Chapter Text
-Movarth’s Lair-
--Skyrim, Nirn--
Mai finally had him cornered. After eluding her for years, he had finally slipped up. One of her Thieves Guild contacts in Solitude had reported some strange purchases, and upon further investigation she had discovered a trail of transactions made by a single, seemingly ordinary Breton. One look at the man immediately identified him as a thrall, so Mai had kept tabs on him for several days. When he made to leave the city, she followed the thrall back to his master’s lair. There she lurked for a time, watching and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. This was to be an assassination; she needed to finish him with a single blow. If she took him out, his minions would either flee or drop like puppets with their strings cut. She just needed him out in the open.
Mai recognized the location; she slew the vampire Movarth and his brood in the inner chamber of this cave long ago. She felt like a fool for not looking here sooner. Considering the matter further, however, she realized that Malekith had been especially careful to hide his presence in the area. She’d only found his thrall due to the Guild’s vast network of agents. The odds of her running into one of Malekith’s agents on her own were astronomically low.
She knew from experience that he would likely be in the main chamber, directing his minions from the safety of the central cavern, surrounded by thralls and lesser vampires. She made her way inside, invisibility already cast, slipping easily past the lookout.
The moment she stepped through the threshold, Mai felt a surge of magical energy. It was powerful, and somehow familiar, stirring a memory in her mind that she couldn’t quite recall. She pushed it aside for the moment, determined to eliminate her target first. She slipped past three more thralls before entering the first cavern, where she observed from a wooden platform as several vampires ordered nearly a dozen thralls about.
As she peered over the railing for a better view, she noticed the vampires wore strange armor, with their faces completely concealed. Their voices were distorted as they directed thralls about, and they each carried devices Mai could only assume were weapons by the way they held them. More of the devices were laid out on tables around the room, in various states of assembly. She’d never seen anything like them before, which made her anxious. Malekith had always been innovative, even for a vampire, but this new technology was something she could never have anticipated. Mai maneuvered over the railing, and climbed down the supports to the underside of the platform, where she sat for several minutes and observed as they worked.
Thralls were bringing more of these weapons in, as well as pieces of armor similar to what the vampires wore. The vampires directed them as they placed them onto tables, and other thralls began taking them apart.
“Watch where you point that!” One of the vampires suddenly exclaimed, slapping a weapon out of a thrall's hands. He followed with a backhand, throwing the enslaved dark elf to the ground. “I’ll not be killed by the foolishness of a slave!”
As the vampire’s companion snickered at the exchange, Mai considered the implications of a weapon that could scare a vampire, and apparently could kill one while in the hands of a mortal thrall. Things were growing more concerning by the moment. Mai watched the vampire overseers closely, looking for an opportunity to sneak through to the tunnel entrance where the weapons seemed to be coming from.
One of the vampires leaned over to the other, “Should we really be trusting these humans?” She asked. “How do we know they’ll deliver what they promise?”
“We don’t,” Her companion answered, as he lifted his weapon up and looked it over, “but these weapons are more powerful than they look. I’ve never seen anything like it before. And the only thing that can stop it is this armor.” He tapped his helmet for emphasis.
“You’ve seen them in action? I thought Malekith forbade anyone from taking anything outside?”
“He did. But there are plenty of targets in here. Observe.”
The taller vampire made his way toward the line of thralls carrying equipment. He grabbed one of the thralls, which Mai recognized as the dark elf from earlier.
“You, go stand against that wall.” He instructed.
The elf obeyed silently, stopping just in front of the cave wall.
“Turn around.”
As the thrall faced the vampire, he took aim, like he was shooting a crossbow. Mai leaned forward, watching carefully. The weapon barked, and the thralls head burst open, splattering the wall behind him with gore. The limp body hit the floor as the sound still echoed in the chamber. There was no visible projectile in the wall, nor did Mai ever see any in flight. Whatever it was moved faster than even vampire eyes could track.
“What in Oblivion…” The shorter vampire stared in astonishment at the now nearly headless corpse.
The taller one turned to face her, “That is the power of these Cerberus weapons.” He stated smugly, “They claim to be from the future, or a different galaxy or something, and I’m inclined to believe that. Malekith doesn’t trust them any further than that though, and neither do I, but this technology surpasses everything, even the greatest of Dwemer creations!”
“This could change everything…” The short one mused, “If we learned how to make them ourselves, we could conquer Skyrim in weeks! We could take on the Empire, even the Dominion if we wanted to!”
They went on for a few minutes guessing at Malekith’s plans. Realizing that she wouldn’t learn anything else useful, Mai made her way down to the floor of the cave. She crossed through the room unnoticed, as the vampires were fully engrossed in their conversation. The constant stream of thralls moving through the tunnel made it difficult to pass through unnoticed, but not impossible. That was the problem with thralls; their total obedience and reliance on orders ended up limiting their usefulness.
She continued through the rest of the caverns and tunnels in much the same manner, stopping a few times to renew her invisibility. The closer she got to the main chamber, the stronger that familiar magical energy became. The nagging memory attempted to resurface, but when Mai tried to focus on it, it slipped away every time. Then she turned the corner of the last passage, and the energy hit full force. The elusive memory burst to the surface of her mind simultaneously. Opening the portal to the Soul Cairn; it had felt just like this before Serana and her stepped through it! She fought the urge to rush in and confirm her fears. Instead, she crept forward along the scaffolding, ignoring the swirling magical energies around her, until she had a proper view of the entire space.
The portal was magnificent, much larger than the one in Valerica’s lab. It sat against the back wall of the chamber, a massive eye of black and purple revolving around itself. Before it stood several more figures clad in that same gray armor, along with two figures that stood out. Both wore similar armor to the rest, but it was blood red and looked to be heavier. Malekith had his helmet off, allowing Mai to recognize him immediately. They were in the midst of a heated conversation, so she took the opportunity to creep in a little further until she could listen in.
“You’ll get your soldiers when I know how to build more of your weapons, and not a moment sooner!” Malekith stated firmly, “I let you run your tests, sat through all your little experiments! Now it's time for you to hold up your end of the bargain.”
“And Cerberus thanks you graciously for your time. However, you have been provided with the samples you requested.” The figure with his helmet still on replied calmly, not reacting at all to Malekith’s aggressive stance, “If you want more, we will gladly supply them, after we have our hybrid soldiers. We have already held up our end.”
“I have no intention of relying on humans to supply my war effort!”
“You won’t have to. If you give us our soldiers, and show us how to create more, we’ll hand over the schematics for all of the technology we’ve shown you. You won’t have to rely on us, and we won’t have to bother you any further.”
While Malekith considered the offer, Mai considered the implications. If these weapons were as powerful as they seemed, they could change the fate of Tamriel. Skyrim would be at risk, the Empire would be at risk, no one would be safe. They were already in the wrong hands, so Mai’s duty was clear: she would ensure that nothing and no one made it out of this lair.
“Those terms are… acceptable.” Malekith affirmed. “I can turn the first soldier for you, and show them how to turn others. But I want to see and understand those designs first! Then once I give you your soldier, I will take them and we’ll go our separate ways.”
“Agreed. If you would follow me, we have everything ready on our end.”
The soldier made his way toward the portal. Malekith scowled at his back for a moment before following suit, with two armored figures that looked like his personal guard following. As the four passed through, two of the soldiers next to the gate followed, leaving two behind as guards. Mai crept to the edge of the ledge, watching for any further activity from the portal. Seeing none, she made her move, slinking along the edge of the room. She had to go off the assumption that these guards were vampires as well, so she took extra care in stalking her prey. When she reached a point close enough to the left guard, she pounced, dagger at the ready. She buried Thorn to the hilt in the vampire's neck, holy flames exploding into the interior of the suit. The other guard was already turning with the lightning reflexes of a vampire, but Mai expected this. In a flash, she was behind him, repeating the same attack to the only visible weak-point. The screams of the two vampires were muffled by their helmets, and only lasted a few seconds as they quickly turned to ash.
Mai glanced at the portal, considering her options briefly. Realizing it would be better to cut the head off the snake and stop the weapons at the source, she recast her invisibility and stepped through the portal.
Reality distorted into a swirling cacophony of purple, blue and black. Mai had never stepped through an Oblivion gate herself, but this certainly fit the description. The ground beneath her feet was barren soil, and her immediate surroundings were obscured by swirling green mists, but she could feel the looming power of Daedric influence permeating the air. As she took this in, she caught a glimpse of Malekith disappearing through an identical gate up ahead. She wondered at the purpose of using these two gates as a relay, but a booming voice quickly interrupted her musings.
”We have an uninvited guest! Barnabas! Deal with it!”
She recognized that nasally, almost whiny tone, as well as the name it shouted orders to. With a huff, a massive hound wreathed in green tinted flames materialized in front of her. Barnabas sniffed the air, and his sharp eyes, gleaming with intelligence a creature like this could not normally possess, honed in on her invisible form. Strangely, he made no move to attack her, only cocking his head slightly and taking another sniff of the air.
”’Deal with it’ means kill it, you stupid mutt!” the voice shouted in reprimand.
Barnabas rolled his eyes, but also adjusted his stance in preparation to attack. He squatted back onto his hind legs, then pounced at her. He leapt right at her, but his movements were slower than Mai had expected. She was easily able to flash beneath his attack, although she had to break her invisibility to do so. There was no benefit in engaging a Daedra’s forces in his own realm, so Mai let her momentum carry into a dash toward the other gate. She felt the ground rumble as Barnabas turned to pursue her. She let him gain some ground on her, then rolled forward as a massive paw swiped at her. She flashed to the side as his great maw snapped shut where she had just been.
As she faced him, she saw the gleam in his eye, and the way his fiery tail wagged back and forth. Mai allowed herself a small smirk behind her mask; it seemed he remembered her as well.
”Stop playing with your food you big oaf!” Vile demanded.
Barnabas huffed, but grudgingly resumed his attack. His next swipe came faster than before, but it was still clearly telegraphed. It also left an opening for Mai to flash past him to the gate. Mai glanced at Barnabas one last time, giving him a subtle nod as she recast invisibility and stepped through. She caught his parting wink as her world turned purple and black once more. They were even now.
Coming out of the second gate, Mai found herself stepping out of the portal into a world of silver and gray. The room was huge, perfectly square, with a high ceiling, and almost entirely open. Lacking cover, Mai swiftly and silently made her way towards the exchange going on at the other end of the room. One of the guards turned towards her, glancing at the portal and around the room, before shrugging and turning back.
“Anomaly detected in the rift. An object has passed through to our side.” Yet another disembodied voice suddenly announced to the room.
Mai had no time to consider the implications, as the group all turned toward the portal, and thus toward her. Although no one seemed to have spotted her yet, the Cerberus soldiers raised their weapons and spread out to either side of Malekith and his guards. Malekith showed no indication of concern, other than a subtle narrowing of his eyes. Mai advanced directly towards her target, weapons ready.
“Check thermals!” The Cerberus leader instructed.
The order came too late, however, as Mai was already in range. She lunged for Malekith, Aerondight flashing towards his neck. His eyes widened, though he seemed to feel more than see her coming. He blocked her initial strike with his gauntlet, and her invisibility shattered. They locked eyes for only a moment, then Mai flashed behind the guard to his left. She skewered him through the neck, holding the thrashing, screaming vampire in front of herself as he burst into flames. Malekith dropped back as the other guard fired on her. As the projectiles impacted her meat shield, Mai summoned a frost atronach between the guard and the Cerberus soldier. It immediately swiped at him, forcing him to duck and enabling Mai to flash to the other Cerberus soldier. He was only just raising his weapon when she separated his head from his shoulders.
The Cerberus leader shot a strange sort of fireball toward Mai. She flashed to his left, so that Malekith was on the other side of him, and stabbed her sword down into the back of his neck. She preferred not to kill humans so casually, but these ones were willingly aiding her target and thus, had to be eliminated.
The remaining soldier and vampire were occupied with the atronach, blowing off chunks of ice while it lumbered after them. Mai flashed to the vampire's flank, aiming to decapitate him as well, but he dipped his head forward at the last moment and her sword glanced off of his helmet. She felt a surge of magic behind her and flashed to the right just as a thunderbolt struck, hitting the other vampire in the back. A blue aura showed around him for a moment, before bursting open in a shower of lightning. The vampire stumbled forward, and Mai took his head off with a flash of her sword. As her atronach pounded the remaining soldier to the ground, Mai rounded on Malekith. Another blast of lightning was already on its way, which Mai barely ducked beneath. She flashed into melee range, slashing at his neck and arm joints. Her opponent caught every strike on his armored gauntlets, then threw his arms out, sending a wide wave of fire at her. Mai rolled back, and the flames passed overhead. The feeling of flames in such close proximity ignited a feral fear within her, but Mai clamped down on it and maintained her composure.
Malekith conjured a flame cloak around himself, and sent more thunderbolts at her feet, forcing Mai to flash backwards. She grabbed her preferred mid range weapon, the whip Morning Star, and swung it to gather momentum. Ducking under another bolt of lightning, she watched in her peripheral vision as her atronach crushed the helmet of the Cerberus soldier with a brutal stomp. She launched Morning Star, sending it directly at her opponent's head. He dropped beneath it even as it bounced off of some sort of barrier around him. Mai was undaunted, retracting her whip and sending it again as her atronach charged Malekith. This time he ignored it with a cocky smirk and blasted her atronach with lightning. The pieces skittered across the floor, and Mai tried a different tactic, swinging Morning Star wide and behind her opponent. While she directed the whip, Malekith took the opportunity to hit her with a thunderbolt.
Pain exploded in her chest and left shoulder even as the long chain ignored the barrier and the Morning Star wrapped around her opponent. Mai fought through the pain, trusting her healing factor to repair the damage, and wrenched the chain backwards. Her opponent roared in fury as he stumbled toward her, and Mai yanked again, using the moment to leap towards him at the same time. She aimed to stab at his neck, but he twisted away and her strike went through his ear instead, shearing it almost completely off. He howled again, straining against his binds. His flame cloak flared up into an inferno, forcing Mai to drop the Morning Star as she flashed out of range. With his binding loosened, Malekith ripped the chain off and threw it behind him. Mai fell back on her last resort in this hasty plan. She refused to allow him to escape back to Tamriel, so she launched a fireball at the portal itself. Malekith attempted to reach it first, but Mai was closer. The spell struck the base of the portal and exploded. The entire structure sparked as the swirling mass collapsed in on itself, unleashing a wave of force that knocked both vampires to the ground. Mai recovered quickly, and flashed over to retrieve the Morning Star.
“No!” Malekith slammed his fist to the ground. “You traitorous bitch!” He screamed as he rose to his feet. His ear was already healing, but it still hung off his head at a sickening angle. As he readied another thunderbolt, the wall behind him split open and more Cerberus soldiers began to pour out. “Kill her!” Malekith ordered them, shooting a thunderbolt at her for emphasis.
Mai sidestepped once again, then shot chain lightning at the soldiers still filing in. As she hoped, their blue shields burst and many of them stumbled.
“ Iiz, Slen, Nus! ” Mai Shouted.
Winter winds burst forth, encasing the Cerberus soldiers in ice. Malekith was unaffected, and the instant he saw the soldiers falling he dashed for the door. Mai flashed in front of him to cut off his escape, and was met with a flaming fist to the face. She turned with it, but still felt the blow and the heat of the flames. She was thrown back through the door, slamming into the wall beyond it. She found herself in a hallway, with Malekith bearing down on her, fangs bared and hands still aflame. She raised Aerondight at the last moment, causing him to skewer himself as he pounced at her. Her blade passed through his shoulder and out the other side, and the enchanted silver blade immediately caused his skin to bubble even as it also drained his life force. Mai felt her wounds and fatigue fading away, until Malekith shoved himself off and fled down the hall. Mai made to dash after him, but more soldiers began to pour into the hall from all sides.
Mai pursued her quarry through a maze of hallways, her pace slowed by soldiers even as she cut them down by the dozen. Their blue shields only seemed to stop high speed, physical projectiles, ignoring magic and melee attacks altogether. She used that to her advantage, slaughtering all who would bar her path. Yet Malekith eluded her still, unhindered and with speed nearly matching hers. She hounded him through the polished white halls, leaving a trail of carnage in her wake, until the hall opened into a large room. She took in the scene even as she flashed behind cover to dodge the hail of projectiles in response to her entry. There were three walls, with the fourth being a window into the void. Boxes and crates were scattered about, with multiple soldiers in cover behind them. In the center sat three strange, box shaped machines. As she flashed behind a group of soldiers and swiftly cut them down, Malekith entered one of the machines with a group of Cerberus soldiers and personnel. Mai flashed closer, striking down two more soldiers before readying a fireball. The remaining soldiers were sprinting toward and diving into the other machines, which began to levitate. Mai threw her fireball at the middle one, the blast engulfing the entire rear of the machine. It emerged from the smoke scorched, but seemingly unharmed, and shot out into the void. The other two followed suit before Mai could reach them, even leaving behind some of their own.
Mai considered her new circumstances for a moment. She realized that wherever they were now, Malekith could not be allowed free reign. If he gained power here, he could rebuild the portal and invade Tamriel with an army of Cerberus vampires. That could not be allowed to happen. Her thoughts were interrupted by blaring noise and red lights.
“Reactor status critical, meltdown imminent. Recommend all hands evacuate.” An eerily calm, bodiless voice announced.
Her decision already made, she turned to the soldiers who had been left behind. As if only just realizing their situation, the soldiers looked from her to each other, then raised their weapons at her in unison. They were too slow, however. Mai was already behind one, piercing his neck with her blade. She cut the rest down in similar fashion, all but one. She spared the one she deemed the least threatening. The human woman wore no armor or helmet, and held a smaller weapon in trembling hands. Mai took no pleasure in the fear she inspired, simply swatting away the weapon and seizing her by the back of the neck. They made eye contact, and Mai slipped subtle compulsions into her mind, just enough to ensure her obedience. She relaxed immediately, nearly going slack in her grip as the earlier panic disappeared.
“Tell me what’s going on.” Mai instructed.
“The reactor’s overloading. When it blows, it will destroy the entire station and everything on it.” Her new friend responded calmly.
“How do I stop that from happening?”
“The reactor can be reset manually from engineering.”
“Take me there.”
The woman stood, and began walking towards a door in the back wall.
“Run.” Mai commanded. This was why she hated thralls.
Mai followed the woman through winding white corridors, these ones much cleaner than the one she came from. Red lights and alarms followed them the whole way, until they rounded a corner and her thrall stopped and pointed.
“That’s the door to engineering.”
“How many men cou-” Spotting movement to her left, Mai flashed behind the corner. Her thrall stayed put in the middle of the hall as a storm of projectiles filled it. Blood splattered the floor next to Mai and more projectiles bounced off the corner she had ducked behind. Then the disembodied voice returned.
“All lifeboats away. Remaining personnel have been deemed non-essential.”
The shooting ceased, and Mai immediately rounded the corner, lightning at the ready. The Cerberus soldiers still had their weapons pointed at her, but they were looking at each other. Mai wouldn’t let the distraction go to waste. Chain Lightning exploded from her fingertips, arcing to the nearest soldier, then the next until all four felt the shock and heat. Gasping and staggered, they were no match for Mai’s onslaught. She killed three in a blink, before disarming the last and making him her newest thrall.
“Open the door.” She commanded, pointing to the door her previous thrall had indicated.
He silently obeyed, approaching the door and raising his left arm. An orange glow appeared around his wrist and hand, and he waved it in front of the door. It slid open with a soft hiss.
“Did you kill it?” Someone called from inside.
Her thrall stood still, hands at his sides, lacking instruction. Mai crept up to the side of the door and cast invisibility.
“Yo, Alvarez, you hear me?” the same voice asked as Mai slipped inside. “Wait, something on thermals.”
The soldiers raised their weapons at the door, and ‘Alvarez’. Mai counted six, plus two unarmed personnel cowering behind desks in the back of the room. The soldiers spread out, but their focus remained on the door and their former comrade.
“I don’t wanna shoot you man, but you know what those things can do to people. Just show me something, a sign that you’re still yourself.” It was the soldier closest to the door talking. He seemed to know Mai’s thrall personally. Mai prepared herself, stepping behind the farthest soldier from the door.
“Fuck man…” the soldier sighed, “Do it.”
The other soldiers didn’t hesitate, and neither did Mai. As the room exploded with the barking of weapons, she struck. One then the next, she surgically killed each soldier before they even realized she was there. Then, she turned to the ones in hiding.
“Who can shut down the reactor?”
A hand shot up from the left desk. “I know how,” a man’s voice cried out, “You don’t have to control me or anything, I’ll do it. Just… Please don’t control me.”
“I won’t.” Mai assured him, “Just do it.”
The man stood slowly, hesitantly, both hands raised now. “Ok. I just need to move to that console over there.” He nodded towards a glowing machine in the back left corner.
Mai sheathed her weapons, then stood still. The man seemed to take the hint, and moved to the machine he’d indicated. Movement to her right caught her attention, and Mai watched the other person stand and look at her. They stared at each other for a moment, before the woman looked to the floor. Mai returned her attention to the man, who was tapping on glowing orange glyphs in front of the machine. Suddenly, the lights and alarms cut out. All of the lights. The room was cast into darkness so thick that even Mai’s exceptional night vision was having trouble adjusting. Just as she was growing suspicious, everything came back on. They both stood where they had been before, though the man had turned to face her.
“Crisis averted!” he exclaimed.
The woman scoffed, and the man sheepishly wrung his hands. Mai remained still, contemplating her next course of action.
“So…” the man started, looking around the room and avoiding Mai’s gaze, “What now?”
“Now she kills us because we have no further use.” the woman spat.
Mai had other ideas, however. These two would definitely still be useful.
“I will not harm you.” she looked at the man still nervously wringing his hands, “Nor compel you, provided you cooperate.”
“Oh, of course. As long as we-” Mai raised a hand in warning, and the woman froze.
“What I need from you is information. About where we are, what all of this is.”
“All of this?” the woman asked.
“Your weapons, your armor, your machines. They are all new to me, foreign.” as she spoke, Mai walked over to one of the dead soldiers and picked up his weapon. “I need to understand your technology in order to fight it effectively, so that I can hunt down and destroy Malekith.”
“You mean the creepy vampire dude?” the man added helpfully.
“Of course she does!” the woman chastised him. “You saw the cams, how she came after him like a rabid varren.”
Mai ignored the insinuation. “Yes, I’ve been hunting him for a long time now.” She dropped the weapon and approached the woman as she spoke. “And time is of the essence. There is no time for instruction or explanation. I must access the information directly.”
The woman seemed to realize her intention, and backed away from her. She kept her eyes on Mai as she retreated to the corner of the room.
“Stay the fuck away from me! You’re not getting in my head!”
She reached for something behind her, but Mai was on her in a flash. She caught her wrist with one hand, keeping her hand and the weapon pointed at the ground. With the other she seized her by the neck, forcing her to make eye contact. Mai dove inside her mind, sifting through the jumble of memories and experiences until she found what she needed. Things began to make sense even as her confusion grew. Space, humanity, Cerberus, the Alliance, the Council, the Codex, the Mass Effect. She took in as much as she could in the short time she had. At least she would have names now for all of this strange technology around her, as well as the name of the woman in front of her. She pulled back out, taking care to leave everything as she found it.
“Get the fuck off me!”
The woman tried to push her back, but Mai didn’t budge.
“Drop your weapon, and I will release you.”
The woman huffed, and the weapon clattered to the floor. Mai let go and stepped back, then picked it up and examined it. She now had a basic idea of how this ‘pistol’ functioned, perhaps it would be of use. Realizing she had nowhere to store it, Mai settled for disabling it. She felt along the side until she found the switch, then pressed it. The ‘thermal clip’ ejected and fell to the floor.
“Wait, how did you figure that out?” the woman asked, still shying away from Mai in the corner.
Mai watched her face as she realized.
“Oh my God… You already did it, didn't you?” she grasped her face in her hands, “What the fuck! I didn’t feel anything. You could know everything about me… What is wrong with you?!”
“I don’t.” Mai replied, “I only took what I needed, Ainsley. Can we track the… shuttle Malekith escaped in?”
“Now you know my fucking name?! Of course, I mean you read my mind; god, this is some crazy, asari level bullshit!”
Mai merely gave her a pointed look in response.
“R-right, the shuttle. Um, no, we can’t… Well, I mean we can track the first jump to FTL, but from there they could go just about anywhere.”
“I don’t think we can track them,” the man chimed in, “But I do know where they’re probably going. I’m Nate by the way.” He gave an awkward smile and wave.
Mai turned her piercing gaze to him.
He visibly wilted under her analyzing stare, but seemed to understand her expectation regardless. “The emergency rendezvous was with a team on Omega.”
Omega. A memory not her own surfaced, one that depicted miles upon miles of alleys and tunnels. They reminded her of the Riften sewers, a place she had put behind her long ago. She wasn’t eager to return to a place like that, but her determination was unwavering.
“Take me there.”