Chapter 35: Concealed
Disclaimer: This author in no way profits from the writing of this story. All characters, dialogue, or other referenced material from the Mass Effect trilogy belong to BioWare.
Author's Note: This story does not necessarily follow any particular story and may not be chronologically accurate.
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She didn't know what, but something was up. And Cass was determined to get to the bottom of it.
As they walked the short distance to lunch, she tried to pry information from the turian, hoping for subtlety. "What did Dr. Solus say to you?"
From the corner of her eye, she watched Vadix shrug. "Nothing really. He just talked about the research he'll have to do for this removable ink. You heard the bit about 'disease resistance'. I'm not even sure I understand the relevance of that part," he shook his head.
Cass continued to study her friend. She could see no indications that he was lying, but her gut said he was keeping something from her. "That's it?" she tried again.
"Yeah," Vadix affirmed, nonchalant. "Like I said, you didn't miss much."
The human stopped, accusing him with a finger. "That time you said 'much'. Before you said I didn't miss 'anything'. So which is it?"
A few steps ahead of her now, he turned to look at her, one brow plate lifted in a silent question. Then he voiced it, "Why do you think there's so much more to know?"
She didn't even try to explain it. "Just a feeling," she offered with a shrug, feeling only slightly guilty for pressing him so hard.
"Is there something you're not telling me?" he countered, moving closer to her.
Now that he was less than an arm's length away, Cass remembered how tall Vadix was. He positively towered over her, forcing her to tilt her head back uncomfortably to look him in the eye.
She would not be cowed.
But her guilt did increase.
There was something she wasn't telling him. In her defense, though, he hadn't asked. And she had.
"I asked you a question first," she stated with tight lips, folding her arms to display her displeasure.
The man mimicked her movements. "So you are keeping secrets," he murmured, one mandible shifting softly away from his face in a smirk. "Two can play at that game, Cassana."
His whispered threat sounded sultry. It was excessively distracting.
Shaking her head, she stepped toward him to close the small distance, shoving the pad of her forefinger into his chest. "The only thing I haven't told you is why it took me so long to get the glue bottle. But you didn't even ask about it, so it's not like I'm trying to hide anything."
This sentence ended with the hint of a false note, and she realized she was keeping something from him: how much she wanted him.
Vadix, however, either didn't notice the faint lie in her words or else he ignored it. "Fine. The only thing I haven't told you is about Juvelea. But you also didn't even ask about it so don't act all high and mighty."
The woman took a step back, in surprise or shock she wasn't quite sure. "Oh," was all she could say.
A moment passed in weighty silence.
And he just kept looking at her.
It was unnerving.
She couldn't take it anymore. Striding forward toward their destination once more, she broke the tension. "What about Juvelea?"
Vadix paused before following and answering. "I, uh, asked her to wait for me. While I'm here, I mean."
It was like her stomach had been launched into the vacuum of space, quashed into the smallest shape possible, surrounded by emptiness. "Wow. And she said?" she choked out, barely a complete sentence.
"She agreed to," he answered, sounding uncomfortable. Risking a glance at him, Cass noticed he wasn't even looking at her now.
What if he knew she was into him, and he was simply trying to let her down easily?
The turian would do something like that, noble as he was.
Maybe she hadn't hidden her feelings as well as she thought.
"Oh," was all she could say once more.
They'd taken a seat at an empty table in the mess hall, loitering until the next item on their agenda. But now she stood, unable to sit still. "I'm going to explore the ship," she stated, moving away from her partner.
"I can come with you," he began, also climbing out of his seat.
"No," she said, more sharply than intended. "You stay and eat," Cass amended. "I'm not hungry. I'll just meet you in the engineering bay around 1300 hours."
It was silly and immature, the woman knew, but she needed some time alone to grieve the loss of the only selfish thing she'd allowed herself to want in a very long time, away from the person who had shattered that dream into a thousand pieces.
Being near him now would be like running her fingers over the edge of broken glass, slicing into her gently and leaving a mess of gashes in its wake.
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Nearly two hours later, Cass had wandered all over the Normandy, dawdling as much as anyone doing real work could stand. Most of the crew still thought she was their commanding officer, and her appearance alone was enough to cause visible stress, let alone a prolonged presence.
She'd meandered up the walkway toward the nose of the ship and, seeing no one at the stations on either side of the hallway, assumed she was alone. Until she arrived at the very front, endowed with flashing screens and comfortable voices.
The pilot, Joker was his nickname, if she remembered right, was speaking to someone seated in the co-pilot's chair. Cass couldn't tell who it was though, and she didn't recall a co-pilot even being introduced their first night on the ship.
"…joke Garrus told me, you're gonna love it. You ready?"
Cass caught the end of his sentence and figured a little eavesdropping on a simple joke couldn't hurt.
"Yes, I am ready." The feminine voice sounded oddly familiar, but Cass still couldn't place its owner.
"Why does the Alliance hire pilots with brittle bone disease?"
"This already sounds like insensitive 'humor', Jeff," replied the woman.
"Just bear with me, EDI. You know what you're supposed to say in response."
Now she had a name for the mysterious voice, and again it sounded familiar. She must've been one of the crew members the Commander had introduced to them en masse. If only she could remember what the other woman looked like, and what she did.
"Fine. Why?" This second word was said mechanically but with a touch of exasperation, like the pair of them regularly had this kind of exchange.
"So their marines can beat someone in hand-to-hand drills!"
The pilot laughed uproariously at his own joke, but the co-pilot appeared to make no response at all. Even Cass thought it was funny; she couldn't help the giggle that escaped her.
Which, unfortunately, alerted the other two to her lurking company.
"Who's there?" the man asked, turning slightly in his seat. She met his gaze, the corners of his eyes crinkled in laughter's shadow. Then he recognized her and his grin widened. "Well, if it isn't the newest recruit, gracing us with her presence! Well, one of the newest I suppose. You didn't bring your partner to introduce us properly?" He turned around, waving her forward with one arm.
Facing the opposite direction, the pilot couldn't see her open-mouthed expression. His lack of confusion regarding her identity had left Cass feeling rather dumbstruck. But she moved forward all the same, eager to make new friends. Hopefully.
"How did you know I wasn't Commander Shepard?" she asked hesitantly, suddenly mesmerized by the quick movements the man made with sure fingers. Cass knew nothing about flying but was at once convinced it was a skill to be appreciated and admired.
"Easy," he replied, completely at ease. "Shepard wouldn't have lingered like that. Plus you carry yourself totally different from her."
"Additionally, you have a unique biosignature; it follows you everywhere aboard the Normandy, should your location need to be identified immediately." The input from the co-pilot drew her attention, and Cass finally got a good look at the other woman and put a face with the name and voice: it was that silver woman from night one. At a distance, she'd looked heavily armored.
Up close, she looked more like a robot.
For a moment, Cass couldn't respond, though she had questions about being tracked at all times while on board the ship.
"Wait, you—you're not—" Still, not a complete sentence.
Standing, the metallic creature rose from the low seat. "You are correct. I am EDI, the ship's artificial intelligence. I recently seized control of this body and now utilize it for various physical interactions."
"Oh. Oh okay." After a pause, the redhead continued, "Oh, that must be what the Commander was talking about when we first came on board."
"Yes, that's correct," EDI stated, taking her seat once more. "Cass, you may wish to report to the engineering bay. Your lesson with Kasumi should begin shortly."
"Oh!" Cass felt like a robot herself, repeating the same word over and over. "Yes, thank you. It was nice to meet you both," she called over her shoulder while jogging away.
From behind, she heard the pilot make a fading comment to the AI as her own distance increased. "Damn, if only everyone…"
Lucky for Cass, the elevator told her which floor was engineering. Unlucky for her, she tried a couple of doors before finding any stairs going down. What was below the deck she didn't know, but that was where they were supposed to meet.
She arrived, feeling somewhat breathless from the stress of finding the right place and wishing she hadn't been avoiding Vadix—he was probably more familiar with the layout of military designs—only to find him sitting on a crate, waiting.
He looked up and seemed to smile at her, if a bit uncertainly. "How was your exploration?" the turian asked meekly.
"Good," she assured him, eager to put any awkwardness behind them. Even if she still wanted him, it wouldn't do to pine for him when they were supposed to be professionals. "Had a short conversation with the pilot and the AI, which was very interesting."
Vadix looked confused now. "What do you mean? Why would you have a conversation with the AI? It's just there for support, really."
"Well, yes," Cass shrugged, feeling like she was about to tell a secret that wasn't hers to share. "But she also has control of a physical body. She was in the line up from our first night."
Now he looked dumbfounded. "You're kidding," he muttered, shaking his head very slowly.
"She is not kidding," came EDI's voice from around them. "I would be happy to introduce myself to you more properly, should you feel the desire to do so."
Vadix peered at the nearest wall, glancing at the nearby corners. "Thanks, I'll, uh, let you know."
There was no noticeable indication that EDI had 'left' the conversation, and the silence began to drag.
An unexpected voice made both of them jump. "Not very easy to sneak around here, is it?" Appearing out of literally nowhere, they were presented with a human woman, clothed in form-fitting dark fabrics, her eyes hidden by a hood. The only color on her person was a stripe of neon purple lipstick. "Surprise," she grinned.
"You must be Kasumi," Cass ventured, feeling a tad uneasy. The stranger was like an inebriated asari in a club: at your side before you even realized she was on her way to you.
But this woman seemed far more dangerous than a flirtatious alien.
"I am," she agreed, looking the pair of them up and down, head to toe. "And you two are the lookalikes." A pause, then, "But something tells me you aren't that similar to Shepard and Garrus, after all."
Cass looked at Vadix, and Vadix looked at Cass. They shrugged in unison, then grinned at each other.
"Or, maybe so," Kasumi murmured, glancing at them sideways. "Regardless, my job right now is to teach you about stealth. Lesson one: be quiet and be still."
The turian made a scoffing sound. "Is that it? Shouldn't there be more to it than that?"
One haughty eyebrow jumped unseen beneath Kasumi's hood. "You are not very good at this already. And I suspect you will continue to be not very good at this." Sniffing for good measure, the aristocratic woman emphasized her disdain.
Unsure how serious she was being, Cass glanced at her friend to gauge his reaction.
He clearly wasn't pleased but held his tongue.
For one moment more, their teacher stared him down. Then she broke the silence as she began to pace slowly in front of them. "Excellent. Your first assignment is to sneak past the engineer above and reach the drive core. You'll work together as a team, and at least one of you must arrive at your destination undetected. I've already gotten rid of Donnelly for the moment. I estimate you'll have anywhere from a quarter of an hour to three quarters before he'll return." Monologue complete, Kasumi stopped to meet their eyes once more. "Good luck." And then she simply disappeared.
Once again, Cass looked at Vadix and Vadix looked at Cass. Neither appeared to know where to start.
From very close behind her, the other woman's now-bodiless voice instructed once more, "The clock is ticking…"
Shivering, the redhead looked to the turian for direction. "What's the plan?"
He didn't respond for a moment, only stared at her. Then, "I suppose we'll have to distract the other engineer somehow. But we should scope out the terrain first, so we know what we're working with."
And so, they began.