Chapter 2
"I am definitely glad we are back in our own ship and not on that hot, dusty planet anymore." Erik said, waltzing into the medical and plopping down on one of the beds they have. Vara jumped in surprise, and glared at him, wishing he could see it. She had enough problems with this Asari doctor checking every nook and cranny of her without an annoying human. "Why are you here?" She asked bluntly.
"Making sure you're ok. Our commander might not admit it, but he thinks that punk might have punctured your suit or something like that. He is just too stubborn to come and ask himself." Erik replied, smiling. Vara continued her glare, not familiar with the word 'punk'. "Well tell him not to worry about me. That stupid human didn't injure me in the slightest."
"Well, if you don't count swelling and bruises, then yes he didn't injure you."Alere Cantin, their Asari doctor, said. She had been poking and prodding Vara everywhere and it was starting to annoy her. "Nothing fatal, so you should be fine." Alere continued. Vara only grunted. Alere turned to Erik. "Was anyone else injured?"
"Nope." Erik simply said. "They were only expecting unarmed scientist, not a unit of alliance soldiers. It was an easy day." Then Erik looked at Vara, and didn't look away. She didn't like it; it was like he was studying her. "What are you looking at?"
"Nothing, I'm just wondering something." He said, still looking at her. She was starting to get agitated. "Well what are you wondering that you need to stare at me for?"
"Why my Commander acts differently towards you." He said, and it baffled Vara to where she had no response. Erik continued. "When Adam was getting upset, he actually told Adam to stand down. He even offered to help you look for your research." At the mention of her research, she reached out and laid her hand on the gray container.
"Now, I have known Davin longer than anyone here, and he is a total hard ass, and kind of a downer. He never lets himself get interested into others affairs. Yet he even let you stab that one merc, when Jacob had a headshot the entire time." Erik looked down, as if lost in thought, and then smiled. "He must like you."
Vara was so confused she didn't know how to respond, but she didn't need to; Alere did it for her. "And you're supposed to know Davin better than any of us? You're way off Erik. I doubt Davin likes her." The way she said that sentence was different than how she talked before; it seemed snotty, almost as if she had a grudge. Vara was getting more confused by the minute. Luckily for her, Davin walked in at that moment, and Alere switched her focus to him.
"Commander Davin! It's wonderful to see you." She said, beaming. Vara stared at her, then Erik, who was trying not to laugh. "Hello Alere." Davin replied, very bluntly. "Is everything with Vara ok?"
"Yes, she's fine." Alere said quickly, not fazed at all by his blunt response. "I'm more worried about you. Are you feeling ok?"
Davin raised an eyebrow at her, and Vara couldn't believe what she was seeing. The doctor obviously liked him, a lot by the sound of it. Yet he seems completely ignorant of it. She looked at Erik again and saw he had his hand over his mouth, almost failing at containing his laughter. "I'm fine Dr. Alere." Davin replied.
Alere simply nodded and goggled at him. It was making Vara sick to watch, and she was relieved when Davin said, "Vara, come with me. We need to speak." She got off of the hospital bed and gladly followed him, hearing Erik laugh just as they left.
She was going to speak but Davin spoke first. "How did you know where the research was? What did that symbol mean?"
Vara was confused for a second, and then remembered. "Oh, Hane loved birds, and kinda made that little symbol up. He put it on everything that was his, like it was an obsession. So when I saw it on something that wasn't his, I assumed he hid it in his locker."
Davin nodded. "Makes sense." Then his face grew serious. "How important is that research? It must be important if people are willing to kill you for it."
She hesitated, trying to decide how much she should tell him. He seemed trustworthy, but he is a human, and she has had bad experience with humans before. "It's important." Was all she said. She bit her lip, hoping he would leave it at that.
To her surprise, he simply nodded and continued walking. They walked in an awkward silence for awhile, and then she couldn't hold it in any longer. "You know Dr. Alere likes you, right?"
To her surprise, he looked uncomfortable. "Yes, it's impossible not to notice. It's the reason I don't go there very often."
Vara just looked at him. "You don't like the attention?"
He grunted. "Like it? No. I don't need the only doctor on board checking me out and flirting with me constantly. I thought if I just ignored her she'd give in, but it only got worse. Some guys might like that. She's an Asari after all. But that's just not me."
Vara glared at him. "Because she's an Asari?"
Davin raised an eyebrow. "What? That has nothing to do with it. She could be a human and I wouldn't like it. Believe it or not, not all humans despise other races."
"Oh…" Vara replied, blushing from embarrassment. She must sound like a total bitch to him, always assuming he doesn't like other aliens. Davin stopped, making her stop as well. He sighed deeply.
"If I come off as that type, I'm sorry. I'm not a Cerberus soldier. I have no problems with other species at all."
She crossed her arms, looking away and feeling like an idiot. "You don't have to be sorry." Was all she could think to say. He simply nodded and they continued. He opened a door and they walked into a huge room with the rest of the crew relaxing in it. Debra looked towards them and lifted a glass full of alcohol. "Commander! I was wondering where you went. Flirting with Dr. Alere again I see." The group chuckled, Vara almost joining them now that she understood. Davin didn't even smirk, just shook his head.
"How did informing the higher ups go?" Jacob asked, his rough voice like sandpaper. Vara had never seen a bald human before, and was trying not to stare and failing. Davin grunted. "They want us to go back home and bring Vara with us."
They all cheered. "Finally heading back." Han said. Adam grunted. "Looks like the Quarian gets to see Earth. Lovely."
Vara glared at him again, not liking him one bit. Debra snorted at him. "At least there will be someone who wants to see her, unlike you Adam." Adam flicked her off, and she turned towards Vara, smiled at her, and winked. Vara didn't know how to respond; this was all new to her. She was used to being left alone, only Hane talking to her every now and then, and always about the research. She jumped as Erik came up behind them and laid 1 hand on her shoulder, the other on Davin's.
"I'm glad I caught up to you love birds. We should arrive at Earth pretty soon. How about you give her a tour once we get there Commander?" Vara pushed his arm off as Davin simply shook his head. "You how it goes; I'll have to give a full report to the-"
"Oh screw that Davin." Erik interrupted, surprising Vara again when he used Davin's name instead of Commander. "I'll give the report for you. You're the Commander, so it's your job to show your guest our beautiful planet. Besides, would you rather Adam did it?"
Adam looked up at the mention of his name. "Not happening"
"I wouldn't have gone with you anyway, jackass." Vara said, and she heard a chuckle behind her. The whole room went quiet, so quiet to where she almost freaked out. "What? Is something wrong?"
They stayed silent for a bit more, staring. She thought they were staring at her, then she followed their eyes and saw they were staring at Davin. "What?" He said.
"You…just laughed." Erik said, gaping at him. Davin blinked at him. "And?"
"You never laugh." Debra said. "You never even smile, not even when Erik cracks his lame jokes."
"Hey my jokes aren't lame." Erik said, putting a hurt look on his face. Then he looked at Vara, smiling. "Be careful, Dr. Alere might get jealous."
Davin shook his head. "You are all crazy." And left the room, leaving Vara with his crazy team.
.
.
"We are entering Earths atmosphere, Commander." Their pilot, Hanna, told him over the intercom. He nodded to himself, washing off his face. He had been deep in thought, and he couldn't get it off of his mind. Something didn't seem right about all of this. What about this research is so important that Cerberus wants it? Then with the whole laughing thing. Had they really never seen him laugh? He looked at himself in the mirror, his blue eyes shining back at him. He looked like always; grim, a slight frown on his face, nothing new. He smiled at himself, and cringed at how horrible he was at it. He sighed and walked over to his bed, getting dressed.
He wasn't the jolliest guy, true. He had a hard childhood, and the military didn't really improve his humor. He pushed it out of his mind as he pulled his boots on. He had to give Vara a tour of California, where they were landing. Maybe get her to tell him more about this research. He hoped Erik didn't do anything to piss off the higher ups; he was known as a jokester, a little too much at times. But he was a good soldier, and an even better friend. Davin finished buttoning up his uniform and headed out to the lounge.
He saw his group already dressed up and ready, laughing and forming a circle around Vara. They were being themselves, all joking besides Levie, who didn't talk much. He couldn't tell if Vara was upset or happy; that damn mask. But he sighed, hiding a small smile as he walked up to them.
"Well, if it isn't our blushing commander. You done calming down?" Debra said, laughing loudly. Davin growled in response, making everyone chuckle. "So, Commander, ready to go from a soldier to a tour guide?"
Davin glared at him. "Keep bugging about it and you'll go from soldier to toilet cleaner." Erik gasped and shut up, making everyone chuckle again. Davin gave a small smile; perhaps he is too grim. "Hey, team, we need to-"
He never got to finish, as the door leading outside opened and soldiers poured in, guns raised. His team reacted instantly, raising their guns and aiming right back. Davin pulled out his pistol with experienced speed and aimed it at the nearest soldier. He looked around, confused. They were Alliance soldiers. Why were they detaining them?
The answer walked through the door with a smile on his face. Davin glared at the person he liked the least in the entire Alliance Navy.
Derrick Grimer. He was a captain of his own team, and a dirty soldier. He broke the rules as often as he could and gets away with it because his father is an admiral. The moment he met Davin he decided he didn't like him, and Davin wasn't fond of him as well. They even got into a fist fight once, with Davin being deployed into the worst battle he's ever gotten to as a result. "Well, look who it is. Kecker, if you're smart you will stop aiming your weapon at my soldiers."
Davin debated for a moment, and then nodded. "You're right." He said, and swung his gun around to aim at Derrick himself. The smile vanished from his face, replaced by a glare. "Pretty ballsy Kecker. I should have you shot for-"
"Shut up and get off my ship." Davin said, cutting him off. He could see Derricks face grow red as he slid his hand through his grey hair in anger. It was a weird habit of his. "How dare you! I have orders too acquire the research from the Quarian."
He saw Vara clutch the grey container to her chest out of the corner of his eye. He placed his aim right between Derrick's eyes. "Fuck your orders. Until I hear from the higher ups themselves, you can screw off. And if you don't do it soon, it'll be a bullet between the eyes. Your pick."
Derrick couldn't get any redder. But he wasn't dumb. He had four soldiers and him, while Davin had seven. If he opened fire, it was likely Derrick would lose. After thinking about it for awhile, Derrick conceded. "Soldiers! Move out." The soldiers lowered their weapons and marched outside. Derrick began to follow them, then turned back and snarled "This isn't over Kecker. I will get that research." And with that he left.
Davin waited until the door closed automatically, then lowered his gun, sighing. His team followed suit, looking pissed. "What an asshole." Adam said. "Never liked him, daddy's boy. Thinks he can do whatever he wants."
"Why did he call you Kecker?" Vara asked. They all looked at her, blinking, until Davin remembered she didn't know him well yet. "That's my last name. we don't see eye to eye, and he uses it in a disrespectful way." She nodded, and Davin sighed again. "I'm going to get in trouble for this, I can feel it already."
"So?" Adam said. "Doesn't matter. I sure wasn't going to let him have this research we fought for. "The rest of the group nodded.
"And if he tried to get it from me, He'd get a knife in his ribs." Vara announced, making them chuckle, remembering her stabbing the merc. Davin smiled and forced his way through his circle of friends and approached Vara. "Well, let's get on with this. Erik made it clear I need to show you my favorite state in the U.S.; California."
She looked at him for awhile, and then nodded, following him out of the ship.
.
.
Vara was struck speechless by how beautiful the scenery was. Davin took her to places where she could see mountains and trees, and she just absorbed it all, never realizing how beautiful Earth was. Davin even seemed to enjoy himself; He smiled when she gasped at the giant red trees, so tall she couldn't see the tops of them. She momentarily forgot all about her anger at humans and her research. As they were on their way back, she felt comfortable enough to ask him questions.
"Do you really never smile?" She asked him randomly. He kept driving for a bit, not responding. Then, "No, not really."
"Why?" She asked, and almost regretted it when he turned to her and she saw the sadness in his eyes. "Do you really want to know?" He asked.
She stared into his blue eyes and saw no humor in them; he was dead serious. She almost said no, but nodded. He sat back in the seat of the car, thinking of how to tell her.
"Well, I had a rough childhood. My father was a military man and a real hard ass. He made it clear early on I was going to join the military, and it did not matter if I wanted something else. He never hit my mom, but wasn't above knocking me around if I didn't listen. When I was 16, he pulled some favors and forced me into the Alliance Navy even though I wasn't old enough. I…wasn't ready. Luckily, it was after the first contact war, but there were still plenty of enemies to fight, so I was kept busy. He also made sure I had to have a combat position, so I had to kill. Killing that young…changes you I guess. Erik enlisted with me, being 2 years older than me and able to, but after awhile even he couldn't help. Then I was deployed to the battle of the golden roses."
Vara looked at him. "Battle of golden roses?"
Davin nodded. "It was a mercenary group that was like Cerberus, but twice as racist and had too many followers. They started attacking anything that wasn't human, and since we didn't want another war, we were sent out to handle it." He paused, remembering it in his head, then continued. "It was a very bloody battle. The golden roses had over 2000 mercs, and we had to kill every single one…I earned the nickname 'the Hand of Death' during that battle. I killed so many of them…They say I killed 500, but it was only 97. I thought id feel like we won something, but after it was over, I only felt empty inside. After that, they promoted me and raised me to a commander, and gave me my own unit and ship. That's how I met all of those morons back on the ship." Davin smiled to himself, but it was a sad smile.
Vara didn't know what to say at first. She now understood why he didn't smile. "You remember the number of people you've killed?"
He nodded. "154 so far. I remember every single one of them. They will be burned into my memory for the rest of my life." They sat in an awkward silence for awhile, the Davin said, "What about you? What made you leave the fleet? It's rare for a Quarian to willingly leave the fleet for anything beside battle or a pilgrimage."
She decided since he was being honest with her, she would at least do the same. "Well, growing up I was always a smart kid. As I got older, I saw that instead of trying to help our race, all the admirals could do is try to find ways to destroy the Geth. I voiced my opinion, and they didn't agree. My father actually disowned me for it, so I decided I was going to leave the fleet and research something useful that can help our people."
He nodded. "Sounds just like you, and sounds like you have more sense then the others. What are you researching?"
This was the tricky part she was avoiding. Should she trust him with delicate information like this? She could lie, but he doesn't seem like the type who is easily fooled. She sighed, giving in. "I'm researching ways to fix our weak immune systems. These environmental suits are basically handicaps. I want to be able to smell the air, and eat solid food." She paused, and decided she might as well go all the way. "And I'm actually very close."
Davin raised an eyebrow at her. "How so?"
She bit her lip, a bad habit of hers, knowing she couldn't back out now. "We found a mineral on a very hostile planet. Lost a few people to get it, but from what the scans say…It's an amazing mineral. I was going to test it soon, but then we got attacked, and you know the rest."
Davin didn't say anything for awhile, worrying her. Then he said "I see. It makes a little more sense why Cerberus would want it now."
She blinked, not understanding. "It does?"
He nodded. "Imagine if what you found is exactly what you need to permanently boost your immune system. Do you know how much the Quarians would pay for such a cure? How much any species would pay for it?"
She mulled it over, and her eyes grew wide as she realized he was right. Then fleet would pay an arm and a leg for it, and other species even more. They could make enough credits to swim in."
"Especially when, according to our reports, Cerberus spent over a billion credits on a project recently." Davin continued. Vara gasped. "A billion credits!"
He nodded. "Yes. I wasn't told why, but it must be important to put that money into a single project. And it also means they need to make up for all of that lost money now. Your research is the perfect money maker."
She stared at Davin, seeing him differently. "I didn't realize…that you were smart."
He chuckled. "You thought I was just another dumb human?"
She smiled. "Well, actually, yes I did. But you have proven me wrong. Now I see you as a regular human."
He actually laughed at that, which surprised her. "Well, better than before I guess."
His face grew serious again, so fast she was baffled. "We need to get back now. I'm sure the admirals would love to have a word with me."
She nodded, and sat back while he drove towards the military base.
