John Shepard, SR-2 Normandy
"Alright people, let's get this rolling," John walked into the conference room, armed and armored as his team. They were professionals, the best at what they did. Even if that involved being a crazy person, he couldn't stop himself from giving Jack a look.
As if she sensed something, the convict's eyes narrowed. "You were just thinking something unpleasant about me, weren't you?"
"Nope," John said quickly. "Wouldn't dream of it. Edi? Map of the Horizon colony, if you please."
"Yes, Commander," Edi answered as a holo of the human colony appeared over the table.
"This, obviously, is the main township for the colony of Horizon. As of 14:30 hours, all communication abruptly ceased. It has all the markings of a Collector attack," John looked around at the team. "I, personally, am looking forward to kicking their buggy asses."
"Yes! We shall crush our foes!" Grunt slammed his fist on the table, shaking it and causing the holo to fuzz out for a moment.
"Grunt, I would appreciate it if you didn't break my conference table," Edi chided. "I would hate for you to wake up with your cargo room accidently vented."
Slowly, almost as one, the entire team looked at the ceiling with varying degrees of horror.
"That was a joke," Edi assured them, unconvincingly.
"Well, then," Garrus cleared his throat. "Now that we have a fully homicidal AI, let's get back to planning Phase Two our suicidal mission."
"Hey, wait for me first!" the door opened, allowing in a small, clearly irritated quarian. Half stomping in, Xera dropped what appeared to be an Alliance marine medic's kit and began working the straps that she had already half set up over her armored enviro-suit.
There was another long pause before Xera looked up at John and gestured for him to continue. In a rather condescending kind of way. It was rather impressive what quarians were able to relate with body language.
"Xera," John frowned. "I appreciate your interest, but you've just gotten released from- OW!"
Cutting him off, Xera kicked John's shin, staggering him slightly, then with a quick grab, she snatched the SMG from his hip and unfolded it. Then, with a quick and practiced gesture, she popped the heatsink, looked into the chamber and reseated it.
"Shepard, I'm short, not weak. I've been locked in a room for the past three weeks. Tali is my massan, and I'll be damned if I let you take her on a mission without me," Xera didn't even look up at him as she refolded the gun and set it on her own hip. "Besides, you don't have a medic. Professor Solus is a brilliant man, but he needs to work on the anti-toxin."
"Xera'Raan is quite correct," Mordin nodded. "I should keep my focus on administering and monitoring the effects of the Collector's seeker swarms, as well as the effects of the toxin. Her medical degrees, and knowledge equals mine in many aspects, and is superior when it comes to direct battlefield work. I daresay, even, that she might be able to keep up with me in a surgical room."
"Aww, thanks Professor!" Xera bounced on her toes.
"Right, so the tiny doctor does sound useful Boss," Garrus held up a hand and added. "Besides, she took your gun."
"Fine, whatever." John could feel his eye twitch slightly as he sighed, defeated. "Jacob, Zaeed, I want you two to move with Professor Solus. Your team should concentrate on administering the anti-toxin and getting civilians out of the lines of fire."
"Sounds good," Zaeed nodded as he traded a fist bump with the Cerberus agent.
"Garrus, I want you, as usual, on overwatch. There is a tower, here," with a click, the holo shifted over what appeared to be a small clocktower. "It should give you a three-sixty arc. Miranda, I need you to watch his backside."
"No problems there, Commander," Miranda nodded. But...there was something in her voice….nah, stress is getting to you Shepard….
"Grunt, Jack, you two are with me. We are going in hot, and killing everything that has more than two eyes," John raised an eyebrow as he looked at his two terror-twins. "Most kills gets first pick on movie night."
"Fuck yeah!" Jack grinned as she made a little fist pump. "You are so going down lizard lips."
"Hey! I know what a lizard is now," Grunt half snarled. "When I destroy you, I shall show you all the great Gorge, as he battled the scantily clad asari commandos in an effort to defeat the evil Matriarch, Corbrana!"
"Well," Jacob cleared his throat, as he glanced over at Jack. "I can honestly say that I hope the crazy woman wins…"
"Here, here." "Spirits, please." "Sweet mercy, yes."
"Bah…" Grunt spat as he dropped roughly in to his chair and crossed his arms. "None of you understand the great warriors. Not Like Shepard and me."
"Anyway," John wrapped his knuckles on the table, gathering the group's attention back on himself. "Tali and Xera are with me, in case we need tech work, Or...I guess, medical."
"Shepard," Miranda leaned a hand on the table as she smirked at him. "Stop being an ass. We all know that Xera is a good soldier."
With another dark frown, John shook his head, as if to clear it. "Yeah, no, you're right. Sorry, I have a personal stake in this mission. Garrus, Ash is on the planet."
"Ashley?" Garrus looked taken aback. "Well, hell, we could certainly use her on this mission."
"Commander," Edi cut in as the image of a grinning asari girl in Alliance marine uniform took shape over the table. "I think it is relevant for the team to be aware that your sister is also on planet."
John let his head drop as he sighed deeply. "Thanks...Edi," he grunted.
Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, SR-2 Normandy, Cargo Deck
"John…" Tali swallowed, feeling so trepidation. "Do we need to go in this thing."
"Hey…" John frowned slightly as he shifter her slightly to the side. "You're really nervous. Don't worry though. I've looked the Hammerhead over and it's in good shape. It's a bit weak in the armor, but it's faster than the Mako, so we'll be fine!"
Unable to say more, Tali just stared at him. He looked so...excited. She could fully tell now how much fun he thought driving was. And she could tell how oblivious he was to how poorly he did. She just couldn't bring herself to tell him.
"It's going to be a bit of a squeeze with thunder thighs," Jack jerked a thumb over her shoulder at Grunt. "Us girls are all skinny, and we could probably fit Xera into the glove box, but still…"
"Hey!" Xera put her hands on her hips as she eyed the tattooed woman. "Keep talking like that and I'll make hate to you."
"Right, threaten me with a good time," Jack smirked.
Well...that's awkward…, Tali placed a hand over her visor for a moment. I could have lived the rest of my life without that particular mental image.
"It'll be fine!" John called from the front the vehicle, where he was… Keelah...Was he reading the manual now?!
"Tali, you'll probably want to ride shotgun, right?" John looked back at her and smiled. The boyish joy in him just melted her heart.
"I do have my shotgun," Tali reached back and patted her weapon. "What does that have to do with where I ride?"
"Ha!" Jack laughed, clapping Tali on the back, and staggering her a couple of steps. "It's an old Earth saying. Not sure where it came from, but means the passenger seat, next to the driver."
"Oh! Yes! Please!" Tali bounced slightly.
"Dibs on her lap!" Xera held up a hand.
"Well…" John looked a little uncomfortable as her rubbed the back of his neck. That is so adorable…
Tali blinked for a moment, slightly confused. She was being...weird. Focusing so much on John, she was having a little bit of an issue focusing. Alright, Tali. Calm your self. It's not like you are going into a den.
Then, Tali thought about what quarians used dens for. Or rather, sterile clean rooms, in the Fleet. Her face went hot.
"...Do you mean, 'sit next to the krogan'!" Xera was yelling as she waved her arms around wildly. "Can't I at least sit in the turret?"
"You could," John nodded, still looking uncomfortable. "But You are smaller even than Jack."
"Nis'telz," Tali spoke up as she placed a hand on Xera's shoulder. Almost immediately she could feel the little quarian loose tension. She then turned to the questioning looks Jack and John were giving her. "It's a dice game. On the Fleet it is often used as a way or choosing an order. Shala would say it was 'letting the Ancestor's decide'."
"Ah," John half shrugged. "Works for me, but do you have dice?"
"Oh, right," Tali hung her head for a moment. "Well, do we have something else?"
"Could flip a cred," Jack shrugged, pulling one out of her pocket. "Marked side gets the turret?"
"Sure," Xera nodded. "Fair enough I guess."
Xera'Raan, Horizon, M-44 Hammerhead
Roaring over the forests, Xera muttered darkly as she shifted in her seat. The krogan was irritatingly excited. He was bouncing slightly in his seat, telling her something about krogan airdrops during the rebellions.
He also couldn't stop talking about that inane 'Battlemaster Gorge' cartoon he seemed obsessed with.
"...Then, and then...Gorge jumped out of the shuttle! *BOOM!* And then the salarians all pointed there guns at him! Those little red laser dot thingys they do in vids to show a sniper has somebody targeted, all over him!" He was even making the sound effects. "Then he shoved a bunch away with his biotics! It was all *vwoosh* and they all went *Aaaaa!* But..oh, you know they don't really use those red laser thingys, right? That would be s silly thing to do, if you are trying to be all sneaky and stuff."
"Heh, sorry, not sorry, Tiny," Jack leaned down slightly as she grinned at Xera. Better you than me."
Xera opened her mouth to say something when Shepard started the Hammerhead's turbines, revving them slightly, even as the shuttle carrying the other team members launched.
She could see Tali, sitting next to the stupid, funny looking human. Tali was scanning over the systems as she and Shepard spoke too quietly for her to hear. Probably plotting something sexy….hmph.
Then she saw Tali stiffen, almost like a board, giving Shepard a jerky nod. What the fuck did he say to her?! She balled her fists, imagining how amazing it would feel to punch him in the nose.
Shepard looked back with a grin. "Ready?" he called out loudly over the engine's whine.
"Ready?" Jack looked shocked for a moment. "We haven't slowed down! And we are, like, a mile in the air!"
Pff, the marine trainers said stuff like that all the time. They just liked making the newbies nervous.
"Nah, only about eight hundred meters or so," Shepard waved a hand at the human woman.
"That's still half a mile, Shepard!" Jack yelled back, beginning to look a little frantic.
Silly girl, Xera shook her head sadly at the panicking woman. No need to get worked up about such a childish joke!
But, as she was still wiggling, something fell out of Jack's pocket. Something small. It was the credit chit. But something about it…
Xera leaned over and picked the creit up, rolling it in her fingers.
"HEY!" She glared up at Jack, waving the credit. "Both sides of this are painted!"
Then there was a bump. A weird feeling, like spinning. Then, she died.
The End.
Grunt, M-44 Hammerhead
"This is going to be great," he muttered to himself.
Then with a sudden movement, the Normandy seemed to disappear out from under the Hammerhead.
Then the falling.
And the screaming started.
Jack, M-44 Hammerhead
"Both sides are painted!" Jack could hear Xera yelling angrily.
But what the fucking shit? Seriously? Didn't she know Shepard was going to fucking kill them all?!
Wait, calm down, Jack. He's fucking with you! Serioulsy, he would die too!
"Ha, ha!" she laughed ruefully. "You got me there Shepard I-"
Jack cut off as she saw Tali's hands tighten on the straps of her seat harness. The quarian seemed to cross her toes? That was weird….
Shepard was revving the turbines again….
No, not reving them. He was…
"Fuck! Shepard! Don't-"
She knew no more.
John, M-44 Hammerhead
At the signal from Joker, John hit the turbines on the Hammerhead, just as the Normandy bled a large chunk of its forward momentum, practically throwing the Hammerhead in to open air.
"Whooo!" John grinned as he glanced over at Tali. The quarian turned to look back at him and smiled a tight, uncomfortable smile. He could see how her eyes shifted under her visor. The tilt of her head, just so. The warmth that just...radiated, from her.
She was also terrified. He could feel her fear as the Hammerhead began its rather rapid descent. She did not like this. At all. In fact, she probably hated it. She was putting up with it for him, and he could feel that she was taking some of his enjoyment and turning it into her own enjoyment, that he felt back…
Okay, now that was confusing as hell.
But the point was, she really didn't like the combat drops. Especially knowing that they weren't necessary. To make matters worse, she was just too nice to say anything about it.
"Ah, Tali," he said, a bit loudly, so that she could hear him. Reaching over, he placed his hand over where her fist squeezed the safety harness straps. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you hated this so much. If you said something, I wouldn't have gone so extreme."
She didn't say anything. She didn't need to. He could feel the pleasant, warm feeling coming from her when he spoke. Instead, she just shrugged a little.
She...also probably couldn't say anything. Between the fear, and the G forces, anyway.
"You...you think the others hate my driving too?" the thought suddenly occurred to him. "Is that why Garrus kept trying to have you drive?"
Tali hesitated a moment, clearly uncomfortable, and nodded. She then pointed a finger, her hands never letting go of the straps, at the control console.
"Well, shit," John felt like a jerk now. With a quick tap on the controls, the Hammerhead's turbines roared, violently slowing the falling tank. He could feel the whole thing rattle under the strain as it brushed the tops of some of the trees, setting them lightly on fire.
As the ground rapidly approached, John hit the turbine's overthrust, the extra power turning the turbines white hot as the crew were thrown hard against the straps. All the hammerhead's remaining momentum was thrown into forward movement, as the tanks shot across an open field, only coming to a stop as it spun in a large arc.
John was looking over the control boards. He had been a little worried for a moment there near the end. The right turbine had peaked a bit early. However, it looked to be cooling fine, and was still operational.
His attention was caught as a three fingered hand curled over his. "It's okay John," Tali said quietly. "I know how much fun that is for you. And I trust you. However, I would like to keep it to an every now and again thing."
With a laugh, he reached over and tapped his forehead lightly against her visor, drawing a small laugh from her.
"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Grunt bellowed from the back as he began bouncing in his eat. "Can we do it again? Next mission? Can I sit in front next time?!"
Dropping back in her seat, Tali let her head roll loosely to the side as she laughed. "Yes, Grunt, next time you can sit up front with your Pitav."
"I'm not sure what that is," Grunt shrugged. "But if I get to ride in front, it's fine."
Tali laughed a warm laugh, as she squeezed John's hand.
Garrus, Drop Shuttle NRMDY-01
"Say," Garrus turned to look at the rest of the team he was riding with. "Do you guys think Shepard is doing one of his insane combat drops?"
"I should hope not," Miranda snorted as she shot him a smile from where she was piloting.. "We haven't fully tested the Hammerhead out."
"Yeah, there was still a little damage to the right thruster," Jacob added. "It would probably overheat in a full combat drop."
Garrus thought for a moment then shrugged. "Yeah, you're probably right." Then, settling in a bt, he took a nice long pull from a turian ale.
Tali, Horizon
"Let me go!" Xera struggled so hard, Grunt was having a difficult time keeping a grip of her squirming body. At the moment, his arms were wrapped around her torso, pinning her arms to her sides as her legs kicked furiously at John. "Let me go! I'm gonna kill the bosh'tet! I damn near wet my suit you usl'sa yze tabb det kazuat!"
John, meanwhile, stood to the side, a hand over his nose as he worked on stopping the bleeding.
Almost the moment they stepped out of the hammerhead, the furious medic threw herself through the air, cracking the man square in the face and breaking his nose.
A large part of Tali felt the instinctive rage wash over her. She wanted to defend him, striking back and destroying anything that threatened her mate.
However, the intelligent part of Tali knew he kinda deserved it.
"Yeah, I'm kinda with the midget on this one," Jack still stood bent over, her hands on her knees as she took slow, deep breaths. "I'd kill him myself, but if I try to move, I'll fall down."
"Oh, come on," Grunt mocked, even as he frowned at the fight in Xera. "You people are weak. Shepard had everything under control!"
Finishing her scan of the vehicle, Tali looked over her readings and frowned. "Ummm...John?" she asked, switching over to their private channel. "Did you know that if we had more than two more seconds of burn, the right turbine would have given out completely?"
"..."
He didn't say anything. Of course, with the bond, he didn't need to. She could feel the cold nervousness wash over him.
"How...how about we don't mention that to the others?"
Quarian Lexicon
Massan: Quarian equivalent to a best friend and confidant. As close as one can get without being on a life path. The paths of friendship can share similar paths as those of mating, and at times, they can blur or even switch, before the end.
Nis'telz: Dice, specifically 3, 6-sided, 6 colored dice. Literal translation: Chances of Life. Used in many games, the dice are all numbered 1-6 but the colors of each face are different on each die. In order of lowest to highest, the colors are red, brown, green, yellow, purple and blue. The origin of the colors used is believed to have been drawn from the caste system of early quarian history. The colors moved from rank to trade as their civilization grew to adulthood.
Pitav: An endearing way of saying 'father'. Like saying 'papa', or 'Daddy'
Bosh'tet: Animal, native to Rannoch. With no insect life, other species of life had to fill the niche's that on earth fell to the insect. One such niche was the dung beetle. A bosh'tet falls into the category of roller on earth as it moves the dung found to a central location. Though differing in colors, from the green/yellow of the cooler climates to the blue/white in the more tropical areas, they are the same species. Known for apparent inability to distinguish between dung and small rocks, it is considered extremely stupid. Many have been found dead, surrounded by small rocks, as it tried to feed on them.
Usl'sa yze tabb: Term of insult. Literal translation: Slow children of an inbred family.
Det kazuat: Term of curse, considered especially crude. Literal Translation: Living sack of excrement. The Otquer, a large predatory lizard, will pass its meal neatly wrapped in a membranous tissue. Inside the sack, the enzymes used to break down the meat of the prey while still in the lizard continue to act as a stimulant keeping the indigestible brain synapses of its last meal still working until the sun dries the sack out.
AN: As if I would let Shepard's birthday go by without a chapter. pshaw!