Shepard exited her room in time to see La'Dauna leaving through the airlock. "Hey Dauna, wait!" she said, jogging the short distance to the closing doors. They closed before she got there but reopened an instant later.
La'Dauna waited, with narrowed eyes, at the open door, but her irritation lessened as her gaze swept over Shepard. Something was bothering the young woman. It wasn't this insane job either, no matter what Cara claimed.
"Where're you going?" Shepard asked, leaning against the open airlock door.
"I need to be at the Alliance Medical Center soon," La'Dauna said with a shrug.
"Oh," Shepard said, "Um, well.." she stumbled over what she wanted to say. How do you say you think you might be psychic, or whatever was going on in her head? "Well, I..."
La'Dauna could see the struggle Cara was having, "What's up, Shepard? If you're trying to apologize, don't worry about it. I forgive you for being an ass."
Shepard chuckled in surprise at La'Dauna's words. It also managed to rid her of the block of uncertainty sitting in her gut. "Can I talk to you real quick? In private, I was hoping maybe you could help with something..."
"If it's about something you've picked up from a conquest," La'Dauna started before Shepard stopped her.
"No! No, nothing like that. It's... it's.." She was back to stumbling over her words.
"Come on, kid, let's go to the medbay," La'Dauna said, wrapping her arm around the blonde's shoulder and leading her down the hall to the medbay. They entered, and La'Dauna locked the door behind them. "Okay, kid, what's going on? First, it's not like you to miss a check-in, even if you are in the middle of... something," La'Dauna said, raising a brow.
"Okay, this may sound strange, but," Shepard hesitated a moment longer before the words spilled from her mouth, "have you ever come across a psychic? Someone who could foresee the future or something like it?" Shepard didn't wait for La'Dauna to answer and kept going. She needed to get everything out before she thought about it too much, "Because the last couple of nights, I've been having these bizarre dreams. About my life, but it's not really my life. In them, I was in the Alliance. At N-school.
"The dreams, or whatever, are like a kind of deja vu. The woman from the bar last night, who I know for a fact I've never seen before," La'Dauna raised a brow at Shephard's tone, "featured in the first set when we were on the Citadel. I'm pretty sure she was on this planet, which you know, I've never been to. It was being attacked by mechs of some kind, and she was running from them. Then again, last night, I was on a ship, the first of its class. Anderson was there," Shepard's voice cracked at the man's name. "It was called," here Shepard struggled to recall the name of the ship; the details were fading, "the.. the Normandy. I think. So?"
Shepard looked up at the asari, helplessness marring her features. It was a look La'Dauna had not often seen from the woman. She stayed silent as she thought. Shepard shifted from foot to foot in front of her. After what seemed forever to Shepard, La'Dauna answered. "Well, I've heard of some asari's with a sort of precognition, but nothing like this. I could initiate a meld, but since they were dreams, they might be fragmented. Even then, they might not be much help."
Shepard began pacing back and forth with her head down. She stopped and looked at La'Dauna, "But it could help, right? Because, right now, I've got this huge knot of dread, sitting in the pit of my stomach," her hand fisted and pushed into her stomach, "and I can't have that going into a job." She began pacing again, "Whatever is going on, it's messing with my head. What if it's true? What if this planet will be attacked by an army of mechs, and I don't warn them? Not that I have any details like, when, or how." Shepard threw her hands up, overwhelmed by her spiraling thoughts.
"Cara, calm down," La'Dauna said, reaching for the woman as she passed and turning her towards her. Her tone, much more calming in nature than her usual one. This was her doctor-voice, as Shepard called it. "Let me do a meld and see what I can find before you go down that path. Now, I'm going to need you to focus on these dreams, or visions, if that's what they are. From there, it should be easier for me to get a grasp on what's happening."
"Yeah okay, just whatever you can do, please," the last word, a quiet plea.
La'Dauna hadn't seen Shepard shaken this much in a very, very long time. She hoped she would be able to help. "Here, have a seat," La'Dauna patted the examine seat. "Okay, now, focus on the dreams and relax." La'Dauna placed a hand on Shepard's cheek in comfort, watching Cara take a deep, calming breath. La'Dauna's eyes darkened as she focused on pushing through the barriers of Cara's mind, looking for the dreams Shepard mentioned.
Shepard had done well, pulling them to the front of her mind, and they weren't hard to find, but they were surprising. They were almost like fragmented memories. Bits and pieces of a life Cara had never lived but remembered. The realness of each fragment was disorienting.
The woman Cara had talked about flashed across in one of these fragments. La'Dauna took note of the strong connection she felt between the two, more than should be possible after one night, and gently removed her mind from Shepard's, severing the meld. She didn't want to alarm Shepard, but whatever this was, she had never come across anything like it. Neither in her personal life or her medical studies.
"So, what's the prognosis Doc, am I going crazy?" Shepard asked with only a hint of humor in her voice.
"I don't think that's the case, Cara, but, and I don't want you to worry too much..."
"Well, that's never good to hear from your doctor," Shepard said, cutting off the doctor.
"Hush," La'Dauna chastised, "I've never seen anything like it. Nothing even close, in fact. Maybe it's all the stress this job is putting on you."
"No more than usual, Dauna."
"We both know that's bullshit, Cara Jane, and I won't believe any different, no matter what you say.
"If these dreams are bothering you that much, tell the crew. This job isn't worth risking your health or lives. However, knowing you, I suggest you plan for all contingencies if you catch my drift. If you think there is even the slightest chance whatever you saw in your dreams could be real, make sure you're ready for it, and make sure the team is too."
"Sure," Shepard said, a pensive look on her face, "thanks, Dauna."
"Anytime kid, sorry I couldn't tell you more. I've got to get to the medical center, but maybe I can do some research while I'm there. Humans are still rather new to the galaxy, and I don't know much about the psychology of your species. I'm more of a flesh and bones doctor."
Shepard rose from her seat and embraced the asari doctor, "Thanks, anything you can find if only for my peace of mind would be helpful."
The asari returned the hug, "Sure thing, kid. Now get up there and make sure everything is taken care of so we can get off this rock."
A smile hinted at Cara's lips as she pulled away. "Will do, mom," she said, the affection in her voice unmistakable. Both women departed the medbay and went their separate ways. Shepard headed for the lounge area to see who was present before she sent out a message to meet.
Shepard was greeted by Sloane, who was sitting in the lounge talking to Vetra, "Good lookin' out last night, mate," sarcasm dripping from every word. "A heads up would 'ave been nice."
Holding a hand up, Cara stopped any other comments, her tone more defensive than she would have liked, "Yeah, I'm a shithead. I get it. Sorry, I left you uninformed it won't happen again." She knew Sloane was only concerned but really didn't need anyone else on her case about last night. She had enough on her mind without piling more onto her conscience.
The outburst had drawn the attention of the rest of the crew, and Shepard sighed. She looked around and saw most of them there. Jack was throwing glares her way while talking with Cael on one of the couches. Keiji and Kasumi were in the mess, tapping away at their omnitools, checking any surveillance they had put up around the areas they had scouted. Sid came from the galley with Reyes. Zaeed and Reza were the only two not present. Great, she grumbled to herself. "Okay, everyone gather round," she said, motioning to the lounge area. She tapped a message to the two not present while everyone grabbed a seat.
Obviously needing to clear the air about her disappearance the night before, she said, "First, I just want to say I messed up. I know this doesn't fix it, but I didn't mean to worry you guys. I feel like an ass. I'm sorry."
"Eh, we're over it, CJ. So shut the fuck up about it, and tell us about this intel you found," Jack said, letting Cara off the hook. Jack looked around the room encouraging nods of agreement from the others.
Cara watched as smirks appeared around the room at Jack's words. Sloane shrugged, now unconcerned. Cara gave Jack an appreciative grin and found a seat on the arm of a couch. "We'll wait for Reza and..."
"Where the hell have you been, Cara?" Zaeed said, coming up the stairs. "Guddam girl, we all thought..."
"Shut it, Old Man," Vetra said from her seat on the couch.
Zaeed stopped talking and looked at her in surprise.
"Honestly," Reyes added, "If you had seen the lady Shepard left with, you would understand. Damn, Cara, your choice in women is exquisite."
Heads turned to look at him. "You saw her leave?" Sloane asked.
"No," Reyes said. "I did notice the goddess she danced with before she disappeared, however." He winked at Shepard.
"I'm going to kick your ass, Vidal," Sloane growled. "Why didn't you say something when I asked if you'd seen her?"
"If I recall, I said, I'd last seen her at the bar. You didn't ask about her company."
"You're a complete idiot," Sloane said, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.
Zaeed had found a seat during the exchange, and they were now waiting for Reza. Snickers swept the room at Sloane's last jab and Reyes' affronted look as Reza joined them.
"I'm glad to see that you're okay, Cara," Reza said as he sat down.
"Thanks, Reza. Sorry if I worried you."
"It's fine, Shepard. You seem to be able to take care of yourself when the need arises."
A new wave of snickers filled the room from the humans and a couple of the aliens. Reza cocked his head in confusion while Shepard cleared her throat and tried to hide the warmth she felt rising to her face.
"Anyway, the reason we're all here is that my dalliance with the stunning woman last night," Shepard looked at Reyes with a smirk, "acquired us some great intel." She paused and turned to Reyes, "Which I believe unless you found something, makes me the winner of last night's little bet."
"Let's get the details first," Reyes said.
"I have here," Shepard said, pulling up her omni screen, "the current number of guards, their current rotation, and their current routes for the dig site." She sent the information to the team.
"Nice, Shepard," Zaeed agreed, reading through the information. "Sid can map out their routes on one of her programs, and we can find the perfect opening to pull this off tonight."
"We managed to get some eyes on the south and west side of the dig site. They can help confirm the accuracy of times and numbers," Keiji said.
"We can meet back here in...," Shepard checked the time, ten past midday, "let's say, five hours. That should give plenty of time to see how accurate this info is we have." She looked to Kasumi, "Kas, how do you feel about a bit more recon? We still haven't gotten eyes on the prize. The dossier we have said it's somewhere on the east side."
"The way's blocked-off with Alliance checkpoints and open terrain," Kasumi said. "Even with the guard schedule, getting there won't be easy." Kasumi bounced a bit and grinned, "It's like Christmas without the cold. You always give good presents, Shep."
Shepard shook her head at the thief's antics, "Okay, then. Don't be like me. Keep in contact. I want check-ins every twenty minutes to be safe."
"You got it," Kasumi said.
"Everyone else, finish your preparations. I'm not sure there's much more info grabbing we can do. If you think of something, feel free to follow it through, but be back here for departure. Once we get settled in our cover spot, we'll discuss the plan for pick up." Shepard hesitated as she watched her crew begin to move towards their tasks but knew she had to say something. "Before you go, there's one more thing."
Those who had risen from their seats paused, then lowered themselves back down at the look on Cara's face. "What's up, kid?" Zaeed asked.
Cara scowled at him but sobered as she thought about what she had to tell them. "Um, well," Cara stumbled. Her crew looked concerned.
"We've already forgiven you for screwing up," Jack said.
Shepard ran her hand through her hair and rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah, um, it's not anything to do with that. It's… I don't want you to think I've gone off the rails or anything..."
"Just tell us, Shepard," Vetra said, interrupting Shepard's fumbling.
And Cara did. A jumble of words spilled from her mouth, "I've been having these really vivid dreams, or maybe they're premonitions I don't know. I saw Eden Prime and the woman from last night, and there was an army of mechs attacking, and I was in the Alliance, and they're just so real. I don't…"
"Woah, woah. Slow down there, Cara," Zaeed said, squeezing her shoulder.
When did he get over here? Cara thought, looking at his worried eyes. She took a deep breath.
"Now, what's this about dreams and an army of mechs?"
Shepard took another deep breath. "So, the day before we left the Citadel, I had a strange dream. I shrugged it off as stress, 'cause this job is crazy, you know." She watched her crew nod and encourage her to continue. "But, there was a part of it... I was an Alliance soldier on Eden Prime, and mechs were attacking, and I saw the woman from last night. She was fighting these mechs. I hadn't realized it was her until I had another dream last night. And well…" Shepard trailed off, not sure what she wanted to say.
"Are you sure you're not just imposing her face on the soldier in your first dream?" Vetra asked after a long silence.
"Dauna did a meld," Shepard said. The crew looked concerned. "She's not sure what these dreams or whatever are. If they're premonitions or what, but we both thought I should tell you about them in case they have any inkling of truth to them."
"I'll set up long-range scanners to pick up any unusual signals," Sid said. "Just to be safe."
Cara gave a grateful smile to Sid. "Look, I don't think we'll have any problems but let's make sure we're ready for anything. The more prepared we are, the smoother everything will go, and the faster we can get off this rock."
"Well, you heard the Boss lady, let's get to it," Kasumi said, hopping up from her seat.
The five hours went by uneventful, each team member attending to the final aspects of their job.
The new intel allowed Kasumi to successfully scout the east side and get eyes on the artifact. It was an eight or nine-foot-tall tower with green glass encasing alien electronics. There were guards posted all around it, but Kasumi's new stealth field made her invisible. She was even able to establish video surveillance on the item. The video feeds showed scientist after scientist studying the device. They ran tests and took notes, then ran more tests and took more notes. It seemed they were attempting to get it to power up, but each try ended in failure.
Sloane went into Constance to meet up with her former colleagues, trying to find an easier way onto the dig site but to no avail. Zaeed and Cael worked on finishing up concussion rounds and tranq grenades for which a smuggler working at the docks had schematics. Reza worked on the ship. He checked the engines, shielding, and limited weapons, doing whatever he could to make the Night Fox faster, stronger, and able to defend itself if needed. Everyone else either waited around the ship mentally preparing or took time to check out the sites that Eden Prime had to offer.
Jack and Shepard found themselves in the latter group, on the main strip, far away from the military base, window shopping. Jack was looking for a new jacket, and Shepard, a new Wizards sweatshirt since Jack had yet to replace the one she destroyed. They'd already been into three shops without any luck.
"Hey, what do you say we grab a bite?" Jack asked. "All this stuff's too boring anyway."
"Yeah, I could go for some food," Shepard agreed. There were numerous food kiosks along the main strip, selling anything from ramen to fried pies.
They chose a stall selling tacos and placed their orders. Once they received their food, they found a spot on one of the overlook patios that littered the area. Eden Prime was suitably named - the temperature was always a pleasant 22 to 28 degrees Celsius, and the seasons were mild at worst. It was lush with green vegetation as far as the eye could see, and the setting sun painted the atmosphere in burnt oranges and golden yellows. It was pretty damn close to a paradise planet, Shepard thought as she ate her tacos. She watched as Jack looked out across the planet with an introspective look on her face.
"Ever think about living somewhere like this?" Shepard asked.
Jack snorted, "Hell no. It's too boring." She took a bite of her last taco, "But," she said thoughtfully around a mouthful of food, "I like the sunset. Might be good colors for my next tat."
"Is that where your inspiration comes from, the places we visit?" Shepard asked, her tone curious. She had always wondered what compelled Jack to decide on a particular tattoo design. She looked at a silent Jack, willing her to finally open up and answer.
"Sometimes, it's a place. Sometimes, it's a person, or feeling I get from the place or person," Jack said, her gaze still pointed towards the setting sun. "Sometimes, it's a reminder."
"Reminder of what?" Shepard pushed.
Jack shook her head and finished her taco, "You done, CJ? It's about time to head back."
Shepard looked at her empty plate, "Yeah, let's get going." She followed Jack, who kept in front of her, back to the ship. Well, Cara, that's the most she's opened up about her tattoos since you've known her, Shepard thought. Hopefully, that's a good thing. You better make sure everyone's ready for anything.
Once the crew was all on board, Cael followed docking take-off procedures, and they made their way to the designated hiding place. It was eight miles out from the dig site. They would take the cargo transport Reyes had secured at the designated hiding place earlier to a spot in the woods near the supplies dock, then work their way to the site from there.
Everyone was once again, gathered around the lounge - save for La'Dauna, who would stay at the medical center until she received the communication of "all's clear". Zaeed, as the crew's strategist, took the floor, laying out the night's plan. The coffee table lit up with a map of the area, highlighting specific points - guards' positions, the routes they would take, and the estimated time they would be at a specific point along their route. Kasumi, Keiji, and Reyes would play lookout, alerting the extraction team of any guards coming onto shift early or scientists coming to run tests. Zaeed, Jack, and Shepard would be the extraction team.
Tranquilizer grenades would be used to incapacitate the watch guards. Then, as Zaeed watched their backs, Shepard and Jack would use their biotics to transport the thing to the cargo transport. Sloane would be back at the bar, keeping an eye on the area and making sure no one seemed alerted to any strange goings-on. Once they had the artifact loaded, they would take the transport to a clearing on the other side of the forest surrounding the south side of the dig site. The Night Fox, under cover of the night sky, would fly low to the clearing, located on the edge of a cliff. They would load it up and be on their way. As far as plans went, it was one of the simpler ones they'd attempted.