EXTRA AUTHOR'S NOTE: Forgot to mention, so re-uploading the chapter. I commissioned some artwork from Palavenmoons and the results are now in! It's Shepard and Tali, based off of the end of my N7 day special chapter. And she even threw in a free sketch that I'll be using as this storie's Thumbnail! I'd link to her Tumblr, but, y'all know what happened there. So, you want to see the Commissioned piece, join my discord! Either join the Discord server with the ending tag of /y5JYGQU or friend me. MakoGT#5797
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys, sorry I wasn't able to get another chapter out, Pneumonia plus work equals a very bad time. Add in a day of dehydration with a panic attack that literally leaves me collapsing and going straight to the hospital, and it's also a really bad time. (I am physically fine, btw. Making that clear.) I've just been busy. Anyways, hope you enjoy!
Miranda Lawson
Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. What the hell was he thinking, pushing himself like that without training? Not with biotics. I didn't spend two years of my life bringing him back and improving him just so he could paralyze or even kill himself by being so reckless with biotics. And the damage it must have done to his implant. I stormed from my office, pass the mess and all the curious and confused faces of the crew, ground team and ship crew alike, then into the med-bay. Chakwas was at her desk, Garrus was leaning against the left wall, drink in hand, while Shepard sat beside the bed Tali was resting in. They were talking, laughing, though it was a struggle for the Quarian. I had seen on the duty roster earlier this morning that Chakwas cleared him for duty, thus why he's not in a bed himself. Though he should be.
"What were you thinking, Commander?!" I shouted the moment I had stepped in. All eyes turned. They were either surprised or annoyed.
"Probably something along the lines of 'fuck Cerberus,' or how I'd do anything for my crew, or if about last night, I wanted a nice and relaxing evening. What now, Lawson?" Shepard grumbled. Before I could respond, Tali released a small series of wet coughs.
"Your biotics, Commander. Your implant is both experimental, and you're still training. The throw was one thing I can overlook, but whatever the hell you did that backfired and exploded? Not only could that have fried your implant, but it could also have fried your entire nervous system!" It was silent for a moment, while all the others glanced amongst themselves.
"And here I was expecting something we'd just forget about a few seconds after she left," Garrus remarked, earning the Turian a glare from me. He didn't seem to care.
"Take it you saw the security feed, then. Then you saw that Tali was unconscious and I was mighty pissed. On top of that? The odds were most certainly not in my favor. I needed an edge, and it worked out." He defended.
"This is serious, Shepard. Would that edge have mattered if you got yourself paralyzed? Look, I need to assess the damage to the implant. Using your biotics with its current damage could still cause burnout." Shepard shrugged in response and allowed me to make the scan. "Hm. Not as bad as I feared, but there is damage. We have replacement parts on board already, and we'll need to operate in order to install them. Until then, you absolutely cannot use your biotics."
"Do it en route to our next destination?" he asked.
"Yes, while we will be going through the skull for the procedure, it won't require any digging around in your brain. Minimizing recovery time."
"Alright, no biotics until then. I can manage that. Anything else?" I took a deep breath to calm myself.
"Just that you need to take your biotics slow. Even in normal situations, it's always been ideal for biotics to manifest during the younger ages. The older one is when training begins, the greater the challenges and the risks. Add in experimental tech, and that's all tripled."
"Got it." I nodded as my own response and let them all be. The Illusive Man needs to know. Instead of returning to my office, I made my way up to CIC and into the comm/briefing room. I initiated the call, the table lowering as the room prepared for the holograms.
"A moment, Ms. Lawson. The Illusive Man is ending his current call," EDI informed. Of course, this mission is high enough on his priorities list to warrant interruptions in his schedule, but during meetings or calls he can't just immediately hang up but has to end his meeting or call for at least a few moments. The holo panels lit up to display his office, he was sitting in his chair as always, and smoking his cigarette. No need for formalities, he's a busy man.
"Apologies for the interruption, sir, but I have news regarding the Commander's health."
"Is this related to the attempt on his life yesterday?" he asked. Of course, I'm his most trusted eyes on this operation but not the only ones he had watching it. On top of any other of his operatives on Illium.
"Partially. Specifically, regarding his implant. During the attack, he saw fit to push his current biotic capabilities. While it worked out in the end, it did result in a large blast that gave him a concussion, on top of minor damage to his implant. Fortunately, only parts we already have replacements for were damaged."
"And no lasting damage to the Commander himself?"
"None."
"Good," he took a drag of his cigarette. "Operative Lawson, over the course of this mission I've been wondering if I was wrong to deny your suggestion about installing a control chip within his brain. As a result, I want you to try and convince the Commander to stall on Illium a few more hours while we send you upgrades for the implant. Upgrades with a control chip installed."
"And for the record, this is in spite of his claim of an immediate suicide upon learning?" I questioned.
"It won't be used unless I personally deem it absolutely necessary. Maybe that will be when the mission ends and Shepard attempts to break away. Maybe I'll allow him to go on until he becomes more trouble to our cause than he's worth. At worst, it'll be a kill switch. At best, and what I believe most likely, the suggestions and changes to his electric impulses it'll convince him to either leave our operations alone or even work with us again. Or maybe they'll piece together it's the implant in time and remove it, but still removing his biotic abilities," The Illusive Man explained.
"And what if I can't convince him to accept the implants?"
"Then give him the replacements you have on board and we'll deal with the consequences later. His use of it will still provide us with valuable data for using similar implants on our agents."
"Understood, sir." The Illusive Man nodded, and the call ended, the holograms and the darkness of his office, the ominous glow of the star fading, replaced with the ship's bright interior lighting. Back to my quarters first. I want to wait a small while before returning with this news. Most of the crew who was in the mess earlier had dispersed by now, Gardner was cleaning up. I waited an hour, checking in with contacts, then I left for the med-bay. I entered, interrupting the fun of the trio again.
"Again? Damn, you must have really screwed up," Garrus remarked.
"Just an offer, Commander. I received news of upgrades we can add to your implant. It'll make your biotics stronger and less of a strain to use. Some of these upgraded parts will take the place of the damaged parts as well."
"Straight out of a Cerberus base, huh? Yeah, I'll pass." Let's not make it so easily. I didn't tell him it was from Cerberus, after all.
"Actually, it's from an Illium manufacturer. It's experimental, but the manufacturer is reliable, and quality. I just need to respond to them with the credits and it'll arrive here in just a few hours.
"Look, Lawson, say I was alive and conscious when you were putting all this tech into me. I doubt I'd accept half of what you put into me. And that was before I was insulting your boss on the daily. Before you learned just how hostile I really am towards your organization. You already told me you wanted to put a control chip in me before. So forgive me if I don't trust anything you want to put inside my head now," he frowned. "And you know, for someone who's biggest gripe with their father is how absolutely controlling he is, you seem to have little problem exerting your own control, or subjugating someone else." I felt anger rise, and I opened my mouth to argue, but… nothing came out. What can I say? It's different? "Think on that, why don't you?" I recomposed myself, taking a deep breath.
"If it would make you more comfortable, Mordin and Doctor Chakwas can retrieve it, and scan it, while you decide whether or not to install it." Their scans might catch the bug, but at least this way I'll have it aboard. "But they're looking to get the prototype out soon, and your recovery will be much faster if it's taking the place of parts that already need to be replaced opposed to replacing half the implant." Shepard was silent a moment.
"Mordin and Lia can retrieve it, handle it, and scan every part of it for anything sketchy. As it stands, I'm not taking your upgrade, but maybe they can convince me." Good, good. Even if it's just on board, it gives me a much higher chance to switch the parts without anyone knowing if he still decides against them.
"I'll let them know, Commander." I nodded and left. It's fortunate The Illusive Man changed his mind while the Commander was concussed. I'd bet he'd turn it all down no matter what if it wasn't impairing his logic.
Commander John Shepard
Miranda walked out of the med-bay, and I felt a pang of regret. Why did I agree to that? Ah well, having it on board doesn't mean it's going in my head. And hopefully she'll think about my comparison to her father.
"Is it just, a trend or something that members of the Normandy crew have to have some sort of father issues?" Garrus asked. "I mean, we know Tali has less of a father and more of an Admiral, I've got a history of disagreements and disappointment, Wrex's father tried to kill him, Jack doesn't even have one, Grunt's was a psychotic Krogan Doctor, am I missing anyone?
"Liara never knew hers," I added.
"Right, she didn't," Garrus chuckled.
"You really shouldn't-" she took a deep breath. "Ah-chew!" she sneezed, then groaned, putting a hand up to her head. "Keelah. Accept the implant. I don't-" she was interrupted again by her cough. "Trust her."
"Yeah, you're probably right. Still doesn't mean I'll accept the parts. And hey, one of the reasons I keep you two around is to keep my ass in line," I remarked.
"And queue Tali saying something like 'and what a nice ass it is,'" Garrus mocked. Tali reached behind her head, grabbing her pillow, and throwing it at the Turian's face, resulting in more laughter from him and I than we had already started with.
"It seems some things are just cross-species," Chakwas chuckled quietly to herself, shaking her head, smirking. Tali huffed into a cough, wincing, and laid back down as I returned her pillow. The door to the med-bay opened again, but this time, instead of an angry buxom brunette from… Australia, I'd bet, there was a small and petite hooded Japanese woman.
"Hey, I heard what happened. Wish I could have been there to help," Kasumi greeted, walking in. "You alright, Tali?"
"The concussion is new, but it's not my first suit breach. I'll be fine." Contrary to her claims, she immediately had a small, but harsh coughing and sneezing fit. "Why is it that every time I-" she cleared her throat. "I make that claim, I get the worst of it?"
"I like to think it's the body calling you out on your bullshit," Chakwas remarked nonchalantly from her desk. Everyone except the sick little Quarian laughed. Tali huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.
"I just want to be out of this bed. I can work!"
"Anyone can work until their body gives out on them. But they shouldn't. And you, my dear, are no exception," Chakwas stated.
"But-"
"No. My job isn't just to save your lives when you take a bullet but to keep you all healthy and capable. If I let you work in your current state, you probably won't last an hour, the quality of your work will suffer, and you'll take that much longer to recover. If you're guilting yourself for not working, which, I know you are, know that it's better for your work, in the long run, to rest and recover as I am ordering you." Tali turned to me, hoping I might counter. I held my hands up.
"This is medical, Tali. Her authority surpasses mine here. Commanding officer or not."
"And don't you dare forget it," Chakwas chuckled.
"So where were you, anyway?" I asked Kasumi, changing the topic.
"Oh, the usual. Checking in on some contacts, casing a few places for me to hit after this mission, making preparations for Hock. That ambush happened while I needed radio silence for some casing," the thief explained. "Sorry, your date got ruined."
"Well, up until the window shopping, it was actually pretty nice," I grinned at Tali, taking her hand. Garrus faked a gag. Kasumi rolled her eyes at Garrus but smiled at us.
"In a surprising way, being a softy suits you, Shep."
"Surprising?"
"Big badass with some emotional baggage, yet with a heart of gold and a soft spot for his friends, and particularly, his adorable girlfriend," Kasumi giggled. Tali was absolutely blushing.
"You should have known him as a child," Chakwas smirked.
"You knew kiddie Shep?" Kasumi almost squealed, wide-eyed.
"Knew him? I helped deliver him, then helped raise him, being good friends with his mother!"
"Please tell me you have baby pictures! I want to leak them everywhere!" Kasumi exclaimed, beaming. Oh god, now it was my turn to blush and feel some embarrassment. And Tali seemed pleased.
"I second that!" Garrus called out. Chakwas laughed.
"While I may have changed his diapers, once upon a time, I did manage to gain some level of respect for the man and his privacy. The baby pictures are all with his mother. You'd have to convince her."
"Damn. Guess I know what my next heist is, though."
"Ha, don't even try. She's got eyes on the back of your head," I joked.
"I like a challenge," Kasumi giggled. "Alright, I have some planning to do. Hock's party is this Saturday. I'll leave you all be. For now."
"Bye, Kasumi," I stated while Garrus gave a short wave, and Chakwas a nod.
"Thanks for checking in," Tali added. As the door closed behind her, Garrus turned back to us.
"She is certainly… interesting." My omni-tool then proceed to ring with a vid-call. Liara. I answered.
"Shepard," she began, looking worried. "I heard about what happened. Are you all alright?" She asked.
"Took a bang to the head, but alive. Tali got the worst of it," I moved my arm so that Tali was on the screen for the Asari.
"Cracked visor, concussion," Tali then coughed. "And infection."
"Goddess, I'm sorry. What were you doing in Eclipse territory?"
"They were on a date," Garrus answered.
"A date? Oh! You two finally told each other?" Liara's expression shifted from concern to happiness and support.
"It's been hell, Liara. Hell. Please for the love of the spirits, find me a regular Turian woman, so there can be something not so... sappy."
"Sorry not everyone's into primal rutting, clawing, and biting," I joked. Tali was just blushing again. He hooked the talons of his thumb and index finger of the same hand together, and pushed out until it made a clacking sound, like a human snap. A Turian's version of the middle finger.
"I'm glad to see that somethings just never change," Liara smiled. "I must get back to my work, but I'm glad you're all doing so well." We gave our farewells to Liara, and the call ended. Then I remembered. Kasumi's heist is at the end of the week, and it's Monday. It took a day to go from the Citadel to here, but how long to Zorya and back to the Citadel from there? Bekenstein is in a neighboring system, so it's probably a good idea to leave the ship at the Citadel, Kasumi, myself, and anyone else who might be needed just take a shuttle, that will probably just take an hour. I commed Joker.
"Joker, plot a course for Zorya and tell me when we should arrive if we leave tonight. Then, if we'd make it back to the Citadel by Friday night after spending, a day at Zorya."
"Calculating now. Just a minute." It was quiet for a moment. "Yeah, we can do that, Shepard. Barely, but we'd make it."
"Good. Set the schedule. EDI, alert the crew and send the recalls for 8 PM tonight."
"At once, Commander," the AI answered.
"So much for staying in Terminus," Garrus chuckled. It was then that I noticed Tali had lost herself in thought. Understandably, not paying too much attention as it didn't concern her.
"Doctor," she began. "I know you're not allowing me to work my body, but would you stop me from doing some research? I have a few ideas for my work in engineering. Tune-ups for the drive core, the shields, other systems."
"So long as you sleep when I tell you to sleep, and you leave the physical labor to those in engineering. They can test your tune-ups.
"Thank you. This, at least, should keep me sane." Hm… tune-ups, huh?
"Speaking of improvements. Garrus, you ever get anything more on those weapons you mentioned?"
"I've gotten back into contact with the guy, but I've yet to bring the weapons up. He's a bit nervous, he knows he told me something that's too classified for my 'station.' I want your backing when I bring it up, but I think it would help to have you reinstated in the Alliance, then have Hackett help you out when it comes to the arrangements. Maybe he and Anderson can pressure Sparatus to throw in support."
"Got it. I'll mention it to them when we're next on the Citadel."
Commander John Shepard
We were getting close to departure time now. Garrus and I, for the most part, had just remained in the med-bay. I was here the whole time, except to bring in food and water, but Garrus had, on occasion, gone to do at least a little bit of work on the ship's weapons. Now, the Turian was back with us, and the med-bay doors had opened to reveal someone we hadn't seen in a while. Jack.
"Heard Eclipse jumped you." She glanced at Tali. "If they got her, guess they got off a lot worse," the tattooed woman walked in, wearing the same, partially open cargo pants she wears on the ship, and for a top, just the same straps she had in the cryo pod. The one on the right wasn't even covering anything. Tali immediately just looked away.
"And, where were you? Doubt you came in here to check up on us," I remarked.
"You're right. I want the doc to check me."
"For?" Chakwas asked.
"STDs. Went out for an orgy as soon as I finished telling you about that favor I want? Just got back."
"You left for an orgy last night, and only just got back from it?" I asked, somehow, surprised.
"Yep. I was in the freezer for a few months. Wanted some good fucking, booze. Blow off steam. I've already pilled it, but don't want any other souvenirs. Won't have any problems from the Turians there, though. Not my first time." She was really damn casual about this.
"K-keelah," Tali murmured.
"Don't be surprised, Buckethead. I'm walking around with my tit out and not caring. If it wants to fuck, I'll probably fuck it. The Orgy was Turian, Krogan, Asari, the Hanar were fun. There was even a four eyes there. And Elcor are just massive. I can fit my whole leg up the chicks.
"Jesus, Jack. We don't need the details."
"Unfortunately for you three, I do. Were there any other species present?"
"I wasn't the only human. Already mentioned the Elcor. Some Volus watched but they couldn't get their suits off. One of the Krogan brought some Vorcha, gave that a shot. A group of Asari brought in a Varren, but that wasn't my speed." Oh, that's just disgusting.
"And did you do anything with those who did try?" Chakwas asked.
"Probably," she shrugged. The doc kept her reactions in check, and just ran the medical scan.
"There's a lot there, Jack. And only one of them is naturally human. Some of them can't affect your biology, but I believe it'll be wise to cure it anyway for the sake of future partners. And there's scale itch from the human. I won't be able to give you all the medications you need at once. I'm taking you off the duty roster until I can make sure you're clean."
"Fine. You don't need to keep me in here, do you?"
"No, just let me get the first cocktail of meds ready first," Chakwas stated, moving to her medicine cabinet, searching for the right medications, then putting them in the mixing equipment. A few moments later, she put the mixture into a syringe, injected Jack, and let her go.
"Some people…" Chakwas sighed.
"Suddenly, I can't wait to be off of Illium," Garrus muttered.
"Can I turn my audio receptors back on?" Tali asked, a bit more loudly than necessary. I nodded when she looked at me. "I don't want to know."
"No. No, you really don't."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I made Palaven cry as she edited that last part. Not by me actually doing anything, but because her eyes read that Jack section. (She approved of this in the author's note but I'd probs do it anyway to mess with her.) BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY: Feel like I should say this because I'm sure Fanfic has plenty of younger people on it or others who have misconceptions about sex. (I'm sure you've all read those fics with really bad and confusing sex stuff that makes no sense) Jack popping a pill was meant to be preventing fertilization. Don't just rely on that to not be a baby-maker. But Mass Effect is the future and they probably can. Practice safe sex. Besides, taking a birth control pill ain't protecting yo ass or yo coochie from them STDs. Condoms, male or female, do. And don't ever use more than one at a time. It just breaks the condom. And don't use a male and female condom at the same time either. Also, real life? While there's plenty of curable STDs, they're not nearly as easy to cure or treat as taking a few pills and then done. And plenty more, like AIDS, that can't be cured today. (But I'll bet they all can be in the Mass Effect time-line. BUT NOT IN MODERN DAY.)