Disclaimer: The Mass Effect Universe and everything in it belongs to BioWare. I only lay claim to London and Teagan. They be mine, arrrrgh. Suddenly I'm a pirate?
[Chapter 14: Getting to Know You]
Day 3 of flight to Omega
Commander's Cabin
4:45AM
"Hold her down boys! This one looks like a real rough ride!" The band of mercenaries all gave each other high-fives, appreciating their captain's sick sense of humor. "Did you make sure to inject with her a big dose of that bio-inhibitor?" he asked casually.
"Yes sir, I gave her the inhibitors and a sedative shot big enough to take down a small Krogan. She ain't doing shit tonight—cept' maybe blink."
The captain gave a sickening smile, "Good, but bind her hands and feet anyways—just don't over handle her. I don't want to seriously damage the thing; she still has to fetch a decent price on the market next week."
"Yessir! Where do you want her?"
"Fuck if I care, I don't want her comfortable. I just want her useful," he laughed out harshly. "Stick her on the ground or the top of a table, just get her ready."
The two mercs dragged Jack onto the captain's writing table laying the limp body face up onto the cold surface. They bound Jack's hands together over her head, while separating her legs and binding each ankle individually to a leg of the desk. One of the mercs began to roughly undress, using his knife to cut the helpless woman's clothing from her when simple, vicious tearing failed to remove the material. The others simply watched in amusement.
"Hey man, toss me those panties!"
The one undressing the biotic complied; tossing Jack's cut and torn cotton underwear to him, watching as he inhaled deeply. He grinned wickedly, "She might be a psycho bitch biotic, but her pussy smells nice just the same. When the captain is done, it's my turn next. You can get the sloppy thirds."
Their Captain was back only minutes later, "No one's getting anything until I've had my fill…and it might be a while till I'm full." He ran his tongue over his lower lip, "Is she ready?"
"Yes sir!"
"MmMmMmm…yes she is. She's spread out all nice and waiting…good job. Now wait outside boys, Papa has some business to attend to."
The two mercs snickered as they walked out of the room, adding vulgar encouragements on their way out.
Jack could see the merc captain unbuckle and drop his pants, exposing his limp member which he began to rub as he leered at Jack's exposed body, quickly becoming erect under his own touch. Having prepared himself, the captain stepped towards his captive eager to feel her flesh replace his hand. Watching him approach the biotic tried to move; she tried opening her mouth to warn him that if he didn't back the fuck off— she'd kill him. But nothing came out and her body refused to move. She could only lie there …and blink.
The captain walked around her like a vulture ready to eat its meal, eyeing the young woman with a sickening fascination. "…this…is going to be good."
Jack's eyes were beginning to moisten and go crazed behind their closed lids. Her hands clenched together as she tightly squeezed both her thighs against each other.
She felt her entrance being violated.
Thrust
"…s-stop…" A single tear rolled down her cheek, voice tiny and inaudible.
Thrust
"…sto—…"
Thrust
Her eyes snapped open as she sat up and went for the pistol that was always attached to her calve; fear becoming overwhelming as her scrabbling fingers couldn't find the weapon. Where did the mercenaries go? Panic etched across her face as she tried to remember where she was, why the room was so dark, and why she wasn't wearing her gear and instead only wearing a large shirt and boy-short panties.
It was then that she heard the snore of a familiar and very loud John Shepard. The biotic brought her knees up to wrap her arms around and rested her forehead against them. Jack couldn't help but sigh in relief upon hearing the annoying but still comforting noise of someone she knew and was learning to trust very deeply.
"…dream. It was just a dream."
A loud snored echoed once again throughout the cold cabin causing Jack to eye the large lump in the middle of the bed. He was sprawled out on the bed looking much like a giant letter 'X', leaving her only the side of the mattress to sleep on. "He must have been really tired if he couldn't feel himself pushing me over in the night..." Usually with Jack, Shepard was all too gracious with his bed space. He had always made sure to stay on his side and give her all the room she needed to be comfortable. As of late though, the biotic found that she liked to entangle herself in her Commander as they slept; but tonight he was moving around so damn much that Jack only found rest in separating herself from him and found the edge of her side of the bed to be the best option to actually getting to sleep.
It was odd however. The one night she couldn't feel his warmth was the night her nightmares found their way back into her mind.
The biotic exhaled as she stretched her legs back out along the bed and rubbed her eyes of any remainders of sleep. She glanced over at the clock, "…4:50AM? You're kiddi—" John interrupted her thought as he grumbled, his eyes fluttering around momentarily behind their lids, a large smile coming to his mouth as he whispered 'Jack' out into the stillness of his cabin.
The ex-convict found her interest peaked. Ever so carefully she nudged her way closer to Shepard until she was eventually leaning over his face to examine the way it looked. He seemed absurdly happy about something, and that stupid grin that infuriated her 85% of the time was plastered on him. Jack leaned into his ear, her mouth only an inch away as she whispered, "…yes?" in response.
The commander chuckled, his eyes flickering again as he dreamed. "…we have…to wait, Jack…"
Jack couldn't help but to raise an eyebrow. She whispered back into his ear, "…what do we have ta' wait for?"
John's face changed into one of concern, "…I want it to be right. Per…Perfect."
Jack clenched her jaw and backed away into a normal sitting position near his warm body. Upon her movement Shepard rolled onto his side and engulfed her waist with his arms burying his face into her lap. The biotic's eyes grew wide as she looked down onto his head. Her first instinct was to yell, to tell him to get the hell off of her and explain to him the obvious fact that she wasn't his pillow. But…something in the pit of her stomach turned as she began to examine his peaceful features. He looked so content being there entangled around her midsection. Jack was a woman who had spent her entire life either being used or feared—there was never a third option, so the sight of this man who not only did NOT fear her, but genuinely wanted to be with her made the damnedest thing occur:
The biotic cautiously lifted a hand letting it hover over John's head. She was hesitant in her actions, leaving her hand suspended there for what seemed to be minutes before finally and shakily descending it upon his scalp, running slender fingers through the softest hair she had ever felt. Shepard inhaled deeply and adjusted himself slightly as he tightened his grip around her and snuggled into the smoothness of her lap. The corner of Jack's mouth found itself lifting as she continued her uncharacteristically tender ministrations upon the commander.
The minutes and eventually hour passed by quickly as Jack let John sleep upon her, her mind going in circles around the only question she'd been asking herself since yesterdays 'meditation', "If he makes you feel like this—then why not just…"
The biotic bit her lip. She couldn't even bring herself to think of the word she'd been using all this time because that's all she'd ever been to her partners—a screw, a lay, a fuck. But she didn't want that with Shepard and she realized Shepard didn't want that from her either. Maybe that's why she couldn't bring herself to act on it. Never in the biotic's life had she cared enough to want to make sex something more than just two people relieving stress or gaining selfish pleasure and using each other as the tool to do so.
BEEPBEEP. BEEPBEEP. BEEPBEEP. Jack's eyes suddenly went into slits as she threw biotic energy towards the offending alarm clock causing it to slam against the far wall with a loud crack. Shepard shot up into a sitting position and yelled, "HOLD FIRE!" before he realized where he was and what had happened.
The commander roughly rubbed his lids before shaking his head lightly then looking at Jack. He grinned, voice still thick from sleep. "Sorry about setting the alarm for six. I had to wake up earlier than usual today because I'm meeting Miranda down at her office to discuss some upcoming plans."
Shepard reached his arms up and stretched, letting a thunderous groan out as he did so. Jack just stared at him and rolled her eyes, "It's whatever. I was already awake anyways."
John yawned then looked over to her, "Really? Why so early—and why beat up the poor clock then?"
Jack shrugged, "…felt like it."
He chuckled lightly as he swung his legs off the bed and made his way into the bathroom to get ready for the day, "Fair enough—but now you owe me a new clock."
The biotic gazed at the now empty room. She had preferred to be here rather than the cargo hold as of late; the cabin had a favorable temperature and relaxing feel that made her violent tendencies subside. Usually when she was alone she'd take some personal time to clean her weapons or take ridiculously long and hot showers that relaxed her always tense muscles. But today was starting to be very different. Jack just could NOT stop thinking. The same words repeated over and over in her mind driving her to the point of complete and utter frustration. "If he makes you feel that way then why not just…"
The ex-convict growled loudly as she sprawled herself out on Shepard's bed, flopping around like an angry fish throwing a temper tantrum. When she had finally run out of breath, she lay there motionless on her back, chest heaving up and down heavily. "You need to fix your problem and fast," she started saying to herself. Just the very sound of her saying it and the thought of being intimate with Shepard made Jack's heart speed up rapidly. She covered her face and let out a muffled and very frustrated scream, "Whhhy are you getting so damn nervous—"
"Nervous about what, Jack?" Shepard had quietly walked back into his quarters after his bath; curious as to whom she was talking to. When he found no one else in the room, his eyebrow went up in confusion.
"—God damn it Shepard!"
John raised his hands in front of him, "Whoa... What'd I do?"
Jack flung her legs over the edge of the bed, sitting up and covering her face with both hands. "No," she sighed, "…nothing, I just didn't hear you finish in the bathroom. Freaked me out I guess."
Shepard grinned as he made his way over to sit by her, placing a hand on her back and rubbing gently as he tried to take away the biotic's stress. "I was in there for fifteen minutes, Jack."
"Fifteen minutes already?" Jack looked at him for a small moment, "…aaaand there he is trying to make me feel better…again…"
She sighed, giving off an agitated tone when she opened her mouth, "Shepard you don't gotta—"
"—don't have to what? Care? Too late, I'm sorry. Not taking it back," he said flatly.
Jack gave Shepard her signature 'I'm going to kill you' stare.
Shepard chuckled, "Don't give me that look. We've been over this about a hundred times. I'm not changing how I am or what I feel. So, with that said—what are you nervous about?"
The biotic narrowed her eyes and growled, "Nu-uh. I gave you ground rules to follow and you don't get another question to ask me—"
"—till tomorrow," he sighed heavily, "I remember. But the guide-lines specifically said I couldn't ask personal questions so—"
"—it's personal." Jack looked him dead in the eye.
John squint his eyes back at her, "You do realize this will be forced to be the question I ask then, right?"
Jack lifted her upper lip only slightly to show off a canine, "You are really pushing it, you know that?"
Shepard let out a chuckle and raised his hands in innocence, "Hey, you laid down the grown rules, not me. This was our deal. I wait two days and then get to ask whatever it is I want."
She couldn't argue against him since she had set herself up for this. In defeat, the biotic turned onto the bed and dragged herself up towards Shepard's two pillows, slamming the back of her head into one and covering her face with the other.
John turned around to face her and gave an amused grin, "Trying to suffocate ourselves now are we?"
"Yeff."
He blinked, his grin widening. "Excuse me, what was that?"
"Ium frying tuh suffocate myseff."
Shepard scooted himself up on the bed to be closer to her, "Awww come on, Jack. The question can't be that bad to answer can it?"
"Yeff it iss."
It was a natural reaction to try and comfort the woman he felt so strongly for; Shepard reached out his hand and placed it on the only place that was openly available to touch—her stomach, right next to her belly button to be precise. The touch was butterfly light causing an unexpected Jack to suddenly jolt and let out a loud laugh.
She threw the pillow that covered her face, planted a hand over her own mouth, and gave Shepard incredibly wide eyes. "Sh-Shepard what the hell! What did you do to me!"
John retrieved his hand immediately, the most gigantic smile she'd ever seen plastered on his face.
Jack grabbed the second pillow and whacked Shepard all over his body with it, causing him to bellow out in laughter as he defended himself from an onslaught of pillow attacks. "J-Jack," he tried to speak through his mirth and her pillow-fire, "You laughed! I-I think you're ticklish near your bellybutton!"
Her assaults ceased immediately, huffing and puffing in disbelief, "Bullshit! I've never been ticklish!"
John grinned stupidly, "…maybe you just haven't met anyone that's found the spot—or touched it right."
She could feel the pit of her stomach do a flip.
That fucker.
Jack smashed the plush pillow against Shepard's face, causing him to flail near the edge of the bed before actually falling over onto his back with a hard thud.
Shepard let out a cry of pain, holding onto his side as he tried to remain perfectly still.
Jack gasped, her eyes wide in terror as she peaked over the bed. "Shepard? Oh shit, Shepard!" She jumped off and over the side, kneeling beside him and leaning in. Her hands gently cupped his face as she spoke slowly to him, "Is it your ribs? Fuck, I forgot! I'm going to go get Chakwas. Just stay—"
John grinned, suddenly acting like nothing was wrong at all. He placed a hand over one of hers that was caressing his cheek and pressed into the warmth of her palm. Jack shook her head in confusion, "…but I thought…"
Shepard pulled on the hand quickly causing the biotic to tip over and onto his chest. She looked up at him with hurt in her eyes as John caressed the length of her arm with the rough pads of his finger tips, "I'm sorry," he began softly. "I just couldn't resist..."
Jack shook her head and moved herself into a sitting position beside him. Her tone was surprisingly gentle as she spoke, a hint of hurt in both her feelings and pride. "You're a real jackass you know that?"
John looked at her apologetically, "Because I found out you were ticklish?"
"No, well—yes— but no. It's because…I thought…."
Shepard smiled, sitting up as well and stretching the length of his legs out beside hers. "Jack, I think it would take more than a hit to the face with a pillow and a tumble off the bed to put me down. I was joking…I didn't mean to make you worry."
She rolled her eyes. It was obvious that she was worried, but hell would freeze over before she ever admitted it. "Worried? Who says I was worried?"
Shepard nudged her gently in the ribs with his elbow, "So you running to my side and whispering that you'd get help right away was not worrying?"
Jack clenched her jaw, "Nope."
"Then what was it?"
"I don't have to answer any questions till tomorrow."
Shepard laughed, "Oh come on!"
"It's in the rules—and I'm not ticklish."
"Yeah well," John reached out and wiggled his fingers against Jack's ticklish spot, sending her into another jolt followed by her backing up quickly and glaring with a pointed finger. "Don't you start that shit again! I swear to God that I'll use my biotics to throw you so fast and far from here you'll end up in Omega two days in advance."
It was now Shepard's turn to roll his eyes as he got up off the floor and extended his hand to help her up as well. She flat out refused the gesture and stood up on her own, smoothing out the wrinkles on her boy-shorts as she did so.
John exhaled, "Well alright then, I guess I'll be going down to meet Miranda now. See you later?"
Jack shrugged, "Maybe. In another hour I'm going down to meet the midget for her 'meditation' session with the mollusk."
Shepard blinked, "…mollusk?"
"Samara."
John pursed his mouth to keep from laughing. "Right. Well then, I hope to see you… later tonight?"
"I guess. Sure."
Shepard smiled widely as he moved in to close the gap between them, "Morning kiss?"
The biotic gave a small grunt before nodding her head back in a 'get over here' fashion to which the commander complied. He stopped inches away from Jack, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small container of breath freshener strips and sliding in his finger to retrieve one of the rectangular transparent strips. He popped it into his mouth, smiling as it dissolved quickly.
The ex-convict rolled her eyes but couldn't hold down the small grin that snuck out to greet the Commander, "Oh will you just fucking get over here!" she playfully hissed.
Shepard chuckled before slowly leaning in to meet her lips for the briefest of kisses. It was enough to keep his mood ebullient for the entire day.
"…see you later," he said through a radiant smile.
Jack simply nodded towards him, watching as he turned to walk out of the room and into the elevator.
xxxxxxx
Cockpit
7:00AM
"Good morning, Mr. Joker!" Teagan seemed to have popped out of nowhere behind Moreau's chair, and at an hour this early no one is fully awake. Jeff shouted rather too high-pitched for a man, then swiveled his seat around to greet a worried little biotic. "Oh…hey Tee! Sorry for the man squeal there—I uh wasn't expecting to see you. Don't you kids usually like to sleep late now-a-days? Isn't this a little early?"
Teagan settled, glad to see she didn't scare him too bad. She hadn't meant to do it in the first place. She gently presented the pilot with a small plate that contained a rather large raspberry and chocolate swirled muffin. "I woke up early ta' help Mr. Gardner with making breakfast! I made everyone something special!"
Joker eyed the pastry with a watering mouth.
"Okay, Tee not only does it look delicious, but I imagine that if heaven had a smell…it would smell like this muffin you made right here…C-can I just…have a taste—a snippet?"
The little biotic giggled happily, extending the plate and offering it to an eagerly accepting Joker. "Please do! I made it for you!"
Upon taking the muffin he instantly took a large bite which in turn caused a happy groan to escape his lips and his eyes to slightly roll back into his head. "Oh-hoho—this muffin?" he pointed with an enthusiastic finger, "This muffin right here is incredible. When you get way older you're going to make some man very, very happy."
The child wrinkled her nose, "…Ewie…"
Joker was so immersed in his muffin that he didn't hear the child's response. "EDI you gotta' try this thing it's—oooooh…riiiiight." He swallowed quickly and eyeballed the holo. "Sorry 'bout that. I mean…I could try to shove it in somewhere. Is there like a… port or…would that even—you know what nevermind. No muffin for you."
Teagan turned and smiled happily at EDI's display, "Good morning, EDI!"
"Good morning, Miss Teagan."
The child leaned in to inspect the AI's holo closer, "I wanted to make you a muffin too but Mr. Gardner said that you didn't eat so I made you this instead!" Teagan searched through the little backpack she had brought along that morning until she pulled out a carefully rolled up thick piece of paper.
Joker put the complete other half of his muffin into his mouth and leaned in, curious as to what she brought as he chewed, "Wus'that?"
Teagan's little fingers worked away until she completely unrolled the scroll-like object to reveal an incredibly well drawn portrait of the Normandy ship. "I drew EDI! I figured it wasn't nice making everyone else something to eat but not having something for her so…I did this!" Suddenly she was very nervous, "Do…d-do you like it?"
EDI had no idea how to respond. "Miss Teagan drew this for me? A gift? It is a very accurate depiction of this vessel. I am impressed."
Joker leaned back into his seat with a shocked expression, "That's…that's ridiculously good, Tee. I had no idea you were such a good artist…"
Teagan beamed, "You like it?"
EDI emitted an electronic chime, unable to show any other kind of emotion in her voice, but making her holo's new depiction cover its mouth with an awed expression to show a sign of happiness towards the child. "I do, Miss Teagan. I like it very much. Would you be so kind as to place it on the wall next to my pedestal?"
The little biotic complied quickly, pulling out some crafting tape from her pack and sticking the image onto the wall as instructed. "I'm glad you like it. I was worried you wouldn't."
Joker grinned as he patted his lap at the child, "Hey, wanna fly the ship for a few minutes?"
Teagan's eyes widened, "…Really? I…I can fly the ship for a little bit?"
Jeff chuckled, "If you wanna, sure. EDI will help you out also so you don't have to worry about doing anything wrong."
The little girl double checked with the AI. "…May I?"
"I will be at your side, Miss Teagan. There will be no problem with both of us at the helm."
Joker waved her over, "See? Straight from the ship herself, there will be no problems."
Teagan happily made her way over to Jeff who carefully helped her into his lap. With a few keystrokes he brought up the interactive map. "You see this slider here? Put your finger on it and bring it up to full."
Her small finger was shaky, but she did as was instructed. She could feel a small jolt as the ship began to move at directed speed. Next Joker slid her hand into position on the main screen to man the helm. "Just keep her steady, Tee, and there we have it. All systems are green and everything is in order. Way to go, little pilot! Lowering his voice in mock confidentiality Joker added, "Just don't let Shepard see you doing this well or I'll be out of a job."
The fascinated little biotic shook her head furiously at the mere thought of replacing such a wonderful man and piloted the ship with heavy concentration. Joker turned his head to give EDI's holo a wink. Piloting was a bit more difficult than that, but Teagan didn't need to know. EDI nodded her holos head in his direction, seeming to understand what Moreau was telling her.
xxxxxxx
Starboard Observation
7:35 AM
The session had long begun by the time Jack arrived at Samara's quarters. The pair was sitting quietly in the middle of the room just like last time, only this time it seemed Teagan had gotten the hang of creating a ball of biotic energy just like Samara's.
Samara had known that Jack attempted to meditate with them last time, and she knew Jack would most likely be back for each session. The ex-convict had shown interest in clearing her mind and attempting to make herself better, but still refused to sit with them and acknowledge that she was openly trying to fix herself.
Jack made her way to sit in her usual position on the couch away from the others and began to meditate. This morning her mind was going crazy, but she was learning to calm herself down by being with Samara and Teagan. She liked to think that if she could calm her nerves and quiet her mind maybe, just maybe one day she'd be able to be intimate with Shepard the way she wanted. The only problem was that sometimes with all the silence and seriousness it got a little…boring.
Several minutes passed in stillness before Samara opened her eyes from meditation upon hearing a large mass field crackle. The asari turned her gaze to observe Jack holding a huge ball of biotic energy in her right hand while pointing to it with a finger on her left.
Samara raised her baby blue eyes from the biotic ball to Jack's hazel orbs. The ex-convict looked self-satisfied and proud.
"Heh, mines bigger," the tattooed woman stated smugly.
Samara simply sighed and closed her eyes, ignoring the proud biotic.
Teagan giggled but continue meditating with Samara, afraid to lose her concentration if she gave it more thought.
"Oh what'd I do!" Jack spat at them, irritated with their lack of awe.
There was no response.
Jack grumbled softly to herself and made the ball equal sized to the other two, "...fiiiiine. Fuckin' squares the both of you!"
xxxxxxx
Engineering
8pm
The day had gone by slowly and surprisingly calmly for the sniper; her little sister had been running around all morning and afternoon chatting and learning about the Normandy crew. London figured she hadn't really been putting in the effort to do the same and so figured she'd go and meet some of the people she hadn't had the chance to speak with. She knew Shepard, Miranda, Chakwas, and had met Samara through Teagan. Garrus, Grunt, Joker, and Kenneth had been met through their rather awkward introduction to the Normandy just a few days ago—and they weren't exactly on her good list. However, Teagan had mentioned that there were interesting people down in Engineering and that she should go say hello.
And so here was London entering the Engineering doors to try her hand at being semi-social and not so unapproachable.
There was a set of three people sitting around a small table playing cards with what seemed to be a rather large lamp hovering over them. She scanned the faces and internally groaned upon seeing Kenneth. London had the sudden need to just turn around and walk the other way, but the suddenly excited Scottish man yelled out to her and waved her over frantically, "London, my good woman! Long time no talk! Come over here and join in the game! We're playing strip poker!"
Tali shook her head by the confusing statement, "Kenneth, if I play strip poker I'll most likely die. I don't think I would like that. Besides, we were playing—"
"Ahhhyayaaahahahah…We're playing. Strip. Poker. Tali." Kenneth glared at the Quarian before suddenly shifting to a wide grin when looking upon London.
Gabby hit the perverted man hard on his right shoulder that rewarded her with a loud "OW—I was only teasin' the lass."
Tali turned in her seat to gaze over the beautiful woman. "I don't believe I, Gabby, or Legion has had the pleasure of meeting you Miss—?"
"Legion?" London shrugged off the thought and offered a relieved smile, happy that at least the other people in her company were normal. "Just London, thank you. And you are Tali I presume?"
Tali blinked behind her visor, "I am, but how did you know?"
London offered a friendly grin, "My little sister talks about you all the time. She's completely in love with your accent and enviro-suit. She says they're both beautiful."
The Quarian chuckled lightly, "Teagan is quite adorable. I'm glad I had to chance to meet such an amazing little child."
The sniper nodded her head in thanks. "May I sit with you all?"
Gabby waved her over, "Yeah go ahead, and feel free to join our game! It's just simple poker. Legion here is learning to be our dealer. He's rather good at counting cards, but honestly, what else is expected?" The engineer grabbed everyone's hand of cards and handed it off to what London thought was their lighting source.
London's eyes got so big Kenneth could have sworn they were about to pop out as she took a second look at what she had thought was a lamp. The sniper lifted her hands in front of her and took two cautious steps backwards. "…th-That's…holy…is that—I mean…there's no way…"
Three pairs of eyes and one optic all stared at her before it finally dawned on Tali to speak up quickly, "Trust me, I felt the exact same way when I first met him. But you get—"
She pointed an accusing finger. "T-That's a Geth! A working and fully operating Geth and—"
The flaps on Legion's optic went up in interest, "We are Geth. The statement is correct. And you are London. Human. Female. Posture indicates fear of this platform. Do not fear."
London couldn't reply for the longest of time; she could only gaze upon the Geth with eyes searching to find an answer for a question she had not yet formed until they fell upon the piece of N7 armor. She didn't understand. "T-That armor piece, isn't that what Shepard wears?"
Everyone turned to stare at the repair made by Legion.
Legion's optic too turned to gaze over the place London had pointed. "Yes."
"He gave it to you?"
Legion adjusted his optic flats. "No."
Tali, Kenneth, and Gabby all exchanged looks before looking over to the tense London then at the calm Legion.
The sniper's voice called out in uncertainty, "That's…unusual for a Geth is it not? You just—"
"I needed to repair."
"Repair?"
"There was a hole."
London quirked a brow, "Well there's a bigger hole still in the middle of your chest, but that's not the point. It's…odd. Wouldn't that suggest a need to feel a sense of…belonging? I had heard that Geth act on consensus between the programs, that everything you do is a calculated means to an end. I-Is that not correct?"
"It is a correct statement."
The sniper could hardly fathom what she was speaking to. She took a moment to consider his words then form another question, "So you cover your 'hole' with a piece of N7 armor. Wouldn't that suggest an irrational act going against the concept that everything your people do is calculated and unaffected by emotion?"
Legion was quiet for a moment. His optic whirred softly as it focused on the questioning woman's face. "No data available."
London blinked blankly, "…no data available?"
The Geth simply restated himself. "No data available."
"So…you're not acting as an individual? There's no need for identifying yourself uniquely?"
"There is no individual. We are Geth. We are a mobile platform, housing 1,183 programs and able to operate outside of the Perseus Veil. We are able to interact with organics directly. It is what we are doing now—with Poke-her."
Kenneth grinned wickedly, "Oh ay, Legion. Poke her is exactly what we should be doing now."
Gabby rolled her eyes, "It's Poker, Legion. It's—you know what nevermind. Listen, London, you could be asking this thing questions all day and you'll end up at the same answer every time, 'No data available'. So my suggestion is just to come over here, sit down, have a drink with us and let's play some cards shall we?"
London furrowed her brow, "You…trust it?"
Kenneth shrugged, "Trust is a mighty heavy word, lass. The way I see it is he hasn't done anything to anyone and hasn't even attempted to hack into our ships data bases. So as it goes—he's fine by me for now."
London thought about it for a moment but ended up shaking her head in disagreement. "I…respect that; however I'm just not comfortable enough around that thing, so I think I'll be taking my leave now. It was nice meeting you all." She couldn't bring herself to look at the Geth again, but nodded her goodbyes to Tali, Kenneth, and Gabby.
Kenneth smirked as he muttered softly to himself, "Hate to see you go, but oh how I love to watch you leave."
London, who would have normally said something to upset his fantasy, simply left the room in a hurry eager to get away and back to her little sister.
So much for being social.
xxxxxxx
Portside Observation
10:30PM
The little biotic was already tucked into bed by the time London had returned. Upon seeing her big sister, Teagan stretched out her arms and made what London liked to call 'grabby fingers'. The sniper smiled softly and complied with the demand, groaning tiredly as she lay down onto the mattress and an eager Teagan wiggled her way into her big sisters warm hug.
London reached behind her own scalp and untied the band that was holding her hair up in a pony tail causing her long loose curls to fall freely over her shoulders. The older woman sighed happily as she gathered her hair and tossed over her right shoulder so it wouldn't get into Teagan's face.
The child reached over and curled some of her sister's silky hair in her small finger, "How come my hair isn't curly like yours?"
London grinned, now running her fingers through her little sister's hair as well to inspect it. "I guess you just got Dad's hair. It doesn't matter though, silly, it's still very pretty and nice and soft like it should be."
Teagan snuggled in closer to her sister's side. "…I wish I looked more like you."
London lifted up the little girl's chin so their eyes would meet, "Listen to me, Tee. You are absolutely beautiful and should be proud of who you are and what you look like. You're going to grow up into a stunning, strong, talented, capable woman and I am truly blessed to be your sister. I am proud that I've witnessed you grow into an already amazing young woman—and mom and dad would be proud too. I know it."
Teagan could feel the wetness in her eyes beginning to form. "I hope so."
London squeezed her shoulder firmly, "You should go to sleep, little one. It's getting late. Day after tomorrow, while I'm on Omega I need you to stay on the ship with the crew so I can go get our things if they're still there alright?"
The little biotic nodded in her understanding. "Okay but…can you sing me a lullaby like you used to on Omega? I know I'm getting a little old but…I really like it…"
London smiled soothingly and covered her little sister with a plush quilt, "Of course pun'kin. Go to sleep now."
The child didn't realize how tired she really was until her body settled. She could feel her eyelids grow heavy as soon as London began to sing.
If you'll be my star, I'll be your sky
You can hide underneath me and come out at night
When I turn jet black, you can show off your light
I live to let you shine. I live to let you shine
But you can skyrocket away from me
And never come back if you find another galaxy
Far from here with more room to fly
Just leave me your stardust to remember you by…
London hated singing that specific lullaby. It was sad to her and reminded her that sooner or later she was going to have to let Teagan go, to let the child learn and grow. And while she as the guardian wanted this with all her heart, she would soon have to face the heartache of watching the only family she had…walk away. It was a necessary and inevitable hurt she would have to endure.
When the older sister saw that the younger was sound asleep, she smoothly removed herself from Teagan's grasp and settled her down onto the fluffy pillows. The child stirred for a moment, but soon curled up into a cute ball of sleepiness. London sighed happily then exited her bedroom into the dimmed lighting of an already shut down level three deck, however, something caught her eye. Miranda's office light was still on. Was…she awake?
The curious sniper made her way over towards the office and through the quietly hissing doorway only to find Miranda sitting at the foot of her bed with her Cerberus outfit unzipped and revealing her entire upper torso. She seemed to be rather frustrated and trying to remove the Cerberus logo by force. The sound of her door opening caused Miranda's eyes to snap up.
The sight of the operative's black lace bra caused London to swivel right back around and give a loud and very embarrassed ramble, "I am SO sorry! I s-saw the light outside your door and I thought that maybe you weren't asleep and possibly not busy and I t-thought I would stop by to say h-hello because Teagan has made it a point to inform me that I've been coming off a bit um—standoffish since I've gotten here. And really that's not who I am. It's just with everything happening, and there are so many different people on board I get nervous and don't know if they can be trusted—especially when I have a little sister whom had a price of about twenty million credits on her head, you know? So I'm sorry for barging in here like this and—"
"London you can turn around." Lawson was smiling at the ramble. It had given her plenty of time to redress herself and examine the situation.
The sniper exhaled softly, turning around with a sheepish look on her face. "I'm really sorry, Miss Lawson. The door was open and—"
The operative waved her hand and chuckled, "It's quite alright London, and please, just call me Miranda."
London clasped her hands together and nodded once. "I guess with no one else being awake right now I just wanted to see what you were up to. Um…what…were you up to if you don't mind me asking?"
Miranda cheeks went rosy. "It's this damned Cerberus logo. We should be landing on Omega in another day and this little thing here has caused major problems at every stop we've made so far. I was just trying to take it off."
The sniper gave her a considerate smile. "I could help if you'd like. Do you have a sewing kit of some sort? Or maybe a knife?
Lawson shook her head, "I've never been one for sewing or patching things up. If it rips I just buy a new one in all honesty. But, I do have a small knife in my desk over there." She pointed to the first drawer.
London walked over and gave the other woman a look before opening the drawer.
Miranda nodded, "Go ahead, there's nothing in there really besides paper work."
The drawer opened to reveal hundreds of neatly filed papers and a single knife with a tiny two inch blade. London quirked a brow as she took the knife and held it up to show Miranda. "Why do you have one so small?"
Lawson chuckled, "Honestly I have no idea where I got it from. I can't even remember. It doesn't really serve a purpose, but, I never threw it out and don't know why."
London grinned as she made her way to sit by the operative on her bed, "Well it has a purpose now."
The operation chuckled and eyed the woman curiously, "I suppose it does, doesn't it? So what now?"
"Well I need to get into the inside of your outfit to view the interior stitching of the logo. Would you mind unzipping your attire just a little so I can fold the material over to see?"
Lawson did as requested and moved her zipper to stop in between her breasts. "Is this okay?"
London nodded. "That should be fine," she said as she gently slid in her fingers to fold the material over. Miranda got goose bumps all over her body causing the sniper to meet the other woman's eyes, "Is everything alright?"
Lawson blushed faintly, "Yes I'm sorry. Your hand was just cold is all, but it's fine now."
The pair sat in silence as London leaned into the operative to examine the stitching closely and work away the small threads with the point of the tiny knife.
"So, London, since we're here why not tell me something about yourself?"
The gray-eyed woman offered a half hearted smile, "I believe you already know quite a bit about me."
Lawson shrugged lightly, "Just making conversation. After all you said you wanted to be more social did you not? Now I do know your background, but what about the little things?"
London chuckled amusedly, "Why the little things?"
Miranda considered the question before responding. "Call it my character flaw if you will. I've spent my entire life at the top of the chain, knowing all I could possibly know about everyone and everything. Hell, if you really look at what I do now it's not much different: I spend my time behind my desk typing away at my terminal, doing research, and reading profiles. I know all the little details…about everyone. But you? You don't have a profile here and it's driving me bloody wonkers that I don't know the smaller things about you. Sure, like I said, I know the background—but it ends there."
London grinned, "In other words: Control freak."
The operative scoffed, "No. I just like to be aware—of everything."
London's smirk grew only wider, "So…nosey?"
Miranda groaned as she tried to explain another way to describe herself. She couldn't find any. "I'm really not making myself sound very good am I?"
London couldn't help but laugh, "Not in the slightest, but I appreciate the honesty. So…I'll answer a few questions but with a catch. Whatever you ask you have to answer as well. Fair is fair. Agreed?"
Lawson squint her eyes as she gazed over the sniper. She hated answering questions about herself but, London was right, fair is fair. "…Fine. That's simple enough."
London smirked as she removed another little stitch from the logo, "You say that now but alright then. Start off with the first question. Go."
"Right. Um…religion. Are you Religious?"
"You really dive in there, don't you?"
Miranda grinned, "There's no turning back now, you agreed after all."
"Fine. Religion. Hmm, I would like to say spiritual, but that'd be a lie considering I don't practice anything… so I guess the term practical fits me best. Therefore, I'm not religious—just practical."
Miranda raised a brow, "In what ways?"
"I guess the 'I know what side my bread is buttered on kind of way'."
The operative shook her head in thought, "…then why would you want to consider yourself spiritual if you're so matter-of-fact?"
"Because I've seen enough daily evil to be thankful for the small mercies thrown my way, it can't all be luck."
"So you—"
London shook her head quickly as she rose a finger towards Miranda, "Oh no you don't. This is not an interrogation! You've just asked about 837 questions, now you have to answer the whole religion thing. Go."
Miranda rolled her eyes and grinned. "Well that's simple. No, I'm not."
London almost looked disappointed, "Well you're no fun. At least explain why."
"Well it sure wasn't anyone's God that created me; it was my extremely wealthy and ego-maniacal father who did. I'm a bloody modified copy of his own genome, engineered to be a specimen of human perfection."
"Well you're certainly not cocky at all…"
Miranda chuckled, "I'm not cocky. I'm just simply stating the facts."
"Well at least that certainly explains your looks."
Lawson's brow found itself lifting once more. "You're one to talk."
London scoffed playfully, "Oh please. You're literally Ms. Perfect."
Miranda pointed a finger in defense, "I will have you know that I am—"
"Next question," the sniper said abruptly, not wanting to give the operative time to bring up an argument.
Lawson let out an annoyed exhale, "Fine. What's the worst thing about you?"
London thought out loud, "Like a bad habit of some sort?"
"Anything. What do you not like?"
There was silence between the two for a moment as London continued to work on Miranda's logo problem, "No one knows this but I guess it would be the fact that I have an acute sensibility but a romantic imagination…and together the combination is just…terrrrrible," London begun to giggle in spite of herself. "I guess that's what I get for reading so many of those old books. Too many cheesy romance novels filled with over the top emotions and heart wrenching one-liners."
Miranda couldn't resist laughing softly with her, "Well that would be quite horrid now wouldn't it?"
London smiled, "You have no idea. But now it's your turn to answer."
Miranda mentally cursed herself out, forgetting to be careful with the questions she asked. Now she was forced to reveal something she didn't like about herself. "Um…I guess…" she exhaled, "…well this is going to make me sound incredibly childish, but I'm terrible at making friends. I either come off as a snob or just a plain bitch." She tried to laugh and make it seem like it was just a terrible joke, but she could tell it wasn't very convincing. "…it's been a lonely road so far."
London blinked at the operative, "You're kidding right? That was a joke? You seem like you would have been voted 'most popular' back in school."
Lawson winced, informing London it wasn't a joke at all. "Ha! Far from it! My father imposed a very…strict lifestyle on me. He forbade me from making friends or having a social life of any kind to put it plainly."
London looked impressed, "Wow. That wasn't expected at all. So…you never got to enjoy yourself?"
Miranda shrugged as she looked over the surface of her floor. "Well it's hard to miss something you never had so it wasn't all dark moments and deep brooding," she sniggered quietly. "I rather did enjoy my studies though. The only thing that ever bothered me was never being good enough for the man who bloody created me. He always wanted more and wanted better. But, by being here with Shepard, I learned that while my genetic tampering might have given me the advantage to succeed, that my accomplishments as well as my failures are of my own doing. I am not stuck under my father's shadow anymore."
London thought for a brief second, "So… if you were alone for most of your adolescence, you must have not had many boyfriends right?"
Miranda blinked blankly at the other woman, "Out of everything I just told you, that's what you got?"
London couldn't help but laugh, "I just still find it shocking is all!"
"London, you make me sound like I was a hermit! I will have you know that I had my moments of frivolous outings in my youth."
"Oh really? How many 'outings' are we talking about?"
Miranda rubbed the back of her neck, looking away from the snipers direction and suddenly finding the white walls genuinely entertaining, "Oh…you know…three or…four."
"…so from the time you were a child up until now you've had…three or four outings." The sniper rolled her eyes, "You rebel you! So if that's true when was your last relationship? And with whom?"
Miranda crossed her arms under her breasts and shook her head, "Need to know basis only."
London grinned wickedly, "I heard it was Jacob."
Lawson threw her hands up and jeered, "Well if you already knew then why ask—and how did you even find out?"
London shrugged in innocence, "People on this ship talk a lot. And I only asked because I was hoping you'd elaborate!"
Miranda sighed dramatically before caving in, "I…ugh. It was a brief but intense relationship if you must know. However it… just didn't work out for either of us in the end—and we're leaving it at that!"
London chortled, raising her hands up in protection from the defensive tone in Miranda's voice. "Alright, alright. Let's see…oh I have a ques—"
"Nope," Lawson interrupted with a snap, "you just asked the question, now you have to answer. Last relationship?"
London crossed her arms and smirked, "Easy. I was nineteen years old and his name was Taylor Owens."
Miranda raised her brows, "Nineteen! Aren't you—"
"—twenty five, yes, and you don't have to remind me that it's been a while. Believe me when I say that I know. Now, like it or not I'm going to ask the next question."
"Fine, go ahead and ask."
London got back to work on the last section of stitches. "Mmm…something simple this time. Oh—favorite color. Right off the bat I'll say mine is orange."
Miranda smirked at the innocence of the question but took a moment to think of what hers would be. "I guess mine would have to be Winter's Gold."
London started blankly at her with a raised eyebrow, "…winter's gold?"
"Yes—why are you making that face?"
London laughed, "...because that's not a color! I mean… who says," she mocked the Australian but added a bit more pompousness to the tone, "Winter's Gold is my favorite color!"
Miranda look amused, "Hey! You asked and I answered!"
"Well I know that but what the hell is Winter's Gold? I mean, is that like…a yellow?"
Miranda thought for a second, "No, I would say it's more of a white."
London sighed with a smile, "Your favorite color is…white?"
"Nono—well it's more of a white with a slight yellow tint."
The sniper covered her eyes and shook her head with a light laugh, "So…you're favorite color is like a pale ducky yellow?"
"No, I would say it's more of just a …really fancy white?"
London threw her hands up and chuckled, "I give up. But I'll have you know that white is not a color."
"I didn't say white, I said Winter's Gold."
"Not a color."
"So a color."
"Not."
"Oh I think it is."
"It's absurd."
"It's unique."
"It's a terrible color."
"It's still my favorite color."
"White is the absence of color—of pigmentation. Winter's Gold is not a color."
"Are we really about to argue over the theory of whether or not white is a color?"
"No need to argue," London started smugly, "It's not."
"It is!"
"It is—not."
Miranda growled playfully, "You know, I would like to know where—ugh! Why are we prattling on like a bunch of school children? This is ridiculous."
London laughed as she eased her hand out of Miranda's outfit, the small logo falling down into the operative's lap afterwards. "All finished with your little logo problem, and you started it," she scoffed, "Winter's Gold. Pfft."
Miranda rolled her eyes as she picked up the logo and tossed it into a smaller trash can, thinking of another question. "It's getting late so…I think I'll ask only one more question. Are you up for it?"
"Might as well since we're here and have already started. What is it?"
Miranda leaned in as if really interested in the topic that she was about to bring up, "Well I hear you talk about and describe Teagan all the time. So just talk about—or rather describe yourself."
London inhaled as she considered that question, "That's…a rather loaded topic, don't you think?"
Miranda grinned softly, "Just say whatever comes to mind."
London smiled, "You mean something cliché like 'do I think I'm a good or bad person' or 'what things do I like doing when I'm not working or taking care of Teagan' kind of thing?"
Lawson shrugged and offered an encouraging laugh, "Well it's a start."
The sniper exhaled, "Okay then. I guess if I had to answer the first question I'd say that between being a good and bad person—I'd consider myself to be bad.'
Miranda blinked in disbelief, "There's no way. Why would you think that?"
"I think it's simple really. I'm concerned for the universe, but lack the compassion to act on its behalf."
"Well that doesn't make you a bad person exactly."
London considered the thought, "Perhaps, but indifference doesn't make me good either. In my eyes, there is nothing worse than just watching while something bad happens to another. It makes me no different than the offender."
Miranda didn't quite understand, "So then why not act if it bothers you so much?"
"Because I have a little sister that counts and expects me to come home every night."
Lawson thought out loud, "So safe and uninvolved."
London nodded, "Especially when on Omega, exactly. There's no room for getting myself hurt when you have another person that depends on you, unless of course that person gets kidnapped and requires you to fight off and kill about twenty seven Blue Sun operatives." She took a breath, "And as for hobbies: I like to read old books. I love the way they smell and the way they feel in my hands. I also love playing my father's qitan. On one of his travels he bought it from an expert asari craftsman. It's reminiscent of a guitar from old times, but it has a harp like quality to its tone and only has five strings."
The operative found herself staring at the way London's mouth moved, then moved up to her eyes, smiling as she heard the tale of where her father got the instrument. "It sounds lovely…."
They both gave each other a brief look before breaking eye-contact.
"London, I hope you know you did a great job with Teagan," the operative said casually.
The sniper smiled lightly, "No, my mother and father set her on the right path. She's just like them."
Miranda gave her a questioning gaze, "And who are you like?"
London looked at her hands, her fingertips grazing over the material of her blue jeans, "I am the person I had to be to ensure that Teagan grew up well and happy. Nothing more, and nothing less really."
Miranda wrinkled her brow and bit her lower lip lightly in thought. "Believe me when I say I know the feeling."
London brought her gray orbs to look over Lawson's face. "Oh?"
"…I have a little sister of my own. She was created the same way as me; I like to call her my twin, only we're not physically identical but rather genetically identical."
London brought a small smile to her lips. "I had no idea. How old is she? What's her name?"
Miranda released a happy sigh in thought of her sister, "Oriana. I still like to call her a child but …she actually just turned eighteen a few months ago." The operative found herself chuckling, "I suppose that no longer makes her a baby."
London leaned over to nudge the other woman with her shoulder gently, "They could turn thirty-five years old and we'll always want to protect them."
Lawson tucked a strand of hair behind her own ear, turning to smile at London. "I agree with you one-hundred percent."
The sniper cocked her head in curiosity, "So what happened, if you don't mind me asking?"
"You mean what happened with my sister?"
"Yeah…you said you knew what it was like to have to live a certain life in order to ensure your sister's happiness. It sounds like a story if you ask me." London gave her an encouraging smile.
Miranda grinned at the curious woman beside herself, "Well, I've told you what my father was like. He didn't want daughters so much as he did his dynasty. Foul man if you ask me—always pushing, always wanting and never stopping. When I came of age I got out as soon as I could only to have my father pursue me. He pursued me until I found my way into Cerberus. I had heard of the organization through my father's connections; he sympathized with the whole 'human-centric' agenda. As soon as I joined, however, he stopped his pursuits but also severed his ties to the group. Eventually I—okay some people refer to it as having stole Oriana, but I think that's a load of crap. I rescued my sister from that damned man's tyranny and found her a lovely home and offered her a normal life on Illium, a life that my father would have denied her. Cerberus offered both me and Oriana protection in exchange for my services to their organization. I was foolish though to think that it would be the end of that bloody man, our damned father." Miranda frowned, "He stopped caring and looking for me long ago—but my sister? It turned out he just couldn't give up his second trophy child. He tracked her, found her, and tried to abduct her." Miranda inhaled, "Longer story made short: Shepard helped me deny him that wish. I relocated Oriana to a place of my choosing, and that's where she is now. She's safe, normal, and happy, like it should have been from the start."
London nodded, "There she is, and…here you are."
Lawson chuckled, "Exactly."
London smiled gently upon the operative, "Not that it matters coming from me, but…I think you did the right thing. Hell, I've been trying to just give Teagan a normal and happy life since…" The sniper swallowed lightly, thoughts of her parents laying dead under home-made quilts ran through her mind.
Miranda placed a soft hand upon London's shoulder, "…I know, and… thank you."
London exhaled, "…this…this was nice talking with you. I don't think I've done this with another adult in a long time. I should go though. It's really late and I need to get some sleep."
Miranda stood up and walked the other woman to the door, "I enjoyed this too. And despite the slightly awkward beginning, I do hope we can speak again."
London stopped at the door and gave her a small nod and smile, "I would like that too. So instead of goodbye I guess I'll just say…see you later?"
Lawson nodded happily in agreement, "Yes, I'd rather like that. I'll… talk to you later."
[End 14: Getting to Know You]
A/N: A quick thank you to everyone who has subscribed, added to favorites, and reviewed. And to zebrahater, thank you for your wonderful beta help. =)