Chapter 32
"Hello Shepard, Garrus, Ms. Nar Rayya. Are you here for Shepard's new weapons?" Viagho stood up and greeted the three commandoes as they entered his office.
"Hi there!" Tali said.
"Viagho." Garrus said with a nod at his fellow turian.
"Good to see you again Viagho. I take it you have something for me?" Shepard was practically vibrating with excitement as he approached the desk.
"Yes I do, Spectre." Viagho walked through the door into the storeroom and returned bearing two black cases. "Let me grab the other two before you put your hands all over them." Smiling at Shepard's movement towards the two cases on the desk, Viagho headed back into the storeroom, and then returned with the last two cases. "The biggest case is the SR, then next largest is the AR, the smallest one is the pistol, and the leftover one is the shotgun. All the mods are loaded. That sniper rifle could probably vaporize a charging krogan." Shepard and Garrus nodded appreciatively in unison. "So, are you ready to set up the biometrics?"
"Yes, I am. But first I have something for you." Shepard motioned back to Garrus, who was holding a small bag that Viagho hadn't noticed at first. Garrus handed the bag to Shepard, who handed it to Viagho.
Taking it, Viagho reached in and pulled out a box. Looking down at the label, he saw that it was his wife's favorite dextro chocolates. Looking back up at the Spectre, Viagho was shortly speechless. "How did you know?"
"Know what?" Shepard asked, confused.
"Know how much my Demodia loves these? They're her absolute favorite chocolate. Bringing home a box of these has gotten me out of more trouble than I care to remember."
"That's great! I remembered you saying that she liked chocolate, so I had Garrus here pick some out. My way of saying 'thank you' for helping me get these gorgeous weapons."
"Thank you Garrus." The turian nodded respectfully at his former C-Sec compatriot.
"It was nothing." Garrus replied. "I thought I remembered you saying something about liking them back when we worked together."
"Well, I do like them. However, nowhere nearly as much as Demodia does. Thank you."
"Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, can we get back to the matter at hand? I can't wait to get my hands on that rifle." Shepard interrupted the moment with a laugh.
"Yes, of course." Viagho replied.
"Excellent." Shepard was grinning like a loon. "Let's set the SR and pistol biometrics to me, and I'm gonna give my friends here a little early Christmas present. Can you set the AR biometrics to Garrus, and the shotgun ones to Tali?" The three non-humans in the office immediately locked shocked gazes onto the Commander, and his two teammates started talking as soon as they had recovered their faculties.
"Commander, this is ridiculous -" Garrus started to say.
"I can't accept this -" Tali sounded breathless.
Shepard raised his hand to silence them. "Look, I take you two on almost every drop." Although maybe I did have to have Ashley point that out to me. "Saren's forces have been upping the ante every time we run into them. And you can't watch my six if you're both lying on the ground bleeding out." Plus, losing you two so soon after being dumped by Beth like yesterday's trash would probably lead to a serious case of "Spike blacks out and kills everything that draws breath. And then goes through and kills it all again." "So please, accept this gift from me." And for the love of all that's holy, don't die. Shepard could tell that Tali's mouth was still open underneath her helmet, and Garrus's mandibles were twitching uncomfortably. He smiled kindly at them both. "Besides, I just point the trigger at the bad guys and hope for the best when I use the AR and the shotgun. Tali, you're an artist with the shotgun, and Garrus, the AR sings when you wield it. You should both have the best weapons in the 'verse." Tali and Garrus shared a smile at Shepard's incredibly modest assessment of his skills with ARs and shotguns.
"Well Commander, when you put it like that, I guess I have no choice but to take it. Purely to protect you, of course." Garrus gave Shepard a grin and a wink, and Shepard gave him a mischievous smile in return.
"Thank you Shepard." Tali spoke up quietly. "This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."
Shepard moved over and put a hand on the diminutive quarian's shoulder. "It means a lot to have you watching my back."
"Don't worry Shepard; I'll watch all of you from now on!"
Shepard looked down at his friend through the glass of her helmet, trying to see if she was leering at him. I've never heard her make a comment like that before. Was she flirting with me? Maybe she didn't realize it was a double entendre. Yeah, that's gotta be what it was. My chick-radar is just all whacked out because of that mess with Bethany. I'm probably just reading too much into what she's saying. But what if she was flirting with me? Eh, I'll think about that when I'm back on the ship, because right now I need to wrap up my business with Viagho.
"Are you sure about this, Shepard?" Viagho asked once the trio had settled down.
"Yes. Set it up, please."
Viagho typed something into his computer, and then checked his omni-tool. When it lit up, he passed it over the four weapons in their cases.
"All set, Spectre." Viagho finished with a smile.
"Alright team, grab your new toys. And don't expect anything for your birthday, because I'm all tapped out now." Actually, thanks to that crazy little volus Von, I'm not. But still, these really took a chunk outta my wallet. Garrus moved directly towards the desk and cradled the AR lovingly. Shepard was surprised that Tali was still in the same spot and didn't seem to have moved. "Tali -" he began.
Tali rushed forward and hugged Shepard tightly. Surprised, it took him a half-second before he wrapped his arms around her and returned the squeeze. Tali looked up at him and said, "Thank you, Shepard. Thank you so much." Being held in his arms feels so wonderful. Do we ever have to stop this hug?
Shepard felt a warm feeling in his chest. Alright there, take it easy Spike. It's just a hug. Nothing more, nothing less. So stop noticing how smooth her suit is. And stop looking down at that ass, it's not yours. And for god's sake, please stop paying so much attention to the way her breasts are squished against your chest! Damnit Spike, disengage! Quick, pull out! Heh, not something I'd ever expect to be saying to Tali. There's no way I'd be pulling out- No! She's younger than you, she's a part of your crew, and she's not the type for a one-night stand. So behave! He pulled her away from his body, put one hand on each of her shoulders, and looked intensely at her, straight through her helmet into her eyes. For a long moment, neither person moved.
Finally, Shepard broke the stalemate. "Thank you." He said fervently, and he saw the corners of her mouth tilt up. The sight of her wide grin did terrible things to his insides. Okay, did I get an estrogen infusion while I was on the Arc? What the fuck is wrong with me? I should not be feeling butterflies – wait, why the hell would I have butterflies in my stomach? I'm way too manly for that. Something badass and macho takes up residence in my gut when I get nervous. Not that I'm nervous, of course. I mean, it's just Tali. Right? But even if I was nervous, I wouldn't be feeling butterflies flitting about in my stomach. No, that faux-nervous feeling is a pack of vicious velociraptors (and damn is that fun to say) chasing their next meal through my intestines. Yep, that's it. Vicious velociraptors. And saying that totally doesn't get old!
Once he released her, they both stepped over to the desk and picked up their new weapons, still struggling to rein in their respective emotions. Shepard opened the SR, sighted down its barrel for a brief moment, then collapsed it and put it on his back, in place of the HMWSR VII that was now in his other hand. He placed the VII in the black hardcase, and picked up the pistol. He removed the HMWP VII from his hip, and put the X on the hardpoint there. Dropping the VII in the pistol's case, he suddenly moved his hand to his side, popped the HMWP off his hip and open, and pointed it at an imaginary enemy. Apparently satisfied, he collapsed the weapon and put it back on its new hardpoint. Meanwhile, Tali was swinging her new shotgun back and forth between phantom enemies, dispatching them with no trouble.
Looking away from his companions, Shepard noticed that Viagho was watching him. Shepard smiled sheepishly, and motioned to the black cases on the desk. "Would it be possible to deliver these cases and the weapons inside to the Normandy?" He asked the C-Sec officer.
"Of course, Spectre. Enjoy your new weapons."
"Oh I will." Shepard replied with a devilish grin, already thinking of the damage his team would deal out the next time they came face-to-face with an enemy. "I most certainly will." He repeated. "By the way, do you have a program that I can use to change the biometrics on the HMWs?"
The turian looked surprised. "Are you going to take the weapons away from your colleagues?" Both Tali and Garrus turned towards Shepard with fear in their eyes.
"Easy now guys, it's nothing like that." Shepard said to his teammates. "I was just thinking about the rest of the team. I was hoping I could give them my old VIIs." Tali and Garrus sighed with relief, and went back to stroking and patting their new weapons.
"Yes, I can do that." Viagho said. "Give me their names, and I'll have it done before I forward the weapons to your ship."
"Thanks, Viagho." Shepard said with a smile. Pulling up his omni-tool, he tapped in some commands. "I sent you a message with two names, and which weapon to give to whom." With those words and a smile, the human Spectre turned and motioned for his friends to follow him out.
The Spectre suddenly turned back towards the requisitions officer. "Actually, Viagho, there was something else I wanted to ask you about."
"Yes Shepard?"
"I know you don't have armor mods in stock, but I know you know where all the good stuff is sold." Shepard said with a wink. "Do you know where I could pick up a high-level kinetic exoskeleton weave?"
"Hmm. Let me think about that for a minute." The turian stared down at his desk, tapping his talons idly on the desk's surface. The steady percussive notes were interrupted suddenly as he looked up at Shepard again, a wide grin on his face. "Do you know where Chora's Den is?"
"Yes."
"Then if you look in the marketplace just across the hallway from the entrance, there's a salarian named Morlan." He looked up to see Shepard staring at him. "He has some of the best armor mods I've seen. Coincidentally, it's also where I pick up my armor, so I know he can also find some pretty nice armor sets, if you ever need an upgrade in that department. Just don't ask him where he gets his stuff."
Shepard cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? Does the fine upstanding C-Sec officer advocate purchasing goods that were illegally obtained?"
"No, nothing like that." Viagho laughed. "He has a lot of contacts with the various manufacturers, but he likes to tell stories. Everything from how difficult it is for him to acquire his goods, to why he should charge even more for them, to how every other armor set belonged to the Primarch's second son or something similar. He can be a bit ridiculous, but he finds some truly amazing merchandise."
"Thanks, Viagho."
"If he doesn't have what you're looking for, you could also check with the clinic in the wards. The doctor in there usually has some stuff to sell."
Shepard shot a smirk in Garrus's direction. "Uh huh. I'm sure Dr. Michel will be happy to see at least one of us again." I've already been there once today, but she's pretty chill to talk to. Plus it opens up a world of awkwardness for Garrus, and that's fun for everyone! Except maybe for him. Oh well.
"What do you mean, Shepard?" Tali piped up.
"Well, let's just say that a certain human doctor might have a hankering for a certain turian ex-detective." Shepard said with an ear-to-ear grin.
"Ooh, Garrus, I didn't know you had a thing for human women." Tali teased gently.
""I don't. The Commander is imagining things." Garrus replied with a dismissive wave. A part of him, though, acknowledged that there was something tantalizing about the human woman's curvaceous body, something that just didn't happen on turian women.
"I'm not imagining anything. Whenever we stop in the clinic, she can't keep her eyes off you. And when you leave, she practically drools watching your ass walk away." Plus, she told me all this morning. Ha ha, won't she be surprised when I come back in, dragging her eye candy with me.
"That's ridiculous." Garrus snorted.
"I agree. I have a much better ass than you do, Vakarian."
Shepard, Tali, and Garrus all burst out laughing at this. Mmm, yes you do Spike. Tali thought naughtily. They could make copies of your ass and sell them as art. I would certainly buy a copy. And I have a feeling that both Ashley and Liara would purchase one as well. Her laughter cut off abruptly as she thought of the way the other two women on the team had been ogling her captain, and a wave of jealousy rushed through her.
Viagho smiled at the three laughing friends and shook his head. We're all going to die if these are the people going after Saren, he thought to himself.
The Commander finally stopped laughing long enough to take a breath and speak. "Alright Viagho, we're gonna get out of your hair now. Thanks again for the weapons!"
"You're welcome, Spectre. Come back and visit anytime. And thank you very much for the chocolates."
"You're very welcome." Shepard replied. "Come on guys, let's get going." With that, he turned and headed for the stairs.
As they walked up the stairs and out of sight, Viagho could hear Garrus's rumbling voice roll down the stairway, saying, "Williams is going to be so jealous of this AR. I bet she cries."
Tali added her own two cents to the discussion. "And Wrex is going to try to eat me to get this shotgun."
Shepard laughed. "Well, neither of them can complain too much. Wrex is getting my old HMWSG, and Ashley is getting the HMWP."
As the voices grew fainter, Viagho could just make out Shepard say "And don't worry Tali, I'll protect you."
The last thing Viagho heard was a little "Ok" squeak out from the quarian. Then, they were gone.