Chapter Twelve
Commander Shepard is still sleeping during the flight to Elysium. This is the first time in a few days the Commander is actually able to get some sound sleep. Things do not seem to be resolved with the Alliance, but she knows she is on her way back to her family. That fact is what relaxed the Commander enough to for her to sleep. EDI comes over the comm in the Loft, "Commander, we are about thirty minutes from Elysium."
Shepard stirs in the bed, realizing it is EDI speaking, "Thanks, EDI." She rubs her eyes to get the sleep out of them. "You said we are thirty minutes out?" asks Leia as she gets out of bed and heads up the steps to the bathroom to wash her face.
"Yes, Shepard," responds EDI.
Leia doesn't respond to EDI. After washing her face to help her wake up, she brushes out her wavy red-hair then heads down to the crew deck to see Dr. Chakwas.
Dr. Chakwas is sitting at her desk looking at some new medical data. She hears the door to the medical bay open and sees Commander Shepard walk in. "Anything I can do for you, Commander?"
"Yes, I would like for you to check out my wound. Make sure it's still healing properly. It is bothering me slightly still. Which shouldn't be a surprise from all the stress I have been under the past few days. Plus, I broke one of the chairs on the shuttle and landed square on my back," comments Shepard with a grin on her face. The grin turns to a smile when she thinks of how she and Liara broke the chair.
Chakwas raises one eyebrow in curiosity to how Shepard broke a chair, "Broke a chair, huh? Never mind, I don't want to know. Take your shirt off, Commander and I'll look over your wound."
Leia rubs the back of her neck with a silly smirk then removes her shirt. "Ah, yea, I had a little accident. The kids got a laugh out of it. Well, so did Liara and I. You had to be there."
The doctor smiles at the Commander while she looks at the wound. She scans it with her omni-tool. "It looks fine, Shepard. No more breaking chairs in the next couple of days and you'll be fine."
"Doc, can I pick Gaia up when I see her? She really likes riding on my shoulders," says Leia Shepard as she puts her shirt back on.
Chakwas smiles again at Shepard. This is a side of the Commander that she never thought she would see. Leia Shepard being a parent. Shepard is one of those rare soldiers that only come around once in a lifetime and Dr. Chakwas is happy to see Commander Shepard do more than being an Alliance marine. "I don't see why not. The wound is healing nicely, Commander. Take it easy, if you are getting tired then don't. Other than that, enjoy yourself."
"Gaia is going to like that. I told her a few days ago I couldn't put her on my shoulders. I did it with Kaja when she was younger too. Both enjoy going for rides." Shepard face lights up with pride when she talks about her kids. Her children are the pride and joy in her life. Shepard smiles at Chakwas then turns and heads out of the medical bay with a slight pep to her step. She knows in less than an hour she will be planet side looking for her family at Out of this World Adventure amusement park.
Gaia is jumping up and down in excitement. "That was fun. I want to ride it again," comments Gaia after riding one of the smaller roller coasters. "Please, mom."
Liara is thinking, Oh Goddess, not again. I really don't think roller coasters are my thing. They remind me of how bad Shepard drove the Mako. Getting tossed all over the place. But I suppose I can do this one more time. If it makes the girls happy, then I'll go again. She looks over to Kaja and she wants to ride it again. "Okay, you two. Lets get back in line and ride it again."
Both girls go running towards the entrance to the queue for the ride, It's Raining Cats and Dogs. Liara is walking briskly behind them to catch up. The cars look like cats and dogs. There are clouds at the top of the first drop to make it look like it raining cats and dogs. The ride lasts no longer than a minute and a half, but the line is an hour long. That is the best part for Dr. T'Soni, waiting in line. She is not enjoying the ride, but her children are enjoying it very much.
After all they have been through so far on this trip, Liara is not letting the girls out of her sight even to stand in line for a ride. She is dealing with it because it what they want to do. Liara wouldn't mind riding on the train again. That she did enjoy doing. The girls have other ideas. They want excitement and the coasters are giving them just that, excitement. It is making them forget that they are missing their father. Liara thinks this is wonderful, but she is missing Shepard. Shepard could take Kaja on the bigger rides that Gaia isn't big enough to ride.
With the line slowly moving, Kaja looks up to her mother, "You're not liking this ride are you, mom?" The look she is giving her mom is the Shepard smirk. Seeing the smirk makes Liara miss her bondmate even more.
"No, but that's alright. You and Gaia are enjoying, so I'll ride with you. I'm not going to let either of you go on any rides without me," answers T'Soni with a soft smile.
Gaia comments when she hears her mother's answer to Kaja's question, "You're the best, mom." She hugs Liara. Liara hugs her daughter back.
"I have an idea. Lets ride the bumper cars after this ride," says Liara. At least this way, they can be in separate cars. Kaja can have her own car while Liara is in another care with Gaia. They can smash each other the whole time. It will be like when they were chasing Vasir on Illium all those years ago. At least it's better than the Mako.
Both girls gets very excited about that. Kaja asks, "Do I get my own car? I think I'm big enough."
The line moves again before Liara can answer. The wait is now about fifteen minutes. "Yes, you can have your own car if they allow you to have one. If not, I'm not sure what we'll do. The cars only hold two people."
They finally get to the front of the line. One of the workers point to have them go to the front seat of the ride. Liara again thinks, Oh Goddess. Not the front seat. You two better enjoy this. It's the last one for a while. Liara sighs softly to herself as both girls go quickly to the line for the front of the coaster. They have another short wait, but it's only a few minutes.
All three asari get into the seat. The lap bar comes down over their laps. The attendant double checks the bar to make sure it is locked into place properly. After all the seats are checked the worker gives a thumbs up to start the ride. The car they are in this time is a dog, poodle to be exact. Every car is a different species of cats and dogs.
Kaja and Gaia have huge smiles on their faces while Liara is grinning and bearing it. They reach the first drop and both girls scream as they race down the drop. Liara screams as well. Ninety seconds later they return to the start of ride. The girls are giggling with excitement. Liara is glad the ride is over. They exit the ride then head towards a gentle ride, the bumper cars. Or what Liara thinks is a gentle ride.
Commander Shepard gets out of the taxi. She walks quickly into the hotel and gets the key to their room. She wants to change her clothes. Leia has been in them for the past two days and she very much wanting to get out of them. Less then ten minutes later, Shepard gets back into the taxi and heads towards the amusement park.
It's the middle of the afternoon and Leia is sure they are still there. Knowing her kids, they are enjoying themselves riding all the different type of rides. All Shepard needs to do is figure out where her family is located within the park. She goes through the ticket gate. Then downloads a park map. Looking it over. The first place she heads to is the children area. There seems to a lot of rides that are perfect for the kids.
Leia Shepard walks around the children area and doesn't see them. She wonders where in the park they would be located. It's almost 1700. Maybe they are getting something to eat. Food does sound good to Shepard. She is getting hungry. Ooo, thinks Shepard. Pizza. She walks over to the pizza place and orders a slice and a glass of tea. She continues to walk around the park eating her slice of pizza with mushroom, pepperoni, and sausage. It's not as good as the pizza she gets on the Citadel from Chef Mario's, but that is the best pizza Shepard has ever had.
After Shepard walks around different areas of the park she thinks Liara and the kids might be located, she hears. "Kaja, I told you. You can't ride on the bigger ride because I'm not leaving Gaia by herself so you can ride them and I'm not letting you ride them alone. Please, stop asking." The voice is coming from Shepard's left. She turns and see Liara and the girls standing next the one of the souvenir shops. A beaming smile crosses Shepard's face as she finally sees her family.
Liara nor the girls see Commander Shepard slowly making her way over towards them. She hears Kaja say, "Okay." Kaja sticks her bottom lip out some. She is disappointed that she can't ride the bigger rides. The eldest T'Soni daughter asks, "Can I get this?" She is holding up a shirt that has the park logo on it.
Shepard answers her daughter's question as she sneaks up from behind, "Of course you can have it. And I'll take you on the bigger rides, Kaja. If your mom doesn't mind." Leia places her arm around Liara's waist and says "Hi, I'm back."
Liara is too busy keeping an eye on Gaia, is over at the other end of the store. She didn't even hear Leia say anything to Kaja, but she feels an arm go around her waist. T'Soni flares up her biotics ready to defend herself when she finally realizes it's her bondmate. "Oh Goddess, you're here." She hugs Shepard tightly. "I've missed you, Leia."
"I've missed all three of you. Where is Gaia?" asks Shepard as she hugs Kaja and gives a soft kiss on her cheek.
Kaja points to where Gaia is standing looking at a few toys. "She's over there, dad." Kaja is now super excited. She can go on the rides she wants to now because her father will go with her. "I missed you." The young asari hugs her dad. She holds Shepard's hand as the three of them walk over to Gaia.
"What you are doing, Gaia T'Soni?" asks Commander Shepard. She is standing right behind the youth with a grin on her face.
Gaia is looking at a stuffed krogan doll. It's something she's never seen before. She hears her father's voice behind her and drops the doll back with the bin with the others. "Dad!" as she turns around giving her dad a big hug. "I didn't think you would come back."
Shepard picks her daughter up, "Why did you think I wouldn't come back? I said I would."
Gaia wraps her arms around her father's neck, lying her head on the human's shoulder. "I had a bad dream that you were not coming back."
Sighs softly, Leia looks over to Liara, "How bad was it?" The Commander kisses Gaia's cheek then puts her back down. It bothers Leia that her youngest daughter thought she wouldn't come back. Damn you, Prisenscot.
"She ended up in my bed and was crying over it when I tried to get out of bed this morning," answers Liara as she grabs the doll Gaia was looking at. "Do you want this, Gaia?" Liara is holding the shirt Kaja wants.
"Yes, please," answers the youth. Gaia demeanor picks up ten fold since she knows her father is back. "Can we go on another ride now? Dad, you pick. Mom keeps picking the boring rides." Gaia hopes Leia picks the Cats and Dog ride again. She really likes that one. So far it is her favorite.
Liara walks over to the counter to pay for the two items her daughter's want. "Yes, they are not liking the rides I pick. They seem to take more after you all the time, Leia. It must go fast and be exciting. The train is not good enough. There is one last stunt show in..." Liara looks at the map on her omni-tool to see the last show time. "...about fifteen minutes. I think they will enjoy that."
"Sounds good. Lets do that then we can ride more rides after the show," comments Shepard. She walks out of the store, picks Gaia up again and places the youth on her shoulders. Kaja takes her dad's hand. Leia offers her other hand to Liara, who takes it. "Hold on tight, Gaia. I don't want you to fall, okay?" They make their way to the stunt show as a family. Finally for the first time since they left Illium, they are actually doing something as a family.
Captain Alenko arrives at the Elysium spaceport. He left Arcturus Station the day before to go to the Citadel and talk to the Council. He is still a Spectre. He also talked the Council into giving the Normandy back to the Alliance and to remove Commander Shepard's name as the owner. With him is the reporter, Emily Wong. He wants the story of what happened between Prime Minister and Commander Shepard to public. The public needs to know what type of Prime Minister they have and the dirty deeds he got himself involved in.
Admiral Hannah Shepard is waiting for Alenko at the spaceport, "Have a good trip, Captain?"
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you for forwarding me the recording Leia had made. I've talked the Council into giving the Normandy back to the Alliance. I hope I did the right thing with that. I know the Commander doesn't want it. What is going on with Lt. Vega?" asks Kaidan. He has been told why Vega disobeyed his order to inform Shepard and T'Soni of the situation on Shanxi.
"He is still in the brig on Arcturus Station. Prisenscot is under investigation. From what I have been told by Councilor Maclin, he blackmailed Vega to do his bidding to get Dr. T'Soni and their children killed. How she knew this I am not sure. I have not told Leia this. I can't do that right now. I was asked by Liara before they left Illium a few weeks ago to pick the kids up from the private island they are renting for a week. She wants some alone time with Leia. I agreed, so I'll tell them this information when they get back home. Their vacation is ruined enough without either of us adding more grief to it," replies Hannah. She knows her daughter well enough to know Leia won't let this go without wanting to do something about it. She also knows Leia had EDI record everything that was said in the Prime Minister's office.
Alenko nods to the Admiral, but he knows he has to tell Shepard. Councilor Maclin instructed him to do so. He isn't sure if he can or not considering that Hannah herself told Maclin during their meeting she wouldn't tell the Commander that information. Not now anyway. Wong is standing next to him. "Oh, Admiral, this is Emily Wong. A reporter on the Citadel. I asked her to join me, so she can get more of the story from those that were there."
Emily Wong offers her hand to Hannah, who shakes it. Hannah knows Wong is about the only reporter that Leia actually trusts to do the right thing. "Pleasure to meet you, Admiral." Wong as a soft smile on her face. One that Hannah thinks is actually sincere. She never gotten that impression from any other reporter before. Now she sees why Leia trusts this one.
"Ms, Wong, anything I just said is off the record. I hope that will not be a problem. The galaxy does not need to know where Leia and Liara are going on vacation." comments Hannah Shepard. She is still trying to protect her family. Or keep the press away. Hannah knows once they get to Earth, shit may hit the fan again. They are going to New York for a couple of days. Or that is the plan.
"Of course, Admiral. There isn't anyone I respect more than Commander Shepard. She helped me with a few stories on the Citadel when she was hunting for Saren. I was there on the Citadel when she asked Dr. T'Soni to marry her. At the time, all I saw was an asari, I didn't see Dr. T'Soni's face. There was a small group of people at the park that night. I never broke that story that night and I would never do anything to lose her trust. Same goes for both of you. I only want to get the facts and present a well researched story with facts. I don't make things up, Admiral. Or insinuate things like other reporters," comments Emily Wong.
Both Alenko and Hannah smile at the reporter. Captain Kaidan Alenko says, "I already filled Ms. Wong in on a few details. She is going to join us on the Normandy, so she can do a proper interview with both of us, Admiral. If that is alright with you, ma'am."
Hannah chuckles some, "That's fine, Captain. I was wanting to meet with the Commander before we left Elysium. After all that has happened the past few days, I think the crew deserves a little shore leave. The Normandy is your ship again, Captain. That decision is really up to you."
Kaidan gets on his comm to the Normandy, "Joker, can you hear me?" He agrees with his CO, the crew does deserve some down time. Between what happened to Shepard when she landed on Shanxi and the fallout from that at Arcturus Station. They do deserve a little shore leave.
Joker comes over the comm, "Loud and clear, Captain."
"Joker, get permission to land the Normandy and have everyone on board take a forty-eight hour shore leave. Everyone needs to be back on the Normandy at..." He looks at his omni-tool to see what time it is. It's 1750. "...1800 day after tomorrow. And that means you too Joker. Get off the Normandy. I know you spend too much time aboard her. Alenko out."
"Yes, sir. See you in two days, Captain. Normandy out," answers Joker. He has no idea what he is going to do for two days. Getting the time off is nice though. Joker along with a few members of the crew is questioning whether or not they want to stay with the Alliance after seeing what the Prime Minister did to the greatest hero the galaxy has ever seen.
Hannah Shepard says to Alenko, "I'll find my own transportation back to Arcturus Station, Captain. I'm going to spend the night at the same hotel Leia is staying at. I want to see my grandchildren one more time before I head back." Admiral Shepard turns on heel and heads towards a taxi to check into The Grand Hotel of Elysium.
The MC of the stunt show is speaking to the crowd. Explaining what is going on with the show. He is asking for a volunteer. Gaia stands up with her arm in the air. She is jumping up and down, "Pick me, pick me." There are four other children showing as much enthusiasm as Gaia.
The MC picks a human male, he looks to be between Kaja's age and Gaia's. The MC asks, "What is your name?"
The boy has shoulder length brown hair, brown eyes, and olive color skin. He answers, "Ashton. My friends call me Ash." Liara and Shepard look at each other when the boy said his nickname. That nickname made them both think of Ashley Williams.
Gaia is sitting watching the boy do what she wanted. "Why didn't he pick me? I'd make a good helper." The youth is sitting with her bottom lip out pouting slightly. Her hands are on her hips as she is still standing up.
Liara answers the best she could, "Because we're sitting towards the back. Maybe he didn't see you. The boy was sitting in the second row. Maybe next time, Gaia." She places her hand on her daughter's shoulder then pats on it softly.
Kaja has her elbows on her knees, leaning forward watching the show. She isn't paying attention to her sister or what her mother is saying to her. She is finding this show interesting. It is something none of them have seen before. How stunts get done for entertainment purposes.
After seeing what the boy is doing, holding a sign that says, applause on one side and boo on the other. He holds up the applaud side when the heroes where introduced to the crowd. The crowd applauds when the sign goes up. The MC introduces the bad guys and the boy turns the sign over so the crowd see "Boo" on it. The crowd boos when the boy lifts the sign in the air. That is the end of the stunt show.
Kaja says, "That was neat. I enjoyed that very much. Can we go on more rides now?" She is still wanting to ride "Torpedo, The Ride". It's the biggest coaster in the park.
"Please, Leia, take her. She's been wanting to ride it all day. Gaia isn't big enough and Kaja's barely tall enough herself. I wasn't letting either one out of my sight," comments Liara. She is being a little over protective of the girls. With everything that has gone on the past five days, it's her motherly instinct to protect them.
Commander Shepard grins from ear to ear, "Sure, come on, Kaja. Let's go on the Torpedo. You sure you want to ride on it?" Leia is wanting to ride it. Bigger the better in her view. "Liara, where are you and Gaia going to be? So, we can catch up with you after we're done on the ride."
"I want to see if Kaja will actually ride it," says Gaia with a sarcastic tone in her voice. Then she sticks her tongue out. "I think you'll chicken out."
Shepard cocks one eyebrow upward, looks at Gaia then Kaja. Liara hides a smile behind her hand. Kaja stands tall and replies, "I'll ride it. I'm not scared." She is a little, but that isn't going to stop her. The ride looks exciting and scary all rolled into one. Kaja grabs Shepard's hand and heads towards the ride's entrance. Leia looks back at Liara and Gaia, shrugs her shoulders and has a grin on her face. Liara chuckles at the sight. Her hand is still over her mouth then she along with Gaia walks behind them.
Torpedo, The Ride is a double twist, triple loop coaster with a 100 foot drop. The sign by the entrance says 100 minutes. Shepard is double checking to make sure Kaja is tall enough. She is, but just barely. Kaja walks past the entrance, enters the queue line. Shepard is right behind her. Slowly, they snake their way out of Liara's view as she sits and waits for the duo to return.
Gaia sits next to her mother. She doesn't believe her older sister will actually get on the ride, so she is willing to wait. The youth looks around taking in the scenery around the coaster. Turning her head to the left, she sees a water ride. "Mom, can we go on that?" asks Gaia as she points in the direction of the ride.
"Yes, let's wait and all of us can ride on it." answers Liara. T'Soni decides to go over and give the ride a look. She sees it's a log flume ride, where people sit behind each other. It looks wet and has a steep drop at the end with a huge splash. Liara is having second thoughts about the ride, but she already said yes. She also knows Shepard and Kaja will want to ride on it.
Shepard and Kaja are standing towards the end of the queue line. The worker that is queuing the crowd to each row for the cars tells the duo number five. Each car has two rows which holds four people, each train has four cars. So they are right in the middle of the train. Perfect place for a newbie to a ride to get the feel of it. Up front you see everything first and more in the rider's face than those in the back of the train that gets more whipping action. The middle gets a more even ride.
Shepard grabs down Kaja's over-the-shoulder harness then her own. "Ready to go? No turning back now?" She grins at the young asari. Leia holds on to the hand gribs on the harness. Kaja is doing the same.
"Yes!" exclaims Kaja. She is looking up the track and sees how steep is it. Swallowing hard, waiting for the ride to start.
A human female double checks all the harnesses, making sure they are all locked into place properly. She gives her co-worker, who is controlling the ride, a thumbs up. The car moves forward and heads up the steep incline. Two-thirds of the way up, the ride stops for a few moments, moves backwards about six inches and all of a sudden the car moves forward in a manner of a torpedo and the next thing Kaja feels is her stomach moving up to her throat. She screams in excitement as they head down the first drop.
The ride only lasts two minutes, they car containing Shepard and Kaja pulls back into the start house. They exit the ride. Kaja beams from excitement. "I loved that, dad. Let's ride it again."
There is a smile on Shepard's face that says, 'Hell ya'. "Yea, that was fun. But I doubt your mom or sister want to wait for us again. They might have something all of us can do together."
"Yea, something boring like the train. Mom really seems to like that. Or maybe the bumper cars," answers Kaja. She thinks the train is boring. It goes at a slow pace and Kaja is craving excitement.
As they make their way back to Liara and Gaia, Shepard notices the water ride next to the coaster they got off of. She asks, "How about the water ride? You don't mind getting wet do you?" She stops on the walkway and points out the steep drop and big splash. "That looks anything but boring." Leia pats Kaja on the shoulder.
The youth peers over at the water ride. "That looks good. Not boring," says Kaja as she heads down the sidewalk to go over to the next ride. Shepard grins follows behind her daughter.
"Are they ever going to be done with that ride?" asks Gaia. She is getting tired of waiting. Gaia knows her sister went on the ride because if she hadn't, Kaja would have returned by now.
Liara points in the direction Shepard and Kaja are walking from, "There they are, Gaia." As the other half of her family gets closer, Liara asks, "How was the ride? Enjoy it, Kaja?"
Commander Shepard answers, "That's a great ride. I wouldn't mind riding it again, but I don't think we have time to." Leia looks at her youngest daughter, "And yes, young one, your sister rode on it."
Kaja is still beaming from ear to ear. "That was fun. I want to ride it again."
"I'm sure you do, Kaja. I think we need to do something together," comments Liara.
"I agree." says Shepard. "Lets ride that water ride over there. All of us can ride on that together." She points her thumb in the direction of the entrance to the ride. The Commander is feeling great. The day might have started out poorly, but overall. It's been a great day. The amusement park is the one thing Leia wanted to do when Liara mentioned they were coming to Elysium.
To their surprise, the wait is only 40 minutes. Shortest wait time so far today. The sun is slowly setting over the horizon. Liara takes a picture of the sunset. Shepard is talking to both of the girls when Liara takes the picture. In the background, the sun is setting with red/orange/yellow in the horizon. Dr. T'Soni is smiling while she watches the interaction between Shepard and the girls while they make their way up to the front of the line.
Shepard gets into the flume first, Liara sits in front of Shepard, while Kaja sits in front of Gaia. Kaja is wanting to see the drop from the front of the ride and her parents are allowing her the pleasure of getting the brunt of the wave of water at the bottom of the biggest drop. The ride has three drops with big enough wave at the bottom to get everyone on the ride wet.
They get off out of the car with Kaja saying, "That was fun. I'm soaked." She is hoping her parents decide to come back here again. She is really loving the rides. They are exciting and something new for her.
Liara is busy wiping the water from her face, "Actually, that was fun." T'Soni can't believe what she is saying, but she did enjoy that ride. She is thinking it has more to do with Shepard's arms around her waist than the actual ride.
"Where to now?" asks Gaia. She really wants to go back on the Cats and Dogs ride. So far that ride is her favorite.
Commander Shepard isn't sure where to go next. It's after dark and the park is only open for a couple more hours. One or two rides tops left to go on depending on each rides wait time. The four of them walk away from the ride they got off of a couple of minutes ago. It's warm enough outside that they are starting to dry off in those short few minutes. Shepard is looking over the map to see which ride is close that all four of them can ride together, she finds one.
It's called "Saucer's Twist". A spider looking ride with cars that look like 1950's style flying saucers. The ride goes in a circle with each car spinning more on it own. It goes both forward and backwards. They are lucky. The line is short, which means they'll be able to get in one more ride. The girls are liking how it looks.
Unfortunately for Kaja, the last ride of the night is the train. Of all the rides in the park, the train is her least favorite. She is noticing one thing. The train ride is completely different after dark. It seems more eery. Still, she isn't liking the ride. To Kaja's delight, the train pulls into the station. She is glad the ride is over, then there is an announcement the park is closing in fifteen minutes.
"Sounds like it's time to go back to the hotel," says Liara after the announcement is over. It's been a great day. Started out a little rough, but all in all. The day couldn't have been better. Commander Shepard takes Dr. T'Soni's hand, their fingers intertwine as they make their way towards the exit.
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A/N: I really don't have too much to say this week. I hope everyone had a great Holiday weekend. I know I did. Ten short weeks and Mass Effect 3 will be in our hands.
See everyone next year. :0)