Whilst waiting for Thomas to finish his check-up, Allen and I decided to grab a bite from the mess hall. We discovered that they actually used synthesizers here that created near perfect imitations of common meals, dispensing them onto trays with standard side dishes.
"Well... this is different." Allen whispered to me, leaning over. "I wonder what kind of stuff can be made here..."
"All I know is that if we don't find an option for chocolate,we will never hear the end of it." I said with a slightly bitter tone, using my finger to flip through the holographic interface.
"Heh, ain't that the truth." Allen agreed, doing the same for use unit next to me.
After searching for about two minutes, I finally found the blasted option for chocolate. It, being an non-standard, would actually cost me some credits. I paid up, and got the rest of my meal. Sitting down, I pulled my dad's old .22 revolver out of my pocket and placed it on the table. I had grown tired of having it weigh down the side my jacket.
"Odd, it actually doesn't smell as bad as I expected." Allen said with a smile, setting his tray down on table and taking a seat. His tray was a standard, I assumed. It was only a sandwich and a side of peas.
"Five credits says you don't like it." I challenged with a smirk, leaning against the table with my elbow.
"Sure, but only if that applies to you, as well." He said, crossing his arms.
"Deal." I agreed, as I looked down at my tray. On it was a simple serving of fried rice, and the chocolate bar I had ordered for Thomas.
I took my spork, swallowing a few spoonfuls of the oily rice. It actually, to my surprise, tasted rather good. Still nothing compared to mom's recipe, though...
"Wow, that was great." I exclaimed in a exaggerated, drawn out tone as I pat my belly. "My compliments to the chef."
"Ha ha." Allen mocked out of anger, picking up his sandwich. "I will prove to you that this is good."
"Alright, then what are you waiting for?" I said with the same smile, watching him attentively.
Allen quickly took a large bite out of the sandwich and started chewing. About five seconds later, he stopped.
"Oh, what's the matter?" I asked with and evil smile.
"mu muuum mo mi ms mee." Allen mumbled with a filled mouth, as he started chewing again.
"Sorry, what was that?" I inquired playfully, tapping the underside of this jaw with my index finger. "Try chewing."
Allen quickly swallowed what was in his mouth, taking his glass of water and chugging it.
"I said, I didn't know it was wheat." He explained, pointing at the bread. "Wheat bread."
"So?" I challenged with another smile, leaning my head on my arm.
"I fucking hate wheat bread." Allen said in disgust, setting the sandwich down.
"Oh, so sorry." I said with the same smile, holding out my free hand. "Five creds."
"Asshole." Allen explained with a frown, sending the creds to my omni-tool.
Out little contest had ended just in time for someone else to join the conversation.
"Sean and...Allen, right?" I heard a voice from behind me ask. I turned to see Kaidan, holding his own tray as he walked around the table.
"You would be correct." I greeted, as he sat across from us. "You were with Shepard, right?"
"Yeah, the name's Kaidan." He introduced, holding out his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Kaidan." I responded, stretching out my arm to return the gesture. "Sorry we didn't introduce ourselves earlier."
"It's no big deal." He brushed off, looking down at his tray. "So, you three are mercenaries?"
"I guess you could say that." I shrugged, picking up the small piece of cornbread that came with the meal. "We haven't found much work as of late."
"Is Shepard paying you three?" He asked, giving us a confused glance.
"No no no, we are certainly not doing this for any payment." I corrected, casually pointing my index finger at him. "We're here because Shepard asked us to."
"But what do you have to gain from it?" Kaidan asked with another curious glance. "I was under the impression that mercenaries were only out for the money."
"Just because we're mercenaries doesn't mean we're greedy." I pointed out, taking another bite out of my cornbread.
I looked over a Allen, who was now meticulously disassembling his sandwich, much to my annoyance.
"Hey Kaidan, you're a biotic, right?" Allen asked, stopping and looking at him.
"Yeah, I am." He confirmed. "What about it?"
"I was curious... how exactly do you use them?" Allen elaborated with curiosity. "Like do you do it all with your mind, or is it like a Star Wars "force" thing?"
"I control biotics using my nervous system." Kaidan answered quickly, putting his spork down. "My L-2 implant helps control and concentrate them into controllable energy fields."
"Don't L-2s have bad health problems?" Allen prodded deeper, leaning against his hand.
"Most do, but luckily, I just get migraines." Kaidan explained, looking over at my father's old .22 "Wait, what is that?"
"Oh, this?" I asked, picking up the revolver and twirling it on my finger. "This is my father's old Colt Diamondback, chambered for .22 Long Rifle. It's been passed down through my family ever since they were released in 1966."
"I've never seen a pistol that old outside of a museum." He commented with a small smile. "Your father just let you have something like that?"
"Well... not exactly..." I said in a softer tone, putting on my distraught face.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up anything personal." Kaidan tried to correct, holding up his hand.
"Don't be sorry. Besides, there's a phrase my good old polish dad would say when my mother and I would talk during dinner." I forgave, puffing my chest out. "It's time for eating, not talking!"
"HA! Those sound like words of wisdom!" He agreed with another smile, raising his metal cup.
"Damn right, now lets eat." I agreed, raising mine as we took long gulps.
We sat there in silence for the rest of the time, eating our respective meals. After I was finished, I disposed of my trash, stuffed the bar in my backpack, and went to check one last thing before going to the cargo hold.
I walked back to the Med Bay, and was surprised to see Thomas was still in there. Since I didn't have anything better to do, I decided to go take a look around the ship.
Considering the fact that I already had a hatred for the infamous elevators in the first Mass Effect, I was thrilled to see there was a ladder next to the shaft that went down to the bottom. I quickly slid down, walking into the cargo hold.
Here, I could see a lot more activity. Crew members were moving around quickly in prep for Shepard's mission. Ashley was taking inventory over in the corner, Garrus was getting set up next to the Mako, and Wrex was doing absolutely nothing, looking bored while leaning against a stack of crates.
I decided to go see Tali.
Inside the engine room, the mass effect core pulsated with energy, bathing the room with bursts of brilliant light. Tali was busy talking to engineer Adams when I walked in. She noticed me, stopping.
"Um... can you give me a minute." She asked Adams, turning back to him.
Adams nodded and moved to his console, as I walked over to her.
"So... cool ship, huh?" I commented with a smile, looking at the core again.
"That's an understatement." She replied with humor. "This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen."
"It is quite something." I agreed, looking back at the core. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you abo-"
"Sean, there you are." I heard, turning to see Shepard waiting in the hallway. "Come with me, I need to show you something."
"Um, alright then." I agreed, looking back to Tali. "I'll be back later, bye."
"See you later." Tali finished, walking back to Adams as I joined Shepard.
"What's up, Shepard?" I asked, following her back to the elevator.
"Well, since you and your friends will be staying with us for a while, I thought i'd give you somewhere to stay." She explained with a smile, as the elevator ascended. "I think you three will like it."
…
A/N: This chapter is really short, sorry.
