Chapter 7.2 – Therum: Find Liara T'Soni – Part 2
I hate tunnels.
I got reminded of that fact as soon as the Geth opened fire.
To our luck, it was only two of them and their sole weaponry were assault rifles. Considering that we basically were lined up behind each other – Wrex and Shepard taking the lead – and had literally not a single bit of cover in this blasted tube, a single sniper or an RPG would have been an extremely deadly threat.
"Out of here, move!"
We followed Shep's orders, entering the cave by jumping over the Geth's remnants and spread out as good as possible. Gunfire flashed from below us, impacting in our shields or ricocheting at the handrail.
We returned fire.
My shields were down to a meager 25% when the last Geth fell. I tried to wipe the sweat from my brows, but the glasses stopped my hand.
"No time to relax, let's get going! Wrex, take point, Red, Kaiden, watch our backs."
"Affirmative." I dunno where exactly I gained the 'Red' as an additional callsign. Probably during one of our trainings on battle communications. I know, however, where it came from – the red 'Designated Marksman' badge on my shoulder armor. Red Raven. Some things are just meant to be...
"Go!"
We made our way towards the first elevator, all the time securing in every direction. Time was of the essence; if the Geth had already breached into the dig site, Liara was in danger.
Frankly, all I wanted was to get out of the open. There should've been not be a single heretic left. Emphasis on 'should'.
Against my beliefs, we did reach the lift without any further incident, though. Shepard, Wrex and Garrus went first; the lift couldn't carry everyone at the same time. It slowly lowered and then lifted itself back up again; I continued to check our surroundings while Ash and Kaidan merely waited – though I didn't believe for a second that they didn't kept their eyes open as well, maybe even more than I did.
We then descended as well.
"I dare you to spit over this railing, Raven."
I turned and hoped that Ashley could see my smirk. "You first."
"Oh, no." She feigned a shocked expression. "You can't ask that from a lady!"
I was smart enough not to answer, but Kaidan muttered a not so silent "Lady...?"
Ash was now grinning even more. Alert! Danger! Femme fatale smile!
"Watch it, Eltee."
As the barrier opened, we had our weapons drawn and moved behind the rest of our squad which was taking point in combat stance.
Shepard only spared us a glance over her shoulder. "Watch out. I think I saw something in-"
Multiple humming sounds disrupted her, followed by the sound of low-calibre rounds.
The Geth Drones had set a good ambush, but it were only three of them – no real danger to the six of us. It only took two well-placed shotgun rounds and a short assault rifle burst to silence them.
With that taken care of, I could finally take a look at the ruins before me. I wasn't the only one.
"Protheans built to last, huh?" Ashley mused, taking in the whole structure. It was gigantic.
I nodded. "I'm no expert, but it looks like this cave formed itself around the ruins..." A realization hit me. "I don't like how it looks like, though."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know... just, look at those window-things. They are covered by energy fields. And the whole wall, everything is... I dunno, it has no profile. Looks like it was built for efficiency."
I shuddered. "Just look inside these rooms. Plain. As if they should contain something. I have a feeling that this may have been a prison."
"Possible. But does that really matter?" Kaidan answered, sounding not entirely interested - or, to be fair, rather focused on other things.
"It's powered up."
Garrus' dry comment shut everyone up. The chain of thought was rather easy.
A prison would contain security devices to prevent a breakout.
An prothean prison meant that we had no idea what kind of security measures we would encounter.
A prothean prison with power meant trouble.
"You're right. Stay on your toes." Shepard said, taking point.
We reached the second elevator, and again Fireteam One were the first ones to enter. It lowered itself.
Wait for it…
A loud screech and sparks flying everywhere tore our nerves apart.
"Commander, are you alright?" Ashley shouted, looking down, shock evident.
"Sonnova... Yeah, we're okay, but the elevator's totaled!"
We could see the first team picking themselves up from the floor and readying up.
Kaidan stayed kinda cool, gestured at me while checking the area. "Yeah, no other way. Rappel!"
I nodded, fastening the rope I carried with me on the rail, listening to the satisfying metal sound as I attached the hook. Mentally, I praised myself for dropping that comment with the 'unstable terrain' with Shepard being nearby. I secured myself with a second hook, swung myself over the railing and began my descent.
"Uhm... hello? Is anybody there?"
I almost lost grip on the rope.
"Can you hear me out there? I'm trapped, I need help!"
"Commander? Who's that?"
"It's T'Soni! Come down here, quickly!"
A look down worried me a bit – twenty-five meters is not that small a distance to climb down, especially when you're not used to it. But since it had to be done, I made sure to hold onto the rope and let myself down, not as slowly as I would have liked though. If I hadn't worn my armored gloves, I would have either ripped my hand apart – or let loose due to pain, resulting in a pretty dangerous fall.
I hit the ground a bit too hard, but a quick roll saved me from damage to my knees. Ash and Kaidan followed shortly after.
The view that offered itself when I finally stood was one for the books -Shepard stood in front of one of these 'cells' as if frozen, completely dumbfounded. Garrus and Wrex looked behind her, weapons at a ready, but no Geth showed his... its flashlight.
I approached the barrier with my rifle lowered and took the time to take a look at Liara. I was a bit shocked.
Video games are so clean sometimes. I mean, in the games you just see Liara being trapped inside a blue bubble. Otherwise? A clean lab coat, and she herself looks just fine.
I won't get into details, but let's just say that reality is far from being that kind. Liara appeared to be completely exhausted. Even her skin complexion had paled to some kind of steely blue. She needed medical care as soon as possible.
It took Shepard a few seconds to even notice that we were with her.
"Guys, watch the cavern." she ordered, surprisingly quiet. I nodded and turned around, trying not to think right now.
"Doctor T'Soni, I presume?"
I blocked out their conversation for as good as possible, only making sure that what was being said was the same as the conversation I remembered. The five of us instead watched the rest of the cavern as told.
It was only when Shepard stepped next to me that I paid attention again.
"Orders?" I asked curtly, trying to sound focused and not too unfriendly.
"Cover me."
I was about to answer with I don't have a blanket when I noticed just how much seriousness our Commander radiated. So I just nodded again and checked the HUD – which got jammed in that very second.
"Contact!"
Our dance with the Geth was short, brutal, and pretty one-sided.
Shepard stowed her rifle on her back and approached a machine that had gone unnoticed until now. I couldn't hide a grin as she placed a hand on and checked the control panel.
"Commander, what is your plan?" Garrus asked, oblivious.
"Getting us a way in." she deadpanned.
"Uhm, Ma'am, are you sure about this?" Kaidan asked, taking a worried look at the ceiling. "This cavern doesn't exactly look stable..."
She merely gave him a look. "Got a better idea?"
Arguing was useless, and so we scattered to take cover and hoped for the best.
"Heads down!"
A deep rumble shook the ground, going straight in my stomach. The mining laser was loud, luckily my earphones did limit it somewhat. It only took a few seconds anyway. When we finally looked up, there was a big fucking hole in the ground.
All Shepard did was waving a 'Let's Move!' over her shoulder. We jumped down in silence, passed the underground cell, and took the elevator up.
Then we stood behind Liara. Our Commander swiveled a finger – we regrouped and covered her back.
"How… How did you get in here? I didn't think there was any way past the barrier!"
"In short? Blew up the ground."
I could feel Shep's glare in my back.
"We need to get you out of here before more Geth arrive."
"Yes, yes, you're right. I've seen enough of them to last a lifetime." Liara sounded so exhausted. "That button should shut down my containment field."
One pushed button later Liara stumbled to the ground. I heard Shepard inhale sharply.
"Alenko, Raven, have a look."
"Affirmative."
I turned around, stowed my rifle on my back and walked to Liara. Kaidan was already kneeling next to her, scanning her body with his omnitool.
She looked horrible. And smelled awful as well.
What the fuck did you expect? I rebuked myself. She must have been here at least three days.
"How do you feel?" I asked as gently as possible. "Headaches, cramps, anything?"
"I... I feel… a bit lightheaded…" she answered. Her eyes were slightly bloodshot, giving her eyes a disturbingly purple look in the dimmed light.
Asari don't get headaches like humans do when drying out, I recollected Chakwas exercises. Asari don't sweat, and can keep themselves hydrated for some time. The problem to that is that they tend to heat up very quickly. And that can be even more dangerous than simple dehydration.
"Here, drink this." I pulled a bottle with specially prepared water from my chest rig. I had helped our doc with mixing it - it resembled the chemical composition of Thessia's rivers, extremely healthy for Asari maiden. The water even contained traces of Element Zero. It would reduce the stress on her body and, hopefully, help the 'organic coolant system' in her crest to reduce the excessive heat.
It wouldn't get Liara fully back up to speed, but it was supposed to keep her up and running for long enough so that Chakwas could have a look.
It was kind of sobering to see how greedily Liara tried to empty the bottle. I guess a reaction like that is to be expected from someone in her situation. Still, having to force one of my favourite chars to drink in small gulps was not exactly cool and reminded me once more that real life is not a game.
I kept those thoughts for myself, though, and took a look at Kaidan. He stood up and deactivated his tool.
"Doctor T'Soni is stable, but extremely exhausted." he said aloud. "We should get her to the NORMANDY ASAP."
"That was the plan, Lieutenant. Thanks. Liara, can you stand up? Raven, help her."
I nodded and dragged the young scientist on her feet and supported her with my left arm. I pulled my pistol with my right. "I got her. Any idea on how to get outta here?"
"There is an elevator back in the center of the tower… A- At least I think it's an elevator." Liara leaned heavily on me, but it wasn't too uncomfortable - yet. "It should take us out of here."
"Good enough. Let's go! Guys, protect the VIP!"
The squad formed in a circle around me, and I assumed a defensive stance as we walked to the elevator, supporting Liara's shaky form towards the platform. I heard her breathing right next to me, it was pretty ragged. It goes without saying that I didn't feel all that good in my skin as wel, especially since I knew what was about to happen.
"I- I still cannot believe this. Why would the Geth come after me?"
"Doc, try to stay calm." I warned her as gently as possible - she was on the very verge of tumbling to the ground.
"Do you think Benezia is involved?"
I changed my grip on Liara, trying to steady her some more. "Saren's after the Conduit, something Prothean. Benezia is probably helping him, and you're an expert on that topic." Shepard nodded in confirmation.
"The Conduit? But I don't know-"
A rumble from deep within the ruins interrupted her.
I looked around, unsettled. It's one thing to hear an approaching volcanic outburst in a game. It's an entirely different matter to be right in the thickest of it.
The fact that the other squad members seemed to be just as uneasy wasn't really helpful.
"What the hell was that?"
Liara faced Garrus. A bit of water was still on her lips, I suddenly noticed completely out-of-context.
"These ruins aren't stable… The mining laser must have triggered a seismic event…"
"We should hurry. That whole place could come down any minute!" said Ashley. I had to give her credit - her voice was a bit louder than usual, but no signs of fear or anything.
I exchanged a glance with Shepard. Her expression was unreadable, then she grabbed on her helmet. "Joker! Get the NORMANDY airborne and lock in on my signal! On the double, mister!"
"Aye-aye, Commander. Secure and aweigh. ETA five minutes."
"That has to go quicker!" shouted Garrus, his voice almost drowned by another rumble.
"If I die in here," Wrex rumbled, menacefully low, "I'll kill him!"
"Get in line, man." I grunted, using the small moment where most people weren't looking at me to grab into my rig, ready up a Molotov grenade and attach it to my belt.
Only seconds later our ascension came to an end inside a round and spacious room. Kinda arena-like.
On cue, four Geth and a yellow krogan with green headplate appeared to block our only way out.
I stood before Liara, partially shielding her with my body while the others cocked their guns. I did the same with my pistol, pointing it at one of the Geth.
"Surrender." the Krogan ordered before flashing his tooth. "Or don't. That would be more fun."
I calculated the chances of me pulling the molotov without notice, and came to a result of zero - the geth were aware of everything that was going on. Bloody machines. My heart beat. This was even worse than before the Citadel ambush.
"There a reason you're in our way?" Shepard asked, calmly. It briefly diverted my attention from the sweat in my hands - that was not a Paragon line, whole place falling apart 'n shit - but the Krogan answered quickly after.
"The same reason you're here. The asari." He took one step closer. "Thanks for getting rid of those energy fields for us. Hand the doctor over."
Liara clinged even more tightly onto me, if that was even possible. "Whatever it is you want… you're not getting it from me!" she said with all her energy - which, sadly, was not much. I noticed her biotics flicker briefly, but the only result was that her panting intensified.
Shep, on the other hand, gained a couple more points for pissing off a krogan in style. "She'll stay with us, thanks." she said, waving dismissively.
"Not an option." our opponent snarled, eyes even more lizard-like than usual. "Saren wants her. He always gets what he wants."
"You'll have to take her, clanless." I turned my head in surprise and almost backed off by instinct.
Urdnot Wrex looked pissed off. His eyes were almost invisible, a slight blue hue surrounding him.
"And who are you, old man?" Our enemy kept his full attention at Wrex.
"It's a shame you don't know me, whelp." Wrex' rumble went right in my brain; it was extremely frightening. Here, he seemed to summon all the might that was his to control -
And then, suddenly, a thunderstorm went loose.
"I am Urdnot Wrex!" He bellowed, his voice resonating in the whole cavern. For the lack of a better word, it was epic.
"Son of Jarrod, Leader of Clan Urdnot! And who are you?"
It was a taunt, and a perfect one. Perfectly calculated.
Wrex sniffed into the air, almost ostentatious. "You don't smell like you ever set a foot on our world! You fight with machines as your Krantt? You sold yourself for a turian! You're nothing, Korolart!"
I had no idea what that last word meant, but it sent the other Krogan over the edge. He roared loudly, before sending threatening glances to his Geth.
"Kill them all! Spare the asari -"
I didn't wait for him to finish, but instead fired a few bullets at the Geth Rocket Trooper in my sights.
At the same time, I retreated, dragging Liara with me to cover.
"Fire! Protect Liara!"
Shepard's command was clear, and right on time. Geth don't known anything like moments of shock; they opened fire immediately.
Lucky for me, I was not only the first one to fire a bullet, but also carrying the hostage.
As I should learn later, that was what saved my life.
My reaction in that spur of the moment was understandable - attacking the enemy when he was unaware - but also suicidal. These Geth were programmed or ordered to follow the Krogan's lead. Had the Krogan completed the sentence - "Kill them all! Spare the asari if you can! If not, doesn't matter." - the fact that I was the first one to shoot and the one to carry the hostage would likely made me the primary target, and four Geth at once were too much for me.
But the way it was, the Geth had orders to take Liara alive - and she was in their line of fire if they wanted to target me. So, they focused on everybody else and left me alone while I put the shivering asari into cover behind one of those machine things.
"Don't fucking move!" I shouted at her, she merely stared back.
From the safety of my cover, I tried to see what was going on. My blood ran cold.
Two titans unleashed their might in the center of the room. Wrex was stronger, both his physique and his biotics were more powerful; but his enemy regenerated his health at a rate that was simply not normal. Shep and the others were fighting the Geth, no one dared to intervene into Wrex' business.
The Commander soon noticed me. "Red, keep T'Soni safe!" she shouted, before ducking to dodge an incoming rocket. "Top priority!"
"Roger!" I shouted back, switched to my rifle and targeted a Trooper that came to close. I took him out - with some help from Kaidan and Garrus -
But before I could react, another Geth had cornered Ash.
I saw her fighting for her life. She slammed her rifle's stock against the robot's head, and he even flinched; but all it did was to 'correct' his aim - Ash shields flickered once.
The next salvo went into her thighs from close distance.
She screamed and went down.
Newton once said: 'For every action, there is always an equal, and an opposite reaction.'
The action: A squad mate's - a friend's - life was in danger.
That moment, I was a reaction.
I charged out of cover, towards the trooper who was about to raise his rifle to finish Ash off.
He noticed me and turned around to deal with the higher level threat first.
Before he could do anything, however, I had emptied a whole heatsink capacity into him.
The Geth's shields went out; but he was still standing.
And there I was, in the middle of my movement and without a bullet left.
So I doubled my stakes and went all in.
I stormed towards the Trooper, it's comrade's shots either missing me or reflecting at my shields, and gained as much speed as I could.
I reached him when he was almost ready to shoot me.
And smacked him my rifle in the bloody flashlight head with everything I got.
It stumbled and went out of balance. I dropped my rifle to the ground and activated the omnitool in one motion, trained numerous times. It seemed to happen in slow-mo. Or maybe, it is just my memories - so much happened at once.
The Geth regained his stance, but before it could do anything, I buried the glowing orange blade in his throat and gave it a twist.
That cut his sensory feed, effectively ending his resistance. It struggled a bit, but a second hit in the chest region took him out for good. The silicon-carbide blade went through the synthetic's armor like through butter - it fell down and sprayed sparks.
I suddenly went sick. I stumbled behind cover and fell on my knees, inhaling shakily. I had to inject a dose of adrenaline to keep myself on. The small sting of the needle was lost in my rebellious stomach.
"Raven, help me!"
Letting the combat drug taking effect, I regained my focus and looked around - noticing Ash on the ground next to me. She clenched her teeth and pressed her hands on her right thigh. "I'm hit!"
It took me a few seconds to fully come back to reality, but I found myself already scanning Ash when that happened. "Commander, cover me!" I croaked, "I got her!"
I almost didn't hear her "Okay!", I was out of it. I applied omnigel and was trying to give Ash a bandage with my violently shaking hands when Kaidan appeared next to me.
"I'll do this, Raven, cover us!"
I only nodded, all too happy - shooting someone sounded so much easier than trying to heal someone right now - and tried to ready up my rifle.
No result. I tried again and then noticed the red error message where the heatsink capacity was supposed to be displayed.
I cursed loudly. This wild cursing brought me back into the fight.
I dropped the jammed rifle and pulled the pistol, then leaned out to take a look.
In the meantime, the scales had been tipped - in our favor. Four of us six were still fighting, only one Geth and one Krogan remained.
In that moment, Wrex had enough of brawling with his opponent and used Throw. The results were as expected - the enemy Krogan had a hard landing, but my HUD showed him already healing again.
I remembered my grenade and grinned - truth be told, a more accurate description would be that I bared my teeth - and took the last safety off.
"Hey, Krogan!"
Both Krogan turned to me, but Wrex realized what I was up to and brought some distance between himself and the enemy.
Thinking back, I probably went insane just for a few seconds. Or how else can I explain why I suddenly quoted a song I had heard back in my time?
"Fancy a Cocktail? I got a-"
I threw it.
"Molotov!"
Ash's and mine 'explosive ingenuity' proved to be far deadlier against flesh as against synthetics.
The initial explosion staggered the clone and took his shields, but it was the infernal fire that was most deadly.
"Raaaaaaahhhhrrr!"
He screamed in pain, but tried to continue fighting.
Not this time.
Having dispatched the last Geth Trooper in the meantime, the five of us that were still standing focused on one target. Saren's henchman didn't go down, he was annihilated. Orange blood splattered into all directions or was burned mid-air, and when he fell to the ground I wasn't sure whether it was because of the fire or rather because of the pound of lead we had filled him with.
All I know is that I collapsed on all fours when it was finally over.
Stand up! I called myself out and fought my body up again. This place will come down on us! You stay here, you're dead! Go!
"Everyone okay?"
"I'm okay, Ma'am, I can walk!" Kaidan dragged Ash back up.
"Raven, where's T'Soni?"
"I'm here, Commander!" Said Asari crawled out of her cover, eyes wide open. I sprinted to her and helped her on her feet.
Shep was about to say something else, but the earth shook again.
This time, above us.
"Squad, scramble! Get the fuck outta here! Go!"
The first rocks came down on us. The energy field out collapsed. Not a second to early.
I clutched Liara's arm and dragged her with me.
The escape itself is somewhat blurred in my memory.
It was a messy ensemble of dust, rocks, collapsing structures and Shepard's intense shouting.
It was a miracle that we all made it out in one piece. All I could do was to focus on the one way out, to keep Liara close to me, and to fucking run.
We left the bored tunnel. Behind us, it collapsed. We stopped on the walkway out; it was a bloody relieving feeling to see the NORMANDY hover above us.
That relief only lasted so long, though.
"Commander, the lava is rising!" Ashley shouted, eyes on the ground below us. Or what was left of it. The molten stone glowed and bubbled, bathing everything into a hellish light.
"Commander, sensors say an eruption is imminent!"
"Copy! Joker, Mako's a no-go, pick us up!"
"Understood."
All we could do was to watch how Joker brought the ship closer, how the lava raised and the rumble became more and more intense. The main airlock opened, the ramp lowered, our fellow marines were assembled to pick us up. Tali was in their mid. Joker worked excellently. He was every ounce the ace he claimed to be, but our time was slowly running out.
Finally, only two meters separated us from the ramp.
"Commander, I can see that peak there spitting some fire" Joker reported, sounding not the least concerned. "Would you please come aboard?"
"Everyone, jump! Go, go!"
We jumped, one by one. Those who needed were biotically lifted. I was the second last one to extract, jumping from the railing onto the ramp and almost slipped - Pvt. Davis and Pvt. Katsavidis caught me before I fell out, though.
The Commander was the last one to leave, biotically propelling herself into the C/E deck.
The ramp was just starting to close, but Joker already gave full speed. A few seconds later, we heard the eruption through the hull. It went gradually more quiet as we sped away, leaving the mission area.
I was finally allowed to break down. Cramps shivered my legs, I panted heavily, and coughed. I wasn't the only one. I remember Doctor Chakwas looking after us, people standing around us, someone giving me some water to drink. They removed my armor and my weapons, and after a while I felt fit enough to stand up - with some help from the assembled marines, that is.
I took a look around - everyone was here. Tali was helping Garrus, Wrex was more or less treating himself, Kaidan and Ashley were surrounded by other marines and a couple of medics. Shepard was the only one standing tall, enduring another medic's first-aid-scan.
I looked next to me - Dr. Chakwas was treating a completely drained Liara T'Soni. Our gazes briefly met - the Doc nodded approvingly. Good work, that meant. I nodded back, unable and, frankly, unwilling to process any more information.
"Hey, Raven, you hear me?"
I turned my face around and tried to focus on Shep.. "Ma'am ?" I asked, spent. Sluggish.
She smiled gently.
"Go, shower, sleep. Sleep as long as you need. We'll debrief tomorrow."
I hadn't seen such a smile since…
"You did excellent today."
I would have tried to control my answer under different circumstances. Turns out, when you're on the verge of passing out you stop caring.
"Thank you, Shep. I'm … honored." I was still panting heavily.
The Commander, still smiling, nodded. "You're dismissed. Go get some sleep."
I nodded back. The simple act of moving my head caused nausea. Enough. Sleep.
"That Joker flyboy though." I mumbled in passing. "Someone give that guy a fucking medal."
Shepard's light laughter accompanied me and the guys escorting me into the elevator.
We left Hell behind us.
I left the bridge with two empty cups and in high spirits.
The SR-1 was now roughly twenty hours from Therum, on our way back to the Citadel. Shepard had announced a debriefing on the next day via the intercom, and then she likely collapsed on her bed. I am the last one to judge her for that. I had to take a cold shower to make it to my bunk, after all.
It was kind of a matter of honor that the first thing I did next morning was to grab two cups and stroll to our helmsman.
"Whaddya want, Raven? I'm kinda busy here. Flying the ship 'n stuff like that."
Then one cup of steaming hot coffee lowered itself into his field of view.
"I always have time for you, though. Just so you know…"
For the next half an hour, I occupied the co-pilot seat (after swearing an oath to not touch anything) and listened to the stories from Joker's days aboard other ships, making sure to pay him the respect he deserves and not mentioning Vrolik's Syndrome with a single word. Finally, he even told me the story of how he was assigned as the NORMANDY's pilot - it was interesting to hear He Who Laughs Best from his perspective. Of course there were a lot of exaggerations involved, but still.
Joker's one of a kind, that's for sure. I smirk. Still, he seems to be a bit reserved compared to the one from Mass Effect 2 and 3. Maybe it's because he doesn't really know me yet. Or it's just a ME2 – thing. I guess, given the circumstances...
I currently and mentally compare the imagines from the comics to what I just heard while putting the two cups into the dishwasher. Joker wins. For artistic purposes.
I notice someone stepping besides me. Kaidan. He doesn't really look like he's fully awake, though. Otherwise he would have greeted me with more than a nod and some mumbling.
"G'morning, LT", I say and give him a big grin.
His response is merely a grumble. "Briefing in twenty, comm-room." He then proceeds to impatiently wait for the machine to spill out the black liquid that seems to keep the whole Alliance navy together. And to rub his brow.
"Aye-aye."
I then decide to respectfully retreat. Migraine and and lack of caffeine combined is harsh enough without me spreading good mood.
On time, we assemble in the Communications center. Liara takes my usual seat, so I have to sit directly across her with the other two humans. The poor Asari still looks shaken up, but a least her skin color has returned to a healthier shade of royal blue.
I lean back in my seat, my arms crossed in front of me when Joker drops his comment through the intercom.
"Too close Commander." He really sounds disapproving. "A few more minutes and we would be swimming in molten sulfur. The NORMANDY isn't equipped to land in volcanoes."
That Shepard gaze though. 'I endured Geth, a volcano and a krogan, I can endure him for thirty seconds'.
"They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull. Just, for future reference."
I look up to the speaker, snorting and grinning at the same time. "We can always trade positions if you want to, Moreau. Maybe you fancy krogan and Geth more than I do."
"Naaah." He sounds dismissive, and I'm waiting for his punchline. "You may call yourself Raven, but you better leave the flying to me, man." A brief pause. "No offense."
I hear a few chuckles in the room. I laugh. "I'll remind that the next time I do ya a favor. I heard some salt in one's coffee triples the effect..."
"Guys, cut it, for crying out loud!" Shepard shakes her head, but lowers it at the same time to hide her face.
"Sorry, Shepard." "Okay, Commander."
I fight for a straight face, but lose it as I see Liara's flabbergasted features.
"We almost died out here, and you two are making jokes?"
"Joker got us all out of there in one piece. I think he has earned the right for a few bad jokes."
"Plus, Joker's a real arse." I add. "Just try to ignore him."
"Raven!"
"Apologies, Ma'am."
Plus two points on Renegade. Worth it.
"I… see… it must be a human thing, then."
I chuckle a bit and then follow the rest of the conversation, though nobody says anything that would be new to me. I listen carefully anyway. This debrief is, for all intents and purposes, a turning point in the trilogy - the first time the concept of the Cycle is mentioned.
From now on, we have an idea about what we're up against. Not that it really matter right now. The general situation can only go more FUBAR anyway.
I grin when Liara fusses over Shepard, with Kaidan bringing her down again. "Scientific curiousity". Aha. Rivalry? I nod approvingly when Liara accepts the invitation to join our squad.
"Thank you, Commander. I'm very gratefu... uhhh..." She brought her hand to her forehead. "I'm afraid I feel a bit light-headed."
"I probably don't even wanna know the last time you eat and slept before we came." I say. "You better let Dr. Chakwas have another look."
"It's probably just mental exhaustion..."
"Hm. Or it may be not." The Commander surprised me yet again by interrupting Liara. "We can talk again after you've seen the doctor." Shep says, softer than I anticipated. "Raven, stay behind. The rest of you – dismissed."
"One last question." I say aloud. "Wrex?"
"Hm?"
"What you shouted at that guy, what does that mean?" I wipe over my brow. "It sure made him angry."
"Hm." Our resident battlemaster rumbled low in thoughts before turning his reptile gaze at me once more. "It is difficult to explain it in another language. Korolart is one of the worst insults you can give a krogan." I shifted uneasy in my seat; Wrex' red eyes aren't something one can stare into for long. "It roughly means clanless, honorless. Krantt-less. Weak. All in one word."
I nod, giving a crooked grin. "Thanks, man. I'll make sure to not say something that even remotely sounds like that around you from now on."
He bellows that my ears almost fall off. "Hah! Don't worry, it's not so bad when an alien says it." He grins. "But when a krogan would call me that... I would challenge him to death."
He then stands up, nods "Shepard." and leaves the room.
I stay seated as everyone else rises; it gains me a few questioning glances, but finally the room is empty, save for Shepard and me.
Then I finally stand up and move to Shep, picking up the Geth rifle that had been placed next to me for the entire meeting as I walk.
"Ready to face the top-dogs, Raven?" she asks.
I snort. "You sure you want me to do that, Commander? I'm not exactly the best one to be diplomatic. Just sayin'."
She shrugs. "As long as you don't start a 'diplomatic incident', we're fine." She smiles. "I don't mind an interesting conversation, you know…"
"This will be fun." I murmur, stretching my back and looking straight forward. "Alright, let's start that show."
She eyes me, but I keep my gaze on the still empty holoscreen.
I get that this is all real life now, but even then – why should I suddenly start to have any kind of respect for the Council? There's a reason you can let them die in Mass Effect 1. Sadly, their replacements are worthless as well; so it does logically not make any sense to sacrifice them.
I mean, if you do, you lose the DESTINY ASCENSION. Come on.
But maybe, just maybe, the Council made the same positive change as Ash did. One can hope, after all.
The intercom cracks.
"Mission reports are filed, Commander. Want me to patch you through?"
"Patch 'em through, Joker."
"Setting up the link now."
Roughly two minutes later, three holographic images blink into existence.
"Councillors." Shepard greets, nodding respectfully.
"Commander Shepard." Councillor Tevos replies, mirroring Shepard. Valern nods sort of polite as well, Sparatus merely stares at me.
"Councillors, this is Private Jess Raven, one of my squad members." I salute, even though they weren't my superiors. I can't think of a better way to greet right now, without either feeling like an idiot or being disrespectful. "He was the one who secured the Geth rifle."
"Do you have the necessary security clearance for this conversation, Private?"
I hold my ground and meet the turian's gaze. "I do, Councillor. SPECTRE Shepard has given me clearance to take part in this meeting."
He continues to stare at me. I have the unsettling feel of a predator eying his next meal... but I will be damned if I give that egg-head any ground. Especially him.
"Greetings, Private Raven." The asari councillor somehow manages to put a sincere greeting and a hidden warning, directed at Sparatus, into three words. "Commander Shepard has mentioned your discovery in her report, including your theory about the resulting consequences. We were hoping for you to give us a report, and to answer a few questions."
"I will try my best to fill you in, Councillors." I say with what I hope is a steady voice. Having respect for the people themselves or not aside – I must respect the fact that these three politicians are de facto leading the largest part of the known galaxy.
And they just request me to be present during their debrief? Why? What the heck have you written into that report, Shepard?
"We appreciate that. But before this, we should talk about your activities on Therum."
"Understood, Councillor."
"We've received your report, Commander. I understand Doctor T'Soni is on the NORMANDY?"
Shepard nodded to Tevos, but frowned when Sparatus spoke up.
"I assume you are taking the necessary security precautions?"
"Liara's on our side." Shep responded firmly. "The Geth tried to kill her."
"Benezia would never allow Saren to kill her daughter." Tevos attempts to sound firm in her opinion, but a very small amount of hesitation lingers. I wonder if Tevos knows Benezia personally – and, considering all facts, I answer that with 'yes'.
"Maybe she doesn't know." says salarian councillor Valern, blinking twice during one brief sentence.
"Or maybe, we don't know her. We never expected that she could become a traitor."
"I have a question to that, if that's alright?" I ask.
Their red-orange holograhic images do not exactly convert small gestures and the like, but its enough to be able to guess that they didn't expect a lowly Private to interrupt them. Too bad for you.
Shepard looks unfazed. "Sure."
"Do we have any idea on what could be their motives? I get that Saren and Benezia want to find the Conduit, whatever that is – but, why do they want to bring back the Reapers?"
"Their reasons don't matter. They have allied themselves with the Geth and attacked Council space. That's enough to bring them to justice."
Somehow, I'm not really surprised that the turian councillor thinks so … hard-edged. What a pun. The same logic that led to the First-Contact-War – they committed a crime, they need to be punished. Motives don't matter.
"Maybe. But – why? The Reapers, according to that Geth memory core Miss Zorah nar Rayya has found, did hunt the Protheans to extinction. It is likely that they would do the same to us."
I took a one second dramatic pause. The silence in the room was weighting heavily on me.
"From what I know, Saren was your top SPECTRE -" I nod towards the asari "- and Matriarch Benezia was a highly respected spiritual leader among your people, Madame Councillor. My question is, what could they gain from unleashing the Reapers?"
Suddenly, I notice that being too smart could offer an opening in my cover. Careful, dude!
Valern brings his hand to his chin, in a gesture that I am somewhat used to from Mordin Solus. "Their reasons do raise a few questions. What could they gain? Power, wealth? Unlikely. Neither Saren nor Benezia were lacking material things."
"Saren was a SPECTRE; he already had nearly unlimited power within Council space." Shepard said.
"Precisely, Commander. Easier to operate as a SPECTRE than trying to take over as a ruler. We'll need to investigate that. We've already worked on a background check, but it would be wise to look twice. More important question is, what has he done to convince Matriarch Benezia? Unless she joined his cause on her own - or is secretly the real leader."
"Benezia's actions are... not like her." Tevos frowns. "She always said that the Asari should involve themselves more into galactic affairs, but she always made clear that this should only happen in cooperation and peace with the other civilizations of this galaxy. To be involved into something like this ... it doesn't suit her."
"Brainwashing? But she is a Matriarch..." Shepard trails off. The discussion is going on without me. I have the good feeling of scoring a partial victory without exposing myself too much. Now only try and keep that act together for three more years.
"Indeed, Commander. It is very unlikely to successfully, as you put it, 'brainwash' a Matriarch. Among my people, matriarchs are revered for their strong will."
I suddenly notice that the Council has altered the topic from 'What could they gain from the Reapers' to a more general 'What is the reason for Saren's and Benezia's defection from Council laws?'. They either don't want to admit that the Reapers may be real, or they just don't want to commit themselves to an opinion.It kinda makes me sad and angry at the same time. I don't know why I am even surprised. They're politicians.
The Commander seems to have noticed that as well. At least, I can feel some tension radiating from her, plus I can see her tight lips. But she keeps quiet and merely listens to our conversation. And I'm in no position to ask for anything. And I can't prove a damned thing right now. Not even with breaking my cover.
"But at the same time, we have nothing that could explain why she would go against her believes in such a manner."
"The same goes for Saren." It is again Valern who speaks up; Sparatus doesn't look like he wants to take part in the talk at all. I can only guess how humiliating it must be for him to see his top SPECTRE - a fellow turian! - disgracing himself with such despicable action. And letting two humans see it all, one of them not even an officer.
"While his psych profile does not exclude violent actions, he was undeniably the Council's top agent for decades, and for a reason. His methods were questionable; his results were not. For him to turn without any warning sign is unexpected as well. Agree with Private Raven; motivations must be examined."
"I apologize if I am intruding into your business, Councillors, Commander," I continue, a bit less nervous than before - having a Council member agree with me, and even if its 'only' Valern, the lightweight of the three bolsters my confidence. I will take victories where I can get them. "But my suggestion would be to maybe take a look at her following. I have heard that a Matriarch usually has a large entourage - I can't imagine that every single one of her ... followers, for the lack of a better term, would follow her into betraying her people. There must be someone who disagreed with her, and could maybe offer insight into the matter."
"Investigations into the Matriarchs teachings and among her pupils haven't turned up anything yet, Private." The turian councillor seems to be intent on letting me know my place. I answer his glare with a steely glance on my own. I will not back down, Sparatus.
"Our intelligence has interviewed a lot of her former students, but we haven't found anyone who would be close enough to her to get useful results." Valern adds, no doubt noticing the silent conflict between Sparatus and me. "We will continue to look, but our chances are slim."
"Commander, does Dr. T'Soni by any chance know someone close enough to Benezia who could give us the answers we need?" Tevos sounds hopeful, but Shepard shakes her head.
"I haven't yet found the time to properly ask her, but I don't think she does. She claims that she hasn't spoken to her mother in years, decades even. " She straightens her back. "I will send you an update as soon as I know more."
"Understood, Commander." Valern sniffes, then his mouth twists to a smile. "At least, the mission was a success."
"Apart from the utter destruction of a major prothean ruin." Sparatus says, directing his glance at my CO. "Was that really necessary, Shepard?"
"The Geth were crawling all over those ruins. We were lucky to make it out alive."
Paragon Shepard strikes again, I mutter in my mind. I would have told him to eff-off.
"Of course, Commander." assures Valern. "The mission must always take priority."
"Any further question to the mission, Councillors?"
"No, thank you, Commander. Your report is very detailed."
"If everyone agrees, I would like to move to the second topic at hand - your discovery, Private Raven." Sparatus surprises me by addressing me at least somewhat nice. It must be because I currently hold the key to new weapon technology. Like, literally hold it.
"Yes, I would like to hear about it as well, Private. Your theory sounds intriguing."
Now, Councillor Tevos smiles a friendly smile at me, and I again discover that I am not immune to asari charm.
"I can safely say, Lady Councillor, that it is now more than a theory."
I look at Shepard, who nods at me, and take a step forward so that I'm now in the center of attention. I bring the rifle up and hold at front of me, like I would my assault rifle in passive stance.
"Councillors, the weapon I'm currently holding has been captured at Therum, as a remnant of a skirmish between Geth forces and our strike team. While most of the Geth forces appear to wield firearms that are operating just like most weaponry in Council space, this particular rifle differs greatly from any known design."
I hold it so that the cameras that are projecting my image into the Councillors' offices can capture a clear image. "After a brief field examination, Commander Shepard ordered Gunnery Chief Williams, Miss Zorah nar Rayya and me to examine it aboard our ship. Before we continue, I want to add that we believe this rifle to be a prototype, issued only to Geth platforms of a new generation. It was set to be destroyed at the destruction of it's wielder, but a lucky series of circumstances prevented that from happening in this case."
I shift it around a bit so that the three councillors can see it from all sides.
"As you see, the exterior design varies only very slightly from the one that is commonly used in Council space. Also, most of the actual systems are almost the same - though a bit more advanced then what we commonly use. But not as much as it could raise serious concern. "
It is worth noting that all three of them look slightly concerned at my rather off-hand comment about Geth weaponry being more advanced than Council weapons. Although, if I had to guess, for different reasons.
"But there is one serious difference, and it is situated right... here."
I tap on a point at the rifle's body, not needing to worry about any Geth security devices anymore. Tali has defused them all.
"As you are all aware, most modern day firearms use internal heatsinks to compensate the excess heat that gets emitted because of the mass effect. However, this rifle uses some sort of an external heatsink. It can easily be removed - " I press a button close to the grip, dropping the thermal clip into my left hand "- and replaced." I store the ejected clip in one of my uniform's pouches and pull a second one out. The first one is the original clip, the second one is a replica Tali and Ashley have crafted at the work bench. I put the new clip into the port; it clicked into place.
"I don't want to bother you all with the details behind the tech, Gunnery Chief Williams is currently writing a detailed report which will be forwarded to Alliance Intelligence together with this prototype." The message is clear - and Alliance soldier has found it, the Alliance will have the first look. Of course, practically, the Council could always request to informed abut such a discovery - heck, the Allaince ay even forward it on their own to gain points with the other species. Above my paygrade.
"What I can tell you with certainity, however, is that the Geth sacrificed the entire internal heatsink for this external mechanism - and have managed to use the freed-up space to also significantly increase the kinetic energy with each bullet."
"Do you have any relieable data, Private?" Unsurprisingly, Valern as the scientifically versed and logical thinking Salarian is the one to ask. Sparatus eyes the rifle thoughtfully; Tevos merely looks worried.
"Yes, Councillor. We compared this rifles exact specifications to those of our standard-issue firearms, bare of any mods. The results are... worrrisome. Exact data will be inlcuded in the report I mentioned earlier, but this prototype's EoI* rivals a tier-X-assault rifle, maybe even surpasses it. Additionally, the detachable heatsinks allow an extremely high rate of fire. You simply don't need to wait for your rifle to cool down - you can just exchange the heatsink and continue."
I look up into the three holographic faces. Lucky me, I consider myself a decent speaker - decent enough that I don't stutter under pressure, anyway. Plus, knowing what I'm talking aboutn helps as well.
"Councillors, this prototype alone has a rate of fire that is approximately 20% higher than even SPECTRE-level rifles."
I let that fact sink in.
"I am no expert on warfare theory, Councillors." I continue more calmly then I feel. "But even I as an regular rifleman can think of the impact this discovery will have on modern infantry combat."
"Increased firepower per soldier. Lower degree of efficiency of barriers. A fundamental change to general weapon design and tactics." Valerns response is clear and precise.
We converse for a few more minutes about a few details - my knowledge about the ammunition-based weapons of our time and Mass Effect 2 and 3 proves to be helpful. Then the three of them thank me - none of them looks particuliar enthusiastic about all of this, though, aside from Valern maybe - and exchange a couple of additional polite, but otherwise useless words.
"Good luck, Commander. Remember, we're all counting on you."
Tevos smiled. Then she vanishes, alongside of the holograms of the other two councillors.
I surely made a name for myself today... for better or for worse.
In the sudden silence, I turn around to Shepard, waiting for some kind of a signal.
She continues to stare into empty space and bites her lower lip.
It takes a couple of seconds for her to answer my glance. I can't read what's in her eyes.
"... She forgot the 'No pressure' part." she answers dryly.
I have to grin at that. "My apologies for interfering into your meeting, Shepard."
"Don't mention it. It was interesting to see them on their toes for once..."
You only have to hang up on them, Shep. I smile.
"Regardless, thank you for your presentation, Raven. I see you at dinner."
"I'll be there, Commander. See ya."
I salute, endure her rolling her eyes like she has to endure my salute, and leave the room.
I could swear that her gaze is lingering on me...
The mess clock told me that exactly twenty-eight hours had passed since the council debrief.
I was sitting comfortably in the far corner – far from the Captain's Cabin, that is – and sipped on my Earl Grey, stretching out my legs under the table. They felt weak, not surprising after two hours on a treadmill.
A datapad was lying before me, containing roughly seven hundred pages worth of information about basically every space-faring species and the best ways to treat their wounds. A 'brief overview'. Luckily, I could skip some chapters, like on salarians - though I bookmarked it for ME2. I had more than 2 years of time for that.
It could be considered late afternoon, ship's time. My personal work for the day was done - the Mako oiled, the weapons cleaned, the Onyx-I armor taken apart and stripped for useful parts before we turned the rest into omnigel. My new and rather fantastic Onyx-III was already adjusted and ready for duty. Unfortunately, my trusty Avenger rifle was beyond repair. Shepard had ordered a replacement, though, and even a Mattock, so my grief was fairly limited.
In short: A rather normal later afternoon aboard the SSV NORMANDY.
Setting down the cup of tea with my left hand and picking up the datapad with my right, I tried once again to focus on how to treat internal bleedings of turians. With no success. Time and again my gaze drifted off to the medbay lock.
At this point, Liara had already settled into the small laboratory area behind the medbay. No doubt she was now sitting in front of her terminal, searching the extranet for things I probably wouldn't like to know.
If I had been in a different mood, maybe I would have acted on impulse and visited her. But giving her some time to adjust looked like a better idea right now.
So it was kind of a surprise when said Asari left the medbay, noticed me, hesitated a bit, and then walked over.
"Hello, Mr. Raven. I hope I'm not disturbing you?"
I was so used to being called 'Raven' now that being called 'Mister Raven' triggered an ironic response.
"Certainly not, Dr. T'Soni. Considering you already do that, there's no need to worry."
She was flustered, and I was again reminded that I needed to keep my sarcasm on a leash.
"My apologies, Doc." I smiled at her, trying make her more comfortable. "It's just that I keep thinking about what you said during our debrief, and try to make some kind of a sense of that."
I gestured towards the other side of the table. "Please, have a seat."
She thanked me and sat down, a bit awkwardly though.
I put down the datapad and took another sip from my tea. "How can I help you, Doctor T'Soni?"
"Please, Liara is just fine. It may seem... I apologize. I have a question that may seem... strange to you. But I've been reading a lot about humanity, and there were a few question that I would like to ask a human about. And, well... you were just sitting here..."
"No need to apologize, Liara." I reassured her. "It will be good not having to deal with this stuff here" - I pointed at the pad - "for a few minutes."
"I see..." She paused briefly. "I find this interesting. 'I see' as a synonym to 'I understand.' Is your eyesight that important to humans?"
I lean back, thinking of a good reply. "From my perspective, yes. Well, at least historically speaking. Before we developed a cure for being blind, or having other problems with our eyesight. I don't know exactly, but if the history books are correct, then there was often a stigma attached to people that couldn't use their eyes, or were otherwise... well, crippled."
I shifted in my seat, trying to think of how to continue. "But nowadays we have developed cures for most illnesses of that sort. Although... maybe, that even increased the amount of problems."
She looked curious, so I added: "I have a feeling that the fewer people are actually suffering from something limiting them, the lesser our acceptance for that problem gets..."
Noticing just how ridiculous I'm sounding, I raise my hands. "It's just my personal opinion, though, and I'm not an expert on human psychology. So, uhm, please just - ignore what I said. You may want to talk about that with Dr. Chakwas instead. She's a medical professional, after all."
She looked at me, slightly amused and bewildered. "Yes, she is. I apologize for being so... naive. But I am not used to talking to aliens... especially humans. Your species seems so.. strange..."
"No offense taken, but look who's talking." I gestured at her, sixth sense of sarcasm going nuts at her comment. "A member of a race of essentially blue human women with some sort of a scalp crest instead of hairs. Now that is strange."
"I know that most species perceive us as 'female', but we are not," Liara hurried to correct me. I wondered in that moment if she even knew what sarcasm was. I guessed the chances to be around fifty-fifty, rising to sixty percent if she had yet talked to Shepard. "Genders like 'male' or 'female' have no real meaning for us. We are Asari."
"Yeah, I do belive you." I smiled at her. "But, just look at your fellas - High-heels? Dresses? Voice?" Breasts? "I apologize, but just about everything about your species screams 'female' to a human."
"Hm... I can't recollect the last time I've worn a dress."
I jumped and turned around.
Ashley had, apparently, overheard our conversation and decided to sneak up on us.
"Does that mean I'm no woman, Private Raven?"
Uh-oh.
In my defense, I tried. But about everything I could think up in a few second wuld have gained me a slap. So I decided to go with irony.
"I guess you do qualify as a woman, Ma'am."
She folded her arms in front of her chest and gave me a devilish grin. Poor Liara had probably no idea what was going on. "And on what evidence do you base your theory on?"
Truth be told, if I didn't knew that she could probably take me out with one hand only I would have said something... inappropriate. My loose tongue did strike regardless.
"I do know what a soldier tomboy looks like." I ducked, but she chuckled, closed the distance and gave me a friendly shove. "Fair enough."
"Sorry, the opportunity presented itself."
"I noticed. You're an idiot sometimes, Jess."
"Yeah, I kinda take pride in that fact."
She went serious again.
"I thought it may be interesting for you - a couple of minutes back High Command sent us a message. They've extracted 305 and 303 and are working on mopping up the remaining Geth pockets."
She rubbed over her thigh. From wht I've heard, the bullet had clearly penetrated her flesh without causing extensive damage to her muscles. It was supposed to be healed within two weeks - just the time we needed to arrive at the Citadel for resupplying. Ash could take that break - with our Mako molten in lava, we couldn't deploy in uncharted territory anyway.
"Good to hear." I nodded, but my lips formed a thin line. "How many dead?"
She sighed. "Seven KIA, twelve wounded. Could have been worse."
I was quiet for a few seconds, looking down into my tea. "Thanks for letting me know, Ash."
"No problem." She smiled a bit sadly. "If anyone needs me, I'll be down in C/E at the armory, working on my new armor. See you later, Raven. Doctor."
I watched her leave, my thoughts divided between thinking of the seven men and women and being glad that Ash didn't openly show hostility towards Liara. Maybe I shouldn't spend too much time around her to keep Ash sweet. And that totally sounded wrong.
I returned my attention to Liara, to find her looking down at the table.
"Seven dead... because of me?"
I shook my head. "No. Not a single soldier died because of you. Those seven gave their lives to protect Alliance territory."
I smiled, trying to convince her of the half-truth I told her. Frankly, I don't know if any of them died while playing decoy for us. Might as well be the full truth.
"Look here, not a single one of the six that went for you took lasting damage. It's our job - you're welcome."
I decided to switch the topic. "I believe you wanted to ask me a question?"
"Uhm, yes... but I forgot."
I laughed lightly. "Fair enough." I took a look at the clock - still got roughly two hours before I was supposed to be somewhere else.
"I have a suggestion, Doctor."
She raised one of her eyebrow-markings. It did look kinda... cute. And strange.
"If you have some time, I would like to as you a few questions about Asari culture as well. I'm from Earth; I only know about aliens from the Extranet and my time aboard this ship." I pointed nowhere specific.
"How about you ask me a question, I ask you and so on and so on." I grinned. "When we're done, both of us will be much wiser than before."
She actually smiled back. "I would like that. May I begin?"
"Sure thing."
"Uhm... how old are you?"
I grinned. "I'm flattered, Doctor."
"Oh, now, I-I don't mean it that way, I just-"
"Relax, Liara. I'm 21 years old... compared to your lifespan, I'm roughly 140 years old." I grinned again at her bemused expression. "I'm the youngest member of Commander Shepard's squad, so, yeah. My turn, if you don't mind. "
"Oh, no, not at all!"
I took a sip from my tea, then a thought hit me. How impolite! "Before that, would you like a tea as well?"
"Please, yes." She looked at my cup. "I must admit, I am kind of curious about tea from the human homeworld."
"Hm." I raised from the table to walk to the cooking niche where I picked up a second cup and a small bag of tea. "This one is a mixture of herbs from Asia, one of the continents back on Earth. It's probably not as good as what you're used to, but I hope its a good substitute."
I spilled some hot water on the herbs, watching the colour spread. "We're on a military ship, and to put it mildly, our provisions are... well, you'll know soon enough." I took the cup, walked back to the table and put it down in front of Liara.
"Here you are." I smiled and accepted her nod as a 'thank you'. "I recommend waiting exactly three minutes. Well, Dr. Chakwas recommends." I sat down on my place again, grinning openly. "I would follow her suggestion when it comes to this sorta stuff. She's a British lady - and among us humans, the Brits are well-known for their tea."
She sniffed at the spreading aroma, then looked at me and smiled. "Then it is true what I heard? You humans are truly as diverse as I was told?"
I nod. "I'd love to talk about that some more, if you are interested. But -" I leaned back in my seat, still smiling "-not to be impolite, but I think it's my turn now, isn't it?"
She nodded and closed her hands around the cup.
"What are the meanings behind Asari facial markings? Are they some kind of... family markings? Like the Turians with their colonial markings?"
And so we continued for two hours. It were two pretty insightful hours.
It would be a bit of a challenge to fit Liara into the team, the cameraderie that had formed itself... not to mention that half of the crew saw her as a potential traitor.
But we had at least two weeks of rest ahead of us until we reached the Citadel, so I was okay with taking some time.
Little did I knew that these fourteen days of rest would quickly pale to the events that should play out on the galaxy's capital...
A/N: *EoI - Energy on Impact (Damage per bullet)
*sigh* Why do I even bother with making promises that I can't keep anyway? ._.
I hope that the 11k words you just read have been a bit of a compensation - and enough for you guys to be convinced that I will indeed keep on writing and this story is not dead. By far not.
Please, consider writing me a review, leaving a fav or a follow and the like. I appreciate every single ones of those and always answer to feedback, if I can.
Thank you again to 5 Coloured Walker for being my Beta! As you all may have noticed, we're taking a bit speed... and next time, we're on the Citadel. Yeah. You may have expected a more epic announcement... but there are things going on my alter ego doesn't know anything about. I'm already looking forward to writing that part :D
See ya next time, guys, and take care!
Last edit 02.05.16 - Tried my best to keep an annoyed beta reader sweet. I don't wanna be slapped upside my head. That being said - no promises. Australia is far away... ^^