Buried Secrets: Bygones - Chapter 1

Viane transport hub, Digeris, 2198 CE

Home.

As he stood at the curb, his sole travel bag slung over his shoulder, Mylos looked at what parts of the city he could see.  From what he could tell, not much has changed since he left to start his military career, though to be fair, this is just the view from the transport hub.  He'll be able to tell more once his father picked him up.

Father will be pleased, he thought confidently with a smile.  Panus Hiroten had his doubts that Mylos would adapt well to military life.  This was mainly due to Mylos being a bit…anti-social.  Most turians are rather reserved to begin with, but Mylos took that to a whole new meaning.  He was the one that stood off to the side, away from the main crowd, preferring to watch and listen than to participate in any discussion.  Some would say that he was just a 'strong, but silent' type, but in reality, he just didn't like having to work with others if he could help it.

That, of course, caused him problems when it came time to train in a field unit.  His lack of desire to work as part of a team would give his commanding officer no end of headaches.  That is until he found his calling as a pilot.  Flying gave him the isolation he preferred, while still serving the state as was required of him.  Only problem was that they were still building the new ships to replace the ones that were lost in the Reaper War, along with the new tech gained from reverse engineering the dead Reapers littered all over turian space.

The Reaper War, Mylos remembered the stories his father told him and felt a shudder go down his spine.  He was glad he didn't live through it…or perhaps more accurately, didn't remember living through it.  Subconsciously, he rubbed the scar left from the head wound that the doctors believed caused his memory lost.  It was completely hidden by his fringe now, and no one would know about it unless he told them himself.  He would always remember it was there though, simply because of what it took from him.

Sometimes he would wonder who his biological parents were, but then he would remember that no one came to claim him after Panus found him, eleven years ago.  This meant that they were most likely dead, though from what is unknown.  Some things are meant to remain a mystery, he thought, repeating a phrase his father told him a number of times.  Perhaps it is for the best that I 'don't' remember.

"Hello, handsome!"

"Gah!"  Mylos jumped what felt like three feet in the air, before whirling around and attempting to smack the person responsible for startling him.  Unfortunately, said individual had been expecting it and ducked his swing perfectly:  Mylos knew who he was too.  "Arsenus!"  Mylos snapped.  "I told you not to do that! And what are you doing here? I thought you were going to visit family on Palaven?"

The brown and grey colored, pale green eyed turian just smirked at him.  "What do you think?" he said.  "I changed my mind and want to visit your family instead."

"Oh for spirits sake…mother's going to flip," Mylos groaned.

"And why would she do that?" Arsenus asked innocently.

"Because she doesn't like surprises like this," Mylos pointed out.  "She prefers to have an accurate schedule for home life to counter her chaotic one at work."

"Is that the real reason, or…" Arsenus moved in close to him, one hand stroking his left arm from shoulder to hand and then gripped said hand with his own.  "Are you more worried about how your folks may feel about us?"

Mylos turned his head away, hoping to hide his blush but failing miserably.  He had met Arsenus during training, after he had transferred to piloting school.  Despite his anti-social nature tendencies, Arsenus had won his heart shortly after he passed his qualification tests for flying.  That, course, didn't mean he liked to display his affections publicly.  "Na...not in public, Arsenus…," he blurted softly.

At this, his lover simply laughed as he stepped away. "Oh, Mylos, you were always a bit awkward in public."  He then leaned in close and whispered.  "All because of that hole in your head…."

Mylos glared at him, while subconsciously scratching under his fringe, feeling the scar from his old head wound once more.  "It's not a hole, Arsenus!  That healed completely long ago…."

"Maybe on the outside…."

"Arsenus…."  It was times like this Mylos really wished he hadn't told him about that scar, but he had to at the time to explain why he couldn't remember a large chunk of his childhood.

"I'm just teasing you, Mylos, you know that."

"It's not something to joke about," Mylos said, sulking.

Arsenus then hugged him, pinning his arms to his sides while burying his face in his neck.  "Hmm…I still need to work on your sense of humor then."

"Ar…Arsenus!"  Mylos just knew his face had to be completely blue by now.

"Right, right."  Arsenus let him go and walked away a few paces.  "So, do you have someone picking you up or will we need to get a taxi?"

Mylos took a moment to recompose himself before answering.  "My father is going to pick me up:  I'm hoping he didn't bring the two-seater for your sake."

"And why is that?"

"Because if he did, you're sitting on the roof."

"Oh!  So you do have a bit of humor in you!"

"Who said I was joking?"

"Ouch…uh…so when is your father supposed to pick you up again?"

"I'm already here," a new, but familiar voice said.  Mylos turned to see his father, Panus Hiroten, leaning against the wall close by.  "Been standing here for the last few minutes, waiting for you to notice me."

Rather than being ashamed of his lack of observation skills, Mylos found himself worrying more about how much Panus had overheard of their conversation. "Sorry, father…," Mylos said sheepishly.  "Arsenus is very good at distracting me…."

"So I see…."  Panus had a certain look in his eye that told him that Panus had, indeed, seen and heard everything: the fact of which made him blush once more.  "Fortunately for your 'friend' here, I brought our larger vehicle, in case you actually decided to bring more than a carry on this time."

"Father, you know I like to travel light…Arsenus on the other hand…."  Mylos glared down at the five bags Arsenus had stacked up next to him.  "I think brought the whole barracks with him.  Do you really need all this stuff?"

"Yes," Arsenus said smugly, to which Mylos just sighed.

Panus chuckled.  "Now you know how I feel when your mother packs for trips," he said.  After a moment he added.  "Aren't you forgetting something, son?"

It took a moment for it to click.  "Oh!  Arsenus, this is my father, General Panus Hiroten.  Father, this is my…boyfriend, Arsenus Ataken.  As you likely heard, he's…invited himself to stay with us during R&R."

"A pleasure to met you, sir," Arsenus said with a salute.

"Glad to see my son has finally moved past the 'causal friendship' stage with someone," Panus said with a smile.  "Oh and, no saluting please: I am retired."

"So you don't mind that I'm…," Mylos started to ask, but Panus cut him off.

"Spirits, no!  Of course not!  I'm just happy you found someone that makes you happy."

"And…mother?"

Panus took a moment before responding.  "At worse, she'll gripe about not likely to have any grandkids to spoil," he said.

"We could always adopt, like you did with me."

"Kids…belch…," Arsenus muttered.

"Or perhaps not…." Mylos corrected.  "Didn't know you don't like kids, Arsenus."

"Annoying…little…brats…."

"Oh…and you're not?"

"Annoying and being a brat I can agree with, but I am far from little."

"You are both still young," Panus said with a chuckle.  "He may very well change his mind as he gets older.  Now, let's get to the car: I parked down the road a bit to avoid all the foot traffic."

"In that case, I could use some help carrying all this," Arsenus said as he started to pick up his bags.

"Don't look at me:  you're the one that decided to over pack," Mylos said as he started following Panus.  "And dad's got a bad knee, so no asking him either."  He looked back to see the most interesting expression on Arsenus' face, to which he couldn't help but smirk.

"Some boyfriend you are…." He heard Arsenus gripe as he struggled to carry all five bags by himself.

As they headed toward the car, Mylos looking back once in awhile to ensure Arsenus was still managing, Panus called Nyla to warn her about the 'additional' guest.  "Hey hun, how's work?" Panus said when she answered.  "Uh huh, light day, that's good.  Yes, he arrived safely.  Oh…and I have good news and bad news regarding our son."

Oh boy, here it comes, Mylos thought, wondering just how his mother was going to react.

"First," Panus continued.  "Our son has hooked up with someone."  Mylos could just about hear the squeals of glee his mother made.  "Yes, that is the good news.  The bad news is that his new love interest has invited himself over without warning even Mylos ahead of time."

There was a noticeable pause, then a loud 'WHAT!?" blasted out of Panus' communicator.  After that, Mylos couldn't make out any of the words, but it was obviously a rant about plans being ruined.  "Oh…you want to talk to him?"  Panus suddenly said.  "Alright.  Hey, Arsenus…"

"Yeah?"  Arsenus groaned from exhaustion.

"My wife wants to talk to you."

"Really?  Well I am afraid I do not have free hand at the moment," he said with an apologetic shrug.  "Besides, wouldn't it be more…appropriate to meet her face to face first?"

"It is probably safer for you if you talk to her now…rather than face to face, Arsenus," Mylos pointed out with a smirk.

Arsenus seemed to get his meaning and his face paled a little.  "Uh…you weren't kidding about her flipping out about me…were you?"

Mylos shook his head.  "Nope, not in the least."

"Best let her get it out of her system now, son," Panus said.  "Trust me: I live with her."

With a resigned sigh, Arsenus dropped his luggage and took the offered device.  "He-hello?"

-Who do you think you are!?- Nyla's voice came blasting out of the device, making Arsenus jump.

What followed was a very one sided conversation where all Arsenus said was 'yes, ma'am' or 'no, ma'am'.  Knowing it would be a few moments before Arsenus could do anything else, Panus and Mylos went ahead and took his luggage the rest of the way to the car:  Arsenus meekly following behind with Nyla still yelling in his ear.

"You know, I have a dilemma…," Panus said as he unlocked the vehicle.

"What's that, father?"  Mylos asked.

"I'm not sure what to put in the trunk:  Arsenus, or his luggage."  Panus grinned at him and gave him a wink.

"Really dad, you know putting a living being in the trunk violates a number of regulations and laws."

"Well, after your mother gets through with him, I'm not sure if he would still be considered 'living'."

"Dad, really now.  Mother's not that bad.  Besides, I think Arsenus has been punished enough today."

"Oh, alright.  The luggage goes in the trunk then."

By the time they finished loading the luggage into the trunk and getting into the car itself, Nyla was apparently done giving Arsenus a tongue lashing.  "Here…," Arsenus said as he handed Panus the communicator back, his tone a bit more somber than before.  "Now excuse me while I get my hearing back…."

Mylos chuckled a bit while Panus resumed his part of the conversation.  "Feel better, hon?"  Panus asked.  "Ah, good.  I don't think the boy would be able to handle a face-to-face rant.  Yeah, I know some plans will have to be changed, but I think we will manage.  Alright, sweetie, we'll see you in a few."

"You're mother is scary, Mylos…," Arsenus whimpered after Panus turned off the communicator.

"Aw, she's not that bad, son," Panus said as he started up the car. "Ninety-five percent of the time she's a sweet lady."

"It's that five percent that scares me!"  Arsenus retorted.  "Spirits, from what I remember, my mother was not like that…."

"You never told me about your parents, Arsenus," Mylos commented.  "Are they still around?"  

Arsenus became very quiet and Mylos wondered if the question was too painful.  Looking back at him, he saw an expression of indecision and sorrow.  "Are you alright?" Mylos asked.

"I'm fine," Arsenus replied, rubbing his head.  "It's just…I never knew my dad…and my mother was killed during the Reaper War."

"So that's why you came here rather than Palaven," Mylos muttered.  "You don't have a family to visit…."

"Actually I do have some aunts and uncles still around," Arsenus corrected.  "Just…never got along with them very well.  They were too bitter about most of the Fleet running off to save the human homeworld, rather than our own."

"There are quite a number of turians that feel the same," Panus said.  "Many though realize that the past cannot be changed and have moved on.  Others though, are taking their 'disgust' with the decision to extremes."

"I take it the old Tyranor gang is acting up again?"  Mylos asked with a sigh.  

"Actually they have been rather quiet since the Hierarchy sent a hastatim through the colony about a year ago," Panus said.   "When they attempted to start a rebellion against the Hierarchy.  We have…fewer neighbors now."

"What!?"  Mylos sat up straight.  "Why didn't you message me when this happened, dad?  I heard nothing about this!"

"Couldn't, as they had locked down communications to keep the rebellion from spreading to other planets," Panus explained.  "Took a week to get local communications back…a couple of months to get back long distance communications:  by then, I had assumed your superiors would have informed you about it.  Looks like I was wrong."

"Humph, no…probably only would have told me anything if you or mother had been killed during the sweep."

"Not to change the subject slightly, "Arsenus broke in. "But…while I've heard of the Tyranors, my knowledge of them is a bit sketchy.  Care to elaborate?"

"Certainly," Panus said.  "The Tyranors were a gang a turians that always opposed the Hierarchy, dating back millennia.  Sometimes they were largely peaceful and just had elaborate public speeches and protests, other times they used more violent means: depended on who was in charge at the time.  They were at their strongest during the Unification Wars, when they actively fought against the Hierarchy, but were decimated by the end.  After that they were little more than a glorified street gang, but started growing again with the onset of the Reaper Wars, particularly so when the majority of the turian fleet left to help the humans.  Before the hastatim came though, they were really working up fellow minded turians into seceding from the Hierarchy:  trying to start another Unification War, basically."

"Hence the hastatim sweep," Mylos muttered.  "Did they ever find out the current leaders name?"

"Only part of it:  Jorax," Panus replied.  "Unfortunately, he is still at large last I heard."

"A pity," Mylos said.  "We are still at a time when we should be all working together, to regain what we lost during the Reaper Wars.  We cannot afford to be ripped apart due to the schemes of a power mad idiot."

"Well…maybe he's not an 'idiot' per say," Arsenus cut in. "After all, this would be the perfect time to try to change the social structure of our society:  the Hierarchy is at its lowest in terms of general approval by the populous and all.  Not that I support the bastard, mind you:  I just understand why he is acting now."

"But what he doesn't understand is that it is because of our societies structure that we are recovering as well as we are," Mylos countered.

"Compared to what?"  Arsenus retorted.  "We have no idea how the other species are doing."

"He has a point there, son," Panus said.  "Even after eleven years, we still haven't been able to reestablish contact with the other council races, let alone client ones.  The loss of the Mass Relays weighs heavily on that."

"Which is why our R&R departments are working like mad to try to regain Mass Effect tech," Arsenus said.  "The drive cores pulled from all those dead Reapers are helping, but we are still behind…."

"Oh, so you are a scientist, Arsenus?"

"Engineer, actually.  I help build the things the labcoats come up with…and hope it doesn't blow up in my face."

"Please don't say things like that, Arsenus!" Mylos said, not liking to be reminded about how dangerous Arsenus' job can be sometimes.

"Oh come on, Mylos, you know I was only exaggerating…a little."

"That doesn't comfort me much…."

"Well we are here," Panus announced as he pulled up to their home.

Damn, I got so involved in the discussion that I didn't get a chance to look around, Mylos thought as they exited the vehicle.  Oh well, I will have plenty of opportunity to look around.  I'll be here for a week after all.

For now, it was time to unload, unpack, and settle down for the day.  Provided, of course, Arsenus lets him….