Shepard left the elevator on deck three deciding to take care of breakfast before making the rounds. Although he hated to admit it at first, he didn't mind the fact that EDI can more or less manage the ship without him. For him making the rounds was more about keeping up appearances than anything else. Rupert was busy in the mess flipping things around in frying pans. He often got theatrical with his cooking when he got bored, which happened pretty frequently. And as much as Shepard hated supplies getting wasted on the Normandy, Rupert was actually skilled enough at goofing off that it didn't end up costing the commander more credits.
"Mornin' Commander." Rupert said. "Feel like an omelet?"
"I'll eat anything as long as it comes with hot coffee." The commander replied.
"Fresh pot on the counter, rough night?"
Shepard thought about the pleasant interruption of his morning routine and laughed while he poured himself a cup of coffee. "More like a rough morning I'd say."
"Heh, well a good breakfast will fix you right up. What do you want in your omelet?"
"I'm not too picky, just throw in something spicy. I could use a little kick to get me going."
Just then Garrus spoke up from behind him. "I can kick pretty hard myself commander, why not ask me? Years of Turian martial arts training should do a good job of waking you up."
"I think I'll stick with some hot sauce, thanks. I'm surprised to see you outside of the battery already. Isn't there some gun that needs calibrating?"
"Yeah well the guns don't get off their mark until we start firing them, and seeing as we haven't run into much trouble since we took down that collector base I've had a lot more spare time."
"Things have been a little boring lately, I'll see about pissing off more Batarian raiders."
"Not too boring for you I'm sure." Garrus added while elbowing Shepard slightly.
"The cybernetics are finally getting used for their full potential, I can say that much."
"Can't say I'm surprised, I've got a few friends who dated Quarians. I heard they can be quite a handful."
"Order up commander." Rupert said, then handed Shepard his plate.
"Care to take that in the lounge Commander? I was actually just about to join up with Thane and Zaeed for a few quick games of cards before we hit the Citadel."
"Well I was going to make my rounds about the ship. EDI we're not in any imminent danger are we?"
"None commander." EDI said from all around them.
"Good, just tell Joker to keep it that way for the next little while."
The two soldiers then headed to the lounge area on the port side of the ship. Since Samara had left the Normandy to return to her duties as a Justicar, Kasumi had taken it upon herself to move across to the room on the port side, freeing up the bar area where the crew had also added a large card table. Thane and Zaeed were already mid conversation when Shepard and Garrus stepped inside.
"Ah, great timing." Zaeed said. "Perhaps you two can add some perspective on a little discussion the Drell and I have been having."
"I'm interested." Garrus said as he and the commander took their seats at the table.
"Well I'm trying to convince him that the M-98 Widow is the best sniper rifle a man could ask for. The thing is basically a portable cannon. It could shoot through five men if they were lined up correctly and could knock a Geth colossus on its ass. But-"
"But," Thane interrupted, "Its weight makes it a burden. And although I can't disagree with its power, it's far more than is necessary with an accurate shot. I prefer the M-97 Viper. It's much lighter and can fire six shots before using up a clip where the Widow only gives you one. By the time you're finished reloading the enemy will have discovered your position."
"Yeah well I'm not exactly crawlin' around through vents and doing backflips and martial arts like you are. I like to hit em' fast and hard. And worst case scenario the Widow would make for a great bludgeoning instrument. What do you think commander?"
Shepard had been powering through his omelet for the conversation so far. "I think I'm going to have to defer to Garrus on this one. He's always been the sniper. I prefer the mid-range, assault rifles and shotguns."
"Well if you ask me," Garrus started, "You're both wrong. It's all about the M-29 Incisor. Hell of a range, not too heavy, and it's got a decent sized clip and fire rate. But what really makes it a great rifle are those three round bursts. With good cover most people will think there's multiple snipers and start to panic, and that's when you can open up and do some real damage."
"Three round bursts, so that's how you took out three guys in one shot." Shepard jabbed.
"Hey like I said before, the third guy just died of a heart attack. And as a matter of fact I think I was still using a Mantis at the time."
"There's your basic starter rifle." Zaeed added.
"Yeah well it may have been a rookie gun, but it's still deadly in the hands of veteran. And it didn't hurt that I threw on a couple black market mods to really make her sing."
Shepard finished his breakfast and pushed the plate to the side. "Well in any case I think I came in here to win some credits off you guys."
"Fat chance." Zaeed replied.
"He's right commander." Garrus said. "Zaeed's got a one hell of a poker face. Or should I say, poker half of a face." His mandibles came up into a smirk.
"You're one to talk Vakarian. You know next time someone comes at me with a rocket launcher I'll make sure to let you know, just in case you'd like to try to eat that too."
The three assassins and their commander shared a good laugh as Thane began to deal the cards.
Elsewhere on the ship, Tali had finished her shower and had just about finished putting her suit back on. She hated the thought that the next time she saw Shepard it would have to be through her visor. The nights couldn't come soon enough anymore.
She stepped into the elevator and made her way down to the crew deck. Turning the corner she saw Rupert cleaning up around the kitchen.
"Mornin Ms. Zorah." He greeted her, having only just recently warmed up to some of the aliens onboard. "Here for some breakfast, or just looking for the commander?"
"Breakfast first thanks." She replied. She also began to hate that synthesized quality to her voice through her helmet now.
She quickly squeezed through some nutrient paste then headed over to see Dr. Chakwas for a check-up. Tali had been seeing the doctor on a daily basis, just to be safe now that she was spending more time outside her suit. Although her suit could deliver most of her vital information to her omni-tool, she liked getting the professional opinion of someone who was well-versed in medicine and xenobiology. And Dr. Chakwas had a much better bedside manner compared to Mordin.
The doctor seemed to be going through some records at her terminal when Tali entered.
"Ah, good morning Tali." Chakwas said. "Here for your check-up I take it?"
"Yes Doctor. I wouldn't say I'm feeling any symptoms, but you know how Quarians like to play it on the safe side."
"Can't say I blame you, and we medical types do appreciate responsible patients." Chakwas replied. "Go ahead and take a seat on one of the exam beds."
Tali sat down on the bed closest to her and removed her left glove in preparation for giving a blood sample. Doctor Chakwas swabbed Tali's index finger with some antiseptic and then pricked it with a needle attached to a small device that would quickly analyze the data and feed it to the doctor's omni-tool as well as her terminal.
"Well Tali it appears that your body is getting quite efficient at eliminating human bacteria with some proper precautions. At this rate I think it could be just a matter of weeks before you're strolling about the Normandy without need of your suit."
"That's great news Doctor. Maybe then I won't have to keep bothering you every morning."
"Oh you know I don't mind Tali. I don't keep terribly busy these days. I was just going over some correspondence with the commander's mother when you came in today."
"Shepard's mother? Are you two friends?"
"Close acquaintances I would say. I served with her briefly several years ago on the SSV Montgomery."
"I see, well is everything okay then?"
"Oh yes everything is perfectly fine. She was just asking me if there was anything in particular I thought the commander might like for his birthday that's coming up."
"It's almost John's birthday? I didn't know that." Her slight shock caused her to use the commander's first name, which she tried not to do around the other crew members.
"Yes well don't take offense dear, I think his mother and I are the only two souls who still know that about him without digging through his personnel records."
"Why is that?"
"The commander has found it difficult to celebrate his birthday in recent years. How much has he told you about what happened to him at Akuze?"
"Next to nothing, I think I learned more about it from the extranet than I have from him."
"It certainly was a terrible atrocity, and it's defined much of his character ever since. But something important you may not know is that the anniversary of the attack on Akuze is coming up in three days, and the commander's birthday is coming in two."
A wave of sadness and empathy washed over Tali. Now she understood.
"Last night," She started as she gathered herself, "He woke up in the middle of the night from a nightmare. He didn't say exactly what it was but he said it was from one of his oldest and most painful memories, I thought it might have something to do with that thresher maw attack but I didn't really want to press him on it."
"He's been having that dream for as long as I've known him, there's some mention of it on his psychological profile as well. And it always becomes more frequent around this time of year. I can't imagine the horrors that man must have seen."
The two sat in quiet reflection for a while. This had all given Tali a lot to think about.
"But you seem to make the commander rather happy." Chakwas added. "I think you can help give his mind some much needed distraction."
Tali gave a short empty laugh. "Maybe you're right doctor."
"Believe me Tali, I'm right. I've known the commander for quite some time and with everything he's been through I can't imagine being able to maintain a functioning life. You push him to keep going, even if you don't quite realize it."
"Thanks doctor, I'll see what I can do for him." Tali got up from the bed and head for the door.
"At the very least Tali I'm sure whatever you do will help build your immune system." The doctor said. "Although I can't possibly imagine what that would be." She added rather sarcastically.
Tali had a true laugh this time and left the med-bay.
