Episode 31-Recovery

At that moment, Jewel found herself within the empty void again.

Jewel: "Huh? Where am I...? Oh...it's this place again. But...what am I doing here?"

She then heard a faint voice call her name. It was the same voice that she heard before.

Jewel: "Huh? Who's there? Wait, it's you! But...who are you?"

The voice called her name a few times, getting louder each time.

Jewel: "Please answer me. Who are you? Where are you?"
Voice: "I am...everywhere. I am...one."
Jewel: "What?"
Voice: "One is all and all is one. Everything comes from one source while the one branches its source out to everything. All life has one source and that source extends itself to everything and everyone, therefore, I am everywhere."
Jewel: "I don't understand. What do you mean? Why are you..."

Just then, a bright light flashed before her, blinding her.

Almost a split second later, she woke up. She sat up and found herself on a medical bed within the medical bay.

Jewel: "Huh? I...I'm back...in the medical bay...on the Normandy."
Liara: "Jewel!"

She looked over and noticed several of the crew members standing nearby.

Samantha: "You're awake! Thank goodness you're alright!"
Miranda: "We were worried about you for a while there."
Jewel: "What...happened? How did I end up here?"
Liara: "You lost consciousness when we were still back on Fehl Prime. We brought you here to try and find out how that could have happened."
Jewel: "Hmm...is that so...? Could it have been...but...what did that all mean?"
Garrus: "Are you at least feeling OK? You aren't worn down or anything, are you?"
Jewel: "No...I...I'm just confused. I just had a weird dream, that's all."

From there, Flare approached her a bit.

Flare: "A weird dream? What was it about?"
Jewel: "I...I don't know. I found myself in an empty void and I kept hearing this weird voice. I don't understand what it's trying to tell me and...for some reason...it sounds familiar."
Ashley: "Has she had anything like this before?"
Star: "No, first time I've ever heard of it."
Aera: "A weird voice that sounds familiar. Huh, even I have no can't figure out what that could possibly mean."
Jewel: "Well...at the moment, it's not important. I don't even know if it means anything."
FemShep: "Just let us know if you have another weird dream like that again."
Jewel: "Of course, I would like to know what any of it meant."
Liara: "So, Dr. Were you able to find anything that could have caused the sudden change in her condition?"
Mordin: "Nope, nothing out of the ordinary, nothing major, anyway, though did detect something that was not found before. Uncertain of what it is or if it caused her to lose consciousness suddenly."
Liara: "I see...well...we should keep an eye on that, but for the time being, there was something else that is in need of our attention."
Mordin: "Yes, already knew that. Shall we?"

Liara nodded then the both of them walked over towards where Dr. Chakwas was sitting. They were seen chatting with her. Garrus has taken notice of this. He then looked back towards the girls. They were hanging around and chatting with Tali, Miranda, Samara, Samantha and Kasumi. Garrus stood by with Ashley and Ms. Shepard, watching them.

FemShep: "They seem to be doing well for themselves."
Garrus: "Yeah, they are."

He kept staring at Jewel as she was somewhat withdrawn.

FemShep: "You really do worry about her a lot."
Garrus: "Yeah, I have."
Ashley: "Can't say I really blame you. She had been out cold for a few hours. We had no idea what was going on or what would happen to her."
FemShep: "Not to mention that you were on edge constantly."
Miranda: "On edge?"

It was then that Miranda walked up to them.

Miranda: "He was a complete and total wreck."
Garrus: "Um, yeah, I can't help myself whenever something like that were to happen to her or the other girls."
Ashley: "Which was exactly why we needed to have you take your mind off of it."
Garrus: "Yeah, of course, Mordin and Tali had me watch more of their Pretty Cures with them for 2 hours. They mentioned something about that not being long enough for anime. Oh, and thanks so much for just standing around and doing nothing while they pulled me into that, literally."
FemShep: "You may not have liked it, but we had to do something to keep you from getting even more antsy."
Garrus: "Of all the ways to do it, why did you let it be that?"
Miranda: "Because it was a more effective distraction."
FemShep: "Besides, those 2 really enjoy having you watch their shows with them."

Garrus grunted a little. Just then, they looked over and noticed Liara, Mordin and Dr. Chakwas standing nearby. They had concerned looks on their faces.

Ashley: "Is there something the matter?"
Liara: "There have been...some important things that we've been looking into and...we feel that you guys need to know about this."
FemShep: "What is it? Is everything OK?"
Liara: "For now yes, but..."
Dr. Chakwas: "This is something that regards the Fayelons. We need to discuss this in private."

Ashley, Ms. Shepard, Garrus and Miranda exchanged concerned looks with each other.

Ashley: "Alright, we'll do that."

Garrus, Miranda, Ashley and Ms. Shepard followed all 3 doctors to the other side of the medical bay. Both groups then stood close to one another, almost close enough to which they would be able to huddle with each other.

Dr. Chakwas: "We've been looking into some of the records and the scans that we have taken on the girls and...what we have found have yielded some horrible news."
Miranda: "What's wrong? They're not in terrible health are they?"
Dr. Chakwas: "No, they aren't, they're perfectly healthy. In fact, they're healthier than they were when we first met them. However, that's what we find worrisome."
Ashley: "What do you mean? Tell us everything you know."
Liara: "When we compared readings to how they are now, they're shown to be in better health then they were previously. We were able to find that this was because we've had them eating more than just 1 meal."
Dr. Chakwas: "Although it had been a short period of time, their health is shown to have spiked significantly. What we were able to find has shown that they are much closer to the the kind of health that is considered normal for young girls like them at their age than they were previously."
FemShep: "And you're saying that their health has massively increased since they were fed meals on a regular basis by our standards?"

Dr. Chakwas nodded.

Ashley: "But wait a minute, Dr. Chakwas, when you first examined the girls, you said they were in perfect health."
Dr. Chakwas: "I know and they seemed like that to me at first, but I didn't have much understanding about the normal health of Fayelons. They were incredibly strong back when I first examined them, but from what intel we were able to obtain regarding their health, when I first examined them, it turned out that they were just getting by with reserves."
Miranda: "They seemed incredibly resilient for the kind of health they were in when they were just "getting by"."
Liara: "But you also remember that during their first battle, they were easily exhausted. I thought it was just from them traveling from one galaxy to another almost non-stop, but it was worse than that."
Mordin: "Although did receive some readings that perhaps, they have eaten a little more than when they were still at their home."
Garrus: "And how exactly are you able to figure that?"

Mordin ran his Omni-tool.

Mordin: "Did an evaluation of their health and then ran a simulation of when they were living on their "one meal a day" regiment back within their galaxy. Have found that their bodies, based on the calculations, produced much less magical energy then when they were first evaluated upon arriving here, within ours. Their magical readings are shown to be somewhat higher than what was perceived from the simulation."
Liara: "I'm afraid that's not all of it. From how much they have eaten on a regular basis within their galaxy, or rather realm, it is revealed that their bodies can only produce so much magical energy by itself but..."
Mordin: "Sustenance serves a more massive purpose to the reproduction of magical energy than we had perceived. At first, it seemed optional but in actuality, to produce the massive amounts of magical energy needed for them is impossible when done on its own. Sustenance, as it turns out, is vastly needed for the reproduction of mystical energy as well as their growth, enhancement in magical abilities, overall decent health. Without it, they could easily wear down."
Garrus: "Are you saying...these girls were malnourished?"
Mordin: "Exactly. Would speculate that traveling from one "realm" to another somewhat increased their prowess and reproduction of their magical energy. Not by a lot, but sufficient for noticeable differences."

They stood by, devastated for a brief period of time.

FemShep: "I...I don't...believe it..."
Ashley: "And their own kind back in their realm are doing this on purpose?"
Liara: "I would think that they're aware of this. Some would have managed to find out a long time ago, at least."
Miranda: "This further solidifies that food being nothing more than pleasure is an intentional lie."
Garrus: "If all of this is true, then these girls are clearly living a system that's being run by a heinous conspiracy."
Liara: "That would be the case, but there is still much that we don't know about their realm or their way of life."
Ashley: "But what we've found out goes against their noble beliefs. Just what is going on with those people?"
FemShep: "It's clear that this needs further inquiring. We need to find out all we can about how those people live and run their society."
Garrus: "Yeah, I agree, we have to go over everything that they have lived through with a fine-toothed comb and really try to find just how deep this corruption goes."
FemShep: "Yeah, we should. From what we have found out, it doesn't seem like where they came from is at all is truly a wonderful place to live."
Garrus: "And no doubt, this is far from a fantasy world."
Miranda: "Absolutely. Comparing them both would be like night and day."

Ashley looked over towards the girls as they were still chatting with some of the members of the other crew members.

Ashley: "I don't know about you guys, but this is something that they need to know."
Garrus: "Yeah, I agree, we have to tell them."
FemShep: "Would you recommend telling them now to be a good idea?"

All 3 doctors exchanged looks with each other for a brief moment.

Dr. Chakwas: "I don't find any harm in doing so now."
Liara: "Yeah, me neither. And I agree, they have to know."
Miranda: "Of course, but...we don't have to be gentle with them, right?"
Garrus: "I wouldn't think so. They're tough and they're already aware of how screwed up their society is."
Miranda: "Not to mention that they said something about a friend of theirs looking into this matter."
Mordin: "Hmm, indeed, would like to know who that friend of theirs is."
Liara: "We all do, but every time they bring it up, they just couldn't bring themselves to talk about it, almost as though they've been repressing a sad memory."

After spending a few moments contemplating what to do, they walked back towards where the girls were. The girls took notice of them almost immediately. They noticed that they seemed a bit saddened.

Star: "Umm...hey, guys. What's up?"
Splash: "Why do you look that way? Was it...that thing I said back in that colony about Garrus' girlfriend?"
Garrus: "Let's forget about that for a moment! We have more important things to discuss with you girls!"
Jewel: "What is it? What's going on?"
Liara: "We...made some new findings regarding your powers and your health and...they were shocking."

They then went on to tell the girls and the rest of the crew members what they had just discussed. As they were hearing this, they were stunned beyond words. After it was done, they really struggled to figure out what to say about what they had been hearing. The girls, especially, looked as though what they were told had punched them in their stomachs, hard. Some looked almost as though they were about to throw up. Jewel just sat on the bed, stunned, looking like she was struggling to breathe.

Jewel: "Mal-nourished...? All this time...we've been...malnourished?"
Aera: "Food really was that important to us?"

Most of the group that informed them of this nodded.

Star: "I...I've never even heard of that before."
Garrus: "Of course you haven't! In a world where everyone claims that food is nothing more than pleasure, there would be no such thing as malnourished."
Liara: "But...it's the truth. Many of your kind have been deprived of the much-needed amount of nourishment."
Jewel: "I...we thought as much...but...I didn't realize it was that bad."
Flare: "No, we did not, although my grandfather had his suspicions. However, it was nothing like this."
Star: "You guys already told us how important eating has been for us, but...never like this. I just...I just...can't believe...they've lied to us like this."
Aera: "So...what does that mean for us?"
Ashley: "Perhaps we should get started on preparing another meal for you."
Flare: "Oh, absolutely! I would love to...! Um...I mean...right, yeah, that would make sense. Have Gardner prepare another dish for us, if he would be...obligated to that."
Liara: "I will let him know right away."

Liara walked off. At that moment, Garrus and Mordin looked at each other with serious looks on their faces and nodded once. They both then approached Star. She noticed this almost right away.

Star: "Um...so, what else is up?"
Garrus: "Star? We have something that we've wanted to talk to you about. It involves your lightning powers."
Star: "Um...Oh...OK. You're...you're not mad at me, are you? I mean, please don't be mad!"
Garrus: "No, we're not. We understand that you girls have your reasons for keeping a lot to yourselves, but I think it would be helpful if you didn't keep so much of it bottled up."

Star sulked as she bowed her head.

Star: "Well...it's not that I didn't want to tell you guys about it...it's just...I never liked those powers. As you guys could tell, it's very lethal and we're not so much all for killing. The thing is...I couldn't figure out how to nullify it to where I don't have to worry about killing someone."
Garrus: "Have you come across a time where you almost did?"
Star: "No...but...every time I would use it, well...just from looking at my lightning attacks, they're always lethal. I would only use them if I had no other choice."
Mordin: "A last resort. Understandable. Lethal force would often be used if there were no other options."
Star: "I've tried so many times to ask our mentors to try and teach me how to nullify my powers, but they refused. They would say that it's not possible, but I know they're lying. They just don't want to teach me. I...I...hmph!"
Aera: "Yeah...that seems to be how it's been for us. They would shove lessons to us that they want us to know and learn, but when it comes down to teaching us what we want to know, it's like we're asking them to give us all the answers. They're response was always "figure it out yourself", like it was our job to teach ourselves some of this stuff."
Mordin: "Hmm...do not believe that it's not possible to readjust your abilities to the desired results. Perhaps...can help you with that."
Star: "What!? You can!?"
Mordin: "Absolutely. Just need to figure out a way to monitor your powers. Hmm...perhaps...yes...can be done."
Aera: "What do you have in mind this time?"
Mordin: "Already formulating a plan to build a machine that can measure the intensity of your powers, perhaps...could work, but will need to build them first."
Splash: "Do you have any way to build this monitoring machine of yours?"
Mordin: "No, not at moment, but would need to pick up a few things first. Only one place I can find them: Omega."
Aera: "Omega? What is that place?"
Garrus: "Omega is a space station that is home to millions of outlaws and criminals. In a way, it's like a safe haven for some of the worst criminals in the galaxy."
Star: "And why would anyone as good as you guys want anything to do with such a filthy cesspool of crime and felony?"
Garrus: "We have...some history with that place. I was there for my own reasons. He, on the other hand..."
Mordin: Hmm, started a clinic. Still have contacts on Omega. Could call in a few favors to find what I need."
Garrus: "I also have a few people that I know on Omega. Granted, not many of them like me considering what I've done, but I might be able to help. But first thing's first, before we do anything else, you girls need to eat."
Jewel: "No kidding, from what we found out, our regular meals have become even more mandatory."

She jumped down from the bed.

Jewel: "And we would be all too happy to take you guys up on it."

The other girls nodded.

Garrus: "Good, then that means I don't have to worry about having any of you objecting to this."Star: "Alright! Let's get to it."

And with that, they exited the medical bay.