Title: Virmire Part Twelve (2)
Author: DinkyMew
Game: Mass Effect (one)
Disclaimer: Bioware owns all characters and content related to the Mass Effect franchise. Abigail Shepard is my own creation inspired by the character of Jane Shepard created by Bioware. Any original characters contained herein are my own creations and are not necessarily affiliated with Bioware. **You may not copy, distribute or edit this fanfiction as it stands without my expressed permission – thank you **
Characters Featured: Original Character Argyle Hobbins 'Hobbs'; Kaidan Alenko; Garrus Vakarian; Urdnot Wrex
When he left Shepards cabin his mind was racing. He'd known she was angry, had expected the outburst and was willing to take it all on the chin to let her get it out of her system but he never expected to feel the emotion that he did as her words dug into him.
'You. Left. Me.' Her words had carried such conviction that he had been startled for the first time in what seemed to be a long time.
He'd never looked at it from that point of view before and a lot of things pertaining to their relationship after that day started to click into place like pieces of a jigsaw that had been staring him straight in the face for years.
He shook his head as he moved through the ship's crew deck to the elevator. As the heavy door slowly hummed into life and slid down he lingered on the words a while longer, slamming the button to go down.
'…things have changed…' she was right on that account as well, things had changed for both of them. His feelings for Shepard had persevered over the years but the nature of his job now left little to no time for any meaningful relationships.
He wondered idly if he'd give that up for Shepard.
Before his mind could wander to a conclusion though the elevator came to an abrupt halt and the doors churned down to reveal a darkened level, illuminated mostly by floor lights on the walkway that stretched out from the lift. Hobbs stepped out and surveyed the landscape, pushing thoughts of Shepard out of his head.
He'd wanted to see the layout of the Normandy first hand since he heard of its construction. He'd seen numerous blueprints and had been privy to conversations about it and it seemed fairly bland and ordinary to him, but now he was on board he realised the vision that had been made reality.
The ship was beautiful with its intricate curves and weaves amongst its many nooks and intricacies. It was certainly the best alliance ship he'd ever been on. And he had been on a lot.
The turian who had introduced himself as Garrus cast an impassive look in his direction, the sound of his boots clunking on the walkway drawing his attention, and offered Hobbs a curt nod which he returned before Garrus returned to the console.
Hobbs had no real love of Turians but Garrus seemed different somehow. He hadn't spent long enough in the Turians company to know any more than that, but the intelligence he'd read on Garrus seemed to affirm his belief.
He turned his head to the other side as he approached the far side of the lower deck and was surprised to see the hulking frame of a Krogan standing amongst a rack of weapons, cleaning them thoroughly.
Hobbs had read the full report on Urdnot Wrex, there were many files detailing the Krogans numerous exploits which endeared Hobbs to the Krogan immediately, but there was no words in the report which did justice to Wrexs' powerful presence.
Hobbs hadn't expected to find the Krogan cleaning weapons though.
As he approached the Krogan grunted at him, deep and gruff. Hobbs simply grunted back and picked up a rifle and began to strip it. He placed the parts caerfully on the table before them and studiously began cleaning them in stages. It was good work, methodical, and it helped him to put aside the emotions he was feeling.
"What do you want." Wrex growled when Hobbs began re-assembling the rifle.
He shrugged "I was just exploring the Normandy. Thought you could use a hand."
There was a guttural noise that sounded like a guffaw but as Hobbs looked up to match the Krogans experienced eyes that drilled into him through a grizzled and scarred face he saw no signs of humour there.
"You know" Hobbs began "I fought a Krogan once. Biggest damn Krogan I've ever seen." He lifted another rifle from the rack and moved smoothly back to the table, stripping the weapon down as before.
"They say when you go hand to hand with a Krogan, you've got to look out for the head, but they don't tell you it's the quad that really crushes you."
When the Krogan looked down at him he made a hand gesture to suggest overly elaborate parts.
At first he thought he had offended the hulking Krogan as a low growl began to emanate from his large mouth. The lipless maw peeled back to reveal two lines of glittering sharp teeth.
Slowly he put the parts of the rifle down ready to defend himself until he realised the Krogan was laughing. He let out a chuckle of his own and returned to cleaning the weapon.
When Wrexs' laughter died down and he returned to the business of cleaning the weapons the air between them felt decidedly more comfortable.
"Name's Wrex" the Krogan grunted.
"Hobbs" was the reply.
The work continued for another few moments before Hobbs decided he was finished and re-assembled the rifle and retuned it in its retracted state to the weapons rack. He leaned back against the locker and watched Wrex as he went about finishing his work. The Krogan's muscles bunched and flexed with every movement, radiating power and strength. Hobbs wasn't lying when he said he'd fought a Krogan before and he would remember that fight for the remainder of his days.
'Next time I have to fight a Krogan, it'll be from a distance, with a Sniper Rifle and an army standing between us.' He thought to himself with a wry smile.
Wrex seemed to be having a hard time with the re-assembly of an alliance model rifle so Hobbs stepped over, careful not to step too close for comfort. Krogan's enjoyed their personal space and it was a direct affront if you overstepped that boundary too early.
"See the spring on the underbelly" he reached out with a finger gesturing to the area he was meaning. "You've got it in the wrong way 'round."
This time there was a growl from the Krogan as he yanked the spring out and fumbled with it for a moment. He still wasn't getting it right and Hobbs was about to offer further assistance when the Krogan grabbed the incomplete rifle and launched it against a nearby column. Hobbs could only watch as it fell apart and crashed into pieces against the metal-grate floor.
"I'm guessing you don't do this often." Hobbs offered, his tone light but carefully without sarcasm. Krogans were volatile and unpredictable at the best of times, though the reports he'd read suggested that Wrex was surprisingly in control of his temperament.
Wrex merely grunted and returned the pieces he'd cleaned back to the rack where Hobbs stood.
"I know how a gun works. I don't care if it's clean, I just need to know that you point and shoot and things die." The Krogan elaborated. "And human models are unnecessarily complicated." He grunted with a final addendum.
The low light of the deck hid the ghost of a smile that flitted across Hobbs' face. Before he could say anything the Krogan began again in his deep gravelled voice, rumbling and reverberating over the natural hum of the Normandy.
"Williams did most of the weapons housekeeping." Hobbs knew that he was referring to Ashley, and when he said the words it seemed to Hobbs that he was grinding the words out. The entire crew was devastated by their most recent loss and it was plain to see.
"It's good that you're keeping it going for her. I think she'd have liked that." He offered but the sentiment was lost on the Krogan.
"Bullshit. She would have hated the idea. Girl wasn't much for alien races." Wrex seemed to be struggling with his emotions and it was understandable in the given situation.
Over the walkway Garrus had turned his head to observe the interaction. "But she was a fierce warrior. Damned if I wasn't starting to like her."
Hobbs didn't know what to say, how to find a way to assuage the Krogan so he simply stood there, and they remained in silence for a while. This crew seemed remarkably close for such a diverse roster. Asari, Turian, Krogan and human all under one roof – had he read it in a report he would have expected a warzone, but what he felt on the Normandy was something akin to family – and the common denominator was Shepard. It was her who brought the races together in such a fashion and held them together with undeniably impressive skill.
But then, he had never doubted her skills.
"Let's go for a drink" Hobbs offered. "I don't suppose you've got any Ryncol stashed away anywhere do you?" The answer to which was met with the same rumbling guttural laugh that he'd heard earlier in their conversation.
"You amuse me little man." The Krogan bellowed. "I have Ryncol, but it's not a drink for humans, unless you want to lose the next 12 hours." He laughed again and Hobbs shivered, remembering the last time he'd tried the Krogan drink.
"Maybe you're right" Hobbs admitted. "Let's see what the Normandy has to offer." He raised his voice an octave "Garrus!" he exclaimed "Care to join us?" But the Turian wasn't buying into it.
Not surprising given the obvious tension between Turian and Krogan. But they'd been working together in close proximity for a while and they hadn't killed each other and that had to be a good sign.
"Well you know where we'll be if you change your mind" and with that they set off for the Mess Hall, Hobbs following behind the lumbering figure of the massive Krogan, his ruby red armour glinting against the floor light.
0 -
The night had passed quickly as he and Wrex drank in the corner of the mess hall away from the crew members as they went about their duties or came to share a sombre toast to Ashley after hours.
Wrex had turned out to be much more amicable than Hobbs had initially expected and the two had shared war stories for the better part of the evening after the drinks started flowing.
Wrex had brought out his personal supply of Ryncol as he'd attested to having but Hobbs had made an executive decision not to partake of the drink. With the crew still in mourning over losing Ashley it wouldn't look terribly impressive or go down well with Shepard by any means and it was clear that Hobbs would have to try and mend some fences there before he took his leave of the Normandy.
"As I was saying" Hobbs said taking another drink, noticing Kaidan Alenko walking into the Mess Hall out of the corner of his eye. He could see the man collect a drink and sit at the Mess table by himself. "Biotics are a powerful combat tool, but the implant design for humans is seriously flawed."
Wrex grunted in what Hobbs perceived to be acknowledgement and took another great swallow of his green liquid before refilling his glass from a large metal hip-flask that he managed to make look tiny against his massive krogan figure.
From the main table he heard Kaidan give a derisive snort in their general direction. Obviously he'd been listening in and had something to say. For some reason the man seemed to have a vendetta against Hobbs, though as he quickly recalled he had been nothing but polite and courteous to the man since their meeting. He picked up his drink and tipped it to Wrex who nodded in response to his excusal from present company.
Hobbs strolled casually over to the main Mess table where Kaidan sat alone and placed his glass down beside the man.
"Mind if I sit a while?" he said, flashing Kaidan his most winning grin. Kaidan looked him up and down for a moment as if weighing him up. He'd seen this look many times before.
"Sure" came the reply as Hobbs took `the seat regardless. He took a casual drink and cast his blue green eyes on the Lieutenant. Their eyes met and there was a definite tension there, an unspoken battle of some sort that had Hobbs troubled. He didn't mind a fight; but he liked to know what he was fighting for first.
Quietly, he ran back over everything that had been mentioned about the Lieutenant, the fact that he seemed to be held in high regard; his personnel file was exemplary as were his references and commendations; he kept himself to himself – which Hobbs respected, it was a trait he could relate to. He always looked clean and fastidiously dressed – right down to having clean fingernails, he noticed with a raised eyebrow. He couldn't remember when he had last seen a male marine with such clean hands. He scratched his stubbled chin recalling Joker's testament of how the Lieutenant had subverted the romantic attempts of Ashley and cleared his throat to gain the man's attention once more.
"Ok, so I know that men like you have a rather, unique and candid, relationship with women am I right?" he offered with a raise of his eyebrows and was met with a look of confusion.
Maybe Kaidan hadn't been expecting Hobbs to be so forward but he wanted to get past the elephant in the room as soon as possible.
"I appreciate that, and I'm glad that Tempy… I mean Abigail, has someone like you in her life that she can talk to, confide in." he was solemn as he took another sip of his brandy.
Apparently Dr. Chakwas had some sort of covenant on the Serrice Ice Brandy on the Normandy but he'd managed to wrangle a bottle from her on an earlier visit to the Med bay. Kaidan remained silent.
"Be honest with me, has she ever spoken about me?" he said with a mischievous grin.
He'd hoped this would be the turning point in the conversation but the look on the Lieutenants face darkened. He was going to be a hard one to win over, but it would be good to have him on his side if he had any hope of patching things up with Shepard.
"Ok, well, don't believe everything that she's told you. I'm not a bad guy, I promise" he proclaimed whilst holding a hand up in the air in feigned surrender.
Still the mans' face was impassive. The look of confusion had disappeared and was replaced by a placid unimpressed look that Hobbs had seen on occasion.
"Look, Hobbs, is it?" Kaidan finally spoke with his voice low. "I don't know what you think is happening here, but clearly there's been a miscommunication somewhere. Shepard and I…." he began, but Hobbs interrupted in a redoubled effort to win the man over.
"Listen, I don't have a problem with you man. Some of my best friends are gay. Whatever two grown men want to get up to in their own quarters… well… it's none of my business right? And hey, I make a good wingman if you're ever in need." He began in an attempt to be candid. "Check this out."
He reached out an arm to stop a crew member as he walked passed. Hobbs had spoken to the Ensign earlier in the evening and found out that he had a major crush on Kaidan. He turned the man around so that he was facing the table and rose from his chair, placing the drink in the newcomer's hand.
"Haave you met Kaidan?" he said with a wild grin and ushered the man into the chair.
As he turned to walk away he mouthed an elaborate and easily read 'Thank me later' to Kaidan with his best grin and two thumbs up in his direction.
He walked back a few paces and watched as Kaidan looked on aghast as the Ensign began a line of conversation Hobbs could not hear. He returned to his seat with Wrex and plunked himself down looking invariably proud of himself. The Krogan was simply staring at him.
"You know, Alenko isn't gay…" the Krogan rumbled cautiously.
Hobbs blinked, leaning forward toward Wrex "Are you sure?" He whispered urgently and the Krogan broke into a grin.
"You've got a quad though," the krogan churned "I'll give you that." With an abrasive laugh the Wrex poured him a glass of Ryncol, sliding it across the table to him.
The smell was foul and he knew the liquid would be fouler still. He'd only just resigned himself to staying away from the drink for the night but it would be rude not to now that it was in the offering.
The liquid barely ghosted across Hobb's lips before he could feel the burning sensation begin but before he had time to register the drink a hand slammed down on the table next to him drawing his attention. It was Kaidan. And he looked pissed.
"I. Am not. Gay." Kaidan began in a terse crisp tone, biting off the words as they escaped his mouth.
Carefully, Hobbs took the opportunity to glance behind him back to the mess table where Kaidan had been previously sitting. The ensign had left the room but Kaidan's voice was low and dangerous. He stood from the table and spread his hands out wide, furrowing his brow as he sputtered a response, for once the words did not come easily.
"Relax Lieutenant. That was a genuine mistake." He offered the words honestly in an attempt to defuse the potentially volatile situation.
He'd read the signs wrong. It was out of sorts for Hobbs to misread a person, a situation. He put it down to being tired and being notably pre-occupied with Shepard. Although events between the Commander and the Lieutenant that he had been privy to did seem to make a lot more sense with this revelation. He let out a small audible groan as suddenly everything became clear.
'…things have changed…' he heard Shepard's voice echo in his mind and he knew what that meant now.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you or cause any distress." He explained as Kaidan took a dangerous step toward him – the last thing he needed was to get in a fight; Shepard would certainly through his ass through the grinder for that "Believe it or not I was trying to build some sort of bridge. I thought it would be more…" he searched for the word "…conducive to the rest of my time aboard the Normandy." He admitted his tone humble and sincere.
Kaidan's grief was clearly still too fresh and he hadn't helped things with his blindfolded attempt to establish some form of relationship with the man. Now he wasn't even sure it would ever be possible but his main concern was diffusing what he had inadvertently started.
"I'll know better next time" he said calmly, draining the rest of his drink in one swallow, forgetting that it was the Krogan cocktail.
He could feel the effects immediately after the initial burn faded. His vision blurred in and out of focus momentarily as his head swam. His thoughts came as if from another source and they slogged around inside his head as the room took on a gentle spin.
He meant to step back and then turn to find a bed to sleep on but the move turned out to be a backwards stagger. He heard a scoffing noise, cold and irritated and paused as through his watery vision he attempted to pinpoint the source.
"You flyboys are all the same. Go where you like, do as you please. Carefree and irresponsible." Kaidan pressed, the disdain in his tone was evident and Hobbs could feel it poke the embers in his heart even through the onset of his drunken stupor.
He took several deliberate careful steps towards Kaidan who looked at him as a parent would look at their child the first night they came home drunk. Hobbs' fist was clenched at his side as he spoke, his rising anger threatening to get the better of him.
"Listen Alenko." There was the beginning of a drawl to his voice as he spoke, the Ryncol coursing through his system. "I've got more responsibility than you can hope to know. I've got people. People I'm responsible for. I've always had that. I was orphaned at the age of 6." He pointed out, stabbing a finger into the Lieutenants chest pointedly.
Kaidan didn't back away though, he simply looked down at the finger, then back to him, that same impassive, unimpressed look on his features.
"I was the oldest one at the 'Orphanage'. The things they did to us there…'The girls get abused and the boys get bruised'" he spat the saying out, bitterness lacing his words.
Suddenly he wasn't terribly aware of Kaidan as he let cold, painful memories sweep up from under him, the ryncol did nothing to help the matter.
"I wanted to protect them. I told the authorities, and the raping, the beatings stopped….for them." He gestured with his hand to some invisible group.
"Not for me though. So don't tell me I'm all sunshine and rainbows. I've got my own shit to deal with…" he drawled as the room started to get fuzzy.
Even through the wave of warm sensations that he would normally enjoy he could feel his anger bubbling at the man's ignorance. What the hell had he ever done to offend this guy?
"The only difference is, I aim to rise above my problems. They don't…de…defi….they don't make me who I am. And I sure as hell ain't gonna be the guy that shits on everyone else's parade because of it." He dropped the glass back on the table and pushed it towards Wrex clumsily.
" 'preciate the drink Wrex" he slurred "Probly' shouldn't have done it in one go though, gonna feel that in the mornin." He said and tipped an imaginary hat to the Krogan who rumbled and stood from the table.
Hobbs never bothered to look at Kaidan. He'd said more than he intended to say, revealed too much about himself to strangers.
"Bloody Ryncol…" he sputtered as he staggered out of the Mess Hall and towards a door that he hoped led towards a soft bed for the night.
Behind him unawares the hulking figure of Urdnot Wrex stood from his chair and brushed past Kaidan, bumping his shoulder into the man to knock him aside with a growl. Kaidan, who was staring after Hobbs barely felt the force against him but the words the Krogan grunted as he passed shook him out of his state.
"Damned Pyjack." He grunted in a low voice as he moved off leaving Kaidan standing alone in the mess hall, not quite sure what to do next.