A/N:
Alright guys, I realize this one took a little longer than planned, but you try and perfect a scene like this. well, you will know what I mean. I had to rewrite the start a few times and the describtions got sort of... well, read it yourselves, then you can judge for yourselves.
Enjoy, this will be the last part of Feros, because what do you do when 'plants are a problem'?
…You go gardening
Feros, Zhu's hope
19:21
When our lips meet, I can feel this otherworldly sensation again. Only this time I am not burdened by embarrassment or shame. The kiss in the gym was a bit awkward as I wasn't prepared for it, but this time I am actually the one who took the initiative.
I don't know what I expected when I pressed her against me, lifting her in the air, but this could definitely be in the top three of things I was hoping for. Unlike our first real kiss, in the gym, this one takes it a step further. Our lips lock together and I can feel her warmth, smell her scent that emanates from her hair.
It… arouses me. Her face is glistering with the occasional bead of sweat, and the overall intake of impressions, smells, tastes, sights… it's almost too much. While I'm caught taking in the experiences, something suddenly happens. Ash presses herself towards me again, and opens her mouth, thereby also forcing mine open. Not that I mind, especially because of what she does now.
As I'm breathing her in through the mouth, I can… guess the best way to describe it would be to call it 'taste' her breath. As she exhales while I inhale, I get a little dizzy. Suddenly, her tongue comes from within her mouth, finding mine. As they touch, I have to force myself not to bite down due to the explosions of emotions and impressions that suddenly well up inside me. This is an experience that overpowers everything else I've ever tried. Her soft tongue shoots into my mouth, playing with mine while she presses herself against me. I grab a hold of her back and just cling to her like Death would claim me otherwise.
After some time, which felt like it passed way to fast, I finally separate my mouth from Ash's. I am not entirely sure what caused me to suddenly just pick her up and kiss her like that, but damn if I'm the one to argue with my body's occasional golden move. I bet I look like an idiot right now, with the smile that's pretty much my entire face at the moment.
I cannot help but gaze at her face at the moment, looking into her deep, fearsome, yet compassionate brown eyes. Her cheeks are blushing with a red so furious and deep. Her face is lit in a smile the likes of which would make you doubt she had just sat out a minor zombie apocalypse. The only telltale clue of her former distress is the fact that her black hair is hanging all over her face, and the occasional cuts and bruises on her face. Her armor has received a set of similar scrapes, and overall she looks more like someone who just did a barrel roll through gravel. I still haven't let go of her, and neither do I really want to, but I can see, behind Ash that the entire group is looking at us. A few colonists that have awakened are as well. Ash just keeps her eyes at me, and I find myself lured in by the brown orbs;
"Wow Thomas that was…"
"Better than last time?" I swear, I did not mean for the words to come out like that. They just sounded way too cheesy, and now she will probably-
"Way better than last time." She says, her lovely mouth still curved in a warm smile.
"Hey, Thomas! You two done eating soon!?" Nicolai's voice comes from the comm. I don't see him, which is a good thing, as I would have flipped a certain finger at him if I could. I then hear a muffled 'ouch', followed by Tequila saying something to Nic. Good going, having him on a leash like that.
"He does have a point Fisher. Get your butts over here so we can discuss the strategy… and, and something else." John says. For some reason, that last part didn't exactly serve to keep up my mood, but as I pull some of Ash's hair back to its original position, I can't help a smile. Hell, with her… I doubt I could have a bad day.
As we walk back to the group, now whole except for Nihlus, Kaidan and Liara, I notice John and Jane are discussing something in hushed tones, occasionally stealing a glance at me. Crap! What did I do now? When we reach them, John comes over to me with something in his hand. It looks a lot like the small canister Ash had and used on Holly. What could he want with…oh… now that I think about it, I could slap myself for forgetting it. That 'Thorian' thing infected me as well. Just slipped my mind since I didn't succumb or anything during the fight. But now at least, I'll be free from it. I hope, but since when has things just gone smoothly for me?
"Well, you started a relationship with Williams only five or so days after having woken up on Eden Prime."
"Good point, but I'll bet you a kroner1that something happens before I can be cured."
"I see two problems with that bet. One, none of us know the currency in credits that equals kroner."
"And the second one?"
"How on Earth am I supposed to take money? I don't even have a body!"
"Oh… yeah, fair point." So I don't have to pay him anyway. But I'm really just following the old saying "Luck in games, no luck in love" and since I have Ash, I figure I would be crappy at games, so why not make a bet I actually want to lose?
"Okay John, what's that thing in your hand?" I just wanna be sure he isn't going to slip me arsenic or something. I mean, you never know, right?
"The same stuff we used on the colonists. 'Anti-Thorian gas', they called it. Should kill whatever is in your head, and let us proceed without having to worry about you suddenly sending yourself to the ancestors."
"Eh… sure... I am not really in the mood for... seeing the ancestors right now anyway… truth be told, a couple of them were some... nasty dudes… drinking and all that." I say in a joking way. For some reason though, it doesn't look like John is about to laugh his ass off. Right… down to business then… I take the canister from his open hand. Ash stops me from putting it to the face;
I look at her. There is a slight worry in her eyes.
"Shepard, are you sure this is safe?" She asks John. The whole Shepard thing is mildly confusing when both Jane and John are around.
"Should be. The other colonists we used the gas on have started waking up, and they only complain of a slight headache… well, that and some have thrown up."
"Super… shall we get this over with?" Not like I'm a stranger to death all of a sudden… just hope Roku can revive me should the Thorian decide to dispose of me.
John is about to place the canister in front of my nose, but Ash suddenly grabs his hand, forcing him to stop. He turns his head towards hers, and I can see he is about to argue and ask why she is obstructing her superior officer. He then sees the same look I've noticed in her eyes. A pleading look, as she takes the canister from his hand, slowly but firmly. John doesn't try to fight her, and steps back once the canister is in her hands. He give me a last nod;
"Better sit down Fisher, this should make you black out for some minutes." He says, before returning to the group. As I let myself fall down, rump first, Ash kneels in front of me;
"Ready?" She asks. As much as she smiles at me, keeping the happy face on, I can still hear the concern in her voice. Her left hand, holding the canister, is shaking mildly, and I can hear her hard breathing.
"Ready... And Ash?" I say, placing a hand on her left cheek, stroking it with my thump.
"Yeah Rookie?"
"Try to relax; stress causes your hair to filter…" I say, trying to add a small amount of humor to the situation. Hell, Shepard wouldn't willingly do something that could kill me… would he?
"I think I would prefer to be surprised here… no, wait that was not what I meant!"
"A bit scared Roku?" I ask, a smug smile in my mind.
"Only of losing my job of course."
"Yeah, yeah…"
"I'll keep that in mind." She says, as she holds the now opened canister against my face. as I breath in the gas, I look into her eyes. Those lovely brown eyes.
"Besides… I've survived… worse…" Then I can't see her anymore, all is black.
"Well, what happened?" Private Nicolai Tengberg asked as no one really seemed to be dying to inform him. His best friend, and besides Tequila, the only person here he would trust with his life, was unconscious on the ground, after he inhaled some kind of something from the canister Ashley was using earlier. Scratching his neck, he looked at the woman now seated next to Thomas as she slumped down with a sigh. Man, who's got it the worst, I wonder. Thomas; who have to go through all this, or Ashley who really seems to care for him? John stepped up next to him. Nicolai still had some difficulty accepting the fact that Commander Shepard, Survivor of Akuze, Hero to be of the Battle of the Citadel… was a Quarian. Not that he minded Quarians, but it just seemed weird.
"I count on him waking up in about ten minutes or so… depends on the depth of his infection though. You worry?"
"Well, yeah. He is kind of the one who made sure I even got on the Normandy in the first place. We've known each other for… what, ten years now? Besides, he is kinda the guy with a spirit or something in his head, and knowledge of what will happen the next… four or five months I think."
"You think?" John said, turning to face him.
"Yeah well, the game was never really descriptive with the amount of time that passes from the attack on Eden Prime till the battle of… eh, just till the game ended." He said nervously, praying that he hadn't just messed something up.
"The battle of the Citadel?" John said, looking once more at Thomas's limp body on the ground. Nicolai snapped to stare at him, disbelief in his eyes;
"Wait a second… you know about the battle?" He exclaimed, a little louder than he wanted to. John shifted his gaze back at him;
"Right after the debriefing, where the secret was let out, remember we sent all but him, Nihlus and me out of the room?"
"Yeah?" Nicolai was starting to see where was going.
"Well, we contacted the Council, or rather Nihlus contacted the Salarian councilor, what was his name? Velen something?"
"Valern."
"Yes, that. Well, we contacted him, and Thomas told him everything about the Reapers. Then he also told him that Saren would attack the Citadel at some point. I was close to falling over when I heard it, but to his credit, the guy only blinked and was quiet for some time. Then they started talking about a meeting when we came to the Citadel the next time." Something suddenly said 'ping' inside Tengberg's head;
"Oh… yeah, now that you mention it, I think Thomas did mention something about talking with the Salarian councilor next time we stopped by the station… can't remember if he also said why…" Stretching his back, he looked over where the rest of the group was engaged in planning, directed by Jane.
"So what do you think about her?" John suddenly asked. The question almost made Nicolai choke on his last intake of air. Not the question he had expected.
"Who, Tequila?" He asked, glancing towards the group.
"What? No, why would… never mind, I meant Jane. Isn't she what Thomas calls my 'other version'?"
I swear the questions this guy asks… I wouldn't want the answers myself…Nicolai thought as he considered how to answer them.
"Eh… I think that's a matter of perspective…"
"And why is that?" Nicolai could hear an increasing tone of frustration in John's voice.
"Well… if you asked someone about the… well, the game, then the answer would be yes… and looking at your pasts, working with the same people… well, minus the trans-universal ones that is, and finally, your names, or your last names… if one took those things into account only, then yes, you are different versions of the same person." He tried, knowing that the answer was likely not what John had hoped for.
"Not really the answer I was hoping for." And cue me being right... I hate being right.
"Well, but if you look at it from a realistic point of view, then no, you are two very different persons. You are, for starters, different species, Human and Quarian. Second, you survived Akuze, Jane did… something else, from what I've heard…"
"That's it? In your eyes, all that separates Jane and me, are those two things?"
"Well in a manner of speaking… but it's more than what separates Jane and me. The only difference there is the gender. And I consider myself very much a different person than her." Nicolai was getting a little annoyed that John was so upset about it. It wasn't his fault that John and Jane seemed to be alike in so many ways... wait, isn't there a movie called 'John and Jane'?
"I guess that's something…" John said, scratching his voice emulator.
"By the way, commander… why do you ask? Feeling insecure around her?"
"What? No, it's just… with everything that's been happening, I wondered something some days ago, and asked Thomas about it."
"Which was?" Nicolai asked with raised brows.
"Whether or not he would still consider me the 'real' Shepard, should someone like Jane suddenly turn up…"
"Oh yeah, I was there, remember?" He huffed, thinking back to the scene.
"Right, right. But as much as his answer gave me relief, I still couldn't help the feeling that somewhere, deep inside, he will always see Jane as the 'real' Shepard, while I'm just what you guys describe as 'canon-fuckups'" This caused the human to scratch his neck, though the armor stopped him.
"Oh… you've heard us?"
"Actually, I heard you use those words some time before you actually told us. I just didn't know what it meant." This almost caused Nicolai's veins to snap freeze. Fuck! Just my luck to upset the guy...
"Ehm… what exactly did you hear?"
"Can't remember, but it was something you argued over right after the hearing… I remember you in particular seemed very upset. Something I should know?" Chicken shit! I'm not telling him that he'll die over Alchera! Let that be Thomas's job!
"Eh, it was just about whether or not Anderson would give you the Normandy…" He said, doing his best to sound casual.
"I see… Tengberg, do you know that you really suck at lying?" Oh Motherfu- I can't tell him. I JUST CANNOT! What the fuck do I do? Thomas, why the fuck did you have to be infected and put to sleep? I need you here! He was beginning to develop a serious headache, and it just kept getting worse. Groaning inwardly, he closed his eyes tight and cursed under his breath. Goddamn bucket-head! Why can't you just buy the story? You don't want to know the truth, you really don't!
"Uhhrr… Commander, you don't need to know, it's really nothing."
"No, come on. I am really intrigued now." John's voice was casual, but held a menacing tone to it now.
"No really Shepard, you don't. need. to. know." Nicolai stressed the words as they came out, trying not to shout. I swear, if I spill the beans, I'm dead. Either by Thomas, John or Tali. Actually, I'm more afraid of what Tali would do to me. "I have a shotgun" would probably be the last things I hear... a crack-boom too, I suppose...
"Tengberg, as your commander in charge, I could order you to tell me." Fuck, fuck, fuck!
"Please don't… sir."
"Then just tell me." John was pressing him now. Both sides wanted the other to give in. Nicolai's problem just was that John could order him to spit it out.
"If you really wanna know, it was whether or not to reveal that… eh..." come on think you dumbass!
"I'm waiting Nicolai." For some reason, having Shepard use his first name felt like being whipped right now. Looking back on John, Nicolai decided to reveal something less important.
"Reveal that Liara's mother is on Noveria. Matriarch Benezia should be on Noveria. I mean, we really didn't know if that would actually happen or not, and I guess Thomas had his reasons for not telling…"
"As interesting as that may be, and believe me, this is interesting… I still do not feel you are telling me the truth here Tengberg, so I will ask another way."
"B-but Shepard I-"
"Is the reason that you will not tell me, A) it is embarrassing? B) I do not want to hear it? Or C) it would implicate someone on the ship with serious crimes? Or D) something else? Is this easier for you?"
"Dammit Shepard, since when did we start playing questions?"
"Just answer the question or cook in the brig for the next week... It's nothing personal."
"Hell it is, I would be pretty pissing curious now as well…" Nicolai sneered, glaring at the Quarian.
"Glad you see it that way Tengberg. So, which will it be?" Nicolai scratched his head, or his helmet actually, trying to come up with something.
"I guess it goes under B… sorry Commander, but I really think it would give you waking nights if you heard it…"
"And you are sure of this? Nothing that will convince you otherwise?"
"Do I go in the brig if I say no, sir?" He asked hesitantly
"No. I gave you options and you chose one. I can respect not wanting to let out a secret that would compromise or ruin something, so I'll let the matter be... For now."
"Thanks sir. 'Really appreciates it."
"Yeah well, no need to go all… what do you guys call it? "touchy-feely" on me. Just do your job, and we can continue this another time, and we will continue this another time. Now, I do believe Jane has finished updating and planning. Let's hear what she has to say." The pair moved back to the group, listening to Jane explaining her plan;
"Alright people, we have some nasty bugger called the Thorian, underneath our feet at this very moment. From what I understand, this thing is a plant, so we'll be bringing a flamethrower down there. We scorch it, get back out and win the day. Sounds fair?" She asked, looking around at faces she recognized, and some she didn't, from her old life. The Quarian John'Shepard, who has assumed her role in this reality, was looking right at her. Probably to see if I mess up… she thought, standing full height, just matching his. Damn if he is tall though...
"Actually, there is a… minor flaw in that plan." He said, drawing eyes to him from the entire group.
"Commander. What is the flaw?" She asked, as politely as one can when she was used to being the one giving the orders, not answering to them.
"We do not have any flamethrowers. Otherwise Commander, it's a good plan. Simple yet relatively foolproof." Did he just call me commander? Guess I misread the bugger. Then again, Tali is with him, and she always was a good judge of character... get back on track, Jane. Fine, so we don't have flamethrowers...
"Hmm… that could make things more difficult. So what do we do Shepard, just go down and shoot it?"
"I reckon that's as good a plan as any… Shepard." Okay… she couldn't help but think. This is getting borderline weird.
Man… that was one hell of a hangover… I dreamt Ash tried poisoning me with some kind of gas, and then we kissed with tongues… or was it the other way around? Damn, my head hurts!
I slowly open my eyes, half expecting to wake up in the med-bay where I'm starting to think I'll be sleeping more than in the crew quarters. My throat is sore and dry, and my nose feels like someone poured chlorine in it. I am partially surprised and oddly relieved to find that I'm still on Feros. The others are about twenty meters away, speaking about God knows what, but I'm guessing they are either planning my birthday next month, or planning to take out the Thorian. It's a win-win really. My arms are sore as well, and my left hand is asleep. Damn, I hate it when they do that. I shake it to wake it up, and end up smacking Ash's behind in the attempt. She gives a startled squeak, but settles down once she sees that it's just me. Then, she punches me on the ass as well. Or, as much as she can when I'm lying down. She really just shrugs, then settles for punching my leg.
"Well good morning to you too Ash." I say, keeping a smile on my face as she stands to help me up.
"How are you feeling?" She says, her face a mixture of worry and relief.
"I think… I'm going to mutate into a zombie!" I say, causing her eyes to widen at first, then grow small. Damn, I pissed her off! She delivers a kick to my butt in the side she knows I was shot in... it hurts.
"That wasn't funny!" She says, her voice in mock-anger. Well, it sort of was...okay, I think some of the drugs are kicking in...
"Sorry, sorry! Don't kill me!" I say, covering my head in fake terror. Ash just lands a smurf-kick on my head, which is still without a helmet.
"Get your helmet on, dumbass; we have to go hear what the others have decided on doing with that Thorian-thing." I give Ash a nod, and we head over to the group. Scorch and Nicolai notices me as the first, and of course Nic has to shout out;
"Morning sunshine. Slept well?" He is trying to get to me, I know it. Oldest game in the book.
"As a matter of fact, yeah. Being infected by a Thorian does have its perks. I can highly recommend it if you are interested."
"Ah, no thanks. I think I'll manage just fine without trying to kill myself." He receives a slap over the back of his head from Tequila here, and somehow I can't help but feel those two can make a good pair. Kinda like Naruto and Sakura…
"Oi corporal, just a request, but could you wait with the invalidation till we are off this planet?" I say, half-laughing.
"Good to see you up and running again Fisher. We've just finished our plan, and Jane and I have come up with something simple yet brilliant." John says, motioning to Jane. Are they working together? Cool.
"So… seeing as I am the only one with no idea as to what it is, can one of you fill me in?"
"Commander Jane Shepard will brief you all on the full plan now. Pay attention." He says, before giving Jane the o.k. sign. Jane turns on her Omni-tool, and projects a map from it. It shows the entire colony in a 3-D way, and she focuses on a shaft that seems to open into the colony. Only it's blocked by a building.
"Listen up fellas, we have ourselves a nasty type of weed down there, and apparently we now also have a way in. Now, I'm not going to lie to you: Given the resistance we have seen up here from those acid-spitting fucks, I reckon we will meet more of them the closer we get to the Thorian. As an extra objective, Nihlus Kryik was taken by those things, so he will most likely be down there as well. We know the way down is underneath the compartments over there, and we already have a crane ready to lift the whole thing into place… or rather, out of place. Now, to reduce the chaos down there, the commander and I have decided to split up again. If we take the whole team down there, we risk not only being clumped together, but we also leave the colony unattended, should the geth return. John'Shepard will stay here with the rest of the squad, while I take a team of six men down there. So to sum it up; We open the hatch, go down there, and kill everything that's green and moving. Now, I want the commandoes, Fisher and Vakarian with me down there. Got it?"
"Yes Ma'am" Delta team, now including the fully functional Fixer, immediately barks. Clones…
"Sure, I'm itching for some payback." I say, caressing my pistol and checking its heat sink. All good…time to go kill shit.
"Sure thing, let's try and find Nihlus. Then he can stuff the 'Vakarian, you're a bad Turian' crap." Garrus says, checking his rifle.
As we move towards the crane, with John's team bunkering down different places around the heart of the colony, Ash grabs a hold of my shoulder. I'm expecting another embrace, but she punches me in the breastplate instead;
"Same way as before, Rookie. Stay safe down there." I give her a nod, and for some reason, I can't help a grim smile at the situation. It's the same as before, with me gone, and Ash to take care of the rest. And while I know it isn't like that in reality, I can't shake the thought.
"You too Chief. Try not to get besieged by zombies again… and do try and teach Nic some manners." The last comment earns me a smile. It's a faint smile, but it's there. Despite I can't see her mouth, due to the mask and breather-unit, I can tell by her eyes that it's there.
Two minutes later...
"Belly of the beast, huh?" I say as we descend down the stairs. Fixer got the crane working, but only after Sev had delivered a solid kick to the mechanism, rustling out something that seemed to block the gears. He got the 'love the machines, and they will love you' talk from Fixer as the crane sprung to life.
"That's one way to put it. Never figured I would be doing this when I quit C-Sec."
"Do what Garrus? Fight geth in creepy corridors?"
"Nah, exterminate plants." He says, a small chuckle in his voice. I swear, I never grow tired of listening to Turians talk. Their double voices are just awesome.
"Me neither… well, I just didn't leave C-Sec… You know what I mean…" I say, as I cautiously kick a geth trooper lying on the ground. Its flashlight is out, and a major part of its side has been corroded away. Like someone bathed it in acid. Man…Xenomorphs start showing up here, I officially flip my shit and run away.
Up ahead, more geth are sprawled all over, most of them in the same condition. Some are even torn apart. A big shape is lying in the midst of the robots, and when I come closer to it, I recognize the shape of a krogan. He is lying on his stomach, and there is a lot of blood around him.
"Looks like even the Krogans are here… with the geth or against them?" I ask, taking a closer look at him. Jane moves to our position and looks at the "space-toad" as Tequila calls them.
"I'm guessing he was with them. Saren hired a lot of mercenaries to take us out and do his dirty work. Like the Turians he sent for me at Cora's Den." She says.
"I don't… NAMIRA'S PISS!" I yell, jumping back. While Jane was talking, I was overturning the Krogan to see his face. Don't ask me why, cause I still regret it now.
When I overturn the Krogan, I am close to throwing up. The Krogan, while looking fairly intact from behind… has been… I am not even sure what to call it.
Eaten?
Where there would be a face and a head, only the remains of the neck and some of the head-plate remains. His throat is opened and the now loose tissue, arteries, along with the gullet, the air pipe and well, flesh, is hanging like someone just ripped out a socket from a wall, and most of the wires followed. Upon being turned and disturbed, the body changes position which causes fluids in it to pour out from the open neck. Among other things, acid and the contents of the stomach come up again, splashing onto the floor. I can feel the waves of revulsion washing over me, and I tear of my helmet in order to avoid soiling it when I lose a bit of my own breakfast. Wiping my mouth, I can hear the mumbles from the group, including the Deltas who joined us upon hearing my shout.
"Well… that's one way to go." Sev says. I just continue starring at the Krogan, now shifting my gaze to his body. It's "intact" to the point where the intestines are hanging through the ribs, most of them etched away, while some organs, such as the stomach, one lung and part of the kidneys still there.
"Spirits… what could do that to a full-grown Krogan? The husks?" Garrus asks, examining the body. The stench of rotten flesh and puke hangs in the air, and I can see that even Jane is taken aback by this.
"Don't think so. A Krogan would be too strong for them alone." I say, picking up my helmet.
"Whatever it is… I hope we don't meet it." She says, looking away from the corpse. She then walks to a door which, by the looks of it, had been the geth's main entrance to wherever they were going. I am guessing that is where we are supposed to go, but I really have no clue, so I just abandon the corpse and follow the commander. Upon arriving at the door, Jane tries to open it, but something has wrecked the panel, so the piece of shit is pretty much jammed. Fixer attempts to repair it, then just shakes his head. I sigh;
"So… how do we get on from here?" I ask. Jane looks at me, and I swear I can see something amounting to a… nasty smile? Don't know, but it looks like it.
"Commander, I'm reading hostile signatures on the other side of that door. At least ten of those walking corpses, or whatever the hell they are." Boss says, finally speaking after being quiet for almost fifteen minutes.
"So… when we get through that door, it's just breach-and-clear?" I ask, hoping that the clone will just say yes. That smile Jane gave me earlier kinda makes me think she has her own plan for clearing the room. Though I am not eager to see it, should it involve some crazy ass firefight, or her just storming in with guns blazing.
"Hmm… not exactly. We don't have any more breaching charges, and Fixer can't really do anything with a smashed panel." He says, eyeing the door; "Any suggestions?"
"Well I've got one." Jane says, moving up to the door. At first I'm about to say that I wonder if she knows how to hack a torched panel, but I take it back, due to lack of understanding, when Jane simply knocks on the door. Besides from the pangs of the metal, only a few moans are heard from the other side. "Step aside kids." She says.
While I would love to berate her, telling her that I am twenty, I quickly comply and move out of the way as she steps a few feet away from the door.
Closing her eyes, a blue shimmer of biotic energy suddenly surrounds her, causing her entire frame to glow dark-blue. I can see Delta-squad is a little taken aback by the display of, to them, force-like powers.
With a heaving breathing, and other than that complete silence from her, Jane runs towards the door, causing Fixer to move even further away from it, as he had attempted some last minute hacks. Better get the fuck away man! A blue haze follows her as she impact with it in what almost looks like a flying kick of biotic energy. A loud bang follows, and the solid steel door is sent flying the other direction, smearing multiple zombies against the wall when it finally stops, impacting solid concrete with another bang and the sound of twisted metal bending from the force of I-have-no-idea-how-many Newtons. Jane rises from the ground, dusting of her arms and shoulders, and then proceeds to crack her joints. Man… what the heck was that?!
"Yep, still got it." Jane moves to the opening, poking her head inside and knocking on the door frame; "Room service"
I can't help a smile at the badassry of that comment. There are only two occasions where it is allowed to yell 'room service'. One is when you actually are there to provide vacuum cleaning, and the other is when you kick in or blow in, a heavy door. Which Jane just did.
We advance through the door, and my admiration for Jane's violent methods rise when I discover that only one out of ten zombies is still standing. The rest is most likely the long green smear that stains the ground all the way to the wall where the twisted form of a metal door has fastened itself into the concrete. Scorch whistles;
"Pheew… that's not something you see everyday Sev." He says, rubbing the back of his helmet with a gauntlet.
"Yeah, well, I could do that too… if I had those force-powers."
"It's not the force Oh-Seven, it's biotics." He says, putting emphasis on the last word.
"Yeah well, I could still have done that… if I had those powers." He says, kinda grumpy. Then again, the only time when Sev isn't grumpy, is when he kills stuff.
"Sev, I think it is a good thing you don't. If you were a biotic, there wouldn't be any geth left for the rest of us." I chuckle.
"Just too bad for you then that I'm already the deadliest of us all."
"I think you'll have to take that up with Wrex and Jane." Garrus says, joining the conversation as we enter a large room. I look at the ground, and notice that it is covered in a combination of the moss, and some kind of green slime or wet dung. Each step creates a 'slush' when I pull my foot out from the green stuff. Now this…this is why they waterproof every kind of armor.
"Anybody know just what kind of green slime this is?" I ask as we move to an adjacent room. So far, we have encountered no more of the zombies. Maybe this will actually be as easy as the plan said…
"Wouldn't hold my horses on that."
"Hmmm? Why not?"
"Things are never that easy."
"No, but it chills me every time I step- Spirits…" Garrus says, as we enter the room, coming clear of the halfway ceiling over our heads. He stops dead in his tracks, as do the rest of us.
"Spawn of Namira…" I mutter, unable to raise my voice above close to whispering.
"Boss… are you seeing what I'm seeing here?" Fixer asks, starring at the thing in front of us.
"I… hope not…" For the first time since they met us, and since they entered this universe I'm sure, Boss sounds nervous.
"I think we should have brought a bigger gun." Jane finally says, as we all look upon the… creature in front of us. To call it a plant would be an insult to plant life on Earth. The being in front os us is about the size of a house, and looks more like a cross between a giant heart, and some kind of shell-less crayfish. It has a deep brown and almost sick and infected tissue-like color. A heavy breathing echoes through the room. Its long tendrils are penetrating the walls, edging around the corners and through doorways. In the midst of the mass, is what looks like a big mouth, like the beak on an octopus with the tendrils as well.
"Taking the risk of saying what we all think… that does not look like any plant I have ever seen before… and I have been around." Jane says. I can only nod, while keeping my eyes fixed on the long… something that comes out of the thing. The mouth can best be described as a long organism, or the ass on an ant queen combined with the tendrils of a squid. And actually, that is not too far off. Especially considering what happens just now;
"Am I the only one who thinks it looks like something is… coming out of the long… tendrils-thing?" I say as I keep my eyes on it. When the end opens, a lot of slime and fluid pours out from the opening. Now that alone made me a bit uneasy, but then… this happens. A pair of legs, complete with pants are emerging from the opening. Considering what happens next, I would be okay with the thought of the thing just spitting out its last meal. But then, the legs continue up and become a body, complete with arms and head. It is an Asari, and that would be nice and not so disturbing, if not for the factors that she just came out the ass or mouth of a giant plant, and the fact that instead of being blue, she is all green. When she lands on the floor with a wet 'splash', I am close to throwing up again, but I hold it back, closing my eyes and attempting to ignore the wet 'sloshes' that sounds for each step this thing takes towards us. When I open my eyes again, the walking has stopped, and the green Asari is standing mere three meters away from us. Mother of God! Add this to the top-three of the most disgusting things I have ever seen!
"Done, and give me just two seconds while I go throw up in your head."
"It was a…never mind, what the hell is that… thing? And don't puke in my head!"
"If I had to guess, I would say it is an Asari… but how did she come from in there?"
"Okay... this is officially the single most disgusting thing I have ever seen, and you can quote me on that." Jane groans.
"Stay clear of her! Demagolka is what she is!" Scorch shouts, keeping his rifle trained on the green Asari. She does not appear to notice that the rest of the commandos' rifles follow Scorch's, ready to blow her head off, should she try anything. Then, she starts talking;
"Invaders. Your every step is a transgression. A thousand feelers appraise you as meat, good only to dig or decompose." No! Nope, Nope, Nope, and a barrel of Nopes. Plants aren't supposed to puke Asari, and Asari aren't supposed to be green and nakes and slimy and coming ouy of... I think I'm going to be sick.
"Motherfucker… it-she talks!" I can't help but exclaim. The Asari doesn't remove its gaze from Jane, who has been returning its stare with what I can recognize as a mix of disgust and disbelief.
"I speak for the old growth, as I did for Saren. You are within and before the Thorian. It commands that you be in awe." How about just being disgusted?
"I would rather see you be on fire, after what you have done to my head." I sneer, but I'm not sure if I should say it to the green woman, or the giant plant-thing. Jane breaks her gaze from the Asari, and turns to me.
"Shut it Fisher, let me handle this."
"Sorry ma'am." I mutter as Jane turns back towards the green Asari.
"You gave something to Saren, something I need. And I believe you also hold one of my team-members captive. Give me what I want and we won't erase you from existence." But wait, killing this thing was Jane's idea… what is she up to?
"Saren sought knowledge of those who are gone. The Old Growth listened to flesh for the first time in the long cycle. Trades were made. Then cold ones began killing the flesh that would tend to the next cycle. Flesh fairly given. The Old Growth sees the air you push as lies. It will listen no more." What about Nihlus you green bitch?!
"We won't let you keep your slaves. Release them all, now!" Jane says, taking a step towards the green woman-thing. The Asari now looks mildly pissed;
"No more will the Thorian listen to those who scurry. Your lives are short, but have gone on for-"
Bang!
A scorched hole emerges between the eyes of the Asari, and her eyes roll upwards before she collapses on the floor. Green fluid pours from where red matter and brain should have been. Sev puts his pistol back in its holder. Jane turns to him with a hand on her own weapon, glowing bluely;
"What the hell was that for?" she shouts
"What? She pissed me off."
"We don't shoot unarmed people! Even if she was… a plant or something."
"Sorry ma'am. But can I then shoot the fucker right behind you?" He says, pulling out his rifle, firing a series of plasma-bursts that cuts so close to Jane head, her shields activate. A loud screeching, followed by a thump can be heard from behind her as a zombie drops down, missing most of its head.
"...Thanks. Good shooting, but warn me next time." She says, starting to glow again as more zombies suddenly emerges, most of them practically springs from the ground, like plants on LSD.
"Aru'es! Enemies all around us!" Boss shouts before he opens fire on a herd of zombies marching through a nearby doorway. The fire from his rifle cuts them down and causes the acid in them to steam and hiss due to the superhot ammunition he shoots their way. I down a zombie only two meters in front of me, causing its squishy cranium to burst. I take aim at another one, but I'm pulled down as one of them simply emerges from the ground. I bash its head over and over, and manage to knock it off, where after the body simply stops crawling up from the floor. I try to get up again, when more hands suddenly grab my body from underneath. They are pulling me through the ground!
"Someone! Help!" I almost scream while tearing of the hands of one of the arms, but it doesn't make any difference. They continue pulling me down, and soon, only the top of my head and my left leg is above the layer of green, and I can no longer move my arms. No! It cannot end like this! Not yet! I have too much to live for!
Just when my vision starts to blur, an odd green-tinted color, a hand grabs my leg, pulling it with almost superhuman strength. I can feel and hear the slob fighting back, trying to keep me down, but that single hand is stronger than the green mass. As my body escapes the floor, I look up and see Jane letting go of my leg before she stomps down the arms now flailing in the air, looking for their lost price. Did Jane just save my life?
I may have to reevaluate my opinion of her, on a personal basis.
"You okay, Fisher?" She asks, while she sends a pair of zombies smashing into the nearest wall. A great smear is all the evidence that they ever existed.
"Fine. Thanks Shepard." She looks around, then stops and point at a large tendril going into the wall. She then heaves me up.
"And now you can repay me. See that big nerve-tendril over there?" so that is what it is?
"Yeah?"
"Your job is to destroy it as much as you can, as fast as you can. we'll cover you."
"Why?"
"The ExoGeni guys told John that the Thorian depends on its connections to the rest of the organism to survive. We cut them off, we kill it."
"Alright, you've got any grenades?"
"Sure, always carry three of 'em. Why?"
"Give 'em to me. I am in the mood for blowing shit up" I send her a grin which I guess does some kind of impression on her, because she unclips her grenades and hands them to me;
"Have fun." She says, and I run off, through the slob, towards the great nerve-thing. When I stand before it, I realize it was a good thing I got those grenades. I would have never taken thing down with my pistol, infinite ammo or not. I grab one of the grenades and stick it in between the wall and the organism. The next goes the same way. I prime the last one, putting it among its friends. Now I just have three seconds to move my ass before the whole thing blows. It's just hard as hell, running through this mess. When I have managed to get around the corner, no more than three meters away from the bombs, the grenades go off. The blast sweeps away a portion of the slob in front of the doorway, uncovering a hole in the floor. So that's where they come from… a hole… when I look inside the room again, the nerve-tendril is almost completely obliterated, there is a searing heat, and the remains are burning. Wow… can't believe that actually worked…
"Good job Fisher!" Jane shouts, while she warps a group of zombies in powder. She points at another door on the far side of the room;
"There is another one in there. Same as last time." She says, producing a final grenade with her Omni-tool. She hands it to me where after she returns to work on thinning out the enemy's numbers.
"No offence commander, but can't we just blow up this giant thing? I mean, it is sitting out in the open like a sitting duck."
"Go ahead, try and shoot it. I've already wasted a heat sink on it, and it didn't even start to bleed." She says, kicking a zombie in the chest and squashing its head when it is down. She quickly removes her foot before it is eaten by acid, but the surrounding green dung isn't affected in the least. It just absorbs the acid like a sponge would water.
"Alright, I'm going." I still have my own two grenades remaining. Weird, I could have sworn my armor had three when I rushed out of the Normandy… So I take her grenade and wade through the plant-dung, moving what feels like a click an hour. I'm almost tackled by another zombie, but since my grenades are in the belt, my gun is in my hand, so I put the entire sink into the fucker, ending up with bashing its head in with the searing side of the pistol. The fucker is tougher than the rest of them, and I have to keep bashing until its brains or whatever it is, splatters across the floor, and its claws lose their grip on my armor.
I run into the chamber and place the charges. When I'm done, I prime the last grenade and stick it in there with the others. I turn around to leave, but I am stopped. In front of me is the green Asari. She has no hole in her head, and she is staring at me with a look that could kill. Before I can even raise my gun, she flings me across the room and smashes me into a corner, only seven meters inside the room. Fuck! I thought Sev blew out her brain!
She stands above me, arms glistering blue, and with the gaze of a hunter eying its prey. Well… I'm fucked. At least the grenades will take her with me… And as if they were awaiting my command, the bombs go loud, enveloping the entire room in flame and smoke, besides spreading plant material all over. I'm smashed against the wall again, the flames and the heat starting to boil and melt my armor. My helmet's glass cracks and the in-build computer fails. My Omni-tool flickers to life, and then erupts in a shower of sparks that, for a few moments overpowers the pain from the explosion. My shields are gone, vaporized in the heat from what amounts to a seven kiloton bomb. Or at least, that is how it feels. My right leg feels like it is broken, and my already broken arm snaps like a piece of wood against the wall. The pain is excruciating. My skin is starting to blister, especially on my left arm, where I couldn't fit my gauntlet or my arm's armor. The gauze burns away, and leaves my skin exposed to the heat from the now flaming room.
At least… there is no sign of the Asari…
"Thomas! Get up!"
"Can't… it… hurts too much…"
"Listen you inbred moron! If you don't get up now, you die!"
Roku really sounds scared. Well, he would be out of job if I died… can't have him unemployed, now can we? I try moving my leg, standing on it, but the pain tells me that it really is broken. I can move my left a bit, but it still hurts like hell. At last, the pain just becomes too much. I slump down against the wall again.
"I know… but it just hurts too much…"
"Well then, then I'll just have to drag your ass out of here… this is gonna hurt…" And not even a second has passed from he said that, till my limbs, broken and intact alike, starts working on their own accord, carrying my body to a standing position. I'm close to blacking out, but I manage to keep my eyes open and feel the tears of pain as Roku… carries me out from the burning inferno of that room. With each breath, I can feel a tremendous pain in my chest, like someone is stabbing me with a long sword from the insides. I must have broken some ribs, but did the Asari or the explosion do that? Through blurry and almost closed eyes, I can see Jane and the rest fanning out, cleaning up the zombies with one of the clones running down a ramp from upstairs, and explosions following his steps.
Through the thundering headache the pain is giving me, I can scarcely hear the sound of repeated gunfire. Jane and Sev are now pressed into a corner, both relying on their guns instead of her biotics. She must have reached her limit. Fixer is on the ground wrestling with one of them, while Garrus is pulling it off him. My gun hand raises on its own accord, pointing at and blasting a hole through the head of the nearest zombie. It then continues to zero in on others, putting a bullet through the head without me even having to aim. Not that I would be able to, I'm barely conscious. Garrus has gotten the thing of Fixer, and the two of them proceed to help out Jane and Sev, now more green than red, while I just slide down against a column and let Roku do the work for me. Since when were you this good a shot?
"Never was, just am."
"That didn't… that didn't make any sense…"
"Hard to explain. Now, just let me concentrate. Only thing you gotta do is keep breathing and keep your eyes open. I can only control you while you are awake."
"This hurts like hell! You know that?"
I am pointed against a doorway, where most of the zombies are coming from, and a rather big pile is starting to amount in front of me. I look down at my own body, and I can't help but notice a pool of blood starting to gather around me. The medi-gel isn't stopping it. Must be because of the heat from earlier, the computer couldn't handle it.
I am about to shoot the nearest zombie when a large explosion suddenly rocks the entire room. I look around the corner, or Roku does, to allow me to see what is happening at the center of the room. At the top, or near the top of the room, on one of the other floors, a horizontal pillar of flame shoots out from where one of the tentacles are fastened, and the entire arm is thrown out from that floor. A loud and piercing shriek comes from the Thorian as it loses its grip on the many walls, and starts falling through a hole in the floor. I can only stare as the massive plant simply plunges through the ground, disappearing from view. And as sudden as the zombies appeared, they all just dissolve. One, about to eat my arm, I just realized, simply turns into the same green dung as the ground is covered in, and just disappears as well. Well… now I can… relax… a bit… I see someone standing over me, and I realize that my gun is no longer in the air, but at my side. Roku must have abandoned control when the last zombie was dissolved. I can't see who it is standing over me, but it isn't Garrus. My eyesight is nearly fucked due to the blood that has started running into my eyes. A section of the glass in the helmet must have cracked inwards, cutting open my skin. Typical… I blinded myself…
Someone, possibly the person above me, is, I think, speaking to me. I just can't hear anything. The pain is gone, all but the last remnants that comes when I breathe. Something, some kind of fluid perhaps, has begun making it harder to breathe, and it forces me to cough, even though the sudden intake of breath causes my chest to spike up in pain. Despite the fire burning nearby, I feel strangely cold. I don't like the cold… I look down again, and while someone is hoisting me up, I can see a now rather big pool of blood where I sat.
When I land on the shoulders of said person, the pain in my chest reaches new levels, and I black out.
Illium, Tasale system
Nos Astra, Eternity
When Olafur woke up, he could at first not remember just where the hell he was, or how he had gotten there. The room was sparsely lit, and the ceiling was covered in hanging nets and crates filling them. After some temple-massage, he could feel a sharp pain in his cheeks. More specifically his left cheek. It felt like it was burning, coated with fire or being touched by searing iron;
What the hell happened last night? He thought, before looking around a bit more.
Why is my head feeling like a football?
He then noticed that he could not recognize this place as anywhere on Nos Astra he had been before. There was none of the blue and white sterile light that usually was so abundant in the Asari megacity. There was dust in the air, and rust on the ceiling. The whole place smelled of oil and something he hoped he mistook for shit. At least, it smelled like shit. Doesn't everything these days? He thought to himself, before noticing that his head and his entire body rested on a thin madras. He could easily feel the steel floor beneath his body, and now he also noticed that the pain in his cheek was suddenly lessened by huge amounts as someone applied a cold fluid and cloth to it. Must be Jane… did we get involved in another bar fight? I really can't rememb-… oh… right…
He suddenly remembered the events that had transpired the last two months. His date with Jane on the Citadel, that trigger-happy lowlife who wanted his money, the bullets entering his body, shredding his organs and arteries, waking up on Illium, dressed in that weird coat and being beaten by a bird-brain. He lay there with closed eyes again, pondering on what had happened. For some reason, the word bird-brain made him think of Garrus. Sorry pal… wasn't referring to you…
When the cold feeling came back, and the pain lessened again, he flung his eyes wide open. The visor just over his head almost flew back in shock and surprise with a high-pitched "Eeep!" as his head jolted upwards, only to smack into a crate. Instead of hanging in the ceiling, they must have them near the ground… or, that was what he thought until he noticed that the entire room wasn't much more than a meter and a half or so in height. Where the fuck am I?
His head had started killing him again, causing him to grab his head with the open palm of his right hand; a hand he then realized missed a finger. It was all gauzed up, the white and brown linen stained with blood. Well… I don't remember that one…
When he looked around again, he noticed the outline of a person against the only source of light in the room. He could remember waking up to the visor, and realizing that he was looking at a Quarian girl, he almost caught himself asking "Tali?" It was only because he knew, deep inside, that he was no longer anywhere near the girl he had come to consider a friend, as well as almost a little-sister.
"Keelah! You… you scared me." The filtered voice came out. Yep, definitely not Tali… Removing his hand from his forehead, he dared a closer look at her. She wore a light green Realk, and the same purple visor as Tali and any other Quarian he had met did. Her suit was a pleasant mix of a darker green and blue dots and spots around the suit. It definitely looked a lot different than Tali's suit. Under the visor, he noticed that her eyes, the two dots of light, were fixated on him. Looking down at himself, he noticed that someone had removed his pants. Thank the gods I still have my undies on… He saw that his legs, both the left and the right, had been bandaged and treated with the same white and now stained linen and gauze. The right leg in particular was heavily stained and colored dark red. Man…
"Are you… does it hurt? I mean, I tried fixing your legs, and I even managed to remove the bullets and stop the bleeding and, but then there was the matter of stopping it from becoming infected, and you face wasn't doing much better and… and… sorry, let me just… start over, okay?" The girl had spoken first, breaking the silence that had been between them. He could see her wringing her hands, fiddling with her fingers. Not Tali… and yet, she reminds me so much of her… heh, wonder how she took my death by the way… wasn't like I was around to ask her… not taking his eyes of the girl, Olafur slowly reached up to touch his chin, and felt the long gap that was currently only being held together by some sort of glue. It wasn't medi-gel, he could tell that much. Have been shot enough times to tell the difference…
"S-sure… go ahead… not like I'm going anywhere" he said, gesturing at his legs. He guessed that the reason he couldn't feel the pain, or the legs at all, was that she had applied some sort of painkillers to them. He then looked back at her, motioning for her to continue.
"When… when you stepped in… when you stopped them… defended me… I didn't really know what to think… I mean, no one besides another Quarian has tried helping me in any way before, and then you just throw yourself at five turians…" Five? 'Could have sworn there were at least six… "I just… I ran. I'm sorry, I know I should have tried helping you, perhaps stabbed one of them with my knife… but I was afraid… and then you just attacked them, swinging the pipe like some Krogan on a blood rage... I actually thought you could beat them… but then he shot you…" She said, looking down between her legs.
"The one-mandible guy?"
"Y-yes. when he had knocked you out cold he… cut off one of your fingers. I almost threw up when I saw him stuff it in a pocket. I remember he said it should serve as a reminder for 'that human' not to mess with his superior races again…"
"So… you were the girl that space-smurf was threatening?" He said, now actually recognizing her as the female Quarian from the alley.
"What is a 'space smurf'?" She asked, most of her nervousness now gone, replaced by confusion.
"Eh… that's… well, you are not the first Quarian I've seen being subjected to racism and such, and when it's Volus doing it, I just call them space-smurfs, or mole-men… really depends on my mood. But a space-smurf is just like a smurf… in space. And a smurf… Gods, it's been years since I've actually thought about that… is a small, tiny really, creature that lives in the forests. They are always bothering this poor old and ugly wizard, who I think is actually a jew, and when he tries to retaliate… sorry, went into too much detail there…"
"So… you have a small race called smurfs on Earth?" Olafur couldn't help but wonder at how fast the conversation had steered away from his injuries, and to more… normal matters. Though you can't exactly call discussing human child-lore with an alien girl for 'normal', can you?
"Well… no. it's actually a cartoon for children. It's a very old cartoon actually."
"How old?"
"'Bout a hundred and fifty or so years… give or take a few." He said casually.
"And… you know of it? I didn't realize humans were this… nostalgic."
"Well, I'm a special case. But to return to matters, why did that ass-hat threaten you?" He asked, crossing his legs while trying not to make a sneer due to the pain it caused him. The Quarian must have interpreted it as if he was sour, or mad at her, because she went back to look between her legs again, now seated on her knees.
"Well… I burrowed some money… well, a lot of money, from him, and when I then wanted to pay him back… well, I think you heard the rest…" He nodded, letting his intact hand run through his dark blond hair.
"Yeah… something about interests… and then I heard him say "your kind" and I… well, I guess the Shard Wine may have had something to do with it, but I just lost it." He noticed a change in her posture. Something about her seemed to relax a bit more. He took that as a good sign.
"But… I know this may seem like a… well, stupid question, and please don't get this the wrong way, but… why?"
"Why what?" he said, grabbing the bridge on his nose with two fingers, feeling it. Broken… great…
"Why did you…feel that way? I mean, why did you help me?" Slowly, it dawned on him, why she had seemed so unsecure earlier: She had thought he might just be prone to violence, or just picked a fight when he could.
"Ahh… you mean, why help a "suit-rat", don't you? Or a thief, or vagrant or beggar… or whatever the heck they call you guys?" the words caused her to flinch a bit. Barely noticeable, but he recognized the way she moved from when he had asked Tali about it the first time he spoke to her in Engineering.
"Yes… I mean, everyone I've met so far has done nothing but spite me and give me mean looks. Why are you different?" Her eyes were now back at his face. He could have sworn she was studying him, like if he was the first human she had ever seen. Not that he minded the attention, but it did feel a bit strange, having a foreign girl stare at him without his pants on. He then snapped back to her, thinking of something to say. Do I tell her about Tali? Well… no, no, I don't. What would happen if she for some reason wanted proof, and we met or called Tali who then wouldn't know anything about me? Then this girl would think me a liar and begin to suspect me… so, I just give her the usual...what is the usual?
"Well, I've never really been hiked on that whole racism-thing that seems to be so popular these days. I've known my share of Quarians, and not one of them have fitted the description of a 'Suit-rat' or a 'thief'." His story seemed to have eased her mind a bit, as her six fidgeting fingers had slowed down.
"Well… thank you, you know, for the help…" She said, obviously at a loss for words. She really isn't used to have someone helping her, is she? Olafur thought, not able to help a small smile that quickly became a sneer as the pain in his cheek forced him to shudder. I think I'll kill that guy, should I ever meet him again… a bit surprised over his own thoughts, at how calm they were, he thought to himself; Guess that's Jane's influence… guessed she rubbed off on me as well…
"Don't mention it… been a while since someone actually got the better of me… then again, I used to be armed and in armor…" And with Jane at my side… He thought, giving the ceiling an extra examination. He sighed, and then looked back at the girl;
"By the way, I don't think I got your name… if you don't mind, that is." He said. She looked at him for a moment, as to determine if he had some ulterior motives, but apparently, he came of clean;
"Tara. Tara'Velan nar Qwib qwib. Don't ask about the name, everyone does." She said. At first, he wondered if she meant her own name, but then it struck him. It was the ship's name. Thinking about it, it didn't really come off as a Quarian name. Actually, he remembered something about that name, something from years back...
"Well Tara, can I say Tara?" She nodded. "Well Tara, I'm Olafur. Or, actually that's my last name, kind of like Velan, but all colleagues call me that. Among friends, I'm just Magnus."
"It's… nice to meet you… again… Magnus. Can I call you that?" She asked insecurity in her voice. Gods, she even behaves like Tali.
"I was hoping you would… well, not that I would have forced it on you if… what I mean is… I wouldn't have minded Olafur or Sergeant either… but yes, I'm glad you will call me Magnus."
"Wait… Sergeant? Are you in the military?" Oh fuck me with a stick… I just had to mention the 'Sergeant', didn't I? He thought to himself, almost facepalming, but he stopped himself from making a scene, and decided to answer her instead. A partial truth at least;
"Yeah… but I think 'were' would be a more fitting description here…Tara."
"You were discharged?" Tara asked, now even more curious of the human in front of her. This 'Magnus' had shown her friendliness, even got beaten up sticking out for her. She would try to give him something in return, help, if he needed it.
"Eh… not exactly… left is more like it…"
"May I… I mean, would it be okay if I asked why?"
"I… don't really like to talk about it… Later?"
"Sure but… does that mean you want to stick around? I mean, I doubt there is anything here for you to do… well, that is… unless…" She suddenly seemed nervous, and Olafur didn't really understand why.
Tara looked at the man before her, her savior from earlier. His hair was the color of the sun, only a bit darker, and his eyes had a blue shimmering to them, almost as if they glowed on their own accord. She had, admittedly, chuckled a bit at his reaction to the missing trousers, but had taken it back when she felt he might be starring disapprovingly at her. She had wanted his help, or wanted to help him. Either way, she hoped he would stay for just a bit. Magnus was the first non-Quarian outside of her organization to treat her like anything but filth, and she wasn't eager to see him leave just yet. Behind her visor, she couldn't help a small smile as he uttered the word 'later'. It wasn't because she really needed his help, but there was something about him, something that told her he could be trusted. If he had some secrets, some memories he didn't want to tell her just yet, just all the more reason to keep him around. He could, she caught herself thinking, be useful. And interesting.
"By the way, where exactly are we?" Magnus, as he had allowed her to call him, suddenly spoke up again. He must have wondered if they were even still in Nos Astra.
"At my place… if that is what you would call it. It's nothing much, really, but I can sleep and eat here, so that's enough for me." He seemed confused at her answer, rubbing his temples with the intact hand. Though I bet he could use it better if he lost another fing- no! Why would I even… she did not understand just why she had considered this, but whatever the reason, she pushed the thought away. Humans didn't seem to function properly without five digits on each hand, a fact Tara never ceased to wonder over. She got by just fine with only three fingers, and the Turians did as well, just as the Volus and Salarians did. Actually, when Tara thought about it, the only race she knew had more than three fingers, besides the humans, were the Asari.
"And... wait a second... Tara, the way I remember the confrontation from last night… it was last night, right?" She couldn't help a small sigh, as well as a faint smile. He really was drunk then?
Something didn't add up in Olafur's head. The Volus Samor Kun had spoken of interests of multiple thousands of credits. So if Tara had burrowed that much cash… why did she live here? He had been around Jane and Tali long enough to know when people where telling lies of omission, and to know some Quarian body language. Right now, neither told him that she was lying. Apparently, this really was her place. But where did all the money go then? She must have burrowed hundreds of thousands of credits, at least, for the rates to amount to such an… amount.
"It was three days ago, actually. When the group had left you, blacked out and everything, I tried getting you to a clinic, but they all demanded papers and cash… I had neither at the moment. Samor had already taken every credit I had. So I had to…steal… some medi-gel from the place. Please believe me, I don't normally steal, but you were going to bleed out if I didn't stop the bleeding from your legs."
"Was it that bad? I mean, he only shot me twice… right?"
"What do you mean, 'only'? You were shot!"
"Yeah… right, sorry I'm just used to take way more fire than that… and just walk away from it."
"I have no idea how you would do that, but you were not just 'walking away' from that. You are lucky if you can stand on them when the wounds have closed."
"It doesn't hurt that much… sure you're not overreacting?"
"I filled you with painkillers. If I hadn't, you would probably still be screaming from pain as we speak." She seemed to have a strained patience, as if explaining things to a kid. Olafur threw his head back down on the madras;
"Great… just… great…"
Alright, how was that? We leave Thomas bleeding out from his little suicide-bombing-stunt. We hear some more about the estranged Olafur, and we learn that Jane may be able to work with John, and not just have him assasinated... or do we?
Oh well, that is all in the future. Remember to review and tell me if I messed up, or if I did it just right. Was the last section in particular alright? Changing viewpoints is harder than you might think.
(oh, and this is totally unrelated, and probably borderline reclamation, or whatever it is called, but go check out " Mass Effect: The first War" by "ProfFartBurger" Especially if you like Quarians.)
So, yeah, forgive the trail-off above, and I will see you all... later.
1 Kroner - Danish currency. 1kr normally equals 7,5 Euros, or about 5$.
2 demagolka - Monster, someone or something that causes great disgust and commits disgusting acts.
3 Namira - Daedric princess of ugly stuff, spiders and sickness. That kind of stuff.
4 aru'res - means "contact!" in Mandoa.