Kaya walked back into the room, still holding Jeff's hand. All eyes were on her expectantly, but she turned to Nin'Toak instead.
"Do you think you're ready to tell us about Marcus? About Project Indigo?" Kaya asked softly.
He nodded, and explained.
"If there's one thing the Turians have kept exceptionally well hidden, it's their own long history with Reaper tech."
Kaya watched Garrus tense up as Nin'Toak described the Temple Palaven. Desolas and Saren. The turian husks called forward by an ancient Reaper artifact at the end of the First Contact War. The Council's continuing research into the incident. The Illusive Man's involvement. Dr. Marcus's power-hungry insistence on results.
They found something that could control people, make them act against their best interests. And they pursued it ruthlessly. Hell, it was the bloody Illusive Man who had pushed back, who had seen the evil inherent in the scheme. He even shut down a Cerberus cell that went rogue trying to work with Council-funded scientists on it years later.
The images in Nin'Toak's head brought back Sanctuary. Collectors. Shepard's own memories of finding Kaya on Omega. She still had not told Jeff about that particular nightmare yet.
Someone uncovered data about Project Indigo, long defunct, in the early days of the project. It told them it was possible for a humanoids to possess such power. To touch the mind of another being from across a room. If that was possible, what else could be achieved? What kind of armies could be raised?
Nin'Toak had followed his mentor, focused on strategies for gathering intelligence or coordinating Fleet movements. He had not seen the worst of the experiments until it was too late. He set a bomb in the center of the lab. Turned the whole damn place into a crater. Somehow, though, Marcus had still survived. Escaped.
"I heard he killed himself on Omega," Nin'Toak said quietly, turning to Kaya with a knowing look. "Thank you."
The silence that filled the room felt so empty, despite all of the minds turning. Kaya felt uneasy at the realization that this had been the plan all along. Use her as a weapon, to control a damned army. Or force an assassination that looked like a perfect suicide. She visibly shuttered at the thought of what would have happened if Shepard and the crew had not rescued her.
Jeff was squeezing her hand so much it hurt, but she did not let go.
"Jack, Marcus went to join the Illusive Man and work on your … project some time later. And now, as far as Nin'Toak knows, he's working with some rogue Cerberus scientists and soldiers. There's a whole other cell out there," Kaya said, picking out the pieces Nin'Toak didn't realize were important.
"Marcus was too extreme, even for Cerberus, when the Illusive Man was in charge," Nin'Toak confirmed, in awe of Kaya's abilities. His academic interest, given his past history, was more than a little uncomfortable. "I'm not sure if Marcus was pulling the strings or not, but someone is still out there. I have been trying to locate them with little success. But they will go through hell – even the Normandy – to get to you."
"I'd like to see them try," Vega practically growled.
Kaya gave him a little nod. Sure, he had beaten the crap out of her the day before, but it was in a very brotherly way.
"I wish I could provide you more information," Nin'Toak finished. "I would very much like to see this put to rest."
Shepard glanced at Kaya, who nodded to confirm that the quarian was being honest.
"You still managed to fill in some blanks for us. Thank you," Shepard said. "It's more than we had this morning."
The Normandy crew never ceased to amaze Kaya. After Nin'Toak left, they had proceeded to have what could only be described as a party. Kaidan and Vega doubled back for some levo rations and more alcohol. Tali put on some music unlike anything Kaya had ever heard before. It wasn't bad per se. Just jarring.
"You have one goal tonight," Jeff whispered in Kaya's ear at the start. "Get Shepard drunk enough to dance. Trust me."
That turned out to be far more easy than Jeff made it sound. Then again, Garrus had also put on a tango of all things. He grabbed Shepard from the kitchen, and, despite her numerous protests, the two of them proceeded to be quite graceful.
Kaya had to laugh at the shock of everyone in the room. The Shepard-Vakarians hadn't even danced like this at their wedding. It was hardly the dancing Jeff had expected Kaya to see, but it was just as amusing.
"Get a room!" Jack called out, causing Shepard to blush even as she flipped the tattooed biotic off. That was new.
Liara had pulled Jeff away to dance, despite all of his protests about shattering a hip. He shot Kaya a reproachful look as she watched from a safe distance, drink in hand.
"I think they really needed this," a slightly synthetic-sounding voice rang next to her, and Kaya turned to look at Tali with a smile and a nod.
"They'd never admit it," Kaya said with a small, sad smile. "But, yeah. Thanks for having us over. And thanks for your help finding Nin'Toak. You know, they were all really excited when they found out we would be coming here. To Rannoch. They miss you."
Tali's expression was unreadable under her helmet, but Kaya detected concern.
"Not, like, a bad missing you," Kaya quickly amended. "They understand why you're here. Accept it. Love that you have a home again. Just miss you. There are a lot of empty spaces on the Normandy."
"Thank you, Kaya," Tali said, taking a sip of her drink through a straw.
Emergency induction port. The memory was pretty hazy, but Kaya had a feeling she should ask Shepard about it later.
"Kaya," Tali started again after watching the dancing for a moment. She shifted her weight to the other foot, twirling her glass in her hand. Kaya thought about stopping her. She already knew what was going to be said. But, that went against the rules.
"Kaya, I'm happy to see Joker and you together. He needs a little happiness. Deserves it. He's a good friend." She turned to face Kaya, and there was a sudden hint of abrasion. "And if you do something to hurt him, remember that I have a shotgun."
Kaya doubted she masked her surprise very well, but she swallowed and nodded. Apparently she had yet to become proficient in picking up on quarian neural signals.
"If I hurt him, I suspect you'd have to get in line."
"A real bed," Kaya sighed, collapsing face-first onto the fluffy white blanket. "Oh my god. Do you think we can steal this? Put it on the observation deck?"
"I think Tali might be kind of pissed," Jeff laughed.
"If she's coming with us, it's not like she's going to miss it," Kaya said.
"Who said she was coming with us?"
"Oh, uh, probably no one," Kaya started with a nervous laugh. "But, if you were a betting man …"
"I'd be filthy rich, what with the psychic girlfriend and all."
"Girlfriend?" She raised an eyebrow at him. They had not actually said girlfriend or boyfriend out loud before.
She remembered the last time someone had called her his girlfriend. It sounded off. Kaya remembered thinking right then that it was never going to work. But he was smart. Funny. A doctor. Sexy as hell. Hopelessly in love with her far too early in the relationship.
And not for her. Nobody ever was. Kaya had started to accept that she was just broken. Hell, maybe she was asexual.
And then Joker Moreau came along, the one benefit to all of the shit that had happened to land her in 2191.
"Am I reading this wrong?" he asked, sitting down on the bed next to her. Kaya realized she had tuned out again.
"No," she said with a mischevious grin, taking off his cap. "Not wrong as all. In fact, if that's your opinion on the situation, maybe we could make good use of this bed tonight."
"In Tali's house?"
"We wouldn't be the only ones," Kaya mused.
Reach and flexibility.
Jeff had been starting to blush before, but now all of the color left his cheeks.
"Wait, you can hear them?"
"See them. Feel them. I try not to think about it," Kaya groaned. "I kind of feel bad for Tali, though."
"Why, because of the massive amount of laundry she'll have when she gets back?"
"No, because she's the only one spending the night alone," Kaya said quietly.
She laughed then at the look on Jeff's face when he put two and two together on Jack and Vega. In fact, she dissolved into a fit of giggles as he tried to wrap his mind around that one.
Jeff laid down next to her, and Kaya noted, "Don't feel too bad for Tali, though. She does have a boyfriend."
"Wait, seriously? Where is he?"
"Jeff, if your best friends were the crew of the fucking Normandy, would you want to spring them all on your significant other in one go?"
"Fair point," he admitted. Kaya could feel him still trying to wrap his head around the fact that she was overly familiar with every sexual encounter than happened on the Normandy.
"I try to ignore them," she explained. "Not always easy, though. Especially with two interspecies relationships happening a few steps away. I mean, from a purely scientific perspective–"
"Oh my god, you total pervert!" Jeff laughed.
"Oh, like you wouldn't do the same damn thing."
"Actually, no. I wouldn't. Because I'm not gross."
She snorted. "Debatable. … But yeah, you're right. It's messed up. It's just a part of how I experience the world, though. Just another part of people's lives I shouldn't be privy to, but I am anyway." Her expression went blank for a moment, and she murmured softly, "Well, that's an interesting use of biotics."
Jeff sat up, laughing in earnest. However, Kaya could also feel his genuine perturbment.
"Stop!" he pleaded. "This is just weird."
"Then distract me, Jeff Moreau," she said with a smile. Pretty proud of yourself about that one, aren't you? "Mmhmm."
He kissed her, and she smiled under the pressure of his lips.
Kaya had never particularly liked this part. The flirting. The sex. It had all just felt like a game she was supposed to play, when she preferred the quiet moments. The sitting on a couch together playing video games. Studying together, hands locked, not saying a word. She had wondered if it meant something horrible about her. Was she just so selfish that all she wanted was another presence in the room, no matter who it was?
No. It just happened to matter a lot.
This time was different. The flirting was fun. And the sex, well, Kaya supposed she was about to find out about the sex.