"Shepard, we still have standards!" Miranda exclaimed; gesturing to computer on the commander's desk; the screen covered in unfinished mission reports and ignored emails.
"Well, I didn't think that I had to file reports. You didn't really include it in the job description, Miranda." Shepard scoffed, trying to walk out of her cabin, the biotic woman blocking her path.
"You have over a dozen reports to file! They need to be categorized by date and place and then audited by me before they can even be placed in the archives." Miranda explained.
"But, Miranda, There's things, that, um, have to be done and-"
"I think you can take a day to finish up paperwork, Shepard."
"I'm trying to save-"
Cass, popping up from behind the couch on her knees, peering through the glass behind the collectable ships, she interrupted. "Didn't you say just last night that we're just going to the Citadel anyways, and it takes a day or so to get there…"
"See, Shepard, plenty of time to get this done." Miranda smiled, winking at the teen.
"Fine. I'll get started." Shepard frowned, turning to send a glare toward her daughter.
Seeing the look she was getting, Cass stood from her spot on the couch. "I'm, um, going to go…"
Shuffling out the door, the girl disappeared from sight.
"I hate paperwork." Shepard grumbled, Miranda chuckling as she too headed out the door.
"What're you doing?" Cass asked, leaning over the ship's gun controls; Garrus' hands gliding over them easily and efficiently.
"Calibrating."
"Still?"
"Yes…?"
"Well, you have been "calibrating" since you got here." Cass stated; moving to press a button, her hand shooed away. "Don't you want to do something else?"
"Um, no." Garrus replied.
"Why?"
"Because."
"Because why?"
"Just because."
"Ugh, fine. This is getting nowhere." Cass sighed, relenting, and letting the Turian continue his "calibrations." Maybe Miranda wasn't busy.
"What's that?" Cass asked, leaning over Miranda's head, her hands placed on the woman's shoulders, peering at the console in front of the seated biotic.
"Just a mission report from your mother… It needs some more work." Miranda said flatly, pushing the girl from her shoulders.
"Heh, you gonna send it back?"
"Probably."
"She's going to be so mad." Cass laughed.
"Probably." Miranda grinned back, sending the report.
"I give it less than 5 minutes." Cass mused.
"Until what?" Miranda asked curiously.
"Until she storms down here in a fit of rage… if there is one thing my mother hates, its paper work." Cass replied genuinely.
"You're serious?"
"Very." Cass laughed.
Moments later, a flurry of stomps could be heard from outside of the door; as the entry glided open, an offended and furious looking Shepard came into view. Cass could do nothing to wipe the smile off of her face, and broke out into a fit of giggles when she saw the terrified look on Miranda's face.
"Miranda!" Shepard bellowed.
"Yes, Shepard?" Miranda peeped.
"Why did you send this back to me? I just got it done!"
"You didn't fill out all of required information."
"But, it's done." Shepard mumbled.
"No, it's not. You neglected to fill out 3 entire pages… You can't just write that we killed a bunch of enemies and it went well, you need to be specific. " Miranda scolded.
"Ugh, fine!" Shepard moaned, turning and walking out the door, not even acknowledging her daughter's laughter.
"That went well!" Cass exclaimed, between giggles.
"I suppose so…" Miranda trailed off.
"So, as fun as this has been, I want to go before she comes back." Cass said, catching her breath.
"She's going to come back?" Miranda frowned.
"Yup, you know she's going to skip something and then you're going to have to have her fix it, but not before she comes down here and well, you know the rest."
Miranda sighed; she was going to be here all day.
"Hey Kasumi, do you want to-" Cass began, lazily sauntering into the thief's pseudo-room.
"No." Kasumi stated flatly.
"You didn't even hear what I was going to say!" Cass whined.
"Last time I agreed to help you we crashed into the room, not stealthy at all; I don't do not stealthy. Besides, I have a date with Jacob, well, he doesn't know about it, but-I'm busy." Kasumi explained, examining her nails.
"Meh, fine." Cass mumbled, shrugging her shoulders and walking out of the room and down the hall to the starboard observation deck.
"Hey Samara."
"Hello, Cass. What brings you here?" Samara said, turning her head slightly to view the teen from her meditation position on the floor.
"Um, nothing really, I guess." Cass replied, jumping over the back of the couch, landing ungracefully in a heap on the cushions.
"It had been quiet today." Samara mused.
"Yeah, Miranda's got my mom doing paperwork, so there's nothing to do." Cass said, throwing her arms behind her head to lie more comfortably. "So, what are you doing?"
"Meditating."
"Do you always meditate?"
"Usually, the code dictates reflection."
"All the time?"
"Well, no, but I enjoy it. It is relaxing."
"Oh. Don't you get, well, bored?"
"I have lived for many centuries, boredom is inviting."
"Oh…"
"Was there something else you needed?"
"Um, not really… I guess, I'll, um, leave you too it then…" Cass fumbled, the Justicar making her a little nervous.
"Very well, I will speak with you later." Samara smiled gently.
Cass nodded in reply, hopping off of the couch and shuffling out the door.
"Hey Jack." Cass waved, coming from the stair base.
"Hey, kid." The biotic replied from her horizontal position on the cot.
"What're you doing?"
"Nothing."
"Well, do you want to do something?"
"Like what?" Jack asked gruffly.
"Grunt mentioned something about arm wrestling…" Cass trailed off, grinning.
"I'm in." Jack shot up; and bounded off the makeshift bed, following the teen up the stairs.
"You're no match for me, human!" Grunt bellowed, locked in a stalemate with Jack.
"Hah! Yeah, right!" Jack laughed; the biotic glow around her hand illuminating the two wrestlers' faces.
Cass, leaning against the wall, grinned mischievously, the moment one of them went down the entire ship would shake, and if that wouldn't be fun, then what would be on a boring day like today.
"Give up yet?" Jack taunted, her hand glowing a brighter blue, both biotic and Krogan pushing harder than before, the table crushing under both her and Grunt's weights as the two went colliding into the wall, a loud crash resonating throughout the entire deck, and likely the entire ship.
"Holy shit!" Cass exclaimed, falling as the two collided.
"Um, everything okay down there?" Joker's voice same on the ship's com system.
"Heh, yeah!" Cass laughed, trying to steady her breathing between fits of giggles.
"What happened?" Joker asked.
"Um… Arm wrestling… And Grunt… Jack…biotics." Cass giggled, unable to form a coherent sentence.
"WE NEED A STRONGER TABLE!" Grunt boomed, standing slamming his fists against his chest.
"Whatever. I totally won that." Jack stated, brushing herself off.
"We could go to the mess hall." Cass breathed, getting up.
"No way!" Shepard exclaimed, inviting herself into the room.
"Heh, Hi Mom." Cass smiled sheepishly, "You got here fast."
Shepard, not responding, pointed to the door, a stern look gracing her features. Cass, putting her head down to look as contrite as she could manage, shuffled out the door.
"And you two," Shepard turning to glare at the offending arm wrestlers, "No more arm wrestling on my ship! Ever!"
Turning on her heel, Shepard followed after her child, leaving a confused looking Krogan and a less than enthusiastic biotic behind.
"I know you orchestrated this." Shepard frowned at her child, who was sitting at her desk chair after having been marched up to her mother's cabin. Cass was trying her best to look guilty, but was really failing to manage.
"I didn't- It was- I, Fuck. Sorry." Cass fumbled
"Language!" Shepard scolded.
"Sorry."
"Now, enough of the trouble making, okay? If I'm ever going to have a chance of finishing all of this paperwork, I can't be running around the ship every time you decide to do something silly."
"But it technically wasn't me!" Cass whined.
"Don't make me put you in a time out." Shepard stated seriously.
"I'm not 5."
"You're acting like it."
"Am not!"
"Are too."
"I so am not!"
"Cassandra." Shepard warned.
"Fine. Sorry. No more trouble, I promise."
"Okay." Shepard frowned.
"Okay then, so can I go?"
"Fine. " Shepard sighed.
"Okay, Have fun with your paper work!" Cass grinned, flying out of the room before her mother could reply.
Groaning, Shepard put her head in her hands as she plopped down into her seat. This was going to be a long day.
"I'm all in." Cass stated, pushing her chips into the center of the table, eyeing the duo across from her. Gabby's poker face was spot on, but Kenneth struggled to maintain even a semblance of secrecy and Tali, to her right, could not be read, for obvious reasons.
"You play big. Poker a hobby of yours?" Kenneth asked curiously, knowing that his hand wouldn't counter anything at the moment.
"Meh, There wasn't much to do on Omega a day off, and there were always some people to play." Cass replied.
"I've always found human games to be a little boring." Tali stated, shuffling the cards in her hand, "I've never been one to gamble anyways, but this is relaxing."
"Yeah, I'm glad we're just headed to the citadel for once, the engine could use some r and r as well." Gabby smiled.
"Heh, yeah, I suppose, even if it is a little boring." Cass sighed, laying out her hand.
"Keelah! A royal flush!" Tali exclaimed, the other two engine workers gasping along with her.
"So, that's it then. I win." Cass smiled halfheartedly; arm wrestling was way more fun than this.
"Hey Joker."
"Hey Spawn, sup?"
"Absolutely nothing. I'm dying of boredom."
"It is physically impossible to die of boredom." EDI interrupted.
"I know EDI, it's an expression." Cass deadpanned.
"Well, many of the crew members are enjoying the time off." EDI replied.
"Well, I'm bored." Cass said indignantly; huffing while crossing her arms over her chest, plopping down in the co-pilot's chair.
"I have an idea." Joker smiled.
"What?" Cass turned to the pilot, a mischievous glint in his eye.
"JOKER! WHAT IS EVERYONE DOING!? YOU SAID THE COLLECTORS WERE READYING TO BOARD!" Shepard yelled, completely out of breathe from sprinting up to the cockpit, extremely confused as to why no one was getting into position.
Upon seeing the harried commander, both the pilot and the teen unable to contain the laughter broke out in fits, each guffawing in their seats, much to the disdain of the realizing mother.
"You have got to be kidding me." Shepard groaned; sending a burning glare in the direction of the pilot and her daughter.
"And she- the face- her face! I can't even-" Cass laughed, struggling to breathe.
Joker, continued to laugh, powerless to reply.
"THAT IS IT!" Shepard bellowed, the laughter dying at the woman's tone; both pranksters' eyes widening at the woman.
"Ma'am it was just a little joke, we-" Joker started.
"No. I don't want to hear it. I'm taking my daughter and there will be no mischief from anyone else today, am I understood?"
"Yes ma'am." Both pilot and teen replied.
"Good. Let's go." Shepard said flatly, pulling the teen up with her and marching her down the bridge and back to her cabin the second time that day.
"I'm sorry." Cass said from her seat on the bed.
"I know." Shepard replied, not looking from the screen in front of her, fingers vigorously typing away.
"So, can I go now?" Cass asked hopefully.
"No."
"But I'm sorry."
"I don't care. You're in a time out."
"Oh come on!"
"No."
Cass huffed noisily before falling back on the pillows; so much for getting out on good behavior.
So, a bit of a filler chapter, but it was sort of in honor of April Fools, albeit 5 days late. Up next week is probably going to be a loyalty mission or two (Feel free to tell me which ones you want to see! I always like suggestions.) Please read and review!