Mass Effect 30 Day Challenge Day 8

Prompt Eight: Probing planets, or Mako style?

SPOILERS: Mass Effect 1 and 2

Title: Wreckage

"Probe away." Shepard watched the screen on her datapad as EDI released one of the little probes, sending it down to pick up the large deposit of Iridium she had found on the moon below.

"Nice!" She said, watching as the little data-bar on her screen ticked up by a couple thousand. "That's enough Iridium to get that assault rifle upgrade!"

"Good," Garrus said next to her. "Of course, I'll never complain about being able to do more damage."

"If you did I'd worry they'd replaced you with an impostor," Tali said from her side of the table.

It was early in the day cycle and the three of them sat in the mess hall, Tali and Garrus sharing a dextro meal while Shepard chewed idly on half of a sandwich.

"I think that about does it for this planet," Shepard said, tapping the datapad and pinging Joker. "You awake?"

"Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Commander," Joker said. "You know me."

"We're done here," she said, exiting out of the mineral scanning data program. "Time for us to head to Tuchanka, figure out what's wrong with Grunt."

"Roger Commander," Joker said. "One desolate Krogan-covered rock, coming up."

Shepard checked her datapad as Joker left the orbit of the small moon and set in a course for the Krogan homeworld. "EDI," she asked. "How long will it take to get to the Aralakh system?"

"By our current course," the AI said. "Roughly thirteen hours and forty-six minutes."

Shepard nodded and finished her sandwich. "Plenty of time to get that assault rifle upgrade programmed in," she said. "Maybe even get a nap in."

"Do you remember how we used to find upgrades and minerals back in the old days?" Garrus mused, finishing his food and pushing his plate away. "Going down planetside every time we picked up an anomaly?"

"Ugh," Shepard shook her head and put the datapad down on the table. "Don't remind me. The fucking Mako."

"Remember when that thing took us over a cliff and Liara got thrown from one side of the thing to the other?" Garrus asked. He laughed. "If she hadn't had her barriers up…"

"I begged Shepard not to take me on any scouting missions," Tali chimed in, also done with her food. "When I went with you on the mission to find Liara I was so sick."

Shepard shook her head. "The damn thing couldn't go straight to save its life."

Garrus chuckled. "Maybe that was less the Mako and more the driver of the Mako."

Tali giggled, an odd sound filtered through her helmet, and Shepard raised an eyebrow at the Turian. "Vakarian, are you suggesting that I was a bad driver?"

Garrus leaned back in his chair. "I'm suggesting that perhaps the Mako could have gone a little more smoothly under more… skilled… hands."

"I'm plenty skilled," Shepard said, throwing a leftover crust of her sandwich at him. "I could drive that Mako in circles around you."

"Sure Commander," Tali said, and Shepard could hear her trying to hold back laughter. "Just like you can dance."

Shepard turned to look at the Quarian, who was innocently checking some readings on her omni-tool. "You guys sure are great," she said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm SO glad you came with me on this suicide mission. It's awesome reminiscing about the old days and my complete inability to drive an impossible vehicle."

"You're only cranky about it because we're right," Garrus said, giving Shepard a wink. "I thought I was going to die in that contraption."

"Because I'm a bad driver?"

"Because the Mako was about as maneuverable as a fat Elcor," Garrus replied. "But also, because you're a bad driver."

Tali giggled again. Shepard rolled her eyes. "Nice to know you two have my back," she grumbled.

"Hey," Garrus pointed out, leaning forward. "At least we weren't as bad as Wrex."

"Oh, Keelah," Tali shook her head. "I never thought I'd meet a Krogan with a nervous stomach."

Shepard felt her lips tilt upwards. "He was a bit of a baby in that thing."

"And that wasn't your driving," Garrus said. "That was just Wrex being a baby."

Shepard's smile turned into a grin. "I wish you'd say that to his face," she said. "It'd be fun to watch him throw you across the mess hall."

"And I'd deserve it," Garrus said. "But I'd be right."

"Alenko was the other one," Tali said, and her voice suddenly grew quiet. "The other one who got sick in the Mako."

The three of them fell silent for a moment and Shepard's smile faded. "He used to ask me to let him get out and walk," she said after a moment. "So we wouldn't have to clean up after him when he threw up all over the control panel."

"He never actually did get sick," Garrus mused, playing with his fork. "Just didn't like ground travel."

"He preferred to stay on the Normandy," Tali added. "And let you and Garrus and Wrex go planetside to find the resources."

They all stayed silent, looked anywhere but at each other. Tali finished her work on her omni-tool while Garrus cleared the dishes and gave them to Sergeant Gardner in the kitchenette before returning, and they continued to sit in silence.

"I prefer it this way," Shepard finally said, picking up her datapad. "Fewer thresher maws."

"Agreed," Garrus said, clearly grateful for the change in subject. "It's faster too. And results in fewer repairs after a mission."

"At least you always repaired the Mako with style, Garrus," Shepard said, smiling again, albeit a much more subdued smile than before.

"Only to watch it die on the citadel," he pointed out. "After that ride through the conduit though? It was a pile of smoking wreckage. I think it deserved a rest."

The three of them laughed again, then Shepard sighed. "Even so," she said. "I'll take typing coordinates into a datapad over that shit any day."

"Because of the thresher maws?" Tali asked.

Shepard nodded. "Because of the fucking Thresher Maws."

*
Answer: probing. Fuck the Mako

Sorry guys, I'll always be on team 'Fuck the Mako'. I'm not particularly fond of the Hammerhead either, but I prefer probing to both of them.