Chapter 6: Revenant

Three weeks. It had only been three weeks since James had been brought in to Heurta Memorial hospital and he was already back on his feet. Kari was amazed. He had pushed himself, everyday since he first got out of the bed to do a little more than the day before. He was far from healed, but he could walk the length of the gardens outside the hospital with Kari, and they made it a little further each day.

Tullius and Aesha had joined them as well, the Turian had been sporting a rather fashionable looking cane that he strolled around with. It was for show mostly, onhe seemed to be enjoying all the fussing over him that Aesha did, but he often let James borrow the cane on their walks.

"Say, do you think there are fish in there?" he said, pointing the cane to the lake that was the central feature of the Presidium.
The Turian licked his lips, "Boy, what I wouldn't give for a nice freshly caught Presidium fish. Slow cooked over a real fire…not that chemical stuff they use in the MRE's, mind you, or those human zappy things they have in the cafeteria."

James grinned a little at Kari who just shook her head exhaustedly.
"Microwaves?"

"Yeah…ugh. Microwaves. They always make the food taste like rubber. No sir, what we need is a good ol' fashioned wood fire…"
He licked his lips with a loud smack.
"Mmm…now I wonder if they would be dextro or levo amino fish…"

"The groundskeeper said there weren't any fish in the lake." Aesha noted, a sly smile on her lips. Kari had noticed that she rather enjoyed giving Tullius a hard time, even though she pretended to be aloof.

Tullius rolled his eyes at her comment, "Of course he would say that, love. He's one of them."

"One of them?" Kari asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Yeah, you know. He's a talking suit, (no offense),a corporate lacky trying to keep the little Turian down…but I know the truth! And one day, I'm going to have me a fresh cooked, wood smoked, Presidium fish."

Kari nodded her head. The answer was as stupid as she thought it would be, but she had grown accustomed to the Turian's strange sense of humor.

She enjoyed these walks; they were always a source of delight for her, whether it was just her and James, or all four of them. She thought they must have looked like an oddity on the Presidium, most everyone here was so stylish and proper. Most of the people on the Presidium also tended to segregate themselves as well, you would see a group of Turians together, or humans. It wasn't a conscious choice, most people preferred spending time with those they were comfortable with. Most of the time, that meant individuals of the same sex or race.

Yet, here they were, Quarian, Human, Turian and Asari walking through the gardens, talking, laughing, and enjoying each other's company.

Tullius looked over at James with a sly smirk,

"Hey, Irving, what is the first thing that a human soldier says when meeting a Turian."

James shook his head, "I give up."

Tullius gave a look of mock surprise. "Oh, so you've heard this one?"

Kari blinked, she could quite believe that Tullius could be so insensitive, but James didn't seem to be mad.

James gave an impish frown, "Oh har har. Very funny. Did I tell you the one about the Turian First Contact policy?"

Tullius shrugged, "Shoot."

"Exactly."

Tullius laughed, "I guess I stepped into that one didn't I?"

James gave a snort, "Yes, yes you did."

Tullius looked over at Kari with a wolfish grin.

"Did I tell you the one about the Quarian with a cold?"

Kari gave Tullius a dirty look, "Hey! I'm standing right here!"

Aesha prodded Tullius with a finger, "Leave the poor girl alone, Tully."

Tullis held up his hands innocently, "What? I didn't do anything. I was just going to tell the charming story of –"

Aesha poked him harder.
"Alright! Alright! Take it easy…don't pick on the poor little Quarian. Got it."

James chuckled.
A short time later they had reached the end of the garden, the normal turning around point for their little party.
James didn't seem like he wanted to go just yet, however, he was staring off at the distant lifts on the other side of the bridge from where the garden was.

"I think I'm going to head down to the Zakera ward today. There's a few things I wanted to check out."

"Oooh, that sounds like fun." Tullius said, but then he caught Aesha glaring at him.
"Orrrrr…. I could go back to my hospital bed and mope around while James gets to have all the fun…that sounds like a better idea."

Aesha gave him a smugly sweet smile of approval, Tulluis just sighed heavily.
"I'll catch you back at Huerta then." James smiled, patting the Turian on the shoulder sympathetically.

"Yeah, see you there… you coming Kari?"
Kari shook her head. "No, I'm going to go with James. I'd like to see if they have anything I could take back to the fleet."

Tullius shrugged, that same wolfish grin spreading across his face.
"Okay, sure. Have fun with your boyfriend. We'll see you tonight then. Ow-"

Tullius gave a sharp exhale as Aesha poked him again, this time collecting her mate and pulling him away with an apologetic smile.

"You kids have fun!" she beamed, before turning to Tullius, her words of scolding lost over the sound of the nearby fountain's splashing water.

Kari blushed heavily, but she didn't say anything as she watched them go. She didn't say anything until she noticed James looking at her like…oh, Keelah, how did that human idiom go?

The cat that swallowed the carnie?

"What?" she asked hesitantly.
"Oh nothing…just enjoying the scenery." James was grinning like a Cheshire cat.
Kari felt even more blood rush to her face, she clasped her hands together and fidgeted a bit.

"S-should we go then?." Kari asked turning her head away from James so he couldn't see her eyes.

"Yes. I' heard they had a couple of ships up for auction too, might make a nice pilgrimage gift." He noted, trying to edge his way around her hood so he could see her eyes again. Kari resisted his attempts to make eye contact with her.

She hadn't told him about the data she had collected on Eden Prime, it was truly awe inspiring stuff, methods of farming that if they worked, could double or triple the liveship's food yields, but if it didn't work or the Admiralty board decided not to use it, she would have essentially brought nothing back with her.

Kari kept quiet for the elevator trip and for some time after they arrived on Zakera ward near the docking rings, where the scrap yards and surplus dealers were. James decided not to say anything, although her unusual silence permeated the air, even when he tried to engage her in conversation she was distant.

After a short time, James gave up, parting with Kari as he set about looking for the parts and materials he needed.

His first stop was to the Alliance military surplus. They had all sorts of stuff, some of it ancient looking…over a hundred years old or more.
The first thing on his list was a proper respirator, sure the one he had now was alright, but it restricted his range of motion, lacked portability and durability. He found what he was looking for in the form of an older model military gas-mask designed to seal with a suit of combat armour. It had both the range of motion he needed and was aestheically more pleasing to him than the anti-septic clear face-mask he wore now.

It took him some time of looking through the store's vast inventory for awhile before he found the rest of what he needed: Armour plating, A recon hood like the one Bishop wore; a set of Umbra enhanced night vision goggles; heavy black trench-style combat boots; a roll of dense palladium weave with internal shield emitters (the stuff that the military used for under armour) and, an older model more conservative model of the Securitel series of helmets.

As much as he loved his TACC Death-mask, James was afraid because of his need for a respirator, it had seen the end of its combat days. All the rest of his armour had belonged to the Alliance; they had taken it along with pretty much everything else he had when he was discharged.

The total cost of it all together pretty much wiped out his bank account and most of his savings. He was left with less than seven thousand credits which he used to buy a top-of-the-line M-55 Argus carbine with an adjustable hybrid scope, improved stabilizers and a magazine upgrade from Rodam Expeditions, the local weapons dealer.

While the rest of the gear he had bought today was mostly second-hand or surplus, the Argus felt good in his hands, the grip was flawless and James felt a tiny spike of adrenaline wash down his limbs as he held his new weapon for the first time. It was a solid, reliable and cutting edge rifle, used by law enforcement across the galaxy.

It was heavier than the M-8 Avenger, but it packed a lot more of a kick as well. The Turian who ran the shop had let James one of the display models on the store's rifle range and he instantly fell in love with it. He was enraptured by of control it gave him, it was far better than his M-8 which had a tendency to spray rounds, even when burst fired.

This was due to the projectile shaver's design; the M-8 used a much faster but less precise shaver that often loaded misshapen rounds into the mass accelerator. It was useful for weapon for mid-ranges, suppression tactics or large groups of enemies, but at distance it was woefully lacking.

The Argus on the other hand used a system that ensured that every single shot shaved from the ammo block was aerodynamically sound, and therefore would fly straight when fired. The rate of fire was slower but far more accurate.

The clerk nodded to James as the credits cleared.
"There we go. Everything's in order. Did you want me to put it in the case for you?" the Turian asked James, who was still cradling the rifle in his arms like a long lost friend.

"Oh…right. Yeah I suppose that would be best."

While James technically had a license to carry military grade firearms, he didn't think it would be a wise idea to go walking around the Citadel with the dangerous looking weapon.

James handed the Argus back to the Turian hesitantly, thumbing over the weapon's safety to storage mode. The Argus folded itself up with a soft whirr of gyros as the Turian placed it in the gun-case. He snapped the lid shut and handed the case to James with the Turian equivalent of a smile.

"Thanks for your business, have a pleasant day."

James nodded politely as he took the case in his hand.
"Thanks, you too."

After he was done, James had the rest of the materials he had purchased sent up to his hospital room at Heurta, seeing how he had no residence as of yet, but he kept the M-55 with him, sealed in its case. It was too expensive and too precious to let out of his sight.

He went looking for Kari, and it wasn't long before he found her browsing at the local scrapyard, or as the sign put it "Dovin Kang's Used Parts."

From a brief glance, James could tell that the store was mostly an off-loading place for tech that the citizens of the galaxy didn't want anymore, but didn't want to throw away.

James saw all sorts of things, old omni-tool models, weapon components, ship hardware and even little holos of ships were on display with pricetags ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of credits.

It was here, where James found Kari, eyeing number of models in the lower end of the price ranges. Her eyes were focused and her stance contemplative, as if she was running numbers in her head, trying to figure out how she could possibly afford even the smallest ship.

If James could have seen into Kari's mind, he would have found that he was right. Kari couldn't believe the asking price for some of the ships she had seen. Even the ones that were decades old, stripped of everything but the most basic systems were well out of her financial means.

She furrowed her brow in desperate irritation. It was no wonder to her that some Qurians spend years or even decades before returning to the fleet. She had always thought that they had been traveling around the galaxy, enjoying the freedom of youth before inevitably coming home to settle down.

Now it was becoming clear to her, that they probably spent most of their pilgrimage working for enough credits to bring back something worthy.

It had been little over a month, and Kari was starting to miss home already, she couldn't imagine spending a year or more away from the fleet.

"Ahem."

The gravelly bass of James's damaged vocal chords interrupted her thoughts. She looked over to see him standing next to her, looking at the particular ship she had been looking at.

Type: Turian civilian freighter.
Registry name: Fortiden.
Price: Seventy-thousand.

"Owch." James gave a long whistle. "That's a lot of money." He noted dolefully. Kari nodded sadly.
"Yes, and it's the cheapest one I can find here."

James looked at the ship's specs. It was a piece of junk, stripped of anything valuable, it was nothing more than the husk of a ship with some basic drives, an ancient VI and a peashooter for protection.

Scratch that. A peashooter would do more damage.

James thought as he stood up, his eyes scanning across the holos of the ships on display.

"Ah they are all junk anyway." He said soothingly, giving Kari a little grin. Kari didn't seem to want to be consoled though.
"Hey, look, maybe you can get something else? A nice drive core perhaps or some parts that the flotilla needs?"

Kari shook her head, "It wouldn't be good enough." She said sadly.
James frowned, according to what she had told him about the Migrant fleet, they were usually accepting of most gifts that were brought back, even the humble ones.
"Well, why not?"

Kari paused for a moment; she figured that sooner or later that James would find out anyway. "My father is a Captain of the Vanya." Kari admitted with a heavy sigh.

"So…he's a big deal then?" James spoke hesitantly, not quite understanding Kari's reasoning.
Kari turned to face James, she looked a little insulted. "The Vanya is one of the most powerful ships in the heavy fleet. It's been with the flotilla since the exodus from the homeworld!"

"Sorry!" James said, backing away a bit, his hands up defensively. He was surprised by the sudden burst of anger from the typically calm Quarian girl.

Kari realized her mistake, "I-I'm sorry…it's just that…our people take great pride in the ships we are born on, the ships we serve on…."

James lowered his hands, "It's okay. I understand. Humans can be the same way, though usually about football teams."

Kari tilted her head, her eyes drawing up into curious orbs "Football?"

James gave a slight smile, "It's a sport where two teams try to kick a round ball into the other team's-…" James looked up at Kari, she was staring at him like he had a bug crawling out of his ear.
"Err-…nevermind. You were saying…?"

Kari blinked, her mind entertaining the thought of asking the doctor about James's mental health later.

"Well…you see, because of my father's position, alot is expected of me. Most Captain's children will bring back a ship or data that significantly helps out the fleet."

"So you're afraid that if you bring back something sub-standard, it will shame your father?" James spoke solemnly.

Kari hung her head dejectedly. "Yes." She said very simply.

James felt genuinely sad for Kari. Failing to live up to a father's expectation's was something he had been all too familiar with.

"He's not going to perform seppuku if you don't bring back a dreadnought is he?" James smirked.

Kari looked over at James with a surprised stutter, "W-what?"

James grinned from ear to ear, "He's not going to ritualistically commit suicide if you fail is he?"

Kari blinked, clasping her hands together in a nervous bundle. She had never considered that before "N-no…h-he w-wouldn't, I don't t-think-…"

James put a finger up to her visor, over her voice filter. He gave her a comforting grin.
"Then don't worry about it."

Kari felt her tensions melt away in that smile. He was right. She worried far too much…it was hard not to.
"O-okay." She forced herself to give an uneasy smile back, although she knew that James probably couldn't see it through her visor.

"Come on. I've got a few credits left…maybe we can go get some of the Turian ice-cream you like so mu-…"

James paused mid-sentence, his the pupils of his violet eyes drew tightly together as his eyelids opened to their fullest extent.
"No…" he whispered, his voice distant and filled with awe. "It can't be…"

But it was. There, at the very far end of the room, was a small flickering holo of a ship with deep black scoring along its hull in several places.
The interface underneath read:

Halcyon
Alliance Military Frigate
500,000 Credits

Five hundred thousand credits.

It was more than he made in the N7's in five years…before taxes.
James sat up in his hospital bed again, his feet hanging off into the space beyond the hard, unforgiving thin mattress. Kari sat next to him in the lounge chair, she looked far from comfortable, but she didn't seem to care. She was more interested in James now, he had been very morose since they had returned from Zakera Ward.

He is thinking about that ship, his ship.

Kari observed sullenly as she watched James's violet eyes stare off across the Presidium. She could almost see the gears in his head moving behind his pupils. He was thinking, pondering, working on the problem of how exactly to acquire his old frigate.

Kari understood how he felt. It was never an easy thing for a Quarian to see the ship of his or her birth be destroyed or sold in exchange for parts. It was a rare thing in the flotilla, ships were by far the most valued and important resource available to the fleet, but unfortunately it did happen, sometimes ships were just too old or beyond repair for even her people to fix.

The silence between them was getting a bit uncomfortable

"Hey, do you want to go get some ice cream?" Kari said, attempting to start a conversation.

"You go ahead. I'll stay here." James replied somewhat dismissively. Kari furrowed her brow a bit, she hadn't know James for very long, but he had never been like this.

"I'm worried about you…" she admitted after a long moment of silence. James paused for a moment, before turning to meet her gaze, the slow hiss of the respirator echoing in the silence of the hospital room.

"You shouldn't. There's nothing to worry about." He stated simply, although he seemed not entirely convinced of his own words.

Kari moved forward sitting down next to him on the bed, extending her hand in a gesture of across his back. He did not recoil at her touch, despite the small aches he felt pulsing through his still battered skin.
"It's hard…" he admitted, "Seeing her like that. Even on the holo."

"It's never easy to lose a home…" she murmured softly, her hand carefully avoiding the worse of his wounds as she rubbed up and down his back.

James looked over at her, his eyes confirming what she already knew.

"Then what am I supposed to do?" he asked quietly, burying his forehead in his palm.

Kari didn't want to admit it, and she certainly knew it was not an easy thing to hear, but she felt it needed to be said.

"Sometimes you just have to let things go…" she whispered, her voice trailing off as the memories of the Ellis's and her friends on Eden Prime flashed across her mind.

James shook his head vehemently, "That's not good enough." He spat, "No there's got to be a way, there's always another way…"

Kari sat there for a moment, unsure of what to say next. She wished more than anything that she had the power to just go and fix everything.
She wanted to give James the ship he wanted; to give him his lungs back; to give her people the homeworld and her father the daughter he always wanted.

She wished that she could do something other than just sit here and offer empty platitudes to her friend.

"Wait…" James said, putting his hand on Kari's arm.
"That's it! That's the solution!" he cried out as he jumped into action, swinging his feet of the other side of the bed onto the floor.
Kari looked taken aback. "What? What's the solution?" she said as she fumbled her hands against his shirt, protesting his rise from the hospital bed.
"W-wait…what are you doing? You should rest."

James shook his head, he was already lacing up his boots. "No time. Have to get down to the VA's office before they close." He fired off, sounding more like the salarian doctor than himself.

Kari barely had time to open her mouth again to protest before he was out of the bed and on his feet, racing around the edge to her side in less than a second. He leaned down and before Kari could say another word he gave her a peck of his respirator on the visor over her cheek, beaming ecstatically.
"You're a genius! Gotta go!" and without another word he bolted from the room, in a half-run half limp fashion.

Kari just sat there, staring into the space where James's face had been when he kissed her. He kissed her.
Kari wasn't quite sure what exactly to think, or why the image of his actual lips on hers was so suddenly and deeply imprinted on her mind. And why did the thought seem so…enticing….

Kari heard several vociferous cries from nurses as James sped down the hallway towards the lifts.
But neither of them cared, for the first time since Eden Prime, they had hope for the future.

The wait at the Alliance's office for Veteran's Affairs on the Citadel wasn't a long one. It was close to closing time and much of the staff had already left for the day.
There was only one lone clerk left, a human girl of about twenty or so, likely the intern, left to close up shop.

James stood over her desk, with a rather sour look on his face. The place made him sick, even just standing in the VA's office he felt the harsh sting of betrayal and loss again. He inwardly wondered if he was doing the right thing, after all, who was to say that he wouldn't feel like this standing on the deck of the Halcyon again.
But it honestly didn't matter, credits were credits and if he didn't buy the Halcyon from the scrap dealer, he was sure to find a ship just as good or better.

The Sscretary looked up from behind her glasses, giving James a slightly disdainful look. She sighed, resigning herself to do her job quickly and go home. She just hoped it wasn't another damned complaint.

"Name?"

"James W. Irving. Alliance Marines, N7, serial number N7-1168907" he rattled off with little hestitation.

It knew it all by heart now, although James suspected it would the last time he would ever be asked to recall it. The girl raised an eyebrow but typed in the information quickly, giving a subtle nod as the information came up on the screen.

Lt James Irving,
Alliance Marines
Honourable discharge on disability
Blah blah blah
Full privileges

"There we are..." she said speeding through the lines quickly.
No red text, or any flagged sections. No restrictions of privileges. Everything was on the up and up.
She relaxed a little bit, at least she wouldn't have to hear more bitching today.
Well, probably not anyway.

"So," she said at last, "What can I do for you, Mr Irving?"

Mr Irving.
James didn't like the sound of that. It had been less than a month since he was discharged and already he was Mr Irving.

James grimaced, "I'd like to cash out my pension please."

The secretary blinked, that wasn't a request she got often. It was part of the Alliance GI bill, and it was a quick way to get cash, but it came at a hell of a cost.

"You realize sir, that by cashing out your pension you are no longer eligible for benefits such as medical, dental, life insurance and all other associated clauses."

James nodded grimly, "I know."
He didn't have private insurance either, James never planned for a day when he would be out of the Corps. He had always thought he would die wearing the uniform, whether it was on some distant battlefield or behind a desk at a ripe old age.

"And furthermore you would only be entitled to the equivalent of twenty years pay, and that amount is still considered taxable."

James furrowed his brow impatiently. He was starting to get irritated, he didn't need to be reminded, he already knew all his rights, and he was going to be damned if he paid taxes to the Alliance after what they did to him.

"Yes. I know. Do it anyway."

The sectetary put up her hands defensively, "Okay. Let me process the paperwork, and I'll need you to sign the release."

James looked down at the terminal built into the secretary's desk that faced towards him, a document appeared on the screen. It had several parts to it outlining the terms in legal jargon.
He read over it quickly before signing on the first page, then the fifth page, and then the very last one. He didn't bother with the fine print, he honestly wanted to have nothing to do with the Alliance after this was over.

The document disappeared and the screen returned to its normal blank navy blue.

The secretary typed in a few last things, grabbed an empty credit chit from a drawer in her desk and zipping it into her omni-tool.

"Alright. There we are." she said at last, handing the chit to James. "Best of luck to you sir." she said cordially enough.

James looked down at the chit, His mind trying to wrap around the significance of it. The display showed the credit icon and a two followed by six zeros, but all James could see where the long years of training, sacrifice and blood he had split for the Alliance. The faces of his fallen comrades and friends.

And now, all that was in the palm of his hand.
It filled him with hate.

"Is there anything else I can help you with, sir?" the secretary asked, noting the ex-marine's long pause.

"Yeah...can you get a message to Captain Jonah Hall, Alliance Navy, here on the station for me?"

The secretary looked at him with a puzzled expression. Her office didn't usually take care of that sort of thing, but it wasn't beyond her abilities.

"I can... What message would you like to send?"

James looked up, his eyes blazing like a crystaline fire.

"Tell him he can kiss the darkest part of my lily white ass."

Two million credits.

Over two million credits!

Kari could scarcely believe it. She had never seen that much money on a single chit before. It was enough money to buy a small fleet of shuttles like the one she used. She looked up at James, he was grinning triumphantly.

"H-how did you-? Where did you-?" Kari sputtered, her tongue seemingly tied into knots as she tried to speak.

James smiled giddily. "I did what you said. I let go."

Kari looked up at him, puzzled, stunned, still tongue-tied, her brain slicing through all possible scenarios on how James could have come up with such a large sum so quickly.

James laughed heartily, though it still hurt his lungs to do so…in fact a lot of things were starting to hurt again, now that the adrenaline was wearing off.

"I cashed in my pension and benefits. Closed my bank accounts." He stated, with a sort of sardonic mirth.

"Everything I have, you are holding in your hands right now."
Kari looked up at James, and then back down at the chit. Realization seeping into her brain like a thick smoke.

"Doesn't that mean you-" James nodded, cutting her off.

"Don't have medical anymore? Yeah. The doctor told me I have till tomorrow morning."

Kari furrowed her brow into a worried frown, "And then?" she asked hesitantly, already knowing the answer.

"I'm on my own."

He stated, matter of factually, crossing his arms over his chest.

"But…you aren't fully healed yet…"

James could hear the concern in her voice. It was rather touching really.
"I know." He said, softening his tone a little.

"But I'll have a ship, and enough money to outfit her and keep her running for awhile. I'll be alright."

Kari looked down at the chit again. She wanted to say something more, but it was too much to process. There were so many thoughts going through her head. It felt like the Ellis's all over again, worse even. She had spent so much time getting to know James, to learn about his people and had grown to respect and care for him. Just for him to…leave.

Kari thought she was going to have more time.

"Hey."

James said, noticing the dim ovals of Kari's eyes drawn up in melancholy slits.
Kari looked up at him sadly; she took his left hand in her hands and patted it gently, more for her comfort than his.

"I'm sure you will do well..." She said, her voice small in her throat.

James extended his right hand and brusher her chin gently, tilting her head up so he could see her eyes again.
They were stunning things; he had never quite appreciated the beauty of those twin points of soft blue light.

Except for the slight curvature of the tip of her nose, they were the only thing he could make out in that deep field of misty purple, but it was enough to make him smile every time.

"Well, I hope so… but that kind of depends on you."

Kari tilted her head curiously; there was a soft sparkle in her eyes. James knew what it was: Hope and that made him smile all the more.

"I was hoping that a certain Quarian might be interested in helping me out with the ship and I thought maybe you could talk to her…see if she's interested."

James grinned impishly as he spoke, bowing his head and looking up past his brow with a little smirk.
Although he couldn't see Kari's lips, he could tell she was smiling.

"Oh yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Err..I mean-…" Kari tried to regain her composure; she had almost been jumping up and down with glee.

"I think she will be veryinterested." she grinned teasingly, rapping her arms around James's back and squeezing him tightly.

"Ow-ow-ow!"

"Sorry! Keelah, I'm so sorry!" Kari released her grip immediately, panic entering her voice as she realized she was hurting him.

James grinned weakly and clutched his side. "It's okay. I didn't need those ribs anyway." He smirked teasingly, in an attempt to assuage Kari.

"Looks like she's trying to kill you again."

Came a voice from the door, They both turned around to see Tullius and Aesha standing just outside the door, bags in hand and Tullius in a full suit of red and black combat armour.

"And did I hear someone say, roadtrip?"

James stood back to his full height again, a chuckle forming in his throat.

"So did you ask her yet?"

Kari looked over at James, a little smirk on her lips as she raised an eyebrow.

James nodded, with a wolfish grin. "You saw how she attacked me."

Tullius shook his head, "Told you…should have just sent her an email."

James shrugged, "Eh figured the personal touch was better."

"And did you also figure that you perhaps should have asked me first? Hmm?" Kari pointed out, her voice playful as she crossed her arms in mock anger over her chest.

"Well… I saved the best for last, of course."

Kari smiled and released her arms to give him another, softer hug.

"Good answer."

"Hey! I'm standing right here, you know!"

James grinned. "Sorry Tullius, but she brought me ice-cream for two weeks straight."

Tullius threw his hands up in mock indignation as he turned to Aesha.

"I knew it. I told you all along, Aesh, friendship is based on bribes."

Aesha just shook her head and smiled.

"Well, come on." James said after he and Kari broke their hug

"Let's go get a ship."

"It's a very fine vessel-ssshhhhh-I'm glad you came along-shhhhhhh-when you did." The stubby looking volus said as he led the four potential buyers to the docking ring.

"I would have-sshhhhh-hated to send her to the-shhhhhh-smelter."

James walked behind the volus at a rather causal pace, keeping his usually long strides short so not to over-take the much smaller Volus. Kari was at this side, keeping step with him, and Tullius and Aesha were behind them.

James took a sidelong glance at Kari as they walked, the volus Dovin Kang continuing on in his short bursts of droning speech about the Halcyon.

Although James had seen her every day since he had first met her on Eden Prime, he had never actually looked at her.

Kari was tall for a Quarian, James figured about 1.8 meters, give or take a few centimeters, although she lost a bit of that height because she tended to slump a bit. It was hardly noticeable, but it told him much of her personality.

Even if he hadn't known her, James could have told you that she wasn't a particularly bold sort. Her body language was withdrawn, cloistered, taciturn. Yet there seemed to be a gentleness about her, something that made James just want to hug her.

But it wasn't just her mannerism that kept his gaze. He studied her envirosuit carefully. It was a rather old looking thing, well worn in several places, with what looked like interlocking sections of under-armour beneath the plates.
It looked much like the stuff James had bought back at the surplus store, but instead of being one long strip of fabric it was cut into sections.

James remembered Kari mention that their suits were designed to allow easy field repair and first aid treatment to be applied without breaking having to remove the suit.

Yet, most of the suit's inner workings were hidden from his view by the long piece of deep vibrant purple fabric that was tied tightly around her body.
It started at thigh level, drawing snugly around her bottom and hips, crossing in front of her stomach and wrapping up and around the small of her back.
From there one of the tails of the frabic was brought up and across her right chest and hooked over her left shoulder and then back down across her back.

The excess material, formed the suit's hood that fell just a little bit longer than the average, nearly covering her eyes from sight. The fabric itself looked like it had once born a silver crested wave pattern, but it had faded from the material with age.

The style was typical for a young Quarian woman to wear, one that had not yet finished her pilgrimage. Yet, despite its somewhat worn appearance, James found the ensemble strangely alluring. The snug nature of the suit, and how the weave of the fabric drew one's eye to the natural curves and bends of Kari's form…

Kari noticed his overly long glance and looked up at him curiously. James turned his head away quickly, his cheeks burning from embarrassment.

No.

James turned scolded himself for thinking such thoughts about Kari.

She was Quarian girl, he was a human, and while they had become close over these last few weeks, James knew their relationship had been born of necessity rather than desire for the other's company.

That doesn't seem right. I do desire her company…but then again the same can be said of Tullius and Aesha.

James thought, his pace becoming a bit slower as he gazed at the back of Dovin Kang's head pensively.
Even if I did like her, in that way…there's no way it could work.

She's coming with us because she needs to find something to take back to the Migrant Fleet and staying with us is her best option at this point.

The other part of James's mind piped up again.

Yes, but then why did she stay with you when you had no ship, and had no future?

James frowned, his face was starting to turn flush in frustration.

Well- she was just keeping a promise to her friends on Eden Prime.

But wasn't saving you a kindness? She fulfilled her promise then. Face it, she stayed because she wantedto.

James grumbled sub-vocally. It was mental enough having an argument with yourself…it was worse to lose it.

Just shut the hell up.

Although, James had to admit to himself, that...err...himself, was right. Kari could have left at any time. She could have moved on, found somewhere else to go. She had a shuttle, it wasn't like she was stuck with him. No, she had chosen to stay.

For what reason, James wasn't entirely sure, but he had to admit, the realization made him feel rather affectionate towards her.

He decided to suppress his feelings, however, for they could never be together. They were from different species, had different cultures, even their animo-acids were incompatible.

But, then again...

His thoughts were interrupted by a large gun-metal grey security door that loomed over them.

Loading Bay B-4

The large letters over the doorway read.

"Here-sssssshhhh- we are." The volus said, swiping his omni-tool with a waving motion across the security door. The door beeped and whoosed open.

James looked up…
He wasn't sure exactly how he would feel, seeing the Halcyon again…but now that he was standing here…looking up at her….

"As you can see-sshhhh-the ship's taken quite a breating-sssshhhh-but the damage is mostly superficial. She's structurally sound-sssshhhh-she just needs some love."

James nodded slowly, pensively. James had seen the ship many times before, and each time it filled him with a sense of quiet awe, but this time, it felt more personal…as if he was looking into a dim reflection of himself.

"That she does…I'll take her."

The Volus turned around, looking up at the human with a bit of surprise. "You will? You don't want to-ssshhhhh-see the inside first?"

James shook his head, there was no doubt in his mind anymore. The Halcyon would be his, she was strong, she was graceful, and she had been thrown out by the Alliance when she ceased to be useful.

She was perfect.

"No, I've seen enough. I want to buy her, but maybe….we can talk about the price?"

The volus tilted his head and crossed his arms. "Prices-ssshhhh-are final." He stated with mild irritation. He was obviously used to customers thinking they could haggle with a scrap-dealer.

James smiled sagely.

"Yes, but like you said before…she's been stripped of all but her core and main computer. I want to refit her…and I'd be willing to send a few more credits your way…if we can do business…"

Dovin Kang seemed to ponder this for a moment, the tight lattice of his stubby arms loosening visibly. Finally he waved his hand acceptingly.

"Alright, we can do business. I have-sssshhhhh- a selection of older Alliance tech-ssssshhhhh- that I think would work well for-sshhhhhhh- getting her back on her feet."

James smiled and offered his hand to the Volus. Dovin hesitated for a moment before clasping it with his own tiny stub of a hand.

The volus offered what looked like a friendly tip of his head.

"I can change the registry name, if you'd like as well…no charge."

James looked up at the ship's side, where the name Halcyon, was scrawled in navy blue ink.

James turned to Tullius, Kari and Aesha. His gaze focused on each one of them, studying their faces. He wanted to remember this moment.

He turned back to Dovin,

"We'll call her Revenant…"