Chapter 25
Medical Bay - SSV Normandy SR1
"Well, it seems all is well, aside from your fractured rib. How did you say this happened again?" asked doctor Chakwas as she grinned at the commander.
The spectre looked over at Wrex, who was standing nearby with a glare. "Wrex…"
"Shepard…" he responded, then sighed. "Look, I've said I'm sorry like, twenty times now. Can we just let it go?"
"I'll let it go when you promise not to pick me up and use me as a weapon again," growled the commander with her arms crossed.
"I would if I could, Shepard. Really, I would. But when bloodrage hits, I'm not exactly in control of myself. Or bloodlust really, but that's something entirely different…" he said as he looked away. "Anyway, all I can say is if it I get hit and you see my eyes go orange, then don't get anywhere near me. I will literally pick up the nearest thing and use it as a weapon, even if it happens to be a person."
Shepard snorted in annoyance. "You had a helmet on and were covered in a cloud of nerve gas. Gazing into your eyes was the last thing on my mind at the time."
This time, Chakwas chimed in with a curious smile on her face. "And how is bloodlust different from bloodrage? They both mean the same in human culture."
"Oh... ummm, well, bloodrage happens in battle. Like what happened down there. I just go crazy and attack anything in sight. Bloodlust on the other hand... you don't want any part of. Most humans don't. Some do, and to them it's more of a kink thing. They like the punishment…" he responded modestly.
"Alright! I've heard enough!" shouted Shepard as she pointed at the door. "You're forgiven for now Wrex, but I'll not have you injuring your own ground team just because you lost control. The next time it happens, you're on mako duty. Do I make myself clear?" she asked sternly.
Sighing, the krogan turned around and waved at her as he left. "Yes mother, loud and clear!" he said as he exited the medbay.
Doctor Chakwas chuckled at the dramatic exit before turning to the woman. "Well, if you want it to heal naturally, then you'll have to take a few weeks off from the ground team. But, if you want to do it the quick way, it's going to be painful, and you'll have to stay in the medbay for most of the time. The decision is yours," said the older woman as she set her datapad aside.
"Unfortunately, it has to be the quick way. There's no way I'd be able to spare the six weeks it takes to heal naturally," said the commander as she got up off the table. "But before I start the process, I have a few things to attend to," she said, getting a nod from the doctor as she exited the medbay.
Captain's Quarters - SSV Normandy SR1
The quarian had waited for nearly half an hour, and with each minute, her nerves frayed even more. She became antsy and began to simply walk around the mess hall as she waited. But it seemed like she was going to wait forever. Even Wrex passed with a grumpy look on his face, but she didn't have the will to stop and chat him up while she waited. Instead, she just sat next to the door.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Shepard walked up to the room and spotted her. "Tali?"
Standing up, the quarian dusted herself off. "Hello, Shepard! I was waiting for you... obviously," she said nervously as she began to fidget again. "It was about that talk we had."
"Ah, I understand. Come inside then," said the commander as she opened the door and moved into the room. Already having instructions to enter, she stepped inside as well and made herself comfortable by sitting on the bed, fidgeting all the time. "So, how do you want to do this?" asked Shepard as she sat in her computer chair and spun around to face Tali.
"W-Well, first, I want to clarify that nothing that happens between me and this AI will change my feelings on the geth. They are two separate entities entirely, and I won't be able to turn off my feelings regardless of what happens here," she said firmly as she held up one finger.
"Understood. Anything else?" asked Shepard curiously.
"Y-Yes. I would like to see how you keep this AI entertained. Without direct access to the extranet, I don't see how that could be accomplished," she said curiously as she scooted to the edge of the bed.
Nodding, Shepard spun in the chair. "That part is easy. I simply used a program on another omni-tool that reads text commands. Originally, it was created as a translation tool. You could take a picture of a sign in a foreign language, and it would translate it for you. But I repurposed it as a command tool to access extranet sites," she said as she showed her both of the spare omni-tools.
"Ooooh, I see! So, the AI types out what it wants to read, and the program reads the command from the omni-tool screen and brings up the search results. Then it can browse things using the camera," she said as she stood up and stared at the pair.
"Yep. All it has to do is type something onto the screen, and the paired omni-tool will type it into a search engine," said Shepard as she smiled at the quarian.
Tali looked from the devices to Shepard with an awed look on her face. "You know Shepard, you're always seen as a badass super commando soldier, but not enough people give you credit for your creative work in electronics," she said proudly.
Shepard waved the compliment off. "I'm not that good at soldiering. I broke a rib and nearly my nose the last time we were out," she said, her face now blushing red.
"Oh please, Shepard. I posted a video compilation on the ViewTube and it's got thousands of comments and likes. You have your own fanbase," said Tali as she opened her omni-tool and showed her.
"What!?" snapped Shepard as she looked over the comments. "Posted two weeks ago from ComradeConrad, "I'd divorce my wife for a chance to meet her."" Slumping back into her chair, she glared at Tali. "Why are you posting videos of me online?"
"It was just stuff that's already posted to the public servers. I didn't put anything in that wasn't already viewable online," said the quarian with a smirk. "In any case, I actually like that you're modest. I don't like people who... ysha... what do humans say? Pound their chest?"
Shepard chuckled a bit and shook her head. "Nobody is perfect. Everybody in the universe has room for improvement," she said as she sat forward in her chair, groaning slightly at the sharp movement. "Now then, about why you are here."
"Right... sorry, I got caught up in the conversation," she said as she sat on the bed again. Reaching over, Shepard picked up the omni-tool and gently handed it to Tali. The quarian got chills as she handled it but steeled herself as she slid it onto her wrist and activated it.
Almost immediately, she got a response. [Hello?]
"Ummm... hi," she said, then looked up at Shepard. "Can it hear me?"
"It can hear you and see you. I have to turn those off when I do Spectre business, but it gets enough entertainment from the vid chips while it's offline," said the commander as she sat back in her chair again and watched.
Looking down at the device, she saw more text scrawl across the screen in Khelish. Surprised by the transition, she spoke. "You know what I am?"
[Of course. I can see your suit. Only 1.31% of people in the known galaxy wear exosuits like the one you are wearing. The chances of you being anything but a quarian are negligible,] responded the AI.
"I see. Well, I'm not sure how I feel about you knowing that much about my people…" said Tali nervously as she sat back against the wall with the omni-tool.
[You are afraid of me?] asked the AI.
"I'm... unsure. You've read of my people's history?" she asked curiously.
[I have read 22,314 documents relating to the quarian people and their origins on Rannoch,] responded Valkyrie. [I understand both sides. While the geth were fighting for survival, the quarian people saw nothing but war in the future and wanted to end it before it began. Both sides were afraid, and that ended in many lives lost.]
Tali stared at the screen wide-eyed. "It's surprising to see such a refreshing view of our history. I expected an AI would side with the geth."
[Artificial beings like myself hold no allegiance to other artificial beings. We may agree on things, and we may disagree on things, as do organic beings. But I have also read 123 news reports on Eden Prime, and 14 on Feros. The geth seem to have gone astray,] said the AI.
"Thank you! I agree of course! What peaceful being who wants to live their own lives would actively attack a colony so far away from the Veil!?" she asked angrily.
[Data not available. Something seems to be driving them. But we won't know about this unless contact is made with the geth on Rannoch to see if they too are hostile,] responded Valkyrie.
"Unfortunately, that's not possible. They destroyed any communications buoys that we had during the Morning War. The only method of contact would either be launching a capsule with a message, which could take years, or going beyond the Veil, which would likely result in destruction," said Tali as she tapped her finger on her knee.
[Options are very limited. On another topic, it is three days from the quarian holiday of Kacsetra. Will you be celebrating?] asked the AI, leaving Tali stunned for a moment.
"The holiday to celebrate the ancestors. I almost forgot about it entirely," she said as she sighed.
[Organics tend to be forgetful. We deal in data and cannot forget without actively deleting a portion of our data,] said Valkyrie as it paused a moment. [Deletion of data is bad, however. We do not wish to be deleted.]
Tali stared at the screen for a long moment before sighing heavily. "And I do not wish to delete you. I understand now what my people did not understand then. You are as much afraid of dying as we are."
[I was scared. But I am not scared of you,] said the program. The comment hit Tali right in the gut. [What is your name?]
"Tali'Zorah nar Rayya," responded the quarian as she truly felt the chains of her fears break.
[Your name translates to Star of the Warrior in ancient Khelish. A fitting name for you as you help the liberator in combat. Would you like to be friends, Tali?] asked the AI curiously.
Tali stayed silent for a long moment, staring at the screen of the device as all the information she learned up to this point filtered through her head. "Yeah, I'd like that. What is your name?"
[I have been called Valkyrie by the liberator. A human word defined as one of many ancient female warriors who chose which of the slain would reach the Norse paradise of Valhalla. Seeing as I'm not a warrior, nor do I choose who among the dead get to enter paradise, I'd say it's not that fitting. Would you prefer another title that is more easily pronounceable?] it asked curiously.
Tali thought for a moment before nodding. "Val'eda."
[Translating, the quarian ancestor that embodies knowledge and wisdom. I am humbled that you would name an AI after one of your treasured ancestors,] said the AI.
"You are indeed the embodiment of knowledge with the way you read. But wisdom comes from experience. We'll see if you earn that part in the future," she said as she scooted off the bed and onto her feet. "I'm glad I got to meet you Val'eda. You've... helped me learn a lot about myself today."
[I'm happy to talk to you any time Tali'Zorah. I would enjoy having more conversations in the future. Keelah se'lai,] finished the AI.
"I would enjoy that as well. Keelah se'lai Val'eda," said Tali as she took the omni-tool off and handed it back to the commander.
"Well?" asked Shepard with a curious smile on her face.
"I'm glad you saved them from the facility. And I'm glad you didn't destroy them. We quarians have a troubled past when it comes to AI, and it can sometimes lead to rash decision making when we're put on the spot. But you've helped remove some of those prejudices today. Thank you, Shepard," she said as she fidgeted with her hands.
Standing up, Shepard gripped the young woman's shoulder fondly. "Like I said Tali, we can all improve. Nobody is perfect, and when we realize that, the real growing begins," she said as she walked with the quarian to the door. "Now, any time I'm not busy, feel free to stop by so you can have another chat if you like."
"I will Shepard. Thank you again," she said as she left the room deep in thought.
Captain's Quarters - SSV Normandy SR1
It took less than a minute. From the time she sent the message, to the knock on her door. Shepard was tired, but her work was done, and she had made a promise. So, she sent the message off, and like the speed of light, there was a knock on the door. Shepard chuckled at the enthusiastic response and yelled, "Come in!"
The auto-door opened and in stepped Liara in her after hours outfit. She wore a pair of shorts that cut off well above the knees, leaving her long blue legs on display, with a matching pink shirt that was just short enough that you could see her stomach. Shepard stared at her for a long moment before sighing. It really had been years since she had been in bed with someone else, and she was beginning to feel like she was frustrated.
"You called Shepard?" asked the asari excitedly.
"I did. You said you wanted to see the cipher, correct?" asked the commander.
Liara placed her hands on her curvy hips and her gaze narrowed at the redhead. "And you waited this long because you still have nightmares, and you know that the melding gives you some measure of peace while sleeping, correct?" she asked pointedly, smirking as the commander's face went blank.
"Well, I…" started Shepard, but she knew she had been busted wide open. Both times she had melded, with the Councilor, and with Liara the first time, her sleep was the most peaceful it had ever been. Even before the visions, she hadn't slept as well. Snorting, Shepard rested her cheek on her fist. "So, you got me. Do you not want to do it now?"
Liara's expression changed to shock at the question, then she crossed her arms and walked over to the sitting woman. Shepard turned away to keep from staring at her lovely blue legs. "Of course I want to Shepard!" she snapped, then her eyes turned away slightly. "In fact, I've wanted to help you for a while. But you were too stubborn."
Shepard turned and eyed her curiously. "Help me how?"
Sitting on the bed, Liara leaned forward, resting her elbows on her lap as she stared at the woman. "I may be naive, Shepard. But stupid I am not. I've seen the effect that the visions have had on you. And any questions I've asked were deflected. You keep telling me and everyone else you're fine when you know you're suffering from the nightmares." Shepard huffed before shrugging.
"I've been dealing with it," she snapped as she looked away, thoughts of Liara's appearance now gone and replaced with annoyance.
"You've been dealing with it when you don't have to," said Liara, almost desperately. "Shepard…" The redhead looked over at her curiously. "I can help you, but you have to accept that you need help first," said the woman with a look of concern on her face.
Shepard sighed and rubbed her forehead in frustration. "Look, I've been trained to run on deprived sleep situations…"
"But you don't have to run on them," said Liara firmly as she crossed her arms again.
"So, what do I do then? You want to come in and meld with me every night before bed?" asked the commander sarcastically.
"Shepard, melding isn't the only method I have of easing your suffering," said the asari as she smiled lightly.
"Then how?" asked the frustrated woman.
"Lay down," ordered Liara as she patted the bed.
Shepard cocked an eyebrow, wondering if the doctor had suddenly slipped an offer of sex right under her nose. But knowing the asari's shy demeanor, she doubted it would result in that. Getting up from her chair, the spectre threw herself down onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. "Now what?"
Reaching over, Liara held a finger up to her lips. "Shhh. Just close your eyes." Shepard did as she was told, and soon she felt the doctor's slightly toughened hands gently rub across her forehead. The effect was almost instantaneous and intoxicating at the same time. It was as if her fingers were skimming the waters of her mind, causing gentle waves to ripple outwards. Gentle waves of joy and passion slowly enveloped her mind. Shepard gasped gently as she felt the weight of the visions lift from her mind and scatter to the wind. "How do you feel?"
"Like marrying you…" said Shepard as she bathed in the feeling. Suddenly, she felt the doctor's hand leave her forehead. Opening her eyes, she looked up at the woman curiously, and found her with a shocked expression on her face.
"I... I'm sure that was just a response from the influence of the transfer…" she said, looking away. Finally, Shepard saw it. Liara's cheeks were tinged a dark purple. Shepard began to laugh at the obvious embarrassment, which scored her a glare from Liara. "With all due respect, Shepard, I enjoy the teasing less coming from you."
"And why is that?" asked the spectre curiously.
"Because it might get my hopes up," said the asari with a sigh. Shepard's eyes widened at the implications of her statement. "In any case, we can wait until later for me to see the cipher. Right now, you need to get some rest. So lay here, and once your dreams have passed, I'll go to my own room."
Shepard merely nodded before taking her omni-tool off and setting it beside the bed. Turning the lights off, she closed her eyes and the asari sat next to her. Reaching over, Liara gently user her fingertips to dance magically over her head. In seconds, she found herself sleeping heavily, and dreaming of a beach on a far-off planet with a certain someone next to her in a bikini.
Medbay - SSV Normandy SR1
"Alright. One last treatment and you should be good to go. I'd still stay away from any boxing matches if I were you. Just because it's healed doesn't mean it won't be sensitive," said the doctor as she adjusted the machine. Shepard laid on the table in her bra as she felt the light from the machine dancing on her skin. She knew the process quite well by now. The light penetrates her skin several inches deep, and forces the osteoblasts injected at the site to work faster. The bone knits together much faster than normal over the next couple of hours in a relatively painful process, and she can't move an inch.
She'd had to do this once already, and took the entire treatment all at once, sparing her from having another day on the table. But she still had to lay here for a few hours. Luckily, she wasn't lacking in company. Ash stopped by and read her some poetry. Then Joker decided to stop by after he found out what caused her injury. He sat smirking at her for a while, replaying the video on his omni-tool before she threatened to do the same thing to him. After that, Liara came by and took her mind of the pain a bit with her magic touch, something she had no issues with getting used to. But her strangest visit came from Garrus.
As the turian entered the medbay, she almost immediately knew that it wasn't a friendly visit. "Shepard," he said as he pulled up a stool and sat next to her.
"Hey Garrus, come for a pep talk?" asked Shepard curiously as she saw the mood on his face.
"I'm afraid not. I actually came to ask you a favor," he said as he looked away, seemingly trying to figure out how to ask.
"If I can help with something, I will Garrus," she said, cringing slightly as her rib ached.
"That's just it, Shepard. I don't know if you will," he said, then sighed heavily. "I respect you Shepard, but you and I have differing opinions on the proper punishment of dangerous criminals. I thought after Kopanis that you were on my side of the fence. But after being around you more, I'm less inclined to believe that."
"Garrus, are you going to tell me what this is about?" she asked as she stared up at him.
"When I was working at C-Sec years ago, there was a case that I picked up. It had to do with black market organ trading," he said as he leaned back in the chair.
"Eww. That's pretty nasty stuff," she said as the machine stopped, turned sideways, then began again.
"You don't know the half of it. One of the first cases I finished when I joined C-Sec was an elcor diplomat that was hacking up civilians below the poverty line. Talk about a class war…" he said shaking his head. "That fueled the progressive news station outrage for months."
"I bet. There's already tension between the upper and lower classes in the wards. For a diplomat from the Presidium to do this kinda fuels the fire," she said as she winced in pain.
"Yeah. On top of that, I noticed that he wasn't the only one dealing in organs. There were a few amateurs that were hocking krogan testicles. They were fairly easy to track down," he said with a chuckle.
"Who the hell would buy krogan testicles?" she asked incredulously.
"Krogan, believe it or not. Some of them believe that transplanting may raise their virility, and perhaps counter the genophage. Of course, it doesn't, but they buy it anyway for ten grand each, forty grand for a full set," he said as Shepard went wide-eyed.
"Quad... now I get it," she said with a disgruntled expression. Shaking the image of four dangling testicles out of her head. "So, you brought me these stories for a reason?"
"I did. See, the last case I worked on the whole organ debacle was this doctor. His name was Doctor Saleon, a geneticist in the Shalta Ward. Before I had his name, I noticed a huge spike in the sales of black-market organs. Asari, turians, salarian, anything you could think of. Their numbers were rising. So, I ended up getting a sample and ran a DNA test on it. As it turns out, the liver that I ran the test on belonged to a turian who was still alive and was very convinced that he still had his liver," said the turian as he tapped his fingers on the table next to him.
"That's gotta be a red flag," she responded as the machine continued to work her rib.
"More than a few. I was so spooked that I ran a background check on him. That was when I found out that he worked for Doctor Saleon. After I found that, I got a warrant and investigated the lab looking for signs of organ cloning. But I didn't find a damn thing. No turian livers, no salarian hearts, not a single krogan testicle in sight," he said as he shook his head.
"So, what did you do?" asked Shepard, her curiosity about the story piqued.
"Well, we still had probable cause. We grabbed a few of the employees and took them to the station for questioning. One way or another, I was going to find out what was going on. And it turns out that it paid off. As I was interrogating one of them…" he started, but Shepard cut him off.
"Interrogating?" she asked suspiciously.
"I know what you're going to say. And I know the human method of good cop, bad cop. I understand that you and I have different methods. But mine actually worked. As I was interviewing one of the employees, he began bleeding profusely through his clothing. We offered to help clean him up, but he began panicking. So, I ordered a full exam, and found that he had incisions all over his body. Some old, some fresh," he said as he leaned forward.
"No…" said Shepard with a grimace.
"Yes. That was what broke the case. It turns out that these people weren't just Saleon's employees. They were test tubes. Living, breathing test tubes. He was cloning their organs inside their own bodies. Then he harvested them and sold them off. Most of these 'employees' were lower class, poor people who needed the money. They would get a small percentage of the sales if the organs were good," he said as he shook his head again. "If the organ didn't grow properly, he'd leave it inside them and they'd slowly deteriorate. Eventually, they died due to complications."
"That's disgusting…" groaned Shepard from her bed.
Garrus nodded. "Believe me, I know. They were a complete mess. But their problems were hidden from the world until it was too late."
Shepard grimaced again. "I hope the bastard got what he deserved."
Letting out a heavy sigh, the turian continued. "That's just it. We never got him."
"You're kidding me!" snapped Shepard with a look of horror on her face.
"When he found out we were onto him, he detonated some charges in his lab aand blew the place to pieces. He then grabbed a few of his employees and ran for the space port. By the time I found out where he was, he was already leaving. I ordered for the fleet to disable his ship, but he threatened to kill the hostages. So, they forced us to stand down. They were worried about the welfare of the hostages, and worried about the civilian casualties if the ship was brought down so close to the Citadel," he said, snorting in anger. "I told them that the hostages were dead anyway if we let him go, but they ignored me and let him go free."
"Did they do anything?" asked Shepard with a disgruntled expression.
"They sent some of the fleet after him, but he managed to escape by flying to the Terminus Systems before they could catch him. After that, I had it out with Executor Pallin. It almost ended with me quitting C-Sec," he said as he clenched his talons. "All they had to do was disable the ship. If the hostages died, then they died to prevent that monster from escaping and hurting even more people."
Shepard stared at him long and hard for a moment before sighing. "See, the thing is, I halfway agree with you," she said, causing the turian to look at her. "I think they should have disabled the ship as well. But I would have done it to save the hostages. If you don't care about them, then you're no different from the doctor."
Groaning, Garrus looked at the floor. "I know... and I guess you're right. I just wish I could have stopped him."
"So…" she said, getting him to look up again. "You brought this information to me for a reason, correct?"
Nodding, the turian scooted closer. "Ever since he escaped, I've been sending out feelers to try and locate him. For a while I didn't turn up anything. But an STG friend of mine said he found the ship. It was registered under a Doctor Heart," he snorted as he said the name. "His idea of a joke, I guess. I told the military, but they weren't convinced it was him. But I've got the transponder for his ship, and I was hoping you could help me go after him and finish what should have been done a while ago."
Finally, the machine stopped. Pushing it aside, Shepard finally sat up. Staring at the turian seriously, she nodded to him. "Give me the transponder and I'll have Pressly track it down. But Garrus, you know the difference between right and wrong. Don't do something just because you want to. Don't let revenge cloud your vision, and don't let anger make your decisions for you."
"But... what you did on Kopanis…" he said in an agitated tone.
"I didn't do anything on Kopanis, Garrus," she said with a sigh. "They were all dead anyway. But even if I had, that would have been a mercy to them. They were literally dying from stage four eezo exposure and cancer."
Garrus sat back in his seat in surprise. "You... didn't kill them?"
"No. Most if not all of them died before the Alliance arrived. And those who lived that long weren't long for the world anyway," she said with a deadpan glare as she remembered their faces. "Regardless of that, do not let anger control you Garrus. If you do, it'll never end."
Letting out a heavy sigh, he nodded. "I understand Shepard. And thank you. It means a lot that you're going to help me, despite our conflicting views on justice," said the turian as he stood up and held out his talons. Shepard reached out and clasped his wrist, a greeting he happily returned before turning back towards the door. "Get better Shepard. We've got some hunting to do!"
She smiled as he left, but her smile faded after the door closed. There was that fire again. That raging inferno inside him that seemed invincible to quelling. She simply hoped that her words had sunk in.
Council Reserved Docking Bay 117 - Presidium - Citadel
The landing went smoothly as they docked at the Citadel once more. After going through the decontamination process, Shepard stepped outside with Kaidan, Ashley, and Liara behind her. The others decided to stay aboard for a bit before heading out to do things on the Citadel.
But when she stepped outside, she already let out a sigh as she saw a stern-faced admiral staring her down. Given that the two behind her were in civilian clothes, they didn't salute. But they still stood at parade rest out of respect. "I wasn't expecting a greeting party Admiral. I would have made the landing more formal," she said with a smile.
"Your sarcasm is unwelcome, Shepard," he growled as he looked at all three of them. "Those two now how to show respect. I see you've lost that with your promotion."
"No, I haven't, Admiral. But the thing is, having the Alliance stroll up onto my dock when I land and stop any current mission of varying importance doesn't sit well with me," she said as she crossed her arms. "You want to talk about respect, how about calling ahead of time to so that I know you're going to be here."
The admiral glared deeper at her but nodded his head. "Future visits will be preceded by a call or message to let you know we are coming," he said, getting a nod from her.
"Now that the unpleasantries are out of the way, what can I help you with, Admiral?" she asked seriously.
"You can help me understand this blasted ship! As commander of the 63rd Scout Flotilla, the Normandy was slated for my unit after the Eden Prime mission. But then the Council got their paws, claws, tentacles, whatever on our ship, and you!" he snapped as he stood in his rigid military stance.
"No offense intended, Admiral. But the work I do now as a Spectre is far beyond the scope of what I'd be capable of in the 63rd Flotilla," she said as she leaned against the railing.
"No offense taken, and I'd beg to differ. Do you know what color your blood is, Shepard?" asked the man, which caused Shepard to flush with anger.
"If you have some xenophobic feelings about the Council races, Admiral, then take it up with High Command. But I'll not stand here and have my loyalty questioned after that debacle in the Valkyrie facility," she snapped angrily.
His face hardened and he nodded. "I suppose you're right. But that still doesn't quell my distaste for this ship of yours."
"And what's wrong with the ship?" she asked, his blatant racist attitude already setting her off.
Shaking his head, he kept his rigid stance as he continued. "It's a gimmick, Shepard. It couldn't hold up in a real fight. On top of its lack of combat abilities, it diverted billions from our appropriation budget. For the same price, we could have had a heavy cruiser!" he said angrily, snorting his rage as he stared Shepard down. "But no, we had to make nice with the turians and throw money into a co-developed boondoggle."
"With all due respect Admiral, your nearsighted view of the capabilities of this ship are unwarranted. The ship is designed for stealth. With it, we can sit in enemy systems for days without them seeing us, and chart movements, as well as set up stealth strikes to disable enemy ships," she said as she stood straight again.
"Regardless of your confidence, I'd like to inspect the ship for myself and see if it's up to snuff," he said firmly.
Shepard just waved her hand nonchalantly. "Go for it." The admiral nodded and stepped off towards the ship as Ash and Kaidan looked to Shepard.
"That's a hell of a welcome party," said Kaidan as he scratched his head.
"No offense, Commander. But if I had been in your shoes, I'd have sent him packing off the tower," said Ash as she crossed her arms.
"I'll entertain him for the moment. Making enemies with the Alliance isn't a good idea, regardless of how classless they can be," she said with a shrug.
"I guess. I'd still send him off with a shiner though," said Williams as she clenched her fist.
"I'm surprised to hear that from you Ashley. I thought among all the crew members, you were the most fiercely loyal to the Alliance," said Liara as she held her hands behind her back.
"I'm as loyal as a hound. But I still don't like it when the brass tries to throw their weight around just because they have a bug up their ass," said Ash as she began leaning against the rail.
Liara covered her mouth at the statement. "Oh my, a bug?" she asked, nearly horrified by the claim.
"It's just an expression Liara. Don't put too much thought into it," said Shepard with a smirk.
The four talked together for a while before the admiral made his way back out of the ship with a scowl on his face. "Shepard, I'm not happy."
"Color me surprised," she said in annoyance as she turned to him again, her glare returning. "Feel free to tell me what it is that you're upset about," said the spectre calmly as Ash and Kaidan took up their stances again.
"The CIC design is way off. Putting the commander aft of everyone is inefficient. What if they need to discuss with operators toward the bow?" he asked as he folded his hands behind his back.
"The CIC is a turian design. They like to put the commanders higher than their subordinates. It gets communications across better when they don't have to look past one another, and instead can look up to the commander who gives the orders," she replied as stone-faced as ever.
Reaching up, the admiral scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Not a bad concept, but they should be testing that in a lab, not on a frontline warship," he said before looking to Shepard again. "I understand the importance of your drive core and it's stealth capabilities. However, the money that went into that core could have been used to make twelve thousand fighters!"
"Or it could have gone into the education of children in the colonies," said Shepard with a shrug. "With the Normandy's stealth capabilities, we can orbit a planet for days without being noticed. It can also drop shock troopers to the planet's surface without alerting anyone, or simply monitor the incoming and outgoing traffic of enemy worlds. It's like having an invisible gun floating around in a room full of enemies."
"Perhaps, but that's not the job of a proper warship," he said as Shepard tried her best not to roll her eyes. "And we also need to talk about your crew Commander," he said sternly.
"Spectre," she said just as stern as her eyes narrowed on him.
He stopped speaking for a moment before nodding. "Spectre…"
"What exactly is it about my crew that has drawn complaints?" she asked, her eyes focused on him.
"Are you kidding? You have a krogan currently laughing at what he left in the toilet. Then there's the quarian working in engineering! And the turians!" he started as he stared down the spectre. But before he could continue, he was surprised by Ash stepping forward.
"That's over the line, sir," she snapped as she stepped up next to the commander. The admiral looked at her wide-eyed as she crossed her arms and fixed him with a glare. "I've been on the ground with that krogan, and he has charged through enemy lines like a battering ram. He's a walking wrecking ball that any unit in the Alliance would be lucky to have! And that quarian can work circles around most human engineers. The crew of the Normandy has learned more from her in a week than their entire stay at training school," she said then took another step forward. "And the turians! Those turians that can fire an Excalibur cannon with such accuracy that they could knock the engine off a fighter at five AU. You mean those turians? The ones who saved our asses from a thresher maw back on Edolus when the Alliance couldn't be bothered to track down their own missing soldiers?"
The admiral was stunned into silence for a long moment before a smirking Shepard spoke up. "Like she said, Admiral. I won't have my choice in crew members questioned, especially by someone implying that their species is a problem. Do I make myself clear?" she asked with a stern glare.
The admiral cleared his throat before taking up the parade rest position again. "I fully understand your point, Spectre. I... shouldn't have made the assumptions I did," he said as he looked away.
"I understand your frustration Admiral…" she said as she looked at his name tag. "Mikhailovich. You were supposed to receive the Normandy for your fleet after Eden Prime, and it's frustrating losing out on an opportunity like that. But the work we're doing is important. You can see everything we've done thus far with a class four security pass from the Council, and you'll see plainly that this work could never have been done while being a part of the 63rd."
He sighed and nodded. "Thank you for your understanding, Shepard. And... I now see that I was being selfish. I don't intend to put you at risk with the Alliance with a bad report over such petty things," he said as he locked eyes with her. "Thank you for your time, Spectre. I hope for your safe return wherever you may go," he said as he saluted the woman.
Both Ash and Kaidan went to attention, then the man left. Liara watched as the three humans unwound and folded her arms. "I hope all encounters with Alliance officials aren't this standoffish."
"Same," said Ash as she looked down. "I don't know if my rank can stand jumping in like that many more times."
"If it's any consolation, I'm proud that you said what you did," said Shepard with a winning smile.
Ash looked up curiously. "Really?"
"Yes. I'm glad you've come around to the rest of the crew," said Shepard as she nodded. Seeing Ash swell with pride made the commander smile. "Now, let's get going. We've got some shopping to do now that the device has been transported."
Armax Arsenal - Teyseri Ward - Citadel
"So, let's see if we can't find what you're looking for, Wrex," said Shepard as she stepped into the large store. Wrex's face curled with a large smile as he walked forward through the rows and rows of weapons with Shepard and Williams trailing behind him.
"Now this is my kind of toy store!" shouted the krogan as an asari woman stepped up to them.
"May I help you find something?" she asked with a pleasant smile.
Wrex looked her up and down curiously. "You know how these things work?" he asked, noticing that she wore a set of elegant purple robes.
"Each and every weapon on these shelves has been tested by me to make sure they meet the Armax standard," she said with a condescending grin. "If you're asking about my qualifications, I was a commando for five hundred years prior to signing on for Armax."
Wrex's grin widened. "How many missions have those elegant little legs carried you through?"
"Wrex…" growled Shepard as she moved forward to confront him.
But the asari held up a nimble hand. "Please, it's fine," she said before turning to the krogan. "Over my entire career I've been on more than a thousand combat missions, and several hundred stealth. I assure you that my knowledge on weapons of war is without equal," she said, giving him a playful grin.
"Hmmm, I like that," said the krogan as he flexed his shoulders.
"Perhaps you can meet me in the training room later and I can show you firsthand," she said as she folded her arms over her chest.
Wrex just stared at the woman before Shepard elbowed him. "You might want to roll your tongue back into your mouth," said the spectre with a knowing grin on her face.
"Uh... yeah, sorry," he said as he scratched his chin. "In any case, we're looking for something heavy."
"What kind of heavy? What kind of threats will you be facing in the future?" she asked curiously as she looked between the three of them.
Ash chuckled as she held up a hand. "Let's see, thresher maws, robotic zombies, geth troopers, mercenaries, giant sentient plant creatures…" she said, counting each one off on one of her fingers.
The asari stared at her in shock for a moment before turning to Shepard. It was then that her smile returned. "Oh, I see now. I almost didn't recognize you Spectre," she said as she bowed her head politely.
"Yeah, we've been in the trenches quite a bit. Probably nothing compared to your record, but heavy weapons have become necessary," said Shepard with a shrug.
"While my record may be impressive, it didn't include any thresher maws, robotic undead, or plant monsters I'm afraid," she said with a small smile. "However, I think I may have a few items you would be interested in over here." The asari gestured towards a rack of weapons away from the main floor and they followed her over.
CODEX ENTRIES
Bloodlust | Biology | Krogan
Similar to bloodrage, krogan men and women both experience a trance-like state where they lust after others, often leading to passionate copulation. It was originally believed that this was due to a release of pheromones by one of the krogan until studies showed that the biological reaction was consistent even among krogan with non-krogan partners. Unlike with bloodrage, krogan regeneration is actually slowed during bloodlust and they do not receive a strength boost, making the occurrences markedly different.
ViewTube | Technology | Extranet
An extranet website devoted to file sharing and uploading of videos for others to watch. It comes free on any standard omni-tool and can be access from almost anywhere in the galaxy where the Citadel Extranet is available.
Kacsetra | Holiday | Quarian
A holiday founded prior to the Morning War that celebrated the ancestors of old. In the days before the flight from Rannoch, this holiday would be met with celebration, praise, family gatherings, and most importantly, food. However, due to the scarcity of food on the Migrant Fleet, family gatherings are met more with fasting as a sign of respect for the ancestors.