Chapter 13
"Was it really necessary to destroy the Prothean ruins, Commander?" The asari councilor's voice was grinding on Shepard's last nerve as he tried to deliver his report on Therum.
"I got the job done."
"Yes but-" The turian councilor began to speak up.
Fuck this shit. Shepard abruptly lost the battle for his temper. "Joker, lose this channel."
A moment later, the holograms depicting the Council disappeared. "Channel lost, Commander." Joker chuckled over the intercom. "You know they're probably not gonna like that, right?"
"They can shove it up their collective asses. I'm tired, everything hurts, and I just got brain-raped, again. That's twice in as many weeks. It's getting real old, real fast." Shepard grumbled, more to himself than to his pilot as he left the comm room and headed for his cabin.
"Yeah, I feel real bad for you Commander. Tell you what, next time a sexy asari wants to 'embrace' you, just send 'em my way."
"Sure thing, Joker." Shepard rolled his eyes. "And after you 'embrace eternity' with them, call me up and tell me how great it felt. Really. I'll be waiting."
"But a gentleman never kisses and tells."
"Shouldn't stop you, Joker."
"Ouch, Commander. Low blow."
"You're right, it was. It's awful hard to hit you when you're so little."
"Again! You're on a roll, Commander."
"Thanks, Joker."
"You have a heading for me?"
"Just head for the Citadel 'til I change my mind."
"Roger-Dodger."
Shepard opened his cabin and sat down heavily in his chair. Closing his eyes and breathing deeply for a few seconds, he tried to drive the pain away from body through sheer force of will. Giving up on that idea, he stood up again and started removing his armor, curious to see what all the fuss had been about down on Therum. He finally pulled off the back of his armor, and then gasped as he brought it around in front of him. Which he instantly regretted as another wave of pain coursed through him.
Holy fuck. No wonder Tali and Garrus gave me shit about continuing the mission. How in the hell did I get up and walk away? The light Hydra armor was crushed in a diagonal line stretching from where his left shoulder would be all the way down to his right hip. There were various bits and pieces of light plate missing, and the lighter mesh down near his hips, which allowed him to twist and bend, was in tatters. Turning it around to look at the inside, he saw several parts of the hard outer shell had been bent inwards and now resembled claws. Looking closer, he could see some dried blood coating the edges. Well shit, I guess that explains why my back feels like it's on fire. I should probably go see Chakwas now. But I wanna check in with Liara first; make sure she's getting settled in alright. Guess I should do that first. No telling how long the doc'll keep me off my feet.
Getting up, Shepard wiped off his face and hands in the sink and changed into his casuals. Oh fuck, walking hurts! Alright Spikey boy, nonchalant and casual is the order of the day. Proper motoring hurts like a bitch. As he walked through the med-bay, he nodded in greeting at Chakwas. She responded likewise, and then went back to her work. Shepard paused just before the door into the lab, having decided at the last second to be polite, rather than barging in as he normally would. He knocked on the door, and listened for some kind of response.
A few moments later, Liara's muffled voice came through the door. "Please come in."
Shepard hit the door control, and stepped inside. Liara was standing in front of the desk, and looked like her mouth was full. Peeking around her, Shepard noticed a plate of food sitting on her desk. Ah, damnit. I hadn't even thought that she might be eating. Shit, I shouldn'ta bothered her. "I'm sorry to bother you, Liara. If I had known you were eating, I woulda left you in peace."
"No, I do not mind the company, Commander. I hope you do not mind that I took some food from your kitchen. I was just so hungry . . ." She trailed off apologetically.
"Of course not! I'm sorry I didn't offer you any."
"I understand completely, Commander. You seem very tired, if I may say so. From our brief joining, I can see that your life has been full of pain and stress the last few weeks."
"Nah, you can say so." I must be really tired if I'm not more pissed off that she went digging around in my head. Fuck. I wonder . . . how long was she stuck in there? His curiosity quickly overpowered his propriety, so he decided to give voice to his concerns. "Erm, how long were you in that Prothean bubble, anyway?"
Her gaze turned downward and her voice became sad. "I am . . . not sure, Commander. I find it very difficult to keep track of time underground. I feel as though it was a week, at least. Perhaps ten days."
Son of a bitch. I shoulda got there sooner. Shepard's frustration boiled over yet again, this time directed at himself. God damn it. I didn't need to help Hackett out right away. The fucking drones woulda still been insane if I'd waited a week to do that. Fuck fuck fuck! "I'm sorry I couldn't get to you sooner, Liara. I really am."
"Do not be, Commander." Her voice was soothing. "You rescued me from that place, and saved me from the geth. And you kept that vile krogan from taking me to Saren." She shuddered at the recent memory. "Thank you, Commander."
Well shit. I might just blush. It's kinda nice being called a hero by a looker like Liara. Maybe I should try to rescue more damsels in distress. "Don't worry about it, Liara. Good to have you with us." He smiled at her. "Did Chakwas give you a once-over?"
"She did." She nodded. "Her knowledge of asari physiology is impressive, Commander."
"She's the best." Shepard agreed. Although her bedside manner could use a bit less anger and a bit more sympathy. Ha, like that'll happen.
"If I may ask, Commander, what happened with your armor? I noticed that it seemed rather, um, distressed?" She sounded hesitant.
"Well that's-" Whatever Shepard was going to say was interrupted by Tali's voice yelling from the other room.
"That little bosh'tet!"
"Rain check, Liara?" Shepard asked, and decided to take her confused expression as assent. "That story'll have to wait, because I have a feeling a very angry little quarian is gonna come storming through those doors any minute."
"I admire Shepard's ability to improvise." Garrus said to Tali as they rode the elevator up from the hangar.
"You mean how he used a mining laser to blow a hole in a set of ancient Prothean ruins, sinking it, and almost us, into lava?" She answered mirthfully. Continuing, her voice took on a sour note. "And all to rescue the daughter of someone who probably wants us dead? I can see how you would 'admire' that. Turians, humans, you're all the same. It's all about the explosions." And the exotic women. She thought with a tinge of venom.
"Are you jealous, Tali?" Garrus asked with a smirk. "Don't forget, we rescued you from an intractable situation with no means of escape, as well. So you're both on even footing in my book."
"Thanks, Garrus." Tali said grumpily. "And no, I'm not jealous. I just think she's ridiculous. Who just presses buttons in an ancient Prothean ruin?"
"Shepard." Garrus responded with a shrug.
"You might be right." Tali acknowledged his point with a slight nod of her head. Not that that makes me feel much better.
Garrus sensed that Tali was upset about something, so he decided to try to lighten the mood. "So how long do you think it will take for Shepard to go see Doctor Chakwas?"
Tali huffed and crossed her arms. "Not long, if he knows what's good for him. As soon as this elevator gets up to the crew deck, I'm going to the med bay. And if he's not there, I'll hack his omni-tool and make it blare like a klaxon until he finally shows up." She began tapping her foot impatiently, scowling at the elevator through her facemask. "If this elevator ever gets to the crew deck."
"I know what you mean."
"The Normandy is supposed to be the most technologically advanced ship in the galaxy, and the product of the very best that turians and humans can come up with. And yet this elevator moves like a dreadnought through atmosphere." She shot a glare at Garrus.
"Hey, don't look at me." Garrus said, putting his hands up innocently. "I had nothing to do with the Normandy's design. And elevators on turian ships zip right along."
"Uh huh." Tali said, unconvinced. "Finally!" She exclaimed as the elevators opened up onto the crew deck. She immediately stalked out of the elevator without another word to Garrus, and turned left to head for the med-bay.
"Bye Tali." Garrus said to the empty elevator. "It was nice chatting with you."
Tali was already too far gone to catch his sarcastic comment, luckily for the turian. As the med-bay door swooshed open, she looked in expectantly. Much to her dismay, Commander Shepard was nowhere to be seen. Grinding her teeth, she walked over to Chakwas.
"Have you seen the Commander, Doctor?" She asked, making an effort to sound pleasant.
"As a matter of fact I have." The doctor looked at Tali curiously. "But why would you be looking for him here?"
"That little bosh'tet!" Tali shouted, ignoring Chakwas's question. "Where is he, Doctor?"
"He went into the lab, which he told me is going to house our new asari crewmember for the duration of our voyage. I haven't seen him come out, yet."
"Well, you'll be seeing him soon, Doctor." Tali said as she stormed past the human woman.
"Shepard!" She shouted as soon as the door opened. "What are you doing? You're supposed to be letting Chakwas fix you!"
"I was gonna, Tali." Shepard said placatingly, holding out a hand to calm her down. "I just wanted to check in on Liara, make sure she's doing ok, ya know?"
"I'm sure she'd be fine waiting until after you've gotten your injuries looked at!" Tali yelled emphatically, with a look of scorn at Liara.
"Easy there, Tal." Shepard said, catching the intent behind Tali's posture. "She didn't ask me to come in here. It's all my fault, alright?'
"I know it is, you big bosh'tet! Now get in there and let Chakwas do a scan!"
"Aye aye, ma'am." Shepard said with a mock salute. "What does bosh'tet mean, anyway?"
"It's a curse word."
"I guessed that, based on the way you used it." Shepard rolled his eyes, which she didn't catch. "But what kind of curse word?"
"I'm not completely sure, but I think it's similar to your 'son of a bitch.'"
"Ah. Good to know." He said with a shrug. This time she rolled her eyes at him.
"So Commander, Tali'Zorah informed me that you may need my services?" Doctor Chakwas put an end to their conversation and pointed Shepard towards one of the beds.
Sitting down heavily, he shrugged. "Yeah, might need a bit of help. Tali thinks I might have a broken rib."
"No, I know you have two broken ribs and a fractured clavicle." Tali interjected. Turning to Chakwas, she continued. "I did a quick scan while we were on Therum."
"And you let him continue the mission like that?" The good doctor raised an eyebrow at Tali.
"We tried to make him go back to the ship, but he's a stubborn little bosh'tet."
"You know, I'm sitting right here you two." Shepard pointed out.
"So you are." Chakwas turned to him. "Care to tell me what happened?" She asked as she started an in-depth scan.
"Eh, not really. The story'll sound better from Tali." He leaned back and closed his eyes. "You tell it, Tali. I'm gonna take a nap."
Shaking her head, Tali turned to Chakwas and began describing the fight with the Colossus.
When she finished, Doctor Chakwas looked down her nose at Shepard. "That was extremely foolish, Commander."
"But it worked, Doc." Shepard tried to shrug unconcernedly, but was in too much pain to pull it off. "That's all that matters."
"Unless you die." Tali pointed out with crossed arms. "That also matters."
"Aw Tali, you do- Ow!" Dr. Chakwas interrupted Shepard's sarcastic comment by poking a large needle into his chest. "That hurt like shit! What the hell was that for?"
"It was a heavy dose of painkiller and tranquilizer." The doctor said, turning away from her patient to set the empty needle down. "I'm going to need to perform quite a bit of work to get you back to 100%, and my job will be much easier if you can't squirm about or argue with me."
"But Doc-" He tried to fight the growing feeling of peace and tranquility coursing through his veins.
"No buts, Commander." She said firmly. "Good night, Shepard." She added as his eyes closed.
"Night-night." He whispered. Chakwas and Tali shared a smile at this unexpected show of innocence, and then laughed quietly, together, when he started snoring.
"Thank you for your help, Ms. Zorah." Chakwas said as she stopped laughing and connected Shepard to an IV.
"You're welcome, Doctor. And please feel free to call me Tali." The quarian responded, tearing her eyes away from her sleeping commander.