Normandy CIC, 1105 Hours, In port at Citadel
Traynor tried to focus on finishing backing up her data as she stood at her terminal, her brow furrowed mildly out of concentration but her mind constantly drifting to the massive space station right next door. They had been granted twenty four hours leave for their time on the station, a tiny amount of decompression time which, for however minuscule it was, was a welcome break in the midst of the largest war ever to befall galactic civilization. The entire crew had been abuzz about it since the order had come down to their omnitools from Lieutenant Tranning, adventures planned as though those twenty four hours were the last opportunity for fun the crew was going to have for the rest of their lives. Well, it might be...
Samantha shook her head as she refocused on her terminal, inputting a few last-commands and watching the progress bar on the yellow screen make its way to completion before she heard the elevator open behind her, seeing Liara step out, buried entirely in a datapad on her hand, despite the four others that she was carrying. Liara made her way around the port-side of the CIC terminal group, narrowly avoiding a collision with another crewmember as she seemed to mutter to herself, advancing the datapad , eyes skittering left and right over the new batch of information that was displayed.
Samantha tracked Liara's progress around the CIC, smiling as she thought about the friendship she and the Asari had been developing recently, the conversations over cups of hot tea, Liara explaining some of the new developments on the Crucible project to her, she reciprocating by laying bare the concepts behind the galaxy map interface and secrets of QEC communication. Liara could be unnervingly stoic at times, not keen on emotional outbursts or as friendly as other members of the crew, but when engaged Samantha found there was a deeply buried though no less potent passion for her work underneath the veneer, an energy which drove her to keep the galaxy moving forwards, and even a child-like excitement at some of the discoveries working on the Crucible had brought (though such excitement was often mixed with a little annoyance when she finished speaking with Javik).
As if woken from a trance, Traynor realized that she had been gawking – staring, really, but there's no need to call it that - as Liara walked towards the airlock, and brought her head back down to her terminal, pretending to work while her mind tried to sort itself out. Those can't be butterflies in my stomach, why would I get butterflies from seeing a friend? I wouldn't, I'm not. It's just… nerves, about the war effort. Yeah, so many things going on and one mis-step could cause such a disaster… Definitely nerves.
And then, floating from the back of her mind like a single, powerful leaf, a thought settled in that silenced the rest, and certainly did not cause more butterflies in her stomach.
You were going to ask her to lunch.
Traynors' hands stopped as the thought occurred to her, and she visibly shook her head a little bit, trying to clear the invasive little thought, the worm which had silenced everything else and was somehow dominating her thought process, but to no avail. She ran through the small meditation drills her mother had taught her, as she could feel her temperature rise and something that was most certainly not a blush come up from underneath her cheeks, but again – nothing helped. Her mind continued to race, disjointed thoughts chorusing in from every corner of her brain.
You were, weren't you?
No, no, she's much to busy, besides, I don't even have anything to talk about. But I'd really like to, I had so much fun last time I talked with her.
But that was QEC, like you said, you have nothing to talk about.
Well, can't we just talk?
I mean, we're friends aren't we?
If you're friends, then why do you have butterflies in your stomach? Hm? Why are you blushing?
It's… hot in here, the coolant tubes run directly over my work station and these alliance uniforms have terrible ventilation.
Come on, just ask her, it will be fun.
But what if she says no?
That'd be embarrassing.
Worse, it'd be mortifying.
But if she says yes?
Oh hell, that might be even more mortifying. You really want to, though, don't you?
… Yes.
Well, then do it. You might be dead for all you know tomorrow.
Traynor looked up from her workstation, turning to the left and following as close to a walk as she could, no matter how much the little voice in her head tried to will her legs to run, after Liara. Her confidence built with every step as she made her way down the CIC, through the forward neck of the ship, and all the way to the airlock before Liara was within airshot, standing on the jet-way down from the ship to the dock. Traynor called out to her, perhaps a bit aggressively, her tone sounding more appropriate to dress down an incompetent technician than call out to a friend. Definitely just a friend.
"Liara!"
Liara stopped, looked up from her datapad before looking to her left, then her right, hastily spinning to her left in an awkward 270 degree circle that was so unbecoming her usual composure and grace. When she found Traynor, her eyes lit up for a second – or maybe Traynor imagined it, she couldn't tell, and she'd deny that she ever wished she wasn't imagining it – before the one of Traynor's voice registered with her and her face fell immediately into the concern it wore too often and too naturally.
Samantha watched the display, almost giggling at the ungraceful spin around to find her as well as the slight shift of Liara's eyes to the side when she realized something might be wrong, the display so very… well, Liara.
"Liara… I was wondering if…"
Samantha stopped dead in her tracks like a shuttle running to a wall. All the confidence she had built up as she strode down the CIC had evaporated. And so quickly too, I was feeling so good. Well, come on Sam, just get it out. Nothing wrong with asking a FRIEND to lunch. The words spilled out of Traynor's mouth, multiple attempts trying to come out at once as Liara watched, eventually smiling slightly and raising an eyebrow at Traynor's display.
"Well, if you'd like… I mean, if you're not busy….Maybe you'd like too… Well, not maybe, but if you'd like too… I heard about this great place… Join me… lunch?"
Fantastic job, Sam, really. Just a stellar delivery right there. A performance worthy of a communications specialist. Alright, collect your thoughts and get it all out, one go, one sentence. Three… Two… One… Send
"Liara, would you like to have lunch with me?"
The words hung as Traynor hurled them out of her mouth like a mortar might a shell, hanging in mid-air as both women looked at each-other, mildly surprised at the bluntness with which Traynor spoke after her previous spout of words, before the question hit home. Liara's eyes widened as she comprehended the question and her mouth opened slightly, closing it again, her eyes beginning to dart slightly side to side before meeting Traynor's, and seeing something that almost looked like pleading. She looked down at the datapad she was holding, tapping it a few times with her thumb before placing it with the others under her arm, bringing her hand up to the micro-com she was wearing, and speaking into it.
"Glyph, please cancel all my apointments for the next… hour and a half?" she looked at Traynor, who's face broke into an awkward smile and nodded slightly, almost tentatively.
"Yes, Doctor T'Soni."
Liara smiled as she looked Samantha squarely in the eyes, her voice confident as she held a hand out to indicate for Traynor to lead.
"Yes, Samantha, I would like that."
As she and Samantha made their way off the jet-way down to the docks, Liara's mind was racing. The butterflies in Traynor's stomach were not hers alone, and the questions racing through her mind were all the more potent in Liara's mind. But there was one thought which seemed to burn through both women's heads:
Why am I blushing? Friends don't blush for friends.
Presidium Commons, Apollo's Café – 1400 Hours
Shepard sat and fumed over his lunch as he stared out across the Presidium, watching particularly intently a work crew repairing some of the residual damage from Cerberus' coup attempt. The sandwich was interesting, some Asari flavor which couldn't be likened to anything else he had ever tasted, and were he in a slightly better disposition, he was sure he would be enjoying it. Unfortunately, as the glower in his eyes and aggressive hunch in his back told everybody around (including the extremely wary waiter), he was not in such a disposition.
He had stormed in after talking to the Asari counselor, ordering viciously from the kiosk and finding a seat amongst a three meter radius he had carried around him as he came from the embassies, the atmosphere of pure frustration he held around him enough to keep most other occupants away. He had maintained the pretense of working for about ten minutes, glowering at a datapad as words scrolled in front of him before he gave up, placing it down and staring out at the presidium in front of him, tying to let the light breeze carry his frustration and consummate anger away. Needless to say, it wasn't working terribly well.
Movement across the table caught his eye and he turned to watch Tali take a seat across from him, setting a healthy pile of datapads down on the table next to her, speaking with a tired, though no less chipper voice.
"Shepard, how'd the meeting with the Councilor go?"
The glower she got in return would cause most people to either melt in their chair or slink away, the intensity of his green eyes immense in magnitude, threatening to burn a hole through just about everything they turned to. Instead, Tali just laughed a little as she leaned back, catching the waiter's eye from across the deck and beckoning him over.
"That well, huh?"
Shepard's voice was no less menacing than his stare, low and growling, aggressive in every sense.
"You have no idea."
"What happened?"
"I'd rather not say here…" Shepard gestured to their incredibly open setting with far too many ears to hear. He was rather surprised that the councilor even chose to tell him in the open rather than the spectre offices directly across the hall, though with what ease Kasumi found her way in, he wondered how secure they really were. He continued.
"But let's just say it baffles me how hard the concept of 'The galaxy is burning, let's all work together to save our collective asses' seems to be for some of these races."
Tali laughed at Shepard's impersonation of the council races, very close to a voice she had heard Joker use once while telling his terrible joke about the rachni wars. Shepard, in return, shook his head while he sneered angrily, strangling his glass as he picked it up, savagely drinking from it and slamming it on the ground with such force that it not only bent the bottom, but caused the waiter who was coming with Tali's order jump noticeably. As the drink was set down in front of her she nodded and tried to give a conciliatory smile, but knew that, for however bad she felt for him having to deal with an angry Commander Shepard, it was lost behind her mask. After a few breaths Shepard continued, the frustration palpable.
"Honestly, Tal, I don't know what it is about these people that they don't grasp the fact that this war is bigger than any of us. Suffice it to say the Councilor gave me some information which would have helped us about three months ago, but she chooses now to do so because the giant death-machines have finally gotten around to exterminating her planet. But apparently it was too special for anybody else to hear it while their races are being systematically wiped out. Seriously?! If they had half as much intelligence as they do stubbornness, this war would probably already be over."
Tali sat back, listening calmly while John spun himself out, taking a sip from her drink and nodding as he went on, a few choice expletives thrown in for good measure, along with some rather graphic descriptions of actions and hand gestures. She had seen this before, mostly out of frustration at The Illusive Man (a frustration which had, with Cerberus' involvement in the war quickly turned to a lethal loathing that, if history had anything to say about it, would lead to the Cerberus leaders' utter destruction), and knew the pattern: He'd hold his composure, maybe be a bit turse, with other people, and then either alone or with her he would vent in some way until he had spun himself out of energy and then he would be bitter for about five minutes, before returning back to his typical, more practical self.
"I just… ugh." John's frustrated groan came as he set his drink down for the last time, the waiter quickly, fearfully skittering in to pick it up and get a refill, practically scampering off to the bar. John's elbow made contact with the table jarringly, his forehead resting in his upturned palm as he closed his eyes gently and shook his head slightly back and forth, eventually wiping his right eye as he sat up, slouching slightly in the chair and resting his hand in his lap. The hot fire of passionate frustration was gone from his eyes, instead a deep hurt taking its place, the energy spent from his small outburst.
"You were waiting for me to run out of steam, weren't you?"
Tali smirked slightly insider her helmet as she took another sip from her drink, her voice taking on a sing-song quality as she responded, her intonation dipping in feigned innocence.
"Maybe… maybe not…"
John laughed slightly as the waiter came with another drink, some sort of human drink, brown with… bubbles, in it. John looked up and thanked the Turian waiter, causing his mandibles to flair slightly in shock and his facial plates to relax slightly, a small "you're welcome, sir" squeeked out before he turned to go wait back at the edge of the deck, watching his tables.
"I don't mind, I kind of was too. I just… don't get what's so hard for them to understand. Is it something I've done? Have I not told them enough for them to realize that they need to work together to even survive?"
Tali laughed, setting her drink down on the table and reaching out to slightly rub John's hand before leaning back, crossing her legs as she answered, slightly jokingly towards the end.
"No, Shepard, I think you've said as much as you can. They're just being exceptionally selfish and self-centered because they don't want to believe something like this could happen. Besides, if you didn't say enough, one would imagine the giant death-lasers would for any sane person."
John laughed slightly, one or two heaving chuckles before he sat back, watching the work crew again. The two sat there for about two or three minutes, before John laughed again, heartily, realistically this time, the few chuckles quickly turning into a mild laughing fit, which soon had Tali laughing herself with the absurdity of the transition (which did nothing to redact how predictable it had been). John spoke, eventually calming himself enough to do so, his voice much more jocular, much closer to the John Shepard she normally interacted with.
"Giant death-lasers… that's good. Anyways, how'd your meetings go? They were with… whom, again?"
"Alliance and Turian military commanders, we're coordinating fleet movements to protect the… package, when it finally gets moved. Because of our time as the Flotilla, the Quarian Navy has some of the best protection and escort protocols, we've just always lacked the hardware to make them more effective. So I was working with the Turians and Alliance to fit their ship schemes in, improve our chances."
"That sounds interesting, if not hard. How stubborn were they?"
"Very receptive, especially after I showed them how much more effective our strategies are. Plus, I outrank both of them and the recent "Rank equivalence treaty" meant they were obligated to treat me as such. Rank does have its privileges."
Shepard laughed, taking another drunk and finishing his sandwich, making eye contact with the waiter before offering the plate, another "thank-you" causing the waiter to ease up slightly, the tension that angry-Shepard had built starting to dissipate, slowly.
"It certainly does. I didn't know you were so versed in tactics though, Tal."
Tali smiled and laughed, before putting her right elbow on the table and placing the "chin" of her mask in her palm, shaking her head slightly as she spoke in a slightly mocking voice.
"You didn't think they made me an admiral just for my looks, now did you?"
"Well…"
Tali chirped an easily laugh before sitting back, shaking her head slightly before taking another drink.
"No, I did actually have to go to command school, spent about 5 months learning how to command fleets and the conventional tactics of most every major citadel race. We don't just hand out the title 'Admiral' for nothing."
"I know, you just made it sound like it was mostly for your experience with the Geth."
"And you make it sound like you became a Spectre because you're willing to help a child down some stairs."
"Good point."
They leaned back, looking out across the Presidium before Shepard spoke again, not looking at Tali as he did so, his tone lower, more business-like.
"So, did I tell you the order I got from Hackett?"
Tali turned to look at him, slightly concerned knowing what past "orders" from Hackett meant.
"No, what is it this time? Don't tell me…" she sat up straight, putting her hands on her hips as she made a laughable impersonation of Hackett's brusque voice, causing Shepard to smile and chuckle "Shepard, if you could rescue a science team who is stranded on a mining station by Cerberus in the Artemis Tau cluster, I'd appreciate it."
Shepard laughed again, remembering how arbitrary some of the infamous "Hackett rescue" missions seemed to be.
"No, actually. Normandy's down for retro-fits, we're to take a full week of shore-leave."
Tali was silenced immediately, cocking her head slightly as she looked at Shepard, her mouth left slightly open with mild disbelief.
"You mean…"
"Yeah, we're grounded. Alliance command already arranged for housing for all of the crew, and I got a mysterious email from Anderson about an apartment not too far from here."
"So we're staying here, for a week, while our ship is worked on?"
"That's the case."
"Does that interfere with any of our leads?"
"Shepard shook his head slightly as he stood up, Tali doing the same and the two walking towards the elevator, close but not holding hands, both agreeing to avoid the publicity of such a gesture.
"No, actually, this is good. Our next lead is on Thessia, and from what the Councilor told me, it will take about a week for communication channels to alert them of our arrival, apparently their entire infrastructure has just gone down in flames."
Tali cocked her head as she considered it, one half of her brain concocting plans and meetings and negotiations she could complete in a week's concentrated time on the Citadel, the other running various images of her and John enjoying a week of no-work on the station.
"Well… alright."
"My thoughts exactly."
"You have to promise me one thing, though."
John looked at her as they neared the elevator, stopping and moving to the side.
"What's that?"
"Take me to that sushi place… what's it called… Ryuusei?"
"Do they even have food you can eat there, Tali?"
At that moment Tali's omni-tool went off and Shepard heard a few curses under her breath before she took off running, shouting behind her "Talk to you later, John!"
Holding Area, 2100 Hours
Joker sat on the benches in front of the wall, the photograph blowing gently in the mild breeze that blew through the area. The paper was different than the others, not printed or fabricated, a real polaroid photograph taken by his father with an antique camera that had been in his family for generations, a yearly tradition, this one the most recent. His father, sister, and mother stood in front of their house, Hilary sporting a new school jacket and his parents beaming, the caption underneath saying "First Day of School, 2187"
As he looked at it, Jeff's eyes filled slowly with tears, his chest constricting as he remembered the message, the fatefully short communication which he had read so readily and casually at his station, which had such words as "unfortunately" and "sorry" which did no justice to the hole he felt inside, to the emptiness and void which became his heart and soul, the tunnel vision which took away everything but the word "killed", the empty chill in his body. He bowed his head, breathing deeply, slowly, doing everything he could not to break down here, anywhere but here, anywhere but in public.
He felt rather than heard or saw somebody sit down next to him, not even turning to see who it is. He was technically out of regs, walking around during war time in civilian clothing. But he didn't care. He needed the shield, needed the protection of anonymity against all the insipid sympathy, the I'm-sorry's and that-must-be-terrible's which were always so insecure, so empty. Listening to them, to the fake care of the people who couldn't have less, was almost as painful. He didn't look at the person next to him, but at the very least felt comfortable that they did not know who he was. Until they spoke.
"Jeff…"
Joker closed his eyes and bowed his head, looking slowly to his left to see EDI sitting there, her face contorted in what only he could recognize as concern, subtle in its execution but no less present, having donned full clothes including a hooded sweatshirt, appearing almost human in the outfit.
"Jeff… are you… okay?"
The resentment, the anger, the fear of ridicule and laughter all flared up inside him at once as he felt his heart begin to crack, the tears drying up with angry heat as he responded, the frustration he felt with the rest of the universe being directed at this one… woman, whose face changed immediately to confused hurt as she sat and listened, absorbing the words.
"Yes, EDI, I'm doing great. As I sit here, with a photograph of my dead family in front of the mourning wall. You know, just peachy, never better. How could I be? Especially with this galactic war! It's just great, honestly. Love it. Everything about it. The death, the suffering, the pain, it's just awesome. Really. All of it."
As EDI sat there, she watched the tears which had developed on Jeff's eyes bleed over, tears beginning to stream down his face, splashing on the floor beneath him as he let his head fall again, the lean towards her he had developed during his outburst causing him to have to put his hand down to catch himself on the bench, chest beginning to heave gently as she heard his soft cries, noises and pleadings and prayers caught in his throat, escaping only as gasps of breath and small whines against the pain and suffering and loss which surrounded this place, surrounded them. She leaned forwards, putting her arms around him, bringing his head into her shoulder as he continued to sob, placing her hand on the back of his head as she felt the moisture of his tears bleed through the sweatshirt. She held him like that, rocking back and forth as the pain coursed through him, concentrating in his tears and running down his face as his grief flooded out all at once, so many months keeping so quiet happening all at once. When he finally did speak, his voice was raw, high-pitched, as brittle as his heart felt as he felt the emptiness in his heart and the stolen promise of so many years of conversations and graduations and weddings and family gatherings and holidays and even just I-love-you's.
"Dammit… Dammit, EDI. Why'd they have to go? Them? Of all people… My sister, she is… was, the nicest person ever. She used to apologize to the table whenever she would run into it, and my dad? He was just as gentle. They didn't deserve it, EDI. Not them. Not this. They should have been the ones to get out. Should have survived. I should be the one going on that wall, not them. I'm the one who volunteered, who put on the uniform. If we can't keep them safe, then what the hell are we doing this for? Aren't they who we're fighting for? Aren't they supposed to survive? Huh? Why did it have to be them… Dammit."
Again Jeff fell back into aggrieved sobs as EDI rocked him gently, the other people present holding their distance at the scene that was all too familiar and too often occurring, respectfully staying silent and nodding slightly if they thought they caught EDI's eye, often a glimmer of grief in their own as they saw themselves weeks, months, hours ago.
Eventually Joker pulled himself up, sniffling and drying his eyes with the sleeve of his own sweatshirt, blinking hard many times to try and clear his eyes, standing up precariously as EDI took his hand, holding it and his arm shortly above the elbow. He began to walk towards the wall, a staggering step at first that soon turned into a strong stride, a direct march to the wall where his hand reached up, placing the photo on an empty spot, one of the few, the photo making contact with the static-adhesive wall and staying here as Joker pulled his hand away momentarily, bowing his head and closing his eyes. Silent tears ran down his cheeks as he replaced his hand on the photo, his hand sprawled over all of them, flattened as though touching it, an old photo from an antique machine, a piece of paper that carried but the vestiges of rich and beloved characters, people with such futures and hopes and dreams as could never be put to words nor summarized in a single photograph, might somehow bring them back, might connect him beyond the great rift of life and death to see them again, just hear one word from them before he left.
His voice cracked as he spoke, his upper lip trembling as he spoke, his face scrunched as he struggled not to break-down again.
"Goodbye, mom, dad, Hilary. I'll… I'm gonna miss you guys. I hope the weather is nice… wherever you are, I know dad always hated those rainy days. But, I'll see you… later… someday. I'll miss you, though. So much. I already do. So… goodbye."
As he turned away he clenched his eyes shut and let EDI guide him back to the bench, his breaths deep as he tried to control the tightness in his chest and lump in his throat that seem to have become permanent residences since he arrived, since he first pulled the photo from his jacket pocket and looked at it. Softly, EDI began to speak.
"Never has there been a suffering so great as of they who are left behind by the dead, who are left to stand at the banks and wave across the tides of the unknown sea to the shadows and memories of ones who once stood beside as they traverse to the misty black fog of a future we can never know. It is the true pain of helplessness, seeded in the resentment of inaction or the binding laws of proximity, sowed by the inexorable movement of time and permanence of progression. There can be no healing words, no salve of scripture nor script which can help these wounds once incurred, only solidity of friendship and bonds of love, reminders of what future these shores might still carry and the companions with which they might be had. Indeed, pity not the dead, for they are gone. Pity the living, as they endure their passing."
As EDI finished, Joker looked up at her, a miniscule smile appearing beneath the stream of tears which had made its way down his face, his brow furrowed now with the slightest bit of confusion in the midst of all the pain.
"Who was that, Eeds?"
EDI's voice was slightly louder now, but softer, perhaps only to Joker's trained ears.
"A twenty second century writer, upon the death of his mother. I could not find the words to help you, Jeff, I have not experienced loss as this and can offer no appropriate sentiments of sorrow or sympathy, I am sorry. I thought it appropriate to find a quote which would properly express my… feelings, at this moment, since I could not find the right words myself. If you would rather, I could find a different quote or maintain a respectful silence."
Joker smiled, softly, still sadly but with love, leaned over, kissing EDI gently on the shoulder just as he had seen his father do with his mother, his eyes shining with tears as he looked at EDI, speaking softly.
"No, EDI, it was perfect."
EDI smiled at Joker, a full smile as he had not seen from her, and moved in, gently touching her lips to his in an unfamiliar action to her, but one she had since learned was very important to humans, the contact ever so soft and gentle but all the more potent for it. As she pulled away, she saw more tears from Jeff but could not read his expression, it seeming a mix of the grief he had just expressed and sadness and happiness and love. She stood, gently, Joker following suit and taking her hand as the two turned to walk towards the elevator, both keeping their heads slightly bowed to avoid detection, making Jeff's crippled shuffle seeming simply a slow saunter with EDI's assistance. EDI spoke first, softly.
"Jeff, I am aware it is a human tradition to… toast, the recently deceased, among friends. Would you like for me to assemble your friends in an appropriate spot so that we may do so?"
"No, Eeds, just you."
"Very well. There is a location on Tayserei Ward which is known for its view of the Nebula as well as its moderate seclusion."
"Perfect."
The two continued to walk to the elevator, EDI using one of her hands to input their destination. As the elevator started moving at its excruciatingly slow speed, EDI turned to Jeff, looking softly in her eyes as she said one of the few things she could think of to help him.
"I'm sure your family would be proud if they saw you, Jeff."
Jeff laughed softly as his eyes once again became glossy, looking up at EDI.
"YOu know, the last thing my Dad and Sister said to me before I lost contact?" EDI shook her head. "It was as we were flying to Mars, I called them up to find out how they were. Before we had to cut the channel, my dad just said 'Jeff, I'm so proud of you, so proud. Go save the galaxy, we'll be here. I, we, love you.' Not many were that lucky."
"I wish you would tell me about them, Jeff."
"Eeds, I know you. Can't you just… like, download their files or something?"
"I want to hear it from you, Jeff."
Silence permeated the elevator as it approached their level, shortly before Jeff turning to EDI, speaking earnestly, his voice heavy with love and thankfulness.
"Thank-you, EDI. I… I really appreciate it."
"I love you, Jeff."
Author's Notes
Okay, so that last scene got a little… heavy. Well, tragic actually. First scene I've teared up while writing… but that might have been Adagio for Strings I was writing it to (I recommend reading it with that in the background, by the way, was what the majority of the scene was designed with. I've got music for just about every scene in my chapters, I can tell you guys the songs if you like, might enhance the experience? (I don't know, it does for me writing)).
I'm really trying to build this Liara and Traynor relationship well, it's an idea which I sort of came up with on a whim about two months ago, but I've become increasingly fond of the concept and really want to happen now. Hopefully it's coming out as natural, I'm trying not to just put them in the same room one scene and have them eating each other's faces the next, I expect they'll progress monumentally during this shore leave.
As always, please tell me what you think: I love getting feedback, it helps me write, and would love ideas as to what to put in. So let me know what you think.
But above all else, enjoy!
SotS