Alright! Here Is! Chapter two, Revised!
Garrus Vakarian was a Turian of a substantial understanding. Due to the fact of his days at C-Sec and being from a family such as his. But this was something that really test his understanding nature. He studied the man, honestly confused as to how this man was going on two hundred so how was it possible? Shepard once told him and Liara during their Hunt for Saren that humans were lucky if they hit 150.
But he hadn't realized he was now staring at the man across from him, and the man was simply staring right back at the Turian with a raised brow. "Dude, if you keep staring like that I'm going to poke you in the face or something, because it's kind of creeping me out..." Dezzo said, running a hand over his head.
Garrus started, slightly jumping at the man's odd tone with his mandibles flared in surprise and slight embarrassment. "Uh... Right... Sorry..." He said as he began to think of something to bring something up in conversation, his sub-harmonics thrumming slightly in embarrassment. "Ehem… So, how is it that you're pushing two hundred, honestly?" He was curious, sue him.
A chuckle escaped Dezzo, the human crossing his arms as he gave Garrus a dark, almost threatening look. "Well honestly, if I told you I'd have to kill you..." He said quickly, letting his biotics flare up slightly to accentuate the false threat. Of course, Dezzo wasn't going to follow through with it, he just wanted to see if the Turian would sweat under the joke.
The marksman flared up in defense, mandibles wide in greater surprise than before, and his hand honestly dropped closer to his pistol that rested at his thigh. "What? I mean really... It... Why... Why would you...-" And sweat the Turian did, even though Dezzo was not entirely sure that they could. The silence that followed was more than one person could handle, let alone a nervous Turian.
The man, however, broke out into hearty laughter, clutching his sides at the very rattled and spluttering Turian. "Relax, man... I'm joking..." He said as Garrus relaxed, clicking his mandibles slightly as he cleared his throat. "Oh, boy. That was rich… Listen, I will tell after I get to know everyone. It's not exactly a story told everyone." Dezzo said, straightening up and placing his hands on the table and judging by the look in his gaze, he was serious. "I'm Dezzo, by the way..." He extended his right hand to Garrus.
"Garrus Vakarian." The Turian shook his hand, albeit a little hesitant as to the strange human in front of him. He did, however, wonder if Dezzo knew he was Archangel. And if he did, what would his reaction be? Garrus hoped it wouldn't be a violent one, but he had no idea how wrong he was.
Dezzo smirked slightly, taking notice that the Turian had some quite heavy scars on his face. "So I heard that there was one man on Omega who was the Sniper Rifle crack shot. Took down a lot of mercenaries and cleaned up a good bit on Omega Shame... I was looking forward to meeting Archangel..." He gave a wink, replacing his hands in his pockets. "Heard he kind of took a rocket to the face."
Garrus couldn't help but give a Turian equivalent of a smile as he crossed his arms and looked a bit smug. "Yeah? I heard he was a bad ass with a Sniper. Mercs finally got him one day, though. Rockets seem to incinerate bodies." He preened. He was honestly starting to feel a bit more at ease around this man.
That was the moment when Grunt, Jack, Zaeed, Shepard, Jacob, Miranda and Kasumi stepped in. "Orientation time, Eh?" The man grinned, leaning back on the wall to look upon the group. This should be extremely fun. The alleged immortal thought as he moved up, standing on the opposing end of the table, looking straight at the Commander. "Ready to answer any of your questions. Within limits, of course." He said as he stood up straight, his hands clasped behind his back. A soldier's stance. He must have had some military training of some sort to instinctively stand at attention to a Commanding Officer.
Shepard nodded quietly as Mordin slipped in quickly, studying Dezzo with interested eyes while he stood quietly next to Jacob. "Right... So... What is your whole name, Dezzo?" Shepard asked, placing her hands on the table and leaning forward, steely grey eyes locked on him.
He glanced about the room at the intent eyes upon him, a brow raised slightly. "Desmend Antonio Volket." Dezzo grinned, running a hand over the table top. As he said this, both Garrus and Mordin looked to Shepard, giving a nod to show that they could not pick up on any sort of deception. What man would really lie about his name if he was here to do a Suicide Mission. The risk was high, and they would all need to form some trust with one another.
Shepard nodded, before looking to the others. This was the biggest of the questions she would be launching at the man. "And, uh... How old are you?" She asked, steeling herself for the answer the man would give.
"One-Hundred and Ninety-one years, six months, eighteen days old, Commander." Dezzo simply said. This again earned a wide-eyed nod from the two organic lie detectors, the answer flooring both the Turian and Salarian.
Jack scoffed loudly. "Buuuull Shiiiit."
"Oh, can it, Jack." Shepard said, looking back at Dezzo. "Which makes your Birth Date around the year...?"
"1994." Dezzo nodded. "Before anyone asks. No. I will not disclose much more information until I deem it safe to do so. I just do not exactly trust anyone of you just yet, except with the fact that we all want the Collectors and Reapers dead and scrapped respectively." He said, his tone serious, and his eyes holding a serious look in them. "Right now, all I can trust you with is that we won't stab each other in the back. If you have my back in battle, I most definitely have yours. That is the oath I have stuck by since before I began traveling."
Most were quiet, Miranda was floored at the man's words. Once again, Miranda Lawson, The Illusive Man's right-hand woman, the very one who resurrected Commander Rayvyn Shepard, the woman that was always right... Was stunned into silence by a man whom she had only known for an hour. It was maddening, disrespectful to her and her Organization to just outright say no to them without prior provocation.
"Do you have a specific reason for wanting to be on this mission? You did mention back on Omega that you had a grudge match against the collectors, and I need to know if you are going to be focused on the mission, or if we will have an issue down the road. I will need some assurances that you won't go apeshit." Shepard finally spoke up.
He looked down, pulling off a necklace and placing it on the holotable, showing a picture of Dezzo and a Woman with blonde highlights in chestnut hair holding a child with hair that was a mix between blonde and brown. "Get my own information. My, well. We divorced, but we still talk... This is my ex-wife and daughter. They lived on Freedoms Progress. I had just gone to visit when I found out that the Collectors had come and snatched everyone. Makenzie and Rylen were just… They were gone..." He whispered.
He sighed, looking back at them. "Need to find out if they are okay and if they are able to get out of there." He whispered, fists clenched. "But, enough of that. Cerberus..." He looked upon Miranda, eyes narrowed. You wanted to ask me some questions? Inform me of some rules, I believe?" He placed the necklace on his neck once more, looking to Miranda.
Miranda was shaken from her little space out moment as she was singled out under his fierce gaze and looked to the man once more. His conviction was honestly admirable, but his scathing tone and look was a bit more… Unnerving. "Yes. What are your thoughts on this whole situation? Are you committed to working with a team?" She asked, unable to ask anything else upon the man's history without touching a nerve. He was seemingly anti-Cerberus, but then again, who wasn't?
He gazed about the room, seeing that they were all able-bodied people and gave them a nod. "Yes." Dezzo answered. "I will put aside any differences in order to get to work."
Miranda gave Shepard a glance, who then nodded for the operative to proceed with her questions. "Are you willing to follow orders?" She questioned once more, arms crossed just under her ample chest.
Dezzo gave a simple nod. "I was a soldier. Taking orders is nothing to me." He said. "Now, if those orders are questionable, then you better bet your ass I am going to question it. As far as I can tell, we aren't running by Alliance Navy Regs, nor does Shepard. She is the Commanding Officer at the moment, therefore, she is law for me.
Rayvyn had a small, almost haughty look on her face before she leaned on the table, her trademark black hair draping forth over her shoulder as she brought forth the next questions. "Any Biotics? Special things to know about?" Shepard piped in, locking her eyes with Dezzo's again.
"You've seen my cloaking. I am a Vanguard, and I have made modifications to my tech. I was able to fix up my omni-tool to get Tech Armor." Dezzo smiled softly as he looked to the others before he looked down to make sure his locket was placed on correctly. "Though it was a bitch getting my implants changed out to the newest ones, and I am really surprised that the damn things were compatible… Speaking of, I am going to need a gracious amount of food."
Shepard looked to the two resident biotic users, but noticed Kasumi was gone, which she soon noticed that she had cloaked. She would ask later, looking at Dezzo again, but then looked at Jacob with a nod. This was his question, as he was the Armorer. "Weapons?" The man spoke.
"I use a…-" He stopped talking for a moment, tilting his head to the left and furrowing his brows. "Hold on a moment, please." Dezzo soon turned around, placing his finger on empty space. This of course caused the others to momentarily question the man's sanity. "Bad girl, Kasumi..." He whispered as the Master Thief appeared again, Dezzo's index finger against her nose.
"Aw man!" She gave an annoyed huff before she crossed her arms, her tiny frame leaning to one side. "Tony is no fun..." Kasumi mock pouted as she made a slight face, her eyes crossed, and her tongue poked out.
Shepard rose a brow, a silent 'What the Hell?' look traveling from her to Dezzo in an instant, a small smile forming as he took his finger back, looking to the group. "Oh, Yes." He looked up at the rest. "Let's just say, Kasumi tried to steal something of mine on Omega... And failed."
"Dezzo caught me and told me that what I was doing was pointless. Well, at least to him. Trying to take an antique… A very old antique…" Kasumi said as she shrugged. "Apparently, he found some sort of interest in me, because he didn't kill me. Wound up finding some old stuff for him over the years, things in the Sol System. Relics."
Shepard rose a brow slightly as she gazed between the two, crossing her arms and leaning back slightly. It was the way she got when she either wanted to intimidate someone or show that she meant business. Sometimes, she just did it because she was annoyed or irritated, and right now it was both numbers two and three. "You knew Dezzo? Why didn't you tell us this, Kas?" She asked with a slight edge to her tone, almost wondering if Dezzo had slept with Kasumi too.
Kasumi looked between Shepard and Dezzo, shrugging. "Hey, I didn't know that our Immortal Man would be tall, dark, and handsome here. If I had known that, I would have broken my neck to get him to come on board." She said cheerfully before she smiled to Dez, making her way back to the spot she originally had between Jacob and Shepard. "Though I did get a bit suspicious of his aging, or lack thereof."
Dezzo shook his head, smiling as he looked back up at the group, brow raised as he looked directly at Miranda before he posed his next question. He didn't know why, but something about her made him want to get under her skin as he had done with Garrus. While that had been fun, he mainly wanted to see how far he could push the woman. "Any other questions?" His voice was low, before he spoke again. "By the way, I am surprised, however, that I have seen you on Omega once. I think you may have bumped into me once before as well, but that make's little difference. I find it funny that Cerberus doesn't have any information on me. Is that true?"
Miranda blinked as she was yet again singled out before her brows furrowed slightly, shaking her head as she tried to remember when she had bumped into anyone while there before she fixed Shepard. "I can honestly say, when Shepard got that message from the kid she saved when we recruited Garrus, and that was the first time that we ever heard of you. You are like a ghost." She admitted begrudgingly.
"Ooooh~, Cerberus doesn't know everything about humans! What a surprise, huh, Cheerleader?" Jack shook her head, leaving the room to head back down to her dark little room. To her, it felt like their meeting was over and she could go back to digging through what fucked up past she had. "I still call major bullshit on you, Bright Eyes!" She said just before the doors shut.
Of course, she had managed to gain everyone's attention to her tattooed back as she left, a few of the ones inside shaking their heads as the doors closed behind her. "Don't mind Jack..." Shepard waved her hand off at Jack's outburst, as if it were simply her talking about the time of day.
Garrus chuckled and groaned slightly, as his face was still in pain. Not nearly as much as when he first got onboard this vessel "Yeah... She's a real piece of work. The Psychotic Biotic. Is what she is called." Garrus spoke as he rolled his neck, still very much in discomfort. His plates were clearly still getting together, even with the extensive work that Chakwas had given him.
"Well, she is not alone in the Psychotic department. I'm pretty far out there. You know..." He whistled, doing the loopy signal with his finger, before he cleared his throat. "So! Where am I staying on this mighty fine ship?" Dezzo asked, tucking his hands in his pockets and kicking the pair of duffle bags he had rested upon the cold floor beneath his boots, the sounds of objects moving around inside them. "I didn't bring much… My clothes and my guns. All my pictures are safely around my neck." He tapped his locket before he heard the clearing of someone's throat
It was Jacob who spoke up this time, looking at Shepard while standing straight. Dezzo could tell he wasn't fully immersed into Cerberus like Miranda was, and that made him more than tolerable for being around. "If he's any good with weapons, I could use an extra pair of hands in the Armory." Jacob turned his gaze back to Dezzo, giving a soft smile. "If that's okay?"
Dezzo looked down for a moment before he gave a wide grin. One thing that the crew could gather is that the Second-Tier man loved to modify weapons like it was nobody's business. "Who do you think modifies all my guns?" He gave a chuckle as he leaned down to pick up the duffels at his feet. "Sure. I can do modifications to your weapons if you'd like…"
"Alright, then." Jacob grinned, waving him on. "Follow me. Armory is this way." He stated, walking through the doors, Dezzo falling in behind him.
"See you later, Gang." Dezzo called while he waved over his shoulder as the door closed.
Grunt looked at the ones who were still inside, scratching his crest slightly. "Hm. I'm going to find something to eat…" The Tank Bred said as he lumbered on out of the briefing room, still slightly confused at the whole situation with the Immortal. He hadn't heard of any humans being that long living in any of the memories Okeer put in his head. He gave everyone a nod before the door closed behind him.
Crossing her arms, Miranda cocked her eyebrow up, blue gaze settled on Shepard with a determined look on her face. "I think this is an excellent opportunity to monitor him..." She said, now back to her usual cocky self. She had to know about Dezzo and how he had become immortal, or whatever it was.
The Master Thief looked towards Miranda with a scandalous look. She could not believe the gall of the woman who had just said something that she shouldn't have thought of. "I wouldn't recommend that, Ms. Lawson... Dezzo knows when he's being watched." Kasumi warned. "I have seen the things that he has done to people who don't know when to leave well enough alone. Either you get lucky like me… or."
Shepard looked to her SiC, steely grey gaze filled with her own determination. "And, clearly, he doesn't support Cerberus at all. Don't do something that will cause problems for the crew, otherwise I will show you why they call me the Black Death." She said as she pushed her raven locks behind her ear. "You will not start digging."
"Who does trust them these days? If you do that, he could possibly leave us behind and take on the Collectors on his own." Garrus put in his two cents.
Miranda fumed at this. They were all against this plan of observation, simple, non-invasive observation. "Who's to say he isn't a Spy?" She rose her voice while she stared at the Commander, her fists clenched under her arms while staring into the slightly red glowing eyes of Shepard.
Everyone went completely quiet at that. It seemed like Miranda was starting to lose her professional edge and border the thin line of obsession for the newest member of the crew, at least, the obsession for knowledge over the man. Shepard sneered. "Stand. Down." She growled slightly as she looked over her shoulder at the others. "Now you're just being ridiculous, Miranda. Everyone Dismissed." Shepard ordered as she walked out with Garrus and Mordin.
Dezzo whistled lowly at the sight of the armory, eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. "Damn." He said with a soft tone in his voice, placing down his duffle bags while he moved over to the table where he saw the sniper rifles sitting there. "That's a nice looking Mantis there." The man said as he turned back to the man, raising a brow as he heard voices raised.
"Impressive, Right?" Jacob grinned, taking his place at his computer after he had closed the door behind them, shutting out the sounds of an even more heated conversation that was taking place in the Briefing Comms. Room.
Dezzo looked at a Viper, running his finger over it. "Very. I got something for ya..." He walked over to the crate he had brought with him, popping it open and pulling out an M-5 Phalanx, an M-76 Revenant Machine Gun, and an M-96 Mattock Heavy Rifle. They were all up to date with modifications, as well as heat sink capacity upgrades, and each of them were black with a white skull on the sides of them.
Jacob's eyes widened. "Oh-ho-ho, Man... I do believe you are my new best friend." He grinned while observing the new weapons. They were any soldier's eye candy, pretty much. "You realize how much money these cost? The modifications alone are rare." He stated, once he had gotten a look at what mods that Dezz had put on the weapons.
A sigh escaped his Gun-Buddy, who placed the weapons on the empty table. "Friends are needed in a time like this." Dezzo shrugged. "I make them and keep them as long as allowed. Now... Which weapons are who's?" He asked as he looked at the racks of weapons.
"Right... Let's start with the pistols."
Miranda sat at her desk, rubbing her head. This day became entirely frustrating, and even she began to have a headache. She began typing into her computer, looking for what Dezzo spoke of. It was all old stuff he talked about, and it only served to fuel her agitations. "Let's see here… Second Tier?" She typed in the words, hoping to find something about it, but sadly, finding no such results. "Damn."
She typed in Desmend Volket. Nothing. "What the hell…." She then typed in Makenzie Volket, finding her profile of settlement on Freedoms Progress, 33 years old with a Daughter named Rylen Volket, divorced with no sign of the male being alive. "Bloody hell... He didn't want to be found. But why would his wife be there, out in the open?" She pondered out loud while she turned to the interface where the AI would occasionally pop up. "EDI..."
"Yes?" Came the synthesized response of the Cyber-Warfare specialist onboard the ship.
Chewing at her lip, she glanced upwards, seemingly towards nothing at all. "Did you find anything on Dezzo?" Miranda asked carefully, running a hand through her hair before resting her chin on her palm.
"Only what he has told, and what you searched as well. Apologies for not being any help, Miss Lawson."
Sighing, Miranda ran a hand through her hair again, this time hiding her face in her gloved hands. She finally said screw it and shut off her computer terminal. "It's alright, EDI. Sign off." She responded while she looked out of the window, blue eyes intense as she watched the stars pass by.
"Logging you out."
Miranda leaned back in her chair. This man certainly had her attention more than anything. "I'm going to find out more about you, Dezzo. Whether you want to tell or not." She mused silently, standing up with fluid grace and stalking back to her bed and flopping upon it unceremoniously, her hands covering her face in annoyance. She felt like punching something, having become so worked up from the rattling that and come of her thanks to Dezzo. Who was he to get her all worked up like this? The only person she knew of that could get her so wound up was her father. She soon realized why Makenzie was out in the open like that… The Divorce came just before an accident of some kind. She closed her eyed, sleep claiming her frighteningly fast.
Thanks reading so far, I have been editing this for a bit... Let me know how I did, please? I do promise that I will show how both he and Makenzie get to that state of being Immortal, and why they separated after they had Rylen.