Edited: 27th February 2012
###
Chapter 10
Windows to the Soul
Flashback: Year 2171
"Don't even think about it Sky."
"But why not? It is the perfect plan."
"Just… Just don't." The blonde sighed, fingers tracing the large, rectangular shaped mechanism at the back of her skull. Sky looked on, a little concerned. It had only been three weeks since they fitted her with the new L3 implants; she knew that Jane often suffered from intense headaches, as much as she denied it. The other girl seemed to have caught her look for she shook her head slightly, resting her hand back onto her thigh. "Don't worry, the headaches are getting less and less frequent."
The two girls were sitting in their favourite spot, a bridge not too far away from the Citadel tower. It was a quiet, peaceful location, hidden away from most of the citizens while offering a splendid view of the Presidium. She had to salute the Reapers, albeit begrudgingly, for having created such a beautiful place. It was no wonder that it became the heart of all galactic species, several cycles over. There was just something about it…
To be frank, living in the Citadel had been quite the experience. It took her the better half of the year just getting used to seeing and interacting with all the aliens everywhere, and the rest to figure out all the technical advancements that she had never touched before. She loved the diversity of cultures and species that this place had to offer; it made learning about everything all the more difficult and interesting. The technology however, was a whole different ballgame. Back home, she was already helpless when it came to understanding most operating systems, but here? Woah, even Jane was astounded with how little she could understand. The operation of an omnitool, checking her mail, setting reminders for tasks, she could do, but anything more than that? She was absolutely hopeless.
The past year did, however, bring the limitations behind playing the Mass Effect games to her attention. The Citadel in ME2 had been very small and closed off to only the Zakera wards and the Presidium. Although she did recall having more options in terms of exploration in the first part of the trilogy, it could scarcely cover everything that she saw here now. Again, the difference between the game and living in this world still surprised her everyday, reminding her that there was more to almost everything than what she could see from behind her computer screen.
Sky frowned, bringing her mind back to the matter at hand. "Are you sure?"
The younger girl rolled her eyes, "yes mom." Before running her fingers through her extremely short hair. They had to shave her scalp before the operation, a standard procedure for most brain surgeries. Didn't mean that she liked her new look though. "Just wish that my hair would grow back faster."
Sky raised an eyebrow at that. "Your hair is growing back way faster than should be considered normal. So I don't know what you're complaining about." She tugged at her own thin, dark strands. "While I'm losing more than I can afford to." Plus, Jane looked good either way, with or without hair.
"But anyway, stop trying to change the topic. Sky, there is no way in Hell you should be joining the Alliance."
"You do realize that I am your senior right? That you shouldn't be telling me what I can or cannot do?"
Jane's eyes flashed angrily. "Don't be stupid. You're not soldier material."
"And you are?"
"Yes!" the other girl nearly shouted in response. "The frontlines are not what you imagine them to be."
Sky rolled her eyes, "Of course I know that, how daft do you think I am? I was on Mindoir too remember?"
"You can barely even squash a butterfly without feeling remorse." The older girl opened her mouth to retort which Jane quickly cut off. "And don't pretend that you're perfectly okay with killing. Being a soldier, you need to see the larger picture, even if that means leaving a little 5 year old girl to die so that you can save your entire platoon, so be it!"
"You can live with that?" Sometimes… Sometimes Jane worried her. The things she would say or do to get what she wanted done… She had a good heart, Sky knew that: everything she did, she did with the best intentions. But it was her methods that irked her out at times.
"I'm not like you. I don't feel for every single person I talk to, I don't empathize and try to imagine what he or she had to go through. Somebody pisses me off, I'm slamming their head into the ground, regardless if they have had an abusive parent or is a mother of two." The blonde sighed once more, shaking her head slowly. "I would love to have you there with me, to have someone I trust by my side. But I'm not going to let you throw away everything you are just to become a soldier." She turned to Sky and gripped her hand, hard. "You have something that so many of us have lost. Don't take that for granted."
Sky gulped and shifted uncomfortably from the intensity of Jane's gaze bearing down on her. Finally, she nodded, and the other girl's posture relaxed almost immediately.
"When are you going to enlist then?" She asked, almost miserably. She was so sure that Jane would be ecstatic at the idea. She had been thinking about it for the past few weeks, wondering if she should join the Alliance as the blonde had planned to... But Jane was right: she was not marine material. She shuddered at the scenario her adopted sister had painted, to be able to leave a little girl to die...? Not possible.
"Hopefully next year. They said I needed to get used to using my amp before I can properly enlist. But with the training regime that Anderson has been putting us through, I don't think that would take too long."
She groaned, "Yeah, 'training'. More like torture."
Upon arriving at the Citadel almost a year ago the girls had begged Lieutenant Anderson to put them through some form of fitness program. He gave them some tips and basic exercises to start off at first, increasing the intensity and difficulty each time he came back. Now they were running over 10km a day, followed by a series of weight lifting, stretching, agility training and sparring sessions. Their fitness levels have improved significantly; Sky was more flexible than Jane, and faster too, probably due to her smaller stature. But Jane would always be greater in strength and stamina, which ultimately always won her their sparring matches. "When is he coming back next?"
"A week's time I think. Has a surprise for us apparently." The Lieutenant's 'surprise' normally consisted of more pain for the two of them. "Won't tell me what though."
Sky sighed, placing her face into her cupped palms. "Great. Looking forward to it."
###
The beeping of her alarm clock slowly drew her out of her a very pleasant dream: something to do with double rainbows and fields of gold... It was going to be a good day, she could tell. Her body hummed with a form of very pleased energy and she felt more rested than she had in over two months. She sighed, sinking deeper into her comfortable sheets, even her alarm that was increasing in volume could not ruin the morning.
Reaching over she snapped the 'off' button before carrying with her morning ritual. She stretched and flexed every part of her body, starting with cracking her toes, to rotating her ankles, to hands, arms, shoulders, neck, back. It was when she pulled herself to as long as she possibly could, back curling and letting out a series of small pops when she heard a low whistle, followed by.
"That is probably one of the sexiest things I've ever seen."
She bolted up; eyes snapping open while she reached behind her pillow for her pistol. When she realized it wasn't there she quickly turned her attention to the handsome, but otherwise half-naked, man in the room. "Where's my gun?"
"Relax." He replied, sounding amused as he leaned against the door frame leading from her bedroom to the bathroom. "It's on your bedside table." She followed his gaze and noted that it was within an arms reach. "I removed it last night because I was afraid that one of us might get hurt when we were… busy."
She blinked, last night...? The events of a few hours ago, albeit a little hazily, slowly returned to her. Her face took on a lovely shade of bright red. How much did they drink exactly? Strange, she thought as she flexed her hands, she didn't feel hung over at all. "R-Right…" She stammered slightly, she had never had a one-night-stand before and the rules of engagement of such an event were a little lost to her. "Sorry." Even though she wasn't really sure exactly what she was sorry for.
The still half-naked, still smiling marine chuckled, and shook his head, wet hair indicating he had obviously just stepped out of the shower. "It's fine. I'm more than used to that sort of attitude. I'm surprised you're awake actually. It is rather early." Unlike the presidium, the wards had no artificial day-night cycle, so she had set her automated tint to allow light in around 6:30am. Now, in broad light and a sober mind, she gave the soldier before her a one-over that she had not been able to before. And boy, did she enjoy what she saw.
Looking back into his eyes she could tell from his less-than-subtle grin that he knew she was staring, but he made no move to cover his extremely toned body. In fact, he shifted slightly, allowing his pants to move half an inch lower, exposing a little more of that dark snail trail, while at the same time causing his muscles to ripple deliciously. She bit her lip, hard, before blushing furiously.
To her horror, it slowly dawned upon her that she was stark naked. Grabbing her sheets, she quickly wrapped them around herself.
"I… wouldn't do that if I were you. Those sheets really need some good washing."
Was he trying to burn her alive? Her face honestly felt like it was on fire as she trudged towards the bathroom, tightening the covers around her more as she squeezed past him. The echo of his laughter resounded through her head as she furiously slammed her bathroom door shut.
Git. What made her even want to have sex with him anyway?
Stepping out of her empty bedroom, clean, fresh and with her comfortable uniform back on her body, she felt better than ever. The smell of frying bacon brought her automatically to the kitchen where she was immediately confronted with the confusing sight of the dark-haired marine hunched over the stove, open bag of pork strips in hand as he munched on toast.
She blinked.
And then she blinked again, half expecting this to still be a dream.
"Hungry?" he asked, not even bothering to turn around until he deemed the food ready to serve. She nodded, settling herself down onto the counter. "Could you wipe the table? I haven't managed to do that." Her table was always clean, why would he want her to-
She stood up hastily, grabbing the washcloth and scrubbing the metal, hard, as her face returned to its previous scarlet red. God how many times…?
"Four."
She looked up, not realizing she had voiced that question out loud, before sighing and sitting back down, digging into the surprisingly tasty food that he had prepared. "How is that even possible?" she muttered to herself.
"Didn't you know? I'm superman." He grinned cheekily as he sat down opposite her, and proceeded to enjoy his meal.
Looking up at her companion, Sky frowned. "Not that I don't appreciate waking up to bacon and everything, but is this something you do every time you have a one-night-stand?"
He shrugged. "I wouldn't know. Never done it before."
Her eyes widened, she wasn't expecting that. "So I'm your first…?"
"I wasn't a virgin if that is what you're asking. But no, I've never entered a stranger's house to have probably, one of the best nights of my life, either."
She hastily closed her mouth when she realized she was gaping. Smiling slightly, she returned to her delicious food, for some reason feeling very pleased inside at his words. "What time are you deporting?"
He glanced at the digital clock at the far end of her apartment. It read '7:15am'. "Probably in about 4 hours? Don't worry, I'll be out of your hair in a bit, I just needed some sustenance, being a biotic and all. I hope you don't mind me raiding your fridge."
She shook her head. "My sister's a biotic too. So I understand. That's why the fridge's always so full anyway."
He raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Your sister is in the Alliance?"
"Yeap. N7 marine. Waiting for her new posting at the moment." She couldn't help but cheer inwardly at the impressed gleam in the soldier's eyes. She wouldn't openly admit it, but she was very proud of Jane.
"What's her name? Maybe I know her."
"Shep-" She stopped short, before shooting him a look. "Nice try."
He grinned, slamming his fist onto the table in mock frustration. "Damn, I was hoping I got you there. Still hung up on the whole I-don't-want-to-know-your-name thing huh? Why so insistent?"
Eyes twinkling, she got up and cleared her dishes and the cooking utensils that he had been using before, ignoring his protests. It was only fair that since he cooked, she cleaned. "For reasons you cannot comprehend my dear." She petted his cheek lightly after drying her hands.
The light contact that her hand made with his rough skin lit a sudden, but deep fire inside her gut. She could barely believe it, but she even found the way his stubble prickled her hand, strangely erotic. All the men she had ever been with were clean-shaven, but this… She found herself unable to stop from caressing his face softly, loving the way his shadow felt. "So what are you doing in those four hours?" Her voice was lower, huskier.
He stood up slowly and she was suddenly aware of how strangely terrifying, yet intensely sexy it felt to have his six feet frame towering over her. She couldn't understand it. If they managed to do it four times last night, how was her body still craving for more? Why was it craving for more? Oh she was going to be late for work. Stupid, hormonal-
All her thoughts and worries were cut off as soon as he stooped down, lips meeting hers.
###
It was dark when she woke. She rubbed her eyes, mind still a little foggy. What time was it…? Turning her head to check the clock on her beside table. the flashing green light told her it was mid-day.
Then why was it so dark?
Oh.
That's right. They had blocked off the artificial light when they were doing it. She sat up slowly, and returned her tint to their original state. Allowing her eyes to orientate to the brightness, she realized that aside from her, her bedroom was empty.
Right, he did tell her he was leaving around 11. Shifting slightly, she realized that her omnitool was blinking with two new messages. She opened the first one, from 'an unknown address'.
Dear Skylar,
Yes, I cheated, I know, horrible of me. But I couldn't stand knowing your face, your body without having a name to place to it so I propped open your omnitool.
Don't worry though, I didn't look at anything else, you have to trust me on that.
I don't want you to think that I am the kind of person that would just up and leave without letting you know. It is just that you were sleeping so peacefully I couldn't bear to wake you. I wasn't lying when I said I'm not the type to randomly go home with a stranger. But the way we conversed last night... Well, I honestly wasn't, and still am not, sure what made me walk back to your door, but I guess being a soldier, sometimes I feel like I have to take chances before it is too late you know?
Anyway, I'm not too sure when I will be back on the Citadel again. But on the off chance that you are still available then, maybe we could meet up for dinner or something? I'll come find you.
I had a good time, both last night and this morning. So thank you, for the food, the great company, the extracurricular activities.
Take care until then.
She burst out laughing, suddenly high at the thought of being able to see him again, at the thought of him actually wanting to see her memories of the past hours replayed vividly in her mind as her face began to heat up once again. He was a great guy, an extremely considerate lover. She never knew that sex could be so much fun. Oh-so-fun that she was often caught between laughing and moaning.
Whatever it was he was talking about, she could feel it too. She had an amazing time as well.
She bit her lip, reveling from the happy bubble inside as she opened the next mail. But the name 'David Anderson' at the top caused her smile to falter.
At the following words, her heart stopped, any form of joy evaporating at the four simple words:
Elysium is under attack.
###
JENG JENG JEEEENG.
And now, the story really begins.
How will Jane react to the Blitz? Who is the mystery man? After this chapter, is he still who you all think he is? ;]
Maybe maybe not. But either way, if it is Kaidan, don't forget that this is many years before ME therefore she won't really recognize him and he is still relatively new to the Alliance so could be innocent enough to have written what that letter said (that is my rebuttal to those who says 'oh this guy doesn't act really act like stoic, quiet Kaidan') But anyway, I don't want to ruin the story for you guys, so keep guessing! =]
I have my psychology exam tomorrow and I haven't studied at all. I am quite dead. =[
Thank you S058, bale626 (ooh, newcomer), BAMS, Helljumper 1337, greed 11 and Liege Lord for your input and reviews. And of course big thank you to everyone who has subscribed, reviewed or read this story at all.
S058: There was defs something wrong with the hits thing. =P Somehow it read 3 hits after I got 4 reviews... So I'm guessing the site was a little messed up, not that I'm actively complaining. Just a little errors that's all. =]
greed11: As you know, agreed completely and I have made the changes. Again, thank you. =] I'm running out of compliments here. =P
Alenko... or no? Most of you seem to think it's Kaidan.
Either way, let me know what you think of this chapter, the realism of it all, language, grammar, etc. Whatever you think require improvement.
Love,
Fee
xx
EDIT: I changed the letter? =S I'm still not satisfied with it, but I'm going to have to brainstorm a little more. 'Feel' the way the guy was feeling before I can write it again. Personally, I think I'm just too tired at the moment. I'll try again later.