Chapter 11: The Homefront
Samantha awoke rather slowly, sitting upright from her bed as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. As expected, she found herself in the guest bedroom that Shepard had insisted she take up residence in for her stay. Honestly, it was a rather bland room, painted white with almost entirely white and black furniture.
In her still-groggy state, Sam glanced over to the clock on the nightstand, stunned to find it reading "12:44 P.M." She cleared her head with a quick shake, fully waking herself up, and standing upright. She let out a sigh of content as her spine let out a satisfying crack, and made her way towards the attached bathroom. On her way, she reached into one of the drawers and pulled out a pair of shorts, a plain white tank top, and clean undergarments.
If there was one thing she wasn't expecting from Earth, it was how damned hot it was. The climate on the Normandy was always a rather pleasant 25 Celsius with low humidity, it was perfect for her, being from one of the more temperate colonies. Oxford was cold most of the time, while it was quite clear that Imperium was almost perpetually hot and humid. She always hated summertime, and the fact that it was a solid 37 Celsius plus seventy five percent humidity was pure suffering. According to Jane and Annalise, it was strange for it to get this damned hot, but that did little to make her more comfortable. A month into her shore leave in Imperium, and she already wanted July to go right the hell away and make way for Autumn.
Pushing aside her weather-driven loathing, she placed her clothing on the counter and pulled her size-too-large Oxford t-shirt over her head and let it fall to the floor. She stepped out of her underwear, kicking it over towards the general area of her discarded shirt, and stepped into the shower. She always loved showers, especially ones that weren't on a starship where all of the warm water would already be used up by the time she got to it. She quickly finished up in the shower, drying herself off with a towel, and wrapped it around her torso.
Sam quickly dropped the towel onto the floor, dressing herself in the clothes she grabbed a few minutes earlier. She ran a hand through her hair, straightening it out. She let out a quick sigh as she stepped back into the guest room, placing her discarded clothes into a semi-neat pile next to her unpacked bag. After quickly remaking the bed, she made her way out of the room and into the hallway.
As Sam made her way into the living room, she spotted a few of the people that had become surprisingly friendly and welcoming towards her. Annalise's little sister, Jane, was casually sitting sideways on an armchair, her fingers dancing along the holographic keyboard and trackpad being projected from her Datatool. Alenko was sitting in another armchair, across the room from Jane, reading over something on his own personal Datatool.
Ashley was sitting on a longer sofa, her Datapad projecting a similar interface as Jane's as he fingers tapped away at the hologram. Miranda was leaned against Ashley, her head resting against the slightly shorter girl's shoulder as she watched the wall-mounted screen with a small smile on her face. Sam was absolutely floored when she learned that Miranda and Ashley had been together since they were fourteen. She was even more surprised at how well they managed to keep it relatively quiet. According to Shepard, both of them agreed that it would be kept professional whenever they were deployed, simply for the sake of professionalism. The UHE had no distinct regulations against fraternization in the Navy, which was especially true for the N7, but the pair had apparently decided to keep it very professional, so much so that Sam didn't even know until they had spent a day in Imperium.
According to Shepard, relationships between N7 Operatives were not uncommon by any means. They grew up together, trained together, fought together, and were closer than most people related by blood. It only made sense that a fair number would grow intimate with each other.
Sam's attention was grabbed by Ashley. "Well, look who's finally up."
"Hey everyone." Sam said, giving an awkward smile. "What're you guys doing?"
"Ash is cheating." Jane said, turning to glare at the brunette. Ashley simply gave a smug smile in response.
Sam walked over, looking at the projection screen on the wall. A virtual depiction of massively armored people stomping around, firing their massive guns into various green-skinned aliens playing out before her. It was clear that the two were playing a strategy game, since Ashley was constructing a second base, and Jane was commanding a large force of Orks. "Warhammer?" Sam asked.
"Hell yeah." Ashley said, smiling. "Greenskins don't have shit on the Emperor's Legions."
"Stupid Ultramarines…" Jane commented. "Goddamn Smurfs…"
"Nerds…" Alenko commended, chuckling.
Sam let out a laugh. "What, don't like games?"
Kaidan shrugged. "Never got into 'em. I'd usually just watch whenever Shepard and Ash played. They tried to get me into some shooter, didn't really work for me."
"That's 'cause you sucked." Ashley rebutted, smugness seeping through her words.
After a quick scoff from Kaiden, Sam spoke up. "Where's Shepard?"
"Out back." Jane responded, nodding towards the back door.
"Have fun, guys." Sam said, walking towards the back door, opening it with a quick touch to the holographic keypad.
As she stepped outside, into the humid heat of Imperium's open air, she was greeted by the rather large backyard that the estate sat in front of. There was a large lawn surrounded by gravel. Off to the side was a pool, surrounded by tile, with a few padded lounge chairs facing the pool. Sitting in one of the lounge chairs was a sight that almost made Sam's breath hitch in her throat.
Sam spotted Annalise, lying back on the chair. She had a pair of sunglasses on her face, and was wearing a pure white two-piece swimsuit. Her crimson hair was left to fall down to her shoulders, and her attention seemed to be taken up by the datapad in her hand. Sam wasn't quite sure how she could be that pale if she did this.
Sam took a quick breath to compose herself, and made her way over. "Hey, Annalise." Sam said.
Annalise let a soft smile cross her face as she placed the datapad aside. "Hey Sam, what's up?"
"Nothing, really… just woke up a few minutes ago." Sam admitted, taking a seat on a nearby chair. It took all of her willpower not to stare when Shepard rolled over, leaning on her elbow to look at Sam. "W-What're you doing?"
Annalise gave the smallest of grins. "Just relaxing. And reading some news reports from the colonies."
"Anything interesting?" Sam asked.
"We found ruins on Eden Prime."
"Ruins?" Sam asked. "What do you mean?"
"Those uhh… Prometheans? Protheans? Whatever, that the Council bases basically all of their tech off of? We found some of their ruins."
"Really?" Sam asked, surprised.
"Yep. Haven't found much, apparently." Annalise explained. "Empty ruins, trinkets, and a bunch of garbled junk data. Apparently, the Council's asking us to let them study the ruins once we're finished with them."
"Did the Chancellor give a response?"
"It wouldn't surprise me if he let them study the ruins, honestly." Shepard said, shrugging. "If our guesses are right, our technology outpaced the Protheans in almost every field of science. It's not like we'd gain anything significant from a technologically inferior race of aliens."
"Fair enough, I guess." Sam agreed, nodding. "It's strange how much we're cooperating with them…"
Shepard stood, shrugging. "It's less us cooperating as much as it is doing the bare minimum." She said, strolling over and sitting at the edge of the pool.
Sam was so busy admiring the view that she almost forgot to speak. "What do you mean?"
"It's painfully obvious that the Council is playing catch-up with our tech." Shepard said. "Try as they may, catching up to us is impossible. All we're doing is giving them the illusion of progress."
"Meaning?" Sam asked, walking over, taking a seat at the edge as well.
"The Embassy on the Citadel serves no purpose beyond giving the Council the illusion of Human passivity." Shepard explained. "You and I both know that the Human species as a whole is doing everything we can to find a legitimate reason to rip the Council apart. Since war would be too costly, we're doing it through other means." Sam nodded in half-understanding, beckoning Shepard to continue. "Our industry is several orders of magnitude more powerful than all three main Council races' combined. Our fleets have already doubled in size from our Pre-War levels, we have ready access to Terminus Space, the Batarians are little more than a puppet state now, and we have the entire Relay Network at our fingertips now that we control the Alpha Relay. We've given the Council the illusion of power by negotiating with them now and again. They're valuable as trade partners, and that's about it."
"What do you think of the Council?" Sam asked.
"They're ignorant." Shepard said, shrugging. "They're ignorant, arrogant, and a bloated bureaucracy. Imagine what those species could achieve if they didn't have to abide by those restrictions on cybernetics, genetic tailoring, and artificial intelligence. Then they'd be a threat."
"Do you think there'll be another war?"
"Not unless they're really stupid." Shepard responded, shrugging. "I think our conquering the entire Batarian species in under a year reminded them why they shouldn't fuck with us."
After a few moments, Shepard let out a sigh. "Enough about that… I have to deal with political discussion everytime I go to a joint meeting with Hackett. What're those idiots doing in there?"
"Ashley and Jane are playing Warhammer, Kaiden's reading, and Miranda's just watching." Sam said. "Speaking of which, I still can't believe those two are together. Ashley never struck me as… you know…?"
"Gay?" Shepard said, finishing Sam's thought for her.
Sam chuckled. "That's one way to put it."
Shepard shrugged. "I've known Ash for years, she had a bit of an issue coming to terms with it." At Sam's cocked eyebrow, Sheprad continued. "Ash's family is Catholic, so their views on these things are a bit old-fashioned."
Shepard chuckled. "I like to think that I'm part of the reason they got together… They started making fun of me after a bit of a training mishap on one of the Europa System's largest moons, and became really good friends after that mission. I like to think that my… minor fuck-up led to them getting together."
Sam let out a giggle. "What'd you do?"
"Uniform mishap." Shepard said with a shrug. "That's just what I like to tell myself, anyways. There's a bit of a more legitimate reason they're a thing."
"Hmm?"
"Both of them have some… really big shoes to fill, so they found some common ground there." Shepard answered. "I'm sure you've heard of General Williams of the UHE 1st Army?" Sam nodded in response. "Ash's grandfather." At her wide eyed expression, Shepard continued. "Her father is the commander of the 15th Shock Battalion of the Marine Corps, so her family legacy tends to follow her around. She worked her ass off to get into the N7."
"And Miranda?" Sam asked.
"Hers is a bit more… personal." Shepard responded. "It took me knowing her for six years before she finally told me. It'd be wrong of me to just tell that to anyone."
"Ashley doesn't have an issue with it?"
"Ash fully acknowledges that she's got a huge legacy to live up to. It's what drives her."
"You've certainly got a legacy too, Annalise." Sam said.
"Eh." She shrugged. "I'm probably the most relaxed person out of my N7 Generation. Everyone either comes out relaxed and mellowed out, super uptight, or a massive dickhead. I got lucky with my team, we're all closer than most, as you've probably seen." Shepard chuckled. "I thought my mom would bust an artery when I told her I was going for Special Warfare… probably why she's so adamant about Jane staying out of the Military."
"She didn't want you to join up?" Sam asked, surprised.
"Oh, God no." Shepard responded, smiling. "She hated the idea… she's warmed up to it over the years, though. No way in Hell she'll let Jane do anything relating to the Military, though. She's way more protective of her than she was of me."
Sam chuckled. "It's the same with me… my parents still practically coddle my sister."
"Parents, man…" Shepard said, smiling.
Sam smiled, letting their conversation make way to a comfortable silence. She let her feet submerge into the water, leaning back on her hands. After a few minutes, she decided to speak up again. "So… anything planned for us today? Sightseeing? Shopping?"
Shepard smiled. "That depends…" She turned to look at Sam. "When's the last time you used a gun, Traynor?"
Sam honestly had to think about the question. She fully admitted that she was far from the physically fit Marine. She did the bare minimum to pass the Navy's physical requirements, and that included marksmanship. "Honestly… I think the last time was Recruit Training."
"Oh man… that settles it." Shepard said. "You're going shooting with us."
"Is that a thing you can just do here?" Sam asked.
"I mean, you have to go to a certified range or a designated area, but yeah." Shepard shrugged. "It's fun, I've got all kinds of goodies in my little collection."
"Okay… sounds fun." Sam wasn't actually quite sure how comfortable she would be just going shooting… with guns… but she figured she'd give it a try. "When are we going?"
"Few hours, probably around three." Sam wasn't quite sure of it, but she could swear that she saw something resembling a devious smirk cross Shepard's face for the slightest fraction of a second. "Might wanna change first."
"Why?" Sam asked. "What's wrong with this?"
"Do you have your Datatool on you?" Shepard asked.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Sam thought. "No… it's on my nightstand."
Sam was definitely sure that it was a devilish grin, but she didn't have any time to prepare herself. Shepard gave her a playful push into the warm water, Sam letting out a startled yelp in response. She quickly righted herself in the water, giving a playful glare to the grinning redhead. When Shepard caught sight of the glare, she broke into a fit of giggles.
In a quick motion, Sam reached up, wrapping her hand around Shepard's wrist, and yanking her towards the water. Shepard, outside of her armor, was surprisingly light. The redhead let out a soft yelp as she was yanked into the water. Sam broke out into laughter as she saw Shepard bob up to the surface, pushing her hair out of her face. "Joke's on you, Sam. I'm in a swimsuit."
Sam rolled her eyes. "What was that for?"
Shepard shrugged. "I like it when you're flustered."
Sam couldn't quite control the blush that crept onto her cheeks. "I-Uhm… Err…"
"Like that!" Shepard said, giving a grin.
Sam scoffed, playfully splashing water in Shepard's direction.
XXXXX
Stratton resisted, just barely, the strangely strong desire to slam his forehead onto his desk. He settled for rubbing his temple instead. "I swear to God…" Stratton said to no one in particular. "Every time those damn Quarians walk into my office…"
For the life of him, Stratton couldn't figure the Quarians out. On one hand, a few of the Admirals seemed to like the garden world he offered them. It had very primitive plant life that could be easily overtaken by alien specimens, a very clean atmosphere, and almost all fresh water. On the other, however, two Admirals in particular had stood in the way of the Quarians settling the planet: Han'Gerrel and Rael'Zorah. Both seemed hell-bent on retaking Rannoch from the Geth, something that Stratton knew would be impossible.
"That bad?" Someone asked, shaking Stratton out of his incoming migraine. The Chancellor looked up, spotting Jack Harper.
"In a way." Stratton responded, sighing. "Did you have something for me?"
"I do." Harper walked over, placing a datapad on the Chancellor's desk.
Stratton picked it up, keying the biometric lock on the small tablet. All across the screen was communications data, which Stratton began to sift through. He did not recognize the received communications or where they were from. "What is this?" Stratton asked. "You've got a habit of handing me things and expecting me to immediately understand."
"Tight-beam communications from beyond the Perseus Veil, directed at Eden Prime Fleet Command." Harper explained. "It's a request for a meeting."
"The Geth want a meeting with Humanity?" Stratton asked, his eyebrow cocked. Harper merely nodded in response. "The Admirals would lose it if they learned about this."
"Indeed… It would look like the Geth want to send an emissary to meet with the Holding Fleet on the border of Batarian and Terminus space."
Stratton sighed. "I have my opinion on the matter… what's yours?"
"Meet with them." Harper said. "They're an unknown, knowledge is key here."
"I agree… but this falls to Cerberus." Stratton said, sliding the datapad back across his desk. "You've got that new agent you spend four billion credits creating; this would be the perfect testing ground for him."
Harper let the slightest smile cross his lips. "Done."
XXXXX
Lucassen snapped the shoulderpiece of his combat armor into place, rolling his shoulder to ensure nothing pinched. To him, this armor was strange. He was so used to AR500 steel plate carriers, polymer knee guards, carrier rigs, and woven battle dress that the mobility-minded Light UHE Tactical Armor he was adorned with almost felt constricting. Everything moved too freely, felt too light… it still felt like a dream.
"Something wrong?" A familiar voice asked from the back of his head.
"What?" Lucassen responded, snapping out of his stupor.
"I'm in your head, there's very little you can hide from me."
He let out a sigh. "Could you, you know, not read my mind?"
"Sorry, there's nothing I can do about it." Voight-Kampff responded. "Our minds are intertwined."
Lucassen scoffed. "If you told me, back before the First Contact War, that I'd be revived in a synthetic body by a future Humanity, I'd have laughed in your fuckin' face. But now, here I am… Once a U.S. Marine, now a black operative for a Human Empire. Christ, the U.S. isn't even a country anymore… now it's the North American Federation."
"You've taken it remarkably well."
"Not like I have much of a choice. What would I do? Curl up in the fetal position and die?"
"Certainly would've been an option."
Lucassen sighed once again, picking up his handgun and sliding it into the chest-mounted holster that his armor came standard with. He picked up the carbine that was issued to him by the ship's quartermaster. It was a short-barreled rifle that was angular in design, with a thirty round magazine tucked into the rear of the rifle. The bullpup rifle was lighter than almost anything he'd ever held. The strange rounds that it fired were quite eye-catching. They looked like simple rounded pieces of metal alloy and polymer composite that sat in the magazine of the rifle. The fact that these rounds, when they left the barrel, had the polymer shell stripped from them, revealing something not unlike a SABOT was baffling to the soldier that was used to carrying an M4 Carbine. This stuff made the high technology of the early 21st century look like a caveman's tools.
"What's the mission?" Lucassen asked, fastening the rifle to the magnetic strips on the back of his armor. "Something about making contact?"
"We're to meet with the synthetic life forms known as the Geth. They are the creation of the Quarians for labor, until they rose up and evicted the Quarians from their own space. The Chancellor wants to secure talks between the Quarians and the Geth."
"I thought you said that the Chancellor was letting the Quarians settle in Human space?"
"That was until the Quarians became more of a headache than they were worth." Voight-Kampff responded. "They practically spit on the Chancellor's offer for a garden world with a very malleable biosphere. Certainly were quick to take our two captured Turian Dreadnoughts though."
"And they want their own space back?" Lucassen asked. "Seems reasonable enough to me."
"They had hoped to drag the UHE into a war against the Geth at our expense. This is the Chancellor's last attempt to help the Quarians. If this goes awry and the Geth are not willing to return some of Quarian Space, then the Chancellor will most likely evict the Quarians from our space."
"So the future of a species rides on me?"
"If you wish to look at it like that."
"Awesome…" Lucassen muttered, sighing. He made his way towards the door of his quarters, his mind in a million places at once.
XXXXX
Sam let out a sigh as she shouldered the Coil-assisted bolt-action rifle that Shepard had handed her. Naturally, it felt light, yet it still felt unwieldy in the hands of someone used to handheld PDWs or an assault rifle. She carefully squeezed the trigger, letting her breath out in harmony with her finger's minute movements. At the hair-light trigger pull, the slug was accelerated out of the barrel of the rifle, finding its mark in the center of the target, shattering against the steel alloy with a satisfying "Ping!"
A broad smile crossed Sam's face as she very nearly spun around to face Shepard. She quickly remembered to put the rifle back down on the table before turning around. Her broad smile was returned by Shepard. "See?" The redhead asked. "You just had a shit Range Instructor." Shepard shrugged. "That, and the Navy's standard service rifle is utter shit compared to the Army and Marines GP-98."
"Are they that bad?" Sam asked, not being nearly as well versed in small arms as the N7.
"You said you barely passed Marksmanship Training, but you can shoot a properly sighted rifle like that after two tries?" Shepard asked. "Yeah, the rifle, and your instructor, were shit."
Sam smiled and let a light blush cross her cheeks at the praise being given. To hide her embarrassment, she turned to look on their surroundings. They were standing in a clearing in the North American wilderness, surrounded by tall trees, bushes, and a pair of vehicles that had brought them the 90 minutes outside of Imperium, into the countryside of Virginia. Standing behind another table was Ashley and Miranda, each of them quickly switching from target-to-target as they popped out from behind cover. Kaidan was lying in the grass, seeming to shoot for long-range accuracy as he sighted in a rifle for 700 meters. Jane was practicing with a small pistol that Sam had seen her carry around town on several occasions.
Shepard chuckled, picking up a handgun and sliding a magazine into the handguard. She held it out with one hand, popping off four rounds at the steel target that Sam was shooting for, each one landing dead-center on the figurative "head" of the target. She flipped the handgun's safety on, handing it to Sam grip-first. "You're up, Traynor." She said, mischievous smile on her face. Sam chuckled, taking the pistol and squaring her shoulders, aiming down the slightly glowing sights of the rather barebones weapon.
XXXXX
The group walked back through the house's front door, laughing at poor Kaidan's expense. Jane carried a few polymer cases for the weapons, while Ashley carried an aluminum canister for all of the ammunition. "I'll go stick these in the safe." Jane said, carrying the cases off towards the rear of the house.
"Same." Ashley said, hefting the three cases of varying ammo types.
Wordlessly, Kaidan and Miranda made their way upstairs, presumably going to change. "Anything for us tonight, Shepard?" Sam asked, walking towards the staircase with Shepard following behind.
"Might go get some food, catch a movie, whatever." Shepard shrugged. "We can talk with them when they're all done."
"Good, give me time to freshen up." Sam said, smirking. If there was one thing above all else that she was grateful for as a result of this little trip, it was how comfortable she now felt around Shepard and her team. "I was hoping I could look nice for someone."
Shepard smirked. "Hot date lined up?"
"More, hopefully." Sam turned, giving Shepard a soft smile. "I play for keeps, not just some one-night stand."
"Sounds serious." Shepard said, finally arriving at the top of the stairs.
"That depends on whether she's interested." Sam said, giving Shepard a mischievous grin as she rounded the corner into her room. Shepard stood, stunned. For the first time in quite a while, Commander Shepard had no witty remark to fire back with, no kind-hearted joke or gesture to give, just shock.
Sam stepped through the door, all of the tension that she would have felt a few weeks ago came crashing down on her. She had no idea why she didn't just wear a muzzle all waking hours of the day, if her mouth could stream her stupid consciousness. She could fully admit that, after spending a month with that woman, that she was wonderful. She was funny, she was strong, she was quick-witted, and she was kind.
She couldn't think of what possessed her to go off like that. She had no idea of Shepard would've even looked at her that way. All of the little gestures, winks, and playful conversations between the two had made her confident, and all of that confidence flew out the window the moment she opened her mouth.
She pulled her t-shirt off, tossing it towards her bags with a sigh. She pulled a slightly nicer white shirt with angular designs printed all around. She ran a hand through her hair, mentally kicking herself. She shook her head, looking to clear her mind.
As she figured, her best bet to make this less awkward was to go talk with Annalise and apologize, despite a very vocal part of her mind wanting to curl up and not leave this room. She quickly steeled herself, making her way towards the door. As she opened it, she spotted Annalise leaning against the railing overlooking the living room. She had a small smile on her face as she faced Sam.
Sam timidly walked over, feeling small as she practically whispered. "Annalise… I'm-" She was cut off as Shepard stood upright, placing her hands on Samantha's shoulders, and pulling her into a kiss.
Sam froze up for a moment, letting out a quiet hum as their lips met. She quickly melted into the embrace, returning the kiss. It was over far too quickly for Sam's liking, with Shepard pulling back. A broad smile was on the redhead's face as she gently squeezed Samantha's shoulders. "She's interested." Sam couldn't quite contain the happy squeak that she let out, pulling the taller girl into a hug.
Codex Updated:
GP-98 Service Rifle- Standard-issue Naval Service Rifle of the UHE. It sports a rather basic firing mechanism, as well as sub-par coils when compared to the Marines/Army AR-190 Service Rifle. It fires moderately powerful 6.5mm projectiles, and generally comes equipped with 30 round magazines and a holographic projection sight.
AR-190 Standard Assault Rifle- The standard combat rifle for all ground-based combat personnel of the UHE. The Assault Rifle Model 190 was designed in a joint project between Rheinmetall and Ruger. It is a re-design of the Naval GP-98 with a modernized firing mechanism, lighter polymer parts, fires 8mm projectiles, and is a highly modular rifle capable of being converted to a marksman rifle, sniper rifle, or compact sub machine gun. It is one of the most versatile and adaptable weapons systems ever employed by the UHE. A civilian model, the AR-19 is available, doing away with the automatic fire setting and sporting a slightly longer 17-inch barrel.
UHE Light Tactical Armor- A lighter variant of the standard UHE Battle Dress Armor. It is made of a light, flexible polymer nanocomposite armor around the joints, and a tough titanium-magnesium alloy around the chest, back, shins, arms, and neck. It is rated against several very high-caliber Mass Driver small arms, including the AR-190 and the Turian Phalanx. It is generally worn by Force Recon operatives, though many officers have taken a liking to it as well.
A/N:
I swear, man. The more I write this, the more I grow to love writing the sections with the Chancellor.
This'll be the last chapter that's exclusively about shore leave, they'll be back on the Normandy by next time. The Normandy will be getting some upgrades too, so stay tuned.
Sidenote: Lord Gaben has taken my wallet and my free time, as the Steam Sales have graced us with their presence. Praise be to Lord Gaben for getting me DOOM for 35 bucks.
As always, I appreciate the reviews, favs, and follows. I love you all.
-TallYapflip