Disclaimer: This author in no way profits from the writing of this story. All characters, dialogue, or other referenced material from the Mass Effect trilogy belong to BioWare.
Author's Note: This story does not necessarily follow any particular timeline and may not be considered chronologically accurate.
#
At Vadix's instruction, Cass faced downrange, feeling nervous and slightly queasy. She knew she had nothing to fear from the weapon itself, but she was still uncertain about actually firing it. After all, while it wasn't inherently harmful without someone to direct it, it also couldn't be used in an inherently helpful way.
But, she reminded herself, I admire Commander Shepard for all the heroic things she's done, and she regularly uses firearms. So they can't be entirely bad. And at least for now, Cass wasn't at risk of actually hurting anyone. Unless she really fucked up and somehow managed to shoot Vadix.
That was a sobering thought.
"Remember your safety rules," the turian reminded her.
She nodded and replied, "Treat every weapon like it's loaded, only point the muzzle at intended targets, keep my finger off the trigger until I'm actually going to pull it, and be aware of what's behind—and around—my target." Peeking at him, she saw his nod of approval.
"Right. Now take your stance, but don't shoot."
Complying with his instructions, she held up the shotgun, resting the end in the dip where her clavicle met her shoulder. She held on tightly to the grip with one hand, while holding the other under the body of it, closer to the muzzle.
"Well you've got a decent grip on it, but remember what I taught you about planting your feet in hand-to-hand combat?" Vadix asked her, moving to stand behind her. "The gun obviously isn't going to fight you, but it will have some kickback when you fire. Because of that force, it'll help if you intentionally place your feet, about shoulder-width apart. It'll ground you, so the backwards impact doesn't put you on your ass," he explained.
That makes sense, she realized as she moved her feet to a wider stance. She hadn't given much thought to it, but if the gun used a tiny mass accelerator to speed up the particles used as bullets, it would have to give off a decent amount of force to balance out the reaction.
"Much better," the turian approved. "Now, this particular Katana doesn't have a scope or anything so you'll have to use the generic sights. Along the top barrel, there will be two perpendicular ridges with a little cut out in the middle. Line up those two spaces to aim," he directed.
Lifting the front end of the weapon higher until it was approximately level with the floor, Cass squinted, trying to identify the sights. "Okay," she murmured hesitantly. "So, when those are lined up, the bullet is going to hit just beneath what I can see?"
"Not quite. That notch is effectively your target zone. So whatever you're looking at there is what you'll hit. Well, ideally, anyway. Assuming you don't twitch at the last second," he asserted. Frowning, Cass knew Vadix wasn't trying to sound condescending—well, he probably wasn't doing it on purpose—but his statement still pricked her pride.
"Got it," she muttered, trying to hide her disdain.
She heard him take a couple steps behind her, then Vadix said, "Alright, whenever you're ready, take your shot."
Taking a deep breath, she peered down the length of the barrel and lined up the two cuts in the metal. Trying to hold the gun steady, Cass aimed at the center of the black and red concentric circles, mere yards away. Then, breathing once more to steady herself, she squeezed the trigger.
The gun rocked back into her body, and she felt sure it was going to leave a bruise. Immediately, the nose jerked toward the ceiling as she absorbed the shockwave, nearly falling off her feet. "Shit!" she exclaimed.
Cass felt talons on her shoulder blades, steadying her, then heard Vadix ask from above, "Are you alright?"
Tipping the gun toward the ground before she turned to face him, she answered, "Fine, yeah, I think. I mean, with your speech about my stance I thought I had prepared myself for the kickback but that was completely beyond what I was expecting!" She tentatively rubbed the sore spot on her shoulder. It was definitely tender. "I think I'm gonna have a bruise in the shape of a butt."
His mandibles twitched in what she thought was humor. "Remember to keep your finger off the trigger," he reminded her, pointing toward her grip.
"Shit!" Moving her finger away, she wasn't sure what to do with it—she had to keep a grip on the gun somehow but it felt so awkward to hold her finger up off of it.
Vadix laid his talons on her hand as he explained, "Just rest it flat against the trigger guard, like that."
"Oh, thanks," she murmured, looking down at their entwined hands. Suddenly she felt like a juvenile in secondary school again, when the accidental brush of fingers in the hallway was enough to give her butterflies.
Shaking her head, Cass took a tiny step backward, away from what seemed like an impossible attraction. Unexpectedly, she felt the terror of that night creeping in quickly. True, no weapons had been fired, but the faces she'd seen in the dim light, ranging from grim to sadistic, still haunted her. Even then, at fourteen years old, she'd known that they would have no problem following up on their threats if her mother didn't go quietly. "Um, should I try again?" she offered, hoping to break free from the awkward moment created by the abyss of her memories.
The turian nodded and stepped back again, folding his arms. Any trace of amusement, real or imagined, had been replaced with mild professional interest. Already she missed his alien laughter. It was like a balm to her complaining nerves.
She turned around, once again facing down range, feeling slightly woozy. Lifting the shotgun back up, she pressed it against her shoulder and winced, but said nothing, determined to overcome the pain, both emotional and physical. Cass aligned the sights and took aim at the target, then took a deep, steadying breath, and pulled the trigger.
Having experienced it once already, she was more prepared for the pain. It hurt more the second time, but she merely grunted in response. Her feet remained exactly where she'd planted them and she was able to keep the gun fairly level with the ground, instead of the flailing it had felt like before.
"Good," she heard from several feet behind her. "Now re-engage the safety and remove the heat sink. We'll go take a look at the target to see how you did."
Cass fumbled with the safety mechanism but after a moment managed to slide it into place. After pulling off the thermal clip, she placed it and the Katana back on the weapons bench behind them. Returning to where Vadix waited near the 10 yard line, they moved in silence toward the end of the range.
Right away she noticed neither of her shots had been anywhere near the center. One, likely the first, had flown wide, missing the outermost edge of the circle by nearly a foot. The second had almost made it into the second-widest colored ring. Cass felt herself coloring with embarrassment.
"Not too shabby," Vadix said, surprising her. She looked up at him, eyes wide. He was doing that turian grin again. He's so handsome when he smiles, she admired. "This one," he said, pointing to the outermost hole, "is what I was expecting. Only for both shots. This one," he pointed to the other, "is actually really good for having no practice with firearms. Maybe we'll make an assassin out of you yet."
She tried to laugh at his joke, but the thought of killing someone made her nauseous. "I wouldn't go quite that far," she managed, feeling uneasy. Watching the target she'd just shot, the red seemed to fade to a strange grey color.
His smirk disappeared as he reached out to her. Lightly resting his talons on her shoulder, Vadix asked, "Are you alright, Cassana?" She watched his brow plates rise as he towered over her, leaning in. She focused on his mandibles, pulled in tight against his face, as his talons moved to rest against her neck while the other hand gripped her waist. "You look…" he flailed for words, concern etched in his eyes.
"Faint," she offered.
Just before she passed out.
#
Vadix held the limp human's frame, absolutely uncertain of what to do. Cassana had fallen forward onto him and her close proximity made him feel uncomfortable, but that was better than her falling backward and getting hurt, he supposed.
As gently as he could, the turian lowered them to the ground, rearranging her fleshy limbs into what he hoped was a more comfortable position. He managed to get his partner into a relatively seated position in front of him, leaning back against his raised knee, with her own knees bent slightly where they rested against his outstretched leg. One of her arms folded across her abdomen while the other stretched out, her wrist resting on the ground.
Trying to remember the basic first aid he had reviewed every year since graduating from the academy, he thought to check for a pulse. But where? If she were a turian he knew he'd be able to feel it in the dip of her neck, but did that hold true for humans?
Suddenly his mind flashed back to earlier that morning—was it only that morning?—when he'd made some bumbling attempt at flirtation and managed to slice her shirt open by mixing up the location of the human heart. Human hearts, left side of the body, he remembered Cassana saying.
Tenderly he placed his palm on her chest. Spirits, please don't be dead, he begged internally.
A faint but regular thump-thump greeted him, and Vadix breathed a sigh of relief. A heartbeat at least meant she was still alive, but that didn't provide much clarification about what the problem actually was.
Her eyes were closed and she was breathing, but other than that she was effectively comatose. Did humans go into a coma for no reason?
What's a turian to do?
But then she was blinking blearily up at him. "Spirits, you're alright," he exhaled heavily.
"Ugh, I must've passed out," Cassana moaned. She closed her eyes again, rubbing her forehead. "Thanks for catching me," she said before Vadix could get too worried about her slipping into a pseudo-coma once more.
"Is it normal for humans to 'pass out'?" Vadix asked in wonder.
Opening her eyes again, she managed a chuckle, "Not necessarily. Some people do from medical conditions, but I don't think I've ever fainted before. Not sure what brought it on though," she trailed off.
He clicked his mandibles, thinking. "How are you feeling now?"
The human seemed to take mental stock of her current situation. "Still a bit weak," she admitted. "But my head feels clear at least, so I don't think I'll pass out again." Cassana turned her head to look up at him.
The black centers of her stormy eyes were wider than he'd ever seen. The change in size threw him off balance mentally, and he wondered again at this alien phenomenon. It was like looking into a sun made of shadows, dark yet enticing.
"Oh, Vadix," she exclaimed suddenly. "I just realized—I mean, you must be uncomfortable. I can move." She started to shift away from him.
He stopped her escape easily. "Cassana, I may not be a doctor but I think you better wait until you get your strength back," he warned, subvocals flanging in agreement. Although what the turian said was true, it wasn't the whole truth: he just wasn't ready to let her out of his arms just yet.
She stared at him in response, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "Very well," she conceded before snuggling down into his armor as best she could, eyes closing in contentment. "Will you tell me a story then?"
"I already told you a story," he retorted, hoping to avoid any more somber memories.
She peeked up at him through one dusky eye. "I'm the invalid here, aren't I? That means you have to do what I want." She humphed at him in a mocking dictatorial tone as she shut her eyelid again.
Pausing a moment before responding, Vadix gazed down at the woman in front of him. From fiery to frail and back again in what felt like the blink of an eye. Spirits, I can't deny her something so simple, he thought, reflecting. Dammit.
"Very well, if you insist," he surrendered. "What would you like to know?"
He knew he was going to regret this later, but right now he could only think about how pleasant it was to see her smile so easily.
"Tell me about your mom."
The gentle command took him by surprise, and he waffled in his response: he had never told anyone about his mother. She was the most important person in his life, and the one who knew him best in this galaxy. Could he really let someone else in on that relationship?
But then he saw the utter innocence, the genuine interest, in Cassana's face and Vadix realized that, somehow, he not only trusted this red-haired human, but he wanted to confide in her.
Taking a deep breath to settle his nerves, the turian began, "Her name is Trebaana Ramraka, and she's the most serene, kind-hearted being I know."