The Threat That Looms Ahead: Chapter 3: The Boys Are Back In Town
A classic case of Schrodinger's Cat. Was the man in the vat awake, if nobody was there to attest for it? And if he was awake, did it matter when he didn't react to anything? He didn't talk, didn't move, even his breathing came from a mask attached over his mouth and nose. If not for a weird reflex every time someone he knew wondered near him, nobody would have known if he was even conscious. His life signs were monitored 24/7, but there seemed to be no spike in brain activity, no change was registered, even when presented to intense stimuli.
In a remote chamber, Karin Chakwas and Chloe Michel were surveying his reactions over a cup of coffee and much needed muffins. Normally, Dr. Michel wouldn't be occupied with such a mundane task, but their charge was no ordinary individual. She garnered that he demanded her full attention.
These muffins are adorable, Karin beamed, after taking a bite off the fresh treat.
I can't do a day without them, Chloe sympathized with a cheeky smile, waving the bag with her one free arm.
A whole bag? Each day? But you're so thin! Chakwas stated, more like a complaint.
Welcome to breakfast, lunch and dinner, Michel joked, admitting her little vice. The Normandy's physician failed to contain her laughter.
*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*' *'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*' *'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*''*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'* '*''*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'
The door to the dark room opened just slightly. First came a few fingers, then a head. The intense light coming from just the crack was obscuring the features of whoever it was that stood under the entrance. It took a while for the man's eyes to adjust as he peered inside. Sure enough, there was the tank he was looking for and a body apparently floated inside.
Shepard? came the voice of the man just outside the room. The man in the tank, had he heard the voice, didn't react to it. The head that was peeking in from the door turned to the side and a few details could finally be discerned. His head was neatly shaven, if not for a soft mustache on his upper lips and a thick goatee. His skin was of a very dark shade of brown. Hey guys, he tried to shout as softly as he could. I think I found him, he proclaimed. Then, his pupils seemed to dilate and tried to move away. It was too late, however, as the man that listened to the name of Jacob Taylor was soon trampled by a pair of krogan, a krogan sized human, a turian, a quarian, two asari, four human women, a man in alliance blue, an elderly man in armor, a prothean and lastly, a human walking with a limp. Damn! I think you guys just broke my ass, Taylor complained as he struggled to stand up again. He felt a consolidating pat on his behind, but there was nobody there, so he dismissed it with a shake of his head and tried to get to the front of the assembled crowd surrounding the tank, but all the space he could wiggle through was between Wrex and Vega. And that turned out to be a horrible idea.
James swung his arms around, portraying his valiant fights with husks, brutes and marauders, all the while he was cooking huevos rancheros. More than once he had slammed his fists on the face of the dark skinned man that had the audacity to want to hail his commander. Things weren't faring that much better on the other side of that small gap either, for Jacob, as Wrex was barking how Bakara was an insane bitch, reenacting her plate and sword flinging, all over Taylor.
From left to right, the commander looked at the people gathered in front of him. First one was Javik, complaining how, now that the AI was "dead", there was no reason to keep her body around and yet the crew still didn't let him space it. Then there was Miranda, talking about her exploits against what Cerberus groups she knew and how she had worked to eradicate them. The group of marines Hackett had tasked her with had also proved capable, but not to the extent of the Normandy crew she had grown accustomed to. Liara took pride in the fact that she knew, even without knowing, who had actually passed away and who not, when she put Anderson's name on the ship's memorial wall and not Shepard's. As expected of the Shadow Broker, herself. Out of thin air, a human woman had materialized. Most of her head was covered under a hood and she admitted to sometimes being on and off the Normandy, without anyone even knowing. Then she explained how she had filmed Joker, crying in his sleeper pod, after EDI had gone silent and then uploaded the video on the extranet.
The quarian admiral retold the story of the horrific moment's after the crucible's beam hit the Normandy and how frantic she was about getting everything back online. She was thankful for the assistance of Ken, Gabi and Greg down in engineering. Steve Cortez commented on the mess the ray had caused on the hangar, as equipment that had been secured, started flying off, as the ship shook wildly. Without the help of mr. Vega and a few of the crew, he explained, the shuttle and the hammerhead would have been crushed, one under the other. It was surprising to see the asari justicar visiting, but it was a pleasant surprise. After the war, she had retreated to the monastery where her daughter, Falere, resided, helping her rebuild. Though much of Thessia's beauty was lost in the fight against the Reapers, their planet could still be restored to its former glory.
Next to his clan leader, Grunt told the tale of how he had led a group of krogan in the final battle against the synthetics. He lamented the loss of many of his comrades and how he had picked up others, on his way. Some asari, a couple of turians, half a dozen humans, even a quirky salarian. Reminded him of the good old days with his krant. The human with the limp, besides the young krogan, wept over the loss of his one true love and how he was never going to find someone to adore him in such a way again, while a dark skinned woman grumbled as she held up her tooth brush, blaming the specter for its malfunction. A grizzled old mercenary to the side rubbed his chin, as he recounted the horrors of the last hours of the war, still seemingly unconvinced that he had made it out alive. Next to him, a veteran turian marksman that answered to the name Garrus Vakarian was cheering at Shepard's handiwork, proclaiming that seeing those Reapers fall to that red light was a sight for the ages. Off to the side, Ashley Williams was trying to sweat talk the commander, as she tried frantically to deny she had any intention of keeping the command of the Normandy in her hands. Well, maybe for just a little longer. Till Shepard was ready to come out of the hospital.
*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*' *'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*' *'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'**'*'*'*'*'* '*'*'*'*'*'*'*'**''*'**'*''**'*'*''*'*
Still think there's brain damage we might have missed? Karin prompted her colleague with a smile.
He's brain's lit up like a Christmas tree. So much activity, she trailed off at the sight of the neurons flickering so bright in the three dimensional depiction of Shepard's encephalogram.
Now get ready for the fireworks, Chakwas teased.
*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*' *'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*''**'*' *'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'**'*'*'*'*'*'* '*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'**'
The one person that had really caught his attention, however, was a shorter woman, the sides of her head completely shaved, in favor of showing off a tattoo that went around it. The hair growing on the top, on the other hand, were long and caught in a top knot. She had a few scars on her upper lip and more than a few on what could be discerned of her body, if not obscured by the sheer quantity of ink on it. A studded dark jacket covered her shoulders. It was unzipped and underneath it, she wore little more than a white wrap that focused on covering the bare essentials and even the pants she wore were torn on the sides. The only part that was really covered, were her legs, as a pair of knee high boots kept everything else hidden.
Jack had started off saying how pissed off she was at him for nearly breaking his promise to her. After all, she was going to get laid once the war was over and all she needed was a partner. From the looks of him, still holed up in the vat, he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon and only a god could have possibly known when he'd be up and ready. In spite of his honest reaction to the half naked woman in front of him. It wasn't long before she noticed something unusual. Whatever motion she did, the man's eyes seemed to follow her around. She paced around in front of the assembled crowd, which prompted a shove from Miranda, but she was too busy to notice. His gaze was still fixed on her. She took a step closer and his head tilted, following her even still. It was high time she took advantage of it. Jack swirled around and disappeared behind the three bulkier members of the company. Shepard's eyes jumped around, trying to catch a glimpse of where the woman had disappeared to.
It took her a minute or so, till she reemerged, a brighter shade of red on her lips. She placed herself in front of the glass and kissed it. The man rested a hand on the other side of the glass, touching the print she had left him. The powerful biotic let a smile form on her lips and he returned the sentiment. Jack, he whispered softly.
*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*' *'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*' *'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'**'*'*'*'
*OK, this was much more fun to read and write.
**And I forgot to write in Kasumi. She's in there now.