Cayden sits at the desk in the captain's cabin. The ship feels comfortable, like it was made for him. He has never commanded a ship before, but he is appreciative despite his distaste for Cerberus. He doesn't trust the Illusive Man at all, but this marriage of convenience has worked in his favor thus far. He managed to use a Cerberus request to get himself off the Citadel and was rewarded with a combat post and a blank check to run whatever missions he is assigned to. The lack of action in the liaison position was starting to irk him beyond belief. He thought he would appreciate the finer things in life, but at heart he is a man of action.
He is glad to be finally free of the restrictive bonds of Alliance employment. Even with Udina keeping tabs on him, he doesn't expect much in the way of Alliance meddling. Cayden isn't entirely sure, but he has had his suspicions that Udina is in the Illusive Man's pocket for a while. Hopefully so. It would be a boon for Cayden's operational independence if Udina is not keen to recall him, get in his way, or have him followed.
Deep in self-reflection, he almost falls backward out of his chair when the terminal in front of him lights up and begins to play a notification sound. God, it's annoying, but that's probably the entire point. Angry with his own stupidity at almost executing an embarrassing backflip out of his chair, he swipes aggressively through the terminal and opens the offending comm line. It's a call from Sephora. He grits his teeth as her infuriating countenance poisons his monitor with a wide, fake smile not unlike that of a model at a red carpet event.
"Good to see you're settling in, Commander," she almost sings at him.
"It's Cayden," he claps back in frustration. How many times has he told her that?
Sephora brushes her hair behind her ear. She is attractive and knows to use it for personal gain. Cayden doesn't trust her either. Her presence as his assistant reeks of the Illusive Man's meddling. No doubt he expects Cayden to let his guard down around her. She is most definitely expected to keep Cayden in check. Oh, how they are underestimating him. "The Illusive Man would like to speak with you on the QEC in the conference room."
Cayden sighs. He is sick of these daily check-ins. He decided to hold on the Citadel while he procured a new enviro-suit for Lia and the Illusive Man seems impatient at best. Most of the crew at the very least seem to ignore his presence. Several of them have even been welcoming. It's a bit heartwarming, although knowing Cerberus, Cayden's crew was picked with him in mind as their leader. If they had placed more xenophobic members on the ship there's no doubt they would've clashed with Cayden over it, given his past. No matter how Cayden feels about the Illusive Man and his motives, he can't deny the man is crafty. "I'll be right down," Cayden responds to Sephora. He exits the vidcon and rises from his seat, leaving the captain's cabin and taking the elevator down a deck. He exits and makes his way to the conference room, warmly greeting crew members as he passes them. As he approaches the table in the center of the room, Sephora's voice blares from the intercom.
"Patching you through, Commander." Cayden shudders. He is strongly considering marooning her on a moon in the deepest depths of known space. The table descends into the floor and a holographic wall rises from it. Cayden steps into it reluctantly, ignoring the slight tingling sensation as he passes through it. The familiar silhouette of a seated man against a slow-burning star backdrop appears in front of him.
"Commander," he begins. Cayden just rolls his eyes. "I'm sure you're finding everything to your liking?"
"More or less," Cayden answers. He really doesn't have the energy to deal with this today. His snarky quips are still asleep in the captain's cabin.
"How about the enviro-suit? Has Lia been outfitted properly? What's the status?" the Illusive Man continues.
"She just returned from Huerta Memorial," Cayden responds. "She is settling back in."
"Does that mean you are ready to get this show on the road?" the Illusive Man asks. He rolls a lit cigarette between his fingers.
"Ready and willing," Cayden responds simply. He can't deny he is ready for some action.
"Good," the Illusive Man responds. He takes a thoughtful drag. "I need you in the Attican Traverse. Batarian slaver and terrorist activity against human colonies there has ramped up recently."
"Seek and destroy?" Cayden asks hopefully.
"Not quite." Way to rain on the parade. "These attacks are highly organized, well-coordinated, and the aggressors are well-equipped. There is a powerful command structure behind them."
"Sounds like state-sponsored terrorism. Not unusual for Batarians," Cayden dismisses.
"While that is accurate, I believe based on our intel that there is something or someone else at play here." the Illusive Man takes another drag, smoke escaping from between his teeth. "I'll forward the pertinent records to Sephora. I need you to patrol the Traverse until we get wind of an attack, then you can proceed and track the origin. Afterward I'll expect a report back and we can figure out our next move."
"Understood," Cayden confirms. "Anything else?"
"Glad to have you with us, Commander," the Illusive Man responds.
Cayden sighs. "Seems like you're collecting N7s from what I've heard."
The Illusive Man chuckles. "I'll be in touch." Cayden turns and exits the QEC. After a debrief with Sephora in her office, during which expectedly she knew most of the Illusive Man's intentions, the ship is being prepared for takeoff. Cayden hurried down to engineering to check on Lia and the new suit before they leave.
Cayden steps off the elevator into engineering and is immediately greeted by a flurry of activity from Brenton, Julian, and Lia. Lia's new suit is mostly black with red trim. Starting at her collarbone, her helmet is a steely gray as it wraps around her neck and moves over her face. Her hood and gloves are a dark crimson and her hood has an intricate design woven in black.
Cayden immediately approaches her, waving at Brenton as he passes by. Brenton waves back warmly, but quickly turns his attention back to whatever he is currently working on. Lia is completely absorbed in an inspection on something, carefully looking over and prodding parts of a system and making notes on a tablet. Cayden stops near her and waits for her to notice him. After a few awkward minutes of Lia completely oblivious to his presence, Cayden taps her on the shoulder and clears his throat. She jerks upright and turns with a balled up fist, but stops herself in time as Cayden prepares a defense.
"What do you think you are doing you bosh'tet!" she exclaims as she shoves him roughly. He barely moves in response and hears a snicker from behind him. Lia glares over his shoulder briefly, then returns her gaze to him.
"How's the new suit?" Cayden asks.
Lia looks away briefly, seemingly collecting her thoughts, then looks back at him. She fidgets a little. "Oh, ummm, it's great. Thanks for that."
"No problem," Cayden responds. The suit was exorbitantly expensive and Cerberus refused to pay for it so it came out of his own pocket, but she doesn't need to know that. "Just checking in to make sure you're in top shape. We are taking off soon."
"Yeah, Sephora radioed ahead of you," Lia answers, still fidgeting. Her eyes are bright through her new visor, which is much clearer than the old one. Cayden can make out many of her facial features now. Her nose is narrow and her cheekbones are high and prominent. Cayden can tell she must be quite attractive. "Look," she begins again, "it's not like I'm trying to get rid of you, but maybe we should meet up later. We've got a few more preparations to make."
"Of course," Cayden replies. He is slightly hurt, but is unsure why exactly. "I'll just catch you later. Like I said, just wanted to make sure everything was good." Lia nods with a bit of disappointment on her face. Cayden smiles his wide, toothy smile at her and turns away to head back toward the elevator. He heads back to the CIC and oversees the launch of the ship and jumps to the Traverse with little fanfare. He has a meeting with Hammond, the ship's navigator, Bryan, the pilot, and Sephora. Together they establish a patrol route and resolve themselves to wait for whatever comes next.
A few days later, Cayden sits at the card table in the observation lounge with the combat squad members and Lia. It only took about 24 hours for Cayden to exhaust all manner of entertainment in his cabin and a little longer to convince the combat squad to join him for a bit of poker. Lia was harder to convince, but after a few poker lessons, she finally came up from the engineering deck to join them. He peers across the table at her. Even though her new visor is much clearer than her old one, it's still impossible to read her face. He can usually read her eyes, but she must have realized it because she is going through great pains to make sure they don't give away her expressions. She has them kind of forced open in a perpetual surprise. It must be taxing, but Cayden silently applauds her resilience.
Katsumi tosses her cards across the table with a string of curses. She wears her heart on her sleeve and has so many tells it's hard for Cayden to pick a specific one most of the time. Her long jet-black hair glistens with sweat at her hairline and her small mouth is twisted into a frown. She gathers her hair in her hands and bunches it at the side of her head, then leans back and sighs wearily with a long, drawn out, "Fuuuuuuuuck me."
One down, four to go. Cayden looks at his next mark, Churchill. His brow is furrowed and he looks like he is trying to shoot through his cards with laser vision. "Goddammit," he mutters in defeat and slams the cards down with a heavy thud. His large, meaty hands rest on the table for a moment. He pushes himself up with the table, shifting it into Cayden's chest, then marches off down the hall muttering a string of insults.
Welp, two down. Cayden glances at Jason. He is a tall, brunette man with a severe case of resting bitch face. As far as Cayden has been able to tell so far, Jason has no sense of humor to speak of. He looks at Cayden, then looks down at the bets placed around the table, then back up at Cayden. He is probably trying to find a tell, but he won't. Cayden's poker face resembles an Easter Island Moa. Jason sighs and puts his cards down as well. "I'm out. It's been fun." He also leaves the table.
Three down. This is going pretty well. Cayden looks at Adam. Adam is drunkenly passed out face-down on the table. Jason sighs as he passes, then gathers the blonde man with impressive strength and drags him along. Those two have been inseparable as long as Cayden has been on the ship. They are the designated sharpshooters of the squad and come from a special recon unit of Alliance marines. Apparently, they have been spotting each other since childhood. Adam seems perpetually drunk and Cayden is beginning to grow concerned if he will be ready for combat when the time comes.
Just Cayden and Lia. Katsumi peers over Cayden's shoulder and attempts to sneak a peek at her cards, but he successfully guards his hand. "Nuh-uh," he chastises. He may have a legendary poker face, but she sure as hell doesn't. The last thing he needs is to be beaten by the greenhorn because Katsumi gave away his hand.
"You're no fun," she responds coyly. She sighs again as Cayden and Lia size each other up some more. Katsumi leans over his shoulder and whispers into his ear, "Having some trouble with the quarian?"
"The quarian has a name," Lia snarls.
Katsumi puts her hands up in protest, "Sorry, I didn't mean it that way. Just, you know, with the suit." She cracks her fingers, then reaches up and bunchers her hair behind her head again and brings it over her forehead. The black locks drape in front of her face, then she let's go, her hair cascading back down to her shoulders. She sighs heavily.
"Don't worry about it," Lia dismisses. Cayden notices Lia's fingers subtly tapping lightly against the back of her cards. There it is. It's very slow, but he is patient. She has done it a few times now and Cayden is confident he has figured out the pattern.
"I'm your huckleberry," Cayden says, calmly matching Lia's all-in bet.
Katsumi's eyes light up and she studies him with a smirk. "Was that a Tombstone reference, you fucking nerd?" She laughs. Lia's eyes remain laser-focused on his. Her eyes flicker for a moment, then she sighs and puts her cards down. Two pair, threes and fives. Cayden smiles triumphantly and shows his straight flush.
"Better luck next time, Lia," Cayden says with a smirk.
"Yeah, yeah," she says with a wave. She's definitely disappointed, but also seems to have enjoyed herself overall. Cayden could've probably let her win, but he just can't find it in his heart. Katsumi is disappointed as well. There's only been a couple games so far, but everyone wants someone to beat Cayden. No doubt they think Lia has the best shot. With no other challengers, Cayden retires to his cabin for some R&R.
He drops onto his bed and exhales sharply, absorbing his surroundings. He can't believe Katsumi caught the Doc Holliday reference. He smiles to himself. His thoughts wander to the mission. It has been boring so far, but at least he has been able to keep his poker skills sharp-ish. After a short time, he finds himself dozing off. Suddenly, the door to the Captain's cabin opens. He raises his head and looks through the haze. Katsumi calmly walks in and locks the door shut behind her.
"Bored?" Cayden asks, sitting up and scratching his head. Katsumi shuffles over to him, playfully exaggerating the feminine swing of her hips. The attempt to look sexy pays off even though it's clearly not her natural inclination. The walk is a little clumsy, but endearing in that she is trying her best. Cayden snickers a little.
"Yeah, well, there's nothing to shoot and all this tension built up," she finally answers. She stops next to the bed at his feet and cocks herself to one side.
"I get it," he says. He nods his head back against the pillow and lets his eyes rest again. He is jerked out of his attempt to fall asleep by Katsumi thudding next to him. She reaches behind her head and fans her hair out.
"You know," he begins without opening his eyes. He can feel her breath against his cheek as she turns her face towards his. "People are starting to notice you disappear into my cabin pretty frequently."
"Does that bother you?" she asks with disinterest.
Cayden shrugs. "Not really. I've always had a bit of a reputation." He laughs.
She sighs. "Yeah, well, you're not the only one blessed with a reputation."
"I can see where people might get the wrong idea about you," Cayden says, smiling playfully.
"ME?!" she asks in sarcastic offense. "Pffft, I was talking about Sephora."
"What reputation does Sephora have?" Cayden asks her. She leans in close to his ear, some of her hair falling onto his ear with a slight tickle.
"Oh, please, like you don't know. That cheerleader bitch." Katsumi throws her hands up in front of her in a pantomime that Cayden doesn't quite understand. "Look at me, I'm so perfect and pretty. I've never had a real job. My daddy's money never runs out," she mocks, waving her arms like a crazy person. Cayden snickers.
"I've never seen her move her arms around like that," he answers. "OW" he exclaims as Katsumi punches him in the arm.
"Shut up, you know what I mean." Katsumi sighs wearily. "I bet she's been filled with more men than a 100-year-old football stadium." Cayden snorts.
"That's a horrible and hilarious thing to say about our esteemed comms officer," Cayden retorts through a giggle. Katsumi laughs.
"What? You know it's true," she responds, still laughing.
"In all fairness," he begins, bracing for another punch, "she's not the one lying in the bed with her commanding officer."
"Pssh," she answers, "I just think you're cool. Don't make me rethink it." She turns to him and he turns his head to face her. Their noses are almost touching. "Oh! I get it, you're afraid since people have seen me come up here she's going to think you're taken."
"Please," Cayden dismisses definitively. He doesn't want anything to do with Sephora. He's actually pretty sure the Illusive Man put her on the ship because he thinks she can use her feminine wiles to control Cayden. After all, he does have a certain reputation back on the Citadel. "Am I taken?" he asks coyly.
"Pssh, nah, I'm just bored." She looks back at the ceiling and bunches her hair on her forehead, then fans it out again. He studies the several tattoos along her arms. "Can I ask you a question?" she says hesitantly.
"Does it matter if I say no?" Cayden asks knowingly, looking back at the ceiling then closing his eyes again. He hasn't known Katsumi very long, but she's not a difficult person to figure out. She's going to ask him no matter what. At least she was trying to be courteous this time.
"Not really. What's the deal with Lia?" she asks plainly. "I'm not accusing you of anything per se, just curious and a little, uh, concerned."
"For me or her?" Cayden asks in response.
"Mostly her," Katsumi says with a snicker, "but both I guess."
"Why does everyone think I'm a creep?!" Cayden exclaims. He raises both his eyebrows and composes himself. "I didn't know you cared about her. I'm touched." He reaches over with a finger and pushes it into her sternum. "There's a heart in there under all the swearing and insults."
"You're dodging the question," she accuses, swatting his hand away with a slight blush. Cayden laughs, then produces a cigarette from his bedside table. He lights it with the gold lighter and takes a long drag. As he exhales, he hands it to her and she does the same. She flicks the loose ash into an ashtray beside the bed. "Are you going to answer me?" she asks, puffing on the cigarette.
Cayden takes it back from her and takes a contemplative drag. "She's a good engineer," he says, smoke escaping from between his teeth. "I thought she could contribute to the ship."
Katsumi raises an eyebrow at him. "That's very practical." She takes the smoke from him and takes another drag. "It's also total bullshit." She doesn't know the circumstances of Cayden's meeting with Lia, but doesn't want to disclose why her situation bothers him so much. Katsumi looks away, then back to him and brings her face up to his ear. She whispers into his eardrum, "Is it just, like, an alien sex thing?"
"Um, no," Cayden looks at her sharply. "Can't you just let it go?"
"Nope," she responds succinctly, crushing the cigarette out in the ashtray.
Cayden sighs. Jeez, woman. Can't you get off a guys back? "She was having a rough time. I had an opportunity to help her so I did. That's it." He watches the lingering smoke disappearing into the vent above them. "What was I supposed to do, just leave her there?"
She sits up. "That seems a little closer, but you still brought an alien on a Cerberus ship and don't really seem like the bleeding heart type." Cayden smiles his wide, toothy grin.
"People can surprise you sometimes," he responds coyly.
"A lot of people are wondering," she continues, ignoring him. "You gotta admit, it's pretty weird for a Cerberus operative to bring an alien on a Cerberus-funded mission."
"Yeah, well," he says, "I'm a weird guy." She punches him in the arm again.
She falls back onto the bed and ponders for a moment. "That's not the whole story, but I won't pry further for now."
"Thanks," he says sarcastically, satisfied he has avoided any more personal prodding for now.
"Aww, you're so welcome, honey," she replies with equal sarcasm, rolling over onto her side and draping her leg and arm across him. After a few moments of silence, his terminal lights up to indicate a pending call. They both groan, then Cayden gets up to answer it. "God, just let it ring," she pleads as he swings his legs off the bed.
"It's probably Lambeau and she doesn't take no for an answer," Cayden responds with a smirk. Katsumi erupts in laughter behind him as he stands.
"OH MY GOD YOU DIDN'T JUST CALL HER THAT," she wheezes. He makes his way groggily to the terminal and accepts the call with Katsumi dry heaving across the room.
Sephora's face pops up on the view screen. "Commander!" she exclaims with sickening enthusiasm.
"Ugh, just Cayden, please," he pleads pointlessly. Katsumi giggles softly across the room. "Don't you ever sleep?" Cayden asks Sephora with exhaustion.
"Were YOU asleep?" Sephora accuses.
"Almost," Cayden responds.
"Aaaanyway. Illusive Man on the QEC for you," she transitions abruptly.
"Great," Cayden says unenthusiastically. "Doesn't he ever sleep?"
"Day and night are more relative than well-defined in space, especially across different systems and planets." Sephora beams at him with self-satisfaction. Cayden hangs up on her.
"Fuckin' know-it-all cheerleader bitch," Katsumi pipes in, half-asleep.
"Be right back," Cayden tells her as he heads out the door. He hears a soft snore behind him as it closes. He takes the elevator down to the conference room.
Cayden approaches the QEC and Sephora's voice calls through the intercom. "Patching you through." The table descends and he enters. The Illusive Man appears in his usual position, cigarette in hand.
"Smoking is bad for you," Cayden scolds, crossing his arms.
"Commander," the Illusive Man begins, "I'll keep this short. A batarian slaver group is attacking a human colony on Arvuna in the Aysur system. They're smart, they've managed to avoid any real resistance outside of colonial militia and a small Alliance Garrison. You're the only vessel in position to provide support."
"Good," Cayden replies, smirking confidently. Finally some god damned action.
"I tend to agree." The Illusive Man puffs on his cigarette, inhaling the smoke with a light hiss. "I anticipate your debrief."
"Any other details you have for me to help plan the op?" Cayden asks formally.
"Only that there is a significant Cord-Hislop asset on location," the Illusive Man hesitates, "Miss d'Arles has the relevant details."
"Is the asset a priority?" Cayden asks.
"He can take care of himself," the Illusive Man responds with a dismissive wave, "I'm mostly letting you know for the sake of transparency."
"Understood," Cayden responds.
"If there's nothing else," the Illusive Man begins. After a moment of silence, he finishes, "Good." He swipes across the screen on his chair and disappears from the call.
Damn. The old man hung up first for once. Cayden heads back to the Captain's cabin. Once inside, he finds Katsumi spread out across his bed in her underwear, limbs spread in an uncomfortable-looking windmill formation. She always manspreads the whole mattress. She is quietly snoring. Cayden hails the cockpit from his terminal.
"Cayden," the pilot, Bryan Liu answers with his trademark disinterest.
"Head to Arvuna in the Aysur system," Cayden commands.
"Aye, aye," Bryan replies plainly.
"ETA 8 hours," Everett Hammond, the navigator, adds from Bryan's end. Cayden notes the current time, then opens the shipwide intercom.
"All strike team members, report to the armor, mission-ready, nine-hundred fifteen hours," he barks like a trained Alliance hound.
"Mission-ready?!" Katsumi asks hopefully through a groggy haze.
"Yep," Cayden confirms with a smirk. "Just enough time to get some shut-eye."
"Fuck yeah!" she exclaims with surprising excitement for someone who is half-asleep.
"To the mission or the shut-eye?" Cayden asks, making his way over to the bed.
She rubs her eyes. "Yes," she answers. She rolls into a ball and pulls the covers over her head. "I'm not leaving your bed." She quickly resumes her soft snoring as Cayden disrobes into his underwear and climbs in next to her.
"I expect nothing less."
