"Yahn? Wake up Yahn. I've got five minutes I can be without my helmet and gloves."
Her voice was particularly sweet when he heard it in the mornings before the alarm. He woke up and raised himself slightly so he could look at her.
Every second was precious. She waited until she knew he was awake and then removed her little copper ring, and then she yanked her gloves off while he removed her visor and pushed down her hood. Her eyes were sparkling in the darkness, every little bit of light caught in them. And then it was five glorious minutes of kissing and holding her, feeling the soft skin of her face beneath his fingertips, running his hands through her hair, soft as eiderdown, while she caressed his ears with the tips of her fingers before she worked her hands down to their usual position, grabbing his shoulders from the back, holding herself tightly against his chest. Nothing was said.
"Please put your visor and gloves back on," announced her omni-tool.
It was always over too fast. Tali exhaled with a half scream half groan even as she felt the swelling on her lips and tasted the bitter tang upon her tongue. She lay back down after her visor clicked back into place while John was next to her breathing heavily.
"This is going to be harder than I thought," he said.
"Tell me about it," she half moaned half cried. "I think, I can do this, yust a little . . . But I end up wanting you so bad so fast! I . . . I hate this waiting to acclimate."
She snuggled up to him as the clock went from 0557 to 0559.
"We should be arriving at the Citadel today," recollected John. "This Kasumi had better be worth it."
"Why do you say?" asked Tali.
"Drill," was John's answer.
Jacob had been true to his word. While Miranda and Mordin remained bed-bound, Tali and Jacob had gone through the N7 hell. For Tali it was review but Jacob was given the full treatment or body slam as he described it. He took it with stride and proved to be a fast learner. Already the two of them were meshing well. Tali remembered to keep her shot gun unloaded at all times. Karin made sure that Mordin and Miranda were wheeled out on their pallets so they could watch. Karin didn't directly state that they were going to go through this as soon as they were able, but Mordin picked up on it and he informed Miranda. John was hoping Miranda would be ready.
But as John watched Miranda, he noticed she was paying very close attention to Jacob. And he suspected that the Blue Suns rocket had proven to be propitious. For Miranda was seeing Jacob take it 'between the knees' as he put it and he kept grinning when he could get away with it. When he couldn't, he just 'sweat like a pig looking at the meat processing plant'. If there was one thing John knew Miranda would not do, was let Jacob show her up. And once Miranda had gone through it, he strongly suspected that she would make certain that no one else would be let through easy either.
"You'll find a way, Yahn," whispered Tali. "You always do."
It was nice that Tali was already confidant in him.
"I am so glad I put you through twice before I knew I was in love with you," he said.
"Why is that Yahn?"
"I couldn't do it to you now. It's hard enough snapping at you now. To have to unleash everything at you, kick you, punch you, I'd . . ." he simply said no more.
Tali gave him an harder squeeze.
"You have been awfully nice to me considering," she observed. "At first I thought it was because I had gotten so good at it. But then my suit's cleaning system kicked in and you didn't say anything and I knew you were letting me off."
"Yeah," he groaned. "I meant to point that out to you last night. I forgot."
"I know, you got all wrapped up in that ship's model you got on Omega. And then you were working on your piano."
"I like it when you hum along," he said smiling.
And then the 0600 alarm howled in their ears.
"I hate that thing," he said. "If I could have you wake me up . . ."
"If you wish, I could adjust the alarm noise to perfectly imitate Tali's voice," suggested EDI, "for example . . ."
"Wake up Yahn. Time to get up and save the galaxy, sleepyhead. I have a few minutes without my helmet and gloves, shall we kiss the morning awake?"
It was a perfect imitation, as soft and sweet as he could have asked for. It was so perfect he almost said, "Yes, EDI that would be great."
"Yahn!" whimpered Tali.
But he kept his mouth shut.
They were going onto the citadel so John put on a nice formal double breasted long coat with cuffed pants and shoes. Then they went down to breakfast just in time to see Garrus, his face half covered in bandages, wander out of sickbay.
"Garrus!" cried John. "Good to see you up again."
"I don't know about that. No one will let me near a mirror. Tell me Commander, how bad is is?"
"Hell Garrus you were always ugly, slap some war paint on and no one will know the difference."
"Ouch, don't make me laugh. It's holding on barely as it is."
He sighed.
"I'd make some comment about you having the chance to get all the girls now that I've been maimed, but you've already shot your round, scored a bullseye, and popped your heat sink. And yes, I know what sort of imagery that is. So I guess I'll have to settle for half the girlfriends I had before I got the rocket."
Tali gave him a hug.
"And you too Tali," he said. "Seeing you happy and bouncy, well I presume you're happy because you're bouncy, is a good way to get back on my feet."
"I've gotten used to the idea that he actually loves me," she chirped.
"Progress is good. I remember when that idea was as alien as a Hanar to you."
"Yahn kind of had to beat it into me," she quipped.
"Was this before, during, or after N7 drill?"
"All of the above," she replied.
"You've heard of Jacob and Tali?" asked John.
"Yeah, I can't exactly ignore your voice when you're only in the next room and visible through the window. It brings back . . . memories . . . or nightmares, haven't figured out which. Mordin has been analyzing your training style and explaining it to Miranda."
"How's she taking it?"
"With a glazed eye look for the most part. You know how long Mordin can talk. Of course it's not easy to listen to him while watching Jacob train when all you can do is sit, observe what you know is going to happen to you the moment you are discharged, and get only nutrient paste watered down and consumed through a straw for your meals."
"Which reminds me . . ." began John as Dr. Chakwas came out of the med bay.
"Mordin is going to be discharged today as soon as I get the last scan results, and not a day too soon. He kept wanting to see the reports and run tests on himself," said Karin. "And when I turned my back, he'd be analyzing the bed sheets, bed pans, the wall paint, and any paper products within reach."
"He's got a rather inquisitive mind," observed Garrus. "But for me the thing that almost destroyed my face a second time was when he wanted to take a tissue sample from Miranda. To see the look on her face . . Ow! It hurts just trying to recollect it."
"No stress for Garrus for at least another week, Commander," continued Karin. "And Miranda will be in bed for at least two more weeks. Stomach wounds can be fatal in the right circumstances but Miranda was lucky."
"Then we mesh Mordin in first thing after we track down Kasumi," concluded John.
"Looking forward to it no not quite will be put through much pressure but reminds me of days in special ops with fellow teammates and that cloaca Captain Kirrahe and his "hold the line" speeches," said Mordin walking out of sick bay.
"Mordin I have not discharged you yet," objected Karin.
"Doctor was busy talking so I examined test results myself and found that all readings are average giving me a clean bill of health so I discharged myself," he said. "After running secondary tests on machinery itself to determine accuracy met within parameters for acceptability. Glad to leave, Miranda was finding my requests for tissue samples," he paused to breath "burdensome."
"Commander?" came Joker's voice out of the intercom. "We are fifteen minutes from docking at the Citadel. And can I borrow a soldering iron? I'm looking to cross some wires to inflict pain on a certain nosy nellie who is complaining that I'm fudging my status reports."
"Mr. Moreau has been rounding up the decimals to the nearest full number in his reports thus reducing accuracy," argued EDI.
"It makes us look better and there's nothing going on that any alliance pilot wouldn't do!" argued Joker.
"No sabotage Joker," replied Shepherd.
"Why not?" asked Tali who was not at all unsympathetic to Joker's plight.
"Yeah yeah, no breaking the boss's toys," answered Joker.
"This is going to be just a step and fetch it Mordin, so it will be just me and Tali to get Kasumi. After that, you'll be joining Jacob and Tali for drill."
"Understood Commander," replied Mordin. "In my regard to my research on Collector Seeker Swarm . . ."
"Will have to wait until you are fully meshed," answered Shepherd. "No good you being dead from a fire fight before you've found the cure. No further missions with you until I know you are fully up to par with N7 standards."
"Understood Commander," he said.
Thirty minutes later, John and Tali walked out of the new Normandy and into the Citadel. There were numerous advertisements being broadcast on the round vids which dotted the main walk ways. From John's perspective, it had been only a few weeks since he had last been on the Citadel, but it's overall polish and beauty made him want to wander a little and enjoy it. Omega had been too dirty and desperate. For Tali, it had been longer, and it was bringing back one of her happier memories, the week of shore leave after Saren had been defeated.
"You could have taken Yacob," she suggested.
"Then it would have been three. I thought today would be two," replied John. "Me and you. Like a date."
"Commander Shepherd? Looking for someone to steal your heart?" suggested a round vid advertisement. "Try Goto Dating Services. You request, we acquire, we deliver."
"My heart's already taken Goto Dating," replied John with a chuckle while Tali gave him a quick squeeze around the waist.
"Never have figured out how those adverts know your name when you walk up to them," he continued.
"They read your omni-tool's public information data," answered Tali. "I had fun with them once by chanying my public data to sugyest I was that famous Asari dancer Matahari."
"The one who's affair with the Turian Primarch forced all those resignations on Palavan?" asked John.
"Yeah," giggled Tali. "I'd walk up to the vid and hear 'Matahari you don't have to resign yourself to an old body, keep it in shape with Lather's Yel. It restores moisturizing oils back into your skin so you will still look 100 when you are 800.' And the looks that people would give when they turned their heads and see me standing there."
John chuckled.
"That's my Tali, always clouding men's minds."
"Only yours Yahn, only yours."
"Pet . . . Store"
And John and Tali spent the next hour looking at the various fish which were for sale. After ordering a set of a hardier blue damsels which would be delivered and installed by the experts at the store into his cabin aquarium, they came back out and began looking for a little cafe they could grab some lunch at.
"Commander Shepherd?" began the advertisement Vid. "You have the clothes, but do you have the art? Contact Goto Replications and give us your request. Any classic so accurately duplicated that you will swear that you have the original and the museum has the forgery."
John paused for a second, but then shook his head and kept walking.
"What was that about Yahn?"
"Not sure, something seemed to remind me of something but I can't put my head around it."
Around the next corner was a charming cafe with tables outside so one could look at the water parks and the projected sky above. John knew they would be able to sit there because he saw a Turian couple eating at the table over. The waiter took their orders and delivered a sandwich to John and a processed fruit salad for Tali in a nice glass and brass tube. They spent a nice relaxing forty-five minutes at the cafe before they proceeded to move on. As the waiter was particularly polite, especially to Tali, John gave him a very nice tip. Tali was somewhat worried about the expense, but at the same time she liked the fact that John had taken her someplace nice. It was kind of like a date, even though they were actually looking for someone.
"Commander Shepherd, are you worried about your enemies stalking you from afar? Waiting to strike your back when you least expect it? Why bother with poorly trained and clumsy bodyguards? Try Goto Security and Escort service. You won't see us at all, and your foes won't see it coming."
"I've heard of Goto," said John, pausing and looking at Tali. "Where have I heard that name before?"
"I think they are some very large conglomerate," suggested Tali. "Because I've heard of them too. So where is this Kasumi supposed to meet you?"
"Tim's dossier wouldn't say. All I was told was that she would contact me when we came to the Citadel."
"Yahn! Look over there. We're at the Conduit. Let's go over and save the galaxy!"
"Okay Kitten," he said with a chuckle.
They walked over to where the miniature Mass Effect Conduit, which they had both thought once upon a time was just a model, stood as it had always stood. The keepers had repaired all the damage.
"Do you remember all the Mako's we destroyed?" asked John.
"Yeah," giggled Tali. "The first was destroyed in that volcanic eruption, the second in that nuclear blast, the third when we came to the Citadel . . ."
"And the fourth was destroyed with the Normandy," finished John somewhat quietly.
"Suddenly it's not funny any more," sighed Tali. "And that nuclear blast also took Ashley from us."
She reached over and held his hand and leaned against him for a moment.
"And we came close to losing Garrus, Miranda, and Mordin just a few days ago," said John. "I wonder how many will be lost before this is over with?"
"Not Yahn . . . Not Yahn . . . Not Yahn," sighed Tali. John wasn't sure if it was a recollection or a wish or a prayer.
"I already died once Tali," he said. "I'm not dying again."
"At least until I've done what I have to do, what ever that is," he thought to himself. "Until then, my legs, arms, and liver are negotiable."
The two of them were walking further along, crossing one of the lakes and approaching a large banking area, which included the offices and apartments of The Consort.
"Commander Shepherd? Are you looking for a good secure investment opportunity? Consider Goto, Goto, and Goto for your financial portfolio. The money will be pouring in so fast you'll swear you're robbing the banks."
John paused and looked at the Advertisement Vid Pillar.
"I think we've found Kasumi," he observed.
"Oh?" said the figure of a short woman with a low hood pulled over her face on the Vid. "I was wondering how many more advertisements it was going to take before you started to pay attention. Please tell me your password, Commander Shepherd."
"Silence is Golden," replied John.
"Good to finally meet you Commander Shepherd," said Kasumi. "Kasumi Goto. I'm a fan."
For the next few moments Shepherd conversed with the advertisement vid, and Kasumi informed him that the favor Cerberus had agreed to perform for her, as the price for her joining the crew, would be explained upon the Normandy itself. John agreed that discussing such mission planning through the means of an Advertisement Vid in the middle of a crowded pedestrian lane in the high financial district of the Citadel would be a bad idea. He bid farewell to Kasumi until they could meet on the Normandy.
"Now what?" asked Tali.
"We could take in a movie?" suggested John.
"Why do I get the idea that this contacting of Kasumi Goto was yust a cheap ploy to get me to go out with you?" teased Tali.
"Well for starters," began John. "You know you wanted to spend some time with me."
"True," agreed Tali
"And furthermore, you like being taken to nice places."
"True."
"And three, you want my body."
"We've yust started going out and already you see right through me," teased Tali with an exaggerated sigh.
"So about this movie?"
"What do you sugyest?" "There's supposed to be this film about a Hanar Specter called Blasto which is supposed to be really bad. I love going to horrible movies and mocking them with girls that I love. What do you say?"
"I heard Miranda mention it on Omega last week. If I can get a dextro snack or two, I'm easy," she answered.
"Tali? Do you have any idea what the phrase, 'I'm easy' suggests to a young human guy?"
"No?"
John just looked at her.
"Ooooooh," said Tali after a moment's thought. "On the Migrant Fleet it simply means you are willing to yust do what everyone else is going to do."
The movie was, true to John's expectations, awful. What made it particularly entertaining however was that the Hanar actor playing Blasto seemed to be taking the part extremely seriously. Even Tali got into the mockery though at one point the usher told the two of them that if they didn't be quiet, they would have to be escorted from the theater.
"That's the sort of film back on the the Navy bases that you got in to see free," explained John as they walked out afterwards, happily ignoring the stares from the other patrons who had found their running commentary annoying.
"How did they make any money by showing it?"
"You paid to get out," answered John.
The two of them returned to the Normandy around 1600 and John sat down with Kasumi, Jacob and Tali and got her mission requirements. Her former partner, Keiji Okuda had possessed a grey box, a neural implant which contained some rather problematic information which, in the wrong hands, could trigger a galactic wide war. More importantly, the dirty deeds so encrypted were implicating the Alliance. It had been taken by Donovan Hock. There was something eerily familiar about the name Hock, but John did not have time to pursue it.
The goal was quite simple. Kasumi and John would go to Hock's estate, located on the Bekenstein in the Boltzmann system, in the Serpent Nebula, take the grey box, and leave.
The problem that arose was that it would be just Kasumi and John. Tali immediately began to get 'territorial' especially since Kasumi insisted that he would have to wear a very nice outfit.
"Is there no way Tali can come?" asked John. He was not in a mood to be punched.
"Do you think Hock is going to let a Quarian into his mansion with his treasures?"
"He'd better," snapped Tali. "Yahn is mine."
"Oh!" said Kasumi. "Now it makes sense."
She paused for a moment and looked at John and Tali. Tali grabbed John's arm and scooted up close to him.
"Keiji was the man I loved," began Kasumi sadly. "Have you ever lost someone you cared about and wanted something of them to keep?"
Tali immediately felt a kinship with Kasumi in a way she had never felt a kinship with a human woman before. She gently removed her little braided copper wire ring and handed it to Kasumi. Kasumi looked at the ring and smiled thinking it was such a little thing of no value, only copper.
"Yahn made that for me, a week before he was killed," Tali said. "He called it my Pre-engayment ring."
Kasumi immediately understood. It didn't matter that it was only a bit of copper. For Tali, it was priceless because it had been a memento of John after his death, and the more valuable because it had been the one made by him.
"Trust me with your . . . Yahn . . . Tali . . . for a few hours, that I might get back what I have of Keiji."
That was a deal Tali could make. It was also the beginning of a very close friendship between the two women.
The mission took a full week to complete from the Normandy's departure from the Citadel to the return of Kisumi and John from the estate. The break in and acquisition of the grey-box had been the work of an afternoon during Hock's party with some of the most wealthy and criminal humans of the galaxy. John was able to personally experience a well planned heist. And since he had no intention of taking anything himself, he had a free conscious on the matter. The grey-box did not belong to Hock, it's acquisition would prevent a galactic war, and accordingly he was free to act. The vault had proven to be particularly fascinating for John, especially since there was such a curious collection of statues in the vault, including one of a rather monstrous creature which again, struck John as familiar.
"First the name of Hock, and then this horned monster," he mused quietly. "Why does this keep nagging at the edge of my memories?"
It was at this juncture, that Hock revealed that he had been on to them the whole time and the gunfighting began in earnest. Securing the grey-box, John and Kasumi fought their way out of the estate, survived the wrath of a highly shielded mantis gunship, and escaped on the Normandy's shuttle. That night, Kasumi reviewed Keiji's grey box. The crises came when Kasumi was able to review the intimate times she and Keiji had spent together. For a brief moment, all Kasumi was able to do was hold on to the tactile holograph that was all that remained of Keiji. Then Tali hugged her. And the crises passed.
Mordin began to drill with Garrus, Jacob, and Tali. John was forming his team. He knew Kasumi would be difficult to mesh. She was highly independent and quick to vanish when something she did not wish to be part of was present. But John was beginning to formulate ways to get around that. But first he would need to get Miranda trained. And she was still going to be a week in bed.
That night, after the first drill with Mordin, John returned to his cabin. Tali was not yet there, she had gone down to engineering to settle some more issues with the Normandy's engines. John was focusing on Garrus with Jacob and Mordin so Tali would have a chance to get to work on the engines with Kenneth and Gabby. Slowly she was working out designs for improvements. For all of Cerberus's work, there was always ways to improve the fit, and John, remembering the death of the first Normandy was going to make sure the second did not meet the same fate. He kicked off his clothes, got into his sweats and flopped down on the bed and fell asleep.
An hour later he was woken to the sweet kisses of Tali who once again was able to spend a few brief moments out of her helmet and gloves, and what's more she was free to kick off her boots as well. Apparently she had decided that kissing him while he was asleep would be more romantic. He was inclined to agree. It was a very pleasant way to be woken up.
And then John discovered why she kept trying to wrap her feet around his legs all those times.
Quarian toes are long and flexible, just like their fingers. And furthermore, the foot is also more flexible, able to twist a bit more.
Apparently what Tali had been trying to do all these times she had been hugging him was to grab on to him, not just by the shoulders with her fingers, but also just above his ankles by wrapping her toes around them. He found himself even more tightly gripped than prior. Of course there was something sensual in the manner in which she was latching on to him, but at the same time, it was something he had never experienced before and it acted to make her more special to him. He was not just being hugged by a pair of arms, but also a pair of legs, two pairs of fingers, and two pairs of toes.
Ever the purveyor of frustration, the Omni-tool announced the end of the reverie after exactly seven minutes and Tali whined plaintively for a second before she pulled back and began the process of putting herself back together again. John helped her, slipping her copper braided ring back on her right second finger at the end.
She settled into her usual spot, her head just in the crook of his arm while he lay upon his back.
"You never say much when you have your visor off," he observed. "In fact you don't talk at all."
"There's no time," sighed Tali. "It's the only time I get to kiss you and I don't want to waste any second of it talking about our day. We can do that at dinner or breakfast."
"Out of curiosity, how long before you get to remove your suit?"
"Oh that's months away," sighed Tali. "Now that I'm free to remove visor, gloves, and boots, I only get a little extension in time each day. Nothing more is to be removed for what seems to me to be forever."
"Why is that?"
"Face, hands, and feet are the chief means of contact with the environment," said Tali. "At least according to Mordin.
"Well at least at some point then, we'll not be kissing with your visor off and I can just sit in the room with you and look up and see that pretty face of yours," observed John.
"I can't believe you actually think I'm pretty," sighed Tali. "I mean I like it that you do, but I still find it so surprising. I mean I look at my face, covered in all that black hair and my eyes, just plain white while you have such beautiful eyes, all green like emerald and shifting in color all the time. It really helps given all the skin pores you have all over that face of yours."
"Wait a moment, are you telling me you can see my skin pores?"
Tali turned on the lights for a second and slipped up on his stomach.
"Well yes, why wouldn't I?"
"I can't see them."
"You can't? You can't see that you have skin pores, all those little holes?"
"No Tali I can't. Just like I can't see this black hair you claim is all over your face. What does my face look like to you?"
"Well," she said impishly. "You have a bit of loose skin flacking off there," and she poked her finger on the tip of his nose. "You have a clogged sweat gland there," and she poked at a spot just under his nose. "And you have blackheads there, there, there and over there, and gracious, three are three more over here" and she proceeded to poke at his skin with her fingers in a few more places. "And you always miss that spot shaving," and she proceeded to tweak a few spots under his chin and he felt her tug at some hairs there. "And you have way to much skin oil oozing out in that little dimple" and now she rubbed the spot on next to his left nostril. "And that tear duct really needs a deep cleaning." Then she paused for what John suspected was dramatic effect. "And we get to . . . The Nose Hairs." And she grabbed one and yanked it out. It hurt just a bit but it was a particularly long one and John did not begrudge it's loss. He was simply too amazed at this turn of events. Something happened that he had never, in a million years, suspected would happen to him.
"I can't believe this," groaned John. "I'm the ugly duckling. How can you stand to look at me?"
She tilted her head.
"Because Yahn, you make me feel safe. You make the scary things go away. Every time in the past few years that I have felt that I could die, you were there to save me. And all I have to do is look into those gemstone eyes of yours and I'm lost. I don't have to see your whole face, I can look into your eyes. I can taste those tangy kisses of yours. And I know I'll be safe. And I've gotten used to the way you look. It's not like it was when I first met you and felt that you were so dirty my skin would crawl off my back."'
"Thanks Tali," he said not entirely enthusiastically, but at the same time somewhat humbled. "I guess I'm pretty lucky that you love me."
"Not as lucky as I am that you love me," she said gently running her fingers over his face. "Not as lucky as me. To be in your arms, every night, on the Normandy, with Yoker and Garrus. And maybe we'll get Liara back too. And Kaiden. It will be like it was once upon a time, when this fairy princess was a frightened little girl who tested her prince so she wouldn't have to fly to the moon."
She sighed.
"Now if I could only get out of this suit!"
"They say good things come to those who wait," joked John, though he was likewise suffering from bouts of impatience at the time it was taking for him to fully be with her. He found it interesting that while he was looking forward to making love to her, what he really wanted was for her to be his genuine wife. In fact, he was already ready to marry her even if it would be months before they could actually consummate it. He knew that he couldn't just go into the Church of Our Lady of the Stars in the Citadel and get the priest to marry them. Catholic Priests, ever the sons of their mother the church, were not going to just up and marry a couple. There would be interviews, consultations with parents, promises to be made, it was a mess which he respected, but likewise knew was impossible given the demands that were being made by the missions they were having to perform. Human treachery guaranteed that it would take time before the Catholic Church would marry them. And that didn't even cover the issue of dealing with the theological implications that marrying another species of sentient might entail. While he strongly suspected that the Church would allow it, he had no illusions that there would be one hell of a controversy around it.
And the Migrant Fleet was not going to recognize the validity of any marriage until after they had consummated it. He didn't find that particularly odd however, that difference in approaches, precisely because a Quarian union was, by it's very nature in Quarian psychology, more trustworthy than a human one. When a Quarian couple made love, they were so psychologically bound to one another that abandonment simply did not happen. The husband would not duck and run the moment the wife was pregnant. The wife would not up and abandon her husband because someone richer had come along. There was no need for all the regulations which governed human marriages.
"I'm tired of waiting. There are times when I'm kissing you that I'm so damned itchy I could scream," Tali was complaining. John remembered when she had punched him because he had expressed impatience and complained suggesting that her waiting bouts had not been as demanding. So he felt at this juncture that she had it coming.
"We could stop kissing," he suggested with an impish grin on his face.
Tali punched him in the usual spot. Not particularly hard of course, more along the lines of a tap, but still . . .
"Totally worth it," he said chuckling.
"You Bosh'tet," she said.
They turned out the lights and snuggled up and fell asleep.
The Normandy was proceeding into the system of Osun and approaching a orbital space station named Purgatory. On that station, was a prisoner, which Tim's dossier referred to as Jack.
"Very powerful biotic," mused John at the breakfast table with Tali sitting next to him on his right and Jacob on the left. Garrus was next to Tali, once again the two of them were always together at meals since they shared the same food preferences. Mordin was across the table. His special opts training had enabled him to mesh quickly under drill and this was to be his first real mission. "And there's just enough information here that suggests she's a little on the unstable side."
"Just a little?" asked Garrus. "If this is Tim talking do we need rocket launchers?"
"Rocket launchers grenade launchers armor infiltration gas we are approaching Blue Suns prison ship might remember Archangel could be," Mordin paused to take his trademarked breath, "messy."
"Timing is an issue here Commander," observed Jacob.
"Didn't plan on doing the Quarian Two-step with the Blue Suns when I went to pick up Archangel," argued Shepherd. "We could delay and hope that the Blue Suns forget that Garrus was Archangel, we could hope that they don't recognize him, but if there are Turians on that ship, we'd have to wait another fifty years."
"And at the risk of swelling the Commander's head any further," added Garrus. "It's far more likely they'll recognize Shepherd before they'll recognize Archangel."
"And if they recognize you both," chirped Tali. "They'll be getting what Yahn calls, a 'twofer'."
"And there is the possibility that they will simply honor the contract and promise us that they'll get us 'next time'," mused Shepherd.
"Are you going to count on that?" asked Jacob. "Granted Tim is pretty powerful, but Purgatory Space Station is a long way from Tim's base. 'Uphill both ways' as my mother would put it."
"No we're not," said John. "We are going in armed, armored, and in full battle formation. And if that doesn't send a message to the Blue Suns, then we're up against stupid."
"And you can't fix stupid," chirped Tali.
The Normandy docked and Team Shepherd entered the ship. John and Jacob were the front of the square while Garrus was on the right as Wing Sniper. It was his usual position, one he had mastered back when it was Team Specter. The back of the box was Tali on Shepherd's six and Mordin on Jacob's six. Tali was again Engineer while Mordin was designated Special Ops. The entrance was peaceful enough, the security requested that weapons be checked and Shepherd politely declined. Then Warden Kuril, a Turian who betrayed no recognition of Garrus arrived and explained that it was standard procedure and surely Shepherd understood. John indicated that yes he did understand that it was standard, but no, the team would not be divesting themselves of their weapons.
Warden Kuril paused for a moment, and then decided to let it pass. After all, it was a prisoner pick up for a rather psychotic biotic. The team was then led down the corridors to the main processing area. Once again, John was everything Tali loved about him. He gave what prisoners he could a bit of courtesy and consideration, even intervening on behalf of one who was being beaten by the an angry guard. It didn't matter how many the man had killed, John very adroitly pointed out to the guard that he was at risk of becoming just like that criminal. That had a very profound impact on the guard, who stood down.
They reached the processing area's outer office and when they got to the last door, they heard that door lock, they saw the staff depart out the other door, and then the warden informed John that he was way more valuable as a slave than Cerberus's payment for Jack.
"Turian Treachery," observed John. "Now there's a switch."
And the gun fight began.
The Blue Suns were a professional mercenary unit. They had modern weapons. They had modern armor with good shielding. Each one was a skilled combatant. But that was exactly what the problem was with the Blue Suns. Each man was his own unit. No team training went into the Blue Suns. And as Archangel Garrus and his team had done time and time again on Omega, teams of them would come into terrain of John's own choosing, and be caught in the crossfire. The first firefight set the pace for the next five minutes on Purgatory. Tali promptly closed and locked the door that the staff had exited from requiring the first unit of Blue Suns guards to take the time to try to get through the jumbled security. By the time they had opened the door, Team Shepherd was in position and ready. John and Jacob unleashed a withering fire from their auto-assault guns while Garrus took out the rear Merc rightly suspecting he would be the team leader. And Mordin tossed into the group a smoke grenade which obscured their vision. Forty five seconds later that team was 'neutralized.' It took a full five seconds for John's team's shields to recoup from Blue Suns gunfire damage. In short, it wasn't a fight. It was a slaughter.
And so they moved down the corridors. Garrus in front as sniper and recon until they were able to get to the cell block where Jack's cell was supposed to be. Tali quickly opened up the cryogenic storage unit and brought Jack out of hibernation. And once she was up, she unleashed. Bald head and tattooed and utterly bereft of any serious clothing outside a pair of cut out pants, she proceeded to blow holes in front of her and head off in a new direction. And now the team was busy not only fighting off random bits of Blue Suns, but also unleashed serial killers from every known species in the galaxy. At least the serial killers were less armed and armored than the Blue Suns. All this and chasing Jack too who seemed to be completely oblivious to them.
"Unstable," groaned Jacob. "Those scissors are too ground down for that word to even begin to cut it."
"I'm suffering from a bit of confusion about this mission," radioed Garrus from the front flank. "Are we here to rescue Jack from this prison or this prison from Jack?"
Jack seemed to possess a semblance of a plan albeit simple and not particularly thought out. That plan seemed to consist of blowing every single Cell Block into the void of space and then make it to the docks before the station itself was blown into the void. It was clear however that she had not thought beyond blowing the place up. For when she reached the docks and saw only one spaceship docked and the Cerberus logo on that space ship being that it was the Normandy, she expressed an opinion on the results of her shoddy calculations.
"FUCK!" she shouted. But that wasn't the end of it.
Now swearing acts to unleash pressure on the psyche and can be of benefit since one does not have to engage in other more hostile actions, such as kicking the cat, throwing the coffee cup, punching John Michael Shepherd in the arm, or shooting random people in the street.
"When angry," advises Mark Twain. "Count to ten. When very angry, swear."
But there comes a point, such as after you have said the same swear word for the twenty-sixth time in the past thirteen seconds, that it is clear you possess other issues which need resolving. And it was clear that Jack had issues. One was that she had run out of breath to swear, for that she waved her arms and screamed and paced back and forth like a caged animal. She turned to face one more guard. But he died before she could unleash her biotics upon him. She turned around yet again and saw Team Shepherd facing her, with John's pistol out and aimed.
She had no doubt she was facing the team that had come from that Cerberus vessel, and suddenly her expression became that of a frightened little girl. John noted it and a small piece of his heart went out to her. Something had really messed this girl up.
"What the hell do you want?" her challenge rang out. She was going to bluff it through.
"You're in a bad situation and I'm going to get you out of here," he suggested.
"Shit, you sound like a pussy," was her reply to that.
Tali engaged in a visor palm.
"I'm not going anywhere with you," she continued. "You're Cerberus."
Jacob was wondering if he should blush.
"I'm here to ask for your help," began John.
"You show up in a Cerberus frigate to take me somewhere?" she asked. And John suspected very much that she had every reason in the world to be suspicious. "You think I'm stupid?"
"This station is going down in flames," observed John. "We can get you to safety and are asking your help."
"We could knock her out and take her," suggested Garrus.
"Have several hallucinogenic gas grenades swift application no bad idea radius of gas will impact own team, must think out another plan," suggested Mordin.
"I'd like to see you try," replied Jack.
"Be careful what you wish for," suggested Tali. "You don't know Garrus. You don't know Yahn."
"We're not going to attack her," ordered John.
"Good move," replied Jack. "Look! You want me to come with you? Make it worth my while."
"Join my team and I'll do what I can for you."
"Don't make promises you can't keep," she replied. "I bet that ship has a lot of Cerberus data bases. I want to see my files. See what Cerberus has got on me. You want me on your team, let me go through those data bases."
"I'll give you full access," answered John.
It was evening on the Normandy. Jack had found a hole in the bottom of the ship to call her home. John had gone down there to talk with her and then come back up.
Tali was waiting for him in their cabin. She was struggling with the keyboard of the piano trying out lesson two. And finding it extremely frustrating. She wasn't used to not being able to manipulate keyboards and buttons.
"Kitten? The piano was designed to be played by five fingers. I don't think you'll be able to do much with it."
She sighed.
"I think you're right Yahn. But I yust like listening to you play and wondered."
"How can you like it Kitten? All I'm doing is playing drills, going up and down the keyboard training my hands so some day I'll be able to play Beethoven or Schubert or Mozart.
"There's still rhythm, order . . . harmony. I like that 'do do do do do do do do dooo' she chirped imitating the notes going up and down the keyboard. Her head and hands bounced to the notes while her fingers wiggled in rhythm. "And then the next set of notes is a little higher, and then the next set, and so on."
"I wouldn't be doing it now if you hadn't made me. Strange, I'm so used to commanding, until I get into this cabin and it's 'Yes Tali' and 'No Tali.'"
"Well of course," agreed Tali. "We girls rule the world you know."
She giggled.
"But I'm still stronger than you!" he shouted and grabbed her and began to wrestle her to the bed. There was more than a little energetic playful struggle until John placed an open palm on her left hip and trying to grab hold, given how wide her hips were, suddenly discovered something else about Tali.
"NO! Yahn WHOOOT! I'm ticklish there WHOOOT!"
"Oh? Ticklish eh? I'll show you ticklish!"
It took John a few more tries over the next fifteen seconds but when you are determined to get to the bottom of something (pun intended) you can figure out a lot very quickly.
"WHOOT WHOOT WHOOT! WHOOT WHOOT WHOOT! YAHN! NO! WHOOT WHOOT WHOOT! I'LL BE GOOD! I'LL BE GOOD! I'LL BE GOOD! WHOOT WHOOT WHOOT!"
Apparently, Tali was ticklish by placing the hand upon her hips, securing a descent flat grasp upon the skin, and rubbing it on the muscular structure underneath. Unlike a human woman where you pinch the waist it was the friction of the skin upon the outer muscles of the hips and backside on Tali.
Of course it has already been established that Tali's laughter was a cross between a monkey's call and an owl's hoot. And under the right conditions it could be loud enough. But this was a full volume hooting. John had no intention of stopping, at least for a while. Tali was completely immobilized upon the bed, her arms and legs flailing as John deftly avoided being whacked by the random kicking and swinging as she struggled to not laugh as well as fight him off. A young girl madly in love with a guy really can't defend herself against a determined tickle attack, they lose complete control of their bodily functions on several levels. And of course like all young girls in this predicament with the men they loved, part of her was totally enjoying it.
"WHOOT! NO! WHOOT WHOOT WHOOT! PLEASE YAHN! WHOOT WHOOT WHOOT WHOOT! YAHN! HELP! HELP! WHOOT WHOOT! YAHN!"
It's at this point that the author will apparently go completely off topic and comment upon the ventilation of a space ship. Like water vessels, there has to be a certain level of air and water tightness upon the vessel if you are going to keep it either floating, in the case of a boat, or pressurized, in case of a spaceship. And this means that the air is going to be horribly stagnant. There's not a single sailor upon a single vessel who isn't aware that you have to find ways of getting air down into the hull of a water bound vessel, and on a spaceship, air circulation is likewise a must or certain pockets of stale air and other gasses build up making conditions rather uncomfortable.
For this reason a space ship has a ventilation system which is in constant action moving air from one area to the other keeping temperatures stable as well as scrubbing out CO2. And since sound moves better if it is going in the same direction as moving air, should there be an intact vent which exits one's cabin between say, the aquarium and closet and runs along the spine of the ship until it empties above the pilot's chair, really loud hooting can carry quite a ways and put all sorts of interesting ideas into the Pilot's head.
"Oh man!" groaned Joker listening to the faint hoots which were coming from above his head. "Way to go Commander! Rub it in! Show us all that you have a real screamer! Remind me what I can't do without breaking my back!"
This of course drew the attention of other crew members nearby leading to a very sweet and pink blush by Kelly who had just come up to make more mental notes on Joker's interaction with EDI.
"In fact Mr. Moreau," explained EDI. "The commander is only tickling Tali."
"Yeah EDI, tell me about those . . . tickles," replied Joker. "Like you would really know."
"I assure you Mr. Moreau, I am well aware of . . ."
But by now John was having to rest and refit, having burned up a great deal of energy immobilizing a very bouncy Quarian fiancé, and was laying upon the bed catching his breath. Tali was likewise on the bed, on her stomach, her head leaning over the edge panting heavily from exhaustive laughter. She was of course paying no attention to the out vent beneath her which was channeling air down to the lower part of the engine room where her loud pantings, only faint on the wind over Jack's bed, were inspiring Jack to bury her head in a pillow as her shoulders spasmed.
John and Tali had recovered and were turning off the lights and settling down. John had gotten into his sweats and of course Tali was still in her suit, as she nearly always was.
"How long until the next time?" asked John.
"Eight minutes tomorrow morning," sighed Tali.
"Eight whole minutes with your visor off, what will I do?"
"If you can't think of something Yahn, I'm sure I can."
"You promise?"
"I promise," answered Tali. "So how did it go with Yack."
"Loose cannon and wild card are insufficient descriptions," sighed John. "She tried to seduce me and persuade me to be a pirate in less than fifteen minutes after she settled in and I checked in on her."
"I'm getting my shotgun and pistol."
"Tali, don't bother, she's not at all attractive."
"I don't care if you truly think I'm the most beautiful thing in the world and she's the most ugly, you're my Yahn!"
"Well you probably won't have to kill her anyway. If she doesn't try to kill me if I try to mesh her with the team, she'll be dead soon enough. She's on full self-destruct. God help her."
"Why would you worry?"
"Tali? I was dead. I saw what was on the other side. I worry about everyone who dies in a state of hatred and loathing, because I know what awaits them."
"Yahn? What was it like . . . Being dead?"
"It was wonderful. You had all the time in the world to do what ever you wanted. There was this little Quarian girl who was playing with God, and He was letting her win. She told me about her mother, and father, and how happy she was. She was a cutie."
"What was God like?"
"See the crucifix I put up over our bed? That's what he looks like to me. But to that little Quarian girl, she didn't see him that way I think. She called him Rannoch . . ."
"We always thought our home world was what watched over us," mused Tali. "So what you're saying is that it's kind of true."
"He does Tali. That's why He asked me to come back. To fight the Reapers."
"That's all?" It was a playful tease, but there was a bit of territorial in it as well.
"And be with you of course. That was really important. I can't do it without you. I know that now."
They closed their eyes and cuddled up. Shortly thereafter, they were asleep.