Chapter 36: The Birthday Party
"Don't forget to put a couple of balloons over there John," Liara instructed. Shepard sighed as he struggled carrying a ladder in one arm and several dozen blue and yellow balloons in the other as he set up the decorative balloons all over the house.
"Can't you do this with biotics?" Shepard asked in a grumbled tone.
"No John I can't," Liara said simply as she watched Shepard sigh and climb up the ladder.
"And why not?" he asked as he tied several of the balloons onto a hook in the wall.
"Because," Liara started frustrated, "I can't use biotics to hold anything gently; the moment my biotics touched the balloons they would pop," to prove her point Liara glowed slightly as a balloon directly to Shepard's left popped, causing him to fall off the ladder and onto his back. As he moaned in pain Liara rushed to his side worriedly as she knelt down to examine him.
"I'm ok," he assured her with a groan as he stood up after a short struggle.
"Do you want me to get one of your canes?" Liara asked. "Maelon said you may need them in the-"
"No I don't want a cane," Shepard snapped as he tried to catch his breath. He looked up with an apologetic expression as he took Liara's hand. "I'm sorry," he said sadly.
"I know it's hard for you John, it's been over a year and the damage done to your leg has barely healed," Liara said understandingly.
"I know, but that doesn't mean I should take my frustration out on you. Especially today of all days," Liara smiled as she wrapped her arms around Shepard's waist.
"I can't believe it's already been a year since we had Benezia," Liara said happily.
"A lot's happened this past year, that's for sure," Shepard agreed happily. "And who knows, with a few centuries to live through who knows what else we'll see." Liara chuckled as she stood on her toes to kiss Shepard on the mouth. As she separated she laid her head on his chest as she said with clear amusement,
"Well I definitely never imagined to see a Salarian fluent in human music's," Shepard laughed as the two of them watched Auron tie the balloons to the hooks on the walls effortlessly while Benezia, standing with the aid of the kitchen's island, watched excitedly as she clutched to her Hanar Plush toy her uncle had bought for her.
"She adores him," Liara pointed out casually.
"It's mutual, if I didn't know any better I'd say he was planning to kidnap her so he could keep her all to himself."
"Now there's an idea!" Auron exclaimed excitedly, apparently over hearing the conversation between the two parents. The Salarian looked over to Benezia and said in a tempting tone, "What do you say Aniołek, do you want to run away with Uncle Auron?"
"Bwing Hana?" Benezia asked lifting the Hanar toy over her head.
"Of course! The three of us can go to Illium and eat ice cream every day!" Benezia laughed excitedly as she ran over to Auron, her chubby blue legs giving her the appearance of waddling, as she ran into his arms.
"There's your answer than Johnny," Auron said with a laugh. "Uncle Auron and ice cream beat Mom and Dad every time,"
"But Benezia if you live with Uncle Auron on Illium you won't have your party today," Liara pointed out.
"Pawty!" Benezia said excitedly as Auron put her down to waddle away dragging her Hanar behind her. Auron laughed at the sight as Shepard put a hand on Auron's shoulder.
"You realize that if you tried to kidnap my daughter I'd shoot you right?" Shepard asked jokingly.
"That's if these quiet times haven't softened your aim Johnny," Auron said with a chuckle.
"You sound like Wrex and Garrus," Shepard said sheepishly. "They think civilian life has tamed me."
"Well if it hasn't I certainly have," Liara said as she kissed him on the cheek before tending to other party preparations. Shepard laughed as he watched Liara walk away, admiring the view as she left.
"For the record Johnny," Auron said snapping Shepard from his trance, "I don't think the quiet times have tamed you, they've turned you into the man you were meant to be." Shepard smiled as he nodded to Auron.
"Thanks Auron," Shepard said appreciatingly as he squeezed his shoulder gently.
"Now, help me move the piano from the roof," Auron instructed.
"For what?" Shepard demanded frantically as he followed Auron up the stairs to the roof.
"For live entertainment of course!" Auron said with a cheer. "This is going to be a party right? A party needs excellent music for the occasion!" Shepard groaned as he proceeded to go up the stair after Auron when there was suddenly a knock on the door. With a confused frown Shepard hopped down the several stairs he had climbed and walked towards the front door. When he opened it he smiled greatly at the guests who had just arrived.
"Wrex! Bakara! Grunt! Nova! What are you guys doing here so early?" Shepard said happily as he greeted the entering Krogan, the men of the group each carrying poorly wrapped gifts.
"The pilot messed up on the time it would take to get here," Wrex explained. "It was the first time we had a Krogan fly a ship across several systems but I suppose since we survived that it went well." As the adults walked in they were followed by half a dozen miniature Krogan that seemed exited to be off of Tuchanka for the first time. At hearing the commotion Liara appeared as she began greeting the adult Krogan.
"And who are these little ones?" Liara asked gesturing to the little Krogan. With a quick bark five of the Krogan children ran to his side and stood from tallest to shortest. Wrex pointed to the tallest first as he named them off.
"This is our daughter Mordin," Wrex said as Mordin curtsied before Shepard and Liara as Wrex continued naming off the rest of his kids. "And these are our sons Jarrod, Wreave, Brach and Kratos," the sons didn't curtsy as Mordin had but they looked up at Shepard in awe.
"Is it twue you beat a weaper?" Brach asked excitedly.
"Did you think you could beat daddy up in a fight?" Jarrod asked.
"BOOM!" Kratos shouted loudly, causing Shepard and Liara to flinch in surprise.
"Boys," Bakara said in a warning tone, causing the boys to shake in fear as they looked up at their mother.
"Sorry mom," all the boys but Kratos said. Kratos just sat to the ground and began to cry; causing Bakara to roll her eyes as she picked up the crying infant.
"And you've already met Shepard, Shepard," Grunt said gesturing to the Krogan standing in front of him. He was a little bigger than Mordin was and had a calm look to him that for some reason surprised Shepard. The little Krogan held out his hand towards Shepard and, further surprised by the action, shook the infant Krogan's hand.
"It's a privilege to meet ye sir," he said politely, having an accent of his own but not a southern one like his mother but more of an Irish tinge to his voice.
"Likewise, Shepard," Shepard said in return. Nova seemed proud of her son's politeness while Grunt merely rolled his eyes.
"Nova's been teaching the whelp his manners, insisting that he'll need them in the future," Grunt said absently.
"And he will Grunt," Nova drawled angrily to her mate. "The Krogan aren't to be known only for their strength and brutality any more. Now that we're at peace with the galaxy we'll need to start teaching our kin new skills."
"Nova's right Grunt," Bakara said in agreement. "It's a new age for the Krogan; in fact it wouldn't be too bad if some of the males took lessons from your mate,"
"I'm polite," Wrex argued as Bakara rolled her eyes at her mate.
"I meant for the boys Wrex, but if that's what you think I'm thinking about then yes, you should get lessons to." As Liara led Nova, Bakara and the kids to meet Benezia Shepard grabbed Wrex's arm.
"Could you help me with something?" he asked. Minutes later Wrex was biotically holding the piano in the air as Shepard and Auron argued about a way to get it in the house.
"Auron this is the reason you put the piano on the roof in the first place," Shepard argued. "There aren't any openings into the house big enough for the piano to go through."
"Well maybe if we cut a hole in the roof here and here," Auron said while pointing to random parts of the roof while Shepard shook his head the entire time.
"Absolutely not, no way, not going to happen," Shepard said determinedly.
"Hey guys, I am holding a Piano here, any chance we can move this along?" After twenty minutes of arguing Auron finally accepted that he wouldn't be able to bring the piano down into the house. With a huff Wrex lowered the piano as the trio went downstairs as Auron tried to think of ways to provide music for the party. A few hours later the rest of the guests steadily began arriving for the birthday party. Liara's sisters and their husbands were the next to arrive, followed by Garrus and Tali, Kaidan, James, Dr. Chakwas and the last being Councilor Hackett. Zaeed and Kasumi had both been sent invitations but knowing their work schedules they were probably busy and couldn't be blamed for not coming. As the guests mingled and ate and enjoyed each other's company Auron could be seen frantically running up and down the stairs. As Shepard shook his head he walked over to Hackett who was busy chatting to Wrex.
"My scouts have said there hasn't been any transport on or off the planet in over six months," Wrex said in a hushed voice.
"Off of what planet?" Shepard asked as he approached the two.
"Parnack, we've been monitoring the Yahg home world since the attack on Mindoir," Hackett informed him.
"Any news?" Shepard asked curiously.
"Three months ago enough Cerberus starships landed on Parnack's surface to mount an impressive attack. I don't know if they went in to attack them or if there still together, but three months later about a dozen star ships, looked Salarian, left Parnack going in different directions. Nothing has entered or left the planet since." Wrex said.
"The Yahg stole Salarian ship designs so it's safe to assume those were their ships," Hackett said in thought. "What we need to know is what they're planning and why."
"How do we plan to do that?" Shepard asked
"We send in a human spy to pose as a Cerberus operative," Hackett said. "Whenever they can they will send news to us so we can prepare."
"Is this something we would tell the council?" Wrex asked.
"Should we?" Hackett asked. "The original three have been very mute on key details with Bakara and myself, if we should act without informing them it would be within our power to do so."
"Who would we send in?" Shepard asked.
"I've already been working on this for a while now Shepard," Hackett said. "We have an agent ready to infiltrate as a key member of Cerberus."
"Who?" Shepard asked suspiciously. Hackett seemed hesitant to tell him, so Shepard repeated the question.
"Shepard I don't think you'll like my answer," Hackett said firmly.
"Hackett, with all due respect, I am an Admiral in the Systems Alliance and I have the right to know who you plan on sending in." Hackett looked from between Shepard and an eager Wrex as he sighed in concession.
"We don't know her real name, but I believe you know her as Maya Brooks,"
"That Bitch?!" Shepard and Wrex both nearly shouted at the same time.
"Hackett you can't be serious," Shepard pleaded.
"Shepard she's the only person we have in custody that is familiar with all of Cerberus procedures and protocol. She's our best use of a mole for Cerberus, she already has a cover name from her time there and she was never officially fired by the Illusive Man. This can work Shepard."
"Assuming she doesn't stab you in the back again," Wrex snorted.
"How will we assure she doesn't?" Shepard asked curiously.
"I'm sorry Shepard but this mission has to be completely dark. The less anyone knows the better; aside from myself only three other operatives within the Alliance knows the full extent of the plan."
"What if this goes south Hackett?" Shepard asked worriedly.
"I'm prepared to take the heat on the assignment Shepard, but I feel it's necessary." Shepard looked at Hackett warily before finally nodding. Suddenly Liara got everyone's attention as she brought the birthday cake into the dining room. Auron, who had managed to hook up a microphone and wireless speaker down into the kitchen, began playing Happy Birthday while everyone else sang.
"Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you;
Happy Birthday dear Benezia,
Happy Birthday to YOU!"
Benezia excitedly blew out the candle on the cake and everyone clapped excitedly. As Liara began getting cake for everyone Auron played another song over the speakers while everyone ate.
"Who invented music?
I'd like to shake his hand
'Cause music casts a spell on me
That I can't understand
Must be some magician
Designed a magic plan
He changed his wand to a baton
And that's how it all began
When the rhythm pounds
And the harmony sounds
And the melody rolls around
"Prest-o Change-o!"
We're ten feet off the ground
And when the rhythm pounds
And the harmony sounds
And the melody rolls around
Right from the down beat,
We can be found
Ten feet off the ground
When everybody puts his heart in it
Everybody plays a part in it
That's how music magic is made
Everybody's toe's get tap-ier
Everybody's feeling happier
Lighter than air
Out of his chair
Ten feet off the ground"
The Adults appeared to be entertained by the music as they went on about their business but the children seemed absolutely astounded by the music. So Benezia and the six Krogan all ran up the stairs as Auron continued playing his music, when he saw the heard of children walk up the stairs he smiled at their excited expression.
"Well then, what do we have here?" Auron asked.
"Uncle Orn, I play a song?" Benezia asked excitedly. Auron's heart swelled up at the question.
"Of course aniołek, here take a seat," Auron patted the seat next to him as Benezia climbed atop the bench.
"Alright aniołek here's what you do, first hit this key," he said tapping a key; Benezia copied him.
"Now this one," this went on for several moments until Auron had finished the song.
"Alright now put them all together and you'll play a song!" Auron encouraged. Benezia tapped the three keys Auron had shown her slowly as she played a choppy rendition of Hot Cross Buns. When she finished Auron clapped his hands over dramatically as Benezia laughed giddily.
"Now go on downstairs, it's time to get cake and presents!"
"BOOM!" Kratos shouted causing Auron to jump in his seat.
"No boom, cake!" Auron said as he led the Krogan ankle bitters and Benezia down the stairs. As the Krogan children were given cake Benezia was brought to the head of the table as she began to open her presents. From Nova and Grunt Benezia received a book on Krogan history, Shepard laughed assuming the gift being Nova's idea instead of Grunts. Wrex and Bakara bought her a practice dummy for fighting, no matter how hard you hit it, it would always stand back up. Liara's sisters and their bond mates gave Benezia a large collection of plush toys, Benezia's eyes lit up at the sight of them. Garrus and Tali, much to Liara's chagrin and Shepard's amusement, gave Benezia a toy sniper rifle that made rattling noises when fired.
"I'm sorry he wouldn't take no for an answer," Tali said trying to defuse the situation. Kaidan and James gave her gift cards to a local toy store on Thessia while Dr. Chakwas gave her a toy doctor's kit. Councilor Hackett, the simple man that he was, simply handed her father an envelope with a credit chit telling him to put it towards something for her future. Auron gave her a toy microphone that could play hundreds of songs as she sang (downloaded mostly with songs he approved of of course) while her parents giving her her favorite gift being her big girl bed that she'd be sleeping in from now on instead of her crib. Benezia went around hugging and thanking everybody and after several more hours the last of the guests finally departed. Liara and Shepard brought Benezia to her new bed as she tucked her in with all of her new plush toys surrounding her; however she still hung onto the Hanar obviously being her favorite. Auron was at his usual place this time at night, playing soft songs on the piano when he heard footsteps coming from the stairs. He looked towards the stairs and was surprised to see Benezia climbing up with her Hanar toy in her hands.
"Aniołek, what are you doing up this late?" Auron asked.
"Can't sleep," Benezia said stubbornly as she climbed onto the seat next to Auron. Auron smiled understandingly as he wrapped one of his arms around the infant.
"Want to play the song I taught you?" Auron asked. Benezia nodded and slowly played the song she had learned earlier. After a few minutes of them playing songs the infant began to fall asleep in her seat, noticing Auron picked her and the Hanar up and walked them downstairs to her room.
"Not sleepy," Benezia protested as Auron tucked her into the new bed.
"Of course you're not," Auron said patronizingly. "Let's just lay you down and I'll sit here with you until you want me to leave."
"Ok," Benezia said tiredly. Auron sat in silence as he watched Benezia slowly start to fall asleep. When her eyes finally closed and her breathing evened out Auron kissed her on the head gently before getting up to leave.
"I love you Uncle Orn," she said sleepily. Auron smiled as he looked back to his sleeping niece.
"I love you to aniołek,"