A/N: Time to give a bit more screen time to the new people on the Normandy. Also, I couldn't resist adding a little twist after discovering that the captain we meet during the N7 Cyone mission is a N7 graduate. Hope you'll enjoy. :)
Chapter 99 - The New Faces of the Normandy
The first thing that Shepard sees after arriving back on the Normandy, is Lieutenant Vega's naked torso as he turns around and flexes his muscles before her, then facing Shepard with a disturbingly wide grin. "Like it, Lola?" he asks, sounding very pleased with himself.
"...James, are you really that desperate to try and take advantage of me after I've had a few beers?" Morgan glares at him, even if she finds it difficult to concentrate enough to summon a harsh stare.
"Umm, Morgan, I believe the Lieutenant was referring to the new tattoo on his back," Liara speaks next to her.
"Oh... oh, right..." Morgan manages, trying to focus and the spinning images slowly stop moving to form an elaborate drawing of the N7 logo over Vega's left shoulder blade.
Lia'Vael, their new quarian pilot, is crossing the CIC at that exact moment, gasping as she sees the exposed James. "Keelah, you're still out of your suit, Lieutenant!" the quarian looks horrified. "Commander, he's been walking around like this for the past two hours, showing off his tattoo! Please, tell him to put his suit back on, this is dangerous!" she squeaks, hurrying back to the bridge.
"Heh... quarians," James shakes his head, then peering at Shepard. "Lola, you are pissed, aren't you?"
"No," says Shepard.
"Yes," says Liara.
James bursts out in laughter. "Well, you two can argue about that," he says. "Just wanted to show you my new tattoo, Lola. I thought about what we spoke of the N7 program, and figured you were right... I should accept. Since there are no official channels to go through right now, I figured I'll get inked as my... well, initiation."
"Wish I'd had it that easy in my days... but no, they had to drag me through all that crap on Arcturus," Shepard grumbles, memories surfacing in her muddy feeling mind. "Met so many frigging politicians and dignitaries, started to feel like one of them myself... when I was done shaking hands with all the celebrities, I had almost forgotten what it was to be a soldier."
"Yeah, should have gone with a tattoo, Lola," James grins. "You could still get one, you know? If you don't want the N7 logo, you can always ink my name somewhere special... or the Doc's name, I mean..." he adds hastily, feeling the full power of Liara's glare.
"Lieutenant Vega, I would advise you to stop making irresponsible suggestions while the Commander's reasoning capabilities are severely impaired," Liara barks at James, the Lieutenant slowly backing away, finally deciding that it would be a good idea to put his shirt back on.
"I didn't understand all of that, but somehow I suspect I was insulted at some point," Shepard mumbles, looking accusingly at Liara.
"As for you..." Liara pulls Shepard along with her towards the elevator. "I have no patience to wait until you sleep this off. No, we're going to get something from Dr. Michel to purge your system... and I do not care how unpleasant this process will be."
"When did you become so... so cruel," Shepard cries theatrically, as Liara unceremoniously drags her towards the medbay. Quarter of an hour later, she finds herself sitting on one of the beds and drinking a disgusting but very effective fizzy drink, clearing her head from the pleasantly warm and misty haze, and swiftly returning a sharp, clinical focus to her senses.
"How are you feeling, Commander?" she sees Dr. Michel's charming smile before her.
"Hmm... I feel completely rejuvenated!" Shepard nods gratefully. "Thanks, Doc! I mean, it tasted absolutely foul, but it sure did the trick."
"Yes, thank you, Dr. Michel," Liara agrees with the sentiment. "Have you managed to settle in on the Normandy?"
"It is a work in process," the petite Frenchwoman replies. "I have caught up with Dr. Chakwas' reports on the crew health, so I have some ideas of what to expect, Dr. T'Soni. Though... I must say, I did not expect to encounter a living Prothean onboard. At least Karin has left some helpful notes."
"He's... not exactly the most grateful or understanding individual on the Normandy," Shepard sighs. "In fact, he's usually a real pain in the ass. Just ignore his comments and you'll do fine, Doc."
"Yes... the notes of Dr. Chakwas said exactly that," Chloe Michel grins. "The crew appears in an excellent shape overall, and the medbay is well stocked, which is no surprise, Karin has always been exceptionally thorough. But the most interesting file to read, as you can well imagine Commander, was yours... I understand that Dr. Chakwas was regularly in contact with the R&D labs on the Shalta Wards?"
"That's correct," Morgan nods. "Even though she believed that she had a good idea just what my implants did, nobody really had a satisfying explanation how they did it. Not even the Cerberus scientists who put me back together."
"Maybe Miranda just likes having one more trump card at her disposal for when she really needs it," Liara muses, her suspicions catching Shepard a little by surprise.
"Well... I actually do trust her on this," she looks at Liara, before turning back to Dr. Michel. "But if you would like to continue digging into this, I certainly don't mind. If those scientists can think of something to let me squeeze out a few more years after the war, I certainly won't complain."
"You've never talked about this before," Liara says, crossing her hands on her chest, her stare a little reprimanding as she directs it at Morgan. "Just how much time they are giving you?"
"They weren't really sure, but..." Morgan hesitates, remembering Karin's warning that the prognosis she was given might not be very accurate, but Liara is clearly expecting an answer and Shepard knows she can't avoid giving her something. "Two hundred, give or take."
Liara allows herself a small smile. "That's... that's good. That's very good."
"Yeah, let's just make sure there is after the war..." Morgan mutters.
"Commander, I also asked for an update from Admiral Hackett's medical team assisting the quarian doctors on their liveship... the Rayya, I believe," Dr. Michel speaks up. "I received the reply mere moments before you entered the medbay."
"Good news, I hope?" Shepard asks, feeling very anxious.
"I would say so," the doctor is browsing through the message on her computer screen. "Joker is responding very well to the treatment, and they will be bringing him out of the artificial coma tomorrow. Still, it will take a lot of time before he can fly the Normandy again."
"He'll demand to be strapped back into the pilot's seat as soon as he regains consciousness," Morgan smiles, Liara nodding, enthusiastically agreeing with her assessment.
"The young private is suffering from shock and extreme case of PTSD, but the doctors believe that they can help. Whether she will be able to return to active service is too early to say, but the most important thing is to make sure that she is able to live a normal life," Chloe Michel explains, Shepard agreeing with a nod. "And lastly, Dr. Chakwas is still deep in coma... but, from what I can read, there are encouraging signs of brain activity. Enough for the doctors to boost her odds of full recovery to 70%."
"Well... that's something, at least," Shepard manages a small smile. "We won't keep you any longer, Dr. Michel. Enjoy the little downtime and get up to speed with everything while you still can. Once we return to the field, things here are bound to get a little hectic..."
"So, have you two settled in?" Samantha Traynor pokes her head into the engineering deck, watching Daniels and Donnelly already running scans and checking measurement consoles, their belongings having been tossed aside, sitting unpacked.
"Some things are just more important," Donnelly replies, not peeling his eyes away from the consoles. "But at least it appears as if the Alliance retrofit team has not ruined too much."
"It's like being back home again," Daniels sighs, looking happy. "We will be fine, thank you for asking, Specialist Traynor."
"Oh, just Samantha, please," Traynor chuckles.
"Only if you call me Gabby," Daniels replies, smiling, before pointing at Donnelly. "And this big lug in Ken."
"What? Uh... yeah, sure, sure..." Donnelly shrugs, before his eyes manage to catch a glance of Traynor. At once, Ken snaps around and bows deeply, taking Traynor's hand. "I mean... it's a pleasure to meet you, Samantha..." he says, eyeing her admiringly.
"Very smooth, Kenneth," Gabby rolls her eyes, elbowing her colleague in the ribs. "I must apologize on his behalf, he tends to make the female crew miserable with his comments on every ship he serves..."
"Oh... right," Samantha laughs. "Sorry, Ken... but you're barking up the completely wrong tree with me."
"Eh, was just being polite," Ken shrugs, before giving her an inquiring stare. "Tell me, Samantha... I heard this rumor that we have two quarian ladies aboard?"
"Umm... yes?" Traynor replies cautiously.
"How do you tell them apart? I mean... what if it's just Tali playing a prank on you all by switching suits?" Kenneth asks.
"Because we've seen them both together?" Sam shrugs. "I just passed them in the mess hall before coming down here."
"But how can you tell them apart?" Donnelly doesn't let go. "I mean, those quarians just look completely alike inside their suits."
"Next you know, he'll suggest examination by touch..." Daniels sighs, tiredly bringing her hand to rub her brow.
"That is a wonderful idea, Gabby!" Donnelly exclaims, rushing off. "I will report back with my findings in a moment."
"I think this would be a good time to alert the medbay about an incoming patient," Gabby groans.
Samantha nods enthusiastically, opening a comm link to Dr. Michel. "Somehow, I feel you are not wrong there..."
"Damn it, what could Hackett want now? He knows we should be looking for the Catalyst... unless he has found some new lead about that, which I doubt," Shepard mutters, pressing the button in the elevator to take her back up to the command deck.
"I don't understand why you're dragging me with you, isn't this something you should handle on your own?" Liara protests, not entirely seriously.
"I just want to hear more about Aria and Tevos," Shepard grins salaciously. "Damn, I can scarcely believe it. That's kinda... hot..."
"Umm... yes, I suppose... though at the time it was mostly embarrassing," Liara admits, blushing a little bit. "I mean, Tevos was completely drenched in sweat. And the look in her eyes... I should have realized what it was right away. Being interrupted during the deep meld of Joining can be very disconcerting and she looked so confused when I barged in with my demands..."
"Should have taken pictures," Shepard chuckles. "Though, I guess Aria would have kicked your ass if you had tried that."
"Well, I'm not surprised you're so interested in that, considering just which vids you have been borrowing from Joker's extensive collection," Liara grins wickedly. "Almost exclusively asari couples? I think I know just what someone here likes to watch..."
"Hey, there were some vids with human and asari pairings too," Morgan replies defensively. "Besides, how do you even know this stuff?"
"Ah, don't forget, Shepard... I'm a very good information broker," Liara winks at her.
"And a bloody good tease..." Shepard sighs in response to that. "Anyway," she then pushes the combination of commands to accept the call from Hackett, the shape of her superior officer drifting into her view. "Admiral, good to see you. I hope you don't mind the presence of Dr. T'Soni."
"It is acceptable, Commander. Doctor," he nods to Liara. "Is there any progress on the Catalyst?"
"We have a lead, but we are waiting for news from our recon team and it might take several days before we can act upon it," she explains, for Liara's benefit deciding to withhold the information that the asari might have been sitting on the Catalyst intel all this time. Or, the fact that Councilor Tevos and Aria, the Queen of Omega, are flying recon for us. That sounds even too crazy to believe!
"Good, because I have something that you might be interested in helping with," Hackett says. "About 72 hours ago, the reactors at a joint turian-asari fuel depot on Cyone went offline. The station appears deserted for no apparent reason. I'm certain that Dr. T'Soni is very much aware of the importance of Cyone for the asari war effort."
Liara nods next to her. "Cyone is one of the major fuel providers for the starships of our fleets. The loss of these resources would be a major blow."
"I sent a team to investigate, but they have not reported back," Hackett continues. "I'd like you to go in and do recon, before I commit a larger force to take back the site. Considering who was in charge of the previous team, I figured you'll want to lend a hand."
"Eh? Someone I know?" Shepard asks, rubbing her brow thoughtfully.
"I'm sure you still remember your fellow N7's. The engineering team is under the command of Captain Riley."
"Captain Riley? Captain Lee Riley?" Shepard asks in disbelief, Hackett merely nodding in reply. "Aw, shit. Of course, I'll get there immediately."
"Thank you, Commander," Hackett replies. "The coordinates have been sent to your pilot... uh, by the way, Shepard... just who is this bubbly sounding girl that you've replaced Moreau with?"
"Oh, just yet another young quarian genius," Shepard smiles in reply. "Don't worry, sir, she's alright." Hackett gives her a slightly dubious glance but then shrugs, his image slowly fading.
"Who is this Captain Lee Riley, Morgan?" Liara asks her softly.
"We went through our N7 training together, many years ago. Grew quite close," Morgan replies, then letting out a sigh. "Yes... there is more. We grew... more than close. She was my last serious relationship before I met you, Liara."
"Did something happen? Why did you break up?" Liara asks.
"There was no row, nothing of that sort... but we N7's had it rough, constantly being sent to opposing corners of the galaxy. For the last year that we were 'technically' together, we saw each other maybe twice. Can't really make that kind of a relationship work. So I guess you could say we just simply drifted apart."
"Any regrets?"
"No, not really... well, alright, maybe there were a few," Shepard says, then blossoming into a smile as she wraps her arms around her bondmate. "But then I met you..."
"Hoo-rah!" Lia'Vael nar Ulnay cheers, as the Citadel flight coordinators wish them a pleasant journey and the Normandy takes off, heading towards the Widow System mass relay. "I'm flying the famous Normandy on a real mission! Uh... we are, of course," she quickly corrects herself, fearfully looking at EDI in hopes that the synthetic has not taken offense. "Silean Nebula, here we come!"
"I cannot decide upon my preferences in this matter, Joker's depreciatory pessimism or your exuberant optimism," EDI says thoughtfully, as they swiftly make their way towards the mass relay.
"Pessimism doesn't sound like a lot of fun," Lia remarks. "Hey, if flying this beauty of a ship would be my permanent job, my head would probably crack and split to pieces from the huge grin on my face. Hey... yeah, I know you can't see it under the mask! But it's there, I swear!"
"Joker loved flying the Normandy above everything else. He simply had a... unique way of showing his appreciation," EDI explains.
"Ahh, must be one of those strange human mannerisms, I just can't get used to them at all!" Lia'Vael shakes her head. "Did you know that human males show appreciation for the opposite gender by pinching them on the butt? So strange! But I shouldn't be rude towards other cultures..."
"That most certainly is not socially acceptable behavior, Lia'Vael," EDI makes what sounds like a deep sigh. "Whoever told you this nonsense?"
"Umm... it was that new engineer. Kenneth vas Donnelly?"
"Almost correct, without the 'vas', Lia'Vael," EDI says. "But yes, alas, this is consistent with previous behavior patterns of Mr. Donnelly. You should treat anything he says with a degree of suspicion and always verify his words with other sources."
"So... Admiral Zorah did not cause a diplomatic incident by punching Mr. Donnelly on the chin after he pinched her buttocks?" Lia'Vael asks in a perfectly innocent voice.
"Not in the least. In fact, I believe she did the females of all species in this galaxy a small favor."
"And when Mr. Donnelly invited me to a private session of strip poker, it wasn't done with the noble intention of promoting greater cross-species understanding?"
"Most definitely NOT!" EDI actually somehow manages to shudder.
"I have no idea what strip poker is, but it didn't sound good," Lia'Vael shakes her head. "I'm so glad to have you here, EDI, with all your useful advice. You're the greatest!"
"You are... quite alright too, Lia'Vael nar Ulnay," EDI remarks. "I believe we will get along just fine..."