Chapter 54: Truth or Dare

Jack stepped into the medbay, honestly feeling exhausted from the ordeal on the Alarei. He would now have to live with knowing he could've taken Gerrel down permanently and chose not to. In the long run, it was probably the right call, an unified Quarian fleet would be needed in a fight against the Reapers. Having seen it's size, he was sure the Quarians had the single largest fleet in the galaxy. While most were civilian ships, combined with the Council forces they'd be a powerhouse. He had been too close to the issue anyways to make any other rational choice, plus it was what Tali wanted. She may have had her own biases clouding her judgement but, it was her trial and her people. It was her right to tell him no about using the evidence.

A frown must've crossed his face when he only saw Zero in the medbay wrapped up in a few blankets. Was Kal stuck downstairs dropping Saren and Legion off? Or a worse possibility, had Quarian marines detained them? That thought washed away a second after he came up with it, Joker wouldn't have left the system without Kal. He knew just as well as everyone else on the ship that the two of them were together. Kal was probably just getting some food or talking to Legion and so, Jack sat down next to her bed waiting for him to return. Now that he was in his old seat, Jack noticed Sidera and Vetra were gone too. He was relieved that Ashley's stray shots hadn't caused any serious damage. However, he did wonder if Vetra was going to take Feron's offer and go to Andromeda.

Zero opened an eye and looked at him, "You don't have to both keep sitting here you know. I'm alive, just trying out how to be a cripple for a few weeks."

Jack chuckled with a smirk, "I think everyone knows your alive Jack. We're just worried about your recovery and want to be there every step of the way. Did Chakwas tell you how long it will take for you to be able to walk again?"

Zero looked at her hands and had a forced cheery tone, "Two weeks supposedly, with a cane that is."

He thought that was awfully fast, "Two weeks huh...? Is that what Chakwas actually said, or what you wanted to hear her say?"

Zero gave him a glare, "A month and a half before I should even try without help... I just, don't want to have to leave to some shitty facility. They all smell the same and I'm scared I won't be safe."

Here was another problem Jack didn't need right now. In reality, Zero wasn't safe here between the possibility of Cerberus stabbing them in the back and the fact they were going after the Collectors. Jack felt slightly better about having the sixteen year old around when she could fight because of her biotics. She had literally torn the Collector ship a new one, with the help of the drive core, it was still the most damage they had done to the Collectors so far. Now that Zero was injured though, he didn't feel good about having her around. She could get hurt unecessarily because they weren't able to protect her in a firefight. At the same time, he couldn't just bring her to Grissom Academy because of the events at Hock's estate. Admittedly, he had been back and forth on this multiple times but, now she was awake and probing for an answer.

Jack leaned forward and took a reassuring tone, "We're going to keep you safe no matter what, understand? Why do you think we made a bed here just to be close to you?"

Zero had a sarcastic edge to her answer, "Because you like watching girls sleep? You are some creepy fuckers."

Jack shook his head with another laugh, "Trust me, I have the drawings to prove Kal is only interested in my sleeping. It's because we care about you. If you want to be here in all the middle of this drama, I'm not going to force you away. But, this isn't the safest place in the galaxy right now either."

Zero looked up at the ceiling for a moment, "I know but, I feel safe here... I want to stay, I feel.. Fuck it. Don't tell him I said this but, Kal's been the closest things I've had to a normal life. He's a consistent asshole and he is so..nice to me.. Your all he talks about in that annoyingly sweet rainbows-and-butterflies kind of way. You'd think you were the second coming the way he talks about you. He loves you, Shepard. Promise me you'll be good to him?"

Jack raised an eyebrow a little confused and lifted the hand with his wedding ring, "I'm not going anywhere. Is he still worried I'll leave?"

She gave him a serious glance, "No, like I said he loves you. I just, after I got shot I started thinking about mortality. If something happens to me one of these days, I need to know he'll have you to lean on. Promise me."

Jack gave her a genuine smile pretending not to hear the medbay door open, she needed to hear him say it, "I promise. I'd like to remind you that your only sixteen though. Your going to have plenty of time to be dragged around by the two of us."

Kal's voice came from behind them, "Are you worrying about me again? Do I have to drag Chakwas back in here and have her tell you worrying isn't good for your recovery?"

Zero glared at him, "Yeah, yeah easier said than done. All she has to worry about is knitting at her age. What did you try and cook for me this time?"

Kal had a plate of food in his hand while looking at it anxiously, "I think it's called mac and cheese...? I saw it on the extranet as 'comfort food.' I thought since we almost fell down getting you to the bathroom, you deserved that."

As soon as he put the food in front of her, Jack stood up and wrapped his arms around Kal. He had always known the Quarian had been through a lot thanks to his father, seeing it was something else. Kal was an adorable kid that just wanted a normal life of toys and games. Instead, he had spent most of his childhood in one room with all his old suits. He was clearly surprised by the gesture but, soon enough Kal returned the close hug. Jack even gave him a short, tender, gentle kiss on the mouthpiece. Afterwards, Jack let him go trying not to look too upset. If he could avoid talking about what he had seen on the Alarei, he'd feel better. There was no need to make Kal relive any of those moments.

Zero looked at them over the bowl of food, "You two can definitely take that upstairs. I'm not watching the both of you suck face."

Kal rested his helmet on Jack's forehead obviously trying to get a read on what was wrong, "Then don't watch." He teased her before smiling and whispering, "I'm ok, what happened?"

Since the medbay door was open, Vetra's loud voice interrupted him, "Sid! Do not tell me you drank all the Serrice Ice Brandy?! You know your too young for that shit!"

Sid's softer voice yelled from their makeshift quarters, "I haven't had time since you told me to pack all of our stuff. For whatever reason..."

Jack motioned to the door with a head tilt, "I'll be right back. I know who drank it all."

Kasumi flashed into existence next to Vetra and whistled innocently, "I may have taken the liberty of sharing the bottle with Chakwas awhile ago."

Vetra glared at her with her mandibles lightly twitching, "Of course you did..."

Jack raised an eyebrow suspiciously, "Something wrong Vetra? I think we have plenty of other alcohol in the fridge."

Vetra grumbled closing the fridge door with the empty bottle still in hand, "Yeah, but Serrice Ice was the only kind levos and dextros can enjoy." She gave him a defeated look, "I'm going on that trip we talked about tomorrow and wanted me, you, and Kal to have a drink for old times sake."

It took him a few seconds to realize why she was being so vague about her decision to go to Andromeda. Then he remembered his cabin was one of the only places on the ship that didn't have surveillance devices. She was being smarter than he was in this situation. Jack was glad someone was going to go to Andromeda with the Initiative to keep an eye on Cora but, he was worried about Vetra. If the Initiative really was a front for something sinister as Feron believed, Vetra wasn't going to have any back up to help her. Then again, she didn't have any choice but to go if she didn't want to be arrested by the Alliance or killed by bounty hunters. He didn't envy the position she was in, both options were shitty.

Jack nodded and started to reach for his omni tool, "Do we need to drop you off anywhere? I can get the Normandy moving."

Vetra shook her head quickly, "It'd be better if we stayed near this Mass Relay actually. My old smuggling ship is on the way now. I guess we could all just sit around with different alcohol."

Kasumi jumped in before he could agree, "What if instead, we actually make your departure memorable and play spin the bottle edition of truth or dare?"

Sidera's enthusiastic voice came from their quarters, "Ooh yes! Can I play?!"

Vetra scowled yet again in Kasumi's direction, "No! You get to keep packing."

Sid responded sarcastically, "Right, because we have so much to pack. I mean, I don't know what I'd do without this stupid lamp."

Jack chuckled a little smirk traveled across his face, "I hate to tell you Kasumi but, truth or dare is usually a game for single people." He raised the hand with his ring on it, "You aren't getting me to kiss one of you."

Kasumi wasn't phased showing off a grin, "So we add Tali and Garrus to the game. We get to ask you two all of the truth stuff and them all the dares."

Jack frowned at her, "Tali's father just died and she was exiled from her people. I don't think she'll be in the mood to play a game of any kind with anyone."

Kal sighed from the doorway, "She didn't want to ruin my father's reputation.. Right?"

He hadn't been looking forward to this conversation in the slightest and had wanted to put it off. However, the fact that they had been on the Alarei combined with Tali's exile made it clear to the Quarian that they had seen something. Would Kal be angry with one of them or both because they hadn't taken the opportunity to destroy him? Jack definitely would've been if their roles were reversed, it was unlikely anyone else was ever going to get to use that vulnerability against Gerrel in the future. Looking at him though, Jack saw Kal's slumped shoulders, he was just sad for his friend. He knew what being an exile was like for the past three years and obviously didn't want that for Tali.

Jack answered quietly, "Not just your father. We saw a recording of an experiment Rael-"

Kal interrupted him with a raised hand and a nod, "I think I get the picture. We should keep her company though." He looked inside the medbay, "Jack, will you be ok for a few hours by yourself?"

Zero rolled her eyes before meeting his gaze, "I'm sixteen not ten. Go and have some fun without me will you?"

Jack looked back inside the room with a smile, "We'll be back in the morning and I'll try making you breakfast. I gotta be better than an alien making it right?"

Zero seemed suspicious, "Have you ever actually cooked anything before?"

He smiled wanting to tease her, "First time for everything."

Vetra looked between the two of them, "Are you two sure? I don't want to create anymore drama than Tali already has."

Kal shrugged seeming uncertain, "I know when I was first exiled I would've wanted someone to tell me everything was going to be ok. If she says no we'll do it without them but, it's not going to hurt to get her mind off of it for awhile."

Jack agreed and the four of them went into the elevator to engineering. Once the doors opened, they probably all started to question whether or not coming down here for a game night invitation was a good idea. Kenneth and Gabby were sitting outside of the drive core room while they could hear shouting from within. He could pick up Tali and Rael's voices yelling at each other. If this was going to be the new norm, Jack was going to have to separate them to different floors of the ship.

When Jack and Kal entered the drive core bay, Tali was yelling, "No, this one goes here and that one goes there. Right? You could've just made the whole ship combust if I didn't stop you."

It was still jarring to hear the Quarian's voice coming from Legion's body, "I am 67 years old Tali, I think I know how to manipulate drive cores. My way will enhance shield capacity by thirty percent."

Legion added with an eager tone, "I have calculated all of elder Creator Zorah's numbers and they are accurate. I hypothesize it is younger Creator Zorah's time of the month, as organics put it."

Tali and Rael both sounded disgusted, "Legion!"

Jack coughed since there was a lull in the argument, "So...how's everyone doing?"

Legion spoke before they could, "Not well Shepard-Commander. I have recorded thirty-three outbursts between the Zorah's since my arrival with Creator Reegar. At this rate, I calculate a total of two hundred disagreements per day. I suggest-"

Rael interrupted him, "If Tali would just tell me what's wrong, I'm sure we would be able to work it out."

Tali was about to snap so, Kal just put a hand on her shoulder, "Why don't you take a break? Kasumi's starting a game of truth or dare and we thought you could join in."

She didn't answer him immediately instead she threw her arms around him into a hug, "Your...your not mad at me?"

Kal laughed at her cheerily as he returned the hug, "Tali...you frustrate me sometimes.. I'm sure I frustrate you occasionally too, but why would I be actively mad at you?"

Tali let out a sniffle and squeezed him close, "All these years I've tried to convince you what happened to you wasn't what actually happened.. I didn't make sure anyone would pay for it and-"

Kal turned his head back and forth, "Tali, that isn't your fault. Now that we're both exiles, we're going to have to look out for each other. Come on, take a break and have a little fun with us."

She let go of him and looked around, "I don't know...I have twelve million more things to do on the drive core and then the engines nee-"

Rael cut her off, "Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, you have had a long day and will make mistakes if you continue at this pace. I am totally capable of managing this drive core for a few hours."

Legion finished for him, "This unit will ensure all calculations are correct going forward, Shepard-Commander."

Tali kept her tone short, "Thanks dad."

Jack couldn't begin to imagine what she was going through right now. He was sure she wanted to ask her father a million questions about the Alarei, maybe even chew him out for his role in Kal's experiments. The problem was Rael was gone now and yet his ancestor AI believed everything was fine. If she confronted it and said the wrong thing, she could risk destroying the only piece of him she had left. The worst thing his mother had done to him was not prepare him for the possibility of being on the Turian Hierarchy. Rael had tortured Tali's best friend, probably for years, and had unintentionally framed her with the deaths of everyone on the Alarei. It was honestly a miracle she had been able to bite her tongue for this long.

He looked behind him only to see Vetra, "Where's Kasumi?"

Vetra pointed at the elevator, "Got Garrus and went to your cabin to get setup apparently."

Tali walked past them to the elevator pushing the up button, "This should be interesting then. What exactly is truth or dare?"

_o0o_

The four of them entered the room a moment later to see Garrus and Kasumi were moving his furniture around. Jack didn't mind both of his useless couches and a table getting shoved into a corner. Hell, if he had his way he would dare Vetra take them on her trip. Unfortunately, he was sure the Andromeda Initiative didn't need couches either. Even if they were up to something bad, survivalist gear was going to be the name of the game. He didn't spend enough time up here to make use of furniture for something casual. When he was up here, Jack was usually curled up next to Kal or, attempting to break the bed with him. Maybe they could invite the crew up more often.

Kasumi put the Serrice bottle on the floor and pointed the top at her self, "So, here's how this is going to work. We take turns spinning the bottle and wait till it lands on anyone." She performed a demonstration with the bottle ultimately pointing at Vetra, "Ok Mand, truth..or dare?"

Vetra rolled her eyes thinking she was being too dramatic for a demo, "Truth."

Kasumi smirked glancing at Tali, "So since she said truth, I get to ask a question I want to know about our Turian friend. For example, how's sex with Garrus?"

Everyone's eyes widened and Garris even spat out whatever he was drinking. Tali just looked at the floor, "Oh.."

Jack noted Tali's rather open reaction and was surprised, she really did care about him. He had been routing for them for a long time but, he thought some unknown invisible force was going to keep them apart. They were both shy to each other deep down and no amount of gentle proding on his part had gotten them to break that. His hope was Garrus would see her reaction to the question and get the hint. She looked extremely depressed with her eyes duller than he had ever seen them and her shoulders slumped. Kasumi had unintentionally made her droop with the implication that Garrus and Vetra were sleeping together.

Not wanting to upset Tali further by hearing an answer, Jack rubbed his chin and reached for the bottle, "I think we got it Kasumi. I'll start."

Vetra grabbed his wrist while looking directly at Tali, "Awful." Garrus coughed, his mandibles fluttered before she continued, "It wasn't his fault! I'm sure he was a lot more gentle then other drunk guys but, I had already melded with Ar..an Asari. Nothing can compete with that."

Tali looked back up at her with her eyes far less dull, "Oh, that's nice." She looked over at Garrus, "What happened to Chloe?"

Kasumi snapped a finger before he could answer, "Nuh uh, not how the game works. Now Vetra gets to spin and we start over again."

Kal glared at her, "You should just let him answer the question."

Kasumi gave him a defensive look, "She can ask him if she gets the bottle on him. Mand, your up darling."

Vetra let the cool bottle rattle and roll along the deck before it landed on Garrus, "What'll it be Mr. Archangel?"

Garrus rubbed the back of his neck, "Dare I suppose. Your dangerous asking me anything about myself."

Vetra gave him a wild smirk, "I can still be dangerous no matter what. I dare you to...tell us about your first time ever."

Garrus had to force himself not to spit out what he was drinking again and looked at Kasumi, "Can she do that? That was basically a truth in disguise."

Kasumi winked at Vetra, "You can refuse but, then everyone else gets to dare you to do something that you have to do. And at least one of us will probably ask that anyways."

Jack grinned at him encouragingly, "Tell you what, I'll tell you about mine someday if you tell us right here, right now."

Garrus sighed looking shyly at them, "Your all going to pay for this... So, Turian ships have training rooms for exercise, combat sims, even full-contact sparring. Whatever lets people work off stress. It's supervised, of course. Nobody is going to risk an injury that interferes with the mission. And it's a good way to settle grudges amicably. I remember right before one mission, we were about to hit a Batarian pirate squad. Very risky. This recon scout and I had been at each other's throats. Nerves, mostly. She suggested we settle it in the ring."

Tali's eyes widened, "Tell me you didn't have sex in the gym for all to see."

Garrus' mandibles were fluttering about signalling he was very embarrassed, "Let me finish. It was brutal. After nine rounds, the judge called it a draw. There were a lot of unhappy betters in the training room. We, ah, ended up holding a tiebreaker in her quarters. I had reach, but she had flexibility. More than one way to work off stress, I guess."

Kal folded his arms, "Impressive you didn't get caught, I'm sure you were both very obvious what you were going to do." He paused and looked towards Jack, "My first time was with my commanding officer next to a Fornax magazine."

Jack's eyes widened realizing he was talking about them, "You..you never told me that." He gave a crooked smile wanting to tease him, "It was good I assume? With this commanding officer I mean?"

Kal elbowed him playfully, "The magazine? It was a terrible representation of the Quarian people Shepard. Just a Human painted purple as I recall."

Kasumi snapped a finger and playfully interrupted their not so subtle flirting, "What did I say about talking and asking questions? Garrus, give it a spin."

Garrus rubbed his hands together making a show out of reaching for the bottle, "Alright, which one of you do I get to pay back?" The bottle landed on Jack, "Ah crap, the most boring guy in here. Truth or dare..?"

Jack chuckled pretending to glare at him, "I am not boring, and to prove it to you I will pick dare."

Garrus grinned at him as if he was going to make him strip, "I dare you to... open the big black bag Shala gave you."

The room groaned almost in unison, "Lame..."

Kal sounded a little angry to his surprise, "She gave you something? When? Why?"

Jack raised an eyebrow feeling confused, "For representing Tali in the trial... Should I not open it?"

Kal was stroking two of his fingers back and forth seemingly annoyed, "It's your dare, go ahead..."

He was still confused about Kal's reaction to Shala as he made his way to the bag he had set down. Given Shala's own interactions with him could best be described as odd, maybe he was missing something. Had she been another scientist in Kal's experiments? Or, had she just helped Gerrel cover his tracks after Kal left the fleet? He put the questions aside and unzipped the bag only to take a sharp breath. Inside was a freshly woven Quarian blanket like the ones hanging from each residential cubicle. It was red and had the white swirling designs from Kal's hood. Giving it a closer look, Jack could see small N7 symbols attached to some of the swirls. Jack didn't have to ask Tali to get the cultural significance, Shala had legitimized them as a Quarian family.

His mind was racing and he coughed trying to decide what to do, he had a feeling this wasn't something he should casually whip out. "I uhh, I think your all going to have to dare me to do something else."

Kasumi rolled her eyes, "Oh come on, is it a sex toy?"

Tali stood up, "Let me go check." He made no move to hide it from her and she gasped, "Oh Keelah. Go ahead and show it."

Jack lifted the blanket up and turned so Kal could see it, "It's just a blanket..."

Kal got to his feet as well and ran his fingers across it to make sure it was real, "...I guess this is her way of saying sorry." When Jack raised an eyebrow Kal whispered, "I'll tell you later."

Vetra tilted her head in confusion, "I don't get it, isn't that just a blanket?"

Tali quickly explained, "Yes but, whenever two Quarians move into the same cubicle to start a family, the Admiral of their ship commissions a blanket. The designs are from both prior families and signifies what could be considered a marriage in other cultures. The fact that Shala did this makes the marriage much more official in Quarian law. It would've been a huge scandal if Shala had gotten caught."

Jack kissed him on the mouthpiece and grinned, "Wanna hang it on the door?"

Kal bounced on his feet nervously, taking the blanket, "It would just get in the way of actually opening the door. We'll put it on the bed for now."

Kasumi was glaring at Garrus, "I mean, I'm happy for you Shep but, that was a lame ass dare Garrus."

Garrus gave her an innocent expression, "What? I've never played this before. What did you want me to say?"

Kasumi tapped her chin, "I don't know, something like 'I dare you to give Kal a lapdance?'"

Kal shook his head with a laugh as he returned to his seat, "We would have to kick you all out in a few seconds if that started."

Jack sat down again and cracked his knuckles while reaching for the bottle, "Well, let's see who gets to be my actual victim."

The bottle rolled around and landed on Kasumi who was trying to read his face, "Truth, because I do not like that look."

He could've gone with a dirty question but decided against it, "Why are you still on the Normandy? Don't get me wrong, we need your skills. I just don't understand why a thief would stay after she got what she needed. The Reapers aren't the type of thing your used to dealing with I'd imagine."

Kasumi didn't answer for a long moment staring ahead at the wall before looking at Garrus, "The night I stole the blueprints from Afterlife for you I heard the three gang leaders talking about attacking someone together but, I was too scared to stay and find out who. If I had, your team wouldn't have gotten killed. I guess I'm trying to atone for that."

A silence fell over the room until Kal said, "It wouldn't have mattered...Cora always gets what she wants eventually. I appreciate you telling the truth though."

Kasumi avoided Garrus' angry stare and quietly spun the bottle, "Alright Tali, you know the drill by now."

Tali puffed up, "Dare, because I want to live a little."

Kadumi pointed to Garrus and was straight to the point, "Kiss him."

Jack held up a hand, "Let's not dare anyone into something that could potentially ki-"

He was interrupted when Tali leaned right in and opened her mouthpiece. At first, Jack just thought she was going to give him a kiss on his good mandible and call it good enough. That would be short, simple, and not too much risk to her health involved. However, her gloved three fingered hand cupped his bad mandible tenderly and they started kissing. Since Garrus' mandibles didn't completely seal against his mouth, they could all see Tali's and Garrus' tongues mashing together. He got just a little uncomfortable hearing them both moan and seeing Garrus grab her shoulder to pull her closer.

Kasumi cleared her throat, "Ahem... I said kiss, not explore each others throat."

Garrus pulled back just a fraction of an inch and it was the happiest he had probably ever seen him, "Sorry, I think my mandible got caught in there for a second."

Tali lingered very close to him for a few more seconds and whispered in a soft voice, "I didn't mind.." She turned back to the group looking flustered, "Whose turn was it again..?"

Kal's eyes were glowing brightly and Jack could tell he was smiling from ear to ear, "Yours Tali."

She spun the bottle regaining her composure, "Ooh alright Jack you don't get to pick, I have a dare for you."

Jack chuckled amused, "Ok, shoot."

Tali sounded like she was up to something, "First, I want you to open the message I sent you about Kal's new suit and read it aloud. I know you haven't had time to open it before so don't lie."

Jack opened his omni tool and took a deep overdramatic breath, "Hey Jack, I just wanted to let you know... that I installed the Nerve-Stim Pro: Deluxe Human Male Edition into Kal's new suit. Here is the password and let me know if it works. I've rigged it since we don't officially make them for gay gu-"

The other aliens in the room started laughing and Kal yanked his arm to read the message, "You did not!"

Jack looked between the two of them confused, "What's a Nerve-Stim Pro?"

Tali started to stand up, "We're all going to go now since it's getting late. I dare you to turn it on and find out when we're gone."

Kasumi gave her a high five as they started leaving, "And I thought I was the dirtiest one here."

Vetra waited for the other three to go before giving them both a hug, "I hate goodbyes so, I'm just going to tell you both to be safe. Because I'm not going to be around to save your asses anymore."

Jack hugged her tightly trying to not get too upset, "We'll be fine. Thank you Mandaria, for everything you've done for the both of us."

Kal hugged her next, "If we're not awake when you leave, tell Sid I'll miss her."

After a few more teary moments, Vetra left them alone. It was time to figure out what a Nerve-Stim was.