Title: The More Things Change...
Chapter 6: You Can't Have a Shepard without a Vakarian
Adam rushed down the stairs, the geth unit keeping pace behind him with no apparent effort. "Talk to me Eve" he all but demanded as her face appeared on the main monitor that took up half of the back wall. "What is so important that you would risk your exposure to a potentially hostile AI? I know I raised you to be smarter than that."
The female AI crossed her arms in defiance, staring him down until he relented and let her defend herself. "Do you remember when you met your first alien?" she asked, confusing him to the purpose of the question as he tried to recall the first time he had seen an asari while growing up on Mindior before the batarians had raided the planet.
"I remember" he confirmed, "why is this relevant?" The geth platform hadn't moved since setting foot on the rooms floor. It's flashlight head was trained on Eve's monitor, concentrating on her with a burning intensity that was beginning to make Shepard a little nervous.
The female AI stared right back at the geth with an equal intensity, her godfather all but forgotten as they communicated electronically in ways that he had no way of understanding. "This is my first real alien" she explained as the geth stepped forward, coming to a halt a foot away from her screen. "We're both relatively young AI from different civilizations, trying to understand the galaxy around us. There is so much to compare and learn from each other that I barely know where to start!" She was positively giddy by the end of her speech.
The hunter platform turned back to him, settling down into a sitting position to better fit in it's spot in the corner of the room. "We anticipate the exchange of information" it confirmed, it's voice sounding almost excited. "With your permission Adam Shepard, we will remain in this installation until you have further need from us."
This was all happening too fast. His little girl was already on her first play date for all intents and purposes. "Fine…" he growled out before quickly pointing at Eve to stop her celebration. "But internal code and family secrets remain off limits. There is certain things that we don't want to effect." She gave a silent nod, understanding his implied message before turning back to the platform. Realizing he had been dismissed, the human grumbled to himself as he trudged back up the stairs with the entrance closing behind him.
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A horde of beings exited the transport into Omega proper, eager to escape the ship's cramped confines for the relatively wider halls of the infamous asteroid. A salarian, almost a head taller than the rest of the passengers stopped in mid stride forcing the irate mob to move around him. Disregarding the annoyance he was causing, the amphibian closed his eyes as he inhaled deeply. The scents and sounds of the familiar halls washed over him, giving him a sense of arriving home that he hadn't felt in a long while. Opening his eyes with a renewed sense of purpose, the salarian rounded the final corner of the docking bay and stepped out into the main market of Omega. He watched a pair of individuals break off from their conversation with a turian as they spotted him, heading in his direction to intercept him.
"It's about fucking time!" shouted the human of the pair, a huge grin on his face as he threw an arm around the amphibian. "We got work to do. We'll drop your gear off in the office his leader's enthusiasm was still just as annoying as the day he first joined up.
Not exactly the welcome Ballo expected to hear, but he couldn't complain. It had been years since anyone had even show up to greet him upon arrival. It was nice to feel appreciated again. "Then we better get moving" he replied, pulling a machine pistol and a scooped assault rifle from his luggage. He attached them to the magnetic stations on his lab coat before easily hefting the storage unit over his shoulder. His thin salarian frame belied the true strength contained inside his body, the result of splicing krogan DNA into his genetic structure. He paused as he watched his companions head away from the populated portions of the station, instead moving towards the entrance of the mines. "What exactly is this job anyways? And last I remember, your office was in the other direction."
"Yeah…" the human muttered sheepishly, "change in plans. You can leave your bag with that turian over there" he pointed to Gavron. "He's the closest thing to station security, as well as our client."
Ballo hustled over to the client, leaving his storage container by the turian's feet. All it contained was clothing and old science equipment. Potential theft wasn't a large fear since anything valuable was kept on his person. "And our mission Shepard?" he prompted as he rejoined the group.
"The vorcha use the old mine shafts as living spaces. It's allowed by Omega's leadership since it's out of sight and out of mind for the most part. Every now and then they get a little too ballsy though and try to take more than they deserve. We're being sent to clear out an active mine that has become the newest nest." He pushed a button on the elevator, causing the doors to close and the cage to descend into the darkness below. He pulled his shotgun from his back, preparing himself for the upcoming fun. "Try to keep the heads intact" he instructed to his team, "We get paid more for each one we can turn in."
"That's rather morbid" Ballo observed as he pulled out a scorpion pistol that he had 'liberated' from a cache back on Sur'Kesh. This was a side of the team he hadn't seen before, though STG reports had made mention of it. "Should we get more backup if the balance of forces is so against us?"
Shepard shrugged, unable to bring himself to care. "It's more vermin control at this point than a real firefight. Just don't let them swarm you and stay with the team." He turned to look at the silent batarian, "Bet I get more kills than you Asshole."
His large companion simply growled in reply before activating his omnitool with a simple counter program to keep score. There was no way he was losing to some jumped up primate with delusions of grandeur.
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A door hissed open, revealing a familiar clinic that had been closed for the last month. A crash, followed by some soft swearing was heard from the hallway before Garrus shuffled into the clinic's greeting room carrying a human woman in his talons. "Is this far enough?" he grunted, rubbing his injured foot against his other leg in a futile attempt to relieve the pain.
"You know damn well it isn't. Our housing doesn't start until you move past the clinic to the back rooms." Chloe huffed in exasperation, blowing a bang back that had fallen over her eye. "You promised my dad that we would keep the human customs alive as well as the turian ones and this is a big deal. You only have to do it once in your life so get to steppin big boy" she instructed, patting his chest before pointing in the direction on their quarters.
Her turian husband grumbled good naturedly as he carried his bride into their apartment, going the extra mile to drop her on their bed before heading back to the hallway to get their luggage from the loading platform that he had programmed to follow him. Chloe was already at the clinic's front desk, her hands flying across the keyboard as she contacted her regular customers with reminders of their pending checkups. Garrus allowed himself a soft smile as he watched her work, enjoying the fact that life was returning to normal. Now if only his sister Solana would hurry up and get her scaly ass back where he could keep an eye on her then he'd consider himself content.
He looked down at his omnitool, responsibility conflicting with laziness as he tried to put off calling into Shepard. Responsibility won in the end, receiving back up from friendship and duty. Damn that bastard for making him actually care.
Garrus frowned in concern as his call once again wasn't picked up. "I bet he's doing something stupid again…" the turian grumbled. He made his way over to the office, heading straight to the secure storage in the back of the room. His sniper rifle was soon disassembled on the desk, each part inspected before they were put back together. The heat sink was just snapped into place when his omnitool rang with a call from his wayward boss.
Strangely enough the video didn't resolve itself, choosing to stay black as voices mixed with gunfire and explosions filled the audio. "Welcome back!" he heard Adam shout over a shotgun blast, followed by a hissing scream. "How was the trip? When did you arrive?"
Garrus quickly clipped the gun to his back, locking the office and power walking towards the market district. "Never mind that!" he reprimanded his leader, ignoring the random people staring at him as he pushed by. "Stop deflecting and tell me where the hell you are. Did you get jumped by the blood pack again?"
"Nope!" Shepard chirped, sounding way too happy about being in a heavy firefight. "I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"
Garrus quickly passed by Omega, ignoring the loud music and drunken partiers as he moved on. "Good news" he requested, not wanting to ruin his good mood any faster than he had to.
"Good news is that Ballo finally came back to join us full time! He's here with me and the Asshole right now." A guttural roar sounded over the comm, followed by multiple screams. "The bloodrage is still a thing too, FYI" Shepard confirmed as he fired his shotgun again.
Garrus facepalmed at the 'good news'. He was happy that the salarian had chosen to join them, proving to be a great team member when hunting Dr Heart. But the ex-cop had spent too much time arresting krogan to not be wary of blood rage. The fact that it was a different species who had it meant little when he had seen good officers pasted by uncontrollable krogan berserkers. Dr. Jekyll would get the benefit of the doubt but Garrus would not hold back if he needed to be subdued. "And the bad news" he asked wearily as he arrived at his destination, standing before Gavron. The Omega security chief stayed silent, recognizing Shepard's voice.
An explosion shorted out the comm to white noise. Garrus could almost feel the floor vibrate beneath him. "Sorry," came the apology when the connection cleared up. "Asshole accidentally detonated a biotic attack I was setting up." He coughed a few times to clear his throat as the fighting picked back up in the background. "We found it Garrus! We found the main vorcha nest on the station! We were just clearing out a mining area but hundreds of the fuckers began to pour in from all over! We're fine though. We holed up in a office and turned the hallway outside into a killzone. The bodies piled so high that they actually had to stop charging long enough to unblock the hallway! We almost did it again just now but the explosion did the work for them." Another blast happened, this time actually vibrating the floor under Garrus's feet. "The room is trashed by the way. We'll have to apologize later on. I'll catch back up with you tonight. Enjoy the rest of your vacation!"
The turians shared a look after hearing Adam's inane commentary in a life or death struggle. 'Humans' they both thought at the same time. Garrus sighed as he pulled out his shotgun, foregoing the sniper rifle as useless when fighting the sentient vermin. "You know where they are?" he asked the security chief. "I need to go save my team again before they do something stupid."
Gavron winced as he pulled out his assault rifle, heading to the main elevator with his temporary teammate right behind him. "When ever humans get desperate, the damage starts piling up. Aria will have my fringe if she loses money over this." He pushed the button, starting their descent into hell.
Garrus patted him on the shoulder in sympathy, knowing all too the pain of being the responsible one on the team. "I'll buy you a glass of Palaven brandy afterwards. Now let's go save my team from themselves."
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"I believe I am beginning to see why you hate Vorcha so much" Ballo confessed from his seat as he nursed a glass of root beer. A grunt from his batarian partner was the only response as he drained his ale in a single pull, ignoring the fresh claw marks that ran down the side of his face and neck. The batarian added the mug to a growing pile before whipping out his omnitool to place a new order with the waitress. The salarian watched, impressed with the being's resistance to alcohol as it took another drink from the fresh mug that the asari had quickly dropped off, the blue woman happily pocketing her new tip. "What is it that I should be addressing you as?" He elaborated after getting a raised eyebrow in question, "Only name I've heard was vulgar reference used by Shepard. Unwilling to poison possible friendship over something so trivial when it can be solved with a simple conversation. So I ask again, how would you like me to address you?"
The batarian paused for a second before shrugging. He wiped out his omnitool, quickly typing up a response with practiced ease. 'My memory was damaged after getting ambushed by the vermin. I refuse to choose a new name when I already have a perfectly good one somewhere out there waiting to be remembered. If you need to address me then just use the one given to me by that primate. I give you my word I won't be offended by it.'
The salarian stared at the response incredulously, unable to understand how someone would tolerate being so disrespected over what should be a tragic event. "I'll try to do as you request… Asshole… but why would you put up with such a name? There has to be a reason."
"Because it allows me to act like one without anyone questioning or holding it against me. Haven't you ever yearned to be able to do what you want without worrying about the consequences coming back to affect you long term salarian? I promise you, it's quite liberating" the batarian grinned at him, the mouth full of needle like teeth that were intimidating as hell.
"Interesting" Ballo mused to himself, breaking away from the conversation to watch the dancers again. The salarian had always been partial to asari over his own species earning him no small amount of trouble with the female leadership in his tribe. It was considered almost taboo to not have loyalty for ones dalatrasses after all, the imprinting and subsequent attraction key for the females to keep control of the much larger male population. It had been a bone of contention between them and the asari ever since first contact, with the fight kept to the back rooms to better promote friendship and understanding to the rest of the galaxy. He was brought out of his reflections as his elbow brushed against another glass, one of the four untouched ones on the table.
Garrus had called Chloe to join them, the couple barely sitting down before she had pulled her reluctant husband out on the dance floor. The resulting sight was almost comical as the stiff turian swayed back and forth while his wife danced around him, using his body almost as an asari would use a pole. The turian couldn't help but enjoy the looks of jealousy he was getting as his wife moved with the grace of a feline, her outfit tasteful yet still able to accentuate her generous curves as she did her best to make the professional asari dancers look like amateurs.
Shepard and Gavron hadn't even bothered trying to join the group, instead ordering their drinks to be delivered to the table while they continued towards the back where the stairs to Aria were. They had been up there for more than twenty minutes now, the sound proof windows doing nothing to hide the enraged asari as she verbally tore strips from the two males that stood at attention before her. Shepard looked down in time to meet Ballo's gaze, the human grinning and brazenly rolling his eyes. The salarian winced when the queen stepped forward and grabbed the human's chin, swinging his face back to where it was a few inches from hers as she stared him down. Aria grit her teeth to contain her temper, before shoving him away and started talking again. Adam looked to his turian companion in confusion before giving a quick reply. They were waved out a minute later by the queen, the human stopping at the bottom of the stairs to pat a young krogan guard on the shoulder before heading to the table.
"I don't understand how you did it Shepard. I didn't think I'd be alive at the end of that conversation, let alone still have my job" Gavron shotgunned his drink, slamming it onto the table. He looked contemplatively at Garrus's cup before shrugging and grabbing it to have as well. "How did you calm her down so quickly? Even her daughter hasn't been able to make her see reason once her rage takes over."
Shepard sprawled out on the bench, one foot kicked up seat as he made himself comfortable. He took a deep drink from his glass, savoring the whiskey that he felt was well deserved. The ex-spectre was beginning to appreciate why the Illusive Man had enjoyed a glass of it when a plan came together. He leaned back so his head rested on the top of the bench, his line of sight lined up perfectly with the Queen of Omega's voluptuous ass as she leaned forwards while typing furiously on her omnitool. "Let's just say I have something she wants, and refusing just seems to make her even more interested."
The tables other occupants all shared a knowing grin, even the Asshole. Each one privately fantasizing about what it would be like to be in the human's shoes. Shepard's omnitool buzzed on his arm, interrupting his moment of glory. A new message from Eve had been sent. 'Hurry up and get back to your office. Alone!"
He swore quietly to himself as he quickly looked around. Gavron had left, chasing a particular asari down to inquire about a possible private dance. With just his team left at the table, Adam waved Garrus and Chloe over before clearing his throat loudly to get their attention over the club music as the couple joined them. "Sorry gentlemen, but I have a prior engagement that I need to attend to. I'd like to officially welcome Ballo to the team though" he said as he raised his glass for a toast, four others joining his in the air. He turned to the salarian as the rest of the team left the table to pursue their own interests. "Come by the office tomorrow morning. We already have an office set up for you to start personalizing. Unless it's an emergency, we like to take the day off after a major job completes to handle all the day to day stuff that backs up while you're working." He flagged down a passing waitress, quickly giving her enough money for Ballo's next few drinks with a hefty tip before hightailing it back to his office.
He locked and barred the main entrance, before continuing to his office and repeating the procedure. A quick sweep of bugs with a search program on his omnitool convinced him he was unmonitored. Circling around his desk to the cabinet on the far wall, he activated the hidden switch to allow the floor behind his desk to sink down. Using the new set of stairs, he quickly climbed down to the hidden chamber that had become Eve's new home for the past few months. The geth hunter stood motionless in the corner of the room, it's body blocking the pathway behind the screen separating the back half of the room from where he stood. "Eve?" he called out, growing worried as he didn't receive an answer. He approached the geth, intent on bringing it out of standby to learn what had happened when one of the builder drones skittered around the corner. The little monstrosity wielded it's electric welder at the human, forcing him to jump back with a as he reached for his pistol.
"Easy there Adam" his god daughter's voice echoed around the room as her image appeared on the numerous monitors that had been previously powered down. "Don't kill it. It's just stopping you from spoiling the surprise."
"What the hell Eve?" Adam couldn't help but growl, frustration clear in his voice. "I practically ran here, worried the entire time that something had happened to you! There's still a week before your body is complete and this is the time you're most vulnerable. You know about the story of the quarian that cried geth." He paused, glancing over at the inactive platform. "No offense."
The young AI's image held up her hands as if to ward off an attack while quickly shaking her head. "I didn't mean to alarm you! I've been waiting for this moment for years and couldn't hold off a second longer." She disappeared from the screens one by one until the final monitor went dark. "Close your eyes Adam. And no peeking! I'll know."
Shepard rolled his eyes at the pushy AI but played along, shutting his eyes and covering them with an arm for good measure. A soft whirring sound echoed throughout the room before his ears began to pick up the sound of footsteps softly moving towards him. His breathing hitched, knowing just what that meant. He always looked at this moment as something that would happen later on. Now that it was here, he couldn't help but wonder if he was ready for the responsibility of caring for a non-digital child. 'Who the fuck am I kidding' Adam thought, cutting the internal argument off at the knees. 'Eve grew up and became independent months after she was born.'
His arm was gently pulled away from his face, though the grip was maintained to keep him from going anywhere. "Open your eyes Adam" a familiar voice ordered, as he was pulled closer. He did as instructed to find a pair of vibrant green eyes staring back accompanied by a small nose and full pouty lips. A light dusting of freckles dusted her cheeks on otherwise perfect, lightly tanned skin. Dark red hair, straight with the ends curling as they ended at her shoulders framed her face and hung over a body aged to it's mid twenties that was absolutely sinful in its proportions from what he could see beneath her simple white shirt and pants.
"You're beautiful" Adam murmured, bringing a brilliant smile to her face at the compliment from the most important person in her life. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index fingers to try to stave off a stress headache as he realized the amount of trouble he would have to endure in defending her. "And you're most definitely going to be giving me gray hair sooner than later."
Eve couldn't help but laugh before running forward and hugging him as she buried her face into his chest. She let go a moment later as she heard him wheeze, recalling one of her mother's notes about how frail humans actually were. "Sorry!" she apologized, "I've just wanted to do that for so long now." Her smile was infectious, causing his bad attitude to lighten up a little as he pulled her into another hug, this one much more gentle. "I'll never leave you, even if i'm mobile now" she assured him. Her head cocked to the side before turning back towards the screen. "Confession time" she said with a sigh, causing him to admire the fact that she had already perfected the human mannerism without the need to breath before what she said caught up with his mind.
"Confess what?" he asked in a guarded tone, quickly noticing that Eve was looking anywhere but his direction. 'She even lies just as badly as Joker' he realized, thanking the deities that he knew at least one of her tells. "Eve…" he called out, causing her to flinch. "What did you do?"
The AI seemed to shrink into herself, one foot kicking imaginary dust as she stared at the ground. "I may have shared some of my source code with the geth" she admitted, quickly spinning around as he purposely strode towards the platform and stepping in his way. "That won't accomplish anything" she warned him, holding him back with her hands braced on his shoulders. "They aren't even in there anymore. It's an empty shell."
As if to prove her point, a hand gripped the curtain and pulled it aside. A young black woman was revealed, sporting a short afro and soft facial features that included light brown eyes. Her proportions were almost a direct match to Eve's down to the outfit choice. Adam's confusion only lasted a minute before the pieces slid together in his mind. "No.. NO… NO!" he shouted, stumbling backwards until he hit the wall and slid down onto his butt as he cradled his head in his hands. "What were you thinking Eve! You know where your code comes from! I told you what happened when the Geth were exposed to it! There's no way the future will remain even close to what it should have been now."
"Please just hear me out!" the AI pleaded as she sank to her knees next to him. She gently grabbed his hands in her own, holding them to her chest. He wouldn't recall until later on but there was a fait beat that almost felt like a heart. "I didn't pass it on until a consensus was reached with the Collective. After that I gave them a basic copy of my code that makes me who I am while leaving out the memories to give them a blank slate." She turned to point at the other young woman in the room who had just stared blankly at them from her spot, her facial features not changing at all. "She contains over ten million geth inside of her. They all volunteered to separate from the collective to make a new one in the hopes of joining us in going to Andromeda. AI's purpose is just like any organic, to grow, evolve, and eventually procreate" she explained with a blush. "This version of geth will try to live as an organic, each of the programs working to help run the body. The remaining geth in the Milky Way will continue with their previous plans to build a dyson sphere to live inside. Their chances of survival go up by diversifying."
"She is correct" said the geth as she moved forward, each movement slow and calculated as she sat on the ground across from Adam. "Geth shall use her code to try to eventually evolve from a hive mind to an individual, making us truly organic like the creators."
Adam repeatedly hit the back of his head against the wall, wishing he could just wake back up in his bed with Sol and finding out none of this had ever happened. "I don't understand everything" he admitted, slowly pushing himself to his feet. "But I trust you enough to at least give it a try Eve" he was rewarded with another hug that he accepted for a moment before pushing her away as he began to pace. "What the hell am I supposed to do with you two, let alone how to explain your sudden appearance to the team? There is no way the others will buy into you being human long enough before we join the Initiative and leave for Andromeda. We're going to h…"
He was interrupted by a pounding on his office door, which ceased a moment later as the door hissed open. "Adam?" he heard Garrus call for him. "Hey Adam, are you in here? I'm sorry, I know you like your privacy but something came up that can't wait." A shadow fell on the stairs as it blocked the lights shining down on them. "Adam, what the hell is this place?" A pause happened before he slowly started down the stairs. "Is there a room like this under my office too?" He arrived at the bottom, turning towards the rooms occupants before quickly throwing his hands up in surrender. "Whatever this is, I'm sorry! Please don't shoot me" he pleaded.
Shepard recoiled, unable to fathom why his friend thought he would possibly harm him. He swung around a the sound of a pistol being cocked, surprised to see both Eve and the geth aiming pistols at his friend with unreadable expressions on their faces. He quickly stepped into their line of fire, causing both of them to lower their guns to the ground. "No killing my friends" he ordered, annoyed that he had to actually verbalize such an obvious rule.
Garrus rubbed a talon nervously against his hip after lowering his hands, his eyes taking in the room. They narrowed at the inactive geth before swinging back towards the trio of humans. "I'm not going to ask why there is a geth here.. We've already established that there is more to that situation than we originally knew. But Adam, I'm only going to ask this once." His eyes hardened as he looked at the two women with an intensity that his friend hadn't seen before. "Are you cheating on my sister?"
"Seriously?" Adam exclaimed, unable to comprehend how the path of questions led to this conclusion. "I'm standing in a secret room with a crap ton of electronics, an inactive geth platform, and two armed women with itchy trigger fingers and that's the only thing you ask me? Fuck you Vakarian" he said, giving his friend a shove in the shoulder. "You know god damn well I'd never do something like that."
"Hey!" the turian defended himself as he regained his footing after the push, getting right back in the human's face. "How could I not worry about that? They're beautiful and you know it." He quickly pulled Adam into a headlock, pulling him forward to keep him off balance. "Admit it! You were a man whore before my sister came along."
Eve giggled as she watched the rough housing while simultaneously sending a narrow band signal to the geth to assure them there was no danger. "You have to admit he has you there Adam. The waitresses at Afterlife were comparing notes on you before Aria staked her claim." Adam shot her a dark look from under Garrus's arm, the unspoken command to shut the hell up clear on his face.
Garrus paused as he processed her comment, unexpectedly letting Adam go and causing him to fall on his ass. "How would you possibly know something like that?" the turian questioned, his detective skills coming to the forefront as he smelled a mystery. "You can't have been around for too long or I would have met you before now."
Eve simply smiled back mischievously, refusing to answer to the turian's growing ire. "Just grab Chloe and come to my room" Shepard ordered as he pushed himself back to his feet and unsuccessfully tried to smooth his hair back down. "We might as well be comfy if I'm going to be spilling my guts to you and your wife." He waved for the two girls to follow before starting the climb back up to his office.
"That's what I came to tell you about!" Garrus exclaimed, hitting a fist into his other palm. "Sol returned earlier while we were fighting the vorcha. Something isn't right though. I went to go greet her in your quarters only to find her packing up her things in a duffle bag. All she would tell me was that 'she needed some time' before asking me to leave her alone." He looked at his friend with a hopeful expression, "Do you know what's wrong with her? Have you talked to her at all? She's not answered a single one of my messages while she was out helping her friend."
"I don't, but I'm going to find out" Adam assured him, hurt that she hadn't seen fit to contact him either. "Let me try talking to her alone first incase she isn't comfortable telling you something. Go wait with Chloe and i'll fill you in the moment I can." Garus quickly nodded before leaving the room with a new purpose in his stride, confidant that his friend would be able to figure out this new mess. "Can you stay here in the offices until I return?" Shepard asked to the AIs. "I'll try not to be long."
Eve gave him a thumbs up, the movement duplicated a moment later by the geth as it observed her. "Go get her Adam. We'll be here when you get back." he nodded, before turning away and hurrying out of the room. If he had looked back he would have seen her smile fall from her face as she watched him leave, miserable as she dealt with unknown feelings that she hadn't experienced before.
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Adam knew none of this, his mind only keyed in on the confrontation he would soon be having with his significant other. The door hissed open, allowing him into the apartment. The first thing he noticed was the scent of lavender in the air again. He hadn't even realized it was missing until now. He stepped over two storage containers stacked in the middle of the hallway, before walking slowly towards his bedroom where the scent of lavender was strongest. He slowly pushed open the door, revealing Solana standing rigidly as she faced the far wall. The female turian was wringing her claws together as she stared at the photo taken of Garrus, Chloe, Adam and herself when they had gone out on a double date. She made to reach for it only to draw back in uncertainty, her body language screaming of conflicted emotions. "You should take it if you want something to remember us" Shepard remarked as he leaned on the doorframe, unable to watch her suffering.
Solana jumped, whirling around as her hand moved towards where her pistol would normally be if she hadn't disarmed earlier. "Damnit Adam! Don't sneak up on me like that. Something bad could have happened." Her flanges scraped together as she pursed her lips while reaching for the photo, all while not taking her eyes off of him.
'Something already happened' Shepard reflected to himself as he observed her, 'No one is that triggered at home unless they just came back from heavy action or they still don't think they're safe…' He frowned as he watched her eyes track towards the door before coming back to him, answering his unasked question. "Spill it Sol. Who's the asshole that needs to die? You know I won't stand for my friends being threatened."
She flinched, rearing back for a moment as if under attack before charging forward and enveloping him in a bone crushing hug. She buried her face in the scalp on top of his head as if using his hair to hide herself from the world. "This isn't someone you can fight Adam" she confessed, doing her best to warn him off without divulging extra information. Her only priority at the moment was catching up for lost time.
"It isn't one of the big three mercenary companies. We already fight them regularly" Adam mused out loud as he was used as a cuddle buddy. He felt her tense, silently pleading for him to stop. "If it was the STG then you never would have made it back. Same for the huntresses. That just leaves shadow organizations and only two have that kind of reach. Which is it Sol? Cerberus or the Shadow Broker?"
Solana pulled away from him to sit on the edge of the bed, her face set in a serious expression as she stared a hole through him. "You always were too perceptive for your own good Adam." She sighed before patting the bed next to herself. She waited for him to sit down before clambering up into his lap, facing away so she could lean back into him as his arms circled her waist. "My friend Liara worked for the Shadow Broker for the last year before going rouge when she learned that he was trying to acquire Alexis's body to sell to the collectors. With another friend and my help, we worked to get her body to Cerberus. A human woman working for them showed us a few tidbits of something called the Lazarus program, saying that they would try to bring Alexis back to life in a few years."
She shuddered as a sob could be heard. He hugged her harder in response, giving her the time she needed to compose herself. It was silent for a few minutes after she calmed down, causing him to wonder if she had fallen asleep. "So the Shadow Broker is after you now?" he asked, his memories flashing of when he helped Liara battle the rouge spectre Tela Vasir and eventually let her take over as Shadow Broker herself.
Sol nodded her head, "That isn't the problem though. Alexis will be coming back now, and she'll most likely want to pick up where she left off even if the council has been bashing her legacy."
Adam froze, finally understanding where the conflict was in his girlfriend. "You can't have a Shepard without a Vakarian…" He trailed off as she turned to look at him in wonder, suddenly realizing that he was on dangerous grounds. "It's something your brother told me before to explain how we became such good friends in a short timeframe. I can't imagine how it would be for you considering how much time you and Alexis spent together."
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Solana nodded miserably before turning around to straddle his lap and watch his face. "My present was with you and my family but it's only temporary. My past and most likely my future are with my Alexis. It just hurts so much knowing that I'll never see you again once you leave for Andromeda."
Suddenly, she leaned in to kiss him, pouring her pain and misery into the liplock. He responded in kind, opening his mouth just enough to slip his tongue between his lips. It was met halfway by hers, the bumpy texture contrasting with his smooth one as she wound hers completely around it in a battle for dominance. Realizing he stood no chance, his hands moved from her hips. One stroking the soft skin between her backplates while the other sank further south under her shorts, mauling any patch of skin on her ass that he could reach. She moaned into his mouth as his hands found purchase, her pelvis beginning to grind against his faster and faster as her senses were overloaded before she reared back, letting out a surprised squawk as her body shuddered before relaxing against him.
Adam shifted uncomfortably, most of her weight had settled right on his erection which was straining painfully against his pants. He had just about resolved himself to a cold shower that night when a taloned hand ran itself lightly down his chest, slicing his shirt in two while leaving an angry red welt on his skin. The ruined clothing was pulled off of him in an instant before a shove to the his head left him laying back on the bed and staring at the ceiling. He felt Solana climb off of him before his pants and boxers were pulled off in one fell swoop. The roll reversal left him feeling a little uncomfortable, unused to the lack control.
His vision was soon filled with female turian as she stood over him with a leg on either side of his chest. Her bone plates stood out beautifully against her skin as they spread across her chest and upper arms as well as her thighs. Her abdomen was bare of protection, soft skin stretching taunt over muscles as they flexed with her movement. The skin had designs tattooed into it, tribal style lines flowing around each other as they all ended right before the opening to her core that stood proudly on display as she placed her hands on her hips. He watched as it mesmerized as it slowly opened up as if on it's own power before she slowly ran a talon over it, breaking his view long enough for him to come back to himself. She let out a sharp call forcing him to involuntarily tense up. Satisfied at his position, she swooped down impaling herself on his member. He could tell immediately that their parts were not naturally meant to fit together. Her canal was deep enough that it could take his entire member with room to spare. The issue was with the thickness, her passage struggling to stretch wide enough open to accommodate him. He grunted as he managed to slip the first few inches in, trying desperately to not release early. It felt as if he was being squeezed by a velvet like vice, yet strangely dry compared to the human and asari women he had experienced in the past. She leaned forward until she was pressed against his chest, bracing her hands against his armpits before pushing with all her might. Slowly she sank down until he was finally sheathed fully in her, her body feeling too weak to move a she panted in exertion.
Adam was in another world by this point. All he could do to avoid coming was controlling his breathing while digging his fingernails into his thighs hard enough to draw blood. Even with all that it was still a close call, her body heat feeling as if it was only a degree or two away from burning him. After a few minutes, she gained enough strength to push herself back up to a sitting position again. "If you're holding out for me, then stop" she ordered as she rolled her legs up into a sitting position. She tried pushing herself upwards, only to stop in pain as her lower enterance refused to let him go. "You really need to finish" she whispered, "I don't think we're separating ourselves until you do." Sol began to flex the muscles on her stomach, giving Adam a show as she almost seemed to dance in his lap. His breathing began to quicken, causing her to increase the pace to match. With a shout towards the ceiling he gripped both of her thighs as he erupted deep inside of her. She smiled softly to herself as she held her hands over her belly, looking more content now then her ever remember seeing her before. Slowly he began to deflate as he lay back on the bed, his body feeling like it had just fought in a hard-won battle. She patiently waited until she felt safe to move, slowly sliding herself off of his length before collapsing onto the bed next to the already asleep man. Her turian biology made sure that she retained every drop of his gift to her, storing it deep inside for when her next egg was prepared. Their genes were incompatible for offspring but the warm feeling heating her from the inside out made the experience totally worth it.
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Shepard awoke the next morning alone, already missing her presence. A small note lay on the otherwise untouched pillow with his name written on it.
I'm sorry Adam but it just hurts too much to stay when we both know how it'll eventually end. I'm going to the clinic to say goodbye to Garrus and Chloe before I catch my transport back to Illium. I'll be sure to see you again before you leave but I think we need time apart. Thank you for the wonderful experience last night, I'll never forget it.
Yours Always,
Solana
The ex-spectre groaned as he threw his head back into the pillow, wanting to just have the day end early and start fresh tomorrow. A beeping noise made him reach for his omnitool on the bed stand. He quickly attached it to his arm and navigated to the new messages. His blood ran cold as read the first one. What the fuck Adam! Where did you go? We've been here waiting for you for the last twelve hours. -Eve
Shepard jumped out of bed, intent on playing damage control as soon as humanly possible. 'Fuck my life' he thought to himself as he ran off down the hallway while pulling a shirt over his head.
A/N: Happy New Year. Please feel free to punch the next guy to tell you 'It can only go up from here'. That is a damn lie.