It has been a few days since I lost (on purpose) at poker night. We are arriving at the citadel. The council wants to question Liara. Apparently, there is this subculture that only asari are supposed to know about. The asari councilor will be talking to her in private to determine if there is anything Liara isn't discussing with humans. Humanity is still pretty new to the galactic community and has not earned the other race's trust. Liara told this to Shepard and he relayed it back to us. She claims she doesn't know anything else.
We should be docking soon, and I take this time to talk with the aliens. I mosey on over to Garrus who is taking apart the inside of the mako. I see a lot of tangled wires originating from the center dash. Our second rate turian mechanic is sweating hard. I do not know if I should be more surprised if turians sweat or that it is a milky color. He is too focused on his work to notice me. I slap the door to get his attention and the jolt flares his mandibles apart.
"What are you doing to my baby" I rub the metal panel she loves being massaged "You install the stereo yet?"
"Spirits you scared me. No, I am not. The turret system is having problems. I noticed it during combat on your moon" Garrus said.
"It worked fine" One of my eyebrows raises.
"The horizontal sensitivity was set to low. Probably some pissed off turian manufacturer did it on purpose to screw with humans. Payback for the relay incident. The control module is in the back, and it is a real pain in the ass to get to. Sorry for the language" Garrus said.
"I don't really care. Is it really that big of a deal?" I ask.
"A second delay could be the factor of life or death. I want to boost my chances wherever I can" Garrus said.
"Alright I concede. You know better than me" I humbly bow.
"I-I was not expecting that. No clever qip or humorous response?" Garrus said. He didn't take the bait. I must punish that.
"I don't understand technology that well. I know how to use it, not how it works. What does this thing to?" I rip out a yellow wire.
"WHAT are you doing?! That is going to take me 20 minutes to fix. Uhhh... it's fine I am stopping at the citadel for an old case. A replacement will be at the station" Garrus said.
"You are an expert. It will take 19 at most. Later buddy" I wave goodbye to Garrus. I feel sort of bad. I'll do something to make it to him. For now, I walk to my sparring partner.
"********* I am glad you're here. I needed to talk to you. Something important" His tone is serious. My energetic giddy personality washes away into a stoic and concentrated demeanor.
"What is it?" I ask.
"I found out where my family's armor is being kept. A warehouse in a system you never would have heard of. When we land at the citadel, we'll need to hitch a ride immediately. I know a guy. We only get one shot at this." Wrex explains. I nod.
"I am with you. We are getting it back" I raise my fist and Wrex pounds it. I leave and go see Tali.
"*********! I am so excited to see you" Tali hugs me tight. She pulls me so close that my spine straightens out a bit. I am flabbergasted at her reaction.
"I have been doing those breathing exercises. Chakwas said the deep breathing would relax me, although nothing about stretch receptors. She didn't know for sure. I feel sooo much better. I still get anxiety at times but it is much less intense or frequent, my lower lungs do feel sore though" Tali said.
"We noticed it too. She would bounce up and down when she was doing something hard, now it rarely happens. We had a pool going on for what day she does it for half an hour. Looks like that isn't happening now" Adams mentions. The colleagues in the background nod in agreement.
"Pool?" Tali asks.
"It is when they put their bets in a pile and take dates. If you did it on say a Friday, whoever had Friday won the pile" I explain.
Tali's head tilts to the right "Like poker?"
"Kinda but with no cards" I mentioned. I hear the door behind me open. The footsteps are unfamiliar. The intensity of the sound suggests someone lightweight and the length between each step is particular. Someone lightly taps my shoulder. That turning in my abdomen is back. I turn around and see Liara. I am perplexed. Why is she here?
"Hello ********* We never formally met. My name is Liara"
"Hello. Is there a reason you are visiting me?" I ask.
"I have had talks with the commander. He recommended that I at least become acquainted with you. He told me a bit about you and how our first meeting left me with false impressions" Liara explained. I owe Shepard a fruit basket. Tali steps forward and holds my arm. What is with her? Just ignore it. Follow the great flow.
"********* is a good man. Everyone on the crew loves him. Hi I am Tali" The quarian shakes the asari's hand.
"Pleasure to meet you" Liara said.
"Shepard has been talking about me? What did he say?" Curiosity killed many cats, DON"T CARE I want to know.
"Shepard holds you in high regards and is appreciative of all your efforts…" The pleasant tingles release in my brain. Keep going I need more.
"... and that he would want to be more like yourself If he didn't pity you" I double take. He whats?
"He said that?"
"Well… no not in that exact way. It was more of a uh…" Liara shys away and scratches the back of her neck.
I slightly raise my voice. I am a tiny bit vexed, normally I would let this go but I have a reputation I painstakingly crafted to uphold. "Come on Tali I need to go whack my superior officer."
She tightens her hold and pulls me back. "No don't do that" I backpedal.
"I did not mean to cause a rift. Am I causing you any discomfort?" She seems genuine.
"No. I am surprised you are being so casual with me after what happened. And besides Asari make me feel funny" I said.
"What do you have fetish?" Liara asks like she heard this a million times.
"No more like I feel somewhat ill around them" I said. This shocks her.
"What are you a xenophobe or something?!" Uh oh a woman is mad, and I didn't do this on purpose. Never even hint a woman is repulsive. I did not say it but it's what she heard. God please save me.
"********* is anything but xenophobe" Tali defends me. If I ever meet you, I will owe you one.
"Wait a minute. I fought a couple of Krogan, I threw a salarian into a lake, I ruined a turian's hardwork, I'd catcalled the asari councilor. Maybe I am a xenophobe" While everything I said is true, the presentation I give makes me sound like I belong in a straight jacket.
"You did not" Liara said.
"It wasn't like that" Tali said.
"Did he really do that?" Liara asks. I responded, "Which part?"
"Did you harass the asari councilor?" Liara asks.
"I will soon, maybe" No I won't.
"You like to toy with people don't you" Liara asks.
"I learned from the best" ah good times.
Liara offers out her hand. I gently grab it and let her do the shaking. "It is goo … ah SHIT!" Something just bit my hand. AAHHH I retract and throw my hand down and attempt to distract myself from the pain.
"I am so sorry. I didn't mean to. What is wrong?"
I do the go away pain dance and when it subsides examine my palm. In the center is a charcoal black circle with a red and yellow perimeter fading into the rest of my skin. The pain felt like I was struck by lightning again but entered through my palm. The weird thing is the wound is directly in front of a channel. I never had a wound like this before.
"A thousand apologies. I didn't intend to. Let me get you some help" she really feels bad about this. Time to guilt trip. I kneel down and cover my face with the remaining hand that can still be used to model for lotion commercials.
"Oh the pain. It hurts so bad" sniffle. I pause my performance and open one eye to look at the asari's face. She isn't buying it. "AHHHAHAH THE PAIN IS UNBEARABLE ahaha"
"Are you actually hurt?" Tali asks. I stand up.
"Yeah I am. I will heal. I am unsure what happened. I don't blame you for whatever this is. I am going to see the doctor. See you later" I walk out the door and make my way inside the elevator. I examine my strange mark. I have no clue what happened. I gently rub the outside of my palm. My gut is telling me to leave it alone. No special speed healing or reset. I'm not even positive this is a regular wound. Can Biotic energy even cause stuff like this? I will have to ask Kaiden. My hand is still functional. Forming a fist stings it a little. A trigger finger position does not hurt. A few practice pulls do not cause any pain. I'll see what the doc thinks. Afterwards I'll go take my frustrations out on whoever is guarding Wrex's family armor.