Shepard took the elevator up to her quarters to change for the mission. She had decided to have one of the crewmen clean it so she wouldn't have to see the gore again. The eager, young ensign had returned it to her looking like new. She thanked him with a smile and extra rations. That had seemed to satisfy him. Since getting Rupert better ingredients, the whole crew appreciated his cooking more.
Nihlus was sitting on the floor at the foot of what had become their bed in meditation, humming softly. He got up when she entered the room. He was shirtless, wearing only his black civilian pants. He went for the closet behind a seamless panel to retrieve their armor. He couldn't help but to watch her out of the corner of his eye as she striped down to her tank and panties, then he noticed the vials on the low table by the sofa.
"What did the doctor give you?" He asked, a little concerned that there was more than one vial.
"Some pain killers and some antibiotics." She answered casually, taking the under weave suit from it's dewar.
"Antibiotics?"
"It's a mild infection, nothing to worry about." Sonya said, hoping he would drop it and not get all worked up.
"I never should have..."
"Stop it!" She cut him off promptly. "I'm not going to listen to you blame yourself for every little thing. If I say it's okay, then it's okay. Okay?"
She was having trouble staying serious due to her poor wording. From the look on his face, so was he.
"Okay." Nihlus said with a poorly executed sternness.
His mandibles flashed a grin before the chuckle escaped him, breaking down Sonya's barriers trying to contain her own giggles. He'd heard her laugh, but a giggle was something was strange to hear her make such a sound. It was so... girly. It was cute, especially with her in just her skimpies.
Nihlus helped her wiggle into her under weave and zipped up the back. In turn, she helped him. The bits that shielded his spurs were much more complicated than anything she put on. She wondered if she would ever get as good and handling his clothing as he was at hers. When the final piece of armor was snapped into place, EDI appeared by the console to inform them that they had reached Korlus.
"Well, here we go again." Sonya said playfully.
Nihlus nudged his forehead to hers, as had been his custom before going on missions. It was like saying 'good luck', 'go team SDA', and 'I love you' (just in case things went poorly) all at once.
"So, who are we taking with us?" He asked as they headed for the doors.
"I was thinking about taking Jack. You know, see what she's capable of." Shepard shrugged.
She knew the pain killers were working when the action didn't set her nerves on fire. She would have to take the antibiotics when they got back. She didn't have time to eat and couldn't afford to risk the mission for stomach cramps.
"Are you sure you can trust her on the mission?" Kryik asked, getting into Spectre mode.
"No, but what can she do? We're getting dropped off on a 'garbage scowl with a climate', remember?" Shepard teased.
"Indeed." Kryik nodded, remembering the Council once referring to Korlus as such.
Shepard activated her omni-tool to hail Jack down in the belly of engineering. She'd meant to go down and talk with the girl, but decided it might be best to let her alone with the data pads for a few days.
"Jack, meet us in the hanger bay. You're coming with us."
"Yeah, whatever."
Jack's reply was very nonchalant on the com. Shepard wondered if it meant she would be there, or if she was going to have to drag her out, kicking and screaming. She would find out soon enough. It was a short elevator ride.
Kryik took Shepard's hand in his as they rode the elevator in silence down to the loading bay. This was something new he'd started making a habit of since she'd been resurrected. She didn't seem to mind. She always returned his grasp, but she was always first to let go when they reached the loading bay. He understood, though. This time it was her ship and she was in charge. That meant maintaining the respect, loyalty and obedience of the crew. In this case, most of the crew were employees of Cerberus. Even though Cerberus had been the one to suggest alien crew members, relations between some of the crewmen and the non-humans aboard were kept strictly professional.
The doors of the elevator opened and, as expected, Shepard released his hand to exit. Jack was leaning against the Kodiak. Both pilots stood in the door way of the shuttle as if to keep an eye on her. The Woky sat sullenly in the shadows, waiting to be returned to Omega. Nihlus had long since gathered his belongings from within it's hull and stored them under Shepard's bed.
"So why are we going to this dump?" Jack asked as Shepard approached.
"To find a krogan war lord." The Commander answered firmly.
She nodded to the pilots and they took their helms. Shepard climbed aboard, taking a seat by the window. The view was one of the best things about space travel. Kryik waited for Jack before following the women onto the shuttle. Jack took the seat across from Shepard, so he sat next to the Commander. Shepard waited for the shuttle to leave the loading bay, bringing the planet below into view, before briefing her team.
"The dossier doesn't say if Okeer is this planet by choice. All we know is that he's located within the Blue Suns base. Assume hostiles."
Kryik brought up EDI's scans of the base on his omni-tool. Most of the map was blank, shielded from sensor readings. Something was better than nothing. At least they wouldn't be going in blind.
"The shuttle will drop us off here." Kryik pointed out the area on the small hollo display projecting from his omni-tool "There's only one clear path from there. Beyond that the details are sketchy. The main path winds around a large debris field, but it ends abruptly at this wall. Almost two kilometers away the scans show a large, mostly intact, structure. It is presumed to be the base where Okeer is located."
"That's where we need to go. Our only goal is to get Okeer and get out. Anything else is secondary, but feel free to take out as many of those Blue Suns bastards as you can." Shepard ordered.
Shepard remained especially bitter toward that merc group in particular for the missel they launched at Garrus' face. If she got the chance, she intended to take out every Blue Suns base she could find.
