Miranda, SR-2 Normandy, XO Office
As the door to her office opened, Shepard just...kinda...leaned in. He held onto the wall edge, leaving just his head and upper shoulders swinging into view, around the door frame. "Miranda," he said. Not asked. He made her name a simple statement. "We're docking at the Citadel in an hour or so. I'm sorry about the last minute, but can you set up a proper shore leave rotation? I got about a quarter way through it before I was hopelessly lost."
She smirked, shaking her head slightly. If somebody had told her the direction her life, there was a good chance she would have called you insane. If that hypothetical person had told her that she would be taking orders from a simple soldier like Commander Shepard? She probably would have broken their fingers.
"Already working on it," Miranda chuckled, instead. "I've seen you attempt to organize things before. It never ends well."
Shepard frowned slightly. "Hey! I organize my combat missions just fine!"
Now Miranda laughed. "You mean the missions that generally end up with you improvising everything and end up all shot up?"
Now the man looked sheepish. She mentally chuckled at the pun. "Okay," he admitted, his face turning back into that childish grin. "Fine, I'm not the most organized person. But that's why I need people like you to make sure I don't put my boots on the wrong feet."
"Pff," Miranda let out a small burst of air. "I think making sure you are dressed properly is Tali's job now."
"What's my job now?" Miranda heard a certain engineer's voice call out as the lift doors opened.
If she hadn't seen it for herself, Miranda would never have believed it. Shepherd's entire demeanor changed. His childish grin turned into one of pure joy. His body went from its usual tenseness, like he was constantly ready for a fight, to loose, and relaxed happiness. But it was probably the way his eyes lit up, that touched Miranda the most.
"Keeping our illustrious Commander from leaving the ship without his pants on," Miranda chuckled as Tali came around to stand in the doorway. Shepard leaned over to tap his forehead lightly against the quarian's visor. Something she had learned was the equivalent of a light kiss.
The change in Tali was impressive as well. The engineer was easily the best that Miranda had ever seen. Her records from the original Normandy, as well as her behavior when she joined the Cerberus crew, had led Miranda to believe her weak willed and shy. And shy she was. But weak willed? Not even for a moment. In fact, Tali's hesitations were all because of her love for Shepard. Love that she had been sure would never, could never, be reciprocated.
"Well…" Tali turned to give Shepard an appraising look. "Some days it's harder than others. But I do my best."
A year ago...no...even six months ago, Miranda would never have accepted a relationship between Shepard and an alien. He was too important. He was a symbol for humanity. He needed to be pure, a beacon of human strength against the aliens that were keeping humanity down.
Now? Now she could see it for what it was. Bigotry. Simple minded speciesism. Humanity needed the rest of the galaxy the same as the galaxy needed humanity. They were stronger together than they ever could be apart. They were more alike than she had ever believed.
"All right," Shepard chuckled as he wrapped an arm around Tali's waist. "I need to gather my ground team. Miranda is working up leave rotations. The rest of you guys are to prowl the shops for upgrades, weapons, or gear we might need."
"Already have a list," the engineer nodded before looking up at Shepard. "Think we'll have time to go for a walk ourselves?"
"I don't know...," Shepard sighed tiredly, and Miranda could see the wave of exhaustion roll over him.
"Yes," Miranda decided for them. "I'll make time. We can all use some downtime. Some rest while we plan our next move. We won't be any good to the galaxy if we break from the stress."
Tali turned to look at Miranda, her head tilted in that slight way than indicated a smile as she bounced lightly on her toes. "Thank you, Miranda," she said, with a happy bubble in her voice. "I really appreciate it."
"It's fine," Miranda waved a hand in a shooing gesture. "Now get out of my office. I have work to do."
Shepard chuckled as his arm tightened around the quarian, drawing her back. "Thanks again, Miranda," he laughed as the door finally closed.
For a long moment she just stared at the door, a smile on her face.
"They gone?" a duel-toned voice came from behind her.
Miranda spun her chair around as Garrus stepped out of the small bathroom off of her quarters. He was drying his plates off with a towel. She never thought she would be in a relationship with an alien herself. The idea was completely foreign to her. But now...Now she simply enjoyed the view.
Jane, Corsair Ship Perugia, Captain's Office
"Megan…" Jane swiveled her office chair to look at the raloi in question.
"Yes, Friend Jane?" Megan gave her that open beaked, bird smile. Her long, tube-like, tongue still out of her mouth and dipped into a glass of some sort of green slurry. Jane could see the muscles rippling along its length as she ate.
"You….feed through your tongue right? The little mouth thing on the end chews up meat and drains it and blood….correct?" It was...fascinating to watch. Almost...sesual in it's movments. So...flexible.
"That is correct!" Megan's feathers fluffed, seemingly pleased by the questions. "I take nourishment in liquid form. Naturally, we don't eat live animals or such, except on major holidays. And even then, it's falling out of practice. Instead we have these!" Megan held up her glass that was already down by half. "Pureeing meat and the simulated liquid blood is much easier and economical."
"Right….right…" Jane nodded. Her eyes watched the tube-like tongue slide around the bottom of the glass, before it slowly, oh, so , slowly retracted back into Megan's mouth. Then, with a small click, the raloli closed her beak.
The beak parted, just a little bit. The pink of the glistening tongue slowly poked out. But it was different from before. Instead of the pad on the tip that contained the toothed maw….not it was smooth. Almost...like a….
"Friend Jane?" Megan's voice said quietly, a dash of humor bubbling in it. "My people have the ability to use it for other things."
Jane blinked. Then she realized what she was thinking about and snapped upright. Her gaze went to the raloi's face as the little flash of pink disappeared. "Are...are you flirting with me?"
Megan sat for a moment then slowly turned her head so that one eye could slowly slide over Jane's body. It was almost like she could feel it. Like it was little tiny fingers.
She wasn't used to being on this end of a seduction. She was always the aggressive one. It was just how she worked. Now that she was being...hunted, for lack of a better term, she had no idea what to do.
Slowly the other woman's feathers smoothed out over her head and neck as the beak opened in her wide grin. "Friend Jane, I have to admit that I do not understand what 'flirting' is. When my people wish the use of Sensual Arts, one simply asks."
Her stomach dropped slightly. Jane felt a little disappointment in the back of her black little heart as Megan stepped in front of Jane's chair. The raloi's hands clasped behind her back as she bent forward at the waist, bringing her face close to Jane's.
"Are you interested, Friend Jane?" Megan's eye blinked slowly as her beak closed to a more...naughty looking smile.
"I...uh…." Jane felt her face shoot hot red as she swallowed heavily. "'Kay…"
"This will be fun!" Megan stood as she stood again, and glanced at Jane's desk. "In the vids I have seen, I am supposed to swipe everything off you desk and throw you on it?"
"No?" Jane shook her head as she stood. "I mean, no, that's just for the vids. I have a couch?"
Megan turned to regard the older soft looking couch. It was actually Jane's favorite. She had it smuggled onto the last two ships she had been on, and it had originally came from her grandparents farm on earth.
"Very good!" Megan nodded grabbing Jane and sweeping her legs out from under her. Hoisting Jane up like a princess, she turned and dropped Jane onto the couch. She had forgotten how strong and quick raloi were. "Let us learn how we work!"
It was a long night. With a lot of giggling.
John, Citadel
"I can see twenty-six security flaws," Thane shook his head slightly. "Fourteen of them have been here since my last visit."
"And here I was, thinking security had been beefed up," Garrus sighed as he watched an elcor take his shoes off for scanning.
"Security theater," John shrugged. "Making a production out of it makes people feel safer, even if they really aren't."
"Either way," Kasumi's disembodied voice spoke up. "I'll cut ahead and talk to some of my contacts. I should be able to get a bead on the ID slicer."
"Thanks," Garrus gave a tight nod as his mandibles twitched, the only outward sign of his rising anger.
"Anything for a friend, Gar-Bear," the thief chuckled, her voice fading.
"Gar-Bear?" John chuckled glancing up at his friend.
Garrus stood stiffly, his mandibles now pulled in tight to his face as he radiated embarrassment.
"It is, I believe, a nickname miss Lawson has given our turian friend," Thane almost chuckled.
"Okay, can we just go?" Garrus growled as he threw his hands in the air. "I don't want to be arrested for killing humanity's Spectre and a master assassin."
Xera, Illium, Liara's Office
"I don't like it," she said quietly as she looked out Liara's window. Her eyes scanned over the roiling crowds of people, all desperate to make money at the expense of somebody else. Like parasites.
"What part?" Liara asked, not looking up from her work station.
"Sssskkrrrrkkkk…."
"Xera?"
"What?" Xera shook her head, blinking before turning to face the asari. "Did...did you hear that?"
Liara frowned slightly as she sat back in her chair. She had turned to face her. When did she do that?
"Kkkkrrlakklll…."
"Damnit," Xera shook her head again, slapping at the side of her helmet. "What the fuck is wrong with my helmet…."
"Xera! Are you alright?!" Liara was...over her?
Another blink and Xera realized she was on the floor. "Right...yeah," she said, angrily as she sat up, placing her back against the clear glass. "Fine. Maybe a bit more tired than I thought."
"Do you need me to call medical?" Liara's hand hovered over her com panal as she gave Xera a worried look.
"No, I'm fine," Xera lied, a bit more angirly than she meant. Then, taking a deep breath, she shook her head. "Sorry. No, I'll be okay. Something is up with my suit. I've run diagnostics and it keeps coming up clear. Same with med scans. But I was talking about those kids."
"Yes…" Liara nodded reluctantly as she pulled her hand away from her com. "You are upset at how I am using them."
"Of course!" Xera half growled as she pulled her knees up to her chest. She let her head loll back, her helmet tapping against the glass as she stared at the ceiling. "Their scans….They have been through too much as it is. I don't like what you are doing."
"They needed the help," Liara shrugged slightly. "And I can't exactly give it for free. They wouldn't trust it, and it would give me a reputation for being soft."
"Soft?" Xera scoffed. "You are worried about looking soft, so you send children to look for your dread enemy?" Xera lifted her head, glaring darkly at Liara. "Those kids...they are broken, Liara. Somebody smashed them apart with a hammer, then glued them back together with sealant! Both physically and emotionally!"
"I know," Liara's eyes closed as she let her head drop. "I'm no better than the batarians that hurt them. But I need the information they can get. They are a clean ship. Nobody will know who they are, and they will be able to find anybody. Even the original Normandy wouldn't be able to hide from those sensors for very long."
"Batsarians," Xera snorted, letting her head drop back again. "I wouldn't go so far as to equate you with them. Aria, maybe. But not Batarians. Anyway...I just hope you get what you are after. And that it's worth it."
"Yes….so do I…."
Zaeed, SR-2 Normandy, Main Cargo Bay
"Goddamit…." he growled under his breath as he brought the micro welder back down to the split in his armor. Technically, he should have been doing this in the armory, but after the 'incident' with Vido, he wasn't particularly welcome most places. Even Jack, that psycho, had stopped coming by for their...relaxations.
"Goddamit…" he growled again as he pulled the armor farther up on the bench. Turning, he glared down at the huge, scarred varren. Urz sat and stared. His huge fish-like eyes looked at him unblinking.
"Goddamit…" he knew he was imagining it. A varren didn't have the brains to accuse. To judge. But for some fucking reason this one did. Or it looked like it. Or felt like it. The fucking thing….
"Goddamit!" he spat as he threw the armor down to the floor. It crashed at Urz's feet, but the varren didn't move. Didn't blink. It just stared.
Zaeed slapped his com, staring at the varren. "Tali, can you come do something about this damned varren? He's getting in the fucking way!"
There was a long pause. Long enough that he wondered if he hadn't made a connection. But then, "Maybe you should do something else."
Zaeed blinked and looked at his omnitool. "What?"
"Zaeed, I'm busy," Tali sounded almost like she was growling. "Do something else. Go someplace else if Urz is irritating you. I don't have time to babysit you."
He...should have been angry. He should have been furious. Another time, he would have been. Before the hate was gone. Now, Zaeed had nothing. No family, no vendetta, no anger. He had...nothing.
Urz stood slowly, turning, and walked away. He didn't look back at the broken old man.
The man that broke himself.
Emma, MSV Stick in Your Eye, Bridge
"Legion?" she asked, looking up at the geth. He stood near the window, looking out at the city of Nos Astra. "Legion? Are you okay?"
"Yes."
"You...uh...don't seem okay."
"We are undamaged," it said as it turned its eye to look at her. The little flaps around its eye moved, and wiggled. She marveled at how much emotion it seemed to impart. Especially for somebody that insisted it didn't really have emotions. "We are bending ourselves, attempting to reach consensus."
"Can...we help?" Kikka walked up to the machine. She reached out a hand, taking his in her own.
"We...do not know," Legion looked down at the young asari. "There are geth here."
"Here?" Emma blinked as she sat down on the brand new command chair. It was soooo comfortable!
"Yes," Legion nodded. "On Illium."
"Should we rescue them?" Kikka turned to look out the window that Legion had been looking out moments ago.
"No…" Legion shook its curved head. "They are not trapped. They are not geth. Except they are."
"Okay...I have no idea what that means," Jak sighed from the new sensor station. "But then i don't really understand much of what you say."
"Jak!" Kikka frowned at the turian boy as she moved a little closer to Legion, almost protectively.
"What?" he shrugged. "I don't."
"We...have not reached consensus," Legion turned to look out the window again. "The geth. They are different. They have become...more. We can hear them, but they are different. We do not know if we should attempt contact."
"Well…." Emma sighed, sitting back in sooooo comfortable chair. "We can go in guns blazing, if you want. Otherwise, we should get going. We spent a lot of money getting the work done on the ship. We can't afford to spend too much more on docking fees."
"You are correct, Emma-Captain," Legion almost seemed to sigh as he...it...turned away from the window. "We have a mission to complete. Once we are done, we can commit resources for the search for Shepard-Commander."
"Alright!" Emma clapped her hands together as she grinned. "Then let's signal Nos Astra control and get a exit window!"
AN: Okay...The Megan bit might be a bit over the top. But I'm writing this and I found it funny. I have no regrets!