Chapter 6
About a week later, Davin woke to find Vara sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall. He blinked, trying to get rid of his grogginess; something was off. Vara never waits on the edge of the bed, she always just wakes him up and tells him what she wants.
He got up on one arm, placing the other on her shoulder and leaning his head against her back. "Is something wrong Vara?" She didn't answer for a long time, making him worry a bit. She finally said, "I got a video call this morning."
He raised an eyebrow. "From who?"
"My mother." She said. "My mother and I were always on good terms, so we always talked to each other at least once a week. When she randomly video called me, I thought she was just worried because I hadn't called her in a couple of weeks…but that isn't it." She took a deep breath. "My father wants me to visit them on the fleet, see how my research is going."
Now he understood what was bothering her. From what he had heard, her father was a total ass. He put his legs over the side of the bed, sitting next to her. He put his arm around her and pulled her against him.
"Do you know what my father's last words to me were?" She said. He shook his head, so she continued. "He told me that I was a disappointment, and that he wished he had a son instead."
Davin felt himself get angry and forced himself to calm down. Instead, he smiled at her and said, "He sounds like a bosh'tet I think it was. So, when are we going?"
She looked at him, her eyes wide. "What do you mean us?"
He grinned. "Well, by official orders from Admiral Hackett, I can't let you go anywhere without me and my team escorting you personally. And, it's a chance to meet your parents. I'd need to sooner or later." He looked her in the eye. "Unless you're ashamed to let your parents know about me."
She pulled her head back, then gently nudged him with it, something she rarely does. "No, I'm not ashamed of you Dav…I just know my father. He will make it clear he doesn't approve of it."
Davin smiled, loving when she called him Dav. "And I will let him know that I don't care if he doesn't approve; Sorry, but I'm not intimidated by a man who calls his daughter a disappointment for not doing what he wants her to do."
She looked at him, and he guessed that she wished she could take her mask off. "You're awesome sometimes, you know that?"
He smiled. "Well, of course I know that." She hit his shoulder, laughing. He was glad he was cheering her up; he knew exactly how she felt. If he had somehow resisted his father and done something else, his father would have disowned him and called him a disappointment as well. He felt sorry for anyone whose father was similar to his.
She sighed, standing up. "Might as well get ready. Just wear your battle armor; that will at least impress him a bit."
He nodded, getting up to tell the rest of the team.
This was going to be interesting to say the least.
.
.
"Vara!" The small Quarian screamed, running at Vara and giving her a bear hug, making it impossible to breathe. Vara smiled, hugging her mother back. Her mother had always supported her no matter what she did; she was the opposite of Vara's father.
It had taken them awhile to get to the Quarian fleet, and most of the team stayed at the docking area; she made sure Bennie and Adam stayed at least. They were on a civilian ship, which was huge and she could tell by the looks in Davin's and Erik's eyes that this was their first time even seeing a Quarian ship. Only Davin and Erik went with her. Her mother looked at both of them, but kept her eye on Davin. "Please tell me he is the one you told me about sweetheart; and if he isn't, please introduce us."
She felt herself blush. "Mom!" She gasped, while Davin chuckled himself, blushing as well. He took her mothers hand and shook it. "I'm pretty sure I'm the one she was talking about, unless it was bad, then it was probably about my team mate Adam." Davin looked at Vara. "Though I'm curious as to what she told you about me, honestly."
"As a matter in fact, so am I." a familiar voice said, making Vara's blood get cold as she slowly turn towards her father. He was the exact opposite of her mother; tall and skinny, he was one of the tallest Quarians in the fleet, coming in at 6 foot 2. He walked over to them. To Vara's surprise, Davin and Erik put their feet together and saluted. It apparently surprised her father as well; he couldn't come up with anything to say so he nodded and simply said, "At ease."
Davin dropped his hand. "I am Davin Kecker, Commander in the Alliance Navy. This is my second-in-command, Erik Walkman. We have been charged with escorting your daughter and protecting her at all costs until her research is complete."
This also surprised her father, as her mother probably didn't tell him that her lab was attacked. "Really? Why is this?"
Vara spoke up this time. "I guess mother didn't tell you. My lab was attacked by Cerberus forces pretending to be a mercenary group. They killed every other scientist there, and if it wasn't for Commander Kecker here, who intercepted an emergency transmission that the scientist Hane broadcasted, I would probably be dead as well, and all of my research in the hands of Cerberus."
Her father just stood there for awhile, stunned, then looked at her mother, who shrugged. "Ya, I forgot to mention it. Sometimes it seems like you don't care."
Her father didn't respond to this; instead he stood up straight. "Well, I thank you for saving my daughter and keeping her safe. I am Zaem'Yara Vas Haareh, and this is my wife, Naela'Vas Haareh. We are honored to have you among the fleet." He turned to her. "So, how is your research going daughter?"
She flinched, wanting to throttle him for calling her his daughter. "Well, I had to restart nearly everything after the attack; they made sure to destroy everything that wasn't useful to them. And even though the Alliance is funding my research now, I have to put my lab in a spare room, next to a living room full of a bunch of sarcastic, smartass soldiers who don't know the meaning of quiet." She heard Erik laugh and saw Davin smile, something he was doing a lot more often. She blushed a bit, realizing that it was because of her, and continued. "But, besides these setbacks, I have successfully isolated the unknown factor from the mineral I found. Give it a few months and a few tests, I could manufacture a cure in pill or liquid form and ship them here easily, if everything goes right. I'm having trouble with this unknown factor though; it doesn't want to be cloned in anyway, and is giving me problems."
Her father nodded. "Do you have proof that this unknown factor actually works?"
Vara shook her head. "Not yet. The only Quarian there is me, and you know the Admirals won't accept data from a test I ran on myself."
He nodded again. "Well, as you know, there are plenty of Quarians here to test." It was her fathers attempt at telling a joke, and she wasn't surprised when no one laughed. Sensing the awkward moment, her mother said words that made her heart drop. "So, you told us about your research sweetheart; now tell us about Commander Kecker over here. He is the one you were telling me about, right honey?"
Oh Keelah. She tried her best to keep her composure with her father's eyes on her, waiting for an answer. She sighed. "Yes mom, Davin is the one I was telling you about." Her father looked at her mother. "Honey, please tell us what Vara told you about Commander Kecker over here."
Here it comes. She thought, and she was right. "Why, this is the handsome man who stole her heart apparently. And I can not blame her for letting him." Her mother said, no hesitation. Her father just looked at his wife, looked at Davin, then looked back at Vara's mother, not believing what he was hearing.
"Well…" She heard Davin start, and she almost groaned. Please don't say anything cheesy. If he read her mind, then he was probably laughing inside his as he said, "I wouldn't say I stole her heart; it's more like I gave her mine."
She heard Erik start laughing uncontrollably, and she glared at Davin, forgetting he couldn't tell with her mask on. Her mother giggled loudly, doing little half jumps; she does it whenever she is excited. "Oh Keelah, he is cute! You better keep him Vara."
She barely heard her mother; she was watching her father, and her heart sunk as she could feel his anger growing. She didn't need to see his face to know he was about to blow up. "You…you guys are joking right? I hope your joking." Her father said, slow and commanding.
Davin stepped forward, and she saw his demeanor change into the one he had the night she got jumped by the blood pack; no smile, eyes cold and soldier like. "Well, I sure wasn't joking Vas Haareh, and I don't think Vara was either."
Oh shit. She could almost see sparks flying between the two of them. They were both soldiers, and she didn't know what would happen. Her mother noticed it as well, and crossed her arms at Vara's father.
"So now my daughter is with….a human." Her father said slowly, mulling it over. Then he sighed. "You seem to be able to find unlimited ways to disappoint me, daughter."
She felt sadness and anger build up inside of her at the same time, bringing tears to her eyes. She looked at the ground until she felt a strong hand grip her shoulder. She looked up at Davin, who was staring her father down, eyes on fire. "I could say the same about you, Vas Haareh."
Her father looked at Davin. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me, I was loud and clear." He said, stepping straight into her fathers face, and even though he was only 2 inches taller, it looked like he towered over her father. "Her, a disappointment? I disagree. She is the smartest woman I have ever met. You are the disappointment. A father who can't get over himself and accept what his daughter wants, a father who belittles his only child, a father who tells their daughter that he wished he had a son; you are a disappointment as a father, and as a man. How dare you call her your daughter after everything you have done, and then you have the gall to say she disappointed you again?" She saw her father step back, unprepared for Davin's rage. Vara could only stare at the man defending her fiercely with awe. The way he is standing up for me…Keelah, it's hot.
Davin wasn't done yet. "My father is much like you, except I didn't have a choice; if I disagreed with him, he didn't say he was disappointed in me, he beat me until I obeyed his wishes. So, I have little tolerance for men like you. If we weren't on your fleet, I would kick your ass Vas Haareh. But I have respect for the Admirals who run this fleet and for Vara's mother. But I never want to hear you say those words to her again; if I hear about it, you are in a world of hurt. I hope I am very clear in this." With that Davin turned around and marched off, probably going to cool his head.
Her father stood there for a few moments, shaking, then turned around and stormed off in the opposite direction. Vara looked at her mother. "Oh Keelah, that didn't go like I wanted it too….I hope you're not mad at Davin…"
To her surprise, her mother laughed. "Mad? Why would I be? I'd be mad if he did nothing. A man is supposed to defend his woman, it doesn't matter against whom. You don't know this, but your father had a very similar conversation with my father." Vara blinked. Her father…did the same thing?
Her mother laughed again. "I'll go make sure he doesn't sic the military onto Commander Kecker." Her mother looked her dead in the eye. "I like him, Vara. Keep him. He is a good man…not to mention damn good looking too." With that her mother followed after her father.
Vara sighed, then bit her lip; she still remembered how Davin stood up for her. I need to find him…now. She turned around and walked off in the direction Davin went, hearing Erik sigh and say, "I wish multiple women would say I'm good looking."
.
Davin took a deep breathe, inhaling as much cigarette smoke as he could before releasing it, hating the taste. He had gotten into cigarettes during his first deployment, and got addicted to it; after the battle of Golden Roses, he cut down a lot, smoking a cigarette only when he was really stressed, or when he talked to his father. He stared at the cancer stick, hating it and loving it at the same time.
He had finally cooled down enough to regret going berserk on Vara's father. She is probably so pissed at me right now. He sighed, taking another drag and seeing Vara and Erik approach him. Erik whistled. "Damn, you get pissed off that badly Davin?"
He nodded, going to take another drag from the cigarette until he felt a hand grab his arm gently and stop him. He looked to see it was Vara. "I don't know what those are, but I'm guessing since I rarely see you smoke them that they aren't good for you." She leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "What would you rather have; that thing, or me."
Davin was so thrown off by the question that he dropped the cigarette without noticing. "Wait, what-" was all he got out before she grabbed his hands and pulled him with more force than he knew she was capable of. He followed her, not knowing what was going on or where they were going, confused as could be. "Be gentle with him!" Erik yelled out before they turned a corner. She dragged him along for awhile, turning a few more corners until she came to the room she was looking for. She opened it and pulled him inside. The light turned on when they entered, blinding him temporarily, and he felt her push him onto the bed. His eyes adjusted, and he saw her press a few things on the door, and the hologram circle went from 'open?' to 'locked.'
This is either going to be very good, or very bad. He thought to himself as she turned around. Her hands went up, taking her mask off quickly, her face blushing as she smiled an evil smile. "Vara, what are you-" He began to say, but she put a finger to his lips, shutting him up. He watched as she unstrapped and unzipped her body suit, and his eyes grew wide when it fell off of her body, showing him her naked body.
Oh fuck, if she comes at me like that…He didn't even get to finish the thought, as she came over to him, smiling still, and grabbed his hair. She pulled it hard, making him growl. Then pulled him into a kiss as she climbed onto his lap, making him lose all thought as she grabbed his hands and slid them along her body slowly, turning him on so much he lost control for a second, biting her lip and squeezing her breast hard, making her gasp and moan. He pulled his head away, trying to regain his thoughts. "I-I thought you would be mad at me…."
She giggled, running her hand through his hair and beginning to grind against him, making it hard for him to think again. "Mad? How could I be." She pulled his chest armor and undershirt off, almost ripping it in her impatience, then started kissing down his neck, making him shiver as she whispered "The way you stood up for me…was so hot. I want you."
He was finding it harder and harder to argue with her. When she bit his neck gently, scratching down his back, he gave in. He slid his hands down her back and cupped her ass, rolling her over suddenly, making her yelp. He grinned at her; she was dead wrong if she thought she was going to have complete control that easily. Before he lost all control he asked, "Are you sure?"
She responded by biting his neck again while grinding against him. It was a good enough answer for him. He helped her pull the rest of his armor off and his pants, then grinned at her again.
"As you wish."
.
.
Erik had just refilled his cup of water when he finally saw Davin walk over to him, though he shouldn't say walk; it was more like a penguin walk than anything, his legs spread out, trying his best to not let his thighs touch. Davin finally made it over to Erik and sat down next to him. Erik looked at his omni-tool, then back up to Davin.
"3 hours. Now that is the longest conversation I've ever heard of."
Davin grunted in response. Now that Erik got a closer look, he could see that Davin looked exhausted, with his lips swelling slightly. Erik chuckled at the sight.
"Was it that good?"
Davin didn't respond at first, then slowly nodded. Erik smiled. "I can tell; you look like shit. Her first time I'm guessing. But 3 hours for it? Did she want you to role play or something?"
He shook his head, muttering, "Not just one time."
"What do you mean?" Erik said, taking a drink of his water. He regretted it right away, because Davin said, "four times." And Erik spit out his water, getting his combat armor wet and staring at Davin.
"Four times!" Erik said, and Davin confirmed it again by nodding. Erik couldn't believe it; the woman's first time, and she wanted to go three more times? "I've never heard of a virgin doing that…"
"Oh, it was her first time." Davin said. "Right as I entered her, she let me know just how much it hurt." He pulled the collar of his shirt down, and Erik flinched. He saw a couple of bite marks, but one on his chest was damn near down to the bone. She almost took a chunk of his peck off.
"Ouch." Was all Erik could say, then he roared with laughter. "Four times. Damn, she's a keeper." Grinning, Erik held his fist out. "That's my boy."
Davin laughed, bashing his fist against Erik's.
"What's all the commotion over here?" Erik heard, and he froze, seeing Vara's mother approach them. Davin wasn't hiding the fact that he had sex very well; he wasn't wearing his combat armor, he was having an allergic reaction, and he even smelled of it. When Vara's mother got over to them, she glanced at Davin, and Erik could she that she knew right away. To his surprise, she laughed loudly. "Oh you poor kid, did she drag you to a room and make you deflower her?
Erik had just begun to take a drink of his water again, and again he regretted it, spitting it out again, laughing. He set the drink down; he apparently wasn't going to be able to actually drink it anytime soon.
Even Davin chuckled. "Very perceptive Vas Haareh. No use in hiding it huh."
She shook her head. "No, not from me anyway. She doesn't realize it, but she is just like me. I usually know what's going on with her."
Erik saw Davin's face grow serious. "Then can I ask you a question, Vas Haareh?"
"Call me Naela, and yes you can." She saw his face change as well.
Davin seemed to mull it over, then started off with, "You can obviously see how my body's reacting to her. She should be the same way, right?"
Naela nodded. "Even worse in fact. Why?"
Davin looked at the ground, and Erik could see that something was bothering him. "Well, this is the first time we went all the way, but not the first time we fooled around. She said she would get sick the first time…but I saw no sign of sickness in her. Then, just now, before I left her in the room, I have a slight rash running from my thighs almost to my stomach, but she has…nothing."
Naela's eyes grew wide. "Are you saying…"
Davin nodded. "I think she has already been testing her research on herself, and has had some success."
Erik raised an eyebrow. "But that can't be; she would have told you if she had any headway on it."
Davin slowly shook his head. "I don't know…maybe she thinks if she completes it, she won't be able to see me or som-"
He never got to finish, as a loud alarm went off. Erik jumped up, gripping his assault rifle. "What does that mean!" He yelled over the alarm.
He saw Naela's eyes grow wide threw her mask. "Geth attack."
Erik's blood ran cold. He had heard plenty of stories about the Geth, and he didn't like any of them.
"Davin!" He heard from down the hall, and saw an interesting sight; Vara, now back in her body suit, running as fast as she could with Davin's guns in one hand and what looked like a katana in her other hand.
She got to Davin and gave him his stuff. He quickly strapped his pistol to his side and slung his rifle over his shoulder. Then he took the sword from her, drawing it slowly from its sheath and gasping at it. It was beautiful, with dark green and brown running through it.
"Remember when I asked you about your sword?" Vara yelled. Davin nodded, still gaping at the sword. "Well, I had my aunt get this made for you. It's made from some of the strongest metals in the galaxy; this will cut through almost anything, even enemy armor and shields."
Davin looked up at her, then pulled her into a big hug, making Naela giggle. Then he pulled away. "Where are the Geth attacking?"
Vara pulled up her omni-tool, pressed a few buttons, and gasped. "…The docking area."
Davin's eyes grew wide. "My teams there!" Davin tied the sword sheath to his belt and laid his hands on Vara's shoulders. "Vara, I need you to get somewhere where you can see what's going on; I don't want to go in there completely blind."
She looked like she was going to argue, then gave in, nodding. He kissed her mask and turned to Erik.
"Let's go."
.
Davin sprinted towards the docking bay, forgetting that he had a rash between his thighs that burned like fire, not caring that he had no combat armor or shields on. His only thought was that his team was in danger, and he had to get there fast. He hit a turn so fast he actually had to run along the wall to stop himself from hitting it face first. Erik, who had combat armor on, couldn't do all that, but was keeping up well. The alarm just kept going off, making Davin's head hurt.
He got to the door, hitting the hologram circle until it opened, and they both ran forward into the gunfire. It was chaos; Geth were everywhere, easily keeping the Quarian soldiers at bay. Davin sprinted to the nearest cover he could find, sliding down to avoid any bullets coming his way and getting up to the cover as fast as he could. He popped up, spraying his rifle to provide Erik cover fire until he got to the cover as well. As he was up, he saw the rest of his team holding off the Geth as best as they could, having knocked over anything they could for cover. He saw a hole in the wall, and more Geth just kept pouring in like angry ants. He ducked as they returned fire, being more careful because he was vulnerable without any armor or shields.
He heard a hissing in his ear, and then Vara connected. "Davin! The Geth have ships just outside the next room. They are dropping the Geth through there. You'll have to hold out until out ships can either drive them away or destroy them. Be careful of the Hunters! They can-"She cut off, and he only heard a buzzing sound. What was she trying to say? He went to look out of cover and immediately put his head back down, bullets flying over his head and into their cover.
"We are in a pretty fucked up situation here!" Erik yelled, smiling. Davin ran different strategies through his head, trying to think of the perfect one. They were heavily outnumbered, had no grenades, and were being pinned down. What Erik said was an understatement.
He was going to fire blindly when he heard a sound to his left, which sounded way to close. He whipped his head around and saw nothing. He was about to look back when he saw movement. He reacted fast, swinging his gun around, but the cloaked hunter was ahead of him, grabbing his gun and kicking him in the chest, knocking his gun out of his hand. He got knocked to the ground, feeling all of the air leave his lungs. As he coughed, trying to regain his breath, he saw the hunter fire his shotgun into Erik's shield. Erik's shield absorbed the attack, but barely; it wouldn't be able to handle another shot. Out of options, Davin did the only thing he could think of.
Remembering his martial arts training, he got up, bent his knees, and drew his sword; the sword sliding out of the sheath like it was made of water. The blade flashed, slicing through the Geth Hunter with almost no resistance. The Hunter became visible, electricity sparking everywhere and an annoying buzzing noise escaping it as the top half of it slid off of the bottom half. He saw it hit the ground, sending sparks flying, and the Geth's single electronic eye went dark.
He stared at the sword, amazed. He needed to thank this aunt of Vara's; any sword that could cut through today's armor and shields was worthy of praise. He sheathed it, picking his rifle back up and getting back behind cover, receiving looks from Erik. He heard doors opening, and saw reinforcements coming through the doors. About time.
Feeling more confident, Davin stood up to fire when a huge explosion rocked the ship, sending him back to the ground. He hit it hard, banging the back of his head and seeing stars. As he was slowly getting back up, he heard his ear piece hiss again.
"-Avin! Can you hear me?" Vara said.
"Yes I can. What the fuck was that?" Davin replied, pressing his fingers to the ear piece.
"That was the Geth ships being destroyed; they are cut off. They have no more reinforcements; kill them!"
Davin smiled at the good news, getting up and firing. He hit on dead in the head, seeing it explode with sparks flying everywhere. They were finally being driven back, their backup destroyed. Davin kept firing, taking out as many as he could until there was nothing but bits and pieces of them left. Davin stood up, panting; his chest hurt from the Hunter and now that his adrenaline was wearing off, he could feel his rash burning again.
He saw his team getting up, and sighed in relief when he saw they were ok. No injuries at all as far as he could see; he should never have doubted them. He walked over to them, clasping Jacob on the shoulder. "Good to see you guys are still alive."
Jacob nodded. "It is. Never fought Geth before; hard to fight something that doesn't feel pain nor fear. Thought we were in trouble for a second." Then he squinted at Davin. "Damn Commander, what happened to you?"
He had forgotten that his face was having an allergic reaction as well, scratching the back of his head and blushing a bit. "I…I think it's an allergic reaction to…something?"
Jacob frowned, not buying it, but continued on his way, letting Davin sigh. He had enough of today; he just wanted to go back to bed with Vara and sleep.
Writers note: I'm sorry for taking so long to start posting chapters again. I ran into a severe writers block and had financial troubles. I will do my best to start posting more often. Thank you for reading!
