Chapter 7: The Galaxy's Most Dysfunctional Space Family
The Sayara, Engineering deck
Enroute to Coruscant
That same morning...
"Ya know Gabby, I do'na think we're foolin' anyone at this point." Ken said as he tightened down a panel over a power conduit he had just been running a diagnostic on. "I saw one of our new Naboo friends passin' credits to Tali just this morning after that whole mess in the emergency airlock. Still can't believe Jack was able to get all that from those idiots."
"Kenneth, it's Jack we're talking about. Of course she'd get those assholes to spill their guts." Gabby retorted, grinning despite her harsh tone as her fingers danced over a nearby terminal, her omni-tool primed and scanning for any irregularities she might miss. One of the Naboo techs had been nice enough to install a program on her omni-tool that interfaced quite nicely with the Sayara's advanced engines. "But if you want to keep talking about our relationship so loud the whole crew hears it, I can always sic Jack on you next."
"Are ye daft woman?! What did I ever do to deserve such horrible, if oddly attractive, fate?" Kenneth protested, only to frown when Gabby started laughing before planting a kiss on his cheek. "Devil woman. Why I fell in love with ye I'll never know."
"It was probably that swirling thing I do with my-" Gabby started to say before she was interrupted by a thoroughly mortified Naboo engineer.
"Ah guys, standing right here." The grimacing tech told them as he tried to focus on his console instead of the incredible awkward conversation going on behind him.
Ignoring their fellow engineer, Kenneth was quick to slap a hand over Gabby's mouth and put a finger to his lips. "Shhh! Don't say another word! You and I both know that EDI's listening!"
Kenneth about jumped out of his skin when EDI chose that moment to make her presence known. "I am always listening Ken. Who do you think advised Gabby on, I believe the term is, 'spicing up' your relationship?"
Gabby's flushed cheeks were hard to miss even in the dim lighting of the engineering deck. "Uh...well...ah…I might have asked a few people for pointers."
"A few?! Who else?!" Kenneth asked aghast, his eyes widening comically.
"Besides EDI? Oh just Ashley. And Liara. And Shepard. ... And Jack." Gabby admitted rather meekly, a bright red blush spreading across her face.
"Oh for bloody cryin' out loud!" Kenneth shouted in frustration looking the he was fighting the urge to smash his head against the nearest wall in an attempt to numb at least a small amount of his embarrassment.
"Hey! Shepard caught us the first time remember? Before we got stuck in this insane galaxy! She's the one that encouraged us to keep this going in the first place. And I'll have you know that Kasumi was very understanding, a lot more than you're being right now." Gabby said in an attempt to justify her actions.
"Kasumi too?! Ya still didna have ta ask half the bloody crew for bedroom advice devil woman!" Kenneth whined pitifully.
"Um, still here." The dumbfounded looking technician muttered, clearly uncomfortable. He was about to say something else, but someone brushed past him before he could. "Oh thank the Force, good morning Tali."
"Good morning. Don't worry, I've got this." Neither Gabby or Kenneth could duck in time before Tali smacked the back of their respective heads before glaring at them both behind her visor. "Will you two bosh'tets keep it down?! All these raging hormones are going to clog every vent and filter onboard at this rate! Ken, for the record, this is a prime example of what I was telling you about."
"What is she talking about?" Gabby asked, her voice icily level and calm, but the death glare she was giving Kenneth said she was anything but calm.
"I um, it's not like I went all over the damn ship seeking blissful advice like some people!" Kenneth said defensively.
"No, you just asked the woman whose hips you're always staring at." Gabby retorted before giving Tali an apologetic look. "No offense ma'am."
"None taken." Tali said with a quiet chuckle as she cocked her hips to the side, thoroughly enjoying the mortified expression on her fellow engineer's blushing face. "Seriously you two, take a break, work this out before something gets broken. And it's not a bad thing to ask for advice you know." This she directed at both of them. "Although, it never hurts to be a little discrete."
"Yes ma'am." Both of them replied meekly.
Satisfied they were properly chastised, Tali walked away and up a small flight of stairs, but not before she heard the unmistakable sound of Gabby slapping Ken in the back of the head. "I canna help ma'self woman! Her suit is just so fascinating..."
Tali could only chuckle and shake her head again as she continued on her way. Once she had turned a small corner, she found Adams hard at work at another terminal. This one was connected to the main hyperdrive itself, a relatively small piece of tech, at least compared to the massive engines it was connected to, but highly sophisticated given what it was capable of. "I'm going to guess those two lovebirds are at it again." Adams said when he noted the amusement that practically radiated off of the quarian.
"You'd have won that bet Greg. And Ken still hasn't learned to keep his eyes on Gabby at all times." The quarian engineer remarked, clearly amused.
"Rookie mistake." Adams told her with a grin as their other Naboo engineer looked up from his terminal with a wry grin, holding up a credit disc. Greg immediately took it from his offered hand, and chuckled when he saw the unasked question in Tali's stance. "Ten credits said you'd have to break up the inevitable argument of the day. Avax here said it'd resolve itself."
"I admit, I was hoping for another conclusion ma'am." Engineer's Mate Telin Avax explained, earning another chuckle from the pair of senior engineers at his less than subtle hint.
"Trust me, it wouldn't be Ken and Gabby if they didn't fight." Tali replied, remembering quite a few arguments between the two over the last year and a half. "Pacifists they most certainly are not."
Telin shrugged and looked over his shoulder at Tali. "Meh, different folks, different strokes as they say ma'am. If it makes them happy, who are we to argue?"
"I can tell you've already been around Garrus too long kid." Adams muttered, and immediately regretted it when he felt two silvery eyes boring into the side of his head.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Tali snipply asked, instantly standing up for her own personal turian heartthrob.
Telin quickly spoke up before Adams had the chance to dig himself any deeper, doing his best to distract Tali with a charming grin. "Well I like the guy. Reminds me of a friend I grew up with before the Trade Federation hit us. Force only knows what Rels would have said about you folks." Telin said with a slight chuckle though his eyes seemed rather distant.
"Did he...make it through the blockade?" Adams hesitantly asked, having heard part of this particular story before.
"No, but it wasn't for lack of trying. He'd have liked you folks though." Telin said and nodded to Greg and Tali for emphasis, a sad smile on his face as fond memories flashed behind his hazel eyes. "He always had a joke handy, along with a kind word and a blaster. And not the sarcastic variety your pilot seems to enjoy either."
"Sounds like Garrus in a nutshell. I am sorry for your friend though." Tali said and briefly put a hand on Telin's shoulder.
"Yeah, me too. It was a long time ago, but thank you for your kindness ma'am." Telin reached up and grasped the quarian's suited fingers on his shoulder before turning back to his terminal. It was a subtle hint the subject was closed, at least for now. A thoughtful frown was soon tugging at his lips though when he read a warning message that had popped up on his screen. It wasn't a serious problem, but if left unchecked, it might become one. "Port coupler four is half a degree out of spec, gonna have to check it out."
"Alright. I wonder why?" Tali mused aloud, only mildly concerned since it happened often enough, and it barely phased their talented pair of local engineers. That and it steered the conversation away from the sensitive topic she and Greg had blundered into.
"It's likely just because this ship is a little old ma'am, that and it's only recently been reactivated and put into service again. It tends to happen more than you might think on older ships like this. It shouldn't be a problem to fix it though." Telin reassured her before heading down to tend to the matter himself. It really wasn't a big deal, so long as it wasn't allowed to worsen over time. Tapping at his comm link on his arm, he called Tali's omni-tool, the genius engineer having found a way to link their two different communication devices, and kept their earlier conversation going as he navigated his way through the pipes and narrow passageways that ran the length of engineering. "Almost wish we had a couple of astromechs personally, to go with that incredible droid companion of yours."
"You're about the only one. I tried to surprise Shepard with one of those little data droids, I thought it would be a cute replacement for that creepy synthetic dog-thing she had following her around the ship for the longest time. Her hamster I could understand. The fish were a horrible waste of resources, but don't tell her I said that. But this thing was... not a dog, let's leave it at that." Tali told him, her voice conveyed that she still couldnt understand what possessed her commanding officer to keep the 'dog' around.
"So what happened to the little data droid in question?" Telin asked as he found the problem area and immediately set to work fixing it.
"She shot it when it beeped and chirped at her one too many times." Tali informed him in a neutral tone, as if this kind of thing happened all the time.
With Commander Shepard, it probably did as far as Telin knew. "That doesn't surprise me oddly enough, from what you've told me about her ma'am."
"You can call me Tali you know. Or Admiral Zorah if you want to get really formal. But ma'am makes me feel old." Tali teased, a smile all but audible in her voice.
"Sorry ma... Admiral Tali, err I mean just Tali. Sorry. Force of habit after serving with Captain Panaka so long." Telin said as a way of explanation as he distracted himself with the misaligned coupler.
"Tali, quit hitting on the poor guy." Greg said, a light laugh just audible in the background which earned him a playful curse in Tali's native tongue.
Telin could only shake his head, quite taken in by their easygoing banter and familiarity. It felt like he had hyper jumped into one giant, warm and caring family, not just a crew of soldiers, engineers, and specialists with differing backgrounds and skill sets. It almost felt like he was back home on Naboo with his old friends and family. It was...a nice feeling, to say the least. "I have to say, you're not like any crew I've ever served with."
"We get that a lot." Tali chuckled as Telin finished his repairs and started his way back up to where she and Adams were still stationed.
He was just coming out of the cramped passageways when the older man turned towards him and smirked warmly in his direction. "Stick around long enough and you're bound to help us steal this thing." Adams informed him, absentmindedly patting a structural support while keeping an eye on his console.
"Heh, ya know, that actually doesn't sound so insane when you say it sir." Telin chuckled softly and shook his head again. He was pretty certain he was going to enjoy his time with them, no matter where they ended up going from here.
Meanwhile in the armory...
"Try this one ma'am, the E-66 assault rifle, twenty round burst, auto cooling, target assist scope." Catching the rifle tossed her way with practiced ease, Ashley hefted the blaster rifle, getting a feel for its weight before bringing the stock against her right shoulder and aimed down the sight. The twi'lek Naboo security officer nodded her approval of the human's stance. She already knew she was no stranger to combat equipment, but she still had to smile as Ashley snapped her rifle towards one of the holographic targets in the recently constructed target range and fired off a controlled burst. Each bolt found their mark, and the blue target hologram shattered into thousands of pixels. "Not bad."
"Psht, I've been doing this a long time. Not with laser weapons though, but a gun's a gun at the end of the day. But I prefer this." Ashley said and snap drew the kinetic based heavy pistol on her hip before firing into a second target. Two headshots and a chest shot later had the second target dispersing just as quickly as the first.
"Actually the rounds are comprised of superheated packets of plasma. But your crew mates seem to prefer calling them lasers and 'rayguns' instead of blasters." The teal twi'lek shrugged since it didn't matter to her regardless what they called their weaponry. "But as you said, a gun's a gun."
"Glad we agree." Ash replied, but cast the alien woman an approving smirk after tossing the blaster rifle back to her. "Got anything bigger?"
"Only if you want to risk a hull breach. Our selection is rather limited." The twi'lek admitted with a knowing frown. "We're more of a defensive peacekeeping force on Naboo after all. Maybe we should visit Corellia, Kuat, or Mandalore at some point. I hear they have all the most wonderful toys. Always wanted to get my hands on one of the new Merr-Sonn Plex-Rocket Launchers."
"I've been reading up on the specs for some of your 'toys', so I can't say I blame ya for dreaming. While we're at it, I wouldn't mind getting a better ship, one we didn't have to cobble together from junk parts. But on the other hand, I'm just happy we have a ship at all." Ash said and shrugged her shoulders as she turned to a nearby workbench, where the twi'lek had left a number of weapon parts. The Naboo officer had been doing that a lot since she and several others had been assigned to the Sayara, giving Ashley the chance to put together and disassemble their unique tech through hands-on experience.
Taking in the distant look in her superior's gaze, Tiva's grey eyes gleamed mischievously as she opened a small weapons crate. "I think you need to field test some ordinance Commander. Just to be proficient of course."
Looking up from the workbench, Ashley's eyes gleamed as she took in the new weapon Tiva was holding out to her. "Okay, I'll bite. What is it? Fragmentation grenade?"
"Meesa would just like to point out how big time insane it is to messa with bad boom explosive ordinance while in teeny tiny confined areas." Their Gungan security officer helpfully stated, letting her stalk like eyes flick between Ashley and the twi'lek officer respectively.
"Cut the dreck Pelona." Idly tossing a circular object into the air and catching it with a flick of her wrist, Tiva Melosi said with a chuckle before tossing the grenade towards Ashley. The marine deftly caught it and turned it this way and that while the twi'lek explained what it was. "It's a stunner. I already have a target in mind, unless you'd like to pick one."
"Oh trust me, I have someone in mind." Ashley said with a wicked grin before tucking the stun grenade into her belt pouch.
"Let me guess, that big handsome slab of Bantha meat with the neck tattoo?" Pelona Jinks asked without exaggerating her accent to 'comic' effect as she leered at Ashley, her eye stalks bending forward slightly in keen interest.
"Don't even think about it frog eyes. He's my loveable dumbass." Ashley replied jokingly though not without a glare to get her point across.
"Not my type anyway, but I can still look all I want. Now let's go shock frag him, purely for the practice of course." Pelona said with a grin and followed Ashley as she turned around.
"You know, I almost feel sorry for him. Almost." Tiva replied, shaking her head as she watched Ashley and Pelona walk away. That woman was a force to be reckoned with, and Tiva glad she was on their side.
Ten minutes later...
James stumbled into the corridor outside the med bay, clutching at his stomach as he finally made good on his badly thought out escape plan. The sedative the doc had given him had caused him severe nausea, but at this point he just wanted to suffer in solitude rather than be trapped in the medbay with her.
He was sure Chakwas would hunt him down soon enough, but he just couldn't take sweet, kind hearted Blue's coddling for another second to save his life. "Ah shit..." He muttered as the medical droid spun around from the tipped over tray of medical tools, somehow managing to look betrayed as she started after him.
"James, I insist that you return to bed immediately." Blue told him, her voice so filled with disappointment that James felt like the galaxy's greatest douche bag.
"That's what I'm doin' Blue, trust me, the one in my quarters is just fine." James replied as gently as he could, hoping to persuade the droid to let him past without further complaint. He really didn't want to have to get rough with the machine, but he couldn't stay in the medbay another second either. Not without suffering a mental breakdown if Blue attempted to spoon feed him again or his pillow got fluffed one more time.
"Doctor Chakwas has informed me that according to your Alliance's regulations, medical officers have the right to detain injured or mentally incompetent crew members in the medbay." Blue retorted, her unblinking eyes staring into his own. "It would be better for you to wait until Doctor Chakwas has returned."
"Mentally incompetent? Do I look ment- you know what, nevermind. You're a nice droid Blue, but you have been hangin' around the old doc too long." James said with a sigh as he waved off the droid and turned to head to his bunk.
Just as a Blue sized object latched onto his arm, stopping him short, as he glanced over his shoulder and rolled his eyes. "You should wait, just to be safe."
"Blue, I appreciate your concern but I really have to- What is that?" James asked, confused when a small object slowly rolled down the corridor only to end up resting against his boot. He took one look at it and paled, knowing a grenade when he saw one.
"Oh dear. I believe that is a C-14 stun grenade. A rechargeable model as I understand it." Blue automatically answered.
"Stun gren-" He would have been relieved, but no sooner had the thought crossed his mind did James slump over and hit the deck in an undignified heap when a flash of white light washed over him.
For a moment, Blue's audio receptors could hear the sound of feminine giggling before several pairs of boots took off at a full run. She sighed, or did her best impression of one as she understood it, and immediately started to drag an unconscious Vega back into the medbay. "This crew is very strange. And I thought Mistress Sayara was strange for purposely associating with me when she didn't have to. I shall have to report this to Kar- Doctor Chakwas immediately." Blue told herself with a nod as she gently picked James up and deposited him back in his bed, tucking him in before shuffling over to the comm panel.
When she turned around to check one last time on James before making the call, she noticed that the mysterious stun grenade had disappeared. "Ah. Hello Kasumi." The droid mused aloud, and shook her head before turning back to the comm panel. Only one person could move so silently to the point even her advanced audio receptors couldn't pick up a sound. Whatever was going on, she was sure the ship or her crew were not in any danger if Mistress Goto was involved. In the three and a half weeks since her reintegration into this newest ship's crew, many such odd, but harmless occurrences like this seemed to happen quite frequently among these strangers. "Shall I inform the Commander of this incident as well? I will take your silence as positive confirmation." While she didn't appear in her sight, Blue knew Kasumi was still in the room from the playful curse she threw her way.
"Spoil sport. What do you say we just keep this between us girls? You can tell the doc that you took some initiative and sedated poor James for her. That sort of thing really impresses her." Kasumi lied through her teeth, knowing Karin wouldn't have the heart to tell Blue otherwise.
"It would?" Blue asked with a hopeful tone as she cocked her head to the side.
"You bet." Kasumi cheerfully replied.
"I for one don't believe that it would." Karin informed them, the elder human having somehow managed to get almost directly behind Kasumi without her noticing. Even invisible, the good doctor was able to grab the thief by her shoulder and squeezed, hard, freezing her in place. "Now tell me what's going on and why you're trying to corrupt my assistant Ms. Goto?"
"Okay, you're creeping me out now Doc, since when did you get so sneaky?" Kasumi asked as she deactivated her cloak and looked over her shoulder.
"Since the moment I became responsible for your well being Ms. Goto." The older woman retorted matter of factly.
"Ah, makes sense. Sorry though Doc, but this one I can't talk about. Well, not out loud anyway. Bye!" She called out, activated her cloak, and ran the rest of the way down the hall, silent as a ghost.
Karin turned towards Blue with a raised eyebrow. "Why was our resident kleptomaniac here in the first place? And what happened to James? I highly doubt you sedated him like Kasumi wanted you to claim."
"Lieutenant Vega was rendered unconscious by a C-14 stun grenade, which was then stolen by Miss Goto." Blue summarized, still rather confused by the whole ordeal, as she seemed to hesitate before continuing. "Voice print analysis shows that Lt. Comm. Williams and security officers Jinks and Melosi are to blame."
"Ah, so a normal day at the office then. I'll deal with our merry pranksters personally, there's no need to involve the Commander." Chakwas said dryly and looked at the still unconscious marine. "How long will he be out? Are there any side effects?"
"Unconsciousness lasts anywhere between one to four hours. Normal side effects range from mild headache to temporary loss of fine motor skills." Blue helpfully informed the CMO as she started a preliminary examination, just to be on the safe side.
"At least he'll sleep off the rest of the Commander's tough love. And as for you..." Karin jabbed a finger at Jakar, who was busy slamming his eyes shut and pretending to quietly snore. "Good boy." Looking around, Karin's eyes widened in alarm when she saw Jane's bed was empty, again. "Blue?"
"Oh. I apologize for not bringing this to your attention sooner. There is no need to be concerned." The medical droid said and opened a video feed recording of Shepard gently leading the zabrak girl away. "Commander Shepard insisted Jane stay with her and Doctor T'Soni in their quarters, at least for the time being."
"Ah, I see. I suppose can't fault her for being overly cautious after what happened. It's probably for the best." Karin conceded with an approving nod in Blue's direction.
"I agree with your assessment Doctor. Jane seems to be most comfortable around the Commander." Blue agreed with a mechanical nod. "Considering their similar pasts, the Commander should be able to make better progress towards her eventual recovery than I am capable of."
Letting that bit of needless self deprecation slide for the moment, Chakwas had a feeling there was more to all this. She knew Jessica too well for it to be any other way. "I feel I should tell you Blue, that the Commander has always expressed a belief that it is 'better to ask forgiveness than ask for permission', on a lot of things really, far more than just Jane's well being. That and I imagine Doctor T'Soni played a role in her inviting her to their private quarters. She has always been...very persuasive. I have long since been aware of the fact that Dr. T'Soni often uses, shall we say, intimacy to convince the Commander that her decisions are the correct ones. Although it helps they are usually of the same mind on most things." After a moment of thought, Karin looked towards the medical droid. "Can you monitor her vital signs from here?"
"Of course, EDI was generous enough to share her ship wide basic medical data with me. Currently, Jane is at rest and seems content. Her brain waves indicate that she just reached the REM portion of her sleep cycle." Blue reported serenely.
"Keep me informed of any changes, although I suspect Jessica and Liara will be quite vigilant in regards to her continued well being." With that, Karin turned to her terminal and opened up the latest of medical texts that EDI had been kind enough to provide her. The races of this galaxy were quite fascinating and incredibly diverse. Even though Blue had more than enough medical knowledge on her own in her sophisticated databanks, Karin sought every chance she could get to learn more. Personal experience would always win out in the doctor's opinion.
Shepard's quarters...
"In a weird way, this must be what being a parent is like." Shepard quietly mused, her eyes locked on Jane's sleeping form. They had moved in another bed into the captain's quarters just for the zabrak, so they could keep an eye on her. Still, that didn't stop Shepard from worrying. So much so in fact, she had to resist the urge to stand up and check if the young woman was still breathing. She could easily see that she was from the vitals on her omni-tool display, but she felt the need to check for herself anyway. One of her old N7 trainers once told her that technology was nice, but it never hurt to check with her own eyes. Besides, machines could be hacked, data deleted, and readings falsified. Or to put it in Drill Sergeant Kelson's words, only trust your goddamn mark one eyeballs. She had liked Kelson, despite his rough demeanor. He'd been old fashion, but those lessons had saved her life more than once.
Before she got up though, Liara beat her to the punch as she sat on the edge of Jane's bed and ran her nimble fingers through the girl's long red locks, mindful of the small horns on top of her head. "She's fine Shepard." She stated, and smiled towards the other redhead in the room. "I always could read your mind, even without the meld."
"Cheater." Shepard quipped, doing her best to keep her worries contained.
She shouldn't have bothered trying. "And right now you're second guessing this, wondering if it will somehow do any harm. If anything, I think you both need this. You're obviously one of the few people on this ship she believes, perhaps trust is too strong a word, but that you will not abuse her. I know that isn't enough for you, but it's a big step for her. She'll get better though, that much I believe."
"You always could put this kind of thing into perspective Liara." Even as a small smile tugged at her lips, Shepard couldn't help but think about Talitha. As usual though, Liara could see right through her as she walked over and sat on her lap before gently brushing her lips across hers. "Cheater." Jessica chuckled quietly as she hugged the asari close, her eyes on the alien girl not twenty feet away.
Liara ignored the playful barb and turned her gaze towards Jane as well. "It's not going to be an easy path for her, but nothing worth doing ever is."
"I know, it's just… she shouldn't have to face this path at all. No one should." Shepard replied weakly, her thoughts going a mile per minute. They were silenced, or at the very least slowed down considerably, when Liara leaned in for another kiss. They lingered there for several seconds, lost in their own little world until they had to come up for air. "Keep doing that and I might forget we have an audience of one."
"Really Jess? I never knew you were an exhibitionist." Liara whispered, a mischievous gleam in her deep blue eyes before a small whimper pulled their attention elsewhere. The zabrak had started to thrash about in the small, single bed they had brought up for her. Without a word, Liara called on her VI assistant, which immediately took shape beside the two women. "It's good to see you again Glyph."
"Good morning Doctor T'Soni. How can I be of assistance?" The pale blue hard light orb asked as it looked between the asari and Shepard. "It has been three weeks, six days, and seventeen hours since you last summoned me. I had begun to fear you had been prematurely terminated."
"Not quite Glyph." Shepard replied, a small smirk on her face until she nodded towards Jane. "Do us a favor, and play our song. Low volume."
"Of course Commander." Without another word, the VI floated towards Jane's bed and started to hover near the ceiling. Once it was in position, Liara's rendition of Vigil, as Shepard remembered hearing on the grand piano that had been in her apartment on the Citadel, filled the room. Almost immediately, Jane's quiet whimpers and thrashing stopped and she drifted back into peaceful slumber.
"I was almost afraid that wouldn't work." Liara said once she was sure Jane was comfortable once more.
Shepard merely grinned reassuringly up at the asari in her lap. "You playing piano was pretty soothing if you ask me Liara. I could have fallen asleep to it pretty easily. Maybe you and Jeff should finally start that 'space jazz trio' of his."
"I see I'm not the only one who likes to eavesdrop. And considering that you kept yourself awake for days on end during the war, I will take that as a compliment." Liara said with a sad smile as she remembered that taxing time.
Then Glyph ruined the moment by zipping right between them, the music the VI had been playing now silenced. "Doctor, your interesting companion seems to be in distress. Would you like me to examine her?" A quick look to the other bed told them that Jane was thrashing about once again.
"That won't be necessary Glyph." Liara replied, looking towards the zabrak in concern. She and Shepard had had their own lioness's share of bad dreams, so they knew that while their attempts to calm her down had been admirable, it was turning out to be a stop gap measure at best. "She's gone through so much in the last day, all of this will no doubt be extremely difficult for her mind to process."
"It would be hard on anyone, let alone her. And I'm willing to bet this is the longest she's been allowed to sleep in a long time." She let Liara digest that bit of unhappy news before she continued. "We could return to Naboo for a few days. I think it might help her cope, it certainly helped us." Shepard offered just as Liara got to her feet and crossed the gap between them and Jane. That and the time would allow the engineering team to install the new cannons on the Sayara, along with a few of their slightly more ambitious upgrades, but that was a secondary priority in her mind.
"I hope so, but first we have to get rid of Kale and his men. I don't want them on this ship a moment longer than necessary." Liara all but ordered her bondmate, as she sat down on the edge of the bed once more just as the zabrak threw an arm out over herself to fend off some unseen attacker. The asari gently grasped the girl's hand and squeezed it. "Sshhh, you're safe here-" Liara couldn't help the soft, girlish yelp that escaped her lips as Jane yanked her hand free, unconsciously reaching out and grasping Liara by the waist before pulling the asari close. "If I hear even a hint of laughter, you will pay dearly Jess."
"Not a peep I swear. I don't have a death wish." Jessica reassured her before a frown pulled at her lips. "And I certainly don't want a repeat of our earlier incident." Shepard muttered with a dangerous gleam in her eyes. They didn't know it, but the fact that their troublesome prisoners had faced Jack instead of her had been a mercy in this particular case. She wouldn't have simply played with the airlock controls, she would have used them for some creative target practice, and she wouldn't have been using concussion rounds.
Shepard was pulled from her thoughts when Liara quietly coughed and subtly nodded to the arm wrapped around her waist. "I seem to be um... trapped."
"Look on the bright side, it's still better than being stuck behind a prothean security barrier right?" Shepard replied, fighting the urge to smile playfully when the asari's eyes narrowed in annoyance at the jab.
"It wasn't as funny as you make it out to be. And most certainly not anywhere near as funny as Tali seems to think when she is drunk." Liara grumbled lowly.
"I don't know, I thought she sounded pretty close to that sexy little maiden in distress I rescued." Shepard gently teased with a small smirk.
"I'll give you maiden in distress when I get out of here Shepard. I still have those handcuffs handy." The asari promised, though was sure to keep her voice low, she didn't want to wake up Jane after all.
She knew she was walking on dangerous ground, but Jessica just couldn't help herself as she leaned towards Laira with a giant smirk, their lips almost touching. "Promises promises doc. Want me to get you two another blanket? I could get you a nice comfy chair to lean against if you like."
Jessica realized her mistake far too late when she found herself unable to move, having been slapped with a Stasis field courtesy of one highly irritated asari archaeologist slash spy master. Liara only smiled as she gently pulled Shepard close, slipping free of Jane's moaning grasp before she wrapped the young girl's arm around the human instead, firmly ensnaring Jessica in the process. "Sorry, what was that Commander? I didn't quite get that."
"You are such a cheater." Jessica grumbled in retort once she was able to talk, but she couldn't help but grin up at her sexy asari bondmate. She had to admit, it had been a deviously clever escape on her part.
"I learned from the best." Liara turned to get back into their bed at the back of the captain's quarters, but paused mid step to grab a discarded blanket from Jane's bed. "Oh, how thoughtless of me. Here my Commander, I wouldn't want you to get cold." Jessica soon found the comforter tossed over her head as she let out a defeated sigh.
"Oh you are so gonna get it later." Shepard grumbled under the blanket, her voice sounding rather muffled to Liara.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Could you speak up?" Liara asked innocently, knowing that Jessica wouldn't dare speak louder in fear of waking up 'Jane'. The rather crude message she got on her omni-tool got Shepard's point across though. "Ah, I see. How did you put it? Oh right, promises, promises."
The Sayara's mess.
"Might as well get this out in the open, I know all of you have been talking about it behind my back anyway. So… anyone want to comment on our new guest?" Garrus asked uncertainly, knowing better than most what Jessica's opinion regarding what they had gotten themselves involved in. He had seen her blow away more than a few slavers without a second thought in their home galaxy. He dreaded what similar folk in this one were in for once she deemed them ready to put a dent in the trade. They didn't have a war to prepare for, that meant they had a lot of time on their hands. He also knew better than most she wouldn't sit on her ass, not if there were enough bad guys to hunt down. And from the little he had seen of it so far, this strange new galaxy seemed to have more than its fair share.
"Huh? You mean the small female with horns? I just want to know when I get to blow stuff up. Shepard promised me I could once we have working cannons. Bunch of lazy, squishy engineers are taking too long." Grunt moodily replied, annoyed that this whole ordeal had postponed the installation of their new 'turbolasers'.
"I'll just take that as a 'No'." Garrus said and flared his mandibles in amusement.
"Were I not bound to Shepard by my oath, I would return to Tatooine and attempt to cleanse their society of slavery, among various other criminal activities, one city at a time." Samara stated, her quiet monotone still holding a number of unpleasant things for the criminal element that seemed to run rampant across the desert world.
Samantha was wise enough to keep her next words mostly to herself for that very reason. "She thinks Tatooine's bad, she hasn't seen anything yet. Just from what I've seen of the Black Suns syndicate, they have tendrils in almost every planet from Tatooine to Coruscant. And don't even get me started on the Hutt clans, criminal activity is practically their religion. Honestly, how can anyone ignore so many organized criminal groups that large?"
"About the same way we ignored the Eclipse, the Blood Pack, and the Blue Suns, Traynor." David drawled in response as he hefted a bottle of 'contraband' alcohol he had bought off of a Naboo merchant before they had left to escort the Senator. At least the merchant had given him that impression, but Anderson had found that hard to believe since he had been selling in the middle of a busy market plaza. More likely, the man had hoped to earn a few extra credits by putting on a show, but the drinks he'd gotten had so far tasted pretty good, so he wasn't about to complain. "Hell, we certainly aren't better, the Citadel council allowed the Batarian Hegemony to continue the slave trade because it was 'an important part of their culture'. At least the Republic is more rigid in that regard. Near the Core and Mid Rim anyway."
"What's a batarian?" Their confused looking copilot, Flight Officer Ashara Breari, a female Cathar who had yet to last more than five minutes at the helm before Jeff kicked her out and started ranting about someone else touching his baby, asked the room at large.
"A race of four eyed, dark green, sometimes gray skinned aliens. They're humanoid in appearance, but that's the only similarity they have with us. As a society, they support and enforce the use of slaves among their people, and unfortunately, they've grown fond of using humans as their slaves in our galaxy. They see us as inferior, and aren't afraid of making their opinions known." David explained before a sigh escaped him. "Just be glad you never met one. I don't hate batarians, since they don't know better as a whole, but unfortunately the only ones I've ever met have always tried to shoot me or my men."
"And that's usually after they're done shooting at civilians, or worse." Steve added as he leaned over to refill his fellow pilot's mug. "Had a nasty habit of raiding our colonies before the Alliance finally sent them packing."
"The Zygerrians aren't much better I'm afraid. Some have mistakenly said the Cathar and the Zygerrians are distant cousins, but I do not believe this to be truth. What I do know however is that my own people at least have been forced under another's heel before, so we can relate. During the Mandalorian War alone, most of Cathar's population was decimated or forced into slavery once the Mandalorians had slaughtered us. And because of this, my people are hesitant to return to our homeworld, even after centuries of relative peace." Ashara recalled and nodded her head in understanding.
"Fuck, Stripes. Now that's what I'd call getting shafted." Jack cursed in disbelief and could only shake her head as she made her way past Steve and Ashara, grabbing herself a drink before she leaned against a nearby wall, wanting to hear more.
Ashara shrugged and sipped at her glass before looking up at the biotic and her fellow, far kinder pilot. They were understandably riveted to her striped face, torn between curiosity and letting her change the subject. She wasn't afraid or ashamed to talk about her race's history though. It was just the way things were. "It wasn't entirely unwarranted. Before the war, the Cathar were renowned warriors, peerless in their own way, and we attacked the Mandalorians with a fury to match their eventual retaliation years later."
"The more I hear about this galaxy, the more I think that we actually had it pretty good back home." Steve said with a wince at the mere thought of his race being brought to the brink of annihilation. The Reapers had threatened to do just that, but thankfully had failed to actually carry it out. "Well, aside from the ancient killing machines of course."
With a loud BANG, Grunt slammed his huge mug down on the table, leaving a sizeable dent. "These Mandalorians sound like they'd put up a good fight, heh, heh. Where can I find one?"
"I would advise against it, Grunt." Ashara said and stared into Grunt's eyes. "Their days of glory may have long since past, but they are still not to be underestimated. Records of the Mandalorian War show that Revan, the man largely responsible for their defeat, might have crushed them after a long and bloody campaign on both sides, but they are still by and large a proud, warrior like people. Especially rumors surrounding a recently revived Death Watch, a radical group bent on securing Mandalore and their former territories under the rule of 'true Mandalorians'. In the end, they are deluded fools, hoping to overthrow what cannot be broken."
"Oh. Boring fight huh?" Grunt said with a confused frown of his brow plates before pushing away from the table with a dark gleam in his blue eyes. "I'll just have to fight you then Catharian."
"Cathar." She corrected him with a smirk. "You are formidable, but I am only a mere pilot, and would not offer a challenge." Something in Ashara's voice however said otherwise, as did the subtle gleam in her yellow, slitted eyes. Before Grunt knew what had happened, there was a flash of blue light under the table and the krogan went stumbling back from the stun round she had fired from her drawn blaster. "As you can see, I cannot even prevent myself from discharging my sidearm by accident."
"Ha! I like you, small furry female! You've got spirit!" Before Grunt could leap over the table with a cheerful roar, David slapped a hand down on the krogan youth's shoulder before shooting Ashara an approving grin while Jack threw her head back and cackled.
"You're pretty clever, I'll give you that Ashara. But please don't do that again." Anderson calmly ordered her with a knowing grin. "Grunt usually takes people shooting him as a compliment, and then someone always end up cleaning up the mess that usually follows." David said, even if he couldn't help but smile in approval at how Ashara had gotten the drop on the massive krogan super soldier. While some would call it an underhanded move, it just proved that she wasn't nearly as defenseless as she'd like others to believe.
"My apologies sir." Ashara replied and holstered her blaster with a practiced flick of her wrist.
"Damn, remind me to never to piss you off 'hara ." Steve quipped as Grunt shook off the effects of the stun blast with a contented deep chuckle before pouring himself another gaping mug of David's 'contraband'.
"Gee, what gave you that idea Cortez? The damn lightning quick draw under the table or the fact her people could probably kick the shit out of our collective asses?" Jack retorted, grinning from ear to ear despite her scathing sarcasm directed at the shuttle pilot.
Ashara placed her hand over her heart with a look of mock betrayal. "Ms. Nought, you wound me. I would dare not harm any member of this unique, diverse clan without provocation. You have nothing to fear from me." Ashara reassured the group at large, ignoring Jack's playful one finger salute, while her slitted yellow eyes kept straying to Steve's grinning face. "That and my CO back on Naboo would probably frown on it." She added with a grinning shrug of her slender shoulders.
"Good to know." David chuckled warmly, having seen the less than subtle glance the Cathar was throwing Steve's way. Their shuttle pilot seemed oblivious though. Still, he shrugged, figuring he'd figure it out eventually as he refilled his cup before setting the mostly empty bottle down. "I do have to ask, what made you decide to sign on with Naboo's security force?"
"The Trade Federation." Ashara spat out, the first hint of true anger they'd seen from her since she had signed on with the crew. Steve jumped when she slammed a hand down on the table, her small claws extended, which became embedded in the metal in front of her. "They had no honor in their ruthless blockade of Naboo. They starved the people, forced them to bend, hundreds of thousands died before we managed to drive them away. I was...too young to do more than watch as everyone I knew slowly succumbed to hunger. If not for the actions of a nine year old human boy, I likely would not be here now."
"Anakin Skywalker." Garrus said and decided to be the one to state the obvious.
"Yes, even now almost ten years later he is rather famous on Naboo." Her anger forgotten, Ashara retracted her claws and rubbed the back of her furred neck in embarrassment for her outburst. "And now he is a Jedi, or well on his way, but that does not surprise many. It is not everyday someone almost singlehandedly destroys a Trade Federation droid control ship."
"I bet that made Joker jealous." Garrus chuckled, all too able to imagine the look on the man's face when he heard the story the first time. The grin on Ashara's face told him all he needed to know. "I thought so. He's always been proud of his ability behind the helm. Having a kid outfly him? That'd be a major burn to his considerable ego."
"Indeed, so much for being the best pilot in the galaxy." Anderson said slyly and looked at one of the intercom speakers.
He wasn't disappointed when the speakers activated and filled the mess with Joker's annoyed voice. "This galaxy maybe, doesn't mean I'm not still the best damn pilot in ours. But keep talkin' guys. You know I could fly the ship into the nearest star right? Teach you to make fun of my highly honed skills." He muttered darkly.
"Yes, we would definitely never do it again." Ashara said dryly and rolled her eyes at the speaker.
"Go hack up a furball Stripes." Joker shot back, clearly enjoying this exchange a little too much.
"I'd be careful Jeff. All this spirited banter might cause you to break a hip." Ashara replied, earning a collection of laughs from her fellows while Joker scoffed in retort. "And then what would EDI do for companionship?"
"Wow, haven't heard that one before bright eyes. Why don't you go give yourself a tongue bath or something..." Joker mocked her with an almost painfully obvious fake laugh.
"Right back at you Joker. But be careful, you might snap your neck if you try. Oh wait, I apologize, once again I'm sure EDI can help you with that." Ashara retorted without missing a beat. That got Joker to shut up, at least for the moment as the speakers went dead.
Steve chuckled and got up to get rid of his tray, but not before giving the Cathar an approving grin. "Gotta hand it to you Ashara, not many people can keep up with Joker once he gets going."
"I have always had a quick tongue to go with my nimble fingers." Her less than subtle innuendo seemingly went over the shuttle pilot's head, much to Ashara's disappointment.
Joker however had heard it loud and clear. "Steve! Steve! She wants to bang you! Meowwww... kitty's in for a surprise." He stage whispered, earning him, or rather the intercom, a scathing glare from the Cathar, much to his personal amusement.
"Excuse me, I have things to do, people to kill. I won't be long." Ashara darkly stated and stood up.
"'hara, wait, before you go gut Joker, would you mind helping me with the port docking collar? I think it needs to be properly calibrated again." Steve hurriedly said, more to give Ashara something else to focus on rather than his own mild embarrassment. Or the fact Joker was just pushing his luck at this point.
Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. "Oh! A collar for your feisty pussy cat!" Joker's voice sounded from the intercom, grin all too evident in his voice. "Smooooth, Steve. I see where you're going with this..."
Before Steve could get a hand on Ashara's shoulder, she had ran off full speed for the nearest elevator, murder all too clear in her yellow eyes. "Oh boy. Probably a bad time to tell her I'm not interested huh?" The shuttle pilot groaned and sat down at the table, shoulders slumped. "And I think we're about to lose our pilot."
"Dont worry, I can fly this thing just fine." Ashara growled out as she summoned the turbolift, clenching and unclenching her fists. "You won't be needing him any longer."
"Kitty's got claws, I'll give her that." Jack muttered, a malevolent grin on her face as she watched the cat like woman disappear into the turbolift and head up to the CIC deck.
"Anyone wanna take bets on how badly she mauls Steve when drops the big 'it's not you, it's me.' bomb?" Garrus asked around the table as Cortez slammed his head against it, and soon winced when the speaker squawked with Joker's pain filled yelps echoing through the mess.
"EDI, help! Not the face, not the face! Ow, ow okay! I give up! Yowch! What?! I'm NOT saying th- Fine! I'm the second... ah come on! ... Third best pilot on this ship... Really? ... And I'm lucky to have a girlfriend..." He groaned, but it seemed to satisfy Ashara because the crew in the mess didn't hear any further yelps of pain.
"Well, that was highly entertaining. I think she's going to work out great with this bunch of miscreants." Garrus chuckled, giving the crowd at large his best turian grin as he got up to put his tray away.
"Flight Officer Breari?" Anderson asked as he casually glanced towards the closest intercomm.
"Yes sir?" Ashara said, the anger having long since left her voice in exchange for a cool professionalism.
"Is Joker still breathing?" Anderson asked, though he was reasonably sure that their co-pilot wouldn't actually murder him.
"Yes sir, sorry sir, I apologize for my impulsive, reckless behavior. I promise you, it will not happen again." The Cathar answered, clearly uncomfortable with the fact that she lost her temper in front of them. For most, it was a well known fact Cathars were a passionate people, and were quick to anger when unjustly, or justly, depending on one's point of view, provoked.
"Are you kidding? Do you know how long all of us have wanted to scare the piss out of Joker for his colorful commentary?" David replied before a rich, belly deep laugh escaped him. "Good job child."
In the background, they could hear Joker moaning at Anderson's words. "I save everybody from getting vaporized, more than once I might add, and get buttkiss. Little Miss Furry Psycho slashes at me with her freakin' claws and gets a 'good job'. I hate my life."
"It could always be worse Jeff." EDI replied.
"Oh yeah, how so?" Jeff scoffed.
"Your 'wound' could have been far lower, and far less shallow." The synthetic stated matter of factly. Whatever Joker might have said was cut off as the intercomm fell silent once more.
"Yep, Ashara's gonna be just fine." Garrus chuckled again, which earned another round of laughs and chuckles of agreement from those still in the mess. "Now if you'll excuse me, some of us actually have a job to do. Uh...no offense sir." He hastily added when David gave him a funny look.
"None taken." David answered easily, not in the least bothered by the comment. "Any idea when we'll get to Coruscant?"
"I for one hope that we soon strike at Malachor V." Samara said in her usual regal tone. "Their operation has already existed for far too long."
"I hear ya." Garrus agreed readily. "Though I would like to know what we're getting ourselves into, for once. It would be rather unfortunate for us to charge straight into a slaver fleet."
"Garrus is right." Anderson advised them calmly, though his eyes betrayed his anger at the situation. "Shepard told us about this slaver operation mere hours ago. We'll need a lot more time than that to prepare. And there is no way in hell that we can do it alone, no matter how accomplished you all happen to be."
"Got us there old man." Jack muttered and sighed. "Shepard's not gonna be happy about that though."
"Don't worry, I'll deal with Shepard if I have to." Anderson said, and looked at the former convict. "But that doesn't mean that we're going to get lazy. We will hit Malachor V when we're damn good and ready, but we need to understand this galaxy a whole lot better before we dare take on a mission like that. Like it or not, we're still new fish in a vastly unknown ocean, it's only common sense to know what predators to look out for."
"Indeed, although it pains me to admit it personally. Still, I for one hope that the Jedi will aid us in this endeavor. It would be interesting to see them in action. From my own research into the Jedi Order, I couldn't help but notice there are some similarities between their Order and my own." Samara stated as stoically as ever.
"Well, they are supposed to be peacekeepers and are known to work with the Judicial Forces from time to time, so I guess it's a safe bet. With an operation such as this." Steve pointed out with a slight shrug.
"They'll have to get in line." Grunt growled out. "The Battlemaster and I claim their lives first. Those Jedi should look for their own playthings."
"One can only hope." Garrus deadpanned, completely ignoring Grunt's comment, before leaving the mess with a wave of his taloned hand. "Maybe we should worry about our own little problems like food, air, and fuel before we take on every bad guy we can find."
"Gee. Where the fuck did Archangel go Vakarian? All I see is a whipped pussy." Jack asked, surprised by the fact that Garrus was turning down the opportunity to shoot a few lowlifes.
"He got promoted." Garrus said with a glance over his shoulder before the hatch closed behind him.