EDI's hands were carefully sifting through the sand as she sat on the beach.
"Is it alright to do that, EDI?" Joker asked from the lounge chair he had retreated to after his short period in the water.
"If you are concerned about the grains of sands getting into the delicate equipment of this platform, it is not necessary, Jeff." Something caught in between two of her fingers. "There is a specialized micro weave that prevents foreign substances such as grains of sands from damaging the internal mechanics." She wrapped her hand around the object and removed it and a fistful of sand from the ground.
"Okay." He paused for a moment, watching her. "So… what exactly are you doing, EDI?"
"Professor Solus had stated his wish to spend his final years on a beach back on Sur'Kesh." She raised her hand and held it so the sand began to seep through her fingers, before opening it to reveal the object. "During so, he had expressed a desire to collect seashells."
The particular shell in EDI's hand was rather unique. It was silver-ish with a brilliant metallic blue-green streak, and at one end, it resembled a fan, but, as it went further down, it began twisting into a narrow pointed spiral.
"I'm pretty sure Mordin wanted to run experiments on the shells; find some way to make them like weapons or sentient, or whatever a mad scientist-type would do to things." Joker's words lacked his usual amount of sarcasm.
"You may be correct in your assumptions of Professor Solus' intentions, Jeff," EDI's eyes were fixated on the shell, "but, I will not be doing such things. I just wish to collect a small amount. I am sure… Mordin would have like that I did this for him."
Joker gave her a smile and a nod. "Yeah, I'm sure he would have."
EDI picked up a small basket, before standing up from the sand. "I am going to walk along the beach to search for shells. Will you be alright by yourself for a while, Jeff?"
He nodded. "If I get too bored, I'll start messaging back and forth with Garrus. I'm kind of curious about what was up with Miranda and Kaidan a bit ago, and if Shepard knows anything about it."
"Jeff, I say this with as much respect to you as possible, but the subjects that Kaidan and Miranda were discussing is not your concern."
Joker sighed, regretting that he had mentioned it. "That bad, hm?"
EDI nodded. "I have placed self-imposed blocks on the conversation so that even I cannot recall it beyond that each was talking of deeply personal matters."
Joker was quiet for a moment, and then finally replied. "Well… I'll just message him about how ugly his face still is if I get too bored instead."
"I will return in time for your daily medication." With that, EDI kneeled beside Joker, gave him a quick and gentle kiss on the lips, and then proceeded to walk along the beach, in search of shells.
As she scanned the ground as she looked along a particular patch of the sand, the vast amount of shells on the first 5cm deep of the beach became clear. Instantly, she began narrowing the shells down by removing and damaged shells, ones above or below a particular size and mass, or ones of similar shapes and chemical compositions. The results still numbered in the hundreds, and that was for only a 20x20 meter area.
Nearby, Liara and Samantha had been setting up a chess set when EDI caught their attention.
"What are you up to, EDI?" Samantha asked.
"I am scanning the area for seashells, though there are still 813 within a 20x20 meter area that match my basic search criteria."
"What are the shells for that you are searching for a particular kind?" The communication's specialist was very curious now.
"I am fulfilling the wish of a friend I lost. Professor Solus had expressed his desire to collect seashells during his retirement years."
Samantha turned her attention back to Liara for a moment. "Could you set up the board? I'll be right back."
After nod of confirmation from the asari, Samantha stood up and briskly made her way to EDI. "Come on, let's stroll for a bit." She grabbed EDI's hand and started leading her a bit away from the patch of beach she had been scanning.
"Specialist Traynor, some of the most optimal shells are back in that direction." EDI pointed back to where she had been.
Samantha shook her head. "Searching for seashells is not about scanning an area and finding the most optimal ones. It's about using your eyes, finding the ones that catch your eyes and speaks to you. So, we're going to a different spot and you're not allowed to scan at all with your sensors other than what you see visually in front of you."
"That is not the most efficient method, though."
The woman smiled and shook her head. "It's not about efficiency, EDI." She stopped and turned to face her body at EDI. "Do you have any shells already?"
"Only one." EDI took the shell she had found by Joker that was in the basket and showed it to Samantha.
"It's gorgeous." She replied with a gasp, before a smile came to her face. "And what made you choose this one out of all the other shells to be the first one you picked?"
"There was no intentional search criterion. I had been sitting beside Joker and moving my hand through the sand when I found it by chance." EDI held up the shell and examined it again, though it was redundant as she had scanned it previously. "Finding this particular shell recalled the words that Mordin had said on Sur'Kesh and prompted my desire to fulfill his wishes."
"When I studied at university on Earth, I would head down to the beach every other weekend or so during the summer, and always ended up bringing back some shells." Samantha kneeled down to the sand and ran her fingers through the sand. When she pulled it out finally and stood up, she dusted the sand away to reveal a few shells and began to examine them one by one. "There were days, I came back with a good 50 or so shells, on others, maybe one or two." She took one shell from her palm with her other, it was black with a hole that went straight through one side that exposed a blue-tinted interior . The other shells, Samantha tossed the others.
"Why did you dispose of the other shells?" EDI was curious.
"Because, of the ones I picked up, this was the only one that spoke to me; the only one I found different enough. If they would have all looked the same, I would have tossed them all, or if they would have all been interesting and unique, I probably would have kept them. Later, if I find a shell that is similar to this one, but has something else, like an uncommon color, I may get rid of this one I have now. It all just depends on the most random factors ever, and what I feel to be the best choice." She then placed the shell inside EDI's hand. "I hope this helps you make your search for Professor Solus' shells more special."
EDI stared at the shell Samantha had just placed in her hand for a moment, before adding the shell to the basket and smiling. "Thank you, Samantha. I believe you have helped me a great deal. The search will take longer, and I do not believe I will collect as many shells either, but, I know now that this will be more meaningful to the memory of Mordin."
"It's no problem at all, EDI." Samantha said, with a smile. "Now, you have fun; I owe Dr. T'soni a game of chess and she owes me a bottle of asari honey mead."
And, with that, EDI was left to the beach and her search for shells.
It had been nearly five hours, and hints of twilight had begun to appear in the skies, by the time EDI had returned to Joker. Everyone else had gathered not much further away and were sitting in the sand, mixing it with small amounts of the sea water and manipulating it their hands.
"Well, at least Tali didn't forget that I needed my medicine." Joker teased, knowing full well it had been EDI who had asked Tali to bring Joker his medicine. "So, what did you find?"
EDI sat down beside him and placed the basket in his lap. There were not as many shells as he expected, about 20-ish or so, but they ranged from every shape and color imaginable, but one in particular stood out from the others, and Joker's jaw dropped. "Oh my… that just looks like…"
EDI nodded. "Yes, the resemblance is more than uncanny. Interestingly enough, it was actually the last shell I found." She then leaned in closer, to point to some of the other shells. "Observe them closely, and see if you can notice what I noticed after I found that last shell."
Joker looked and looked, trying to find the connection, until, finally, it struck him like a brick wall and his jaw dropped. "I… I think we should go show everyone else."
"I had every intention, I just wanted to show you them first, then help you over there."
Joker began to get up, while EDI assisted him. "Well, let's not keep them waiting, EDI."
