The My Fair D.A.M.E. Project

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing. This is for amusement only.

Dana Cousland wiped tears from her eyes as she finally managed to get her laughter under control. She and the other ladies had just finished comparing stories on their interrogations. Morrigan's vivid description of the shocked faces of every person she passed as well as the two men that had questioned them had landed all four of them in incessant giggles. A guard had stopped in front of the energy veil halfway through to see what the matter was. He walked away muttering about insane women.

Dana finally caught her breath and sat up straight again, "Honestly though, Morrigan. How did you manage to get your clothes ripped up like that? This cloth is rather thick," she asked curiously. Wynne snorted and rolled her eyes.

Leliana smiled. "I helped her," she chirps brightly, "She held one end and I held another and we both pulled. You should've seen the guards staring while we were working on her shirt!" The women fell into giggles again.

They continued in this vein, trading ideas and giggling over staring guards for a few more hours. The rest of the day passed quietly. Food was brought, though not of any variety they had ever seen. It was bland, but filling. Morrigan chose to make her complaints known rather loudly. They thought they heard Oghren yelling his agreement back. It was hard to tell as the energy veils muted sound rather well. Finally they climbed into the various bunks and fell asleep, if from nothing else but sheer boredom. Dana worried about the state of their boys in their own cell. She hoped they were okay also. She also wondered about Snuggles. She'd not heard or seen him since waking up in the cell. She fell into a fitful sleep filled with small nightmares about her friends being taken away by the strange people she'd seen in the halls.

Morning was announced by a guard coming and taking them to that bright room with the strange water-filled chairs again. They were taught how to use something that the female guard called a shower and then watched while they cleaned themselves. Morrigan was rather nonplussed to find her artfully rearranged clothing had been taken and replaced with another set of the same boring prison clothes. Everyone's had been replaced with a clean set. Getting dressed, Dana patted Morrigan on the shoulder consolingly and winked at her conspiratorially. Morrigan huffed and put the clothes on.

Once dressed they were returned to the cell and a waiting breakfast of more odd yet bland food. They thought they heard Alistair yelling this time. Morrigan yelled at him to shut up. Not that they were sure he could hear them. Once their food was gone and guards had collected the utensils and left, Dana grinned widely at Morrigan and Leliana. "I think we should do a different design today." Leliana squealed and Morrigan started stripping. Once done, they'd manage a wrapped top and matching skirt with the addition of more braided bracelets and even fancier hair this time. No guards came to stare to their disappointment.

Finally, a guard in a different uniform stepped into view. He was one of the tall, skinny bug-eyed people. He blinked at Morrigan for a moment before turning off the veil. "The four of you are to come with me. The Council has decided what is to be done with you." he stated neutrally.

Dana scowled, "Oh.. a judgement and no trial? What crimes have we committed anyhow?"

The huge eyes turned and looked at her, "As a total group, no crimes are being charged against you. You are being released into protective custody for social integration and training. You specifically, Dana Cousland, were initially charged with assault and battery against a Spectre and an officer of the Alliance Navy. But those charges have been dropped by Commander Shepard. Now, come with me."

Dana's scowl deepened as the strange man turned and walked down the hall. Dana tromped after him. His explanation seemed fishy to her, but what else were they going to do? The other women fell into place behind her. They noted with trepidation and worry that the men's cell was empty.

They were led past all the various halls filled with cells and doors and finally brought to a strange, larger set of doors. They swished opened and the tall man entered and stood by a glowing green panel. He watched them impatiently, waiting for them to follow him in. Dana, scowl still in place, strided in and stood right next to the man, just close enough to be rude. The other women traded glances and then stood on the other side of the strange circular room.

The man pushed the glowing panel and the doors slid shut. Then the room lurched into motion going up. Dana unprepared for the sudden movement staggered and threw her arms out for balance. One hand connected with the tall man's shoulder and she grabbed onto it for balance. She felt him grip her elbow in response though he had not twitched and had been fully prepared for their reactions. Dana, feeling sheepish nodded gratefully at him before turning and looking at her friends. They each wore various expressions of stricken surprise while leaning against each other and the wall.

The man spoke again, "It's called an elevator. It's a method of traveling between floors of a building with greater ease than provided by a stairwell." They blinked at him for a moment and then at each other.

Morrigan finally huffed and said, "Well it's got strange taste in music. That is what those atrocious sounds are right? Music?" The man snorted and nodded.

Leliana's curiosity got the better of her and she spoke up, "What are you anyway? You're not human."

He snorted and looked at her, "My kind are called Salarians. And no, we're nothing like humans. You'll learn about the various races we know about soon enough."

And just like that, the elevator stopped and the four women, while slightly prepared for it, each staggered a little in place. The doors slid open and the Salarian stepped out and started down the hall. Dana and the others jogged to catch up. She looked around, surprised to see a little more color and some evenly placed pots filled with large green plants. They were swept down a number of halls, each varying in decorations and plant types, before stopping in front of a door. A small sign on the wall said, "Lieutenant Commander Shepard, Spectre and Alliance Navy" The Salarian punched a small blue button next to yet another one of those odd glowing panels. The door swished open and the Salarian gestured for the women to enter. He then turned and left as he came.

Dana peeked into the door and was surprised to see Alistair, Sten, Oghren and Zevran already there. She smiled and threw herself into a hug around Alistair's neck. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and buried his face into her hair. They murmured how much they missed each other and completely forgot about the rest of the room. Until the sound of a throat clearing itself, as well as series of feminine giggles made them aware of being watched. Separating quickly Dana found herself scowling at the human man from the day before. He smiled politely.

John frowned lightly when he saw how crowded his office was now. His usual team plus the eight new arrivals. He cleared his throat one more time and then spoke, "I'm sorry for the amount of room in here, but it's the only place that seemed to make sense for the moment. Ash, remind me to put in a request for one of those conference suites that's been recently freed up. With this many of us, we're going to need it." Ashley nodded and smiled.

John looked back into Dana's unchanged scowl and forced himself to smile again. "I bet you have a lot of questions. I'll just start with the basics for now. Essentially, our techs have discovered that there's no way for us to return you home. And so, you are going to need accommodations. The council, decided that skilled people such as yourselves really shouldn't be left to your own devices and so have decided that I'm going to be your… caretaker now. You are all now registered under the information you gave in your interviews as Citadel citizens, unallied with any particular faction or race. You have also been given the same authorizations and privileges of our general law enforcement personnel.

You'll be put through a two week crash course explaining our technology, laws, customs and general information we believe you'll need to know. Once that's done, you'll be issued your identification papers and new gear. If you wish to keep your old gear, then you may, though I don't know how much use some of it's going to be. Around that time, my ship, the Normandy will have been out of dry dock and finished all it's tests. You'll be joining my team and I as we fulfill any orders from the Council as well as any other assignments that I pick up along the way. Any questions?"

Dana looked at her people and then back at John, "So… we're being assigned as warriors under your command?"

John nodded, "Yes… although the terms we'd use nowadays is soldiers or specialists on my team."

Alistair spoke up next, "And just what do you and your team… do, exactly? You say law enforcement… do you go around slapping people on the wrist for stealing?"

John snorted a quick laugh and shook his head, "Not exactly no. We are a form of law enforcement, yes. I'm a Spectre, a member of an organization called Special Tactics and Reconnaissance. Spectre's answer only to the council and no other government or legal body. We have the ability to do whatever is necessary to get our job done, even if it means breaking the laws ourselves. Now, personally, I believe that breaking the law to stop a lawbreaker does not solve the problem. It makes us just as bad as the criminals themselves. So, while under my command, I expect you to do everything within normal legal boundaries. As for what we do, well, the council sends Spectres and their teams out to bring down the criminals that have escaped outside the reach of normal police and investigators. We also take on assignments that require a more military approach but are generally too small for an entire army. Does that answer your question?"

Alistair nodded, his lips pursed in thought. John smiled and looked at the rest, "Any more questions?"

Ogrhen shouldered forward "Yah. Who're they?" he grunted, inclining his head towards John's teammates on the other side of the room.

John smiled sheepishly, "Of course, I forgot the introductions. These are the current members of my team. You'll be working with them as well as myself. First is Gunnery Sergeant Ashley Williams. You've all met Detective Garrus Vakarian. We also have Dr. Liara T'Soni, Urdnot Wrex and Tali'zorah narr Rayah. You'll have the chance to get to know them over the next two weeks as we run you through the materials for your integration. Anything else?"

Dana nods and says, "Yeah… where's Snuggles?"

John blinked for a moment, "Snuggles?"

"Yes. Snuggles."

"Who's Snuggles?"

"My Mabari! A war dog?"

"Oh the dog! He's been staying in a kennel down in the wards. I think Tali's been checking on him everyday."

Tali nodded, "I have. He's in good health, if not vacillating between sulking and causing terror for the workers. They want to know when we're gonna come claim him."

John sighed and nodded at Tali. "I'll have the papers ready for you to pull him out. In the meantime, my request for a secure section of the wards for training and residence has been granted. We'll get everyone situated there this evening. But first… lunch has been brought up to one of the conference rooms." John said before leading the way out of his office.