"EDI, I've lost complete faith in you. How could you do this to me?"
The fact that the mobile platform looked so offended by this statement made Tanith immediately regret her words. Holding her hands up in surrender, she sighed.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just figured Cerberus software would be easy for you to get rid of."
"Without wanting to mislead you, Crewman Delano, I told you it would be time consuming. I did not say it would be difficult. I've uploaded and linked in to your omni-tool, using my spare memory to work on the problem. I don't know how long it will take me as the perameters keep changing every time I remove a portion of the malware. " EDI crossed her arms and even managed to look exasperated. "I would suggest backing up as much of your personal data as you can before I begin. I'm uncertain as to how much of it could be lost if my attempts backfire."
Tanith mumbled something about life, at one point, being simple, but nodded at EDI. "Alright. Start tonight, say 2100? I'll have it ready to go by then."
"Your personal interface will still be functional, to a degree, but I wouldn't recommend over-taxing it or communicating with it until I let you know how much progress I've obtained."
"Thanks EDI."
Tanith turned to leave.
"Crewman Delano."
She paused, tilting her head to look at the mobile platform of her ship's AI. "Yes?"
"If your desire is to communicate with loved ones or friends, I'm sure the Commander will be happy to let you use the Normandy comm room to achieve your goals. Several of the crew have asked permission to do so to reach relatives on other colonies and space stations. I do not see there being an issue should you request the same."
o0o0o0o0o
EDI's suggestion was pretty fantastic; Tani didn't know why she hadn't thought of it before. Permission was granted to her fairly quickly, and she added her name to the free schedule for a one hour slot at a time during the third shift. It was 50/50 she'd actually ring Lorik at a decent hour, but at this point, she'd settle for leaving him a breathy voicemail message with lots of swear words and wet noises in the background.
As revenge only, of course.
The full 3D holo communicator was something Tani rarely got to play with, on the Normandy or otherwise. It wasn't that it was inconvenient, it was just rare to find one for public use. Most folks couldn't afford something like this standard either sending or receiving, it was still a fairly information-heavy form of communication.
But she knew for a fact Lorik had one in his personal offices.
For some ridiculous reason, she treated her preparation for the call like a date. And not just any date, but the first one. She scrubbed herself from head to toe and did that thing to her hair that made it extra full and wavy. She even made herself smell extra nice. Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror after she'd dressed, she rolled her eyes at her own appearance and bit her tongue as she smiled.
Well I'll be damned. I missed him. The thought wasn't as suprising as she had anticipated it to be. She had a lot of feelings for Lorik. She might even ... uh ... that-L-word-thing him. She could blame her hesitance on her baggage or her fears or this stupid fucked up war, but it was a fact that she still didn't know how she really felt.
Questions about the future and her heart swam behind her eyes, sobering her expression in the mirror faster than thoughts of Elcor vomit or Hanar pornography. She sighed at herself and gathered her things out of the communal bathroom, determined to not let it get her down too much; she wanted Lorik to be happy to see her, not worried she was calling him to tell him she was breaking it off with him. Or riddled with cancer.
Third shift was essentially the 'night' shift, and while most ships had an equal number of crew present during every shift, most ships didn't have EDI. Spoiled by their AI, the crew rarely missed out on each other or stressed too much about work not getting done; EDI was more than happy to handle the slack. Not that there was any.
The corridors were quiet and empty, and Tanith resisted the urge to skip out of the elevator and into the CIC. It was still fairly abandoned, and the single guard on shift on her way to the comm room and tactical area did little more than nod at her in greeting, marking her name off the posted schedule.
She was so anxious and excited her hands were shaking when she entered the large comm cubicle, fingers trembling as she tapped in her call request. She fussed with her simple white tank and long dark hair, running her hands down her full hips and checking to make sure everything was buttoned, zipped, and tucked in while the request processed. After a minute, she found herself whispering little prayers, bouncing on her toes, long hair swinging.
Oh gosh darnit ... he's not going to be there, he won't be available.. Looks like I'll have to leave a message after all...
She fought the disappointment and lifted her chin in resignation. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat, ready to-
"-orik Qui'in, Administrator of Port Hanshan, Noveria. Who is-"
"Oh crap-" squeaked Tanith in surprise.
There was a lurch as the figure darted forward in the holo grid, presumably at the controls to tighten the feed. As he came into clear focus, just as she was sure her image was on his end, Tanith felt her hands cover her mouth as her tall, dark Turian lover manifested in light and energy not two feet from her.
"Tanith!" he gasped, elated, startled, relieved... he took a step forward, the motion not registering on her end, but she could see he reached for her image, just as she would have. She felt tears on her face, and laughed at how ridiculous the two of them were.
"I got your letters," she gasped, smiling through the emotion, leaning forward to make it easier for him to see her. "I'm still working on most of them, but I couldn't reply. Cerberus-"
"I know, I know, my girl, it's quite alright, I thought as much. Tanith... Tanith it's good to see you safe. Where are you transmitting from? Wait, no, maybe I shouldn't- are you really, truly safe, at least?" He looked so concerned, brow-plates furrowed, fringe bristling a little, limbs anxious and shoulders tight.
Hell. Maybe I do love him.
Feeling her heart swell at his endearments and concern, she shook her head. "Somewhere safe, but I don't know for how long, or if I'll even make it to you any time soon. But yes, somewhere safe. Is the feed scrambled? You can't see origin of call?"
"No, it's why I answered it myself. My silly assisstant was going to let it go to comm-mail."
Tanith laughed. "Don't be too hard on him. I would have too."
His mandibles twitched; he did like her laughter, and had said as much in the past. "Tani..." he breathed. "How much time do we have?"
"Just an hour. But I can check in every so often-"
"No, don't promise me anything. Things here aren't ... as stable as I like, and I don't trust anyone or anything here. There's been a shift of power in certain parts of my facilities, and I'm sure you know which. I may have to put a call into our old friend Shepard if this keeps up. "
Tanith was no good at poker, but she kept most of her face still when he said that.
Most of it.
His browplates rose and he straightened a little. He cleared his throat. "I'm sure it will settle down soon, though."
Code for 'things are going to blow up if it stays this way for much longer, I think help will be in order soon.' Message received; she was going to need to pass the word on to her Commander.
Tani gave a small smile. "That's good to hear." Code for 'I got you.'
The relief on his face was palpable, but only for a moment. His shoulders squared and he gave a small nod to her, smiling back. "So, besides being safe and sound where you are, how are you?" The relief became amusement and comfortable affection within the span of a breath.
She considered her options to his question. It was obvious he was worried about eavesdropping, and she didn't blame him. For her part, she didn't want to talk to him about the massacre of her friends and her escape ... yet. She was still trying to deal with that herself, not to mention it could red-flag him for all kinds of Cerberus trouble. Rather, imore/i Cerberus trouble, if she had heard his hint correctly.
As she mused over her responses, gazing at his tall form and missing him and everything about him, she idly rubbed her neck, fingers passing over the scar there.
Then she jerked and jabbed a finger towards his glowing image. "You! You marked me funny!" she accused, loving how he didn't even jump. Instead he looked amused, holding his hands behind his back, shoulders relaxing as he regarded her.
"Oh? How do you mean?"
"I have Turians hitting on me!"
"That's hardly my fault if you display your neck as you do. On a Turian woman, it's mark of ownership, but her Turian mate usually carries one to match. On a ihuman/i? I'd imagine it's much more provacative as... somewhat else. An advertisement of your tastes, perhaps. And your abilities." His mandibles flicked with humor at that last bit. "Mostly to other Turians."
Tanith felt herself flushing. "Yes I gathered that," she snapped. "But if it's a claim, as you say, why are there those who almost seem to disregard what it means, as mark of claim?"
He threw his head back and laughed. She tried not to feel indignant, but knew some of it registered on her face.
"Oh, my dear," he chuckled, a little breathless. "Humans. I forget how you are about sex and monogamy. The two aren't mutually exclusive, you know. In fact, while knowing I'm the only one that can touch you is sometimes an awe-inspiring thing, it's absolutely bizarre that you'd think I'd ask you to keep to yourself. I understand your sexual practices and relationship issues are tied up with this idea that sex with another individual can sometimes negate the validity of one-"
Tanith crossed her eyes at him. He stopped talking and sighed.
"Turians are, in general, much more relaxed about sex and relationships and mating than you humans seems to be. If your concern is about remaining ... ah ... 'faithful' ..." he ventured.
Uh oh. Dangerous territory. Tanith held up her hands in surrender. "No, I just want to know why being visbly 'claimed' isn't deterring any of the advances I've received." Advance. Single. She was such a bad liar.
Lorik twitched a brow at her, mandibles flaring in a small smile. "You're available and capable, my dear, beautiful girl, equal in pursuit rights as a Turian woman. If a Turian man finds you attractive, he can express interest in sex or in something more meaningful. Whether you accept him in either regard is up to you."
Tanith let this sink in, trying not to squirm where she stood. "You guys are a strange, spikey bunch," she muttered. His image chuckled softly at her.
"And you humans are a lot of squishy prudes. May I be so bold as to offer advice?" he ventured.
She nodded.
"If you're inclined to accept an offer but resist because of some sort of human monogamous honor, I would tell you not to. I am certainly not receiving any such offers, and frankly I'm a little jealous. Of you. A decent romp in the covers would do this poor body some good right now."
His casual commentary had her giggling before she could stop herself, and his smile in response made her month.
"Can I ask ... who is he?" he murmured, tilting his head at her.
That brought her back down to earth, blushing furiously. She mumbled.
Lorik made a show of leaning forward. "Pardon? I'm old darling, remember that."
Tanith glared at him. "Garrus Vakarian."
His eyes went wide in surprise, and he straightened tightly. "My. You are quite the prize to attract the attention of such a man."
She blinked. "What do you mean?"
He blinked right back at her. "I can count on one hand how many bodies he is from the position of Primarch. And he's a general now, as well, last I heard. At complete disposal to the invasion rebuttal on Palaven too, correct?"
That definitely took her by surprise; how had he learned all that and she'd barely remembered til now? "...oh."
"Well, now I'm absurdly proud to have claimed you first. That he should fancy my girl... and such a lovely young man himself, too. Mmm." He stared off into the distance, mandibles flicking now and then. "This is liable to warm me to sleep every night for now until I get my hands on you again."
She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him, amazed, blushing, and no little amused herself now. "A lovely young man, Lorik?" she asked, arching her eyebrow in turn at him. "Something you'd like to tell me?"
He actually rolled his eyes at her. "Yes. You humans are all prudes and have no idea what you're missing by restricting yourself by both species and gender. Sassy thing."
She bristled at him, and he laughed at her.
o0o0o0o0o0o
The call progressed and wound down after that, small talk and words of vague endearment, and some not so vague banter about what would happen next time they saw each other, vid or otherwise. She promised to strip half way and he promised to growl at her. In the end, they were both smiling.
"Take care of yourself out there, Lorik," she murmured, hand hovering over the signal command. "I'll contact you when I can."
"And you too, my girl. I hope to see you in one piece soon." His figured bowed, his eyes gentle, warm, and sincere. "Until next time." He paused, leaning closer. "And ... good luck with your new suitor, should you choose to pursue him."
Rolling her eyes, she stuck her tongue out at him. "Dirty old man."
"Brazen little girl."
She gave him a small smile, and ended the call.