Mass Effect: Valediction
Ch 1: Last Requests
Crew Deck, Normandy SR2
Osun, Hourglass Nebula
24 Hours Post Bahak System Incident, 1705 hours
Andreas took a few steps out of Normandy's elevator and made his way onto the crew deck. His sides were extremely sore; the pain killers must've been wearing off. He took a few steps further into the curved hallway towards the crew mess. Shepard could hear Hawthorne and Hadley carry on some conversation about the Normandy's last trip to Illium. Gardner was busy at his post preparing a repast for the evening. The air was pungent with the aroma of garlic, onion, and roasted peppers. It smelt very good, then again, Andreas hadn't taken a meal in almost two days now. Gardner gave his CO a fond greeting and a parting smile before turning his attention to the whole cooked chicken that was perched on his work station.
Shepard approached the med bay door and entered the room slowly. His eyes narrowed on Chakwas, who was currently reading a novel that Kasumi was kind enough to loan to her. The book was surprisingly well kept, especially given its age and Goto's constant travels. The novel's cover page was a dark midnight blue, with gold letters printed on its peak. There was a hidden profile of a woman on its cover. Two eyes stared out at him; the eyes were very feminine with heavy eyelashes and low, dark, eyebrows. The letters inscribed read: "The Great Gatsby" and it was by some old twentieth century author F. Scott Fitzgerald. Never heard of him, Andy mused silently as he strolled further into the large office.
Chakwas closed her book slowly once she heard him enter. She turned slightly to greet Andreas with a warm, inviting, smile. "Oh, Shepard, you're here. Good. Now if you wouldn't mind Commander; please hop on the gurney, remove your top, and let's have a gander at your injuries, shall we?" The doctor quickly rose to her feet, setting her book aside for later. She made her way past him to recover her instruments and gave him some privacy to remove his shirt.
Andreas let out several low moans as he brought his arms and shirt above his shoulders. It hurt a lot more than he figured to remove the cumbersome top. After an exhausting effort, he eventually accomplished the deed. His torso was wrapped in nothing but a low-cut, white, cotton undershirt. The ivory apparel was very snug, and it clung to his muscular frame as though it were his second layer of flesh. Shepard wasted no time, in one free flowing motion; he placed himself on the bed.
The physician approached him, stethoscope in hand and placed the cold metallic circle under his shirt atop his bare left breast. It was extremely cold, and the sudden contact made him shiver out of shock. She placed the buds of the device in her ears in order to accurately listen to his heart beats and breaths. "All right, Commander, If you'd please take a few deep breaths for me," Chakwas asked her patient formally to which he nodded.
Shepard let out several short, rasped inhales and exhales. He repeated this process a few times before Chakwas had had her fill. She removed the tiny buds from her ear, and let the contraption fall around her collar. She quickly ignited her omni-tool and ran a bright orange scanning laser over the Commander's brawny figure. It let out several nondescript beeps before silencing itself.
The British physician sighed and her face contorted. Shepard was intrigued by her sudden facial change, knowing that what she had to say next would not be good news. "You're running a mild fever, only 100.2, probably due to a minor infection in your rib cage. I must've been too slow in applying the medi-gel to your fractures two days ago. Don't worry, though. It's entirely harmless; all it means is that you'll be requiring an extra prescription for it." Chakwas sauntered her way over to the small medicine cabinet across from her desk and opened one of its small doors.
The commander made a motion for his shirt that rested next to him. "That all, Doc? Or are there some other, more painful tests you'd like to run?" Shepard teased lightly with the piece of garb over his forearms, remembering that he hadn't been excused yet.
The doctor rolled her eyes at her patient's joke and simply handed him the small bottle of pills. "These should help; take two of them every two hours until tomorrow. They're antibiotics, amoxicillin to be precise. I suspect that your fever will be gone within the first hour." She moved over to the sink to retrieve a glass of water so Andreas could consume the small capsules.
"So…I'm good to go, right?" He continued to replace his top gently over his sculpted torso. He let out several grunts as he struggled to replace the shirt into his pants. Chakwas returned having fetched his refreshment. She handed him the small glass of water and helped serve him two small capsules from the vial. He popped the small tablets into his mouth before taking a long gratified sip of water.
"Yes, you're free to go, Shepard. Your ribs are healing quite nicely; there're no signs of fluid build up in your chest cavity, so there's a spot of good news. The bruising along your neck should dissipate within the next day or so. The bullet wounds in your leg and shoulder have taken to the medi-gel swimmingly, I imagine it should be healed as early as tomorrow morning. However, you'll still no doubt feel some discomfort in tasks involving simple mobility. As I've said before, don't worry. Just continue taking your pain killers, and it should dissipate as early as tomorrow. One more thing, I would advise that you not take them on an empty stomach. Otherwise, you may get some nausea or a slight dizziness," Chakwas stated while she made her way over to her desk to place her small data pad on the counter.
Shepard smiled, lifted himself off of the bed, and started off to the door. However, the doctor offered him one last fleeting message. "Shepard, I take it that I shouldn't have to explain the consequences of any sort of strenuous activity in your condition, right? I'm more than certain that you understand your physical limits and that you would certainly never do anything that would exacerbate your tender state." Her tone was rich with sarcasm. Shepard could see her eyes narrow on him with an expression vaguely reminiscent of the way his mother used to scold him when he was a kid.
"Come on, Doc. Don't you trust me?" Shepard offered happily and shrugged his shoulders playfully at her. Chakwas shook her head dismissively at her patient's childish attitude.
"Mmmhmm, just the same dragging you in here kicking and screaming in order to tie you to a gurney is not exactly my idea of a good time, Shepard. It also may not be prudent to test your physician's patience level, either." She let out a sigh and turned in her chair to examine her data pad. She brought her left leg above the other professionally, turning her focus to the small data pad before her. Shepard couldn't see her facial expression, but judging by her tone she was dead serious.
"All I'm asking is for a few days of peace, before you re-enter the fray, as it were. After all, it would be unfortunate for me to have to spend an afternoon resetting your broken bones, without anesthetic."
"Far be it from me to get between you and Mr. Fitzgerald, Karin." Shepard spoke with a large grin plastered across his face.
She shook her head and reopened her novel to resume her reading. With her attention fully returned to her novel Shepard left the room in silence.
He returned to the CIC to see a line of crewmen waiting to be served dinner by Gardner. Shepard figured now was as good a chance as any to begin the arduous task of obtaining his team's requested destinations. He waited in line for a tray of food as a peace offering for his first stop. Once the crew noticed him, they all happily stepped aside to allow him the head of the line. Saving all their lives must've gained him a lot of good will. He carried the small silver tray of chow toward the elevator and made his way to the engineering deck.
~O~
Shepard exited the elevator a few minutes later and made his way toward the engineering door. Behind the second set of closed doors, he could hear Gabby and Kenneth holding a conversation about dinner. He made his way down the set of stairs and heard the distinctive sound of an element zero field. Andreas turned the corner, and saw Jack lying on her bunk toying with a pistol. She was using her biotics to levitate it. Jack stopped her activity and turned her attention towards her new visitor.
"Wow, Shepard. You're up and about? I'm surprised you managed to pry your way out from between Chambers' legs for more than a few feet." Jack teased him mockingly as he made his way closer to the table across from her.
Her joke actually did make him laugh lightly while he set down the tray onto her work bench. "Thought you might be hungry, Gardner made some pretty good chicken and spinach alfredo lasagna." Shepard removed the cover off of the small serving tray and the smell drifted through the air. Jack tried to conceal a small grin, and she released the pistol from her biotic grip. She raised herself from her seat and moved toward the food.
"If you're trying to buy me into an idea of a threesome between you and Chambers, then you're barking up the wrong tree." Jack teased while she lightly sniffed the meal her friend had brought, his face turned crimson and he lightly coughed out of shock.
"Could you please stop riding me so hard about Kelly?" Shepard groaned while his compatriot toyed with her dining utensil.
Jack grinned devilishly and forked a large morsel of food into her mouth. "Wonder how many times Chambers has had to tell you that?" She spoke through mouthfuls of food.
Shepard actually laughed at that, at least until his injuries reminded him of his current condition. "Damn it, Jack. Don't make me laugh, please. My rib cage is barely holding together as it is." He took a seat on her bunk while she continued to stuff herself with her meal.
"So what's up? You need something?" Jack asked impatiently. Her eyes glazed over him quickly before she returned her attention to the wall ahead. Shepard grasped the railings of her bunk and he cleared his throat.
"I just came down here to talk. I take it you weren't too happy about my idea of closing up shop?" He waited patiently while Jack took a sip out of a glass of water. She returned the small glass back to its place beside her utensils, and she scowled angrily.
"Oh, you mean the fact that you're running away like a little chicken shit? Nah I could give two shits about that, believe me." She huffed derisively at her friend, while continuing to unkemptly shovel more of Gardner's meal into her gullet. Shepard shifted in place and planted his hands on his legs.
"So if you don't care, then what's was with all the flak at the meeting? Seemed like you have a pretty strong opinion Jack, or am I reading too much into it?" Shepard wondered politely. She continued to pass him heated glances. She placed her fork down and let out a fiery groan.
Jack turned on the small stool to him, and her gaze was so fierce it actually made Andreas pause. "Look asshole, I've got nothing to say to you. Thanks for the grub, but don't think that anything you're doing phases me in the slightest. If you wanna go run off to the Alliance just because of one fuck up, then by all means feel free to abandon us." That last word caught his attention.
Andreas' eye brows arched and he brought his hands together in thought. Abandon? Is she upset because I'm leaving? Dear god she actually cares about me. Wow, Jack, thanks.
"Jack…you think I'm abandoning you? Oh my god, you like me don't you?"
Jack's face immediately turned red as a radish in response, and she huffed as though the very concept offended her. "You wish…god, I don't know how Chambers can stomach kissing that ugly mug of yours." Again Jack's crude humor and cheap shots made Andreas grin. She really had changed in the months since they first met. He never thought he'd be sharing in a reasonably friendly conversation with her. Maybe she really did consider him a friend after all.
He sat back in his seat and let out a light chuckle. "She probably has to close her eyes tightly and pretend she's with someone else."
Jack let out a dry laugh and turned her attention back to the wall across from her. "Yeah she probably does. Look, Shepard, I know I am not the easiest person to be around. I'm a violent bitch, plain and simple. Yet for some reason, you still came down here to talk to me. You treated me with respect and you treated me like a human being so…thanks for that. I guess I'm glad those ugly bastards on Arahtot didn't kick your ass too badly," Jack whispered lightly while still avoiding eye contact with him. Shepard let out a grin and sat up in his chair.
"Jack, you're welcome. I know that you don't approve of this, believe me, a lot of the crew would side with you. Like it or not though this needs to happen. What do you think will happen to humanity when the Reapers do show up? We'll be too busy fighting the Batarians and we'll both be wiped out."
"So you're just going to bend over a barrel and let the Alliance screw you over? C'mon! Do you realize how fucking stupid that sounds? You're humanity's golden boy, they'd have to be bat shit crazy to slap you in chains and throw you in the can!" She angrily retorted, and she flung her arms into the air in disgust.
"Jack…I know this sucks. Believe me, I do. All I'm asking is that you guys trust my call on this just like any other mission, so, please?" Andy forwarded earnestly to her.
Jack huffed once more and took a lengthy sip of water before continuing. "Well, I guess I owe you that much. Besides, you haven't made any really stupid calls-yet. So…you're down here collecting ideas on where I wanna go, huh?"
Shepard rose to his feet and arched his arms behind him so that his back bones could pop. "Yeah, I guess I am. So do you have a spot picked out?"
Jack set her elbows on the table and she formed a contemplative temple with her finger tips. After a few moments of silence, she turned her sights to Shepard with an answer. "I think I'll try my luck on Omega. It seems like a fun place for a girl like me. Who knows, I might even be able to strike it rich on that shithole planet. You can get pretty far on that station if you're strong and ruthless."
Shepard's face darkened at the mention of the station. The memories of the conversation he and Liara shared flooded back to his mind in a flash. Oh, crap. If Liara's intel is spot on, which it always is, Jack would be stepping into a trap if we went there. I have to tell her.
Shepard covered his mouth to clear his throat lightly, and winced when a sharp pain erupted in his sides. "Jack, Omega may not be the best place for us right now. We have reason to believe that Cerberus is using it as a staging area for runs through the Omega Four relay."
The news definitely took Jack aback. Though it wasn't from fear, with her it would never be fear. In fact, Shepard thought he could make out a small grin slowly forming along her maroon lips. Her brown eyes narrowed on him in a gleeful gaze. "Cerberus is there? Well why didn't you say so?" She let out a loud cackle that echoed through her small spider hole on the engineering deck. "I'd like to see those fuckers try and take me. I'll rip that whole station in half before I let one of those Cerberus stooges get their hands on me, Shepard. Besides, I may just go looking for them, now that I know where those bastards are. So thanks for the heads up, Shepard. Now I'm over the whole you leaving thing."
"Good to hear, I think. Good night, Jack." Shepard made his advance toward the staircase at the far side of her quarters.
"Later." She replied passively while taking in another morsel of food. Shepard left in silence and proceeded up the staircase. Once he reached the top, he could no longer hear Gabby or Kenneth, so he assumed that they went to the crew deck for their dinner. He walked into the engineering station and did not see anyone. Even Tali had left for her meal. He proceeded out of the engine room corridor and made his way to Grunt's quarters.
The large beast was currently rummaging through a crate, no doubt looking for spare pyjak or varren steaks that were spared from the oculus' wrath. The krogan let out a small chuckle of satisfaction when he found his prize. "Good, real food," he proclaimed with a barely contained jubilance. He ravenously ripped the small plastic bag open and began consuming the foul smelling meat happily. Grunt turned his head to acknowledge his visitor and stood to greet his mentor proudly.
"Shepard," the youthful krogan greeted him. "Don't wanna eat that smelly human crap Gardner cooked, eh? Want some real food, Battle Master?" Grunt respectfully motioned the package to Shepard. It smelled rotten, and quite frankly, it looked the part too. It was all Shepard could do to not gag at the repulsive smell. Out of respect to his apprentice's feelings, he simply shook his head 'no', but he at least thanked him for the offer.
"So Grunt, I came down here to ask about where you'll want to go now that everything is over with the Collectors?" Shepard asked the youthful krogan kindly. The brute stopped shoving the dried meat into his mouth to answer his leader.
"Yeah…I was thinking of going to Tuchanka. The Urdnot clan leader has been buggin me since yesterday. Wrex says he's forming some team using the different Krogan clans and he wants me to represent Urdnot." This news came as a shock to Shepard.
Wrex had been messaging Grunt? He wanted a tank bred krogan to represent his own clan? That's unexpected, but hey Grunt's a hell of a soldier. Besides, Wrex is smart. He knows Grunt is the best the Krogan have to offer. I knew that Wrex would recognize Grunt's potential.
Shepard cleared his throat and reclined against a nearby work desk. "Good for you, Grunt. I know you'll make a great representative for Urdnot. You're the best the Krogan species has to offer after all."
Shepard thought he could see the large creature beam at the compliment.
"Thanks," he replied nonchalantly trying to conceal his feeling of pride. The brute reached his large hand into his plastic pouch to retrieve more of the wretched smelling meat. "Listen, Battle Master…thanks, for showing me how to fight like a true warrior. I'm sorry I can't go with you. Just make sure that you keep the skulls of your fallen foes as trophies, Battle Master. They'll be a good prize to present to your mate…the red haired female."
Oh, Grunt. Not you too. Shepard thought with a clearly visible blush slowly forming on his face. "Actually Grunt, most human females prefer flowers and candy as opposed to skulls from their mates."
The Krogan shook his head dismissively at the Commander's retort. "What the hell is a flower? Are they those weeds that grow out of the dirt? You give weeds to your females when you wish to mate with them?"
"Humans place a high value on flowers, Grunt. In our culture; they represent beauty, friendship, even love."
"I don't get any of you aliens," Grunt offered in a low bewildered growl while he shook his head. Apparently the concept of a flower holding significance in any culture was definitely an alien idea to the young warrior.
"Don't worry, Grunt. I'll have Joker plot a course to the Krogan DMZ as soon as possible so I won't delay you," Shepard said as he made his way to the door way. Grunt returned to a low flung crate and continued his meal.
Andreas strolled across the hallway and made his way to Zaeed's quarters. He figured since he had Zaeed pegged all wrong, he may as well see where the veteran wished to go now. Shepard ran his fingers along the control panel and activated the door to Zaeed's quarters. A small dart flew past his face and impaled the bullseye mark on the target next to him.
"Shepard, what brings you all the way down here?" The mercenary briefly stopped his activity to allow Shepard entry into his room. Andreas stepped a few feet inside and took a seat on the bench to Zaeed's left side.
"I thought we could talk, Zaeed, unless this is a bad time for you?" Shepard reclined on the small bunk and folded his left leg upon the other. The veteran gave on last uncaring toss of a dart toward the small board and nailed the bullseye once more.
"Sure, I was just waxing goddamned nostalgic." He strolled toward the board to retrieve his darts, before making his way back to his previous position. Zaeed set the tiny projectiles on his work bench next to his rifle Jesse, and then reached for a small red and white box. The letters Marlboro were printed in big bold black writing on the front of the carton. Given the condition of the box, it must've been extremely old, and Zaeed carefully extracted one of the long tubes from his carton to insert it into his mouth. He was about to close the small container when still he realized he had company. The mercenary passed Shepard a side glance and motioned the carton to him. "You want a fag, Shepard?"
Andy shook his head kindly and brought his hand up in rejection. "No thank you, Zaeed. I don't smoke."
The gray haired man nodded in understanding before lighting his cigarette. Zaeed inhaled several small puffs and exhaled white clouds of the fumes. "Good, it's a nasty habit to pick up. So what'd you wanna talk about, exactly?"
Shepard coughed lightly at the smell of the freshly burning tobacco. Most cigarettes in the 2100's now used nicotine fillers and artificial flavoring, rather than actual tobacco, seeing as how the taxes to export tobacco cigarettes from Earth to other parts of the galaxy resulted in at least a five percent or higher mark up. The room was slowly filling with white clouds of fresh smoke; fortunately the Normandy had good filtering systems, so Shepard wasn't suffering too badly.
"I thought we could talk about the meeting earlier." Shepard offered respectfully to his teammate.
The Veteran took another long drag on his cigar and exhaled the fumes through his nose. "Not a lot of shit to say, really. I've already stated my case."
"I remember. So what was it that made you come to my side, Zaeed? What made you protest my idea so feverishly?" Shepard remained silent while he patiently waited for an answer. Zaeed huffed quietly and shrugged his shoulders lightly.
"Look, Shepard. I'm not going to pretend that we're best friends or that you're bloody altruism doesn't get on my nerves. What I can say though, is that I respect you. You're a man who stands by his ideals, regardless of what anyone says. You listen to your crew's opinions and you actually treat them like equals. Plus you're a man of your word; you helped me track down Vido."
"Even though we didn't get him, you still trust me?" Andreas forwarded curiously.
"Yeah about that…I guess I apologize for pointing my rifle at you back there on Zorya. I didn't mean anything by it. Just spur of the moment stuff. Twenty years of work gone in less than half an hour has a way of pissing you off, I guess. In a way though, I guess it was for the best."
"Don't worry about it, Zaeed; I understand why you did what you did. Trust me. You aren't the first teammate that's pointed a gun at me before. I appreciate you placing your faith in me though. I wish I could help you track down that slime Vido again, but…"
"Eh, don't worry about it. I've been communicating with one of the Broker's agents; guy says he can find me Vido. Stupid bastard isn't even charging me for the info," Zaeed proclaimed happily and crossed his arms proudly. He gave his small joint one last inhale before removing it from his mouth and grinding the small bud into an ashtray beside him.
"You went to the Shadow Broker?"
I had no idea. Wonder why Liara didn't mention it? Shepard brought his hands together in thought while he waited for Zaeed to continue.
"Yeah, kinda cheating I know. But I'm sure as hell not gonna spend another twenty years hunting after him. Figure I may as well get with the times and hunt for him like one of the kids these days." Zaeed gave another nonchalant shrug. Shepard brought himself to his feet and turned his attention to the Mercenary.
"So where you heading, Zaeed, Did your agent say where to meet him?" The grizzly man let out a small sigh and shook his head 'no'.
"Unfortunately, the guy's one of those ultra secretive types. He said that he'd contact me as soon as he has something. In the mean time, I think I'll head to Omega and catch up on a few loose contracts that have been floating around my inbox. God, you disappear to do one god damned suicide mission, suddenly everyone and their mother wants you to kill someone for 'em." Zaeed let out a dry cackle before reaching into a cooler underneath his desk for a beer. The small silver can let out an audible hiss, before foaming over with bubbly white foam. Again, Zaeed motioned to Shepard in case he wished to partake, to which Andreas once again declined. After all, prescription pain killers and alcohol don't mix.
"I thought with the money you raked in on our mission that you could afford to retire, Zaeed?" Shepard amicably expressed to his companion. The mercenary's face soured, and he gave a sharp wave of his hand at the notion. He took in another gratified sip of the beverage before continuing.
"I wish. It turns out those Cerberus twats are as crooked as you made 'em out to be, Shepard. That son of a bitch, the Illusive Man, somehow thinks he can stiff me out of my paycheck. I'd find him and kick his arse, but I don't know where that sorry SOB would even be."
"Well when we find out, I'm afraid you're going to have to get in line, Zaeed. My boot has a hot date with his face."
Zaeed cracked up rather loudly at Shepard's interjection and the mercenary almost chocked on his beer. "Sure thing, Shepard, was that all you needed?" Zaeed motioned to Andy with his free hand.
"For the most part yeah, enjoy your beer, Zaeed." Shepard made his way out of Zaeed's quarters and heard the gruff warrior say 'cheers' before the doors closed behind him. Three of my team down, an entire ship to go. So far, his crew had taken to this change well; he was hardly getting any resistance from them. Though he suspected one particular passenger would object to this.
Damn it, I still haven't thought of anything to say to her yet. Then again, let's face it. I really don't want to stare into those beautiful green eyes and tell her I may never see her again. Andreas reflected sadly as he made his way to the elevator to go to the crew deck.
*A/N: YO, YO, YO! It's Brucie baby! Thanks a bunch for all the favorites and comments on my last story. This will be slightly shorter than my first foray into Fan Fiction, though it will be a lot cleaner. Again, sorry about the paragraph spacing in the first run around, definitely was still green back then. This is still running off the previous story, so continuity will not be an issue. If my cover page for this story offends any of my readers, then I apologize in advance. Please leave a comment and I will remove it and re design it (I was going for a classic romance novel feel for my work). If you do like it, please feel free to say so. Or don't…either way just knowing that so many of you enjoy reading about Shep and Kelly is enough of a mind trip as is. Thanks so much for your continued (or new) patronage. Now if you'll excuse me, I have more writing to do so…up, up, and away! BTW if you like a cleaner and more personal story, with a more popular ME character, then by all means, feel free to drop on by Sigyn 2011's page and read some of her stuff! I'm super cereal, it is really good. If you're a fan of the ME universe, Miranda, Shepard, Liara, Garrus, Vega, the Illusive Man, or pretty much all of your ME favs, then you cannot afford to miss out. Or if you enjoyed her FF work then check out her original work The Edge of Obliteration available for $14.99 on Trafford publishing and $3.99 in eBook and Nook format from your favorite literature supplier. I can personally say that it is an amazing work of sci-fi goodness, and it's full of everything that makes a story great. Trust me, it's pretty awesome. Anyway, enough blabbering just let me say I look forward to hearing about anything you guys have to say about my latest story. Now as Liara would say when she uses her singularity: "Enjoy the ride."*