Adryann paced the cargo hold of the alien cruiser, her leg stiff from its injuries. She inhaled the foreign air and released it. It's musty, metallic smell was overpoweringly pungent. She looked over at Kaidan and Richard who were asleep on some nearby crates. Adryann, on the other hand, couldn't rest, her mind wouldn't allow for a moment's respite; but the silence was nice indeed. Adryann hopped up on a nearby crate and sat. Her legs dangled over the edge. She crossed her ankles and gently swung her feet back and forth, letting the heel of her boot hit the metal crate. It slowly reverberated under her with each concussion.
She folded over her legs and looked at the large scrapes and gouges in the metal floor. Each marring line told a story, a dull one, but a story nonetheless. When she tired of staring passed her feet, she came back up, becoming dizzy for a moment. She grabbed her pack and poked through it for a few moments before finding the indulgence she'd been aching for since Rothla. She pulled out a smoke, an egregious addiction, but what could she say, she of all people knew she wasn't perfect.
She lit the jutting stick and slowly dragged on it. Picking up her backpack and setting it behind her she noticed movement from across the hold. She hoped that it wasn't paranoia from a lack of sleep. But given the circumstances, she couldn't blame herself for the instant adrenaline burst she had.
The low hum of the engines couldn't mask the sound that was growing closer to them. Adryann pushed herself off the crate. The weight of her sidearm pulled at her hip. A reminder that she was still armed. Her boots thudded gently as she hobbled over to Kaidan. She shook him carefully, so as not to startle him. He picked his head up, eyes still closed and mumbled incoherently for a moment before laying back down.
"Kaidan, get up." Adryann whispered. She nudged him harder to emphasis her insistence.
"Hm?" Kaidan asked. His eyes slowly opened and he looked at Adryann for a moment in a daze.
"We've got company." Adryann spoke, her voice a little louder than before.
Those words shot Kaidan right up. Being on the turian ship made the three very uneasy, given the inalienable tension amongst the turians and humans. Adryann for the most part played the diplomatic role with the officers as she was the commanding human officer there.
"How long have I been out?" Kaidan asked, sitting up and rubbing the rest of the sleep from his eyes. He turned to Jenkins and tapped his boot to wake him.
"A few hours tops. You guys were asleep already when I came back from medical." Adryann answered. Her eyes never left the location of where the noises came from. From behind her, she heard Jenkins uniform shuffling and a stifled yawn.
"How are you feeling, Commander?" Jenkins finally asked. He yawned again longer than the first one.
"I'm good." Adryann spoke, her attention unbroken.
Kaidan slid off the crate and stood beside Adryann listening for a moment and then looking at Adryann. The sound of boots came closer, stopped and began again.
"I'm assuming our hosts are coming to finally greet us." Kaidan choked out. He rubbed his shoulders and ran his fingers through his hair.
Adryann looked over at him. The obvious tension on his face was a sign of a migraine coming on. She never answered though. She took a step and then another and were met by three turians walking towards them. Adryann stopped as Kaidan and Jenkins came from behind her.
"Commander Shepard?" The turian spoke in a near antagonistic tone.
"Yes." Adryann answered back. She looked the three turians over. Each armed to the teeth with hardware.
"Captain Saren Arterius. I'm sorry we couldn't find you better place to stay when you first came on board. We were told that we were getting passengers on short notice." Saren said, his remorse halfhearted at best. He looked the three over for a moment before returning his attention to Adryann. "These are my fellow officers, Staff Commander Nihlus Kryik and Lieutenant Commander Garrus Vakarian." The two turians nodded but remained silent.
"Is there something we could help you with?" Adryann asked, bypassing all the pleasantries, but trying to maintain a neutral decorum. She took a final drag off of her cigarette and dropped the smoldering butt onto the floor before extinguishing it completely.
"There is." Saren answered watching Adryann pick up the piece of trash and tuck it in her back pocket. "Your Alliance would like to speak with you in private. We did manage to find you up with better accommodations for the time being. Nihlus here will show them to their quarters. Commander Vakarian will take you to the comm room for your meeting. I must go though, I will see you at dinner." Saren hissed. He turned and left, his heavy boots banging the deck.
"Could you guys give us a moment?" Adryann asked the two turians who stood at attention. The one named Garrus nodded once and that was all the acknowledgment she needed. Adryann looked at her friends for a moment before speaking in a hushed whisper. "You guys go with Nihlus. Try to play nice. Understood? I will be back in a little while."
Kaidan and Jenkins nodded at her. They grabbed their gear and started with Nihlus out of the hold. Every few feet one of them would turn back to check on Adryann.
Adryann limped to her pack and grabbed another cigarette. She lit it and threw her remaining items in to the bulging sack in a haphazard fashion. She felt like she was being watched by the turian that remained. She quickened her pace, grabbing her helmet and rifle. When she had all her things ready, she turned back to the turian who hadn't taken his eyes off of her.
"Are you ready?" He finally asked, his voice low and growling, even over her translator.
"I am, Commander." Adryann answered taking another drag off of her cigarette. She looked the turian over sizing him up. He was definitely tall. Not the tallest person she'd ran across and not near as tall as a krogan, but a hell of a lot taller than her. His blue eyes piercing and violent were offset by the blue colony markings that blared across his face. His demeanor was that of a turbulent man but kind in nature.
"Garrus." He corrected. He smiled faintly as his mandibles trembled nervously. The sharp pointed teeth peeked from his mouth. It almost looked threatening, but his tone told otherwise.
"I'm sorry?" Adryann asked. She was snapped away from her observations back into the conversation that had began.
"You don't have to call me Commander." Garrus started. His eyes danced. His curiosity piqued by the human.
"Oh, right. Sorry." Adryann spoke, feeling sheepish. "You can call me Adryann. Or Shepard. Take your pick." She extended her hand to the turian who stared at it in confusion. He accepted it and shook her hand. Not many humans showed platitudes the way she was, but he liked it.
"Adryann is fine, I guess." Garrus spoke, letting the name roll off of his tongue slowly. He looked down at the small woman who was staring at their hands. His grip was firm until she looked him in the eye.
"You can let go now." Adryann snapped. A lopsided smile crept across her face.
Shocked that he'd been grasping at her hand for so long, he released her from his grip and frowned.
"Sorry." Garrus mumbled as he broke her stare.
"Don't be sorry." Adryann purred as she slung her pack over her shoulder.
She started to limp passed Garrus when he cleared his throat and stopped her.
"Do you need help with that?" He asked, concerned by the lode she was carrying.
Adryann shook her head. "I'm good."
The two walked out of the hold together; never acknowledging the other glances of curiosity.
"Commander Shepard. It's good to see your mission went well." Captain Anderson spoke with a ring of glee in his voice.
"It did, Captain. Little hiccups along the way, but still we completed our goal." Adryann spoke. She looked at the opened door to the turian who was posted at it.
"How are Lieutenant Alenko and Corporal Jenkins?" Anderson asked, the screen slightly flickering as the man folded his arms.
"No worse for wear. They're a little tired, but who wouldn't be after that?" Adryann answered. Her parade rest position made her thigh ache.
"How are you doing? Captain Kirrahe mentioned that you were injured." Anderson asked, his demeanor one of concern.
"Nothing I won't live through." Adryann spoke avoiding the pain as much as she could.
"We need to talk Shepard. There are some things going on here in Alliance space that you need to know about." Anderson started. Adryann's posture became rigid in a blink.
"What's going on?" Adryann asked, not waiting for her commanding officer to continue.
"The krogan are making a push to take some of our planets in the Attican Traverse. Mindoir, Eden Prime, Akuze and Noveria seem to be the next targets according to recon analysis." Anderson continued. "The Alliance wants you to work with the turians on a mission, but first we need you at the Citadel."
Adryann grew quiet for a moment and lifted an eyebrow for a moment. "What do you need me to do once we get there?"
"We'll tell you once you are docked, just meet with the liaison and he'll give you all the information that you need." Anderson told Adryann.
"Understood Captain." Adryann grumbled.
"Captain Arterius has already been given instructions from the turian military to rendez-vous with us on the Citadel." Anderson spoke. "Just be careful while your there, Shepard."
It was a questionable remark. Be careful where on the Citadel or on this cruiser. It didn't fit with the rest of the conversation so Adryann shrugged it off.
"I will Captain." Adryann answered back. She looked over her shoulder again and noticed that Garrus was standing in the door.
"I'll see you when you get here, Commander. Godspeed." Anderson said.
"Thank you, sir." Adryann said, as the screen went black.
Adryann turned from the monitor and rubbed her eyes and then her thigh. It was screaming from tension and it felt like the wound had started to bleed again. She sighed letting in ebb on till she could release anymore air.
"Is everything alright?" Garrus asked.
Adryann nodded closing her eyes. "The krogan are advancing into Alliance space, it seems."
"Sorry to hear that." Garrus said. "I didn't mean to interrupt your meeting. I apologize."
"Don't worry about it, Garrus." Adryann spoke as she shrugged off the transgression. "It was just a status report."
"So we're going to the Citadel? I haven't been there in a while." Garrus spoke with an unexpected enthusiasm. Adryann looked at him for a moment. She had never been to the Citadel personally, but the way Garrus had asked the question, he seemed all to familiar with it.
"You've been there before?" Adryann asked as she nimbly stepped towards him.
"Not recently. But I have been there a couple of times." Garrus answered with a small smile.
"Well, this'll be a first time for me. I can't wait." Adryann spoke, the sarcasm was thick and Garrus could feel it.
"It's not all bad." Garrus tried to reassure her.
"Didn't say it was." Adryann said. She bent over to pick up her items but her leg gave out. She toppled over and landed on her hands. "Fuck! Shit! Damn it!"
Garrus ran up to her side and offered to help her up. Adryann looked at him and conceded to his aid. He hefted her up and grabbed her items before she could attempt to get them again. She shot him a look but digressed when he shook his head.
"I'm ready to go back to my cabin, I guess." Adryann grumbled.
"Do you need to see the doctor first." Garrus asked, concerned by the red blotch that stained her fatigues.
"No, I'll be fine." Adryann snapped back, trying to wave off the last of his concern.
"Commander, I really think that you should see the doctor." Garrus pleaded. He pointed to the spreading stain. Adryann looked down and stared as it slowly grew and dripped causing smaller spots to form near her boot.
"Fuck." Adryann spat. "Fine. Alright, I'll go."
Adryann walked into the quarters where Kaidan and Richard were. The two were sitting around a table with playing cards laid out. Garrus walked in behind her and placed her packages near the door. He nodded to the two men and turned to leave.
"Thanks, Garrus." Adryann spoke.
"If you need anything else let me know." Garrus acknowledged, half turning to her voice.
"When's dinner?" Jenkins called.
Adryann chuckled and shook her head. "What he said." Adryann said, pointing into the room.
"Another hour or so." Garrus answered.
"Do you even have things we can eat?" Adryann asked crossing her arms.
"We do. You're not the first aliens to be on this ship." Garrus answered back in a snarky tone.
"We'll see you at dinner then, I guess." Adryann spoke as a happy grin appeared.
"Sure. I look forward to it." Garrus spoke, his mandibles trembling with excitement. He looked at his omni-tool and back at Adryann. His smile faded and he cleared his throat. "I have to get to a meeting, but I'll see you then."
Adryann nodded and waved as she walked back into her room. Kaidan and Jenkins were staring at her as she closed the door behind her. She sat on the bed, propping her leg up along the edge.
"How was the meeting?" Kaidan asked, ignoring the scene he just witnessed.
"We're going to the Citadel. The krogan are moving into our territories." Adryann answered.
"Damn, that's last thing we need." Kaidan said. His shoulders sagged for a moment and then resumed their normal staunch position.
"We're going to the Citadel?" Jenkins interjected. The intrigue in his voice made both Kaidan and Adryann look at each other with a smile. He was like a small child awaiting Christmas or was being told that he was getting a puppy.
"Anderson said we're having a meeting, but he wouldn't give away any details. Probably given who our hosts are." Adryann said. "What are you too playing?"
"Skyllian Five. Want to join?" Jenkins answered.
"Sure." Adryann said as she scooted to the nearest chair between the two men.
"I can understand, Captain Anderson's reservations." Kaidan spoke as he dealt the hands out.
"I can too." Adryann agreed as she looked at her hand. "How was your walk with Nihlus?"
"Nice way to change the subject." Kaidan mumbled as he thumbed his cards.
"Isn't it?" Adryann jabbed.
"Silent." Jenkins finally answered. He looked at his cards for a moment. "I fold." He tossed the cards on to the table backside up and sighed.
"How was your walk?" Kaidan asked. His eyes locked on Adryann. They were intense as he looked for any sign of a response.
"It was fine. I had to go back to the med bay. I started bleeding again, but other than that, he seems like a very personable individual. I can honestly say though, he isn't like your typical turian." Adryann answered.
"What do you mean?" Jenkins asked, confused by her comment.
"He has a stick up his ass, like your average turian, but he talks to you like your more than sludge, I guess." Adryann spoke as she she shuffled the cards.
"Well there is a first for everything." Kaidan jabbed.
"True enough, Kaidan." Jenkins agreed.
They laughed and argued over hands, but it was nice to finally let themselves go. First names were used and not ranks. Being stuck on an alien vessel with former enemies everywhere, the best thing to have is friends in your corner.
Adryann clipped her hair back and grabbed a cigarette. The camaraderie was a wonderful break from the war and political tensions. She sat out a few hands and leaned back in her chair. She closed her eyes and listened to the mindless chatter of the two men. It was a warm and welcoming feeling to be amongst friends and colleagues. It was a moment in which she wished wouldn't end.