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Espa-Cole

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"Do you believe they really battled, though, friend Pyrrha?" Penny asked the next morning, sitting across from her and happily nibbling on a piece of toast held in both her hands like a cute little robot squirrel. Each time she took a bite she smiled, as though tasting a fresh new delicacy unlike any other.

Which, for Penny at least, wasn't actually that far from the truth.

"It isn't a comforting thought, to be sure, but… Yes. I do." She had felt the rage filled roar reverberate through her entire being. Right down to her soul, even, which had likely been all that made her. Shaking her head, she turned the piece of toast on her plate with a finger and looked up to find Penny's hands newly empty, and eager eyes locked on it. Smiling, she held it out, "Here."

"But you need to eat too, friend-"

"I'm full, Penny." And that wasn't even a lie. 'Biotic rations' meant twice the normal amount of food, and of a higher quality, than a normal soldier's. Breakfasts were a heart setting of four eggs, four pieces of toast, two glasses of pulpy juice, and fried slices of ham. Delicious, but without Beacon's training regimen, she didn't quite need that much, " Take it. They gave us plenty to eat, and you are eyeing my toast like a man that hasn't eaten for weeks."

And besides, she could not handle those sad eyes she was sure Penny knew she was making. Devious little machine…

"Okay then!" She cheered, snatching up the little piece of multigrain and curling up on it like an oversized squirrel might. Boths hands holding it, she nibbled on it absently for a long, quiet minute that Pyrrha spent watching the stars outside. Finally, she murmured, "What do we do if friend God is in a war over us?"

"Penny…"

"A war between gods… Two girls can't be worth all of that." Penny practically snarled, in an uncharacteristic show of fear and anger unlike what Pyrrha was used to from the gynoid. Quiet, and picking at her pilfered toast, the girl asked, weakly, "Can they?"

"A good question… A very good question, Penny." Pyrrha murmured, easing back into her seat while she looked for a way to answer. Letting her head fall back and rest against the top of it, she sighed, staring up at the ceiling. Idly, she wondered if Jaune was out there, beyond the decking and out among the stars somewhere so absurdly far away she couldn't imagine it properly. Instead of answering Penny's question, she asked, "What do you think makes a person valuable, Penny?"

"I… Don't know." The android answered unsurely, shaking her head. "Father always said that a person had value for their mind."

"I believe that people don't, inherently that is, have any value. Rather, I believe we are given worth by those around us, who live with and for us. Friends, family… Partners." She answered softly, smiling fondly at the memories that came flooding up at the words. Memories of a two-dress dance, and time training on a starlit rooftop. Holding onto those somewhat bittersweet memories for dear life, she added, "The love of those we come to call family is where our value as people come from. From the collective, individuality."

"Found family." Penny nodded, understanding at least that part of what the Mistralian had said. "That, at least, I can understand."

"Then let's go with that." It was probably easier than trying to explain high brow Mistralian philosophy that, for all she ascribed herself to it, she wasn't entirely informed on. The gist was all she'd ever been given, and on the gist she based her beliefs. Whether her own personal beliefs matched the overall scheme was, really, quite irrelevant. "If the Dark Brother's belief is that we are worth a battle, then we are. And unless you think we can force him not to fight-"

"Unlikely to say the least."

"-then we had best just accept what is coming." Pyrrha finished with a smile, setting her plate atop Penny's and sighing. Picking up her juice, she finished it in one long drink and smiled, pleasantly full and feeling herself flush with a good meal's energy. Quietly, she returned to the true matter at hand, "A war of the gods is not something to simply ignore, of course. And your worries are not without merit."

"But it's not anything we really have a say in." Penny nodded, understanding her point even if, to Pyrrha's ears, she didn't sound particularly comforted by it. "The gods will do what they want, I suppose. And if that is fighting, then two girls can't do much about it."

"Besides asking them not to?" Pyrrha suggested, snorting in dark amusement at the completely lacking chances of that ever working. Penny looked hopeful for a moment, but that quickly vanished as the Mistralian argued, "The God of Light doesn't exactly listen to the opinions of lowly human beings like us, Penny. Dust, he barely listens to his own brother, it seems. Or respects his opinions."

"You're right, of course." Penny nodded, seeming sad for a moment before her face split in a smile. Pyrrha's brow rose in question and, seeing it, the android explained. "You called me a human being, friend. I know how you feel about me, that you think of me as a person, but… Actually hearing it said is something different entirely."

"Penny…" That was as sad as it was warm to hear, and brought a small, only slightly bittersweet smile to the young Mistralian's face.

"It's a good thing." The gynoid assured her, smiling and waving her concerns off with a hand. "I am just happy, please, do not let your mood sour. I do not want that, friend Pyrrha. You were just starting to cheer up!"

"I suppose…" And if Penny didn't want to dwell on the implications of what she'd said, then Pyrrha wouldn't press her to. The gods only knew that Pyrrha had things she didn't want to dwell on...

Instead she stood and headed to her bunk, stripping out of her Cerberus pajamas as she went and pulling out the black and white bodysuit she'd been given to walk the decks in. Normally she'd have showered first, but that could wait until after she got all sweaty again. "I'm going to training with the Commander, Penny. She messaged last night and invited me along, and I see no reason to refuse." A good workout, or maybe a spar, would do her head good she was sure. "I trust you're going to be spending the day with Doctor Solus as you did when we boarded yesterday?"

"Oh yes, I am! And I am looking forward to it quite a lot, too." The girl cheered excitedly, stacking their dishes and rattling off faster than Pyrrha would believe anyone but Penny capable of. And maybe Doctor Solus. He seemed almost manic enough in terms of sheer energy to keep up with her, and smart enough to actually respond well. "New friend Mordin has agreed to teach me the 'ins and outs'," she even added finger quotes so Pyrrha could see she was quoting him, earning a chuckle, "of everything xenobiology and xenotechnology so long as I don't get in the way of his work for the Commander."

"Which is…?"

"Testing some little bugs recovered from several of the colonies that have been abducted. Cerberus believes they paralyse the abductees for easier, faster abductions." Penny answered breezily, pausing for a moment to consider something that soured her mood. The abducted colonists, she assumed, from the way her smile dipped. A moment flashed by, though, and Penny brightened again. "I do not get in the way, though. I simply stand there and watch him, and he lets me know when he has time to talk. He says it occupies the waiting periods nicely, and enjoys my energy and optimism."

"I bet he does…" If someone could bottle her optimism and energy, they would make a fortune and never need to work again a day in their lives. Regardless, she zipped up and set to work on her ponytail, running her fingers through her hair and then twining it properly to keep it back. "I am glad you found a way to spend at least some of your time that you enjoy, Penny."

"Indeed I have!" The girl cheered, bouncing on the spot and smiling excitedly. Then she blinked, grabbed the stack of dishes, and headed for the door. "I am late now, though! I shall see you for dinner. Have a good day friend Pyrrha!"

"Wait, it's my-" The door closed on the gynoid's back before she could finish an, somewhat flaccidly, she sighed, "-turn to deal with the dishes. Not yours." She chuckled, though, and rolled her eyes. "I'll just take the next two sets, then… Assuming that she doesn't sprint off with them, of course."

Which, Pyrrha knew, she probably would. Penny was just the type to get ahead of herself that way, a lot of the time. That was just her way of things, she knew. And for all her complaints about not getting to do her fair share of the dishes, she wouldn't work to change that about Penny any time soon.

And besides, Penny was better at the dishes than her by far. Chuckling, she murmured to herself, "Darn machines, taking our jobs..."

Dressed and as cleaned up as she was going to get ahead of what she hoped to be an intensive workout, she headed for the door. Shepard was waiting for her, dressed in a similar Cerberus bodysuit and leaning against the wall with her arms folded under her bust and her eyes closed. Clean and out of her armor, the woman proved just as beautiful as Pyrrha had suspected, albeit with her pale skin crisscrossed by angry red scars that matched her bun-taped hair. They were around the same height as well, though oddly enough, Pyrrha was the more muscled one.

Though, then again, her world did merit a bit more physical power being incentivized in a soldier over simple marksmanship and lighter athleticism. So maybe it made sense. She wasn't the one to ask about that, though.

"Going to stare or ask for my number?" The woman grunted after a second passed, one too-bright-to-be-natural green eye cracking open to meet hers.

"W-What do you-"

"Not one for women, usually, but for you I might make an exception. Since you can kick a Krogan's ass and wanna stand there checking me out. Smaller'n you or not, though, I top. Always." Pyrrha flushed at that and began stammering out denials faster than she could rationally form sentences, and the woman laughed. A short, mirthful but still harsh bark that echoed down the hall and into the cafeteria. Smiling, the woman pushed off the wall and shook her head, "Nikos you have got to be kidding me. How on Earth are you this god damn easily flustered by a joking flirt?"

"I-I'm not… Used to it?" Gods, she was blushing, too. "A-And I wasn't checking you out, either, Commander! I'm not-"

"Into women? Neither am I, but sometimes, you get shot enough, you don't get what bits the other one in bed has." Pyrrha felt her face heat up again and Shepard laughed, slapping her arm and shaking her head, grinning from ear to ear. Turning to walk away, she called back, "God you're easy, Nikos. Hope you're a better sparring partner than you are a banter partner."

Cheeks burning, the Mistralian followed the woman around and into the elevator, to head down to the cargo hold. There, the message on her Omni-Tool had said, they did their training and workouts. As much as they were able to, at least. At least she did know that she was better at fighting than she was at 'banter' as the Commander had called it.

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"It's kind of… Cute, actually." Penny murmured quietly, stooped with her hands on her knees, watching the little bug flit about in its container. It turned to her, thumped against the glass and then, as though affronted at the glass' intervention, flicked its legs and turned its back on her to sit down. Looking up, she asked the Salarian, "Is that weird of me to think? That it looks kinda cute?"

"Strange? Yes." The Salarian blinked at her, working at a terminal beside the little box. Turning back to the terminal he shrugged. "Wrong? ...No. It is cute. In a sense. Not one I expect a human to enjoy."

"Because it's a bug?" She asked, straightening and stepping back to lean against the design and catalogue system terminal that sat in the column of the room. Where, she'd been told, the Commander could review proposed system and hardware upgrades to direct their resources to.

A system that had acceptable levels of efficiency.

"Partially, yes." The Salarian answered simply, eyeing her as he explained further, "Also, its usage. Meant to restrain and abduct humans. Likely experiment on and kill them after. Odd for a human to find a creature cute that hunts it."

"I guess." It probably wouldn't be able to hurt her, but it made sense. Quietly, she argued, thinking back to the Atlesian machines she had been told had been turned on her friends, "It can't help what it was built for, though. I mean, I'll kill it if I have to, to protect people. But…"

"But you are capable of separating its intended use from its design." The Salarian nodded understandingly, turning fully to give her an approving smile. He did that often, she found, over-explaining himself or making a show of his opinions. Why, she wasn't certain, but it was useful and intentional, so she used it. Turning back, he continued, "Admirable quality. And useful, too, for a scientist."

"Or a student." He hummed his pleasure at the answer and nodded, the girl smiling at the praise. Even if it was unspoken, she knew it was there.

For around ten minutes after that, they sat in silence as the alien worked, hard and focused, at the terminal. Occasionally, he would turn to give her a look, and remind himself she was there. She would wave, then, and he would not and turn back to his work. Just as occasionally he would murmur a comment or question, but she knew not to interject with an answer. It would only distract him, and derail his train of thought. He, like her father, was merely thinking to himself while he worked.

And interrupting wouldn't be helpful at all, good intentioned or not.

"You are very patient." The alien savant said a while later, still working but apparently overcome by curiosity and needing to speak to her to sate it.

"I am."

"That is odd." The alien stated simply, as sure of the fact as he was that there was an artificially created insectoid in the glass beside him, glaring balefully at him. If a bug could glare balefully, that was. In explanation, he went on, "Most humans are less patient. Most people, too. Not you, though. Why?"

"My father was a scientist." She explained simply and quietly, keeping under wraps that for a lot of her life she was his experiment. The case remained the same either way, really, aside from the bits that might endanger her. "I spent a lot of time in his laboratory and study. He needed long bouts of quiet, too. But when he was done, he would teach me. So I find this peaceful and comforting."

"I see." The alien nodded, pressing a few keys for a moment, "Will be done in ten minutes. Will teach you then."

"Okay." She nodded, smiling and watching him work. She didn't mind the wait, of course, but neither did she mind being told exactly how long she had to wait. And as long as she could find out without being a bother, she saw zero reason not to.

And besides, she could watch the cute little murder bug, too.

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The cargo bay had a very simple setup for training day, set back against the ramp on the far end of the room, opposite the elevator. A pair of weight sets, a handful of treadmills, and a punching bag that hung from a metal rigging built for it. It looked like a gym zone, albeit smaller than any she had ever been to. And emptier, too, with nearly no one there aside from a single man sitting on a crate, looking bored. The lack of people partaking of the equipment drew furrowed brows and Shepard shrugged.

"That's the man monitoring the equipment." Shepard explained with a small nod, "The rest are still at their stations for another hour or so. Most hit the equipment up during the mess period."

"Ah. I see." It made sense. The warship they were in would still need piloting whether its crew got its fitness exercises in or not. And it would already have contingencies in place for crew coming off for meals, so doubling up was perfectly rational. Taking a step towards the weights, she rolled her shoulders and smiled, "Shall we get to it, then, Commander? I believe you wanted to see what I could do."

"Not on the weight machine I don't." The woman chuckled, striding past her and into the wide open area between the elevator and the weights. Spreading her arms, she grinned ferally, rather less like a woman in uniform and rather more like a beast with fun before it. She reminded her of Aria, in that way. "I wanna see what you can do with your fists against someone that knows what she's doing."

"I have fought rather a lot of people who knew what they were doing." Hundreds, in fact, though no record of almost any of them existed anymore. Cocking a hip and resting a hand on it, she smirked, "Including a Krogan, for that matter. I feel a Battlemaster knows what he is doing, Ma'am."

"Eh, maybe, yeah. A bit at least. Gotta, or they'd catch a bad case of 'gunshot' or 'stabbing' somewhere along the way." She shrugged, grinning and squatting to stretch her legs. "I remember right, he tanned that little rear end of yours, too. Woulda' liked to see that bit at least."

She couldn't help but flush and stiffen, suddenly conscious of the fitted aspect of her suit. The commander only smiled as she stood, wrapping one arm around the other to stretch it across her chest. And, as sudden as her flush had come on, she realized what the older woman was doing. And why.

"You're trying to fluster me before we fight." The woman nodded, but that didn't help her blush all that much. It did let her ignore it more easily, though. With a deep breath and a roll of her shoulders, the Mistralian champion fighter strode past her and turned. Back to the weights, she slid a leg back and asked, "Rules?"

"No Auras or whatever, no armor, no weapons." The Commander grunted, curling up in a stance that was much like the modified boxing one Yang used in such spars. Hand-to-hand was elective training, of course, and the blonde had thrived in it. Even with the no Semblance rule, Xiao Long had been a monster. Grinning, the Commander challenged, "I wanna see what you can do without your little gimmicks."

"I wouldn't call the power of the living soul a gimmick." Pyrrha argued shortly, sliding a foot back and bringing her arms up, a fist on her right side held back. The other was an open palm, the back of her hand turned towards the woman and fingers held loose in the Mistralian style she'd been taught as she grew. Smiling eagerly, she called her opponent to her with a flick of a beckoning finger, "Let's dance then, Commander. If you aren't getting cold feet."

"Cold feet?"

"Oh yes." She smirked, "I do so hate feeling my partner's cold feet while I'm… Engaged."

"Ohhhh, I think like you." The woman smiled, grinning ear to ear in anticipation of what was to come.

Shepard was the first to make a move, as Pyrrha had expected, crossing the distance in several short and defensive steps. A probing fist shot in towards the Mistralian's stomach as the woman reached and Pyrrha stepped in, catching the blow with the open palm and turning, yanking the soldier past her in one fluid motion. The Commander only staggered a step, though, and didn't even turn. Instead, she slammed back with the point of an elbow which caught her in her shoulder as she dodged to the side.

The blow carried Shepard past her but again the woman reacted faster than should have been possible, planting a foot and pivoting on it. Another fist slammed in like a mighty hammer, this one too strong to catch in her palm. Instead, she stepped in and ducked, straightening as the fist went over her and forcing the fist up. One arm wrapped around the woman's hips, pressing them against her own, and the other dipped under her left, hand wrapping around her throat from the back, fingers pressed against the bottom of her chin. The soldier slammed a knee into her stomach and she felt the wind leave her, but refused to let go. Instead, before her leg could come down, she slammed her knee up and under it and pushed.

"Fuck-" The woman was cut off as the Huntress' weight bore her down, slamming her into the floor of the ship with a heavy bang.

Before the soldier could react the Huntress let her go, sliding up and over her chest, practically sitting on her face with her knees bent under the smaller woman's shoulders. Twisting and hurling her wait to the side,she rolled them over, the commander wrapping her arms around her waist and coming to her knees. As the Mistralian expected, she tried to stand, lifting the Huntress into the air to slam her back down.

Instead, she pitched forward sharply, carrying the woman with her. Landing on a palm, she let the soldier go to slam into the metal. Only then did Pyrrha follow her down, slamming a knee into her solar plexus and making the woman wheeze under her. Smiling, Pyrrha demanded, one knee on the woman's abdomen and the other pressed over her throat, "Yield, before I accidentally hurt-"

Shepard, with impossible strength, wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled, slamming the surprised Mistraling down beside her and rolling over her. Straddling her, the woman brought her fists down in quick, powerful jabs. The first two caught her on the face, stunning her for sheer force and busting a lip. The deluge lasted for only a few seconds after, landing on the Huntress' muscled arms, before Pyrrha rolled back onto her shoulders. Lifting her behind off the metal, she wrapped them up and under the womans shoulders again, this time from the back.

Using her powerful legs she yanked the woman off her and slammed her down, into the decking. Rolling over, she pushed herself up and smiled, coming around and sliding back into her stance as she did. When the woman waved her the win and starte dto rise, though, she offered her a hand up instead.

Dusting herself, the soldier rose, gesturing at her face as the Huntress let her step back, "Gotcha a little bit." A flare of Aura and the bleeding and stinging stopped, the wound closing up as the other woman watched and complained, "That just ain't fair… Ain't fair at all."

"Such is the nature of fate, I fear." Pyrrha shrugged, wiping the trickle of blood that had trailed down her face away. Returning to her stance, she asked, "Shall we go for seconds, then?"

Laughing, the soldier nodded and slid back into her own, eyes far more wary of her legs now.

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"And you're quite certain they aren't aware of your monitoring?" Miranda asked, sitting in the comfortable chair of her office, one finger tapping out a rhythm on her desk. Chopin, she knew. She always defaulted either to him or to Mozart, if she was anxious for whatever reason. More to herself than the machine, she went on, "If they know, then this could be a front. Solus found all of them easily enough. But why fake it? What end are they working towards?"

"I do not think they are aware." The machine answered, sprite projected next to her terminal screen. At a raised brow, the machine brought up a scan of the younger looking girl. It appeared to have been taken mid-stride, one leg bent and sweeping forward, and her arms swinging beside her. The scan itself was metallurgical, showing extensive metal throughout her body. "Passive scans show almost nothing inside Penny Polendina aside from various metals and systems Cerberus has no frame of reference for. Penny also references being non-human. Which would match these scans in a very… Disheartening way."

"Indeed." She sighed, "Either she's artificial herself, or something was done to her to make her think of herself as such."

"There are also the other anomalies in their conversation to consider, however." The AI added, "Their reference to 'gods' is odd. And a war among them."

"Code, perhaps?" For what, though, she had no idea. Cerberus' contacts and informants said nothing outside of the norm was happening. There were numerous minor conflicts breaking out, of course, but none could be thought of as a 'war among the gods' or any other such thing. Unless… "No, it can't be literal. It is simply unfeasible. EDI, keep observing, and keep digging."

"Yes, Miranda." The machine murmured, sparking out a moment later.

"A war among the gods…" Their mere existence was impossible by any metric she had ever referenced or tested. It had to be code for something. Which implied that they were working with an organized group, one that would… "EDI," the machine's interface flicked up again, the machine always observing every room of the ship even if she 'left' as she had before, "pull up any and every record we have gotten of the Morning War and Geth code samples. Also, compare these cybernetics to Geth robotics. Look for references to Geth theism."

"Yes, Miranda." The AI responded shortly, quickly bringing up the information. Geth, due to their relationship to the Reapers, had plenty of files and Cerberus research done on them. A vast amount of which had been copied to the Normandy in case it was needed. "The Geth are known to have worshipped the Reaper Sovereign. Direct references are not known, but they do have a history of theism."

"And cybernetics." Reaper designed though they had been, Saren Arterius had had Geth tech in his body. Enough of what little remained after his death had been pilfered by Cerberus to determine that much. As such, "EDI I am ordering you to system defense level three. Monitor all conversations, habits and transmissions coming from those two."

"Yes, Miranda." Again, the machine's response was short and clipped. "Shall I compile a front-report of the situation for the commander as well?"

"No, focus on your task." She answered, standing and running a finger through her hair. "I will notify the Commander of the possible Geth threat. Where is she at the moment?"

"One moment." The AI requested, attention flicking along the ship's camera network, looking for the woman. After a moment, and sounding oddly amused, the machine reported, "She is currently beating Pyrrha Nikos into the deck of the storage bay. Sparring, it would seem."

"Ah." Well, that was inconvenient and convenient at the same time, somehow. Regardless, she headed towards the door, one hand snapping up her Predator as she went. In a fight, her Biotics were what counted the most, but one never knew what to expect.

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Apologies for the late post. Power got disconnected for a hot minute for most of the day, so am running behind. Dealt with now, though. Just gotta sort out rent now, somehow. Roommate lost their job at the start of the month and ugh, trying to catch up is a pain. If the Landlord can just wait for the sixth, it will be fine, but dunno. Just kinda hopin' for a solution at this point, or hands to help.

Whatever happens, though, y'all keep reading and I'll keep posting. Rain or shine, hell or high water.

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Seanklovett :

Glad you are enjoying!

Someguy the Anon :

Thanks!

The Prime Cronos :

Yeah, I always thought the Dark God got kind of undercut by Light. And Dark seems to have certain wishes that go against Light's. But Light seems to domineer over him far too much.

Black Magic :

Yeah, I don't do that in media. Dark and light are subjective and EVERYTHING is messy and complicated. That is JUST how it is. And I at least ATTEMPT to show that. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

ZR Stein :

No, it's not bad at all! That is my directive in this story. Them being close is a HUGE facet of this story and its themes. An android, the android's killer, and a literal monster god, being friends regardless of WHAT they are because they like each other.

Howell :

The panic about Penny isn't around, yet. Hue hue hue~

Blaiseingfire :

Yeah, she has balls of TITANIUM.

Frosty Chops :

Generally, yes, she needs contact. That fight scene KINDA breaks that rule, but I largely ignore it in favor of more serious scenes more firmly explaining her Semblance. Also, she DOES have some ME stuff. A sealed and lightly armored bodysuit and an Omni-Tool, for now. More may come later, but she DOES have those now.