CHAPTER 23
She couldn't deny it: she felt alive again. She'd had little to no sleep at all, but she felt amazing. Also, nervous and fidgety. She was trying her hardest to not think about the emotional consequences of the sex marathon she'd just enjoyed. Not going to think about it, not going to think about it...
While her mind was invigorated, her body felt leaden and just... tired as hell. After adding an extra dose of espresso to her aromatic drink, she left for work.
"See you later, Ollie and Keeya!"
"Later, Rosie!"
"Later, Rossey!"
Tross and another guard followed her out the door. Tross yawned. "You know, you should think about getting a skycar of your own," he complained.
Rosemary shook her head. "Nonsense. I have too many calories in the morning, anyway. I need to walk it off."
"Humans and their complicated metabolisms," Tross grumbled.
The line to the Rapid Transit was long, so they walked around a few corners to another terminal. They were about to step into the shorter line when a voice greeted her from the shadows of a nearby building. "It's been some time, Rosemary."
Rosemary froze. She knew that voice. Saeli...?!
A tall, statuesque asari walked out from the shadows, a demon – who looked like her once-dear friend, Saeli T'Garu. She wore battle-scarred armor, of a deep purple hue, and no mask. She didn't need one, Rosemary thought bitterly. She was the head of the murderous beast called Divide; she had no need to hide. Not anymore, anyway. "We need to talk, Rosemary. Perhaps over breakfast?"
Rosemary glared at the asari. "NO. Say what you're going to say here."
Tross was already calling it in. The other guard had his gun trained on the former Justicar. Saeli ignored them both. All of her attention was focused on Rosemary. "Don't make me kill them, Rosemary."
Rosemary's blood ran cold. "Leave us," she ordered the guards.
"Will all due respect, Fletcher: you're not our boss," the other guard told her firmly.
"It's our job to protect you," Tross said grimly.
They were standing on one of the upper levels of the Presidium. She closed her eyes. She... had no choice. Without any warning, she bolted for the edge of the level and climbed over the railing.
"No," Tross shouted. The guards cursed as they ran after her.
Rosemary's eyes found Saeli's; the asari inclined her head slightly in understanding.
She jumped.
XOXOXOXO
Twenty minutes later, Saeli found Rosemary near the Presidium apartments, near where she had jumped. Rosemary was picking leaves out of her curls, muttering to herself. When she saw Saeli, her frown deepened. "You wanted to talk? Talk."
Saeli studied Rosemary, considering. "You've... changed."
"You gave me no choice," Rosemary said coldly, her eyes hard.
Saeli's expression softened then, if only a fraction. "I'm sorry, Rosemary. I wish things could have been different."
Her words boiled Rosemary's blood. It was taking all of her self control not to charge at the asari and rip her apart. Maybe in the back of her mind, she had thought she would hesitate, maybe fall apart at seeing Saeli T'Garu again. They had been good friends, once upon a time. But... no. She felt no pity, no regret. "You killed my father."
Saeli's expression grew hard again. "He's happier dead, Rosemary. We both know this."
Rosemary's blood screamed in her veins; she wanted to rip into Saeli – tear out her heart! Her fists clenched as she fought for control. She was better than this. She was better than Saeli. Then she saw Saeli staring... at her eyes. Rosemary knew she was seeing the shifting colors of synthetic green and blood-raged red. She hoped Saeli knew how much Rosemary was working at not killing her.
"What do you want," Rosemary demanded.
Saeli blinked and shook her head. "Why are you doing this, Rosemary? Head Administrator of the hybrid development...? Forget how you got that position – you're barely educated! - I want to know why you insist on protecting them. They are abominations – they were never meant to be." Saeli's voice was cold.
Rosemary knew she was the head of Divide, but hearing the words coming straight from her mouth still sent a wave of shock through her. Had she never known Saeli? "They are children!"
"They are mistakes," Saeli hissed, her eyes gleaming with a greenish tint. "Thessia will never be the same – my daughters are never coming back! The... synthesization disgraces their memory! These... creatures are destroying the pure legacies! If we let them exist, there will be nothing of the old ways left!"
Something slowly turned... and then clicked in Rosemary's mind. Her anger abated as realization set in – as she finally understood what Divide was about. "You're... afraid of change." She couldn't hide the wonder – no, the incredulousness – from her voice. "What you're saying doesn't make any sense. It's all... smoke. A distraction. You're just... afraid of change. The hybrids are innocent – natural evolutions..."
"There is nothing natural about it," Saeli hissed furiously.
Rosemary inclined her head a little, conceding the asari's point. Emma Shepard had facilitated synthesization – but that didn't change the crux of what she was saying. "The synthesization didn't bring everlasting peace, but it did bring peace to so many people, so many worlds... Your daughters died in the War – and you have no outlet for your anger, your hate – "
"Silence!"
Rosemary's eyes narrowed. This was so stupid! Everything was just – stupid! "I won't have it. You think I don't want to tear you to pieces for killing my father?!"
"Oh, be quiet, child," Saeli snapped. "He was already dead!"
"I lost a father! OLIVER lost a father!"
Saeli flinched.
Rosemary thought of the little girl at home – who had seen her own mother die. "Keeya lost her mother! Divide is nothing more than a vile pit of monsters!"
Steel returned to Saeli's eyes. "An abomination lost the disgusting creature that whelped her. What do I care?"
"Rosemary!"
Balint approached, shotgun drawn. When he got to her, he extended his hand. Rosemary instinctively allowed him to pull her back against him.
Saeli studied them dispassionately. "So... it finally happened. Was it everything you thought it would be," Saeli asked them, her tone turning nasty. Her eyes flashed. "Don't think I will not hesitate to kill whatever comes from your union. We may have been friends – but that leniency will not extend to any twisted creation of yours."
Balint surprised them both by blasting off a shot at Saeli's head. Saeli's shields shattered. Out of the corner of her eye, Rosemary saw a skycar suddenly swerve in their direction.
Quickly recovering, Saeli flipped out of harm's way, running and gracefully leaping over the railing and onto the top of the skycar. She looked back at Rosemary; even from where she was standing, Rosemary could see the hate blazing from her eyes. "This isn't over, Rosemary!" She looked at the turian, her jaw set. "Until next time, Balint!"
They watched the skycar jet away. Once it was gone from their sight, Balint lit into her. "What were you thinking, Rose?!" He was furious with her.
Rosemary didn't hear him. Something just occurred to her. "Wait... I just... We didn't use protection! At all!"
Balint rolled his eyes and sighed, putting away his shotgun. "You just realized that now?"
Monkey shit! How had she gotten so carried away?! She'd been so careful with Garrus, and he'd never... "You... inside me! And humans are... allergic... allergic to... to...," she trailed off, not wanting to use the word.
"Turian fluids," Balint supplied, grinning.
"And you... in me... several times! Oh, Reapers," she wailed hysterically. ", am I about to die?! Wouldn't I feel it if something happens? Am I about to go into shock?"
Balint shook his head, amused. "It would have happened by now, if you were. I just find it... kind of hilarious that this just occurred to you, now."
"Oh, shut up," Rosemary snapped. She grabbed at her curls, going into full panic. "We were both super irresponsible – !"
"Yes, we were," he agreed. "We should have had sex sooner – maybe we wouldn't have been so out of control."
Was he serious?! She looked at his face. He wasn't. She groaned. This wasn't a time to joke around! "Shut uuup, Balint!"
"Oh, by the way – humans are no longer allergic to turian sperm."
Rosemary froze for the second time that morning. "... What?"
"It's a recent discovery," Balint told her, taking great pleasure in her shocked expression. "You weren't the only who forgot about the allergy while in the throes of amazing sex," he drawled.
Rosemary blushed, waving away that arrogant statement. "What do you mean by that."
"I looked over the list of families and hybrids coming in to live at the development. There are a few turian-human infants in the mix."
Another kind of panic took over. "But that means... We could have a … I'm not ready!"
Balint grinned. "Neither am I. You don't have to worry – I took a shot for protection."
Rosemary just stared. "What... when?"
"A few days after you got back."
Panic had left her body, leaving her weak. Hearing that, however, got her angry again. "WHAT?! You expected...?! You planned it?!"
Balint chuckled. "Not exactly – but it's always good to be prepared."
"Wipe that smug-ass look from your bird-face," she growled.
He just laughed at her.
XOXOXOXO
After a lengthy lecture from the turian, human, and asari councilors – respectively – she had to suffer through similar scoldings from Tross, and all the other guards – all thirteen of them. After apologizing profusely to the C-Sec officers, she went to her room, wallowed in guilt for about an hour – then put all the planning she'd done the previous night into work.
Naturally, she was several hours late to work at the Citadel Security precinct, but she wasted no time, and worked at her terminal. She put out an ad, seeking clerical help. Veracia raged and ranted as she started work on the reports, furious that she went over his head. She understood his anger, and felt a little ashamed of herself because of it, and so while he seethed, she hid behind stacks of paperwork – unable to look him in the face. Once he left, Nuni leaned over from her desk to talk with her friend in angry little whispers.
Nuni was angry that she had ditched her guards but once she got over it, the quarian sympathized with her. "I can't believe your friend – "
"Ex-friend."
"Right, your ex-friend is the head of an evil organization. I can't believe I hung out with her – she didn't seem evil. You know I admired her? She was so worldly... and sophisticated."
Rosemary wasn't angry at Nuni for chatting about the sensitive subject. She knew Nuni wasn't being duplicitous – she was just curious, and very honest and open about her curiosity. Coming from Nuni, it was rather refreshing to hear it all being aired out.
"I still think it's weird, though – Divide being a gang."
"Is that all it is, though," Rosemary wondered aloud. "Are they terrorists or just... gangsters?"
Nuni thought about it. "I only met her that one time, but she didn't strike me as the gang type. Nothing so crude. You know?"
"Yeah..."
"And from what you told me, her hate runs deep... For all we know, the Divide gang is just the profitable branch of their... organization. Even terrorists need credits."
What Nuni said made sense. "You... are very perceptive," Rosemary complimented Nuni.
"I am," Nuni agreed. "So... besides your encounter with the evil Saeli... anything new? You were out for a few days."
Rosemary hesitated. She hadn't told Imitha yet about Balint – and she wasn't sure she wanted to. She had been pretty merciless about teasing her about Garrus. And Nuni wasn't related to Balint. "I... finally had sex with Balint."
"REALLY," Nuni squealed – loudly. When everyone turned to look, she ducked her head and squealed again – in a quieter pitch. "How was he?!"
Rosemary smiled, her cheeks flushed. "... Amazing."
"I need details! My stimulation unit's not doing the job as well these days."
"... Ew."
"Details!"
Rosemary's face warmed, thinking about that morning. Had it only been this morning? "It really was... amazing. He's so... strong."
Nuni giggled. "You sound like you're in love," she teased.
Rosemary's eyes widened. "N-No," she stammered. "In lust, yes. But love... I..."
Her friend understood. "Too soon to tell?"
"Yes." She had to be honest with herself. Rosemary hadn't spent enough time with Balint to really know him. They hadn't exactly spent all morning talking. Sigh.
