Note: As always, sorry for the wait. If I didn't have to work I'd be a writing machine. So this part is winding down, only a few more left and then it's onto Mass Effect 3. I really enjoyed writing this chapter and hope you guys like it to. Totally original and some new characters too.
As always, feedback and comment are appreciated.
Please enjoy, Chapter Fifteen: Aurora Borealis
Mass Effect
"Foreign Relations"
Chapter Fifteen: Aurora Borealis
The Normandy had been docked at the Citadel for about a week in lockdown. Sidda effectively stole it from Cerberus so to keep him from getting it back by flipping a switch or override EDI and have her jack it remotely, Joker shut it down. While it was there Anderson ordered that the vessel be repaired but Sidda still hadn't officially turned it over to the Alliance. The Cerberus crew had gone their ways and only a select few remained on the Normandy. The ship didn't need a full crew to be operational but it did leave it like a ghost town.
While no longer under Cerberus control the Normandy still flew Cerberus colors which presented a bit of a problem when she arrived in orbit of the Turian colony, Rylo. Despite its size it had a heavy military presence mainly due to its location. When the Normandy arrived it took a little convincing for the garrison to stand down. Nov's Spectre authority was what did it and they were allowed to dock at the orbital station and take a shuttle to the surface from there. The crew was given permission to visit the capital as Sidda and Nov went elsewhere.
Sidda fidgeted in the shuttle, her left leg bounced nervously and she tapped her fingers on the metal of the seat. Nov, seated on her right, looked down at her and must have looked at her bouncing leg and tapping fingers long enough for her to look at him. "Do you mind? You're driving me crazy." She stopped abruptly and was still for about five seconds before starting to bite her fingernails. "Sid, will you stop fidgeting?"
She stopped chewing on her nails and felt like she wanted to bounce her leg some more. "Sorry." She said and he took her right hand.
Nov found her behavior sweet and endearing. Seeing her nervous over meeting his mother allowed him to see normal Sidda, not world ending Sidda, he enjoyed it. "You have nothing to be nervous about. She's gonna love you." He told her and Sidda scoffed derisively.
"Why is it that all sons say the same thing and are totally clueless? No woman is good enough for their baby boy, Cal." She said and Nov chuckled.
"You are." He said and she blushed. "She'll see that too. Just relax."
Rylo was the smallest Turian colony with just under a million inhabitants but it had a massive military presence. It was also beautiful, rolling green fields, orchards of trees, a mountain range in the distance, and blue skies. It was beautiful and reminded her of Earth.
"A lot of military around." Sidda commented as they got off the shuttle and moved through the spaceport in Rylo's capital Rosha.
"The colonies location makes it prime for pirates and raiders. Rylo produces the most food for the empire than any other colony and they really protect it." He explained.
"This little rock?"
"Yes, this little rock…very special little rock."
Nov flew the skycar out of the city and for what seemed to be about two hours. All Sidda saw was farm after farm and miles and miles of farming fields. The tiny little farmstead Nov was from was called Panop, the town had less than 500 people in it and it was located 200 miles from anything else.
"Wow, you really are a farm boy." She commented as he landed in the car in the driveway behind a beefy looking rover that reminded Sidda of a compact Mako but with only four wheels.
"My parents did all they could to make me into a farmer. I do have an enormous amount of knowledge of horticulture, agriculture, and botany." He said as the door opened. "Then I joined the military and I knew that's what I wanted to do."
"Honestly, I can't see you as a farmer." She said and Nov chuckled.
Farming wasn't exactly his cup of tea but he didn't mind it. "You might be surprised. Agricultural engineer is actually what I would have gone for." He told her and Sidda smiled, learning more and more about Nov was nice. "I spent the majority of my childhood working on the irrigation systems, solar systems, harvesters…"
"Did not expect that." She said with a smile and Nov snorted. "Farm Boy."
The house looked like a modernized, scaled down version of a Roman villa. The house wasn't too big but big enough for Sidda. She'd spent most of her adult life on ships and when she was a kid there was only one house she actually lived in. Everything else were apartments or quarters on stations and ships.
"Mom?" Nov called as he walked through the house. Nothing had really changed except some furniture had been moved around. "Mom, you here?" he called again when he got no response.
"Study." He heard from across the house and followed the voice.
Sidda walked into a florist's paradise. Flowers of all types decorated the house adding to its already bright and homey feel. It was a single level with a very open floor plan and a lot of space, Nov's mother was disabled so the space and the ramps made sense. Nov navigated the house like he'd never left it and found his mother in the study. That used to be where his father hung out all the time but after he died his mother turned it into her research study.
"Callus." His mother smiled as she turned her wheelchair toward him. "Welcome home."
He leaned down and gave his mother a hug; she was confined to a wheelchair just as Nov had mentioned but it didn't seem to slow her down at all. She had a grey skin tone that was a bit lighter then Garrus', the same red paint as Nov's and striking grey eyes. Sidda didn't pretend to know what was attractive in regards to a female Turian but she thought that his mother was very pretty.
Nov took a step back from her and looked to Sidda. "Mom, this is Sidda Shepard. Sid, this is my mother Auriga."
"Auri." She instructed and extended her hand to the human woman who was nearly a foot shorter than her son. "It's really good to finally meet you."
"You too."
"You are exactly as he described." She told her and looked the human up and down. Despite being nervous she carried herself with confidence, Sidda was also clearly a soldier with the scars to prove it. Her son was a flirt and had many girlfriends but to this day had never brought a girl home since he left for boot camp.
"Oh really?" Sidda blushed.
"Yes. Last time he was home he chatted my ear off about you." She said and Nov looked down at the floor. It wasn't his finest moment but he needed to talk to someone and that someone was his mother. "He also said you were involved in an accident and everyone believed you were dead."
Sidda enjoyed how straight forward his mother was. She knew that Nov was in love with her and wanted to know if she was worthy of it. "That's a very long story." She said honestly.
Auriga nodded. "I look forward to hearing it. Come on, let's talk in the solarium." She said and moved the chair forward and through the house. "Callus, you do remember where the tea is? Bring us some please." Nov nodded and was halfway to the kitchen before Sidda spoke up.
"Umm… I don't…I mean I can't drink…" Sidda began and didn't finish the sentence after know how stupid it would should to tell them that she couldn't eat dextro food.
Auriga chuckled before she finished. "Don't worry I have both."
"The beauty about this colony is that it grows dextro and levo food. It's another reason why it's so damn important. You didn't think I'd let you go hungry did you?" Nov said and gave her a wink. Sidda blush and his mother chuckled.
The Solarium was beautiful and lined with all manner of plants, flowers mostly, that filled the air was a gentle sweet fragrance. Perfect amount of windows gave it so much light there was no need for artificial lighting. This had to be one of the prettiest houses Sidda had ever been in. "So, Sidda, tell me about you." Auriga began asked as she gestured for Sidda to sit on the couch. "Callus told me you come from a military family."
Sidda tried not to feel like she was sitting down for a job interview. "Yeah, both my parents were career military. My father retired about 7 years ago and…passed away last year, and my mother's an Admiral."
Auriga had always been good at reading people. She was very observant it was something people didn't notice about her until she had you figured out every little detail. "Only child?"
"Yeah."
"So was his father…Tiber. I would have liked to have had more but circumstances prevented me. So I doted on that one." She confessed and smiled to her son bring in the tray of tea and all its fixings.
Sidda gave Nov a sweet smile and he arranged everything on the table between the couch and where his mother was situated. "Must be why he turned out so well."
This was embarrassing and Nov blushed to a point that they could both see it. "Oh yeah, this was a good idea." He muttered and sat down.
They chuckled and went back to talking. "Callus tells me you served on a Turian ship?"
Sidda nodded. "I was assigned to the Lante, part of a Turian and Human training program to help relations." Sidda said as she put some sugar in the tea and sniffed it. Some kind of black tea she thought but it had a hint of blueberry scent to it. "Tough assignment…I don't think I would have made it without him and a few others."
His mother giggled and saw him sit next to her. Body language told her a lot; he sat close to her without actually touching her, trying to be respectful. He really did like her. "He's always had a soft spot for outsiders. The first girl he ever brought home was when he was 14, a Batarian girl…what was her name?"
Part of him groaned, he wasn't ashamed of it but he knew Sidda would tease him. "Trina." He answered quickly and caught the look from Sidda in his peripheral vision.
"Your first girlfriend was a Batarian? I didn't know that." She grinned with friendly teasing. She knew she'd barely scratched the surface of his romantic history.
He knew her all too well. "You never asked." He replied with a wink.
They were cute together. "So was it love at first sight?" she beamed.
"No." Sidda answered quickly remembering fondly the beating he gave her. Nov gave her a look for the rapid response. "He actually was the first one to clean the floor with me in a sparring match."
It was true and he caught the look from his mother. "Yeah but you didn't back down."
His mother looked from him to her still judging the Human that she liked so far. "Did you return the favor?"
The tea was good, not as bitter as some Black Teas. "Yes I did." She replied proudly.
Auriga grinned. "Good." She said and winked to her son. "He needs a female who's not afraid to push him around. He's a lot like his father that way." Nov didn't like that comparison and she knew it. She ignored the look he gave her and went on about her observations. "So, Sidda…would you like to help me cook dinner?"
"I can put dinner together, Ma, you don't have to." He said and she waved him off.
"No, Callus, we can handle that. The solar tower outside could use your particular talents."
Nov nodded with a smile as he and Sidda stood. "Alright, I'll take care of it." He said with a smile and patted Sidda's arm. "Back in a bit."
Most everything on Rylo's farms ran on solar or wind power and even Rosha had a generous amount of solar and wind generators for its main power source. Nov had been working on his parents solar and wind power grids since he was old enough to read engineering plans and was delighted to see that someone had replaced the old system. He wasn't sure who but as he examined it he appreciated the professional work. He scanned it with his Omni-tool and let it build him a detailed plan.
"The coil doesn't like the dust." A voice called drawing his attention to a Quarian coming across the lane. "That one hasn't worked right since I installed it."
"You replaced the system?"
The Quarian nodded. "You must be Auri's son. Zunal'Rey." He introduced extending his hand to him. "Call me Zuni."
"Callus Nov. Cal." He nodded giving him a firm handshake.
"Took me four days to replace it all." His mother's farm was not small so Nov believed him. He'd grown up working on the old system.
Nov chuckled. "That I believe. That last system was in for 20 years or more…about time it got replaced. Solar towers and the irrigation?"
The Quarian named Zuni nodded; he was tall and wore a suit colored a dusty grey and black. It wasn't unheard of to see Quarian's on Rylo, there were several families actually, and mostly ones who left pilgrimage and never went back others were exiled. There was a decent Asari population and surprisingly enough, Batarian. "Took a bit but yes. Your mother says you're a brilliant engineer."
Nov chuckled and nodded. "That's what they tell me. Why don't we just replace the coil?"
"Having trouble laying my hands on it." He replied. "Until then I just fix it."
"Is that what you do around here? Fix things?"
He nodded as Nov opened the panel on the tower. Toward the end of summer the dust was terrible and it was hard on the solar panels and the inner workings. "Yes. I keep Auri's equipment working and help her and the seasonal workers harvest."
A rover pulled up drawing their attention. Nov knew exactly who it was just by the look of the tan rover. The tall Turian that exited had dark green face paint from the mouth up, Rocam. "Your mother said you turned up." The familiar Turian shouted as he approached them.
"Darius," he grinned and gave the older Turian a hug. "how the hell are you?"
Darius Acadas was his mother's older brother and had spent over 30 years in the military doing god knows what before settling down with his family on Rylo. He was tall like all Turians with a broad, powerful build. He wore the colony paint of his ancestors, the Rocam green stood out when next to the bright red of Rylo. "Great," he replied and pushed back to appraise how Nov appeared. "heard you made Council Spectre, Boy, proud of you." Darius said and looked over to the Quarian. "Zuni, I see you've met my nephew."
"I did."
"This guy," Darius began and patted the Quarian's shoulder. "is the only one I've met who can hold a candle to your Tech skills, Kid." Darius usually never called him by his name. Normally it was 'Boy' or 'Kid'…hardly ever Cal or Callus unless he was getting admonished.
"Not that good apparently. Top of the line equipment but still have problems."
Nov shook his head. "No. It's just the coil." He said and the tower hummed to life. "Temporary fix but I think I can use my new found Council power to get a not so defective coil."
"He really is good." Zuni commented and Nov snorted.
"It's a gift." He chuckled.
"Joining us for dinner, Zuni?"
The Quarian shook his head. "No, but thank you for the offer and tell Auri I said good evening."
As the Quarian left Darius looked at his nephew, he'd had a rough past few years but he didn't know the exact reason. Nov had spoken to his mother about his issue and she kept his confidence. Darius only knew that it had to do with someone he loved. "So you made Spectre…who put your name in?"
Nov tapped a few more things on his omni-tool. "Nihlus Kryik." He answered and closed the access panel on the tower.
"Now that was a good Spectre, Saren was too before his brother was killed then everything went to hell." Darius commented and headed toward the house. There was a silence as Nov preferred not to comment on that. "Your mother said you brought a girl home." Nov didn't usually do that, for the reputation he had he was careful around family. "Serious?"
"I hope so." He smiled. Sidda was the one…he just hoped that she felt the same. "You're gonna love her." He knew his entire family was going to love her.
"Well, let's meet her then, Nephew." Darius prodded. "Oh and be aware…they knew you are here. I told them to give you a day but rest assured you will be bombed tomorrow."
Nov chuckled, they were his cousins…the closest things he had to siblings. "Thanks for the warning…give me time to draw up a battle plan." Darius laughed and they headed in the house.
Inside, Sidda and Auriga chatted in the kitchen. The home was designed that her disability wasn't an issue at all. "Have you cooked dextro food?" Auri asked and Sidda nodded.
"Some. More now with him, he likes to cook more than most people I know." She said and began to cut up the vegetables as instructed.
"Comes from being in the military so long, terrible rations." She told her and Sidda chuckled.
"That I understand. Any time I could get a kitchen and real food I took it." Sidda replied. "I've been in the military since I was 17. Grew up on bases and ships. What is this?"
"That one you can eat. It's like a carrot." She said and enjoyed the expression on Sidda's face when she tried it. Seemed like a cross between a carrot and a sweet potato. "I have a confession, Sidda," she began. "Cal told me about everything…everything that happened. I know you were killed when your ship was destroyed and that nearly killed my son. I also know that you were in a relationship with his commanding officer."
Sidda wasn't sure how she should feel about her comments. Her apparent death impacted a lot of people aside from her parents Victus and Nov took the brunt of it. "Umm…" she managed but didn't know how to proceed. There wasn't a judgmental tone in her voice but she didn't know what to say. "I…yeah." She said finally. "I did, Adrien was the first Turian I ever dated."
Auriga was still feeling her out and appreciated the honesty for what was clearly an uncomfortable topic. "But you're with Cal now…what happened?"
Auriga was doing what Sidda had expected, what all the cheap romance vids did, making sure no one was going to hurt her little boy. "Let's just say two years is a long time for someone to be dead. Cal was there for me…and has been there for me no matter what."
Auriga had been nervous for her son when she heard about the previous relationship with his former commanding officer. All those reservations disappeared when she heard her talk about him. "Just don't hurt him."
Nov was the best man she'd ever known; he was loyal, honest, and respectful. He'd also been there for her during the hardest times and aside from a little jealousy around Thane and Victus he was perfect. She remembered the message from Victus just before Toombs busted in…a message that she never responded to. She took his apology but found that nothing she could have sent back would have resulted in anything good.
Commotion in the living room drew their attention. Auriga had gotten what she needed from Sidda and Sidda actually felt at ease despite the honest conversation that was a little uncomfortable. Laughter and two male voices made Auriga chuckle and Sidda look over her shoulder. "The boys are here." His mother commented to her as she recognized both voices.
Sidda didn't and had no idea who the other voice was. "Hey." Nov said and appeared around the corner. "Hope you're not telling any embarrassing stories about me."
"Not yet." Auriga replied with a smirk. "You get the tower going?"
"Temporarily, need a new coil. Hey, when did you get a new neighbor?"
His mother cocked her head to him. "Two years ago." She answered with a snort. He'd been back within the last two years and hadn't noticed. "I see you met Zuni."
"Some Special Forces operative you are." A new Turian commented and Sidda put a face to the other laughing voice from the living room.
"Well, now the Spectres get him…lucky us." Sidda joked and his mother and the other Turian laughed.
"I like her." Auriga commented and Nov snorted.
"Me too." He winked and turned to the Turian behind him. "Sid, this is Darius Acadas my uncle." Nov introduced and Sidda became acutely aware that she knew nothing about his family except that he hated his now deceased father and that his mother was disabled.
Sidda offered the new Turian a smiled and extended her hand to him, the Human custom was a Turian one as well and he shook it. "Pleasure to meet you."
"Commander Shepard…first human Spectre." Darius said and didn't realize this was the woman his nephew brought home. "It's honor." Darius' military record stretched back to the First Contact War and beyond, he may have been out of the military now but he knew that the first human Spectre was a big deal. He watched it three years ago along with everyone else. "You didn't tell me she was the first human Spectre."
Nov snorted. "My apologies. Uncle Darius, this is Sidda Shepard, first human Spectre, and hero of the Battle of the Citadel." He said sarcastically.
Sidda giggled. "Snarky. Isn't he?"
Darius was impressed with Sidda and he'd only known her for a few minutes. "Careful, Captain." Darius chided.
"Yes, Admiral." Nov chuckled.
"Admiral?"
Darius nodded proudly. "Palaven Fleet Command for over 30 years." Fleet Command was their equivalent to a Navy; the Lante was basically Marine run.
"He had Coronati's position 8 years ago." Nov clarified.
"Not only Fleet Command but boss of it all. Nice." She smiled and Darius was both surprised and appreciative of her knowledge of the Palaven military. Shepard was the Human officer that served on a Turian ship. He just didn't realize that it was Nov's ship.
Dinner was an interesting affair but it wasn't because there was an awkward silence, the opposite actually. The food was great, at least Sidda's was good but everyone seemed to be enjoying theirs as well, and the conversation wasn't stagnant.
None of them excluded the lone human at the table and it really helped that she was both military and had served on a Turian ship. It turned out that Darius was Fleet Admiral for almost 10 years until he retired 8 years ago, he was married with two kids and a granddaughter and it bothered Sidda that Nov never mentioned any of them. Auriga was also a delight, before becoming a full-fledged botanist she arrived for her boot camp training on her 15th birthday same as every Turian but during the physical she was given the medical exemption and sent home. She then went to the University on Rocam and met Tiber when she was 20 and he was still a soldier. As much as Cal disliked his father he never faulted him on how he treated his mother. Before her illness bound her to the chair he'd built the entire house just for her, designed for the inevitable handicap. He made sure that anything she wanted she got. It was heartwarming to hear her talk about it, and Nov didn't even scoff.
That night extra bedding and pillows were given to Sidda since Turian beds could be ungodly uncomfortable. Nov helped arrange the blankets and pillows and Sidda sighed.
"Can I ask you something?" she asked and her Turian lover grunted a response. "In the entire time I've known you –both alive and dead – I've only ever heard of the father you don't like and your mother who is disabled…why didn't you tell me about the rest?"
Nov fluffed the pillows and took a moment before answering. "Habit I guess."
Leave it to a male of any species to think that was a sufficient response. "Habit? Cal, come on."
Nov sighed. "My Uncle was one of the best known fleet commanders in the military but I'm a Nov, not an Acadas." Sidda's expression told him he needed to elaborate more. "Alright, you know that my father was not a favorite in the military. Protested a lot, questioned orders, disobeyed orders…supreme pain in the ass. The military kicked him out early just to get rid of him but his reputation didn't do me any favors. I had to prove myself, name dropping my Uncle could have blown back on him and ruined my career before it even started." He explained. "I just got so used to not talking about my family I just don't."
Sidda took his explanation and moved up to stand in front of him. He was so tall she craned her head back smiling up at him. "It's okay." She smiled happily. "I really like them. I am so happy you brought me here."
"I love you, Siddalee."
The next morning Sidda and Nov worked out the logistics of the shower, they were in his mother's house so she was trying hard to be respectful. Nov was hard to resist especially when he hauled her in the shower with him.
By the time Sidda had gotten down stairs she smelled food, after Nov left the shower he apparently put his cooking hat on and made breakfast. It was a huge turn on: men who could cook. "So that's where you went." She smiled and found him in the kitchen.
"Figured I'd let you get dressed without my help." He grinned. "There's juice over there you can drink." He pointed to the pitcher on the table.
"Okay, that is the thing I can't get used to. Turian planet, levo and dextro food…thought you could only get that on the Citadel or Illium." she said and poured a glass of what looked and tasted like Kiwi juice. It was good. "Oh my god…this is my new favorite. What the hell is this?"
"Kala. It's a tree fruit popular on Thessia…grows pretty well here."
Sidda smiled and took another drink of it. "Tastes like a Kiwi…but better."
Noise from the other room drew her attention and out of nowhere another Turian appeared in grand fashion. He grabbed Nov from behind and lifted him up. "Spectre Cal!" he yelled happily.
Nov didn't need to see who it was who grabbed him and lifted him up off the ground that was easy to figure out. It was cousin number one of the they that Darius has mentioned the day before. "Oh…" he grunted as he didn't let go of the pan and spatula he was still holding. The grip from his cousin hurt his ribs. "damn, Pol, put me down."
Sidda watched the exchange which included the biggest Turian she had ever seen in her life. To most Humans Turian's all looked alike and Sidda had thought that before the Lante. It was more than just face paint and skin tones it was builds and body types as well. Looking back on the Lante she saw all the differences now. Kalvaris was long and lean where Nov and Victus were the tall and broad equivalent to the 6'2" well-muscled Human male. This one was taller than Nov and built broader than Ruvvak.
"Fuck, Pol, did you get taller?" Nov asked as he gave his cousin a firm handshake.
Pollux Acadas was easily seven feet tall and had a huge build, he wore the same Rocam green facepaint with grey skin and the same amber eyes Nov had and a scar under his fringe on the back of his head. "Maybe. That or you are just still small." He replied. "Who's the Human?" he asked as blunt and politically incorrect as he ever was.
Sidda raised an eyebrow and Nov paused briefly with stirring the stir fry he'd put together with meat and vegetables. "Uhh, the human's name is Sidda." She told him and Nov chuckled to her response to his cousin. She didn't need any help, she'd survived Cerrus.
Pollux looked at the tiny human in front of him and her extended hand. "Sid, this is my cousin Pollux."
He hesitated before accepting her hand and gave it a firm shake. "You are the tallest Turian I have ever met." She thought Nov was tall at 6'7" and he was taller than Victus, Cerrus, Garrus, and Maridus.
"We're all tall." He replied in what sound like a tone reserved for someone that you didn't like but patronized anyway. "How many Turians do you know?"
Sidda gave him a slight cant of her head. So far everyone she met didn't have an issue with her…except this one. "Served on a ship full of them, how many to do you know?" she responded and Nov grinned. Sidda could stand up anyone…even a seven foot Turian.
She couldn't tell if Pollux was offended or just testing her but he looked to Nov with a nod. "I like her."
"I don't think he wants your approval, Pol." A female said and walked to the group. "Don't mind him," she said to Sidda. "he likes to think he's the alpha but that's always belonged to Callus. That and it's hard to be the alpha when you're the youngest. Favia Vibiion."
This was cousin number two of the they Darius had mention. "My other cousin." Nov added.
Favia actually wore the same colony paint that Garrus and Maridus did; she was 5'10, with the same grey skin as her brother but had eyes that looked silver. "Sidda Shepard."
"You gonna make enough for all of us, Cal?" Favia inquired in a sibling teasing tone.
"Alright, everybody but Sid get out." He replied as the kitchen had gotten way too crowded.
"Oh no, no." Favia interrupted. "You, Dear Cousin, make food…the ladies shall talk." She said and took Sidda away and off toward the living room.
Nov served everyone breakfast and had to listen to his mother and Favia 'ooo and ahh' over the fact that he made a separate dish for Sidda. And there on the back porch of his Mother's home they ate like one big family that you read about or saw in vids.
"Where's Aunt Lyta?" Nov asked Darius as he tried to steer the conversation away from Favia and Pollux trying to embarrass the hell out of him with stories that should never be told.
"She's on Palaven. Should be back at the end of the week." Darius answered. Amilyta Acadas was Darius' wife and a military historian. They'd met when she was writing her thesis and asked the military for combat officers she could interview, Darius was her first victim. They married two years later and for a while she followed him from assignment to assignment until she got pregnant and settled on Rylo to be near some form of family. The colony agreed with her and she put down roots. "She'd love to meet you, Sidda...she'll talk your ear off about military history. You being the first human Spectre is going to drive her crazy."
"I would love to meet her." Sidda replied and it wasn't just a line to be polite. So far she fit so well into this family it was actually a little spooky.
"Fav, where's Kaius these days?" Nov asked wondering where the other missing members were. Kaius Vibiion was her mate and still active duty military. He and Favia met when she was a Public Relations officer trying to smooth over ruffled feathers after an operation pissed a lot of people off. They got married and she was given the special dispensation to come off active duty when she had their daughter Nisia, technically Favia was a reservist.
"Somewhere I'm not supposed to know about." She replied flatly. Kaius was an Intelligence operative...a spy like Desala…when he dropped off the map it meant only one thing.
Sidda looked around the table and found the rowdiest one from the kitchen was the quietest one at the table for breakfast. "So you were Public Relations, your husband is PIC," she gestured to Favia sitting next to her then looked at Darius. "you were the boss of it all, and he's a Spectre now…Pollux what did you do in the military?"
Pollux was across from her next to Auriga and paused from his drink. "Front line soldier on the ground and boarding party on ships," he said quickly. "I'm still active duty just on extended leave."
Extended leave could have meant a few things: high mission rate, extended duty without a break, or family/medical. She wasn't sure what his reason was and didn't know if she was permitted to ask. Luckily, Favia read her mind. "He took a round to the back of his head one his last assignment."
Sidda hadn't expected that but it explained the scar on the back of his head and she gave Pollux the expression he was used to when people learned he'd been shot in the back of the head. "Peacekeeping mission went ass up. A Turian merc managed to get up behind me and pulled the trigger. Punched through my shields but my armor slowed it down enough it didn't kill me." He explained and Sidda found herself speechless. "I also sent Armax Arsenal a very sincere thank you note and an image of my helmet."
Sidda knew a thing or two about near death and actual death, armor hadn't saved her when she was spaced but it did well enough to give Cerberus a shot at resurrecting her. Good armor was hard to find but it wasn't where you skimped. She'd learned that the hard way a few times.
She spent the rest of the morning watching Nov spar with Pollux and Darius. It looked like they were taking it easy on Pollux more than likely due to the head injury but according to Favia her brother was in good shape. He was in good shape, Darius had been training with him once he was cleared for physical exertion, now with Nov there Pollux had a chance to step up the physical therapy.
"They'll do this all day." Favia commented, sparring was a necessity for her not a pastime.
"Oh, don't I know that. Cal loves to spare."
"I don't…sparred with Pol my entire life I would rather not do it for sport." She said as Nov demonstrated a very nice takedown on his Uncle. Sidda cocked her head and smiled to how sexy he looked, she loved watching him spar. Favia saw the expression. "So what do humans find attractive in Turians?"
Sidda blinked and stammered. She was a bit surprised with the question but not put off. "Umm…I don't know. Part of it's the danger, the unknown…it's different. It's not all different. Same sense of humor, same jokes, little bit more exotic danger, and it's that whole predator/prey thing."
Favia chuckled, that wasn't the first time that the Turian predatory look made females across the species' swoon. "That's that same thing his former girlfriend said."
Sidda cocked her head. "You met Shala?"
Favia nodded. "On Palaven a few years ago. You are far more interesting that she was."
"Sid," Nov called. "your turn."
"The Human?" Pollux questioned.
Nov let his irritation show. "That Human can give me a run for my money and if you keep calling her that I'll give you another head injury." He warned with a growl. Jokes were jokes but he couldn't tell if it was that or Pollux being his typical no-filter self. Either way he put an abrupt end to it.
The rest of Sidda's day was spent with Favia in the capital city of Rosha and when she returned to the house Nov had ushered her into the land rover with no other explanation other than 'let's go'.
The land rover sped over the dirt road for a longtime before Sidda spoke. "Are you taking me all the way out here to kill me?" she asked and Nov chuckled.
"Why would I want to do that, Baby, I haven't finished playing with you yet." He purred with a noticeable wink.
By the time they'd gotten to their destination the sun had almost completely set. The sunset was not the reason why he's brought her to the ridge. Rylo sunsets were beautiful but it was what came after that was the real beauty. "Cal, what are we doing here?" Sidda asked as she stretched her legs.
"You'll see." He said and hopped up on the hood of the rover. "Come on, get up here."
"Alright, I'm curious." She shrugged and climbed up with him.
"This was my favorite place when I was growing up…still is." He told her. "The sunsets here are the best but that is the real show." He went on and gestured to green and purple lights lining the darkening sky.
Sidda blinked and smiled to what she was seeing. "The Auroras…" she said as she looked in awe at the magnetic phenomenon. Nov gave her a look and she explained. "That's what they call it on Earth. Solar winds against the electromagnetic field?"
Nov nodded. "Happens all the time here especially in the summer. It'll go on for hours and hours and when it goes away the clearest and brightest star field you could imagine."
"You love it here." She smiled as she made that observation.
It was a true statement, he did love it here but it wasn't always so. It was only after he left he realized he loved it. "Yeah. When I was a kid I couldn't wait to get the hell out of here. Nothing to do here but get in trouble…at least that's what my parents figured." He said and she leaned again him. "Headed off to Boot Camp…a few years later all I wanted to do was come home. When I finally did come home my Dad kicked me out."
Seeing him with his mother told her that he did love his family even though it wasn't always good. She saw a photo of Nov's father and agreed that Cal looked exactly like Tiber. "Beautiful." She smiled and looked up at the sky. It got dark quickly on this planet and before she knew it Nov was right, the star field behind the brilliant lights.
Nov had no idea how to ask her what he wanted to. Fear gripped him all of the sudden to the point that his brain wouldn't let him talk. They were quiet for a few minutes as he tried to figure out how to proceed. "Marry me." He said finally after getting over his all of the sudden crippling fear.
Sidda blinked to his question and felt like she needed to bolt for a second. "What?"
It wasn't as tactful as he would have liked but there was no putting the genie back in the bottle. "The vids always show Human males down on one knee doing this." He admitted and he started to shift as if to get off the Rover.
Sidda was stunned but heard enough of it to snap back to reality. "Callus Nov, you get down on one knee I will shoot you."
Nov chuckled and wasn't offended by what she said. He did slide off the rover and moved around to stand in front of her. "I had a jeweler make this on the Citadel. Joker said it was a tradition to give an engagement ring." He said and took a silver ring from his pocket. "I told him it was for a Human but I wanted a Turian flair." There was no stone in the ring but it was engraved with a distinct Turian pattern along with Turian script.
"What's it say?" she asked as the shock of it all began to wear off. This was it, he was proposing.
"It says 'I love you'. Generic I know but…Sidda, I love you." He confessed but it wasn't like it was something he had to tell her. It wasn't a secret…not anymore. "I love you more and more each day…I don't know what I'd do without you." He said and could see that she was a little apprehensive. She'd given their relationship a chance and it had gone better than anticipated, the Suicide Mission was in the past, the Collectors were stopped, and their relationship was still strong. "I want to spend a lifetime with you; I want to know what you'd look like during the wedding ceremony, what a Turian-Human baby looks like. You're my mate, Sidda, there will never be anyone else but you."
Sidda's throat was dry and her heart was being so fast she knew he could probably hear it. Nov had been there though it all…good and bad…and he'd saved her life more than once. There was no other decision. "Yes." She answered and it wasn't until she said it that the reality of it hit her. "Yes, Cal."
Nov let out a breath he'd been holding and chuckled with relief. "Oh, good…for a second there I thought you'd say no." he said and remembered which finger Joker told him to put it on.
"Never." She replied sweetly and kissed him quickly before moving her mouth to his right ear. "You're mine now, Casanova." She purred provocatively.
He growled and bit her neck lightly then tried not to think about the fact that he was about to have sex on the hood of his mother's rover.
Later that evening, Nov and Sidda came back to a full house, she wasn't sure if it was because of them or if it was just business as usual. She wondered that right up until the point Nov announced that he had an announcement. She wasn't sure how to take this and her nerves were hard to hide as suddenly all eyes were on them.
"Sidda and I have an announcement to make." He said and Sidda fidgeted. "We're getting married." he said after a pause needed to get his nerves in order.
"What'd I tell you?" Darius commented to his sister as the whole room spread their congratulations.
The reaction from the target audience lifted the weight from Sidda's shoulders. As much as she'd been welcomed into his family she was afraid of what their opinion would be. But as she looked at the faces everyone, including Pollux, was happy.
It was congratulations all around and Auriga even pulled out some champagne for a toast. "That's dextro." Pollux commented as Sidda took a sip of the alcohol.
It wasn't what she was used to; the Brandy was what Victus liked so it was what she had acquired a taste for. Dextro drinks were sweeter, this wasn't as sweet but it was okay. "I can handle it." She said and still wasn't sure if Pollux approved or even liked her.
He leaned back against the couch and became considerably shorter but still tall as hell. He tapped his glass to hers and gave her a nod. "Welcome to the family, Little Human." He said and Sidda snorted.
"Thanks, Big Ass Turian." She replied in kind making them both chuckle. It was then that Sidda figured out Pollux, he was blunt and didn't apologize for it, but he wasn't mean. He came off as judgmental and rude but here, right now, he was welcoming her into his family.
"You really want to join this circus?" Darius asked and appeared next to Sidda with a smile on his face.
"Hey, I've heard horror stories about people meeting the family and have to say that this is the best outcome that I could have thought of." She chuckled and looked around the room to Nov playing with his niece, Nisia.
"We've been pushing him to settle down for a long time." Darius said. "He's never brought anyone home until you. Now I just need to get this one a family."
Pollux took a long drink and scoffed with a shake of his head. "Keep dreaming." He said with a snort. "I'll stay in the military." Pollux wasn't interested in a long term relationship; he intended to remain in the military for as long as he could.
Later that night Sidda crawled into bed with her new fiancé. It felt surreal and she even felt like it was a dream. She was engaged…something that she'd pretty much given up on over the years. Work had always kept her occupied and then dying pretty much ruined the rest of it. Victus was the most promising relationship but he literally to her that he'd never marry again…then she died. In Nov, however, she found someone that she believed would never leave her. Ever. She thought about the future, the future with him. A family with him and it didn't scare her.
"Did you mean what you said?" she asked as she settled into his arms in bed.
"Might need to be more specific, Love." He replied quietly and tapped the pad in his hand to move to the next page.
She pulled the blanket up over her and snuggled to him. "About a Turian-Human baby…you really want a baby with me?" she asked and Nov put the pad down.
"Yes I do." He answered and pulled her tight against him. "I want more than one."
He surprised her more and more. "I think biology might have a little something to say about that." She said. To her knowledge there had never been a Turian-Human child, the only dextro and levo pairing that had been successful were Asari and Turian but that didn't really count.
"Maybe." He said and didn't need to see her face to know that he needed to explain further. "I may have asked a few preemptive questions about it to Mordin."
Nov had put a lot more thought into this then she realized, she actually wondered how long he'd been working on the proposal. "Really?"
"Yeah. He said it would be difficult but not impossible." He said. "Are you alright with that?"
Strangely, she was and was pretty sure Nov could hear her heartbeat increase when she thought about it. "Yes." She replied honestly. "Although I don't think the universe is prepared for mini Callus Nov's. Females of all species are in enough trouble as it is with just one of you out there."
He laughed. She was teasing him and he loved every minute of it, he couldn't have been more certain of asking her to marry him then he was right now.
Nov heard the Omni-tool chirping but it wasn't his. Sidda was in such a deep, content sleep she didn't hear her Omni-tool beeping. It was the middle of the night so it must have been important. "Yeah?" he answered with a groggy voice and flipped the desk lamp on.
"Hey, Cal, sorry…I need to talk to Shepard." Joker said and Nov nodded with a yawn.
"Yeah, hang on." He replied and muted the messenger. "Sidda," he said softly gently waking her up. "wake up. Joker's on the line."
Sidda was groggy but woke up to his quiet voice. "What's going on?"
"I don't know. Here."
"Joker?"
"Sorry to bother you, Commander, but I have an urgent message from Illium…it's about Liara."
Two hours later, they were back on the Normandy and headed for the Asari planet. "Cal, I'm sorry." She apologized. The vacation he'd taken her on was heaven so far and now it got cut short.
"Don't worry about it." He replied and laughed as Sidda practically melted into her bed. The issue with this relationship was going to be the bed. "Take care of Illium then go back."
Sidda purred, that sounded like a plan. "Can't wait to see what Turian wedding plans look like."
Turian weddings ranged from easy to elaborate same as anywhere else except Salarians. "That depends on how formal you want it." Nov said and climbed into bed with her. They had 5 hours before they reached Illium so they fell asleep.
Nov had spent nearly as much time on Illium as he had on Thessia. He knew his way around Nos Astra and Sidda giggled. The Asari lover in him was still there but his eyes were for her only he did his best to not wink and flirt with any of the Asari who giggled and blushed when they spoke to him. The galaxy was definitely not read for his offspring. Liara had settled in as probably the best information broker on Illium, she was a very influential and power person now. Quite a long way from the Archeologist trapped in a Prothean ruin on Therum.
Liara was going after the Shadow Broker; Sidda had passed her intelligence that came from Cerberus before she burned that bridge to the ground. It took some time but Liara finally had what she needed. A Salarian informant named Sekat, he found some possibilities where the Shadown Broker was hiding. The reason why she was looking was the bigger issue. Cerberus never told her where or how they had acquired her body. It turned out that it was Liara. The Broker was contracted by the Collectors to recover her body for the Reapers which was quite possibly the most unnerving thought Sidda had ever had. Liara was hunting for her body for Cerberus and crossed paths with Feron, a Drell operative for the Shadow Broker. In the end Feron gave Sidda to Liara and Liara gave Sidda to Cerberus with the knowledge that they could bring her back to life.
Nov didn't hear much more after Liara's confession that she turned Sidda's body over to Cerberus. "I asked you!" he growled angrily and stalked toward her in the threatening way that was usually reserved for an enemy. "I stood here over a year ago with Victus and fucking asked you point blank if you knew where her body was!"
Liara couldn't help but squeak and backed away from the angry Turian. "I'm sorry-…"
It was inches from her and had somehow turned into a looming, domineering figure. "Sorry!?" he roared. "I asked you to help me find her body and you told me you didn't know where it was! I asked you again and again and you LIED to me! Lied to Victus!" No matter how Nov felt about the way Victus treated Sidda upon her return he was there to see how crushed the man was after she died.
"Cal," Sidda warned as even she didn't like his body language. "what are you talking about?"
"When the Alliance couldn't locate your body in orbit of Alchera or on the surface in the wreckage we knew - even the Alliance knew - that something wasn't right." He barked angrily. "Victus and I came to her…the information broker and your friend."
Sidda saw his anger and why he was angry. She didn't even want to know how Victus would be reacting right now. "Cal, back off."
"No!" he shouted back loudly in a vicious tone.
"Cal!" she warned in a harsher tone but he ignored her.
"I'm sorry, Cal," Liara apologized trying to get herself away from the angry Turian looming over her. "I was trying to protect you and Adrien." She explained quickly. "If the wrong people found out that Cerberus had her body…"
"Bullshit!" he snapped.
"Cal, I mean it! Back off." Sidda ordered and pushed him back from her to get between them.
He stepped back and cooled his anger to a point. "I'm gonna go before I do something can't undo." He snarled with a pointed glare to Liara. Nov wasn't a violent man but he was angry and felt betrayed.
"Cal-…"
"No. I am not going to help her and you shouldn't either." He said and turned to walk away before she stopped him. "I'll be on the Normandy."
Sidda sighed heavily; Nov was everything she could have wanted in a man, strong, sexy, protective, vulnerable, and the most stubborn son of a bitch in the galaxy. "Shepard, I'm sorry." Liara said and Sidda turned to her. "I did lie to him and to Victus but that was only because I didn't know if Cerberus would be able to live up to what they had promised."
The explanation rang hollow but if it came down to Cerberus and the Reapers she was glad Liara was there to make sure she landed with the one that wasn't trying to annihilate the known galaxy. "It's fine." She said quickly. It wasn't but she'd sort that out later.
Nov didn't go to the Normandy he went to Eternity instead. It had been a while since he'd been there and a lot had changed. The last time he was here he'd slept with the bartender and another girl in an alcohol fueled threesome, shore leave done right according to him when he returned to the Lante. Right now he wasn't interested in anyone else besides Sidda and sat down at the bar with an irritated growl. The bartender this time was someone he didn't know; she was pretty and a matriarch. Most people couldn't tell the difference but he had an intimate knowledge of the maidens, matrons, and matriarchs…he'd slept with all of them. Matrons were his favorite.
"Oh, Babe, you are going to make a killing here." She said and poured him the drink he asked for.
"Really?" he asked as he looked her up and down. Matriarchs were fully developed, curvy, and fucking beautiful…this one was not any different. He'd also made a game of trying to tell the pairings for most Asari he'd met and had gotten pretty good at it. No one could ever pin down and exact trademark or species trait but his guessing game was used as foreplay or a great icebreaker in a bar. He guessed Krogan or Elcor for this one.
"Tall, broad, long fringe…but it's those amber eyes they'll lose their minds over." She told him and Nov actually blushed. "Name's Aethyta, Babe."
"Cal."
"Welcome to Eternity, Cal. What's got you all pissed off?" she asked and he cocked his head. "I've seen enough angry Turian's to see the difference."
"My betrothed trusts someone she really shouldn't." he said and downed the drink then asked for another.
She poured him another. "That's why you're here with a black cloud over your head?"
"She's been through enough already." He replied and couldn't help but feel like his anger forced him to abandon her. "What about you? What's a Matriarch doing working as a bartender?"
"What makes you think I'm a Matriarch?"
Nov winked. "Experience." The older and Asari got the better lovers they were. Practice makes perfect but they were also more patient.
"Oh, you're one of them." Aethyta snorted. "An Asari lover."
He shrugged. "Up until recently pretty much exclusively but you didn't answer my question."
"No one on Thessia wanted to listen to my ideas so here I am, Babe." She answered and poured him another drink. "So your betrothed, she Asari?"
He shook his head. "Human." He answered and his omni-tool vibrated, it was Sidda and he didn't want to talk right now. Liara was someone he begged for help from and she lied to him. Now Sidda was going to help her despite it. He didn't want to fight so he ignored it.
Nov wasn't there to get drunk, he was there to cool off and then return to the Normandy until still was done with whatever it was she was doing. He'd only been there a half hour when the news feed changed. An explosion at Dracon Tower was being called a terrorist attack; Baria Frontiers seemed to be an intended target. Nov's heart plummeted to his stomach and he actually listened to the message sent from Sidda. Someone had attacked Liara at her apartment and then headed to Dracon Tower, Sidda was looking for him and he ignored the message. "Fuck!" he cursed and ran out the door. How could he have been so careless? He was going to marry Sidda and he ignored her request for help because he was mad.
Dracon Tower lost three floors to a bomb and Illium Police and EMS were responding to the myriad of injuries. Reports of people entering the Tower flooded the news there was even reports of Spectres being on the scene. Spectres, plural. Nov wasn't happy with any of this and had EDI track Sidda to the Dracon Tower plaza.
Sidda, Tali, and Jack chased Liara at least trying to keep up. Vasir was the Shadow Broker agent that had tried to kill Liara and then all three of them. They lost her in the plaza she took off in a Skycar. "She's getting away!" Liara shouted and Sidda looked up to see another Skycar drop down. It was Nov. He had the most spot on timing in existence; he'd arrived with a skycar just as soon as Vasir took off. "Come on!" he shouted as the door opened for the three of them. "Get in!"
"What are you doing here?" Liara asked as she hesitated before getting in.
Typical Liara, she had to question everything and that included his fortuitous arrival. "Helping you against my better judgement now get in the car a shut up."
The Asari scoffed loudly but wasn't about to turn him away. "Jack, come on!" Sidda shouted from the front passenger seat. "Tali-…"
"I'll help tend to the wounded here." The Quarian said back as the three ladies piled in the car with Nov at the helm.
"Don't lose her!" Liara barked from the seat behind Nov.
He was still angry with her and it showed. "Really? No shit!"
"Come on guys, don't fight." Sidda said and gripped the handle on the door as Nov gunned the speed in the car. Nov was an insane pilot and Sidda thought that she'd experienced it all with him at the helm of the highly maneuverable Hammerhead…she was wrong. She trusted him but the thrill seeker in him was making her clutch the seat in panic.
"Cal." She warned nervously as he came far too close to several cars in both right way and wrong way traffic. "Cal."
"I see it." He replied and concentrated on the oncoming knot of traffic.
He may have seen it but she wasn't confident in what he was going to do about it. "Cal…Cal, look out."
Nov wasn't sure who was worse, Sidda or Liara. "I. See. It." He said and she nearly covered her eyes.
"One piece please. One piece." She snapped back.
The Mako drop on Rothla came to mind. Sidda liked to side-seat drive. "I am in control here. We're fine. Stop side-seat driving."
"There! Make a right." Liara ordered and in his right ear leaning over his shoulder.
Nov was annoyed but he did make a right. "Will you get out of my ear?"
"Make the right!" Liara barked and the car jerked to the right sharp enough to make Liara sit back down and slide into Jack.
"I did. Now sit down!"
Sidda had to hand it to Nov, with all the bullshit happening inside the car and the pandemonium outside the car he remained focused. Liara hovering in his ear aside he managed to dodge it all: buildings, cars, trucks, wrecks, construction zones…and proximity mines.
"Proximity mines on a skycar? What the fuck?" Nov snapped and narrowly dodged one that made the skycar rock after it exploded on the right.
"Hey, Jeeves, try not get us all fucking killed." Jack put it and Nov shrugged with a shake of his head. His car ride was now complete. He loved being surrounded by females however right now the only one he didn't want to strangle was Sidda and up until five seconds ago, Jack.
Vasir's luck finally ran out in the form of a head on collision, her skycar went down in flames onto the roof of a hotel. "Well that ought it do it." He muttered and set the car down as close as he could to Vasir's car.
After fending off about 400 waves of bad guys the four of them pressed forward following a blood trail left by Vasir, clearly injured in her crash. "Ahh…Azure." Nov commented, it was hard to determine where they had landed until he saw a room. "When did they redo the roof?"
"Almost a year ago after a crash." Liara answered.
"You've spent time here, I take it?" Sidda asked her Turian playboy.
"Oh yes…lot of fond memories here…and some I don't remember." He told her.
Sidda shook her head and snorted. "Whore."
Tracking Vasir was easy, the blood trail was helpful but once they found her not only did they need to fight her but every single freelance mercenary on Illium. At this point they all knew that Vasir was desperately trying to get out of this alive. She was throwing everything at them that she could think of but was clearly having trouble. It was hard to square off against a vanguard no matter how good a soldier you were. Sidda seemed to have it figured out and Nov watched as she managed to get Vasir down. She matched the fellow Spectre move for move after they'd disarmed each other. The brilliant biotic blue lightshow showed off just what kind of fighter Sidda was under that unassuming Human exterior and Vasir began to succumb to her injuries. Her deathbed confession only confirmed what they had already known but Nov was more impressed with his choice in mates. Sidda took down a vanguard Spectre and did it in style.
Back on the Normandy they were bound for a planet called Hagalaz…apparently it was the Broker's main base. Bruises were forming from impacts under the armor and Nov grimaced to a particularly sore spot on his good shoulder.
Sidda made a face and saw his skin beginning to discolor. Vasir hit him nearly head on with a biotic charge and practically crushed him into the wall of the building. Jack then released her insane biotic power and drove the Asari away so Nov could recover. "Damn…you okay?"
"Yeah…that building wall really had it coming." He joked and turned toward her. "Jack had some seriously good timing. But you…you were impressive." He winked. "Watching you take down Vasir was hot."
She smiled to his flirting and moved to him with a sultry expression. "So were you." She said and put her arms around him. "After you left Liara you didn't go to the Normandy, where did you go?"
"Eternity." He replied truthfully. "Old haunt of mine…I was pissed off and wanted a drink."
Sidda nodded and bit his neck lightly before moving away from him. They didn't have time to play, Hagalaz wasn't far away and they both needed a rest. "You were really hard on Liara." She said and Nov simply shrugged. "I mean really hard on her."
"And?"
Sidda wanted to lay down and sleep and had pulled the covers back on the bed. "Come on, Cal-…"
He cut her off with a snap. "No. She lied to us." He reined in his tone and started again. "She lied to me, lied to Victus." He said with a gentler tone and Sidda sighed.
Part of her understood why Liara did what she did and was grateful for it, Nov should have been too. Without Cerberus she wouldn't be here. "It's not her fault."
The topic was annoying him and it showed. "Yeah, actually, it is. You have no idea what it was like, Sid. I trusted Liara to help me and she lied to me. As far as I am concerned she'll never get my help again and I'll never ask her for help again."
"Cal…"
He had moved over to the other side of the bed and fluffed the pillow he was going to use. "I'm done talking about this, Sid." He snapped with a firm tone. "Period."
In a word Hagalaz sucked. The worst environment imaginable and they weren't even on the planet surface. They were in the atmosphere, circling the planet in its constant storm. It reminded him of Hostile Environment training on Impera only exponentially worse. The Shadow Brokers ship was a technological marvel and a fucking deathtrap. If the endless supply of mercenaries didn't do them in the ship and all its lightning rods would. Nov saved Liara twice when a bolt hit her they pressed on. Once inside it became easier without the lingering threat of plummeting to their deaths off the side of the ship but it was easier to fight the mercenaries when corridors nullified their numbers. Nov, Sidda, and Liara – no matter their feelings toward each other at the moment – had worked together before and they fell into old habits. Liara may not have started as a soldier but after training with Sidda and with Cerrus she knew a thing or two now.
To free Feron, who was a guest of the Broker's torture chamber, they had to meet the man himself. Coming face to face with the Shadow Broker was like a myth or a lore coming to life. The Broker was the like the Boogeyman of the galaxy, no one knew who it was, what it looked like, or even if it was real. Looking at the monster behind the desk told Nov that it was very much real and a nightmare. Nov had read over Spectre archives and reports and made an educated guess as to what this creature was. A Yahg. "Fuck." He thought to himself as the monster was done listening to Liara explain to him that she understood his game.
Nov hit the pillar hard enough under the slab of metal that hit him knowing that he'd broken something. Even through the armor he felt it and heard it but his mental accounting of his injuries didn't get far before he blacked out. The girls were going to have a hard time with that one.
It took a moment for Nov to register the pain in his body when his eyes opened. He saw the ceiling of the Normandy Medical Bay; he was out of his armor and could feel some sort of pain killer swimming in his system but not nearly enough apparently. Every breath he took hurt like a bitch so he registered the broken ribs.
"Hey, Badass," Sidda greeted appearing next to him with a sweet smile on her face. "how you feeling?"
He was elated to see her and felt that relief from what he remembered last, that fucking monster rendering him useless in less than a second. "Oww." He managed out but it sounded like a whimper.
"Try not to move too much, Callus." Chakwas instructed as he began to squirm in the bed. "You have a concussion, four broken ribs, and three very bruised vertebra. Your armor saved your life." She said and arrived on the opposite side. "Bone healers should take care of the ribs but you will be very tender for a few weeks. Now…tell me what I'm doing?" she said and poked his legs with a metal instrument.
"Poking my thigh." He replied realizing she was testing his sensation. She moved down his leg and repeated it then the same on the other side. "It was that bad?"
Chakwas shook her head slightly. "No. Just a lot of swelling I couldn't test until you were awake. Be still for a few more hours, give the bone healers more time to work then you need to be very gentle with yourself."
"I'll try to remember that." He commented and directed his attention to Sidda. "What happened…the Broker…"
Sidda had hovered since they brought him back to the Normandy. Nov was tough so for him to be that banged up explained just how lucky they were to be alive after that encounter. "Dead and buried."
"How?
Sidda and Liara worked together to turn the Yahg into dust. They were all sore and beat to hell but Nov had taken the worst of it. "Don't go against two highly pissed off biotics." She replied and held up a deck of cards.
He chuckled and regretted it as his chest protested the muscle movement over the broken bones. "Keep the tradition alive…though this should be your turn and not mine this time."
She began to shuffle the cars and pushed all of her worry aside. He responded better to jokes and smiles then worries and frowns. "Wishing hospitalizing peril on your fiancée…smooth move, Mr. Charm."
Nov wasn't stupid and knew what she was doing. The fact that she was here, always near when he was hurt, told him what he needed to know. "How's Liara?"
Sidda allowed a small smile, he was mad at her but he cared. "Oh she's fine…has a new job though. We have the inside line on the new Shadow Broker."
"Liara's the new Shadow Broker? Oh, swell, nothing bad can happen there." He droned and picked up the cards rather clumsily. "Full House." He told her immediately very amused with the fact she'd dealt him a winning hand right off the bat. It was possible her hand was better but not very probable.
Sidda has just barely looked at her cards, which were pitiful, when he announced his hand. "What the fuck!?"
Note: Yes...you may all now start screaming.
Music for this chapter is: My Maria by Brooks n Dunn, Far Away by Nickelback, and Blurry by Puddle of Mudd