May 13th 2184 CE 07:22

Jane was trembling like a leaf. She was sitting upright at the kitchen table, dressed in the fleece pajamas Nalah had provided. The woman took to her like a mother to a broken baby bird. She helped her shower before the leg cast, changed bandages, and even fixed her some steaming goop called 'oatmeal.'

When the bowl was placed in front of her, Jane grabbed the spoon in a manner reminiscent to a rabid varren before roughly driving it into the dish. The silverware made a cacophonous sound as steel clashed with ceramic. She repeated the gesture several times before successfully dropping a spoonful into her mouth, which clattered against her dull, human teeth. The motion seemed to cause her pain however and she winced before gulping down her prize.

Garrus turned to his men, suddenly aware that all four of them had gathered behind him gawking at their base's newest resident. He growled as low as possible, hoping she couldn't overhear. "Don't the four of you have better things to do? Since you seem to have an abundance of time on your hands, check over the weapons roster and clean our guns." He waited until his men were out of view before turning back to Jane. If she had overheard, she gave no indication.

"Sweetheart." Nalah tried to catch Jane's attention. "Honey, I think you should slow down. It says here to 'start feeding slowly.' This is the printout the doctor sent with you." But if Jane had heard a single word of it, no one was the wiser. Garrus and Nalah exchanged a look he was pretty certain meant Ooookay? Now what do we do? despite the species-barrier.

Garrus subtly gestured towards the living area with his head. And Nalah quickly followed him out of Jane's earshot.

"So, uh… Do we make her listen to the doctor's orders?" He lowered his voice to a mere rumble.

"That girl is terrified of her own shadow. I don't think we should make her do anything."

"Yeah but she's going to make herself sick."

Nalah sighed. "You're certain that translator's working?"

"Yes. I mean, it was in the salarian's doctor's office. She was rambling away before the painkillers wore off. You heard her."

"Then we let her make herself sick. I can take care of any cleanup or getting her to the toilet bowl. Goodness knows I've mopped up more vomit in my lifetime than I care to recall."

"Considering the amount of blood and guts I've dealt with, it will take a lot more than that to make me squeamish. But she'd probably be more comfortable with you helping her."

On the other hand, Krul had a significantly different approach to the situation. He reemerged to observe from the balcony. When it became clear they weren't making any progress, he bellowed across the entire base. "Hey 1182, drop it before you hurl all over the floor."

The spoon, immediately abandoned, violently clacked against the bowl.

"Thank you for the input Krul." Garrus admonished. "Now kindly get your ass over to the armory."

"Uh huh. It worked didn't it?"

"Armory. Now."

Nalah, the ever vigilant mother figure, wasted no time returning to the kitchen table. "You can eat your fill hon. But things will be easier if you take your time."

"Sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for. I imagine it's been awhile since you had a hot meal."

Jane nodded. "A few years."

Garrus made himself scarce by returning to his room. There were a few belongings he needed to gather. After carrying Jane back to the base the previous night, he realized they didn't have anywhere to put her. For the time being, she was staying in his room while he bunked with his men. Butler assured him that he could re-purpose the dining area into a bedroom. But they didn't have the materials on hand. Regardless, they never touched the dining room as everyone either ate at the kitchen table or elected to recline on the sofa during mealtime. Its sole function was gathering dust.

Taking advantage of his room's privacy he pulled up Anderson's contact info. The retired soldier answered on the second ring.

"Vakarian. Tell me you have good news."

"Yes sir. She's safe."

"Music to my ears. How's she doing?"

"Remarkably well all things considered. The wife of one of my squad-mates is helping her. She broke her leg pretty badly but we know a salarian doctor. He's taking care of it."

"My god. I wish I could meet her. This here is what we humans call a shot in the arm."

"Sir?"

"It's an old human idiom. It generally refers to something that encourages or grants hope. I can't tell you how disheartening it is trying to convince these politicians to prepare their species for war. My warnings fall on deaf ears. They couldn't care less. Honestly, I'm not even sure why they gave humanity the councilor seat. Shepard was right. They were just throwing humanity a bone."

"Sir, if I may..."

"Speak freely Vakarian."

"Are there any preparations for the reapers underway? Is anyone doing anything?"

Anderson let out a long, defeated sigh. "Not nearly enough. But I have a few connections in The Alliance I'm taking full advantage of. I wish I could tell you more but the rest is classified."

"I understand."

"I doubt my efforts will be enough. But it's better than nothing."

"We'll give them hell sir."

"I hope so Vakarian. Well, I better get back to work. I have a full schedule today. Keep that girl safe. Don't hesitate to call if you need anything."

"Will do sir. Good luck."

When they hung up, Garrus gathered a few stray shirts and his calibrations notebook. It was past time he put in some solid research hours. Thralog Mirki'it was still alive. And he had a promise to keep.