Chapter 6

Shepard scrolled through her messages, read news articles, reviewed her notes on the Summit. She lowered the datapad into her lap with a sigh.

This ship actually had windows. Not big ones, nothing like the Normandy, but still it had windows. Miranda sat next to her on the couch absorbed in some article on – Shepard craned her neck – aah, on eezo nodes in utero development, an introduction. Titillating.

Shepard hopped to her feet and peered out the port hole. The wispy blue veil of FTL separated her from the stars.

"Bored, Shepard?" Miranda asked.

"No," Shepard turned and leaned against the wall. "What about you two?"

Liara turned from the desk in the corner. Three terminal screens split in front of her. "Not at all. The information filtering in before the Summit is astounding."

Shepard smiled. "Gonna be able to buy a vacation home when it's done?"

"More than that I believe," Liara murmured turning back to the screens. "This could fund expansion of an entire new circle of contacts."

"Really?" Shepard said. "Anything there really worth know?"

"To you?" Liara said. "No. To the prime minister's wife or the Salarian Science Council, yes."

"Sounds juicy," Shepard said.

Miranda fingered down another page on her datapad and gave a long sigh.

"What about you, Miranda? Eezo nodule development really doing something for you?"

"This should interest you too."

"Why? Because I'm a biotic?"

"A human biotic, yes."

"The Eezo Exposure Protection Act should be putting that article out of print."

"Maybe not. That's why it's interesting."

"I'll take your world on it."

Liara looked over at Miranda. "You still working on that formula?"

"The one Kaidan sent?" Miranda actually grinned. "Yes. Some trials, and I think we might actually have a binding antidote."

Liara smiled and turned back to her screens. Shepard pushed off from the wall and strolled over to her.

"Shepard," Liara said and smiled up at her. "I think you may be mobbed when we arrive. Every news outlet is tracking your story."

"Suppose I should ready a speech?" Shepard asked.

"Actually, I think they'd like that."

"Me too," Shepard said. "But, I've got to save my material for the Summit.

"Do you know what you're going to say, Shepard? You've decided to say something?" Liara asked.

Miranda looked over at them.

"Not exactly sure what," Shepard admitted. "But then, I didn't plan out what I'd say to the turiens and the krogan, or the quarians and the geth. Maybe it works better that way. Too practiced and you sound like a politician."

"And you wouldn't want to be mistaken as one of those," Miranda said.

"Hell, no."

"More days captaining through the stars, huh, Shepard?" Miranda cocked her head.

Liara swiveled in her chair to face Shepard and watching her face. Miranda's datapad dropped to her lap as she waited.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

Miranda nodded with pursed lips and raised the datapad in her hand. Liara swiveled back to her monitors.

"Was that the answer everyone was waiting for? I had the attention of the house there for a moment."

"All two of us," Miranda murmured.

"I wasn't implying it was sold out."

Shepard crossed over to Miranda and took a seat again.

"Do you need something to read?" Miranda asked.

"I have something to read." Shepard motioned at the datapad laying next to her. "Makes me a little on edge going back. I'm missing the pre-show. Best part of the party."

"We'll get there with plenty of party time left, Shepard."

"Depends on the partying threshold you're trying to reach."

"Take your threshold down a few notches then."

Shepard shrugged. "Maybe."

She couldn't see the stars from there through that dim, little port hole. Nothing like the observation deck, but she'd be back there again. There wouldn't be blood and bodies last time.

"Nice they gave us our own cabin," Liara said from the corner.

"I think it may have been the captain's," Shepard frowned. "Our own bathroom, window, kind of makes me feel bad actually. I don't need anything special."

"Doesn't compare to your posh cabin on the Normandy though, does it, Shepard?"

"Miranda, I spent most of my career on a top or lower bunk."

"Not the last couple years. Easy to get accustomed to the nice sleeping accommodations aboard the Normandy," Miranda said.

Shepard folded her arms and glanced sideways at her, but she was skimming a section on her datapad and holding it close to her face.

"I guess so," Shepard said.

Shepard snapped her datapad up. Still no new messages. No spam even. She rolled her head back and stared at the ceiling.

"Shepard," Miranda sighed. "If you're so bored …"

"I didn't say I was bored."

"Everything but your mouth says you're bored."

"Everything else is lying. Only listen to my mouth."

Miranda chuckled. "Very well."

"Very well," Shepard echoed.

"You're not going to make us play biotic tug-o-war over cabin furniture?" Miranda asked.

"Why the hell would I do that?" Shepard frowned up at the ceiling.

"Just clearing the air on the entertainment expectations," Miranda said.

Shepard dropped her head down and looked at them. "What?"

Liara sighed and turned her head. "Kaidan made us do biotic competitions with the lounge chairs on the way over."

"Oh," Shepard said flatly and tipped her head back again to look at the ceiling. "I won't make you do that."

Liara's fingers clicked across the terminal keys. Miranda recrossed her legs. Her arm brushed against Shepard's shoulder as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"So, uh … who won?" Shepard asked.

"What?" Miranda said.

"Who won?" Shepard asked. "The tug-o-war."

"The chair split in two." Miranda scrolled down a page on her datapad.

"I beat Miranda the first round," Liara said.

Miranda looked up from the screen. "Only one round. After I beat Kaidan, I would've made it into the brackets."

"But instead, you two tore the chair apart. The match wasn't settled, but I believe since I beat you, and you and Kaidan couldn't beat each other …"

Miranda dropped her datapad and twisted around. "I was a lot easier on you. I didn't want to break the chair."

Liara scooted forward in her swivel chair. "That didn't stop you the next round."

"Because it was Kaidan! I'd be damned if I let him beat me after the chair stack up."

"It was your own fault," Liara said. "Kaidan and I both said to support the base with another chair."

"The goal was to see who could stack the most vertically. I needed the extra chair."

"But you also—"

"Okay, then." Shepard shot to her feet and moved to her travel bag. "I'm taking a shower."

"You didn't win," Miranda insisted.

"I was fatigued from the chair lifting."

"But we all had the same time to recover, Liara."

"I went last."

"But last both times. Same interval."

"But if you think about –"

Shepard slid the bathroom door shut and sighed.

XXX

Hot water stung her face. So hot, Shepard was on the verge of turning it down. Steam curled around her. The rush of water streaming down her back felt good. She took a deep breath and set her back against the wall. The tiling's molded edges skipping up her backbone as she sank to the floor. She brushed away a slick tendril of hair sticking to the corner of her eye. Faint voices sounded like they were still debating. The walls and water muffled it too much to make out any words.

She grinned despite herself and folded her hands out to catch the falling water. It bubbled running over the rim of her fingers. Her smile stretched wider watching it dribble. The room brightened around her with a blue energy. Her skin glowed through the water cupped in her hands. She strained and a wavy blue light spread through the water. She parted her hands. A bubble of water rippled like a loose ball of jelly as it floated in front of her. She wrapped her arms around her knees with a toothy grin. Water splattered off its surface speckling her face. She reached out a hand and clenching it into a fist. The bubble burst. It had been a long time since she'd done that. Two years probably.

Water trickled into her smile as she leaned her head sideways on her knees. She blinked rapidly against the water. She hadn't thought of that in a long time. She could see Kaidan's on Sur-Kesh as he turned to her smiling, water lapping on the weedy shore of the Capitol Gardens, that damned broken fountain charred from a Cerberus attack a few meters off, bone dry. Udina had been dead for well over a month. Valern, the salarian councilor, had died. The Alliance and Council's business over the new councilors was taking forever. She and Kaidan had stood there waiting and waiting.

Kaidan turned away from the lake and smiled at her. He nodded at something behind her.

"Think you could move water from the lake into that?"

Shepard followed his gaze to the fountain. "Can you?"

Kaidan shrugged. "I don't actually know. It's a fair challenge. I haven't done it before."

"That's exactly what a hustler would say."

"And a non-hustler."

"True." Shepard twisted on her heels and looked around. No one. "So, that's a challenge?"

"Uh … yeah. Consider it issued."

"Uh huh. The metaphorical throwing down of the glove?"

"Exactly. Scared?"

"Baiting me with trash talk? You think that will tip me over into accepting?"

"You biotic like a girl."

Shepard's eyes flew wide. She smacked his arm.

"And you hit like one too." He cringed back watching her warily.

She shook her head, hands on her hips. "The whole 'like a girl' trash talk? Low, Kaidan."

"What? It was a compliment. You're the sexist one."

"Fine." Shepard grinned. "I pick up your metaphorical glove and wave it in your face. How much water we talking here?"

Kaidan seemed pretty damned pleased with that dopy smile.

"I don't even know if it's possible. But assuming it is, I'd say whoever gets the most in … uh, wins."

"The winner gets the pride of being the one to swagger back to the Normandy?"

"With all the pomp. The loser trailing behind in shame."

Shepard chuckled. "Too bad James and Cortez aren't here. There'd be credits slapping down."

"If we charged entrance fees, we could both come out ahead."

"I'd rather forego the audience." She peered around again. "Okay. Let's make this quick. You'll tell me if …"

"Sure. Depends on how good you're doing. Too good my lookout skills may lapse."

"Hey. You go next, so I'd impress the hell out of me with your look out skills or you'll see how rusty mine are."

"Threats. This is getting riskier all the time. Kind of a turn on, Shepard." He gave her a sly smile then stood back angling to watch her from the side while seeing the garden paths.

"Okay."

Shepard planted her feet. The water at her feet reflected a blue haze as she lifted a hand haloed in dark energy. Out in the lake a glowing fog lifted out of the water. Glowing blue droplets rose, most falling back into the water before swirling into the misty vortex. Shepard bit her lip and scrunched her forehead. The toe of one foot edged into the water as the mist grew denser. The luminescent fog twisted in a man-sized cloud suspended above the water. She frowned at it.

Kaidan brushed up beside her. The touch of his corona crackled and tingled up her arm in a warm shiver. The vortex sputtered, and she clenched back down on it. Kaidan put out a glowing hand. The familiar reverberation of his energy mixing with hers permeated the mist. It started to condense. Pearl-like bubbles of water collided and swirled around in a thickening stream. Kaidan grin at her out of the corner of his eye. He drew his eyes away as his brow pinched together. His toes edged into the water as he lifted both hands shaping the water in tighter. Waves of water formed. Shepard laughed and pushed harder. The rotating maelstrom glimmered with blue light as they pressed it tighter.

"So many particles, like sand," Shepard murmured scrunching her face and probably sweating, if she was honest.

"Like drawing water up in a strainer."

The mist formed a compacted blur of sloshing water, enlarging and glowing.

"How are we going to move this?" Shepard said.

Kaidan laughed not taking his eyes off it. "Maybe it's enough we lifted it above the surface."

"That was not the challenge."

"I don't think helping you was part of the challenge either."

"Good point." Shepard said. "This wasn't a team challenge, Kaidan."

"Guess next time we'll be more explicit with the rules before firing the gun."

"Next time?"

"There's always a next time."

"Maybe next time, I'll throw the glove at you."

"Do it," Kaidan laughed. "I like a good glove throw down."

Shepard breathed out and focused on the watery globe.

"Okay. Let's move it. Slowly."

"We better agree on the path."

Shepard glanced at the fountain behind them. Maybe twenty meters.

"Watch it." Kaidan stepped forward.

"Oh!" Shepard spun back and raised her drooping hand backup.

A dollop of water slurped back into the lake. Shepard frowned as she steadied it with both hands.

"Damnit," Shepard muttered.

"Fifty points. Gone."

"Shut up."

Kaidan chuckled and took a step back onto the shore.

"Wet toes now?" Shepard smirked.

"Yep."

"Okay," she said. "Slowly right between us. Fountains about twenty meters behind us."

"Aye, aye, Commander."

"Keep your wits about you, Major. This ball could go at any time."

"I know what I signed on for. Just give the word."

"Okay … right now."

Shepard pulled back from Kaidan to leave a path between them. The sphere of water drifted to them dripping a trail of water, mist diffusing out behind it.

"Keep up, Kaidan."

"You're splashing water out, Shepard."

It shuttered forward, and a swish of water sloshed into the lake.

"See," Kaidan said. "You need to slow down."

"Keep up, and we could maintain the water tension."

"Okay …" Kaidan said.

The spinning nucleus of water sloshed and rippled. Beading rivulets ran over the blue surface dripping off. Mud sucked at Shepard's boots as she stepped back. The water bubble floated just overhead between them, and Kaidan grinned at her. His eyes darted over her shoulder. The sphere rippled, edges misting and dribbling.

"Kaidan."

"Shepard …"

Kaidan's corona blinked out. Shepard spun around, her effect field trembling.

"Shepard, watch—"

Shepard whipped back. Blue light wavered. The bubble burst. Kaidan reeled backward. The water dropped in a heavy slosh into the muddy reeds and sand. Shepard cringed back. Earthy goo sloshed over them. She hunched to the side frozen for a moment before cracking open her eyes. Her muscles loosened. Swamp gunk oozed down the right side of her face as she straightened.

Kaidan groaned, face crinkled, and flicking his hands dripping in slime. Sludge painted his uniform. The sleeves of his white shirt stuck opaquely to his upper arm as he stared at her. Streaks of mud glistened on the left side of his face. He must have turned his face away too.

Shepard released a breath and held her arms out in front of her. Muck coated her right side. Her fingers felt at her hair. Goopy on that side. She caught Kaidan in the corner of her eye snapping into a salute. Shepard spun around a little unsteady, straightened, and threw up her arm.

Admiral Hackett stared frozen, mouth unhinged, stopped in the garden pathway. A group of crisp-tailored salarians stood behind him bug-eyed and unblinking. Everything stood silent except for the lapping lake water. A human in the back wearing a pressed suit and balding stepped past Hacket.

"Councilor Mason." He offered his hand.

Shepard wiped her right hand on the better side of her uniform and shook his hand.

"Pleasure. Commander Shepard," she said.

Hackett stumbled forward with stiff, melting limbs.

"Uh … yes, yes … our two human Spectres, Councilor. And this is Councilor Ilk." Hackett turned to one of the salarians. The salarians started to blink again and shifted to reveal one in the back reading his datapad. He lowered it, coming forward a step with a sigh, and nodded. Hackett nodded toward the blading man in front of them. "This is Councilor Mathew Mason. Councilors, delegates, this is …" Hackett's sighed with pinched lips and waved a limp hand their direction. "Spectre Shepard. Spectre Alenko."

Kaidan stepped forward and shook Councilor Mason's hand. As he stepped back, he looked sideways at Shepard with big eyes. Kaidan snapped his attention back to Hackett. The admiral touched his temple shaking his head as he turned around.

"Let's, uh … continue on then, Councilors. I have some members of the Admiral Board I'd like you to meet." He shot a brief glance back their direction, but didn't meet their eyes. "Spectres." He gave a nod and led the group stumbling after him, throwing looks over their shoulder at Shepard and Kaidan, until they rounded a garden hedge. Their footsteps faded.

Kaidan spun to her. "If we survive this war, I'm going to be mortified about this."

"You do look a little flushed."

Kaidan tumbled over to her. "How are you not? You're paler than I am!"

"Probably just can't see it through the mud."

He wiped a thumb across her cheek then laughed. "I'm just making you dirtier." He stared at his hand then drug it across the front of his uniform. He looked at it again. "Useless, Shepard. Useless."

She ran a hand through her goopy hair, and then stared at it. She smiled up at Kaidan.

"There. On your face. Come here." She stepped closer.

Kaidan narrowed his eyes but didn't step back.

Her teeth peeked through the mud. "Let me get that …"

He caught her wrist. "No way."

She eyed him grin twisting deeper and making his eyebrows draw together. She dropped her head and shook her hair violently spewing muck.

"Shepard!" Kaidan stumbled back, a blue shield faring up.

"Using biotics to save yourself, Kaidan?"

Kaidan laughed holding up a finger. "I'm respectfully only using defensive tactics. Though … damn, Shepard. If I wasn't muddy enough."

Shepard's eyes wandered to the corner of the hedge where the delegates had disappeared. She drew in a hot breath seeing their faces stare at her. A sputtering laugh broke out between her teeth.

"Damnit. That was – I can't believe that happened." She hunched forward with aching ribs. "I'm horrified. It's hitting me now."

"About time," Kaidan said. "Everything always hits you later. I can't be horrified alone on this."

Shepard grabbed his arms, facing him, and laughing into each other.

"You're not alone," she said.

He grinned at her. Her face strained from smiling.

"I know that," Kaidan nodded toward the corner of the hedge, "because I'm pretty sure Admiral Hackett is just as horrified."

They stood grinning and holding each other's eye. Shepard dropped her hands from his arm and backed up. Salarian Congressional Capitol. It was unprofessional as was. Kaidan smirked at her, folding his arms, and standing in shoulder to shoulder with her. They looking out over the shaggy hedges and serpentine, crab grass-fringed pathways. She folded her arms and couldn't smother the pulling grin. Out of the corner of her eye, he grinned just as wide.

Shepard hunched forward in the shower over her knees. The cooling water washed over her face and down her calves to her toes. She closed her eyes. A smile spread across her lips.