My writing is erratic. 3 days of shore leave, stories for different members of the Normandy.
Kelly walked over towards Kasumi's makeshift room in the Port Observasion deck, arms crossed slightly under her breasts. She paused at the holographic panel and punched lightly at the panel, causing the door to slide open with a slight hiss. It was empty.
Feeling dejected, she decided to go out alone. Samara was as aloof as always, Kasumi was missing, Patel went to snog her boyfriend and everyone else already had plans. Kelly herself was planning on checking out some of the restaurants around Kithoi Ward but now, drinking seemed a much more appealing option.
At the cockpit, Joker swiveled around to meet her sullen stare. He began to speak with that grin which seemed permanently stuck on his face. She admired his smile, half the time it wasn't genuine but it still looked nice.
"Hey Chambers, you- Wow. Haven't seen you frown since the Collector base."
She would have called her expression neutral before, but she was definitely frowning now.
"Back off, Jeff. Not in the mood" She wasn't in the mood.
"Holy Shit, did the perky and lovable schoolgirl just stand up for herself?"
Bull shit. It was all bull, everything! His smile was a facade. His humour, a coping mechanism. She opted not to waste any more time with him.
She didn't know how right she was. The humour was a coping mechanism, but for what, exactly? Joker quickly clambered out of his chair, entering the airlock just before the door slid shut and decontamination began. Kelly was not in the mood.
"What do you want?"
"Thought I'd go out for a beer or two. You?"
"I don't know. Samara is as reclusive as always. Kasumi's not even in her room and Patel is too busy macking out with her boyfriend at his apartment to go out with me. I guess everyone has their own agenda."
"Feeling a little lonely there, Chambers? Maybe a little physical therapy would do you some good."
Kelly looked into Joker's eyes, a pleading look on her face.
"Not.. in the mood, Jeff."
The decontamination process ended, and they silently headed out towards a transport terminal. Hailing a cab, they got in and headed towards Flux, an old bar the Commander used to frequent. The new Flux was bigger than the original, after the geth attack, many property owners had pulled out and Doran managed to supersize his business.
The main bar was a large, inwardly-inclining semicircle which lead out to the dance floor. It served as the intersection between two floors. The upper floor, which served as an extended seating area and gambling room and the basement, which was reserved for more.. private affairs. Joker got a glimpse of Shepard on the upper floor, quietly typing away at a portable terminal with pinkish-white drink at his side.
Kelly and Joker headed towards the main bar, taking up two empty seats. He ordered a nice looking Asari-made cocktail a Salarian was having while she gulped down a strange black liquid. Kelly noticed him staring and turned towards him.
"Hennigan Black. 15% alcohol. Pretty sure it has rotten eggs too."
Her mood was sour, and now she was joking? That was his job!
"Okay, seriously Kelly. What is up with you? You used to be so happy and now..."
Kelly stared daggers at him, when would he understand that she was not in the mood?
"You weren't there, Jeff. People being torn apart by millions of tiny parasites. I could hear them screaming.. see their vision fading. I could feel them dying."
Joker was unsure how to respond, usually humour covered his bases but it would be inappropriate at this point. Hell, inappropriate was one thing but you couldn't wave shit around when someone was dealing with death.
"Shit, Chambers. I'm not really good at this comforting business, best I've done is offer condolences."
Kelly smiled slightly, but her eyes. Her eyes betrayed her sadness.
"It's okay, Jeff. Just drink with me."
Samara walked around Kithoi ward, creating a small field of emptiness around her. Those who had been in the galaxy long enough knew her by her markings. Those who didn't.. well, the increasingly widening circle and variety of weapons jutting from her back were clues enough. Justicars were forbidden from owning personal items, save for weapons if you would call them personal. That didn't stop her from window shopping the Asari dress shops.
In modern times, clothing was much more linear and boring, but there were a few ones that piqued her interest. Samara had always had an eye for Asari her late maiden years, she had gone under the teachings of a Matron seamstress. The colours and texture of a hundred different materials sewn together to form art. Art, which was underrated by many.
She saw now, that many Asari wore tight-fitting dresses that bore their busts. Her own revealing suit was the traditional Justicar uniform. She suspected that because most Asari neither had ancient laws to uphold nor show their cleavage to other races before, this was done to stimulate human.. interest.
Humans. Hiu-men-sss. Odd beings, their species intrigued her. Their history was much like her own. Although all species had their similarities she couldn't help but feel that humans had a certain conncection with the Asari. Their females had similar figures, too.
As she was examining an olive-coloured dress, she noted that it would have fitted the ship's resident psychologist, Kelly Chambers. Samara felt a rare pang of guilt against her stomach. She had grown accustomed to the act of killing long ago, but seeing those sad eyes when she turned her down to an outing had nothing to do with it.
Samara liked Kelly, she was upbeat and cheery, and held a certain.. innocence behind her eyes, something rare for a Justicar to see in an adult. It was not something she saw anymore, however. The same innocence she had seen in Morinth before she melded with her first mate. The same one that vanished in her captivity within the Collector base just as it had vanished after Morinth held the blood-strewn corpse of her first love in her arms.
A voice spoke from behind her. "I could steal that for you if you want."
Samara turned towards the voice, she had her invisibility tech turned on but for anyone who knew her the identity was obvious.
"Justicars do not condone the possesion of personal effects, nor of pilfering them."
Kasumi allowed a small chuckle to escape her. "Pilfer? Translator must be on the fritz."
Samara didn't laugh. Kasumi was part of Shepard's crew, and she had taken an oath. But if things were different.. Kasumi had taken the time to talk to her. She had an odd feminity that did not suit her expertise. Samara found her grace and elegence akin to her own.
"I do not find that to be humorous, given the situation." She looked away from Kasumi.
"You have a good heart, Kasumi. But Justicars are impartial. If I were not in Shepard's employ, I would be forced to kill you."
Kasumi merely smiled, apparently unfazed by the Justicar's threatening statement.
"You and I both know neither of us are going to leave him, Samara. All the things he's done for the galaxy. All the things he's done for us. Heck, I only joined him because Cerberus promised a great pay and to help me find Keiji's greybox."
Kasumi dramatically turned towards the shop's window and stared out.
"But he helped us. Helped both of us find closure, me with Keiji and you with Morinth. My contract ended with the Collector base, you know."
Samara, smiled. A less-than-genuine act mostly attempted at assuring her.
"I hope what you say is true, Miss Goto. For both our sakes."
The scanner ran along the front of Thane's body, his chest moving steadily up and down. Chakwas had given him a slight sedative to keep him from coughing. The scanner needed to record Thane's lungs in unimpeded breathing. The scanner zipped back into place as it uploaded the data into the terminal it was connected to.
"How is it, Siha?" said Thane, rising slowly from his supine position on the medical bed. Thane stared at her with dark, unyielding eyes. Chakwas didn't know that word, and she wasn't keen to. The look in his eyes told her everything.
It was unwanted, the fact that he was an alien- a dying alien at that- was only the start of it. He was a killer, and not a penitent one at that. He did so for the sum of digits in his bank instead of the safety of others as her late husband did. It was also apparent that he was lonely at the loss of his wife. She knew the feeling well.
"It is getting worse, to say the least. The first time I examined you, you had about 8 months left. But the increased physical activity after going on missions with Shepard..." She sighed and turned to face Thane.
"You have about 2 months now."
Thane nodded in thanks, he appreciated her honesty. He also appreciated her care for the wounded and her aged, yet still beautiful face. He was a killer, but she. She was a healer.
"Thank you, Doctor." he said, placing a hand across her cheek. She brushed away from the contact.
"If you will excuse me, I will take my leave now.
"Of course."
Jack was lying on her cot in the dark recesses of the ship's engineering deck. Hands behind her head, she felt oddly at peace. She had put most of her dark past behind her, even put that Aresh guy out of his misery. She would never admit it, but she didn't do it out of hate. When she saw the glazed look in Aresh's eyes, it reminded her of the druggins she had been put through in the very place she was standing in over 15 years prior. Aresh wasn't in his right mind, he never would be.
The past was the past, she was a new woman. She got 2 new tattoos and actually put on some clothes for a change. Some clothes. Quiet and serene moments like this were hard to come by. Even less did she make use of it. She closed her eyes, escaping into her own personal world of memories.
Gunfire blazed throughout the halls of the pirate ship. The Batarian owners were vigorously pumping lead throughout the ship, shredding the walls and filling the ship with small clumps of debris. They were both trapped and the Batarians knew it.
He was sat in the helmsman's seat, pretending to be steering. But she knew, the ship was on autopilot. She was no pilot herself, but even the most dimwitted of people knew how to flick a switch.
"They're gonna blow us ta bits if we don get outta here." said the redheaded man crouching beside her. He was systematically popping out of cover and firing his rifle into the gang of Batarians. The hate and anger she had felt at the Batarians was washed out by the concern in his voice.
Jack walked behind him, lightly placing her hands on his shoulders. She trailed her fingers lightly across his chest. Strong, taut muscles. They were also tense.
Jack knew what he was thinking, Riley had always had that weird combination of gruff and tough mercenary, but with a heart of gold. He helped any innocents in need and refused to rob anyone who didn't deserve it. When it came to criminals though, a pull of the trigger was all he needed.
He turned towards her, a combination of desire and guilt in his eyes. He knew what she was thinking.
It was supposed to be a simple raid, on pirates of course. But little did they know the Batarians had extensive prior military experience, they were co-ordinated and resilient. True bastards.
It was supposed to be a simple partnership. She would get him out of trouble with her biotics. He would shoot any fuckers who refused to die. They would grab the loot. This wasn't supposed to happen.
"Listen here, Princess. We got about 6 minutes before they take over our cover. Ye need ta get outta here, put on yer barriers and RUN!" He shouted the last word, popping out of cover again and blasting his rifle, this time hitting a Batarian's eye.
"Jack.. Ah can't. Ye've been hurt before, and our lives are dangerous. If anythin' happens ta me..."
"What about you? I've taken a lot of shit before, Riley but.. I'm not just gonna leave you here!"
"What about me? I've taken a lot of shit before, Riley but.. I know you got feelings for me.
"Don worry, Ah'll be right behind ya."
"We don't have ta do this. Even if we don't get... physical. Ya know Ah'll always be right behind ye."
Riley was a charmer, it was a trait all the other men she had fallen for possessed. He was the first one who 'fell' back. Taking assurance in his words, she activated her biotic barrier and ran towards the airlock. She clambered in, not before looking back and seeing Riley.
Jack wasn't a charmer, it was a trait she was proud of. She had done this before, but Riley was the first one who refused. Riley was the first one she fell for who 'fell' back. Ignoring his words, she stradled him and placed herself onto his lap. She looked into his eyes, seeing a mixture of guilt, desire and... love.
Riley. Pale skin, an eyepatch crossed over one eye. Cliché d, but it did make him look more attractive.
Jack. Pale skin, reddish-brown hair. Tattooes all over her body. She had gotten another one just for him.
A bullet through his head.
An arrow through her heart.
It was then that Jack lost it. This berzerker rage had happened only once before, when she escaped the Pragia facility. She was merely a child, then. She tapped into her supply of energy and burst forward into the crowd of Batarians progressing through the hall. She jumped forward, a fierce battle-cry emenating from the deep reaches of her soul.
It was then that Jack lost it. It had happened before. But she was merely a lost, stupid child then, looking for love in places she was not supposed to be. Fueled by her desire and affection, she kissed him. Aggressively, passionately.
40 minutes later, the Batarians were dead. Dead was an understatement. They were oblivion. The only evidence of them were the blood, feces and traces of meat embedded into the floor, walls and ceiling. 38 minutes of torture and 2 minutes of warping the remains with the vestiges of the energy left in her.
2 hours later, they lay on the floor exhausted. Exhausted wasn't really the right word. They were in bliss. Evidence of their love making were strewn across the cockpit. 115 minutes of sex and 5 minutes of cuddling. So far.
She had done it, killed the Batarians. She should have done so before. Before they murdered the only person who had loved her.
They had done the deed, they had held eachother in the passionate imbrace of lovemaking. There was nothing more she had wanted.
A tear escaped from Jacks eye through heavy-lidded eyes. She would have to forget him, forget the way he made her feel. But she never could.
"Turn me over and dunk me into a fish tank, I'll eat your pets. Turn me over and dunk me into a pot of gold, I'll make you a very happy woman."
Yes, this Chapter contains downers. The next one will have Jacob spillin' drinks and Garrus making love to someone. Whooooo? Last day of shore leave will be more neutral, I think.