Chapter 4: Worries and reassurances

In his cabin, Jaden sat in a meditative state, hovering several inches above the floor, his hands partially curled into fists. The hilts of his energy swords calmly spun around him, like planets orbiting a star. A knock on the door. Without looking or even opening his eyes, Jaden pointed at the door. The door opened, revealing Normandy's newest blue crewmember.

"Ah, Doctor T'Soni.", Jaden greeted Liara.

"I-I didn't mean to interrupt...", she replied nervously.

"Not to worry, if you were interrupting, I wouldn't have let you in. Meditation lets me focus and perceive even the smallest detail in objects or the environment. Here, observe."

Jaden fully opened his hands and the energy swords came apart, down to the smallest component. What was spinning around him was now more reminiscent to debris field around a planet, rather than planets orbiting a star. He continued:

"My swords are composed of two similar sets of components. But here's a catch: a component from one sword will not be compatible with components of the other sword."

Liara wasn't sure what to expect.

"The power crystal for example...", two glowing white crystal hovered in front of him. "Could you tell which crystal belongs to which sword?"

"I- No.", Liara answered, sounding confused.

"No, you couldn't. But me on the other hand...", Jaden curled his hands into fists and all the components slammed together, recreating his energy swords.

He finally got up.

"So, Doctor T'Soni, what brings you here?"

"Please, call me Liara, 'Doctor T'Soni' sounds too formal.

"All right."

"I just wanted to thank you for getting me out of there. And I simply came to.. talk." She sounded slightly distressed.

"Is something wrong? You sound a little down."

"I-I just feel out of place here on Normandy."

"Is it because you're the only asari here? Or because of your mother's allegiance?"

"Some of the crew are looking at me like I would betray you at any moment. They do not trust me"

"Have you experienced harassment?"

"No."

"Good. If you do, tell Shepard or myself. Knowing Shepard, she doesn't approve that kind of behaviour in her crew. And neither do I in any teams I might be a part of."

She looked slightly happier already. Perhaps not everyone were mistrusting her.

"It would appear that humans aren't often trusting aliens, unfortunately. But at the same time, I can't really blame them either; they have only been at the galactic stage for a few short decades and their first contact with alien life wasn't exactly welcoming. Although seeing as what our team composition is, Shepard doesn't appear to have trust issues."

He continued

"And I heard you already helped Shepard in a smaller mission."

"Yes, we took out a pirate stronghold."

"That was already a test and you proved yourself. Shepard trusts you and so does the rest of the team. Even if they aren't openly admitting it."

Liara seemed to think his words for a while, then she asked:

"And do you..."

"Do I trust you?", Jaden finished. "Yes and I have trusted you since we found you Therum. I've seen what you think."

"You.. have entered my mind?", Liara asked, sounding terrified.

"Not exactly. Entering one's mind without their consent in a great breach of privacy and generally frowned upon."

He continued: "The best way to explain it is that much like how your body radiates energy in the form of infrared radiation, your mind radiates too. Thoughts, emotions, senses, what is at the top of your mind so to speak. I could sense those."

"When we found you, I sensed almost crushing fear in you, about your situation, about the geth, about the krogan battlemaster."

"When you saw us, you felt hope, but also fear, about us, who we are, what we might do to you."

"Overwhelming relief, when you heard that we were there to rescue you, but also shock and sadness upon hearing about your mother."

"And on the Normandy, when you first came aboard, almost indomitable determination."

Liara lowered her head for a moment, Jaden had listed exactly what she had though.

She then said slowly: "I've never heard anyone possessing that kind of ability."

"And you might never hear again. It is an unusual ability"

They stood still for a moment, then Jaden laid his hand on her shoulder and said:

"Do not worry Liara, you'll find your place in the team, just give it ti-". He looked over Liara and saw Shepard behind her. "Ah, Commander."

Liara turned around quickly; there was a faint of blush on her face.

Shepard then said: "I was hoping to find both of you, I'd like to talk to you about something."

"All right, I'm all ears", Jaden responded. Liara stayed quiet.

"Liara, your biotic abilities are phenomenal, but we all know it's risky to rely just on them. They can be disrupted, you can get exhausted. So, while you're here, I'd like you to get some actual weapons training, even if just pistol training. But I think you need an actual weapon in addition to your biotics."

Liara simply nodded in an acknowledgment.

"Which is where I come in, presumably", Jaden said.

"Yes, although you don't need to make it a chore for yourself or Liara. But just help her get some proper experience with firearms."

"You can count on me, Commander". He continued: "though if I'm going to be 'teaching' her, there is something I'd like to get over with right now."

"Which is?"

"She needs a weapon of her own. A sidearm, a weapon she can call her own. A weapon she always carries with her. Much like how you carry your pistol or I carry my energy swords."

"All right, let's go."

They took the elevator down to the cargo bay, where Shepard and Jaden took every pistol they could find and placed them in a neat line across one of the tables.

"Okay, first simply get a feel on each pistol", Jaden instructed "See, which feels the best to hold in your hands, an uncomfortable weapon can significantly affect your accuracy, believe it or not. Like many say, a weapon should be almost like a natural extension to your hand."

Liara tried every pistol until she found one she liked. Jaden took another pistol from the table and showed Liara the proper stance and then encouraged her to try firing a few rounds at the targets he and Shepard had set up on their left. The first few rounds she fired went all over the place. Jaden fixed her stance a bit and added: "Don't be afraid of the weapon, it won't bite you. Aaahh... well, unless you point at yourself." "Let's try again."

Liara tried again, to a better success, though it was obvious she still had much to learn.

"Much better", Jaden commented. "And in the end, all you need is practice, lots of it. No one began as an expert."

They continued on for some time.

Shepard had already left Jaden and Liara at the shooting range. She took the elevator to the crew deck and went to see the ship's doctor, Chakwas.

"Commander.", Chakwas greeted Shepard.

"Just checking in", Shepard replied. "we did take some fire on Therum, but everyone got out in one piece."

"I already patched what little scratches some had taken, nothing serious. T'Soni will still require time to recover from her ordeal, though she is much better already compared to when you brought her onboard.", Chakwas was quiet for a long while. "Though I am... maybe not worried but at least curious about one of our crewmember. I believe you know who I'm talking about"

"Jaden."

"He hasn't come here not even once. Not for initial checks, nothing. Though he seems to be doing just fine, but regardless. On top of that, Ashley once told me she hasn't seen him eat or drink anything, ever."

"I don't know", Shepard said. "He is unlike anything I've ever seen. He has some really strange abilities, his handheld weapons can rival or surpass the Mako. On Therum he literally punched a fully armoured krogan battlemaster in two. And yet, somehow I think we have only seen a fraction of what he could do."

Shepard continued

"But he did offer to help us against Saren and he hasn't had any issues following orders, though he often acts quite liberally. He even saved me on Therum."

"Well, if you trust him, I'll take your word for it."

"All right, see you later. "

"Commander."

Shepard returned to her own cabin, still thinking about her conversation with Chakwas and what had transpired on Therum and before. Who, or what is Jaden exactly.

Notes

Slightly shorter one again
Liara is worried about the crew not trusting her and Jaden has more unusual abilities.