Chapter 42: Shore Leave!


Serpent Nebula, Widow, Citadel, Presidium, Geth 'Embassy'.

April 4th, 2185. 10:12 am. EST

Jordan and Tela waited patiently outside of the Geth "Embassy" on the Presidium, having just notified Prime that they'd arrived. Either side of the door housed a C-Sec officer, one was a Turian, the other was an Asari. They seemed rather bored, but still kept up a serious face despite their momentary shock at seeing both a former 'criminal' and a Spectre arrive to visit the Geth representative. After all, Jordan knew that Prime hadn't really done anything to cause excitement or worry for everyone.

The previous afternoon had been spent running around the presidium with Tela to pick up various items and objects. She'd snagged asari cuisine for Rupert to make one or two nights on board, she picked up new, upgraded pieces for her custom shotgun at Spectre Requisitions, and even decided to buy Jordan a few upgrade pieces there for him, too. She called it a "gift for helping me with my sister", but her blush might have proved otherwise. Or not… she was confusing sometimes.

After that, they spent a while making a liquor store owner extremely happy. After buying their measly supply of Ryncol, several bottles of Turian Brandy, a few bottles of Rum, and two twelve-packs of premium Coca-Cola from Earth, the Salarian shopkeeper almost fainted. As Tela and Jordan agreed, she also spent some credits on some premium items for Jordan so they could open his bottle of Quarian Rum that evening.

The entire trip took a long time, but was made entirely worth it, solely to hear "My name is Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite store on the Citadel." play over the speakers of six different shops.

Later that evening, the two of them returned to the Normandy, enjoyed one of Rupert's famous meals, dropped off most of the booze in Kasumi's room, and met back up in Jordan's room. (aka, the AI Core.) As promised, Jordan opened the bottle. For the rest of the night, the Spectre and the Avatar spent time talking and BSing while enjoying the bottle of "Liquid Heaven", as Tela liked to refer to it. The night ended with the two of them having fallen asleep sitting up, leaning on one another.

The talk was fun though, and they made sure not to over-drink so that they could remember their conversations. They'd both learned a bit more about one another, like how Jordan was mildly afraid of heights, and that Tela's first time meeting a human had been in a bar fight. It was a good time…

Fast forward to the next day, and now the two of them were standing outside of Prime's 'Office'. The term office could be used loosely here, because there's absolutely no privacy within it, it was hastily thrown together when he'd first arrived, and had been forced to move locations several times by this point. Finally, a moment later, the door beeped and slid open.

A moment later, the door pinged and slid open, revealing a large office. It wasn't as big as a normal embassy office, but it was still fairly sizable. It was located deeper within the Embassies, and only down the hall from the Asari Embassy despite the office not being considered a true embassy by the Council.

Together, Jordan and Tela stepped into the office.

Stepping into the room, Jordan got a good look at the interior. The room, like the rest of the Presidium, was bright and open, with a large window into the rest of the Presidium in the back. In the center of the room was a single, grey metal desk with two seats in front of it for him and Tela. The desk was polished as best as it could be, but was still rather crude. A terminal was on the left side, open and indefinitely monitored. Along the walls in various locations were holographic displays, reading 'There is a bug, here! Please do not remove!' in a bright, large font. Jordan couldn't help it and let out a laugh, gaining Prime's full attention. "Sower-Ambassador, nice to see you again." A synthetic voice said as warmly as he could.

Jordan and Tela saw the Geth standing behind his desk. He was holding his hands behind his back and stood up straight while staring at them, his head flaps fluttering lightly. This Geth unit was Space Gray, with navy blue lines on his shoulders and chest plate. His headlight was a soft, sky blue, with white accents on his head flaps. On either shoulder stood a single word: Prime.

Approaching the desk, Jordan reached out and shook the Geth's hand, "Prime, how've you been?"

As the handshake ended, the synthetic shrugged, "Better than we feared, but nowhere near as well as we hoped." He then turned his head toward Tela and extended his hand to her, too. They shook, "Spectre Vasir, a pleasure to meet you."

"Same to you, Ambassador Prime." She said with a light smile.

"Please, have a seat." The Geth said, motioning toward the two seats. Together, as one, the three of them sat down.

"Alright, I've gotta ask." Jordan said quite quickly, "What's up with those signs on your wall?"

Prime let out a synthetic chuckle, "When I first arrived on the Citadel in my first 'office', I was told that I was going to be monitored for the safety of the galactic citizens on the Citadel, as well as for my own protection should someone try to attack me." He explained, "I made it clear that I expected this, and they were free to monitor me. I only asked that they let me know where the bugs are, since I'd feel more comfortable knowing about them. They agreed." He said.

"That's it?" Tela asked. "The Council just listened to your request? That doesn't sound like them, you know… being super reasonable." She said, knowing full-well that what she was saying was being monitored.

Prime laughed, "Of course not. They told me the location of about half of the bugs, and assured me that there were no more. An hour into being in my new office, and C-Sec barged in after the other half of the monitoring devices went off-line. Conveniently, it was only the bugs I wasn't informed of…" He trailed off for a moment, "They couldn't prove I did it, but it was clear after the fourth attempt on their part that their plan wasn't working. I told the liberty of marking most of the bugs in the office with signs, just to see what they'd do. Of course, I know where the other unmarked ones are, but I agree that they shouldn't all be public knowledge." Prime stopped for a moment before adding another remark, "You should have seen Sparatus' face when their devices kept shorting out. He was not a happy turian."

Jordan and Tela both laughed lightly at the image of the Turian Councilor in their head.

"So, what brings you to my humble office?" Prime asked after a minute.

Shrugging, Jordan responded, "I wanted to see how your work has been with the Council and the Reapers."

The Geth representative sighed, "Honestly, those Councilors are just as I had feared they'd be. Sparatus denies their existence completely and stonewalls me. Valern rejects the idea publicly, but I can assume the Salarians are silently prepping. Tevos is overly neutral, and stops conflict within the Council, but she still rejects the idea of the Reapers. Anderson seems to be the only one who actively acknowledges this threat, but I guess that's to be expected."

"To be fair, the Reapers are a terrifying concept." Tela pointed out, "Hell, I'd rather forget about them and enjoy my life."

Prime sighed, "Understandable, but ignoring the Reapers won't make them ignore you. I can understand if they are trying to prevent a public panic, but they refuse to work with us or actively prepare. You know, I was told that we'd have to demilitarize our Fleet around Rannoch if we wished to actively and fully join Council Space. Demilitarize…" The Geth scoffed, "Our fleet isn't even fully prepared for the Reapers yet, and shrinking its size will doom Rannoch."

Jordan frowned, "I understand, Prime. More than anyone else…" He told him, "What about other negotiations for the Collective?"

"The Quarians have sent all resources available to try to stop our progress. Every Council hearing, every public statement, each and every time I leave the Presidium, there's quarians there to protest it. Luckily there haven't been any major incidents yet, but rumor has it that C-Sec apprehended an assassin meant for me…"

Bringing a hand to his chin, Jordan thought for a moment, "Do you think meeting and speaking with Tali could help?"

"Creator-Tali'Zorah?" Prime asked, mimicking Jordan's stance and took a moment to think, "She is borderline-royalty thanks to her father, so her voice would hold sway…" He remarked, "The issue lies with her feelings. How receptive is she toward you and the Geth?"

"She's warmed up somewhat…" He replied, "We're not close friends or anything, but she'd no longer hostile for me, and I think she'd be willing to give you a chance."

"Well, if you could convince her to come by and speak with me, then that might go a long way." The Geth replied. "Aside from the Quarian conflicts, though, the negotiations are going about as well as expected. As I said, talk about the Reapers doesn't get anywhere, but other negotiations have progressed. If they continue as expected, we'll have borders officially drawn up within six months, and open trade deals with the Asari Republics by the end of the month. The Salarians and Turians are taking longer to reason with, but we'll get there. Travel is still restricted into the Perseus Veil for most travel, and we're monitoring the relays closely for intruders, but so far, so good."

Tela spoke up with a smirk, "What about shipments and goods from Rannoch? When would you guess they'd hit the markets?"

Prime chucked, "Fully available on the Citadel, that'll be a while. Illium and within the Asari Republics, by the end of the month. For you, I believe we could work out something." It said in a teasing tone.

"Damn, was I really that transparent?"

"No, but Jordan's informed us about your… preferences for Rannoch goods…" He said, before remembering, "Oh, that reminds me. Sower-Ambassador, the farms on Rannoch are only a week away from reaching harvest."

Jordan's eyes lit up with joy, "Really? That's amazing news."

Prime nodded but let out a sigh, "Yet, but again, the Quarians will refuse our aid. We're considering selling the goods to the Turians and their outer colonies. Our farms are exotic by their standards, and we also have some Asari trying to get access to some of it. After all, many of them enjoy Quarian goods as well, and some can even remember them from before the Morning War, and have been craving them for centuries."

Tela chuckled, "I wasn't around back then, but my parents always did say they enjoyed some of the finer delicacies of Rannoch and Quarian culture."

"Exactly. We'll have a strong beginning in the Galactic Market, surely. Unfortunately, again, the root of the problem is the Quarians. The longer our conflict with them continues, the more difficult everything will be, including the Reaper problem. Though, you may be happy to know that we've gotten a message from Admiral Koris. He may be open to talks, and if it pans out just right, we might have the support of the Civilian Fleet."

"That's great." Jordan said, "Let's hope everything works out with him. Hopefully, I can get Tali to come up here and speak with you."

"I'd like to ask about the Quarian incident at Haelstrom." Tela asked after a moment, "Yesterday, the Council found out about it, and I'd assume you sent them the data about the incident."

Prime nodded, "I wasn't completely on board with telling the Council about it, fearing that they wouldn't understand and side with the Quarians… however, after your meeting with the Executor yesterday, I had quite the unique meeting with the Council. Officially, the incident never happened, but unofficially… they side with the Geth on this matter. They asked me if the Geth wanted some sort of compensation, but I declined on the grounds that we're trying to improve relations with the Quarians, not increase tensions."

Tela nodded, "That makes sense."

"And the Quarians never assume you told on them." Jordan said with a smile.

Exactly, Prime nodded, before looking at his screen and standing up, "I must apologize, Jordan, but I will have to end this meeting early." He apologized, "It seems the Council has need to have another 'eventful' meeting." He said with air quotes, getting a chuckle out of Jordan.

"It's fine. Thank you for your time, Prime."

"Anything for our Avatar." He replied, "Oh, and if you are able to convince Creator-Tali'Zorah to meet with me, I should be free at 2pm, 4pm, and 5pm, if any of those work today. Otherwise, send me a message."

The two shook hands, as did Tela, before they soon left the office to go find something else to do before the party-event-meetup-thing at Darkstar this evening. As they walked along in the Presidum, Jordan decided to call up Tali.

"Hello?" Tali's synthesized voice replied over his omni-tool.

"Hey Tali, it's Jordan."

"Oh… what do you want?" She replied neutrally, without any anger.

"So, you know the Geth representative on the Citadel?"

"Yes…"

"Would you be willing to sit down, meet with him, and talk with him? You know, about possible peace options and getting the opinion of an important Quarian such as yourself?"

"..." She didn't reply at first, "Is this some sort of joke?"

"No. Please Tali, the Geth are trying to make peace with you. They've cleared Rannoch of debris from the war. They've restarted the farms on Rannoch and want to eventually reopen their borders. He can tell and show you everything, just give him a chance…"

"I don't…" She sighed, "Sower, I am… uh, busy right now…"

"Doing what, boss?" Jordan heard over his omni-tool, which sounded like Daniels'.

"I…" She sighed again, "Very well, if the Geth can be civil, and promises to behave… maybe I could go and speak with it."

"His name is Prime, and you don't have to worry about that. The Council watches everything he does. He so much as sneezes and they'll be alerted."

"Geth don't even… you know what, nevermind, forget what I was saying." She said, "I guess I could speak with him when I'm not busy."

"How about today? I know the only real plans for today is the meet-up in Darkstar, but you could go beforehand."

"I'm sure it-... he's busy." She corrected herself, "And since we're probably leaving in another day or two, it'd have to be soon, so I don't…."

Jordan cut her off, "Does 2, 4, or 5 work for you this afternoon?"

She was silent for a second before she replied, "I can do 4." She said in a quiet, hesitant tone, "But I better not regret this, Sower!" She replied a little louder.

"Epic!" Jordan said with a grin, "I'll let him know to expect you at four!"

"Alright, alright. Bye." She said, hanging up right away.

With that done, Jordan quickly shot Prime a message, telling him about Tali's agreement. He immediately responded that he looked forward to the talk. From there, Jordan and Tela began walking around outside of the Embassies on the Presidium, looking for somewhere to eat while they were out.

"Food time." Jordan said with a grin, leading the quiet Asari toward a small cafe/restaurant.

Tela shook her head and simply followed him, not really caring where they went or what they did at the moment.


Serpent Nebula, Widow, Citadel, Darkstar Lounge

April 4th, 2185. 6:27 pm. EST

Jordan was wearing neither armor nor his normal outfit for the "Unnamed Event" at Darkstar. After having returned to the ship earlier, Jordan Sower now wore nice dark blue jeans and a maroon polo shirt, with a nice black jacket over it. He was visually unarmed, but still had an omni-blade at his disposal should he need it, located deep within his omni-tool's data files.

Standing and walking beside him towards the Darkstar Lounge was Tela Vasir, wearing more casual clothing as well. Having gained an interest in human clothing, she too wore jeans, but these were a much lighter shade than Jordan's. Accompanying those was a silky, dark green blouse, hidden under a high-grade leather jacket. The Asari Specte's outfit was finished with leather boots, with extra sturdy and not-too-high heels for easy movement. She left her shotgun behind, but carried a concealed Carnifex just in case. Her biotics were still there, too… obviously… She wore no additional makeup.

Beside Tela, nearly shoulder to shoulder, was her little sister, Hialus, talking with her. She wore a more traditional and common Asari dress, which was a dark blue. The dress was only a few shades darker than her skin, and was joined by black heels. Her make-up was heavier than normal, and she sported light purple lipstick.

Soon enough, the group of three reached the Darkstar Lounge, ready for a much-needed enjoyable evening.

The door slid open, welcoming the party of three to enter the esteemed establishment. The interior now revealed, they were able to see many unknown patrons within, enjoying their drinks or dancing at the far end. Asari, Turians, Human, and much more, with Jordan quickly identifying crewmates in the distance.

Despite the loud and slightly dark interior, the Avatar was able to see beyond the main bar and dancefloor, spotting an extra area which might have once been a VIP area. Now, however, it was occupied by several crew members. Among those present thus far, Jordan could see Miranda, Shepard, Brian, Zaeed, Liara, and Garrus. Kasumi was likely there, too, but invisible for some reason, only truly understood by the thief, herself.

Looking again, by the bar was Jacob and Grunt, getting drinks of their own. Only people from the ground team missing now were Tali, Samara, Mordin, Jack, and Thane. Though, based on the rumors/ Jordan's knowledge of Mass Effect, Thane might not even appear at the bar tonight after having just gotten back with his son. Beyond that, it seems like everyone else was already there. Together, without delay, Jordan and the two Asari joining him made their way toward the bar to grab a drink, before eventually meeting up in the group's very own private area.

Seemingly waiting for the avatar, a Turian bartender made eye-contact with him, putting down whatever glass he might've been cleaning. If the man recognized Jordan, which was exceedingly likely, he didn't react to the fact. Once arriving, the bartender spoke. "Chose your poison, as you humans say."

Tela nodded over toward Shepard's group, "Put it on his tab. They're buying."

The Turian nodded, "I'm aware. Some sort of party, eh?" He said, his mandibles twitching in amusement, "So, what do you want?"

"I'll take a rum and coke, please. With some lime."

"Same as him." Tela added.

"Glass of Asari Honey Mead, please." Hialus asked.

"Sure thing, one moment please." He said as he began making drinks. As he did so, a moment later, another individual arrived at the bar nearby, catching an Asari bartender's attention.

"Fuck, shot of ryncol. Put it on Massani's tab." Jordan only had to hear her voice to know it was the psychotic biotic. Ten seconds later, the Asari quickly set the glass down for her. Looking over, Jordan watched Jack grunt in acknowledgment, shoot the shot, set the glass back down, and set a large bottle on the bar.

"Hey, princess." She grunted, making Jordan, Tela, and Hialus turn toward the slightly unstable woman, "Here's the damn bottle. I don't owe you shit."

"Thanks Jack." Tela said with a laugh, "By the way, the cheating Commander is over there." She said, pointing toward the others.

Jack let out a bark of laughter, "The boy scout cheating… I've gotta say, I didn't see that coming. See you around." She said, next walking off to likely yell at Shepard and take some of their drinks.

As soon as she left, the Turian returned with the three drinks, "You're all set. Let me know if you need anything else."

Hialus raised her glass and clinked it against Tela's with a smile, before taking a sip and smiling, "Just as good as I remember." She said.

Jordan let out a quick laugh and raised his glass, too. Tela smirked and clinked glasses with him, "To a wonderful evening." She said.

"Aye, aye."

Hialus rolled her eyes, "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go socialize with people who aren't trained killers." She said, walking off to the dance floor.

She was stopped by Tela calling out, "You watch yourself, Hia."

"You're not my mom." She called back as she left Jordan and Tela at the bar.

Tela rolled her eyes, before sipping on her drink, "That girl… She'll be the death of me…"

"Come on, she's not that bad."

"You should have seen her when she was younger. A little troublemaker, sometimes…" She paused for a moment, looking over toward Hialus on the dancefloor, already surrounded by a few other men. "I'll talk to you later, Sower. I've got a few things to do." She said, stalking after her sister a moment later, her eyes focusing on both Zaeed and Jack for a moment as she began to move.

Jordan chuckled, "Whatever…" He muttered, now turning and walking toward Shepard's area while cradling his drink.


It'd been an hour since Jordan had arrived, and most of the crew was there, now. The only notable exclusions were Mordin and Thane. The former was busy working in his lab, but assured them via message that he'd try maybe next time. The latter, though, was doing exactly what Jordan had figured, and was currently with his son somewhere on the ward.

There'd been a few conversations and already a few rounds of drinks had passed between the ground team members. After carefully removing 'threats' to Hialus, the asari siblings eventually joined up with everyone else. Samara, too, had actually come. She wasn't going to drink, but decided that she might as well join in one a 'bonding session' with her crewmates. Tali arrived about half an hour after Jordan did.

Currently, as many of them were split up doing their own things, some teammates currently either at the bar or dancing further away, there were a few conversing together.

Jordan, Tela, Miranda, Tali, Shepard, and Liara were all sitting at a table together, all with their own drink, including Tali thanks to her 'emergency induction port'.

"So, how'd your meeting go?" Tela asked with a grin, "Awkward, I'd imagine."

"Meeting?" Miranda asked.

Tali hesitantly nodded, "Sower had convinced me to sit down and speak with the Geth on the Citadel, Prime."

"The Geth Representative?" Shepard asked, "You mentioned a meeting, but I have to ask: How'd he convince you to do that?"

"Very carefully." He replied with a smile.

"Haha." He deadpanned.

Tali shifted, "He made some rather good points." She said, "I decided to give it a shot."

"So, how'd it go?" Liara asked.

"It…" She trailed off and paused for a moment. "It was rather… awkward, to say the least. But… it wasn't awful."

"What happened, then?" Jordan asked.

"Well, we discussed the 'Morning War', and repairs on Rannoch. It… he showed me live video from Rannoch… it was so beautiful…" She said quietly, reminiscing, "He… He assured me that they wanted, that they needed peace with us." She turned to look at Shepard, her glowing eyes locked onto his, "They've fixed Rannoch after the war, they've repaired so much… they even resumed crop growth on the southern continent. He all but begged me for peace between us."

Miranda let out a breath, "Wow…" For once, she didn't have much of a response.

Shepard smiled and put a hand on her shoulder, "Well, I'm proud that you were able to sit down and talk with him despite your differences."

She let out a shakily laugh, "It wasn't easy, but everything he showed me, everything he told me…" She turned to Jordan, "I think I understand, now. I'm still not comfortable with Geth, but seeing how hard they're trying to get us back, it makes me think there might actually be a chance…"

Jordan nodded, "I don't know if he mentioned this, but the crops will be ready for harvest in just a week." He said, "Imagine how helpful something like this could be for the Migrant Fleet."

Tali nodded back, "That would be great, but the Fleet won't accept any of it."

"What about negotiations between the Geth and Quarians?" Liara asked.

"I've sent a message to Admiral Korris, giving him details about the meeting with Prime. I've never been a big fan of him, but he's willing to open negotiations with the Geth. One other Admiral is on the fence, but the other three are vehemently against it. However, Admiral Korris resides over the civilian fleet, and could get the Conclave to consider opening negotiations."

Jordan's eyes were wide, "And with the Conclave, they could ignore the other Admirals and choose to pursue peace negotiations." Jordan said with a grin.

"Exactly, and with one or two admirals on the Conclave's side, an Override on peace talks would be nearly impossible." Tali said, "If Admiral Korris goes through with this, peace with the Geth could actually be a reality."

Shepard smiled, "That would be great."

"How about a toast, then?" Jordan asked, raising his glass. Everyone else did the same, including Tali, who looked confused, but did it, too. "To peace."

"To peace." The rest said with a smile, before drinking in sync.


Brian and Kasumi were sitting at another nearby table, both sipping on their own drinks with Samara sitting beside the pair, a glass of clear water in front of her. Samara kept a neutral expression on her face, but seemed to be enjoying the company, all things considered.

"So, what made you finally want to join us this evening, Justicar Samara?" Brian eventually asked, careful to not overindulge and keep his wits about them on the off-chance there was a threat of some kind.

Samara seemed to peer into his soul when she stared into his eyes, before replying after a moment, "It has been a long time since I've last traveled with companions. I had assumed that spending time with fellow crewmembers would strengthen our bonds and our resolve."

Kasumi nodded with her usual grin, "Of course it does, Samara. It's nice to see you out and about with us." She nudged Brian in the side.

He winched at the light strike, but nodded as well, "Yeah, it's nice to have you here, Justicar."

"Please, simply refer to me as Samara. No need to use my title." She replied with a light, barely noticeable smile.

"So, talk to us, Samara." Kasumi asked, leaning forward, "You've been around the galaxy, haven't you?"

Samara shook her head, "I've been mostly within Asari space, rarely venturing beyond our nebula. I have, however, on occasion visited a few other locations." She told them, "What were you wishing to know?"

"Well…" She thought for a moment, momentarily remembering how thankful she was for Shepard and the oath Samara had taken with him. "Tell us about one of your missions. I'm sure you've done a lot of good work out there, being a famous Justicar and all."

Brian shrugged with a small curious smile, "I must admit, I've been rather curious as well, Samara." He said.

Samara looked at the two of them, her eyes darting between both for a moment before nodding, "Very well, I supposed I could impart one of my tales." She said, getting Kasumi to excitedly bounce in place, not-at-all inching closer to Brian as she did so. "There was an occasion where I had dueled with a Spectre on Sanves."

"Wait, you fought a Council Spectre and lived?" Kasumi asked, shocked.

Brian, however, had remembered something about this from the games, and asked, "Sanves? In the Ialessa system?" He asked.

Samara nodded, "Yes. On the far outskirts of one of the tourist destinations, I following a lead on an escaped fugitive. I'd seemingly come to a dead-end by the equator when I found a small town. There, was where the Spectre was. A Turian with white face paint on a red face."

"Holy crap, was it Nihlus?" Brian asked.

Samara moved her gaze to Brian's eyes, before nodding, "Indeed it was, Brian." She replied, "The council Spectre Nihlus Kryik had, in broad daylight, executed an innocent civilian on the outskirts of the village. The code demanded that I put a stop to his actions."

"Wow…" Kasumi said, now sitting only an inch from Brian, almost leaning on him, "Who knew… so what happened?"

"I'd made the first move, of course. I'd called out to the Spectre, and asked him to surrender himself and I'd grant him a swift, merciful death. I recognized him as a Spectre, and I understood the respect gained with the position, but no one is above the Code."

"I assume he resisted," Brian muttered, just loud enough for the other two to hear.

"Indeed." Samara nodded, "You see, the village was far from the nearest spaceport, and he'd been dropped off at the village for whatever assignment he'd been deployed for. He had no viable way to escape me, so he resorted to escaping into the forests…" She continued, telling the tale of her almost defeat of the Turian Spectre, before his tricks forced her to allow him to leave. She'd respected the man and admired his cunning and tactics used, though assured her listeners that should she have crossed paths with him again, the Code would have dictated that she engage him once more.


On the dance floor was Jack, dancing the night away under the flashing lights. Over a few feet, leaning against the wall was Zaeed, watching the woman moving, along with everyone else on the dance floor.

Jack yelled out, over the music toward Zaeed, "Hey old man, you gonna get on the dance floor or stand there like a pussy?"

Zaeed grunted out a reply, "Ain't interested." He then nodded to the side, "Plus, I'm on babysitting duty, remember?"

Over toward where he'd nodded was Hialus, dancing without a care or worry in the world, and surrounded by several other people dancing with her or encouraging her. Jack let out a laugh, "Someone's too scared to have fun."

"No, someone's too scared to pissing off someone else's big sister." He said with a frown, "Vasir owes me for this."

"Give me a break." Jack said with a roll of her eyes, "You've got a soft spot for the kid, don't you? Who knew big bad Massani was a fucking softy."

"Oi, shut your trap." He yelled at the vulgar woman, "You're one to talk, Zero." He shot back, "You've been watching her far more than I have."

"Fuckin' liar." She replied, "You heard Vasir, she yelled at me too. And if her threats weren't enough, the offer for free drinks next time was too good to pass up. I'm going top-shelf next time."

"I hear ya!" He yelled back in agreement, before his good eye darted to the side and locked onto a rather unpleasant looking fellow in the distance, staring directly at Hialus. "Fuck." He muttered.

"What?" Jack said, her eyes darting to who he'd seen, making no obvious movement to look at whoever it was. Turned out to be Krogan with a jagged scar from a knife that went from the center of his face to his head plate. His skin was red, and his head plate redder like blood. "Who's fuckface?"

"Can't bloody remember his name, but I recognize that ugly mug anywhere. He's a repeat hired merc for the blue suns on the Citadel, but works primarily for a small-time gang on one of the wards."

"And…" She said with a frown, "Is that supposed to be important or something?"

"He's also infamous for his more… sexual acts. He'd been blacklisted from joining the Blue Suns, I'd made sure of it. Vito actually agreed with it, but that didn't stop him from occasionally adding him as an extra hire on occasion."

Jack's frown became a snarl, "So, fuckface wants some action and won't take no for an answer?" At Zaeed's semi-amused nod Jack cursed again, "Dammit. So, let's go kick his ass or something. He's eyeing the kid."

Zaeed nodded, a small smile appearing on his scarred face. "You wanna help this 'old man' out with taking out the trash?"

Jack's mouth quickly formed a grin, "You had to ask?"

As the two disappeared, for a few minutes from the club, escorting the kind Krogan out of the bar, Hialus continued dancing and enjoying herself, blissfully unaware of what had or was going on. Neither she nor any other crewmember noticed their absence aside from Samara and Miranda, who'd been trying to keep watch over everyone. Nearly no one noticed, either, when the two return with wide smiles on their faces, or the fact that there were now a few new bloodstains on both of their pants and boots.

Once they returned, Jack resumed having a good time on the dance floor, her blood pumping even harder than earlier. Hell, if she'd be able to beat the shit out of some sorry fucker every time she watched over Hialus AND get free drinks out of it, she'd do it again and again.

By some miracle, she'd convinced Zaeed to leave his spot on the wall and join her on the dance floor.


It was later into the 'party', and everyone was now in different positions. Currently, off on their own portion on the dance floor was Jordan and Tela, having a good timeas other crewmembers joined them on the dancefloor. Shepard, for various reasons, refused to enter the cursed area, while several other crewmates went off to other areas to either chat amongst themselves, refill their drinks, or something else.

Jordan was doing his best to keep up with the energetic asari, but he, unfortunately, had two left feet. He might have been able to download data and attempt to integrate it within his mind to learn to dance, but that would take time and energy, and was better off doing it far in advance to practice in private. As it was, he managed, at the very least, to be better than Shepard. Unfortunately for him, that was a rather simple and low bar to overcome.

Tela couldn't help the snort she let out when she actually took a moment to see Jordan's movements, "What on Thessia are you doing?" She asked with a shit-eating grin.

Jordan shook his head and scoffed, "Some of us aren't naturally talented dancers."

"Gasp." She said with faux-offence, "Are you saying all Asari are natural-born dancers? For shame, Mr. Sower! I thought you were above using such generalizations and stereotypes?!"

Rolling his eyes, Jordan shook his head again. At this rate, he might as well be a bobblehead. "Yes, Tela," He replied, his tone coated in sarcasm, "I'm a racist, sexist pig who sees you as nothing more than a blue piece of meat."

She let out another bark of laughter at that, "At least you're finally honest." Tela told him, stepping a bit closet to him.

"Fuck you." He shot back with a light smile. She scoffed in response. After another moment, she chuckled and replied.

"You're hopeless. Here, let me help." She said, stepping up to him and grabbing him by his shoulders. She moved to the side, bringing him with him, "Move with me, I'll teach you something simple enough for your monkey brain to comprehend." She said, both smiling and not caring about how close the two of them were to one another.

Together, the two of them stayed on the dance floor for a while longer. Tela, through her infinite wisdom, was finally able to teach Jordan the basics of not looking like an idiot on the dance floor, and the two enjoying dancing side-by-side with one another for a while longer. Eventually, the two of them tired out, and retired to a nearby vacant table after swiping some glasses of water from the bar.

"That was… not awful…" Jordan remarked as he rehydrated.

Tela smirked, "See? It's more fun when you actually know what you're doing."

"Yeah, yeah." He waved her off, "I guess I have to admit you're not an awful teacher, either."

"Wow." She said with a roll of her eyes, "How thoughtful Jordan. Keep layering the compliments on and you'll make me blush." She teased him sarcastically.

Deciding 'to hell with it', Jordan decided to tease the blue spectre. He had growing feelings for the woman, and decided teasing her would be quite entertaining, "I sure hope so. You're cute when you blush." He said with a grin.

"W-what?!" She almost shrieked, completely caught off-guard by the comment, "Th-the hell you say?" She asked, finally getting a grip on herself, "I'm not, and never will be, cute. You take that back!" She demanded.

Jordan chuckled, "Take what back? The truth?"

She narrowed her eyes as she fought her blush from making an appearance, "You know exactly what I mean. Ooohhh, someone's all big and mighty after finally learning how to dance, huh?" He could almost feel Tela's desire to not only 'get even' with him for his comment, but to go beyond a one-up.

"What?" Jordan asked, "Yeah, I didn't really know the basics, but that shouldn't… that shouldn't… m-matter…" Jordan trailed off as Tela grinned wickedly. Under the table, she extended her leg and rubbed her ankle against his calf. His face exploded into crimson, and she leaped upon this golden opportunity.

Leaning forward, Tela's grin remained as she spoke quietly, "I bet you'd wished I'd taught you more, huh? Imagine such a wonderful teacher like me grinding with someone inexperienced like you?" Her voice became almost a whisper, "Imagine, us dancing and sweating up there together, only centimeters of fabric between us…"

Jordan's throat threatened to close as his eyes darted back and forth between Tela's and literally anything and everything else in the large room. He tried to form a response, but was unable to do so.

After another few painstaking moments, Tela bought her foot back down to the ground and leaned back, letting out a victorious laugh, "You know, you look pretty adorable with a blush, too." She commented, making his blush even stronger.

"T-Tela…" He trailed off, finally taking a few deep breathes, "Wh-what the heck was that…"

"Pfffttt, you should have seen your face." She said with a laugh, making Jordan internally wince at it. She wiped a fake tear from her eye before she calmed down and smiled mischievously at him, "Maybe one day, I wouldn't be opposed to teaching you…" She teased again.

Jordan shook his head, finally getting his body back under his own control with great effort. He asked, "What the hell, Tela?"

"Hey, you started it with your teasing, and I wasn't going to let you finish it." She replied with her reasoning.

The two soon slipped into a slightly uncomfortable silence, both going over the most recent events and trying to figure out what to do next. After another moment, Tela finally grew tired of it and smacked her hand into the table.

"Fuck this." She said, catching Jordan by surprise, "I'm not dancing around this anymore, and I sure as fuck hope you won't either."

Jordan raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Listen here, no interrupting till I'm finished, got it?" She said neutrally, eyes serious now.

Jordan nodded, to which she gave a small, warm smile.

"Listen Jordan, you know most of my story. My life's been all sorts of fucked up, but everything's changed within the last few years. I've learned that apocalypse machines are going to try to kill everyone. I've been freed from the Broker. I've learned my sister was still alive and got her back. And I've met you." She paused for a moment, "When we first met, I saw you as a stupid fuck who'd gotten the attention of the Broker and, unfortunately, needed to be removed. Somehow, someway, you'd made the Broker beyond pissed at you, which isn't an easy task for most people. Then we fought one another, and you escaped me. For the first time in decades, I'd failed a task assigned by the Broker. I had never, until then, failed or been defeated…"

Jordan nodded, wisely not interrupting her.

"Then, soon after, I'm called to one of the Broker's offices, fearing the worst. I'd failed a mission by the Broker than he had seemingly become personally invested in. I knew I would be executed that day. But, what happens instead? The 'Broker' spared me, promoted me, and even assigned me to team up with you. Someone who'd, fairly recently, fought and tried to kill you." Jordan remembered teaming up to meet with Ryder. "I knew without a doubt you were some bigshot with the Geth, and hated me, right? Instead, you didn't hold my previous actions against me. More so, you actually tried to get to know me. You asked about my past and made me open up to you. No one cared about me as a person, really… and then you told me about your past… you know, about the 20th and 21st centuries?"

Nodding again, Jordan recalled what he'd told her. Not the entire truth, of course, but the fact that he'd been born normal in the 1990s on Earth, and waking up against his will far into the future thanks to the Catalyst. He'd also assured her that he may tell her everything in the future. He had no idea when he'd actually tell her everything, as that'd require telling her the truth about Mass Effect…

Tela continued, "You'd returned to Rannoch, but we occasionally messaged one another thanks to the Broker. Obviously, a lot of shit went down after that, but fast forward and you're onboard the Normandy, and we meet once again on the Citadel. I help clear your name as best as I can to the idiots, I join Shepard's motley crew, and we're back with one another. We talk, hang out, drink, speak with one another, and all sorts of other shit. We actually become fast friends, which is unusual in my line of work." She lists off, "Eventually, you help me try to avenge my sister's death, only to find and recover her from those fuckers… My world, for the first time since her 'death', actually seemed to be bright, all things considered. And that leads me to now…"

Jordan tilted his head, silently wondering where she was going for this as his heart rate accelerated. Hope swelled in his chest and what she could be saying, but was afraid was simply false hope.

Tela Vasir took a deep breath, "Alright, enough." She said, both to him and herself, "I like you." She finally said, "You're a good person who doesn't take my shit and actually throws some of it back at me. You look at me, were the first to look at me, as more than just THE great Asari Spectre Tela Vasir. And, for reasons only the goddess would know, I became actually attached to someone."

Jordan stared at her in awe for a moment.

"Okay, you can speak now. It's your turn." She told him, "This isn't a high school drama, Sower, and I'm not the kind of girl to blush up a storm, stutter, and go cry in her room with a plushie. You give me an answer or you get the fuck out." She said, seriousness in her eyes for a moment, but upon digging deeper, he could see the emotion being carefully hidden.

Jordan let out a light chuckle, which soon became a hearty laugh. Finally, he replied, "And that's why I think I like you too, Vasir." He finally told her, "Honestly, I'm bad at this kind of thing, so I don't really know how this goes, but I'd like to get to know you even better, and maybe try for something…"

Tela let out a light laugh at that, shaking her head, "I'm terrible at this too, remember. Haven't done crap since Hia was taken, and I was far too busy before that. How about this? We both have no idea what we're doing, right? Let's allow the alcohol to filter from our systems, take some time to think, and maybe… figure something out later? Fuck, this is stupid, what happens after this?"

Lightly punching her shoulder, Jordan laughed, "How about we just talk and enjoy this party on Zaeed's tab, and talk about this privately without all this music tomorrow morning, huh?" Jordan asked, before pausing for a moment and adding, "Plus, if we're serious, I have some things I want to tell you, but I can't let anyone else possibly overhear us?"

Agreeing, Tela replied, "I've got a few more things I'd like to get off my chest, too. And I sure as hell aren't going to say those things out here in the open."

Jordan smiled. "Great, we'll figure this out back on the Normandy, maybe tomorrow after I sleep all of this off..."

Tela laughed and nodded, "Same here." She then thought for a moment and finally said, "Now, how about we see who's got the most badass story?"

Shrugging, Jordan smiled and agreed, "Oh, I've got you beat, easy. Hands-down." He said in a challenging tone.

"No way." She shot back with a grin, "Tell your story already, so I can one-up you already!"

With that, the two of them got into their stories, passing the time and enjoying one another's company, electing to acknowledge their feeling for one another, but figure it out later, rather than confuse themselves now with all of this. The two of them remained in their seats, talking with one another for a while as the party slowly drifted toward its conclusion. Much later into the night than they'd arrived, everyone was eventually ready to return to the Normandy.

This shore leave… wasn't half bad. They were all thinking that they'd had a good time…


Serpent Nebula, Widow, Citadel, Docks.

April 5th, 2185. 12:26 am. EST

It'd been a long, enjoyable evening at Darkstar, and now the Normandy Crew was making their way back to the Normandy together in high spirits. The only ones who'd truly gone overboard that evening was Grunt, Jack, and, surprisingly, Hialus. The former of the three was now completely fine now thanks to his regeneration, and was carrying the latter of the three, as the young asari was passed out. Jack was walking off the effects of her drinks, but still stumbling as Zaeed helped guide her. A wide smile was on the merc's face, especially with Jack continuously cursing under her breath that he unhands her, and that she was fine.

Jordan and Tela, despite having kept pace with several other crewmembers, were almost completely sober again, with Shepard completely coherent as well. The rest of the crew was either lightly tipsy or buzzed still (the majority), or were completely sober (like Samara).

As they kept going, Jordan idly noted that everything was equally bright around them on the Citadel, making it almost appear that they'd been in there all night long. He sometimes hated the lack of a day-night cycle on the station. Soon enough, the Normandy was visible in the distance.

Continuing forward, Jordan looked over to Tela, who was walking right beside him, occasionally brushing up against him. Tonight had been good fun, and with the interactions he'd had with her both tonight and in the past, Jordan was now beyond reasonably comfortable in assuming she may have feelings for him. He was excited to speak with her in private soon enough. He'd finally get the truth about him off of his chest to someone who cared about him, and based on what he knew and how he felt, he was fairly certain she'd hear him out and understand. Maybe they'd even meld and he could show her everything...

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Tela muttered, a smile on her face and she noticed Jordan staring at her, interrupting him from his. Blushing, Jordan looked away.

"Sorry." He muttered under his breath.

She let out a quick laugh, "Don't worry about it…"

They were only about a minute or two from reaching the Normandy now. Shepard was to Jordan's other side, holding Liara's hand, as they approached. He looked back at the other crewmember with him and spoke aloud.

"Tonight wasn't bad. I wouldn't mind doing that again sometime."

"Hell yeah!" Jack replied immediately, "But you're paying again, right?" She asked the one beside her.

Zaeed grunted, "I may have a decent credit to my name, but tonight hurt. Shepard's got next time, right Commander?"

Shepard let out a bark of a laugh, "Maybe next time I'll get the Council to foot the bill."

Tela laughed as well, "Damn Shepard, I'll help you convince them. Team bonding is important in our line of work, isn't it?"

"U-um, excuse me." An unknown voice called out to the group's left, feminine in sound. "Commander Shepard?"

The group paused as many didn't expect someone to confront them when all together. Jordan and Miranda, however, felt shivers down their spine, their subconscious minds trying to identify the voice they'd just heard address them.

John turned to his left and looked at whoever had spoken, "Yes, and you are?" He asked neutrally.

"W-well, umm… My name, well…" Suddenly, Jordan's brain registered where exactly he'd heard the voice before.

Jordan reacted in an instant, spinning and rushing the woman speaking as his omni-blade came to life. Slam. He held the 'intruder' against the metal wall beside them, an arm over her throat with his other arm holding the omni-blade holding said weapon inches from her neck. He was ready to thrust the weapon through her at the first sign of trouble, yet hesitated upon seeing the fear in her glowing blue eyes.

She sputtered and flinched in her hold, trying to break free for a moment before eyeing the weapon, "P-p-please… d-don't kill me…" She begged, "I… I just want to help you."

Miranda, glowing blue with her biotics, stood right by Jordan's side as she unholstered her sidearm, ready to shoot the woman in Jordan's hold. The rest of the crew reacted, Shepard grabbing Jordan's shoulder and several crewmates objected to the violence they were showing to such a stranger.

"Miranda, what the hell?" Jacob voiced.

"Holy shit." Jack added.

"Calm down, Jordan, what's going on?" Tela asked, herself unholstering her concealed weapon and having it out toward the newcomer.

"Stop." Shepard commanded.

Jordan's arms shook in a combination of shock and anger, the second feeling soon smothering and combining with his shock. He finally spoke, "Who the hell are you?!" He asked with a snarl.

"You should be dead." Miranda said in a cold tone, before turning back to Shepard and the other crewmates, "Stay away from her, she's dangerous."

Shepard pulled Jordan back, allowing the frightened woman to fall to the ground as she gripped at her throat and coughed. Now free of Jordan's grip, Shepard stepped forward and bent down to help the woman, allowing himself to take in her appearance.

She was an attractive young woman, and human, if not already noted. She had blonde hair that fell to her shoulders and bright blue, almost glowing eyes. She was attractive, no down about that, and wore jeans and a blue blouse. He could see a few faint ripples of biotic energy in her eyes, but she didn't outwardly react aside from recovering from what had just happened.

He turned back to look at Jordan and Miranda, who didn't look at all apologetic for what they'd done. In fact, it looked like Jordan was offended that he had thrown him back and away from the woman. He'd chew them out later, but now, he needed to focus on the woman on the ground.

"Are you ok?" He asked, to which she weakly nodded, looking up at him. He continued, "What's your name?"

"My… my name is Cynthia Wake…" She said quietly, making Jordan step forward with his omni-tool at the ready should she so much as attempt to hijack someone or flare her biotics. As she trailed off, Jordan said four words that sealed her fate.

"The Avatar of Control."


A/N:

Apologies for the slight delay, everyone. I have been trying to upload every other Friday as I get back into writing. Unfortunately, the next day after uploading the last chapter, my computer killed itself. Without a computer, I've had to resort to using less-than-adequate methods to continue writing. (Including using my phone… as well as sub-par computers...) Thus, once I finally got my computer back a few days ago, I have been working hard recently to get this chapter up here for you guys.

Anyway, another quick thing I want to say: I have a poll going on in my profile, if you haven't seen it already. You may have noticed that I've been updating and working on other stories alongside this one. I simply ask, which of my other writings others might be interested in. So, if you care about any of the other ones I'm working on, feel free to vote and let me know.

Another quick note, I had originally planned to add more conversations and interactions between various crewmembers at Darkstar (not necessarily including Jordan Sower), but had decided against this. In the future, there will be other interactions between crewmates, so their own personalities and growth and be shown off. This could have been longer, but I ended up deciding against it. Oh well...

Another notice about Polls: Soon, after another chapter or two, I will have a poll up that could impact future aspects of this story. I will let you know when it goes up in an A/N, but I wanted to let you know ahead of time.

Beyond that, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and that the ending might have surprised some of you. Coming up next will be one of the chapters I've both been most excited to write and most nervous about writing. I have known exactly what I want it to be/have for a long time (almost since the beginning), but conveying that may be hard, and I don't know how any of my amazing readers will feel about it. I hope it lives up to your expectations, and that you enjoy what comes.

I have my computer back now, though, by the time this goes back up. So, I should hopefully have it written and completed soon enough. See you next time!

-swrWriter