(Dedicated to the incredible user from Spain who messaged me on here to let me know how much this story meant to her. Coming back with a vengeance, I hope you all enjoy the new update!)
And It All Seemed Harmless: Chapter 15
Blackness fills Aethyta's vision, but instead of finding comfort in a moment of nothingness, the asari mentally thrashes against the feeling. Even with only a strain of consciousness, the asari's mind races with a need to find her daughter. And those bastards that took her.
Fucking open your eyes. You call yourself part krogan?
Taking a deep breathe, the asari sets herself on awareness of her body, focusing on moving any extremity in the hope that maybe she could will herself to consciousness. Half of her body is cold from shoulder to thigh, and the asari deduces she must be laying on her side, only half of her battered form against the cold bar floor. A fluid is pooling around her chest, though without her vision, the commando cannot tell if it is her own blood, the blood of the Krogan she has just assaulted, or a harmless spilled drink making her clothes a bit more uncomfortable.
Suddenly, two strong hands wrap around the asari's shoulders and Aethyta feels her body being shifted until her entire back is flat against the cold floor of the bar. Her first instinct is to challenge those hands, grab the body connected to them and warp it into the ceiling but her arms do not cooperate. And neither do her biotics. Unable even to scream in frustration, the asari frantically begs herself to at least open her eyes to no avail yet again.
The strong hands on her shoulders release her on the floor, and suddenly, they are on her chest, spreading a gel like substance across what Aethyta can only assume are her injuries by the cool sting the gel has on her skin.
Medigel?
The medigel absorbs into Aethyta's body, and suddenly her body catches up with her mind, causing the asari to jols upright, her eyes opening to reveal a blurry, yet gruesome scene. Her clothes are soaked in medi-gel and blood, the floor marred with what blood her clothes did not catch. A thin human figure is kneeling next to her, closing a bright green container the matriarch can safely assume contained the healing substance her mystery companion had applied.
"What do you want?" Aethyta barks, trying to sound intimidating but her voice is a choked rasp as pain from her injuries causes her entire body to tense.
The woman kneeling beside her is unusually thin even for a female human, her body splattered with tattoos that the asari didn't care to interpret. Despite her size, the commando's gut practically screamed at her to be wary of the dangerous potential of the woman before her, and though she still kneeled, everything about her gait and expression was predatory.
"Why do you think I want something? Maybe I just want a fucking drink." Jack retorts, sitting back on her haunches and rising to her feet.
Aethyta chuckles in response, keeping her eyes trained on every movement the convict made.
"Don't insult my intelligence tit-tats. You don't look like the type who gets involved in a thick mess unless it has something for you in the blood somewhere. If you just wanted a fucking shot you could've stolen the most expensive bottle in here and left without any trouble. But you stopped to take care of me, why?"
The convict's eyes flare at Aethyta's insult, and then fill with concern, an emotion the matriarch did not expect the powerful other woman to betray in herself. Jack doesn't say anything for moments, and the matriarch impatiently scans the area.
"You're don't seem like you're here to kill me or try to hold me hostage, so I'm fucking leaving. The bastards that made this bloody mess took something of mine." Aethyta begins to rise to her feet to dare the other woman to attack and stop her, but the moment she does, her legs give out, her body shaking as pain ripples like a shockwave throughout her muscular form. Without hesitation, Jack steps forward to catch the matriarch, her shoulder landing underneath one of Aethyta's arms as the convict makes herself to be an amateur crutch.
"Dicks that medigel didn't do too much now did it?"Aethyta remarks in a defeated tone, her entire body slouching as it hits the battle worn asari she could do very little to chase her daughter's kidnappers in her current state. Hell, she could do very little of anything if she didn't see a real medic, and soon. If this biotic was only here to question her and kill her, she would have an excruciatingly easy time of it.
"Don't go yet. You can't. I am here for something. I'm here for somebody I guess. There was a girl here, a cheerleader-type bitch with an ass that probably had your whole bar's attention. Black hair, long legs, great….everything. Physically. Physically, I mean. She can be kind of a bitch, but that's... not the point." Jack takes a deep breath, setting her jaw in an attempt to save a shred of her intimidating persona. "There's blood everywhere. I need you tell me its not hers."
"We do the craziest things following a pair of tits don't we? Adds more sense to your story. But how the fuck do you know she was here if you showed up after the fight? The people that made this mess knew she was here too. " Aethyta's eyes narrow, scrutinizing the woman for any sign of deception, her body still unable to even hold its own weight to escape the woman's shoulders.
"We work together. She didn't report...I tracked her signal here because I needed to fucking talk to her. I didn't expect the damn place to be ransacked. You didn't answer my fucking question. Is this blood hers asari?"
"It's mostly mine kid. Now get off me. You're picking the wrong enemy. Whoever took your girl took someone I care about too. And if your goal is to go after them, then we have something in common."
"I need access to your security cameras. Now. I need to see what fucking happened."
"I was there. I can tell you what happened. But first, I need to know who you are, and I need to know that if you're going after bodysuit, you're also going to come back with the asari she was with."
Jack's eyes narrow, her shoulders tensing as if a mutated vorcha had just entered the room.
"What...what asari?"
"Stop looking like a kicked varren pup. They weren't on a date. They were sharing classified information about a common problem. Information I might be inclined to share with you if you tell me who the fuck you are tats, you're wasting time."
"I don't...I wouldn't have cared if they were on a date. Stop fucking assuming you know me you blue bitch."
"Your identity tats. Goddess stop pining."
The thin convict pauses, clearly uncomfortable with the idea she could be pining after the other woman.
"My name is Jack. I work for Commander Shepard on the Normandy. Miranda, bodysuit, does too. Does that chill you the fuck out?"
Aethyta watches Jack suspiciously, but the very mention of the Commander's name relaxes the asari. Few people on Illium would dare to assert their association with the spectre. Shepard had far more enemies than friends, and presumed dead by most, her associates would have their lives stolen instead as vengeance for those enemies.
"Well, I guess it's your lucky day Normandy cue ball. I took a round for your booty call in the catsuit with the big ass, and now I can't go after my asari. I'll show you the vid so you can find them since clearly I'm not currently the best person for the job right now. But, on one condition."
Jack jerks in irritation under Aethyta's arm when the asari describes Miranda as a booty call, intentionally causing the asari to wince in pain as her injuries are jolted.
What a fucking prick. I like this kid.
"Do you always take this long to get to the point? I need the footage. God I thought asari were supposed to be the best in the galaxy at skipping foreplay and getting the fuck to it." The convict snarls and though her statement was meant to irritate the asari, Aethyta responds with a hoarse laugh.
"That's a fucking good one kid. I'll have to remember that the next time one of those long winded matriarchs gives me the run around. Look, to be straight with you, I don't trust you to bring back my asari when shit gets crazy on the rescue and all you can see is the one pair of tits you want. But, I do trust that red headed leader of your ship. If you see this footage, you're contacting Shep and bringing her with you. Are we clear?"
Aethyta expects the animalistic woman holding her up to throw a fit at the request, and she braces to be thrown off of her shoulders. However, the violent jolt she expects never comes, and it is silent for just a moment before Jack responds.
"Fine. But let's look at that footage. Miranda's running out of time."
"That way." Aethyta directs Jack to carry her to a doorway behind the bar counter. The asari winces with every step, her pain dulled by the medigel, but the round to her chest would be no easy injury to shake, much less survive if not treated soon. To Jack's credit, she does her best to move carefully, but has a bad habit of speeding up as they walk in her anxiousness to find what had happened to her operative.
"Are you going to survive long enough to find this vid?" Jack asks casually, cocking an eyebrow at the asari.
"You won't if you keep giving me the mouth kid."
Aethyta lifts a small cardcard out of a rocks glass sitting on the bar as they pass the counter and with a wave, opens the small doorway.
"Balls!" Aethyta shouts at the sight, the sudden shout startling Jack to point she almost loses balance with her companion. The office is ransacked, each monitor a mess of broken glass and metal. The closet sized office still contains a bit of smoke, a remnant from the arms unloaded in the small area.
"You have to have another way to see the fucking footage." Jack snaps, grabbing Aethyta by the shoulders a bit roughly. "TELL ME YOU HAVE A WAY TO FIND THEM." As the smaller woman raises her voice, her panicked body begins to crackle with blue energy. Any other being in the galaxy would be petrified at the sight, and yet Aethyta's expression does not falter. Excusing the small biotic for her outburst, Aethyta shrugs out of her grip, clearly unoffended by the other woman's roughness. Edging out of the doorway, the matriarch grips the bar for stability though her legs seem to be cooperating a bit more now. The convict follows close behind, pacing at her side.
"I do. But it's….not something I trust many people with, especially not people I'm trusting on their word. I need you to call Shepard, and prove to me you know the Commander. Now. Then I'll consider giving it to you."
Jack frantically taps on her omni-tool in response, and the orange display flashes as she attempts to contact Shepard. It flashes four times, but the Commander does not answer and Jack slams her other fist into the tool on her forearm, screaming in frustration.
"THAT COCK SHE ISN'T ANSWERING. YOU CUM SOAKED SLUT PIECE OF SHIT FISH KILLER. SLAM ME INTO A WALL AND YOU'RE THE ONE NOT ANSWERING MY FUCKING CALL? SCREW YOU, YOU..YOU..."
Aethyta smirks at the interesting nickname for the most feared soldier in the galaxy, the other woman continuing to curse for a moments longer, rattling off so many expletives the bartender muses that her foul language vocabulary must nearly match her own. Though the commando wanted to trust the other seemingly well-meaning biotic, it was not in her nature to hand out information on her daughter on someone's word. This tattooed bad mouthed biotic could be a thug with no way to contact the Commander whatsoever. Or, she could be who she said she was, and Shepard wasn't answering when Liara was in goddamn trouble because of a personal confrontation from earlier. The commando grinds her teeth at the thought, if the spectre was that careless and petty with her squad's emergency calls, she would hear from Aethyta about it very soon.
"I saved your fucking life. That doesn't fucking count for anything?" Jack hisses as she tries Shepard's comm again, the now cracked tool flashing as it attempts to connect to the soldier once more.
"Sorry kid. Only reward I give out is a good fuck and I have a feeling we're not going to be doing that. Look, don't waste precious time trying to contact Shep. Bodysuit couldn't contact that walking hangover either, that's why she came her to find the asari. But I still need proof. Show me intel, a case brief. Anything that directly proves to me you have a relationship with Shep."
Jack looks taken aback by the request, and after a moment, withdraws a small datapad from the pockets of her orange jumpsuit.
"I can't show you anything on my omni-tool, fucking cheerleader didn't give me clearance to access shit in the ways of files, but take this. Shepard gave it to me. It's a datapad about one of our missions...a personal favor Shepard did for me on Pragia. Take it. I think it proves Shepard gives a fuck about me and I give a fuck about that dumbass."
Jack holds out the small datapad to Aethyta, but clasps it with a firm grip before the asari can pull it away. The way she clutches the small pad is like a child clinging to a bear for comfort, and the commando feels a stab of pity for the young biotic.
"I only need it for a second kid. You can have it back in a moment when I've read it."
"I….I don't care. You can fucking have it for all I care. Please. Just help me find Miranda." Jack begs softly, and Aethyta lifts the datapad from her hand, quickly looking over it. After the longest minute of Jack's life, the commando looks up from the pad and nods quietly, no smart comment from the asari in response to the horrors she has just skimmed. This Jack definitely knew Shepard. The Commander helped her torch her past.
"I have a link to Liara's location. Transmitting to your tool now. Please forward it to that hair-brained Commander of yours, make it urgent. I don't care if you leave before spectre-status, but you'll need the backup. And one of you better bring my girl back."
"Did you say Liara?" Jack's tone is laced with irritation, her jaw tensing. However, the convict quickly shakes it off, taking a deep breath to cool her emotions and nodding silently.
"You have a problem with her kid?" Aethyta says sternly, crossing her arms and staring down the young biotic. Even her sympathy for the convict wouldn't stop her from warping that bald head into the bar shelves if she was someone who could hurt Liara. Though the motion is a small one, Aethyta's injured chest seizes from the motion, nearly causing the asari to pass out on the cold floor behind the bar and yet she forces herself to remain upright.
"She backstabbed Shepard." Jack spits, causing the asari to bristle. "But don't get your tits all worked up. Just because we don't go on play dates and laugh over drinks about how she ran Shepard's heart under a mako doesn't mean I'm her enemy. I wouldn't fucking hurt her you dick, stop assuming shit. Shepard needs her, asshole pretends like she's not, but she's holding out hope that the asari gets her head out of her ass and lets her fuck it. I won't take that stupid hope from her after all she's done for me."
Aethyta nods, but the scowl on her face stays put.
"I'll warp you, bodysuit, the whole goddamn Normandy onto an asteroid of mating Vorcha on Hallex, that I will personally provide them, if she doesn't come back. To use my link to Liara's location, you're giving me yours too cue ball. Remember that. Even with a hole in my side I can tear you apart."
Jack nods, a flash of amusement in her eyes at the colorful imagery from the asari's mouth.
"Understood. But just warping the squad to Omega isn't that scary of a threat purple tits." The convict mocks, a thin smirk finally crossing her face.
Aethyta chuckles, relaxing her predatory demeanor and sinking to the floor behind the bar, propping herself against the cabinets so she can examine her injuries.
"I'll call you a medic...those Normandy dicks will help anyone."
"No need kid. Generous offer, but I've given enough free drinks to the med station workers on this fucking planet to call in a few favors. I'll get someone here."
Jack nods, and removes another canister of medigel from her gear, placing it by the asari.
"This is all I have but it's yours. Thanks purple tits. Don't bleed out here okay? This bar floor is disgusting."
"Hey! I clean this floor tit-tats! But thanks. And kid? Bring them both back and you're drinking free for life."
