"Movie Night"
San and the rest of the Quarians were, again, relaxing in their Alcove.
It was that time of day where everyone got a few hours where they could do whatever they want; within reason of course. Most took the opportunity to write in their journals, or play that human fantasy game.
"Fon, you Bosh'tet!" San maddly jabbed at his screen. "Stop dragging the mobs back here like Fre'eg!" Fon simply cackled while leading the holographic hoard on a merry chase.
"Ancestors damn you, now we have to clear them from our base!" Col exclaimed, sounding like he was ready to start punching the Marine for his trolling.
"Noooo… My Gardens… I put so much work into them." Leah moaned, sounding close to tears.
"At least it's XP and equipment." Jaali noted, trying to sound optimistic as Lia and Nina patted Leah on the back; while Fyodor just slept away in his hammock, his latest drawing and crayons strewed about underneath him.
Tali rolled her eyes from her omnitool as she looked up something called 'Russian Literature', while Kal just sat in his hammock, trying to get ahead on his weekly paperwork; which never seemed to end in his opinion.
"Oh you Bosh'tet Fon!" Leah snapped as the horde destroyed her garden; prompting her to jump across the group circle and start to play hit and choke him. No one moved or spared it any attention beyond giving the two a glance; before returning to what they had been doing.
San grumbled under his breath as he cleared up the last of the mob; noting with amusement that both Fon and Leah's characters were dead and needed to be revived, since their controllers were too busy either trying to kill each other or mate with each other. San couldn't really tell if he was honest, but the fact that Fon was still cackling like he was crazy while Leah was still cursing at him meant that it was probably the former; probably…
A pair of footsteps drew everyone's attention; except Leah, who was still focused on strangling Fon, while said Quarian was still cackling like mad.
"Er… I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" A familiar voice said, sounding uncertain.
Everyone stopped and looked in surprise to see Pilgrim Lee and Detective Vakarian standing at the entrance to their alcove; both men staring at Leah and Fon. "Oh no! No-no-no! Nothing at all sir!" Leah exclaimed, hopping to her feet.
"She's just getting revenge for me destroying her Garden." Fon replied, still chuckling as he pulled himself up; "We're just lucky she didn't wake up Fyodor." Everyone turned to look at the sleeping kid; and breathed a sigh of relief that he was indeed still asleep.
August looked at the rest of the group; "Well if you're done with your foreplay, how about all y'all join us for a movie? Shepard finally cleared the schedule so that once a week the majority of the crew can come down to the hangar bay and watch some movies if they want to." He explained with a smile on his face.
Garrus just buzzed slightly in amusement, "This is the most excited I've seen you in a long while." He noted, raising an eye ridge while flaring his mandibles.
"How can I not be? I convinced her to let us watch 'John Wick'." The Major replied, actually grinning for once; as opposed to giving small smiles.
"I still don't understand what is so great about it; but I suppose we'll see." Garrus buzzed, admitting his interest in his own roundabout way.
San looked at his fellow Quarians, and Jaali shrugged; "We don't get much out on the fleet, I admit; but it should be interesting to learn a bit more about human culture."
Kal just shuddered, "Just so long as it's not 'Fleet and Flotilla'; I'm so damned tired of watching it." he grumbled, and all the male Quarians nodded in agreement; while San wisely didn't nod along with them even though he agreed.
All the females gasped, and a round of dope slapping occurred; which San managed to avoid by hiding behind Pilgrim Lee, who looked very amused at the whole situation unfolding in front of him.
"How dare you say that! Sacrilege!" Nina exclaimed.
"You don't like Fleet and Flotilla? What kind of Quarian are you?" Jaali added.
Leah shuddered as Tali put a hand on her back, "Oh to think you and I shared the same Liveship." She whimpered.
Lia just wrote something down on a sticky note, and stuck it to Fyodor's Visor; "Let's go, hopefully the movie will be good enough for me to forget the heresy all you males have just committed."
San and the others walked into the hangar, and he blinked upon seeing all of 1-4-1; all the Marine compliment, and a small number of the regular crew already having taken seats in the room.
Most of the humans sat cross legged, while the other Council races sat on various crates and such.
Everyone was quietly chatting with each other; while Commander Shepard sat close to the giant screen that had been set up, typing into her omnitool. San blinked as Pilgrim Lee set down a few collapsable chairs in the back of the crowd, where his three 'Skulls' were already sitting and lounging.
Phil apparently had broken out his 'Vodka' stores, while Sergeant Kingfisher and Sergeant Weaver were both putting ice into red plastic cups; and pouring Colt's soda into them, before adding some of Phil's vodka, and then passing them to everyone seated.
San jumped when the Major said, "Here, you guys sit back here with us; You get a better view of the screen, and we set up speakers so everyone can hear."
He looked at the rest of his fellow Quarians, and they all shared a glance; before shrugging, and sat down on the floor in front of the chairs the 'Skull's' had set up. The Major nodded in encouragement as they all sat down, and grabbed his thermos and took a big swig of it; the ice sloshing around inside.
Nodding to them, he walked up to stand next to Shepard, turning his gaze to the crowd. "Alright… Alright everyone settle down." The room quieted as all conversation tapered off, and the Major glanced at the Commander.
She shrugged, "Your show Major." was all she said as she set up a chair next to Garrus; the Turian putting an arm around her.
Nodding, the Major said; "Alright, we got refreshments over by the wall; I cooked them myself using some old family recipes. We got Pepsi, Iced Tea, some 'Shepards Pie' Ice Cream, Sweet and Sour Apple Pie that is Dextro and Levo friendly; Rice Crispy Treats also duel acid friendly, Apple Strudel." San noticed the Commander lick her lips, and he didn't fail to see the smirk Lee sent her way.
Knowing the Major, he had likely bribed the Commander after buying all the stuff necessary to make all this food he was listing to get her to go along with it. "Peach Cobbler, Old Bay Garlic Potato Fries, both of which are also duel acid friendly; some popcorn, and finally Spaghetti and Meatballs with my own personal meat press for the meatballs, and I managed to snag some Maryland Ledo's Sauce for the Spaghetti. All of which is Dextro Friendly in the Green pot, while Levo is in the Red Pot"
San blinked, while Tali exclaimed; "Kheelah! You cooked it all yourself?" she them sunk into her chair as everyone turned their gazes to her while Pilgrim Lee laughed.
"I used to work in a restaurant, but even I can't do that much by myself; I would like the mess crew to stand, and for everyone to give them a round of applause for being such good assistants and students." He replied, clapping as the mess crew did so; along with Leah, to the Quarians surprise.
As the Applause died down, San and the others leaned over to Leah; and Fon whispered, "What did you do? And what was it like?"
Leah sputtered for a few seconds at the attention. "It was nothing really; I just boiled things, like sterilizing equipment really." Everyone could see her eyes flash happily. "I did make the 'Rice Crispy Treats'; and they're a secret I'll take to my grave!"
San noticed several humans grinning at that, even as they headed over to partake of the aforementioned 'treat'.
San turned his attention back to Major Lee as one of the human Marines asked, "So what's the Vid for tonight sir? Blasto."
Everyone blinked as a sour look crossed the Major's face, and San didn't miss the looks of disgust cross the other Ghosts faces behind him. "Please, that is nothing compared to what I picked out; these films are classics. Tell me, have any of you heard… of 'John Wick'?" He asked, his smile returning.
Everyone looked at each other in confusion while Liara raised her hand in question; "What is this about?" She asked.
August laughed, "A tale from the early twenty-first century; the tale of a man on a warpath of revenge, and later his attempts to escape the consequences of his actions. The tale of a retired Assassin forced out of retirement; this assassin… is John Wick."
While most of the crew seemed curious, San noticed Wrex, Aethyta and Shiala perk up at the mention of what sounded to him like an old House vendetta.
Shepard just chuckled, "Alright, go on and start it Major; I got my food." She commented, jabbing a fork into her 'Spag-etti'.
"I'll prepare it, but let everyone else get their food." He looked right at San, and San understood immediately; and he scrambled up and got one of everything for himself once he reached the table. All his fellow Quarians and at least half the crew following his example.
San quickly realized the Major had made sure to set up several servings in food tubes for the Quarians, along with at least two for each person for each of the desserts. The 'Spag-etti' didn't look too appealing, but since Leah had claimed it tasted delicious; he was willing to give it a try.
It took a little bit for everyone to get situated, but soon everyone had their food; and were seated in front of the giant Holo-Screen. San noticed that most of the humans weren't eating, and looked to be waiting for the movie to start; and San decided to follow their example, since it seemed to be an interesting idea.
His fellow Quarians noticed and did the same. Major Lee hit a few keys, and the Vid started to play; even as the Major practically sprinted over to the food, grabbed a serving of each, before rushing back to his chair behind the Quarians with the rest of his team.
San wasn't sure what to expect from the beginning of the tale, but the bloody and beaten human that crawled out of a wheeled conveyance was not it. Most of the Quarians were slightly unnerved by the scene and the great volumes of bodily fluids present. San shuddered at the thought of the bacterial cesspool the character was dragging himself through. He and his fellow Pilgrims were given a slight reprieve when the human pulled out what looked like some kind of proto-omnitool.
Tali slurped a tube of the purified 'Old Bay Fries'. "Well setting aside I've been where he is, I can't imagine this could get much worse." she mumbled, so as not to disturb the crowd.
There was an almost commercial dark chuckle from behind them. San peered over his shoulder at the 'Ghosts'. Phil was shaking his head while Archer gave them a sympathetic smile. It was the almost manic grins on Lee's and Colt's faces that really let them know just bad this night would get.
San watched, feeling quite sympathetic to the man on the screen as he watched his bondmate die to sickness. It was something all Quarians, he himself included, had dealt with in their lives. There wasn't one Quarian he knew of that had not lost a friend or a relative to some kind of sickness or suit breech.
And then there was the small Varren-Kit, it was adorable. Half the crew, especially among the humans, began cooing at the small furred creature. San had some hopes for the story until he heard Archer lean over and whisper to Lee, "You know, you can be a real bastard some times?"
Lee's only response was to hide a sniggering laugh and shush her.
Wrex simply barked a laugh after the three Batarian stand ins were finished on screen. "Whelp; they're dead. I'm getting more of Shepard's Pie. You want some?"
Garrus leaned over to the Commander and whispered something to her, which also sounded like it had to do with the meat-pie dish, though for some reason it earned him an elbow to the ribs. "So I take it that's a 'no', then?" She sent him a withering look that was marred by the full face blush.
As the man buried the Varren-Kit; San heard sniffing beside him, and San turned and noticed all the females seemed to be crying. Even Archer looked aggrieved somewhat; while Leah trembled, whispering "It was so cute and innocent… why did it have to die?" Fon just put an arm around her shoulder, and San smiled before turning his attention back to the screen as the three Batarian stand in's confronted a Shop owner of some kind.
There was another round of dark chuckling as the 'legend of Baba Yaga' unfolded, though a number of the crew siddled themselves away from the grinning Matriarch. San noted with amusement that Wrex himself seemed to be leaning away from her slightly; though it was very subtle, to the point that he wasn't sure that anyone else noticed.
Shaking his head, he finished off the 'Spag-etti' and 'Meatballs'; noting that it was indeed delicious, and moving onto the 'Old-Bay-Garlic-Potatoes'. Even as a group of armed humans were making their way to the house of 'John Wick'; all dressed in masks and suits as they entered.
It was as if everyone in the hangar bay leaned forward in anticipation as it shifted back to John.
San blinked in surprise; as rather than bombastic gunfights, or massive amounts of jumping around or small explosions occurring when the action began. John Wick simply walked up and began shooting the men with a suppressed weapon in a cold and clinical fashion. This was interspersed with the sort of flailing wrestling he remembered getting into with other youths onboard the ship when he was bored, except there was something tangibly more visceral about this 'Wick's' actions.
There was a slight commotion in front of him as Garrus, Shiala and Major Kirahe all chatted quietly to one another while pointing at the action; they all sounded... impressed. This earned Garrus another Shepard's Elbow.
Though San was certain he heard Garrus scoff when the human C-SEC equivalent showed up at the door with a 'noise complaint'; and didn't do anything to investigate the very clearly in plain sight dead body. "Is this a documentary of the C-Sec investigative process now?" he heard him grumble.
Shepard just whispered back, "after all the people Wick killed just now, what is a beat cop going to do?"
San watched, almost slack jawed and only barely able to finish his tube of paste as the next hour of almost non-stop cold and clinical violence followed; most of it being a blur and yet very memorable at the same time, But three parts stood out in particular to San.
The first was the fight at the nightclub, and the chief henchman for the Batarian stand ins managed to actually overwhelm Wick; capitalizing on the fight by throwing Wick off the balcony. San was pretty sure everyone cringed when Wick hit the floor; especially coupled with the downright pain inducing slamming noise Wick made when he hit the floor.
The only other scene that stood out to San was the scene where the Gang boss captured Wick. As much as he tried not to think about it, all San could think of was that Bosh'tet Muhandis; when he had captured San and all the rest of the Quarian Pilgrims.
He had to look away as the goons tried to kill John by suffocating him, and the sniper killing the one goon and allowing John to escape just drew more parallels in San's mind.
The last scene that stood out was of course the final battle and the aftermath; though San did remember everyone cheering when that 'Perkins' Tuho was executed by the rival Crime Boss for trying to kill Wick on neutral ground.
The final fight was brutal, and San actually put a hand to his side when Wick allowed Viggo to stab him in the side; and then Wick using that to get the upper hand to finally beat and kill Viggo. Though Viggo's final words, "Be seeing you John", was haunting to San; since it was clear that even if Wick survived the end of the film, he was clearly on borrowed time.
Once the movie was over, everyone was sitting and staring at the screen in open mouthed amazement. "Holy shit, that was waaaaaaay better than Blasto; I don't think I can ever watch those movies again after this." Aethyta exclaimed; prompting vigorous nods from all the aliens and at least half the humans in the bay.
"When was this movie made anyway? The effects and acting are top notch; has to be the 2160's, right?" Ashley Williams asked.
Lee shrugged, "It was released in 2014." Everyone stared at him, and the Major raised an eyebrow and stood; "What? My old man was a film junkie; he loved Steven Spielberg's films in particular."
While the various soldiers and soldiers-of-fortune extolled the virtues of the movie, San shivered in his suit. That was so bloody! Is this what entertains humans: bloodshed and vendettas? He thought back to that conversation in the engineering compartment; pilgrim Lee had been poised to become a priest, but instead chose to become a member one of the Systems Alliance's preeminent Special Forces units. His Priest as a child was himself a military combat veteran before taking the Cloth. San was yet again at a loss to understand these people.
A hand on his shoulder startled him from his thoughts, and he looked over and saw that it was Sergeant 'Reegar that had noticed his distress.
"What's eating you kid?" He whispered.
San felt oddly comforted by the familiar lilt of a Quarian voice. "Just... trying to understand humans. Are they spiritual or warlike; honorable or, that?" He gestured vaguely to the holoprojector.
The sergeant seemed to think it over, before saying; "I think they're just like us, just like the Turians, or even the Batarians. They're a race made up of individuals, not a collective hive mind. Piece of advice for you kid, don't try and put an entire race into a box based on what you see or have experienced. Chances are that they are their own person." He advised.
San sank back in his chair in thought. His aunt had given him almost the same advice when he departed on his pilgrimage. That felt a lifetime ago, and perhaps it was. The old him couldn't have imagined partaking of refreshment and entertainment alongside an Asari Matriarch and a Krogan Battlemaster while serving on a human warship, yet here he was. Maybe he should just let go, embrace the madness of his circumstances and see where they led him?
Lee walked forward even as the crew began happily chatting amongst each other, and cleared his throat; "Well then… I'm glad all y'all thoroughly enjoyed the movie; with the Commander's permission, I think we can move onto John Wick Chapter 2. By your leave ma'am."
Shepard looked around the hanger, and saw that most everyone was giving her pleading looks; practically begging her to allow the night to continue. She started laughing, "Oh all right, It's not like you haven't gotten me hooked on these now." She said sarcastically, pointing a fork at him before digging back into her Pie and Ice Cream.
San leaned forward in his seat; so this was what human movies were like? He could get used to this.
A/N: Decided to do a quick throwback to the good ol' days. To clear up any confusion, this is very early in the 1-4-1's mission; shortly after Liara's pickup. Eve not being there is simple, she is there; she's just watching from the camera's. And for non canon reasons, this was written before she was introduced.
Check out the Finale, and the epilogue will be uploaded when it's done.
See ya when I see ya.