahlee offered before Anderson could speak. "Experimental weapons for the Alliance military."

Saren tilted his head to the side, puzzled. "Experimental weapons technology? That's all?"

"What do you mean 'that's all'?" Anderson sputtered in disbelief, running with the lie Kahlee had so deftly handed him.

"That hardly seems like justification for attacking a heavily armed Alliance base," the turian replied.

"We're on the edge of a war in the Verge," Anderson insisted. "Everybody knows it's got to be us or the batarians. Why wouldn't they want to attack our primary weapons research base?"

"No," Saren said flatly. "There's something more. You're hiding something."

There was a long pause, and then the turian casually brought out his pistol and set it on the table.

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