It had been a weird few weeks for Shepard, even though her life over the past three years had been a continuous chain of atypical events. The destruction of the Collector base had been a climax, a culmination of running around without stopping at breakneck speeds from the moment she gained consciousness after her resurrection. What occurred immediately after was not a return for a breather, just a new introduction that launched into another rise that fired them off even higher.
Firstly, it started with recruiting an unanticipated crew member. Using the human name he had chosen for himself, Arius was something of a cryptid they had not known existed, whose presence on-board seemed unfathomable at times. Hoping to dispel the preternatural air of mystery that accompanied him, she stopped to chat with him as often as possible, trying to gauge his personality while asking him about various aspects of his impossibly long life. From these conversations, she found him to be surprising and, as people usually were, contradictory: as one would expect given his lifespan, his knowledge spanned great breadth, yet there was never a moment he ceased to ask for more, nor did she ever find his words tinged with arrogance. He was honest to nearly a fault, divulging any detail of his life on a whim's request unabashedly, yet from his tales, one could always sense further unseen depths beyond the surface word. Although gravely serious at times, his overall demeanour was light-hearted and warm, which fit in with the rest of the crew amicably. Speaking with him inexplicably felt like you were talking to an old friend; despite never having met him before, you could not shake the familiarity and ease with which you accepted his presence.
Secondly, she had visited Aria on Omega, asking her about the incident with the Eclipse mercenaries in the slums of Illium, wondering why they had suddenly adopted a shoot-first ask-questions-later policy. The asari had narrowed her eyes while Shepard recounted the event, then suggested a way they could help each other: The founder of the Eclipse cooperation, Jona Sederis, had recently been outed by a once-loyal human subordinate named Dominic Solis through shrewd political maneuvering within the corporation. The de-facto queen of Omega stated that the new leader didn't play by her rules, which was obviously a problem. The corporation had begun shirking away from its presence on the station and having once owned a fifth of the trade, they now had shrunk steadily into the single digits. Instead of following the usual agreement, recent reports of kidnapping and overly aggressive behaviour began to surface. This did not make the asari happy. Greatly annoyed, she wanted to send their leadership a strong message. She offered some locations for Shepard to 'visit' with all the tact and poise of a renegade council spectre. In exchange, she'd provide any information she could, with commensurate pay for services rendered.
Although not crazy about the idea, Shepard had acquiesced, and she had called her two crew members most experienced with Omega, Mordin and Garrus, to join her in performing small raids around the station. Shepard had the squad use generic armour to avoid identification, working with some of Aria's own goons to create the illusion of them being part of Aria's force. During the raids, they had made some troubling finds, same as what they had observed on Illium: mercs that shot on sight, some disappointingly low quantities of drugs, and large, empty cages that looked repeatedly used. Aria had provided her with video footage of the crates being exchanged on Eclipse branded crafts, and Mordin had confirmed that genetic remnants in the crates suggested that they had once housed human and salarian subjects. Why a mercenary group that provided protection services were abducting Omega's citizens was beyond any of them, but Aria had confirmed that her troublesome reports had only begun after the new leadership had taken the reins.
Having extracted as much information as she could, the trio had headed back to the Normandy to mull things over. They had messed around with Eclipse before - eliminating the hired protection guarding Nassana Dantius against Thane, ending their late commander Jaroth after he sought revenge on Garrus as Archangel, had heisted Kasumi's sought-after greybox from under a client of theirs, Donovan Hock. This new development didn't fit into their modus operandi and didn't feel quite right to her.
Hoping to chat with Arius, Shepard took the elevator to the engineering deck and approached the starboard cargo hold. Upon entering, however, she found it devoid of his presence. Although usually not one to snoop on the personal effects of her crew, she couldn't help but take notice of the constantly shifting contents laid out on the wide desks of his space. Last she visited, they were littered with data pads on her previous mission reports. This time, they were littered with weapon parts and assemblies, most of which she recognized and some she didn't. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied his mysterious sword lying on a dark cloth, looking out of place among the sleek modern firearms. She was desperately curious about why he lugged such a cumbersome tool around and how it worked, but she wanted his permission before handling it and kept her curiosity at bay.
"EDI, where's Arius?" she openly asked.
EDI's voice chimed instantly overhead. "Arius is currently in the mess hall."
"Thanks, EDI."
Shepard walked back to the elevator, took the elevator up one floor to the crew deck, and rounded the corner to the mess area. Behind the large island in the open galley, he stood, apron on, chopping vegetables. His face was expressionless as he engrossed himself in his task, and he didn't sense her approach until she had reached the counter.
He politely greeted her. "Evening, Commander."
"Evening."
Shepard glanced around the counters of the galley and found them to be laden with all manners of foodstuffs in various states of preparation. Behind him, large stock pots were simmering on the range. "What's going on?" she asked, curious about the produce piled on the counters.
"Taking a break from upgrades to start prepping food," he answered while the rapid sounds of his chopping sounded. "I scored some surprising supplies while we were docked on Omega. There's a volus merchant there who peddles high-end provisions and having just recently returned from a food run of their own, I saw an opportunity that I could not pass up."
"What are you planning?"
His eyes glanced upwards, and he grinned in his slightly uncanny way, motioning her over to his side of the counter. In a subtly enlivened tone, he ran through his planned meal. For the second time since they had met, she noticed that the intense colour of his eyes had changed slightly and seemed to have lightened - was it a trick of the light?
"I'm mainly familiar with human cuisine," he began, "so most of what I'm making will have its roots on Earth, but I've been experimenting over the past couple of years with foods from other races. Mainly," he started, pointing to the oven, "we have grunnien roast that will be served with a modified asari honey marinade. A species of insect native to Thessia closely resembles Earth's honeybees - its honey contains trace amounts of eezo. They say the original recipe originated in an Ardat-Yakshi monastery, but that's probably a marketing ploy. Nevertheless, it's undeniably delicious. I also have some fish; common Earth carp and Thessian skald. Skald tastes quite good with simple seasoning; the carp goes well with an acid..."
As he rattled off what he was planning, she quickly grasped that food played a significant part in his life.
"... as well, roasted carrots, potatoes, onions, and korkro, a tough root native to Tuchanka; I've been soaking it for several hours to soften. We've already had basic provisions if any vegetarians or vegans are on board, but I got us some additional sauces and vegetables for variety. For our dextro friends, we have keleven, a high-protein quarian celery, and shatha steaks. And…" he added, crouching down to a lower cabinet and reappearing with a large, heavy contraption in hand, "Quarian food tube processor. Processes, seals and sterilizes food tubes with whatever you desire. Don't tell her yet; it's a surprise."
Shepard couldn't help but titter, delighted to find him not only planning all this but also taking in the needs of all the crew. "I can tell that food excites you. Thanks for doing this."
"My pleasure," he insisted, nodding to her as he continued to chop. "There's a theory that Homo Erectus could not have evolved without cooking; Preparing and cooking food before consumption meant that the enormous amount of energy that would have been used in digestion could instead be rerouted to the brain, fueling the large cranial expansion of your ancestors. More personally, food is one of the few things I still live for. Someone somewhere will always be hungry; it never stops being relevant."
Truth be told, it had been a while since she had cooked properly for herself, Shepard thought. It had been a common household task of hers in her youth, and many good memories stemmed from her time in front of the stove in her family's kitchen. She saw where she currently stood and for whom she was cooking, and she relished the opportunity to partake in the simple pleasures again. "I've got some time; Would you like some help?" she asked him.
He looked up at her with a look of mild surprise, not expecting the offer.
"Hmm... Why not?" he answered, shrugging his shoulders. "Okay. After you wash your hands, there are some aprons in the right-hand cabinet there," he pointed with his knife, "and chef's knives and cleavers on the left. I'm almost finished with this. If you'd like, you can help me julienne the carrots and keleven, then place them in roasting pans… make sure you check the chirality. The temperature of the oven is already set."
Easy, she thought to herself. After tying the apron behind her back, she selected one of the gleaming cai dao cleavers from the block and got to work, cleaning and chopping up the vegetables. They worked in silence while the rapid thunks of the blades against their respective cutting boards resounded. She tossed the vegetables and placed them with the other covered pans into the oven.
"Done the carrots and keleven. Anything else?"
"Hmm, you're quick," he remarked. "This is not your first rodeo."
"I used to help my mom cook frequently growing up. We lived on a farm, so we had a lot of fresh foods available."
"Nothing like tapping the earth's bounty with your own hands, eh? Excellent. Let's move on then - fish are in the fridge, grab them; we'll work them next. Score them, rub these seasonings into them and then add the lemon juice; we're leaving them largely intact. I'll prepare the sauce."
Shepard wiped down and sanitized the cutting surfaces, then took the carp and skald fish from the large refrigeration unit. She rinsed, patted dry and scored the flesh of the fish every centimetre or so and rubbed the seasoning into the cuts. The seasoning for the carp was rough under her fingers, simple salt and pepper, she guessed, while the skald seasoning smelt sweet and a bit smokey. While she sprinkled the lemon juice into the cuts, he added some aromatics to a couple of hot pans and sautéd them. She brought the fish ready, and he added them to the pans with some fats. He pulled the stopper from a bottle on the side of the range and poured some of the contents into the pans. It was white wine, and it sizzled immediately from the high heat. The sweet smell of its evaporation wafted past her nose, and she involuntarily began salivating. He then ladled something from one of the stockpots into the pan. A deeper, more pungent smell now filled the air, fish stock. He placed them into the other oven and closed the doors. "Now we wait," he said, setting a timer. "Thank you for your unexpected but very welcome assistance."
"Ah, this was nothing," Shepard assured him as she washed her hands. "I miss cooking; I always found it somewhat meditative. I used to cook to take my mind off things."
Arius nodded and smiled slightly at her, knowing. He walked to the far counter and turned on the kettle to boil water. "Can I interest you in tea? I took the liberty of restocking."
"Sure, what are you having?"
"A recent favourite of mine, Lady Grey - a zestier version of the Earl much loved in the west."
"Then make me one too."
She watched him pull two mugs and a small metal tin from the cabinet and set them on the counter. Removing the lid off the container, he dropped a small scoopful of the dark, dried contents into a sieve in each mug. Once the kettle finished boiling, he waited a moment for the boil to cool slightly before pouring in hot water. Thin wisps of steam rose from the mugs, and the fragrance of the tea gently tickled her nose. It smelt fresh and slightly floral, and the bergamot's bitter citrus smell was unmistakable.
While waiting for the tea to steep, Jack rounded the corner to the mess, shaved head buried in a data pad. It wasn't until she nearly ran into them that the combined smells of the cooking food roused her from her concentration.
"Hey, sugar daddy. Whatever the hell it is you're doing up here, it smells damn good."
Shepard looked quizzically at Arius at the mention of Jack's name for him. He shrugged back at her.
"Jack, can I interest you in a hot drink?" he asked her.
"Not unless it's spiked."
"That I can do. What's your mood?"
"Sorta feel like punching someone, you know, my default."
Unfazed by her comment, he made a third mug of the tea since it was already out, then rummaged around under the island. He reappeared with a stout bottle of dark liquid, removed the stopper and poured a generous amount into the tea.
"Bourbon and Lady Grey," he said, sliding the mug over to her.
"Thanks. I'll be back for... whatever it is you're making," she replied, then, without paying much mind, grabbed the mug and left, presumably slinking back to the sub-deck.
"...and why wasn't I offered the alcoholic version?" Shepard jokingly teased.
"It's here if you want it," he answered her, shrugging. "But, if I may in its stead..."
He reached over to remove the sieve from each of the mugs, cut and squeezed a small lemon wedge into each of them, and then stirred them briefly with a small spoon.
"There we go," he said, pushing the mug toward her.
She blew away some of the rising steam and took a sip. The flavour was crisp, sharp and really hit the spot. It was entirely an innocuous moment - but the mixture of the task and the small comfort of the drink caused Shepard to slip into a relaxed mood, momentarily forgetting the ever-present Reaper-sized sword of Damocles above their heads. It was a brief lapse of calm, and she loathed the recognition of its burden after her return.
"Oh," she declared, remembering why she even came to speak with him in the first place. "I received your request for us to revisit Ilos. Do you really think we can extract anything? The system was pretty badly damaged last when we set boots on it. By the time the Council sent a team to it, they had reported it as being completely offline."
He sighed, seemingly unsure of it himself. "I'm not certain we'll be able to get anything from it. I've been reading about it - salarian and human researchers have been camped there since you located the Mu relay, and they've not been successful in bringing any major systems online. I benefit from familiarity with the tech even though it may take some time to relearn the specifics. We'll need to hook up some power cells to a few bunker grid ports, and then I'll need to fiddle with the interfaces… and it's been ages since I set foot there or worked on their systems..." he trailed while blowing the steam from the top of his mug. "But if there's even a remote possibility of us getting details on the Conduit, I think it's worth a shot. Even if the data is half corrupted, that's still half the puzzle done… and if the best minds in the galaxy manage to crack the tech then the power to create new relays is ours."
As remote as the possibility was, she thought, he was probably the best shot they would get. She didn't know many others in the galaxy that could list 'familiar with golden age Prothean tech' on their CV.
"Alright. I'll set a course," Shepard said, pausing to follow up with another question. "Since we're on the topic of Protheans and food, what did the Protheans eat?"
The question caught him off guard, for he choked slightly on the tea and coughed to clear his throat.
"Erm, let's just say they had some... peculiar tastes. Respectfully, let's leave it at that."
