Thanks to all who read and reviewed episode one as of this posting-
Blackrain5775- thanks again for being the first to review the fic, and for sticking around. It means a lot. I've switched from asterisks to something a bit more noticeable for the changes in viewpoints and characters, hopefully everything will run smoother now. And the Garrus chapter was by far the most fun to write in the first episode, I'm thrilled that others dug it too.
Prioris- I loved the characters from the game, you know? That's the biggest reason I started this; to continue their stories in a way I'd like to see happen. And each character is great, so I wanted to represent them separately in the story. That you enjoy the characterizations is a serious ego boost for me, thanks a lot.
lieden- Yes, exactly! The dark feel is what kept me coming back to the game for more playthroughs, that sense that something very wrong was building. As a fan of dark and violent fare in any medium, I wanted to emulate that atmosphere with this story, with bits of comic relief thrown in, as these characters are often genuinely funny in the game. And yes, the plot is going to amp up and come together a few episodes from now, so things might seem a little disjointed at first. Thanks for the review!
Wispr- I appreciate the review of each chapter greatly, thank you! Honestly, with Din, I feel that I cheated him a little, you know? He gets to be a dick for like, three paragraphs and suddenly he's running for his life. I really should've paced myself with that intro, but it's been about three or four years since I've written, and I was definitely shaking off the rust at the time. Still am, really. Thanks for mentioning the Wrex bit from Tali's chapter, I was worried nobody was going to catch that! I giggled like a wee lil girl when writing it. Hopefully the vividness you saw in the shorter chapters carries over as I draw things out a bit for character development and pacing.
Again, thanks to all. I'd be completely full of it if I said I didn't need the recognition or critiquing, they are both extremely useful and appreciated.
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Previously in Aconcagua Dawn:
Volus ambassador Din Korlak boarded the frigate Nightingale in a rush, only to find that his ship had been set up as an ambush by Krogan mercenaries:
She breathed into the side of his mask, a rank smell of rotten flesh and mildew. "You can't leave Ambassador. You have a very important meeting to catch." The claws dug deeper. Din Korlak screamed.
Kaiden Alenko left the Normandy, citing stress as a major factor in his request for extended leave. But the Citadel isn't known for keeping its secrets, and Commander Shepard found out about Kaiden's plans to put in for post-traumatic stress disorder once he reached Earth.
Kaiden said, his voice raising, "I didn't put my life on the line for Commander Shepard and her assorted crew of alien mercenaries and techies and shy, stuttering, blue-skinned biotic fucking princesses, okay? I did it for Alice Shepard…"
Shepard thought the reason behind his wanting to leave was based on their own personal falling out, but it appears as though Kaiden might have more serious problems to worry about.
Blood had begun to rain in the car as it rumbled down the circular track of the space station. It fell on Kaiden's head, soaking his hair, staining his arms and legs red as he sat, trying to wish the sight away. Saren Arterius stood in the red glow of the middle of the shaking, bleeding car, and leered at him through a broken skull. "This isn't real!" Kaiden shouted. A hand came down hard on his shoulder, and a feminine voice said, "You should really clean that up." Kaiden shut his eyes and bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. "Ashley."
While Shepard was with Liara T'Soni on a medical station orbiting the Citadel, Garrus Vakarian and Urdnot Wrex took advantage of the chaotic crime rate since Sovereign's attack in order to take care of business. Garrus met with an old friend-
Harkin stepped around the coffee table and sat on the couch, throwing his hands across the cushions to his side. "So, to what do I owe the distinct pleasure of a visit from a media hog like you, Vakarian?" Garrus grabbed Harkin by the arm and twisted it behind his back. The human squealed in pain, kicking his leg out and smashing the coffee table. "They were all like that for a good long while, weren't they, Harkin?" Garrus whispered frantically in his ear, "Cases made easy by beautiful, young asari and human girls with black eyes willing to say anything to get a dirty, rotten, piece-of-shit like you a rock-solid conviction!" He threw Harkin bodily across the room. His stomach slammed into the wood island that separated the kitchen alcove from the living room. "I'm off the force, Harkin. I'm off the force and on the Normandy. I could kill you and walk away clean."
-while Wrex conned an elcor into sticking around Flux for just a few more drinks.
Urdnot passed the bowl of alcohol to the Elcor. "Drink up, Derby." The bartender appeared by the Krogan's side. He wiped down the table they were at even though it was already clean. The human eyed the Elcor, his head resting on the tabletop. "You've got to get him out of here." The barkeep withdrew his hand from the table, leaving the white rag. Wrex rose from his seat, taking the rag from off the table Wrex walked alongside the stumbling Elcor, helping him to his four feet when he needed it. Then Derby said, "You are my hero, Urdnot Wrex." Derby entered his apartment slowly, and it shut behind him. Wrex ground his teeth together, taking the rag from Flux out of his suit and throwing in disgust on Derby's steps. "If I'm such a hero, how did I know where you lived, you idiot." A few minutes later, when Wrex spotted a transit cab two blocks down, a mild explosion shook the ground beneath him. He continued walking, even after the screams began.
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And now, in episode two of Aconcagua Dawn, Shepard must deal with the fallout of her actions in the hunt for Saren, Wrex and Garrus find their actions didn't go as unnoticed as they'd hoped, Liara discovers a disturbing truth about Shepard's past and Kaiden struggles to get a grip on reality. Meanwhile, in the depths of the Citadel, something old and dark awakens. The story continues in…
Aconcagua Dawn: Episode 2
Amongst the Halls of Legend
There was the distant cry of sirens.
That was what eventually broke Garrus away from his meal. It wasn't from a sense of urgency or gnawing panic, the sudden realization that something 'must be done'; Garrus had absolutely no intention of leaving his table on the shaded exterior deck of the embassy lounge. No, what he felt was more akin to freedom.
Eight months ago, sirens would've meant work. In most cases, terribly mundane and boring work involving marital disputes, angry tenants and building code violations, rebellious young Hanar loitering outside storefronts, warning random human and turian shoppers that the all-powerful Enkindlers would one day return to eat their heathen children and set their homes on fire.
But everyone once in a while, a case would come down the line that would catch his interest. Murders of prominent governing officials, vicious gang-wars in the back alleys and dank corridors of the wards, dirty business deals and hidden sex-slave rings. Even after the rule-books and C-Sec guidelines had beaten and worn him down, if Garrus put enough time and effort into a case, he'd convince himself that this time it would be different, this time his superiors wouldn't get in the way of true justice with red tape and meaningless political rhetoric.
Of course, they always would, and even if Garrus hadn't used his C-Sec issued pistol to solve the case, they'd still find some fault in the steps he'd taken, or rather, jumped over. And Garrus would inevitably find himself sitting behind a desk reading standard security and investigation protocols for a month just to pass a simple reevaluation exam and start the whole cycle of abuse over again.
Now the sirens blared, and all Garrus felt was peace, freedom insomuch as to revel in the knowledge that regardless of the situation, be it a high-profile double homicide or a simple breast-suckling Asari babe using her newfound biotic powers to place the neighbor's noisy pet on a distant rooftop, no one would toss this case file on his desk. In the eyes of Citadel Security, Garrus Vakarian was untouchable.
"Birds," Wrex mumbled as he tore into the side of meat on his plate, breaking Garrus from his reverie.
"I'm sorry?"
Wrex finished gnawing on the meat, red strings of raw varren dangling in ribbons between his teeth, before he responded. "Birds, Garrus. When did they start importing birds to the Citadel?"
Garrus listened to the sounds of the world around them once more, and sure enough, beneath the sirens and the light chatter of passersby a floor beneath them, he heard the unmistakable sound of a twittering bird. More than one of them.
"And why now," Wrex continued, "when they're using heavy machinery and high-powered tools to fix this place up? Doesn't make sense."
Garrus shrugged and returned to his meal, cutting at the small order of fish remaining on his plate. "I doubt they're live birds, Wrex. Probably a new AWS feature."
Wrex chuckled. "You think they're gonna update the weather system with bird songs while C-Sec is dealing with the highest crime rate in forty years?" His chuckle grew into a deep, gutteral laugh, the meat hanging from the sides of his mouth shaking. "Yeah, 'sorry 'bout this lady, we understand you're husband's in several pieces on the front lawn cause some squeakers from the wards thought this'd be the perfect time to get away with a little random violence, but why don't you take yourself on a nice promenade in the park for awhile and listen to the birds."
Garrus shifted in his seat and tried to focus on the fish.
"'I'm sure it'll be very soothing. Calm you right down, lady.' Heh."
Garrus huffed, glaring at the krogan. "It's entirely possible that several subliminal elements have been added to the system to keep people from panicking. That's exactly the kind of response the Council would take to avoid more dramatic measures."
Wrex had dived back into the large slab of meat, but Garrus was certain he heard another grunt of amusement.
They ate in silence for awhile, Garrus diligently cutting the fish into bite-sized morsels, Wrex eventually lifting the side of varren with his hands when he'd reached the bone, gnawing on the fatty bits.
Soon, though, Garrus laughed to himself.
Wrex's face appeared behind the remains of the carcass. "Wha'?"
"'Promenade', huh?"
Wrex's deeply red eyes narrowed threateningly. "Yeah. 'Tsa word. Promenade. Like a-…a peaceful stroll."
Garrus' mandibles twitched in silent mirth.
Wrex cleared his throat and dropped remains of the meat back on the table. "Shepard's supposed to have landed by now. We should check the dock."
Garrus let the previous conversation drop and nodded. "Yes, I suppose we should."
*~~*~~*
[]
*~~*~~*
As they walked towards the elevator that would lead them to the Academy, Garrus pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes and popped one out, sticking it in his left mandible.
Wrex glanced at him and raised a scaled brow. "You human now?"
"No…they're just not bad after a meal. Used to have a partner, about six years ago, a human named McCroy who'd always bring these along on a stakeout. Eventually I got tired of not having anything to do while I waited for hours on end, and we both ended up bringing packs. They're wonderful to pass the time."
They stopped at the lift door and Garrus pressed the neon green call-switch. He reached into his back pocket for the lighter.
"You look ridiculous," Wrex said derisively.
Garrus stopped and sighed. After a second he removed the stick and shoved it back in the pack unceremoniously. "I miss Williams," he stated lightly.
They stood side-by-side, peering down the shaft beyond the clear safety glass, waiting to catch sight of the elevator.
"She would've told you the same thing," Wrex said.
The elevator rumbled to the top, the safety plate lowering.
"I know," Garrus replied as they stepped inside, "but she would've shared the laugh."
*~~*~~*
[]
*~~*~~*
Shepard stepped off of the tiny ship's platform and onto the dock, Liara close behind her.
Councilor Anderson and Udina, his aide for the time being, were waiting for them, along with several young lieutenants who'd snapped to attention upon her exit.
"As you were," Shepard said, readjusting the small leather satchel she'd slung over her shoulder.
"Shepard," Anderson began, his eyes apologetic, "I understand your sense of urgency-."
Shepard nodded towards the elevators, and Anderson began walking with her.
"With all due respect, sir, you gave me the long and short of it on my way here. I can't leave the Citadel yet, no matter how badly I'm needed out there or how much more those krogan scum torture the ambassador over the damn extranet." One of the lieutenant's reached to take her bag for her. She politely shrugged it away from him.
"No, thank you."
Walking behind them, Liara, who had already given her bags to one of the lieutenants, glanced between Alice and the young officer now carrying Liara's two light bags for her. Her pale blue skin began to redden at her cheeks, and she stared down at her feet in silent shame as they continued their brisk pace.
"What you haven't told me yet," Alice continued, "is what I have to do in order to leave."
"What you need to do, Shepard," Udina said, "is get back on that shuttle and return to the med station. You're not fully healed yet. The last thing we need is for the first human spectre to keel over dead halfway through a highly publicized rescue mission because she thought she was invincible."
"Why is he here?" Shepard kept her eyes on Anderson.
"Shepard," Anderson said, ignoring both of them, "you can't leave yet because we've run into a spot of trouble with the Alliance."
"What does that mean?" She asked wearily.
*~~*~~*
[]
*~~*~~*
The first thing Shepard saw as she led the group into the brightly lit boardroom was a human in a brown suit, standing at about five feet, eight inches, with his back to them. He was staring outside the large, picture-room window with a concentrated, far-off look in his eyes.
The second thing she saw was Wrex and Garrus, sitting next to each other at one corner of the large oak table that took up the majority of the room. They were both staring with clear disdain at the human by the window.
She caught Garrus' eye as she, Anderson, Udina and Liara filtered into the room and began taking seats. As Alice took a seat on the opposite side of Wrex she jerked her head towards the human questioningly.
Garrus shrugged and leaned towards her, whispering, "He's been standing there the whole time. Hasn't said a word."
"Looks like a tool," Wrex rumbled softly.
Alice smiled, knowing who'd introduced the krogan to that particular insult.
"What tool?" Liara asked out loud, settling in next to Alice, scooting her chair closer to the spectre and farther away from Udina. "Like an Omni-tool?"
Alice grinned and Wrex laughed.
Garrus, on the other hand, had turned his attention to Anderson. "Councilor, you've gathered us all here. Will anyone else be joining us?"
"No, this is it," Anderson responded, "it's a closed-door session from this moment on; we won't be interrupted."
"Then would you mind introducing us to our guest?"
The Councilor's lip twitched into a grimace only long enough for the Normandy's crew to notice. Then, "Certainly, Inspector, this-"
"Oh, there's no need to address him as such, Councilor Anderson," the man at the window said, his voice slick and pompous with an air of authority, "he's simply Garrus Vakarian now. A consultant working under Commander Shepard on the Normandy."
An awkward silence swept over the room.
"…Yeah," Wrex said in an acidic tone, "and I'm just Urdnot Wrex. A bounty hunter, working under Shepard on the Normandy. Which is a ship that flies through space."
"Wrex," Anderson began.
"I'm also krogan."
Alice slid towards Wrex. A loud thump resounded from underneath the table. Wrex didn't show any signs of pain, but he said nothing else.
The man turned from the window, a thin-lipped smile on his face.
He had a full head of brown, clean-cut hair that matched the color of his suit to the point that Alice doubted it was by coincidence. He wasn't unattractive, but his face was too skinny, his eyes cold and cunning behind thinly-rimmed, box-lens glasses and the smile he wore was anything but pleasant.
"That's right, Urdnot, you are a krogan." He spoke almost jauntily, as though he were trying to share in the fun Wrex was having. But there was no denying that everything he was saying dripped with insincerity and condescension. "And Garrus is a turian, Liara T'soni there is an asari and Alice Shepard and I are humans. And no matter what race we may be, all of us are currently receiving pay and room and board from the Alliance and their generous funding."
Liara exhaled sharply, frustrated. "I do not wish to offend anyone, but it appears you are making a game of stating the obvious and I wish that you would either stop talking or get to the point, if there is one…please."
"I think I know what he's getting at," Alice said grimly.
"Of course you do, Shepard," he said, "and that's why you're the one in charge. You should be the first one to understand what's expected of Alliance property. And make no mistake about it, folks. For every second that you fly the Normandy, for every credit you're given and safe haven you seek in the storms of battle, that's what you are and will be. The Alliance owns every single body in this room." He smirked. "Your souls, of course, are your own."
"Oh, how poetic," Garrus said wryly.
"Okay," Alice interjected, "let's cut to the chase. Who are you and what is it you want?"
"I was getting there, believe me, Commander. But first, let me explain something," the brown-haired man said slowly, finally taking a seat at the far end of the table, his eyes sliding over each of them. "The Alliance is grateful to you for your contribution to the galactic safety in this recent crisis concerning Saren Arturius and the reapers."
"Our 'contribution'?"
"You played your part, no one will deny that-"
"We did more than that, you cocky bastard," Wrex growled, "we saved your ass and everyone you know."
"But at what cost?"
Shepard frowned. "I'm sorry, I don't understand. I was under the impression that no cost is too high when it concerns the fate of every liv-"
"Yes, yes, yes, I've watched the vidlogs, I've read the reports, I know what you believe to have been at stake. But look at the facts, Shepard."
He brought up one hand and held out his fingers, then began to count them off. "During the course of your investigation, you set back, destroyed or caused irreparable harm to over two dozen different scientific research and development projects across thirty-five planets, causing, and I mean this literally, trillions of credits in damage, a high percentage of which belonged to the Alliance. You killed or were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of lives which the Alliance had also put great stock value in, and that was just on the ground. During the attack on the Citadel you demanded that Alliance troops risk their lives to protect the council during their escape, ultimately causing nearly twenty-seven thousand to die, and losing another hundred billion in damages to the fleet."
"Shepard's decision to protect the council is the only reason we were even able to secure a spot amongst them," Anderson tried to reason, "it showed that humanity did not put itself above the needs of the greater good."
"I wasn't finished, Councilor!" His eyes blazed at Shepard once more. "You took on alien crew members who went through absolutely none of the Alliance civilian training and documentation requirements, then ostracized and terrorized the sole human biotic on board the Normandy to the point where we'll be lucky if he'll ever be an asset aga-"
"Now wait a minute, Rickard-" Udina began.
"-in, not to mention getting the only other human on your ground unit shot to shit and blown to oblivion on Virmire-"
"That's enough!" Anderson commanded.
"-and while I'm sure we're all aware that one dead grunt, Chief or not, equates to little more than spilt milk in even the most minute version of the grand scheme of things, I'd say that you have a-"
Wrex was up and out of his chair like a bloodhound out of a broken collar, but Garrus had moved faster. The man Udina had called 'Rickard' squealed when Garrus grabbed him by the throat, lifted him a few inches off the chair and slammed him into the ground beyond Shepard's sight.
"Jesus Christ," Udina snapped.
His chair in two pieces beneath him, Rickard struggled to pry Garrus' fingers from his throat.
"Now that just wasn't the brightest thing to say, was it?" Garrus asked him.
"Release him, Vakarian, this instant!" Udina looked to Anderson for help. "Aren't you going to do something?"
The Councilor watched the small man writhe on the ground, his face a mask of pain as he sucked in what little air Garrus allowed him to breathe. "Well," he sighed, "I figured I might watch for a while."
Udina scowled at him, his eyes searching the others. "His name is Rickard West, he's a contracted civilian, upper management for one of the soft branches of the Alliance. He was sent here to make you all understand the Alliance's grievances and to lay down some new requirements, alright? Now one of you get that turian OFF OF HIM!"
"Garrus," Alice called.
"What?" Garrus didn't look away from the human squirming on the ground beneath him.
"Does he know her name?"
"Oh, for the love of…" Udina threw his hands up in exasperation.
Garrus smiled bitterly at Rickard. "I'll bet you do. You read the case files, you said so."
The human shook with rage in his hand.
"Say it. Out loud."
Rickard's eyes bugged in desperation, trying to struggle from the turian's grip while barely managing to breathe.
"Say it," Garrus squeezed harder, causing Rickard to grunt as what little air he was breathing disappeared. "Say her name."
The room went silent, save for Rickard's frantic body jerking.
Garrus' brow furrowed. His hand clenched down even further.
"Ashley," Rickard screamed hoarsely, "Ashley Williams!"
Garrus released his grip and stepped up, backing away from the human.
It took several moments for Rickard to get onto his hands and knees and begin to suck in deep breaths in loud, tortured waves.
"Push over a new chair for him, Mr. Udina," Shepard suggested.
"What's a soft branch?" Liara asked the room airily, a dazed expression in her eyes, as though she had searched out somewhere else to be for the last few minutes, and was just now finding her way back.
"It's an unnamed sector of the Alliance," Anderson responded, "technically it doesn't even exist. Not on paper, anyway. That's what 'soft' means in this instance. There is no hard copy data on the particular organization Rickard works for."
"Oh, I see."
Rickard was up now, standing, straightening his tie and quietly fuming. He refused to look Garrus in the eye. Every couple of seconds his breath would audibly hitch in his throat.
"So, Mr. West. Are you ready to tell us why we're here?"
"You…" He rubbed his throat and coughed. "You said that no cost is too high when it comes to saving lives, saving the galaxy." He began to pace at his end of the table, apparently opting not to sit that close to Garrus again.
"As tragically romantic as the sentiment may be, it's bullshit. It's a fairy tale ideal like dragon slaying for the princess or self-sacrifice for the future of peace, instilled in the minds of the young so they might one day pick up a rifle and point it at someone who's values are different than their own, pulling the trigger and hoping, praying, wishing on a star for the best; and so that we'll all still have jobs.
"In reality, Shepard, 'ifs' and 'maybes' rule our world, not self-stroking sugar-coated idealism. If you had caught Saren sooner, you could've saved the nearly one hundred thousand lives that were lost in the attack on the Citadel. Maybe you need some time off to recuperate, retrain in certain tactical scenarios. If you had kept the Alliance more informed on current events, the brass wouldn't have been so angry when the damage reports kept landing on their desks unexpectedly. Maybe you need to have the CENTAL General's extranet address written on the back of your hand. And if you had exercised even the slightest amount of good, honest hesitation or self-restraint, maybe you wouldn't have found yourself stuck in a situation in which you had to choose between which of your crew members you were going to send to their death."
Garrus tensed, Rickard's hand shot up to steady the turian. "Maybe Ashley Williams would still be alive."
This time, no one jumped from their seats. No one grabbed a human by the throat.
And no one would look Shepard in the eye.
Except, of course, for Rickard. "There is most definitely a cost to saving the galaxy, Alice Shepard. And you've wracked up a tab you couldn't pay off in a thousand lifetimes. You have two choices. One; we severe ties right now. You will put in for an early retirement. Step down as commander of the Normandy. Your crew will either stay on in retainer and continue to prove useful to the Alliance, or they will collect a small severance for their troubles and be on their way."
"Some of us are not so willing to stab Shepard in the back, Mr. West." Liara's tone was firm and unshakeable.
Alice remained stoic on the outside, but internally she just wanted to touch the asari on the small of her back and feel the warmth of those blue lips against her own.
"Yes, some of you might find it difficult to bite the hand that sleeps with you, but bare in mind that Commander Shepard does not sign your checks. The Alliance does. Spectres by nature work alone. Shepard is the first human spectre, so during the hunt for Saren we were willing to allow her some leeway in her choices to see how things would turn out, but those days are over. If Shepard chooses to remain a spectre, which I have no doubt that she will, she must either comply with the Alliance's new standards or separate from within the ranks, and anyone she chooses to bring along after that point she will have to pay out of pocket.
"And trust me, once the pangs of hunger settle in on whatever sub-par frigate the council provides her with, 'stabbing Shepard in the back' will start to look a lot more like 'keeping yourself alive'. Only the Normandy can provide a stable environment that an asari, a krogan, and turian and a quarian can reside in withou-"
"TaliZora is no longer a member of our crew," Garrus said quickly.
"Garrus!" Shepard spit, biting her lip and closing her eyes.
West was silent, his eyes wide behind the black frames of his glasses. His eyes were locked on Alice.
"What," Garrus asked, "she chose to leave. It's not as though we threw her out of the airlock."
"Don't blame him, Shepard," West said with unveiled contempt and disbelief, "I would've found out eventually, and this conversation would still have happened. You allowed a quarian, a quarian engineer into the very heart of the most top secret ship in the Alliance fleet, gave her free reign to poke around its innards, learn everything she possibly could, gain intelligence on every aspect of what we still consider top-of-the-line espionage hardware, and than you let her leave?! She just walked out?"
Shepard opened her eyes and met his gaze. "Yes."
Udina waited a moment as they stared at each other with mutual hatred, checked his watch and said, "look, this has gone on long enough. I won't pretend to understand Shepard, she's an enigma to me. But I'm quite certain she will not risk losing her crew or her funding just to keep her pride intact. What are the standards she will be expected to keep?"
West broke eye contact from Shepard and ran one hand through his hair. "A quarterly report when things are slow. If anything major happens, people dying, buildings exploding, evil beings make plans to destroy the galaxy known to her and than magically escape, the Alliance will be informed by Shepard immediately. You will find a replacement for Lieutenant Alenko before you leave the Citadel. If that means the volus ambassador suffers longer, than that's tough shit for him. I'm sure the krogans will keep him alive if they really expect to get what they want.
"You will also take on a human as your chief consultant, this as a replacement for Williams. Obviously, you will not have a choice in this selection, the Alliance will."
Once more, the room went silent.
"Is that all?" Anderson asked.
"That's the gist of it, yes. Commander Shepard, you have as long as it takes to make your decision, but keep in mind that the Normandy is grounded until you do."
Wrex slid his chair back and stood up. Rickard flinched, eyeing him warily.
Wrex scoffed, looked to Alice. "I'm going to get a drink. Call me when something good comes out of this mess."
She nodded; then, only for a split second, caught sight of Wrex's omni-tool on his wrist. It was blinking orange and white in the lower right-hand corner of the holographic display. Someone had messaged him.
Garrus eyed her questioningly, and she gave him the same nonverbal answer she'd given Wrex.
He got up and walked out, followed quickly by Udina, who didn't even wait for Anderson's approval. The Councilor sighed. "I've really got to train him better. Shepard, I'll talk to you soon."
"Very good, sir," she said respectfully if not entirely 'there'. She was watching Rickard while biting her thumbnail.
Once the door was shut, and only Rickard, Liara and Alice remained, she spoke.
"All right, Rickard, I'll consider the new standards. Just one thing for the moment, though."
He smiled. She only wanted to mutilate him worse for that. "And what might that be?" He asked.
"This human chief consultant. He'll advise me on matters as would benefit the Alliance? Watch everything that went on onboard the Normandy and make separate reports of his own? Question my authority, attempt to undermine my control if it appears I might make the Alliance look bad?"
Rickard's smile stretched to a grin that, coupled with any other personality, would've been charming. On Rickard it was just slimy and arrogant. "Are those even questions? You know how this works, Commander."
"And as I have no choice in the matter, I imagine the Alliance has already made a decision they feel I'd disapprove of."
"How perceptive."
"Are you to be my new chief consultant, Rickard?"
He laughed as though she'd just given him the most flattering of compliments. "Shepard, I get the feeling you and I are going to enjoy a true sense of despise for a long time, but not to that effect. The Alliance has other plans for me."
She nodded silently, the thumbnail settling once more between her teeth.
Rickard waited a moment, than made for the door. "I'll be in the embassy lounge for a while. If it takes you more than an hour or two to reach a decision, my suite is on the thirty-seventh floor, room number twelve."
"Thirty-seven," Alice repeated absent-mindedly. "Suite twelve."
As Rickard opened the door to exit, he took a quick look at Liara sitting next to her, and shook his head, still smiling.
"On a separate note, Shepard, I have a signed certificate from you in my temporary quarters that shows you updated, within the last year, your Interspecies Relationship Training over the AEP."
"And?"
"Interesting that you chose an Asari to bed, given your history with them. I seem to recall coming across a file that detailed an event on the Elvira Training Station a few years back, of a young red-headed staff lieutenant storming through the mess hall after a pretty blonde, a second lieutenant I can't remember the name of. The staff 'Lt' picked up a sweet roll from one of the other student's plates and chucked it at the blonde, striking her in the back of the head with perfect aim. When the blonde turned and asked what the girl's problem was, she responded with the words, 'How dare you, how dare you'," Rickard recounted the event emotionlessly, save his own self-satisfied humor which was evident in every word, "'I thought you gave a shit about us'.
"To which the blonde replied, 'I did, I just care for her too'."
Alice stole a glance at Liara. The asari was frowning, listening to the story, deep interest easily read on her face.
"So the female captain, obviously angered and hurt by this, said…oh, dammit. My memory fails me. Are you familiar with the story, Shepard? Do you remember what the female lieutenant said to the cheating blonde butter bar?"
"This isn't a bar joke, West." Alice said, hating him more at this moment than she thought she'd ever be capable of.
He chuckled. "So say you…" Then, without an ounce of humor left, "what did she say, Shepard?"
Alice sighed. Looked to Liara. The blue beauty was watching her now, worried. It was clear she didn't like where this was going.
Alice looked quickly away, focusing her eyes on the sky outside of the window. "What's wrong with you, Samantha? Didn't your mother ever teach not to put your mouth on a… on an asari? You don't know where it's been."
Rickard snapped his fingers. "That's it! That's what she said."
He smiled, glancing between the two of them. "Well, Shepard, I'll be waiting."
He attempted to shut the door behind him, but the handle was quickly yanked from his fingertips. Liara stormed passed him, into the hallway.
Shepard waited until the door shut, put her head down on the table, eyes still locked beyond the window. She hoped and prayed and wished upon a star that the cold world beneath her feet would simply go away.
*~~*~~*
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