Chapter 9
Davin fell, catching himself just in time and cursing at the pain. Vara rushed over to help, but he waved her away, slowly getting back up. Trying to ignore the pain as best as he could, he took a deep breath and lifted his new metal leg, shaking slightly as he moved it through the air and set it down. He Let his breath out and repeated the process, going faster until he got to the end of the bars he was using to hold his body up. He turned around, grunted, and went back the other way, blocking out the pain as best he could.
It had been a couple of weeks since he had his new legs attached, and He was recovering faster than the doctors predicted; within a week he could walk without crutches, and now he could even run. The legs were amazing; He couldn't feel anything, and it took awhile to get used to walking on legs you can't feel there, but he forced himself to get used to it. Vara had been with him through all of it, supporting him the best she could. She told him that her immune system was strong enough for her to survive now, but she never took more than her helmet off. Maybe she was so used to the suit that she was having more trouble getting rid of it than she thought.
He finally sat down, having done leg exercises for a few hours straight. His legs only hurt towards the end now; he gave it a week before he was ready to spar and get used to fighting with his new legs. He could try to go back to the military, but it was something he was hesitant to do; so far his entire adult life had been with the military. He looked at Vara and wondered if it was time for him to do something different. Maybe they could go somewhere and become scientist; she was certainly smart enough, and he was willing to learn anything.
But would he be able to adapt to normal life? He was so used to killing to survive, could he get used to not fighting for his life and his country every day? All of these thoughts ran through his head as he went down the road to recovery. He was pulled from his thoughts by Vara opening the car door for him. He grunted, getting in and thanking her. They had Erik drive them back and forth, since Davin couldn't feel the pedals and Vara had no idea how to drive.
"So how did it go today?" Erik asked, grinning as always. Davin only grunted his response, tired and hungry. Vara got in on the other side, pulling her seatbelt on as Erik pulled away from the curb. "I think it went well today. He only fell once." Vara said, smiling. Taking care of Davin had given her a break from her research, and gave her a reason to delay finalizing everything. Davin suspected she still was afraid that he would be taken away from her after she completed everything.
"I'll say it went well when I can do all of the exercises and not have my stumps hurt." Davin said, rubbing what was left of his actual legs, which wasn't much. He felt Vara squeeze his shoulder but was too tired to respond. He felt his pocket, in which was a small box, and in the box was a ring; a ring big enough for the finger of a quarian. He began to feel nervous; the only thing he had ever committed to in his entire life was the military. He didn't know if Vara knew what this ring represented, but he did; it represented his feeling for her, and the fact that he decided to spend the rest of his life with her. She was there before, during, and after he lost his legs, and was the support he needed to pull through it.
This was also a way to ease her mind, to let her know that even after she finishes her research and is hailed as this generation's genius for solving a problem the Quarians have had for many years. She was his, and he didn't plan on letting her go anytime soon. But it was the location they were heading that made him the most nervous.
Vara, being as smart as she is, noticed when Erik didn't turn left at the same road he did every day. "Why didn't you turn? Where are we going?"
Erik smiled; Davin had already told him everything a few days before, and Davin just hoped Erik didn't give it away. He almost sighed out loud when Erik responded, "You're in for a treat today; you get to meet someone very important to Davin. We are almost there; just relax."
Davin saw Vara frown and smiled, glad that he could see her face now. Made having conversations much easier when you can see how the other person is reacting. He grabbed her hand, not trusting himself to talk. Erik turned right and Vara saw a cemetery for the first time. She looked around at the headstones, confused. "What is with all of these stones? Is this an important place on Earth?"
"To some people." Davin answered. When he saw her confused look, he laughed. "This is a cemetery. This is where we bury our loved ones after they die. They get a coffin in the ground and a headstone with their basic information."
She nodded, looking deep in thought. Erik parked and they all got out. Erik helped Davin walk, as his legs were screaming in pain and protest. They walked along the headstones until they got to the one they were looking for. Erik let Davin sit down next to the grave as Vara read the headstone.
"Here lies Haley…Kecker, a loving mother and wife." She covered her mouth, looking at Davin. "Oh Keelah, this is your mothers…"
"Yes." Davin said, smiling sadly. "I visit as much as I can, but I know it's not really her; she passed on a long time ago. But sitting here makes me feel like she is still here in her own way, and it eases my mind." He looked up and saw tears in Vara's eyes; he didn't know what Quarians did with their dead, but it was obviously something else.
"Davin…" She began, but he held his hand up, grunting and cursing as he did his best to get onto one knee.
"I made a promise to my mother that when I did this, she would be there to witness it. This isn't exactly what I meant, but this is the best I can do to keep my promise." He reached into his pocket; his heart dancing in his chest as he pulled the box out. "You might not understand what's going on yet, so I will explain in a way that you can understand. When a human…loves another human, they buy a ring to represent this love and represent that they want to be with the other forever." As he said this, he opened the box, revealing the huge ring with a good sized diamond on the top.
Vara's face slowly went from surprise to shock as she started to realize what he meant. "Davin…does this mean…"
"Yes it does." He answered, smiling. He couldn't see, but he swore he heard Erik crying. "This ring is me asking you to stay by my side for the rest of our lives. If you say yes, I am yours forever. I will never let you go." His nervousness was making him impatient. "So Vara… do you want to be Vara'Vas Kecker?" He didn't know how Quarian names very well, so he winged that last part.
Vara was waving her face, blushing heavily. "I…this is very sudden Dav but….but of course I do! Yes? I say yes right? Oh Keelah, I'm messing this up…"
He grabbed her hand and slid the ring on her finger after it was clear she meant yes, almost cheering when it fit. He stood up, cutting her off by grabbing her face and pulling her into a deep long kiss, never wanting to let go.
"That's my boy." Erik said, sniffling. "Now I want a girlfriend."
.
.
.
Davin took a deep breath, feeling the chilly air enter his lungs as a bead of sweat traveled from his forehead down to his nose and off onto the ground, soundless in its flight to meet the Earth. He let the breath out, smiled, and pushed off, running as fast as he could. He heard Erik laugh as he ran along side him, able to keep up to Davin with his human legs. Davin felt the adrenaline rush as he pushed himself harder, passing Erik and running ahead. Not a day went by where he didn't thank god that he didn't have to be crippled for the rest of his life. As he ran, he decided today was the day to test his limits. As he was running, he leaned over and found the knob on his right leg that controls how much electricity runs through it. Grinning, he turned it all the way to ten, as far as it would go.
His metal legs roared to life like the engine of a car, and he took off, going so fast that everything was a blur; it was like he had tunnel vision. He yelled with joy, not actually realizing how fast he was going. He was about to start slowing down when his metal foot hit something. He didn't feel if of course; he did feel his whole body fly forward and hit the ground hard. But at the speed he was going, he wasn't done yet; he bounced, rolling and bouncing along the ground until he hit a tree hard, bashing his head and seeing starts as his whole body started hurting.
"Davin!" He heard multiple voices yell. He shook his head, sending the starts flying in different directions as he inspected his body for injuries, sighing in relief when there were no broken bones or gashes. He looked over and saw Erik running over, followed by Vara and Debra.
"Are you alright? What happened?" Erik said as he got to the tree, breathing slightly heavy. Davin laughed. "I turned my legs all the way up. Now that was a rush!"
"And it was almost the death of you." Vara said, crossing her arms. "I know you got surgery so that your eyes can process images at a faster rate, but you aren't a super hero; the fastest speed on your legs is just too much, plus it drains you like a cheap battery." She knelt down, looking into his eyes. "Promise me you won't turn it to ten again. Please?"
He frowned, knowing she was right but debating whether to be stubborn. He sighed, deciding it wasn't worth it. "Alright hun, I promise not to do it again."
Vara smiled, victory assured, while Erik made a whipping gesture from behind her back. Davin got up, hugging her and flicking Erik off at the same time, making both of them laugh. It had been almost a year since Davin proposed to Vara, and they were happily married. Her parents even came to the wedding, surprising Davin at how happy they were, even Vara's dad.
Davin made a full recovery, becoming even more of a human weapon thanks to his new legs, which couldn't feel pain and could let him move faster than normal humans. He didn't try to rejoin the military or a mercenary group; instead, he fought professionally, fighting other people with cybernetic limbs to make it fair. He has not lost yet, and had a record of six wins, no losses.
Everything was going well in his life. His marriage was wonderful, making him happier than he had ever been. To his surprise, Vara quit researching the cure to the Quarians weak immune system. When he asked, she simply said the world wasn't ready, and wouldn't budge. He didn't mind; he got to be married to the only Quarian to walk around without a suit. He counted that as a win in his book. Vara decided to study the biology of Earth, and now knew more about the planet then he did.
Erik had been raised a few ranks since Davin's accident, and commanded an entire garrison, which included Davin's entire old team. Davin felt nothing but pride towards his best friend, and was glad that he didn't let Davin's injury bring him down. Davin's life was the best it had ever been, and he was content for it to stay like this for the rest of his life.
But we all know that isn't what happened. It started with a call to his Omni-tool; nothing major, nothing suspicious. Davin heard it go off and opened it up, seeing that the call was from Admiral Hackett. Curious and surprised, as Davin had not seen the Admiral since his wedding, and pressed answer, Hackett's face popping up into view.
"Good morning Admiral Hackett. This is a surprise; what can I help you with?" Davin said, sitting down and setting up his tools. Once a week, Vara checked his legs, making sure everything was going smoothly, and cleaned them if needed. He protested at first, but she wouldn't budge, and he finally gave in.
"Good morning Davin. I'm sorry that I haven't kept in contact recently; a lot has been going on in the galaxy. Right now I need a favor from you and you wife, Vara."
"What do you need me for?" Vara said, hearing them as she entered the room. Davin simply shrugged, turning the projected screen so she could see too. "Well, The Alliance Navy fears that something bad is going to happen. I don't know all the details, which should let you know how serious this is. All I know is they want Vara to finish her research, so that they can give it to the Quarians in hope of an Alliance."
Davin said nothing; Vara was a different story. "They want to basically claim my research as their own and use it to their own ends?"
"No, it would still be you who gets credit." Admiral Hackett said, and then smiled a sly smile. "Of course, they were most likely going to remind them that they funded your research all the way. But you will still receive full credit, protection while you finish it, and enough credits afterwards to make sure you can live the rest of your lives however you want."
"Bribing with money? The military would never do that." Davin said, making Hackett chuckle. Vara looked deep in thought, and then looked at Davin. "Only on two conditions; one, Davin agrees, and two, Davin comes with me. I'd feel safer with him there."
Hackett laughed. "Well, you drive a hard bargain. I can promise the second one." With that they both looked at Davin, the decision up to him. He sighed, shrugging.
"Sure, why not. But I want a ship."
.
.
"I can not believe they actually gave Davin a fully functional and new ship." Erik said as he walked them off of Davin's ship, the new White Hawk. "They must really want this research completed."
Vara nodded, not believing the ship part either, although she liked the ship. "Yes, and that worries me. Why is it important now?"
Erik shrugged. "Could be war on the horizon."
"Or the Reapers are coming." Davin said darkly. Erik laughed in response. "Reapers? You believe that crap?"
"Crap?" Davin said, stopping. "Commander Shepard, the legend himself, warned us about the Reapers. Anything that can make that man worry is something I worry about."
Erik shrugged, not wanting to argue, and walked them up to a two-story building. "This will be your new home until you are done. We will be posted on the first floor at all times, with one of us on the second floor at all times."
"And who is we?" Vara said, seeing Erik and Davin grin. They always kept the surprises from her, and it frustrated her sometimes. "Take a wild guess." Davin said, opening the door and strolling in as if he owned the place. He was almost knocked over as Debra pulled him into a bear hug, the rest of the group joining in on the assault.
"I can't breathe!" Davin said, although he was completely ignored. Vara began to laugh until she saw Debra let go of Davin and turn towards her. Before she could escape, Debra trapped her too, squeezing what felt like her life out of her, only a small squeak escaping her as she was nearly crushed.
"It's been too long!" Adam said, and she saw Jacob nod in agreement. Bennie for once wasn't giggling, and even Levie was smiling. Vara smiled back, missing all of them dearly. "It has. I'm happy to see all of you."
"How did you get the higher ups to agree to this?" Davin said, grinning himself. Erik shrugged. "Ask Admiral Hackett. He's the one who pulled all of the strings." Davin shook his head, and even Vara wasn't surprised. Hackett had a way of getting what he wanted. Sly old fox
"Well, I'm going to take Davin on a tour of this place. Han, could you show Vara where all of her research so far was placed, as well as her new lab? I'm sure she wants to see where she will be working for awhile." Erik said, grabbing Davin's arm before he could protest.
Han nodded, gesturing for Vara to follow him. Vara complied, curious as to what her new lab looked like, and Erik and Davin left, leaving the others to talk amongst themselves. They were all so happy that they weren't being quiet at all, or paying attention. If they were, Erik and Davin might have noticed a pair of people standing outside, looking at the building. They might have noticed that they had Cerberus sigils on their chest. They might have noticed that they were very well armed, or that they were talking into their earpieces, relaying all the information they had just collected. If they had noticed any of this, things might have been very different.
Davin would regret this for the rest of his life.
.
"Whoa." was all Vara could think to say as she as she looked upon her new lab. It was even bigger than the last one, and had everything she could ask for and more. He gawked at it like Erik gawked at woman until Han chuckled, snapping her out of it. Blushing, and knowing they could see that now, she said, "Lets move on to my research."
Han nodded, and they went into the next room. It had a couple of high tech cabinets. Vara started looking through them, passing all of her notes, looking for something specific. She sighed in relief when she saw it; a brown bag. She took it out and set it on the table. She noticed Han was looking at it, and as Davin called it, the nerd in her activated.
"Han, do you want to see the main ingredient to all of my research?"
He nodded. She opened the bag, and his face grew confused as all he saw was weird small green crystals. "What are they?"
"Honestly, I have no idea. I bought them off of a scientist who had just gone on an expedition to an unknown planet. The planet was vicious, and most of the people that went with him died, but they found amazing discoveries, this included. They weren't Quarians though, and couldn't find a use for this. I did."
She took a piece out, and held it up to the light. She swore he went 'ooo' as the light easily passed through the crystal as if it was made of paper. "These are very fragile, and will dissolve if placed in any liquid. As I had it under a microscope, I noticed that it killed most bacteria it came in contact with. So I started out placing common viruses and a bacterium's that would kill a Quarian of they caught it, and was amazed when the crystal killed all of them."
She placed it back into the bag, grinning like a fool; she loved explaining her findings. "I then needed to test if it would harm our bodies, such as blood cells, skin cells, etc. So I placed not only some of my blood in skin with it, but Davin's as well. Before my eyes I saw that it not only didn't attack the cells, it enveloped them, making them stronger. I then decided to do a dangerous test, one I never told Davin about until later; I ingested it myself."
Han's face was a mix of curiosity and surprise. She did her best not to laugh, continuing. "Yes, I put a crystal in my mouth and it dissolved quickly. The effects were almost immediate; I got a very intoxicating feeling; my whole mind and body went numb, and I couldn't think straight. My theory for this is that it overloads our body at first, and that's how our body reacts to it. Could be a lot worse, so I didn't complain. It was what I saw afterwards that amazed me."
Han leaned forward a bit, fully enveloped in what she had to say now. I should become a politician. "I drew some more of my blood and mixed it with the Viruses and bacteria. To my amazement, instead of just dying like they always did, the blood cells not only resisted, they repelled the virus for awhile like a shield. Eventually, the virus and bacteria did win, but it wasn't as quick and deadly as before, and that alone is a huge leap compared to before."
She sighed, reliving the memory of this in her head. She smiled to herself. "It was amazing to see. On top of that-"
She got cut off by a loud bang from downstairs that actually shook the floor, followed by more bangs and screaming. She froze, but Han moved instantly, running to the door and shutting it behind him. She regained her composure, and began pacing back and forth, her mind racing. Are we being attacked? It can't be a coincidence that this happened while Davin and Erik were away. Dammit, they must be after my research! It has to be Cerberus.
She looked around. They can have the notes, but they can't get their hands on the crystals. I have to hide them. She looked until she found a vent. She heard the sounds getting closer, and went as fast as she could, adrenaline helping her rip the vent off. But this was a decoy; she then placed her actually notes in the vent and put the cover back on. Anyone looking at it could tell it had been tampered with, and she hoped that this would lead them to think everything she had was there. She then went to one of the high tech containers, pressed the password only Davin and her knew, and opened it, placing it inside the container and shutting it.
Now to find a way to let Davin know where it is without letting anyone else know. But how? She jumped as she heard a bang on the door. Running out of time. She did the first thing she thought of; she grabbed a marker and drew a bird above it, the same bird Davin found when they first met, where her friend hid the research then. Déjà vu
The banging on the door increased; she knew it was only a matter of time until they either hacked their way in or just blew the door down. She looked from a monitor to her omni-tool and decided to leave Davin her last message. She felt herself crying as she set it all up, and did her best to wipe away the tears before pressing record.
"Davin…I wish I had more time...but I can't leave without saying goodbye." She spoke; she said everything she thought she needed to say. She had just pressed end when the door opened, and Vara turned around to face her death head on.
Her last thought was; I just wish I had more time…
