Inspired by some suggestions from the lovely w0rdinista / Niamh St George


The Silversun Strip was so full of sound and light and motion that it always made Garrus just a little edgy. The potential for an unseen threat was high. He tended to keep half an eye on the crowd, watching for any suspicious movement.

Shepard was relaxed, though and seemed so content that it was hard to look away from her. She'd let her hair down, for a change; it cascaded over her shoulders, falling halfway down her back and into her eyes. Between that, an unaccustomed red dress, and more face paint than she usually wore, she was making a fair attempt at avoiding recognition by the casual observer.

"Oh, Garrus! Look at that!" She headed off to a kiosk with an assortment of oddly-shaped and colored gear. By the time he caught up with her, she was brandishing some sort of long stick that glowed light blue.

"Is that some sort of... weapon?" he asked, dubious. It looked more like a toy than anything else.

"Yes! Well, no. I mean, it's not the real thing. It's just a replica." She swung the thing in a small arc. It made an odd humming sound.

"A replica of what?"

"It's a lightsaber," she said, as if this were self-evident.

"And... this is some sort of historic Earth weapon?"

Her jaw dropped for a moment and her eyes widened. "Oh, wait... you mean you haven't seen Star Wars?"

"Does 'every time I leave the Normandy' count?"

"No. No no no. Oh no," Shepard said, looking serious. "We're going to have to fix this, Garrus."

"Fix... what exactly?"

"It's a vid series. A historic and important vid series. And I'm going to need you to see it."

He folded his arms. "Really. What's so important about this vid series, exactly?"

"It's only one of the most commercially successful human vids of all time. It has spaceships. And lightsabers." She brandished hers. "It was one of my favorites when I was little. Well, what I saw then was the version they made right before the First Contact War. The twentieth-century originals were really good, too, though." She fished for a credit chit and turned to the kiosk's proprietor.

"You're actually buying that?"

"Damn straight. I always wanted to be a Jedi."

"You're a biotic," he pointed out. "I don't know what a Jedi is, but..."

She shook her head. "Not at all the same thing. Although..." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Nah. Not the same thing. Come on, let's get back to the apartment. We can watch on that big screen."

She was wearing her determined face now. Garrus smiled at her and brushed a lock of hair away from her eyes. "Does this mean I get to force you to watch the vids I liked as a kid, too?"

She smiled back, her eyes softening. "Yeah. Absolutely."