well another day, another chapter, thank you to the people who sent me reviews. i really appreciate it and hope this can live up to your expectations.
Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with Bioware except in the fact i played and enjoyed some of the games they've made.
As she sat in the Med bay of the new Normandy, Dr Chakwas was unsure how to react. The med bay was larger than her space on the first Normandy. Though if she needed to use a Lab, she had to go upstairs, if the AI would let her in. The Med bay's position next to the Mess Hall made it almost feel like she was back on the original Normandy. The subtle differences were enough to remind her where she was though. The colour scheme was different, the lighting was brighter and those windows.....
The doctor took a break from organising her inventory. As she did, she took a glimpse out of the window at the Mess Hall. The first interaction she observed there was two crew members yelling at the Mess Sergeant because they didn't like their meals. 'Soft' thought Dr Chakwas, 'It's obvious they've never been in the military. They don't realise how good they have it compared to the marines.' The doctor sighed and went back to organising her inventory.
As she was doing this, Dr Chakwas remembered some of the antics she had witnessed at various Mess Halls throughout her career in the military. She felt a little disgusted, yet a little amused, when she remembered a game that many marines played where they would arm wrestle and the loser (and possible bystanders) would end up covered in their tray of food (don't ever go near when oatmeal or mashed potatoes are on the menu). She remembered the time Corporal Jenkins egged Lieutenant Alenko into a biotic demonstration at the Mess on Arcturus just before the Normandy's shakedown and found herself giggling. She remembered the food fight that Joker decided to have on the Normandy one day with Gunnery Chief Williams and having to set a cast on one of his legs as a result of it later. She found herself smiling yet shaking her head as she remembered him maintaining that it was totally worth it. He probably still thinks that. She remembered the many times she saw Lieutenant Alenko and Commander Shepard having quiet conversations there when they were able to. She sighed when she remembered how dangerously comfortable they looked with one another.
A moving blur outside her window caught the doctor's attention. She looked up and saw Commander Shepard now talking to the mess sergeant. The doctor smiled as she remembered Shepard going around and getting to know the crew of the first Normandy. It was one of the ways that Shepard cared about her crew. She would talk to them, find out about them, find out what they need in order to do their job and find ways to help them make their job easier and more efficient. 'At least death hasn't taken that quality away from her.'
The Commander turned around and headed towards the entrance to the med bay. When she saw this, Dr Chakwas found her vision focusing on one of the glowing scars on Shepard's cheek. The scar caused her mind to flash back to the day when she had seen the unconscious body of the Commander on the operating table. She could recall felling sick at the sight and hearing Joker yelling "What the hell are you doing to her?" She could then recall Mr Taylor trying to give his best explanation on the aims and goals of Project Lazarus. The time between that day and being on this "Normandy" became a blur to the doctor. Another colony disappearing, muscles twitching, Joker complaining about the shuttles they were making him drive, the facility Shepard was at being attacked. The memories were there but she couldn't put them in order. Her already blurry opinion of Cerberus was made even more fazed as she contemplated the implications of Project Lazarus. On one hand she thought the technology was exceptional, being able to bring a person back to life. On the other hand, she thought it was wrong, death is not meant to be a curable disease. The fact they were using this experimental technology on Shepard did not help, part of her hated that they were using Shepard as a lab rat, another part of her was willing them to succeed. But that was all in the past now. The Lazarus Project had succeeded. Shepard was again alive. Her mission was set. They needed to stop the collectors from taking more colonies. After that, they could worry about stopping Cerberus if need be.
The door to the med bay opened and the doctor buried her worried feelings, Shepard didn't need to know about them. She turned her chair to face the Commander. From the look of shock combined with a small smile on her face, the doctor could tell that Commander Shepard was expecting to be meeting someone new and wasn't prepared for seeing a familiar face. Dr Chakwas took a deep breath as she realised she would have to be the first one to talk. "Commander Shepard, I watched the Normandy crumble with you on board. It's good to see you alive."
Next chapter might take a while, i'm stuck in writer's block on it but hopefully i can get something to you soon :)