AUTHOR'S NOTE: Alright guys, here's the deal. On one hand, work isn't being too heavy on me, at least regarding the amount of days I have to go to work at the moment. However, the schedule will NOT be speeding up at least… until late July? August? The reason being that my family is in the process of moving. After approximately 16 years, my family are finally moving out of the north and back to our home, birthplace, of Florida. Bout goddamn time. So. Next chap is obviously Pragia, that should give it some length, and, idk. Average length of chaps might be on the lower end until we settle in. Now, before I send ya off I just want to reply to two of the most recent reviews real quick. KOTOR, sorry the lengths have been on the lower end, I don't have as much time as I'd like right now, and yeah, the addition of a clean room is just a relatively easy (and obvious) thing to add on a starship. They are all compartmentalized in case of a hull breach, so they're all airtight and sealed naturally. To that guest, I honestly have never watched Smallville, (I prefer Marvel stuff) Kal's name is obviously the canon one, and Lana'Shalgur was the name of his love interest in Calinstel's series. Now, I've written her to act considerably differently than Calinstel's version, and I'm pretty sure I haven't mentioned her clan name yet, but I just like the name of Lana. Anyways, hope you enjoy despite the length. (Like the girlfriend I don't have)
Garrus Vakarian
Well that was a fun morning. I'm glad I'll be able to remember that round. Or two. But we both have responsibilities for the day and had to go our separate ways, though I'm not about to complain about the offer for our separate ways to… converge again, so to speak. No strings attached.
Currently, I was making my way to one of the taxi lots by the apartment complex. Considering it wasn't the only one in the area and that there were both commercial and office complexes nearby, the lot was busy at this time of day. It may not have been when all the office jobs were starting, but anyone going for an early lunch, or getting to work to start a lunch shift keeps it busy enough, both people going in and out. Hm, word choice. To and from would do better right now, I think. As I hailed one of the outgoing taxis, my Omni-tool pinged with a message, but I'd just check after the cab was on its way. The cabbie was a greasy, older looking human with bushy hair above his lip. We shared a short, standard greeting, and I gave him the destination of the docking bay on Zakera ward we were docked on. Naturally, he wouldn't take me to the ship itself, that's not the way the transit works. Not like it matters, though.
I pulled up my Omni-tool and checked what the ping was. A message from Shepard.
Just checking in. Doing alright, buddy? I took a deep breath. I'd never admit it to anyone, but it feels good to have people check in on you like that. Especially if they're not blood related, so there's not the assumption of the 'familial obligation' excuse. To answer the question? The full truth I'll give myself is that, not surprisingly, I am physically feeling pretty good. Mentally? Still exhausted and emotionally drained, but good luck ever finding a Turian who shows that to anyone other than their mate. Still, I'm… stable enough, I think that word fits enough, to go back to the Normandy, and I wouldn't turn down the chance to shoot something if need be either. I typed my response.
Between strong drinks and feminine company, I'm doing better. I still don't want to talk about it yet, but I'm better, and heading back now. I sent my message and quietly waited as the cab made its journey, looking out across the Citadel and the Widow nebula in it's strange, purple and pale beauty with swarms of ships and sky cars going about their business. I got a response a few minutes later.
Good to hear, and glad to see you found yourself some fun. I'd be there to greet you at the ship, but Hackett wants me to come to see him over at Anderson's office and I've already left. Unless there's any reasons given to hang around, we're probably heading out sometime tomorrow. Plan for that as you want.
If I'm being completely honest? I'd prefer for us to just leave today. A few more minutes passed, the skycar arrived and landed, I paid, I left, I returned to the ship as my body decided to remind me that I hadn't had breakfast with a slight cramping sensation. Well... I did have breakfast of a kind… Alright, let's put those thoughts aside for some other time, and go eat some food in the meantime.
I made my way down to the mess, Zaeed and Grunt, as well as other various crew, including Chambers, were having meals. Zaeed was the first to see me, giving a silent, knowing glance with his good eye and nodding. No expression, just the nod. Grunt didn't even need to turn his head to look, but barely paid any attention to my arrival, just getting back to his meal. It wasn't lost on me that both seats beside him were empty. Unfortunately for me, Gardner was in the process of cleaning everything used to cook between the meals of the day, so I wouldn't be getting the hot meal I'd have been hoping for. Water and a nutrient bar. Or two. I made my way back to the table to eat and drink, taking a seat between one of the crewmen and Zaeed. That redhead, Kelly Chambers, was continuously trying to catch my eye with smiles.
"I missed you at the mess last night, Garrus. Where were you?" Guess she hadn't heard. I glanced up with my left eye. My right noticed Zaeed was looking at the woman himself now, a very slight shake of his head to the side. I'll admit some surprise at the gesture. As for the woman… The way she's speaking to me reminds me of Dr. Michel. Humans are strange.
"Drinking myself into a stupor then finding myself in the bed of a very… nice woman," I answered without paying her much mind. If she was trying to do what I think she might, it should put a stop to it. Zaeed chuckled beside me.
"Why'd she let you have her bed?" The… mentally young Krogan asked, completely oblivious. As for Chambers, her face reddened, just slightly, while a few of the other crew at the table gave slight smirks, but Kelly kept her own smile.
"Oh? What was she?" I'm only more convinced that she's trying to find herself in the same… positions that Anlea was in. I raised a lone browplate at the Human woman as I took a bite of one of my nutrient bars. I was silent a moment as I just looked up at her with one eye and a raised browplate.
"Turian."
"Oi. Chambers. Shuddup and let the man eat," Zaeed grumbled. Appearing a bit embarrassed, and some of the human crew giving her looks to go about the same. Thank the spirits… Just as I finished my 'meal' and my water, the engineering crew had apparently come up to the deck as Tali, Kenn, and Gabby entered the mess, and I think I saw Donnelly moving quickly towards the lounge and bar.
"Hold around a moment! We got one helluvan announcement!" Gabby beamed, shaking Tali gently by the shoulder. I watched curiously, then Donnelly returned from the lounge with a large green and corked bottle. "Ladies, Gents, our Head engineer has a little something to announce," she stepped to the side, leaving Tali in the center.
"As of now, we have just completed tests on new prototype shield generators for the Normandy. Cyclonic Barrier technology, which exponentially improves the effectiveness of a ship's shields by rapidly cycling the ship's shields every fraction of a second in order to deflect projectiles rather than absorb the full blow. The tests have passed, and we have the design needed," she explained. Well, that'll help against the Collectors.
"And what she's forgetting to mention is that she came up with the idea, and the designs, all on her own. She has invented the next generation of shield tech," Daniels added. Impressive, Tali. Very impressive. Admittedly, not at all surprising for her, but impressive. Everyone at the mess tables, except Grunt, who probably either wasn't paying attention or didn't understand the tech talk and immediately stopped caring, clapped their hands for the embarrassed Engineer.
"Ay, Gardner. Get some glasses for the lot, wouldja?" Donnelly asked in his strange, almost comical accent as he forced the cork off the bottle which shot out like a large organic bullet, foamed alcohol spilling onto the floor as Gardner stepped up his pace to catch it in glasses
"Is it normal in human celebrations to make a mess on the floor with alcohol?" Tali asked, looking down at the wasted drink.
"Normally not intentionally, lass," Donnelly joked. "But popping a champagne bottle? Yeah, that's normal."
"Unfortunately," I barely heard Gardner mutter under his breath. "Thanks for upping our odds to see this through alive," he added louder. I just gave Tali a silent, approving nod when her gaze came back this way, then stood.
"Well if we're celebrating, I'm going to get a drink that won't leave me sick. Want me to get you a bourbon, Tali?" I asked with a knowing glance.
"Ancestors no," she groaned at the memory. I just chuckled and made my way to the lounge.
"Oh, I gotta hear about this," Gabby remarked.
Commander John Shepard
I returned to the Normandy after the meeting in a bit of a daze. There's two people I need to talk to about this.
"EDI," I asked as I stepped aboard the ship, the CIC not nearly as populated as normal, as would be expected since we're in dock and a drive core only generating power, not anything else. "Where's Garrus and Tali?"
"They are both located within the mess hall," the AI answered.
"Thanks," I answered, and took the elevator down. When the door opened, there was the very noticeable sound of human crew, including a scot, talking and laughing. Curious. When I turned the corner, I saw a fair amount of the crew, including Garrus, Tali, Grunt, and Zaeed standing or sitting and enjoying some drinks, an empty champagne bottle resting at the kitchen. Color me intrigued. As my presence quickly became noticed the more intoxicated members present raised their drinks with a drunken greeting.
"Ayyyyyyyy, Shepuuuurd. Can I have some of me creds back?" Donnelly slurred.
"Fair and square," I shrugged with a smirk. "What's this about?"
"It worked, Shepard. We've got a successful prototype that passed all the tests," Tali answered, one of the few fully sober. I couldn't help but grin. She did it. She's a genius inventor and will find herself worshipped by shield technicians and naval engineers for years and years to come.
"Knew you could do it," I grinned. "Can you get me numbers for resources needed and the price to fully replace the ship's current shields?"
"Of course."
"Great. In the meantime, can I talk to you and Garrus?"
"I've got a buzz, but I'm good to listen," Garrus shrugged, standing to his feet while Tali gave a nod, also standing. I just led them to the lounge, where Kasumi was still absent. At least, so it seemed. Still, I didn't see any flickering or wavy air.
"How did it go with Admiral Hackett?" Tali asked.
"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you all about," I responded. "The Alliance does obviously want to have themselves a Spectre, and apparently losing their first Spectre after less than a year was a bit embarrassing. Plus, they remember the Blitz and the reputation it gave me. What was a tricky matter was the here and now. Considering it's been two years, both those who do and don't believe the resurrection are skeptical about whether or not I am under Cerberus' control. Willingly or otherwise.
Technically, working with Cerberus in any capacity could get me a court-martial, and apparently, there was more than one debate among the Alliance's military leadership plus Prime Minister Shastri as to whether or not my status as a Spectre, which is thankfully upheld, makes any difference. But in the end…" I pulled a small box out of my pocket and opened it, revealing the bars of a Commander in the Alliance Navy. "I'm reinstated. With plenty of thanks to Hackett, Anderson, and even Shastri," I smiled. A real smile. Removing a sense of anxiety about whether or not they'd have me back. I've given a lot to the Alliance, and they've given a lot to me. And I'll keep giving at least until the Reapers are through.
"Congratulations, Shepard. Any strings attached?" Garrus asked as Tali gave me a hug.
"A few. And they're temporary, unsurprisingly. I'm reinstated officially, but I won't be getting my salary until after we're done with Cerberus. Though they'll be sending missions our way from time to time, and they'll give me half a month's pay per mission. So, not unlike a merc in practice. I asked Hackett if the Alliance might be willing to help with upgrades to the ship, ideally to keep things like yours," I gestured at Garrus, "and the shields, out of Cerb's hands. Hackett said he'll pass it along, but that it might depend on the price of the upgrades. I get the sense that if they can make use of your designs, that'll help a lot," I explained. In fact, they've already given us a mission to get done. I plan to go after we do Jack's favor, but, uh… it's the crash site. The SR-1. They want us to deliver and place a small memorial statue, look for bodies or… any means of identifying the MIA and giving the families closure." The others were silent, Tali, gone ridgid.
"They hadn't sent a recovery team yet?" Garrus asked.
"Terminus hotspot," I shrugged. "Same cluster as Omega." Garrus nodded, understanding. "The statue will be coming in later today, then Anderson's got an explosive that Jack needs for her favor. I'll be bringing both of you along, naturally. But Jack wants Miranda to join in and see. If you want to not go, for some reason or other, just say the word.
"I'll use my visor and stream a feed of the mission to the ship. Let everyone see what had happened," Garrus offered.
"Sounds good."
Commander John Shepard
Hours had passed, and the day had gone by without more events. Kasumi had appeared briefly to congratulate Tali on her achievement before disappearing again, and the only sign of Jack today was her appearing on the Crew deck and going straight to Chakwas, then leaving, probably to get… cleaned again. Samara and Thane had both exited the observation deck together during lunch and observed, but did not join in on the merriment. Though they did ask, and give thanks to the Quarian. Eventually, the day came to a close, the statue having arrived around dinner time, and the yearning for sleep began.
Tali stretched and yawned in her seat, her glowing eyes closing for a moment as she resettled in her seat. Most of the crew, Donnelly included, had passed out from enjoying their drinks, and a few others, like Garrus, had cut themselves off to go off and sleep before they got to the bad hangover stage. Tali and I were the last at the mess table, a few random crew members just talking and having a few last drinks elsewhere.
"Tired?" I asked.
"A bit," Tali leaned back in her chair.
"I could go with some sleep now myself. You uh…" I trailed off awkwardly.
"Hmm? Oh!" Tali fidgeted in her seat now, before stopping herself, and taking a deep breath, eyes closed, and pausing. Her eyes opened again, and she looked up at me. I couldn't see, but I got the sense she was managing a smile. "Ok." I gave her a smile back, and we both stood, making our way to the elevator. Fortunately, I had gotten a message from Mordin earlier that I snuck a read of.
Quarters are fully sealed and sterilizing agents installed for dispersal in quarters and antechamber. Currently out to purchase decontamination unit for installation in both rooms and localized laundry system that will fully sterilize all fabrics while remaining intact.
Good. There shouldn't be any giveaways for her. We just go sleep, go about the morning as things are planned, and by the next time… I can surprise her with that. While making it clear she only has to… make any use of it fully at her discretion. Tali and I made our way up to my quarters, through the antechamber, and into my quarters. Her three fingers of her right hand entwined with the five of my left.
"You can go ahead and make yourself comfortable. I'll just be a moment." I grabbed a tank-top and sweatpants from my closet as Tali, shifting awkwardly, tried to figure out what to do with herself, and took my clothes into the bathroom, closing the door. I made use of it, gave my teeth a brush, and changed into the clothes, and exited. Tali was sitting on the bed, taking some of the fabric in her hands and studying it. I got the sense she was imagining how it felt. She obviously heard the door open, though, and her eyes went right to me, then my bare arms. I may or may not have flexed for her. She was on the left side, currently, so I walked over to the right side, and got myself situated under the blanket, sitting up with my back on the pillow.
"Oh," Tali murmured, then slowly went and worked on doing the same as I just gave her a warm, reassuring grin. She pulled her blankets to her waist as I worked my way to actually lie down on my back, pulling the blanket up to my chest as she copied me. I turned my head over to my side, listening to her nervous breathing before she turned her head, her eyes gazing into mine. Her breathing began to ease, and I grabbed her hand again, smiling. Tali turned to her side and lay her right arm over my chest and her hand on my side, squeezing me gently on my side. My right arm went under her side pressed against the bed and around her, pressing her up against me, and her head went to rest at the crook of my neck, and so my head rested against the top of hers, and her right leg hooked over my own. Sleep came quickly.
It was heaven.