Alright, I've been hard at work on this one. I did a lot of... research, yes let's call it research, to find out the properties of alcohol, especially when it was connected to the ability to speak properly... anyway... Master Chief is still holding the lead in the PM's, followed by Hannah Shep and "Don't use anymore new ones" on a shared second place. On the third, I think we have... MC again? Eh... well, that's what I get for putting in the option of choosing him twice... and, comming in last, is Soap from Modern Warfare. So... so far it seems like I've got ten people taking interrest in the poll... oh well, enough of my bitching and such... Onwards!
Flameheart
Man, that was… a strange movie. Don't get me wrong, it was really cute in a lot of scenes, and it reminded me a bit about Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Actually I wonder if it isn't actually somewhat based off on that book. 'Fleet and Flotilla' is kinda the same wordplay as 'Pride and Prejudice', so… I don't know. I've already seen an Asari read the book, in English no less, so I wouldn't be that surprised. Still…
"Well, what do you think?" Ash says, leaning against me in the booth. We're currently sitting in Flux, where we've paid for a small booth off to the side. I'm not really one for exhibitionism. I guess that's something that rubbed off from my parents. The music in here is not what you would expect from a place like this, being a club and all. It's actually not that bad. Currently a piece of music sounding remarkably like a Batarian version of Elvis is going off, even with all the 'uh huh, Uh huh!'s. It's… weird, to say the least.
"About the movie?" I say, resting me hand on her head, letting it slide through her hair. From all the differences I've learned about her so far, I wouldn't be surprised if Ash started purring. I don't think I can stress this enough, but Hudson never did Ash the credit she is due.
"Yeah…" She says, sipping her beer through the long pink straw. We've got a beer, about half a liter for each of us. I don't normally go for more than one glass, but… well, Ash kinda challenged me to a drinking match. Which I won. I'm not sure if that is a good or a bad thing, but it was sure as hell hilarious to watch her collapse after having downed that last beer. I am not faring to well either though, but I was still sober enough to order a booth, and to drag Ash to her feet, and support her while we walked the long ragged road to salvation, meaning the far-off booth. The scary thing is, the second she could speak coherently, Ash ordered a beer for each of us, straw included.
"You… you know, I noticed something in that movie." I say, feeling the alcohol affecting my movements, but oddly enough leaving my thoughts clear as day. It's not even Roku, I've always had it like this with alcohol.
"Mmmmmm….?"
"Those… those… that Quarian girl… what's her name again?"
"Tali?"
"N-Nah, not her… in the move- movie. I swear, her legs…" I say, not being able to help a frown.
"What? Are you looking at other women now?" Ash says, still slurring due to the straw between her teeth. I swear, it's adorable to see her like this.
"No, no no… but… her legs were… they were straight."
"Mmm… what about that?" Ash sounds a bit sleepy.
"Well… don't Tali and John have legs that curve backwards?"
"Oh yeah… so, why didn't they in the movie?"
"I don't know… perhaps it wasn't quariams… Quarians?"
"Hmmm… bloody showbuisness."
"Why?"
"They are discritititin… discrimination… against Quarians." She says, emptying her glass with the straw but continues sucking, making that slurring sound from the straw.
"Hmm… I thought you weren't the biddest… biggest fan on aliens?" God Dammit, the beer is getting to me now… I thought I would be able to… I don't know, last a bit longer.
"Hm? Why, because I was a little rele… releu… reluctano…that word, when the aliens came aboard the Normandy?"
"Well… yeah." I say, giving her an apologetic smile.
"Hmpf… you know, that was just because I think… thought that Liara would steal you from me… after the meld, you know…" Despite being drunk, my innards immediately snap-freeze, remembering how I had taken great care to make sure Ash didn't find out. How long has she known?
"Ash… I…"
"Don't say anything you handsome… Scarface… Scarface… I think that sounds good, don't you?" She says, smiling her drunken smile, eyes weary and lids often slipping down, only to jump up again.
"Ash… I… Listen, I wanted to... to tell you in a way that… when you knew what the mind meld was… so you wouldn't…"
"Think you had lost interest? Were cheating?" She says, a teasing smile on her lips. Yawning, she places her empty glass on the table, slumping back down on my shoulder.
"Well… maybe… but, how long have you known?"
"Oh, you… you mumble in your sleep, you know that? When I sat there one of the days… no, nights, yesh, it was a night, you mumbled something about mind meld and Liara… so, of course I went to ask her…"
"What… did she say?" I can feel some of the fear leaving my body.
"Well, she told me why she had done it… and that you had at first… last? No, it was at first… you had not wanted to do it because of me… you silly… silly… something… I would never… I'm tired, are you tired?" She says, changing the subject faster than I can even fathom it.
"Yeah… maybe a bit… we've still got an hour before we have to be back at the ship. Do you want me to go pay?" I ask, emptying the last droplets in my beer. Well, I can still move my hands normally, so I hope the same goes for my legs.
"Ash?"
No response
"Ash? Are you actually sleeping?" I say, gazing to where her form has slumped against my shoulder. Listening carefully, I can actually pick up her breathing, even above the music. The Batarian version of the king of Rock has ended some time ago. Now I think they're playing some kind of Asari-music. It's a bit calmer, probably because most of the early customers are leaving, and the late ones haven't arrived yet. Kind of like a Siesta.
"Alright, I'll go pay. Just be awake when I come back." I say, lowering her down to the seat while I get up.
Whoa! Okay, I need to focus here…
My walk has become a bit more… forced, causing me to spread out both arms as a sort of balance-rod. I probably look silly as hell, but then again, I've had about seven liters of pure Dark Ale before I beat Ash, then we had half a liter afterwards.
"Don't worry, I've got it…" Roku says, and immediately I find it so much easier to walk straight.
"Wow… what did you just do?"
"Well… let's… let's just say that I pieced… eased the burned? No, burden on your system… Damn, you really drunk a lot, you know that?" Wait a… he sounds…
"Roku… are you… drunk?"
"He- hell no… spirits don't get drunk… oh dear…" I'm close to collapsing on the floor, I'm laughing that hard. Seriously, he is drunk! Roku, the being of divine power with the often ass-hat attitude… is drunk!
"No… I'm… not… just, the fumes from all the… spirits… yes, that's it… I am just being disturbed by other spirits."
"Face it, you're drunk as fuck Roku. Even I handle booze better."
"Oh go to hell…"
"Sorry, you didn't give me that option." I think as I reach the bar-counter. The guy standing there looks like he is just seeing another drunken monkey, ready to head home. As I return to the booth, Ash is still lying exactly where I left her. She's snoring. Yes, she is actually snoring again. Oh dear… do I wake her? I can't help but feel the stupid smile that crosses my face when I'm looking at the normally so staunch and steadfast Gunnery Chief. Ashley is the rock I'm standing against, the shield that… well, shields me from harm, and has been pretty much ever since we met. Since we met… God, how long has it been? Two months? We've only known each other for two months? Well… I've known her, sort of, for years, but… it's difficult to probably describe what I'm feeling right now, looking down on the sleeping, snoring and actually slightly drooling form of the most perfect woman in existence. She just… she is the ideal woman, kind and brave, compassionate and vengeful. One second she can be shouting down a Krogan, the next comforting a kid with a scraped knee. Seriously, what the hell does she see in me? I mean, sure I may have saved her life once, on Eden Prime… but since then, she's always been the one saving my ass. She has even stood up for me more than once, and not just about Roku and my past. She… she could have gotten anyone… why did she choose me? Why am I so special?
"Do… do I really has… have to answer that one?"
"I meant besides the obvious."
Sighing, I look down at Ash again, instantly regaining my smile. I just can't help it. So what if I don't know why she likes me, so what if I don't understand it all. She likes me, and I love her. Bending down, I caress her forehead, wiping a few strains of hair, and a bit of drool, from her face. Wiping it off on my thighs, I run a few fingers over her head. That soft, soft skin… how can someone who's made the military her life, have such soft skin?
"Ash… you ready to go?"
"Mmmmglgbgggb…." Oh Mara… this is just too damn cute.
"Ash… do you want to head back to the ship now? We're only a couple of minutes away from the docks."
"Mmm… don't… wanna walk…" Okay, so at least she is somewhat awake. That's a start.
"Well, then how do you plan on getting back there? Do you want me to carry you?" I say, joking with her. I still remember the last time I tried carrying her, how I failed at that, almost getting the both of us killed. Well, tonight we're not in danger from anything but alcohol poisoning. Which, I guess, is a bad thing as well.
"Mmmmm… Yes please corporal… that's an order… thank you very much…" Okay, that's when my grin disappears. I did not expect her to actually take me seriously there, let alone actually accepting it.
"Ehm… are you sure that's a good idea? I've had even more than you…"
"Just… just follow orders Fish… Fishy… Fisher… Thomas… I may be drunk, but… I iz still giving' you an order…" She says, slurring worse than I've ever heard before. Note to self, make sure Ash doesn't drink that much, the next time we're out. That's when it hit me. Actually, I guess it should have struck home some hours ago, during the movie… but I'm not realizing it until now: I'm on a date… with Ash. I guess the universe is trying to make up for its latest screw-ups.
"Oh well, yes ma'am." I say, bending over her. She lifts her arms towards me like some four-year old wanting her daddy to carry her on his shoulders. New arm or no, I would not be able to do that. My back would probably crack in more than one place. So, instead I do the only thing I can.
Moving my hands under her back and thighs, I swoop her up in what most of all resembles bridal-style. Suddenly, I'm holding a possibly seventy-or-so kilos woman in my arms, not sure if my legs can take it. To hell with it though, I march out of there, a starring audience, and a somewhat blushing Gunnery Chief in my arms. You know, I just might think my legs can take this after all…
"Hells yeah… yes… I haves has… have got to see how this turns out…"
"Well… nice to see you are enjoying the show."
After a few minutes of walking, with a weight that grows heavier by the step, I round a corner, coming face to face with the Normandy… and some kind of woman, with a strange hovering drone-thingy next to her. She has medium length dark hair, and a somewhat middle-eastern tint. Also, she is currently sporting the beginning of a black eye. At first, she looks a bit surprised, as to the way I'm arriving, but she quickly regains her composure… and a somewhat unpleasant look in her eyes. Scanning me and Ash, she suddenly turns on the drone, causing a green light to flicker on. This can't be good… what did I do now?
"Good evening Corporal Fisher, just the man I wanted to catch. Though it seems someone else has already done so. I imagine there are some perks to being promoted, no?" She says, shooting a look at Ash. Wait a second… that voice…
"Ehm… who are you again?" I say, still carrying Ash in my arms, sleeping like a baby. A baby with an amount of booze like Barney Gumble with free access to Moe's stuff.
"Ah, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. Khalisa Bent Sinan al-Jilani, Westerlund News." Oh Fuck! It's her!
"Well… this should be interesting."
"Ehm… Miss Jilani, I'm sure you have some fine questions and all, but I really need-"
"Oh don't worry, it won't take long. Now, we're live." What the- when the fuck did I agree to that?
"I like her already…"
"Yeah, really charming…"
"I…"
"Corporal Fisher, you have recently been promoted to your current rank, what was the promotion for?" Okay, that was not so bad. I was expecting something far worse.
"Well, I apparently did some really good work on Feros, helping save the colony from the geth."
"I see. The commander of your ship, the Normandy, he is a Quarian right?" she says, a slight frown on her face.
"Yes… John'Shepard has been appointed commander of the Normandy since Anderson stepped down. Why-"
"So, the most advanced and secret warship in the Alliance Navy is now in the hands of a Turian and a Quarian?"
"I guess that's one way to put it… look, why are-"
"So we have effectively handed over the best ship we have, to the council?"
"I don't see why that's-"
"Have you not?"
"Well, I guess the council does decide what missions we go on, but-" I say, but she just turns around to the camera;
"There we have it folks. Humanity has once again had to bow to the council, serving as something akin to an errand-boy."
"Hey wait, that's not-"
"Alright, next question: I have reports that not only are you letting a Quarian command your ship, you are also obeying orders from a Turian, allowing another Quarian to get her hands on the Tantalus Drive-core, and there are Krogan mercenaries onboard as well. How do you defend letting all these types onto a ship that's supposed to be a secret even from most humans?"
"Wha- no! I have no idea what you mean by 'secret', but we hire people by skill, not by race. Can you please ask questions that you actually need me to answer, or can I get back to the ship? I'm kinda burdened here." I say, feeling my left shoulder hurt from the weight.
"Well, since you ask. I have heard that you and Williams have been engaging in scandalous behavior on missions, while even the aliens can restrain themselves. How can you possibly justify whoring out while human lives are at stake?" She says, a smirk on her lips is starting to form. If I wasn't carrying Ash, I would have punched this woman's jaw into the back of her skull. In the background, I suddenly notice Nic has appeared, and is making his way towards us with a slightly worried mine.
"Now, miss Jisani or whatever your name is. As you can see, I'm a bit… occupied, so I politely direct you to speak to my colleague and friend Nicolai Tengberg, who is walking towards us as we speak. I bid you a good evening." I say, barely capable of suppressing a scowl. I nod to her, then turn to face Nic who has just arrived at the scene.
"Hey Nic, care to take over from here?"
"Eh, sure but… who is that?" He says, looking at Jilani who's currently speaking to her drone.
"A hint: If she pisses you off, Hudson pretty much made it a rule to punch her." I can see his face lights up in a mischievous grin.
"No… way. It's her?" He looks like Santa just dropped off an extra big present, just for him.
"Yup, knock yourself out." I say, moving my hands to get a better grip on the sleeping Chief in my arms. As I move past him, I can hear him say;
"Looks like someone had a good night." Yeah, that's about true… I think, entering the docking-tube t the ship. When the V.I has run its course, I proceed down the CIC, gaining looks from multiple eyes still on duty. Some are grinning to themselves, while others are looking at us with a somewhat sweet smile. Others still are frowning. Oh well, no one said I had to be popular outside the ground team.
The stairs are the hard part, forcing me to walk down backwards in order to be able to see where the heck I'm going. When I reach the second deck, I'm glad to see that it's empty, not even Kaidan at his usual post. Everyone seems to have gone to bed early. Using my elbow, I press the panel to the elevator. When it comes to a stop, I enter, not noticing the pair inside until I'm actually inside;
"Well… looks like someone enjoyed his and her evening. Evening miss Williams." A gruff voice says, alerting me to the presence of the two clones. The bald man is easy to recognize, being the only baldy in the squad, Scorch is kinda standing out. The other one, the guy with the gruff voice, has a long scar running down his cheek, on the same one as me. Only, his goes all the way from the top of his forehead, to the bottom of his chin. Wonder how the hell he got that one… must be Sev.
"Yeah Sev, it's young love. Or just two really drunk people."
"Heh heh heh… they never get any smarter, do they?" Sev chuckles. It's really creepy actually.
"Hey, to my defense, I'm not drunk. Ash just is… and needs to lie in her bed and sleep."
"Mmm, you're sure that's all you are going to? Put her to bed?" Sev says, raising a brow.
"Hey come on Sev, don't pester them." Scorch says, before turning to me; "Sorry about that, he had a small… contest, with Wrex, the big red Krogan. They ended up drinking huge amounts of something called Ryncol or something. Sev handles alcohol just fine, but the amount he drank? He could have killed a Rancor with that much alcohol."
"Mara… he's going to have a sore head in the morning." I say, smiling at Sev who is starting to look mildly pissed. I didn't know you could get a Rancor to drink alcohol…
"Oh yeah, if you like journalists, there's one outside now, asking questions to whoever wants to listen."
"Nah, I think I'm going to keep Sev away from Journalists for a while. We met one earlier today, and… well, he gave her a right hook. Granted, she was annoying as hell, but… nah, I don't mind him doing it. she was asking all kinds of questions about our equipment, why we all looked alike, if we were part of some creepy cloning-program, if we were made to overthrow our human masters… that's when Sev punched her." Could it be…
"That journalist… was she Arabic, really annoying and had this drone flying next to her?" I say, waiting for the elevator to reach the crew-deck.
"Yep… and she was called Jilani-something-something-something…"
"Damn… Sev, you may not know it, but you may be on the news soon. 'Hero of the Citadel' Sev-Oh Seven recently defeated the evil tabloid journalist Khalisa Bent Sinan al-Jilani, saving humankind and celebrities alike. Sev, I would shake your hand if I wasn't tied up here." I say, not managing to suppress a grin.
"Well, we're on our way to the hangar to pick up our stuff. There's this weird woman who keeps relocating it."
"Ah, that's just Kasumi. Don't worry, she doesn't mean anything by it."
"Hmm, a strange way to chat with crewmates…" Scorch says, giving me a puzzled look.
"Yeah well, that's just how she is. Where do you guys sleep by the way? I don't think I've seen you in the crew quarters."
"Nah, we've grown used to sleeping in pods, so we're using the sleeper pods near the battery."
"Those are for sleeping?"
"Yeah?"
"Oh… well I never guessed that… oh, my stop." I say, noticing that the elevator has finally stopped.
"Sure, have fun." Sev says, resulting in Scorch jabbing him hard in the side.
"What?" I can hear him say as I leave the elevator behind. A small frown emerges on my face as his words finally sink in. He thinks I'm going to… have… have sex with her?
"Hmm… that would be what most young men would do to a drunken beauty like her… I'm glad to say that you seem to be different."
"Glad to hear you're sober again, and yeah, I mean… I think I… I… this is all so…"
"New? Uncomfortable? Nerve-wracking?"
"Yeah… I mean… I would, I think…"
"If I were you, whom I, to some extend is… I would wait. The first time shouldn't be drunk."
"That's… a good advice…"
"They mostly are…" Roku says.
Entering the crew quarters, I find the three only bunks unoccupied, one of them being is still out there somewhere, so I have to guess that the bed with man-clothes, socks, a table with a disassembled gun in parts, and an example of… Fornax? That must be his bunk. Lucky sod got one of the bunks facing towards the wall, meaning that he got a bedside table. While the other bed is mine, I'm guessing that the last one is Ash's.
Walking over to it, careful not to wake anyone, I am finally able to place her down on the bed. Getting up from my crouched position, I steal a glance at her sleeping facial features. So… so beautiful. I can't help but smile, feeling a small lump in my throat looking at her. Turning in the bed, she appears to be awake. Or at least, if you would call being half-way dead from booze to be awake.
"Mmmmm… Thomas?"
"Shhhhh… just sleep. Your head will probably kill you in the morning you know?"
"Mmm… how did… how did I end up here?" She mumbles, half-way asleep.
"I carried you, remember?"
"Mmmmm… such a gentleman…" She says, before almost instantly proceeding to snore. If only booze could make me fall asleep that fast.
"Well babe, that's what I'm here for." I say, sneaking back to my own bunk, leaving her to sleep it out. Shaking my own shoes off, I discard the shirt and uniform, pulling off my pants and throwing them over the rail above my head, working as an extra step for whoever is sleeping above me. Well, at least he or she, can't be as bad as the guy on Eden Prime.
…
October 2th, 2183
Normandy Mess-hall 08:25 (Ship time)
"Morning Fisher!" Garrus shouts from the mess-hall's largest table. The crew, both ground and ship, is gathered here to enjoy something I thought I should never see aboard the Normandy: A buffet. Along the wall, near the consoles where Kaidan normally work, a long table has been positioned, made with a tablecloth and covered with sausages, scrambled eggs, bacon and bread with jelly. And that's just the Amino-acid. For the Dextroes, there are Turian sausages, steaks and tubes with flavored and spiced versions of human oatmeal. Ash is already digging into a large portion of scrambled eggs and bacon, a pained expression on her face. I guess she is having hangovers… Wrex has grabbed for seven man sausages and Garrus is munching a mix of the oatmeal and some Dextro-sausages. I guess people have different tastes, but seriously, oatmeal and sausages? I guess Turians lack something called taste buds. John and Tali are both sitting with each their tubes, sucking whatever is actually in them. The clones are sitting a bit off to the side, with the exception of the bald one, Scorch. For some reason he has positioned himself across the table from Liara, who seems to be eating the Scrambled eggs with even more vigor than Wrex can muster against the sausages. Scorch, and the squad, being humans in, well, in appearance and I guess in the genetics as well, are eating the same as Ash, and Nic himself has sat down next to Tequila with a plate filled to the brim with bacon and bread with strawberry-jelly. Waltzing over to the long table, I just send Garrus a smile, letting him know he won't get the satisfaction of making my head scream, just like he's probably done with Ash already. Kaidan has joined the original table, sitting there alongside with Jane and Nihlus, looking like they're deep in conversation with Chakwas. It seems all of them have finished breakfast, as they are sporting a few mugs of steaming black coffee. Expect for Jane, who has delved into the new supplies of tea Nic bought from Yalina, deep in discussion with Navigator Pressly. Returning from the buffet with a plate full of scrambled eggs, bacon and bread with jelly, I notice that it has become something of a rule where people sit. Everyone is pretty much sitting exactly where they did the first tie Nic made curry chicken. Idle talk is merging, becoming an incoherent mass of noise. The spot next to Ash is still free, if you don't count in the ice-bag currently sitting in front of it. Man, she must really hate her life right now… speaking of which, how come I don't have a hangover, I wonder…"
"Ssssshhhh… not so many thoughts…"
"Oh yeah, that's why…" I think with a smile. Roku really took the bullet there, but I didn't ask him to do it, so it's on him. Still, I'm grateful I'm not the one with a hangover right now. I think I'll leave that part to Ash. As I sit down next to her, she gingerly removes the bag of ice from the table to let me put down my things. Sitting down, I give her a brief kiss on the cheek, and for a moment it seems like the pain vanishes from her face. Still, it returns shortly after.
"Morning Ash, how's the head?" I ask, spreading the jam on my bread.
"Mmmmm…. Not, not that loud… head is… killing me…" She says, pressing the bag of ice harder toward her temple.
"Sorry, but at least, now you know how I feel half of the time." I say with a grin. Putting down the knife I jam the entire piece of toast inside in only one bite.
"Scchhhh… Do you… do you know what's good against hangovers?"
"Ofer dan or eer?... sorry, 'other than more beer?" I say, swallowing the lump.
"Yeah… not going there again… how come you don't have a headache?" She says, giving me a look over. I just shrug, starting to dig into my scrambled eggs;
"Well, turns out that Roku can't take alcohol. He apparently felt like taking the drunkenness from me, ensuring I could actually carry you back. Now, he pays the price for it."
"Damn… poor guy."
"Nah, he'll get over it. By the way, I don't know if you were awake when I carried you back, but do you know who I ran into on my way back?" I say, scooping in a forkful of scrambled eggs.
"No, who? An old friend more?" Ash says, forking her bacon.
"Not exactly a friend. A journalist named Khalisa bent Sinan Al-Jilani."
"Hmm… I've heard about her alright. Tabloid, right?"
"Yeah… she asked me a lot of questions, one of them I think involved you, but I'm not sure."
"Bad ones?" She says, a worried look on her face as she finishes her scrambled eggs.
"Well, let's just say, that if I hadn't had you in my arms, plus the dislocated shoulder, I would have relocated her jaws. I can feel a bit of the spite from last night coming back up again."
"You have a dislocated shoulder? Why haven't you seen Chakwas yet?"
"Don't worry, I will… and I've got to see if someone on this ship knows how to fix a short-circuited arm." I say, flexing the arm in mention. Oddly enough, it hurts a lot less than yesterday.
"Huh… let me guess: it happened in the explosion?"
"Yeah…"
"How come, that you haven't even been in active service for more than two months, and already you've collected more scars than Wrex?" She says, astonishment written on her face. I shrug;
"Well, maybe I'm just unlucky." I say, crunching down my last toast.
"Hmm, or maybe you need more training. Remember, you were actually only in boot camp for one day. The fact that you're still alive speaks volumes."
"For me or you?"
"Me, of course." She says, a small grin etched on her lips before they are contorted again by pain, caused by the headache no doubt.
"Hmm, what do you say we take a round on the mats, right after breakfast?" She says.
"Uhm… don't you have a headache?" I say, scratching my neck.
"Yeah, but you have a dislocated shoulder. It should be fairly even."
"Hmpf… why do I get the feeling it's going to be broken by the time we're done?" I say, rubbing the body part in mention.
"Nah, I'll go easy on you. But we really need to get you in shape again. So, first thing after breakfast, you head down to the gym and I'll be your coach."
"Yay… great, more torture… I can't wait." I say, giving her a sly smile. Suddenly, Ash, having finished her breakfast, puts down her fork and knife, and leans over on my shoulder.
"You know… I had fun last night. More than I've had for quite some time." She says, her voice suddenly much softer. I can't help but smile, feeling the fire rise from my stomach. Gently, I put my arm around her, and give her a soft hug.
"Yeah, me too. I actually thought you could drink more than that." I say to tease her.
"Hey, to my defense… I let you win." She says, pouting in fake-hurt.
"Oh? So when you collapsed on the floor, that was acting?"
"I would punch your face, if it wasn't that damn handsome, you lucky sod."
"Yeah, I'm lucky… So far I've been killed twice, blown through the air by a rocket, shot more times than I can count, been in a death-struggle with a biotic clone, suffered from hallucinations, tried to kill myself and finally I've been blown up and buried alive… so yeah, I… I guess I'm lucky." I say, reciting injuries while counting on my fingers. Ash just throws her free hand up, almost hitting my face;
"Fine, fine… actually, now that I think about it, I think you've suffered more injuries than anyone else on this ship combined… even Wrex."
"If you had told me, just two months ago, that today I would be able to compare and best Wrex in scars… I would have been very skeptical, you know that?" I say, scratching her back outside the uniform. I can practically feel the occasional shiver running down her spine.
"So, Tengberg, what's the occasion for this grand feast? You must have burned through quite a bit of rations to make this." Garrus says, still chewing on his turian sausage. God that sounded wrong. Looking up with a strand of bacon sticking out from his mouth, Nic quickly swallows it, looking at where the voice came from. Locating Garrus, he shrugs;
"Yeah well, I kinda thought we had something to celebrate."
"True enough. The Council actually believing us… I'd say that qualifies as a reason." Garrus says with a happy voice; "I say, we bring a cheers to the guys who made that possible. To Shepard, Fisher, Nihlus and that spirit!" Garrus says, raising his glass of fruit-concentrate. The other guys, even Wrex and Jane, raise their glasses as well, and a loud, if not incoherent 'Hear, hear' is shouted across the deck. I am not quite sure how to react to this. No one's ever brought a… what's it called, a 'salute'? In my name. Looking around, I can see John looking around as well, looking just as confused. Damn, and now my cheeks are heating up. I never was good to deal with being the center of attention. At least Nihlus doesn't seem to… hey, where is Nihlus?
"I detect him to be in the men's bathroom. I refuse to give further details."
"Thanks, much appreciated."
"Thank you Garrus. Thanks all of you." John says, getting up from his seat. Is there a speech underway?
"And, it may be true that it was the three of us who convinced the council, but… and I stress this: We would never have been able to do it without the rest of you. Now, we may not have served together for that long, but there is no one else I would rather have at my side through this. We are going to hunt Saren down, and we are going to stick our main cannon up his and Sovereign's collective ass, and we're going to blast them straight to whatever hell they crawled out of!" Cheers and shouts erupt all over the room, as well as from the additional crewmembers sitting at the new table purchased at the Citadel. John has actually become quite a popular captain, even from those previously reluctant to accept an alien commandeering the Normandy. Looking towards the table with the rest of the ground crew, I spot Pressly smiling while looking at John. I remember reading somewhere that Pressly was somewhat uncertain about having all these aliens aboard, but he actually seems like he's opened up towards John. Sitting down again John suddenly looks at me. It takes me a while to realize that it isn't simply to look at me… he wants me to get up as well. Hmpf, no thank you. I'm pretty sure you're the only one who would want that John…
"Hey Fisher, don't you have a speech as well?" I hear someone shout. I don't even get the chance to look for the source, before more people join in, demanding that I say something as well. Fuck! Looking to my side to find some kind of support, I notice Ash is looking at me as well, gesturing for me to get up.
"Oh no… no no no!" I growl to her, careful to keep my voice low.
"Come on, you can't be that bad." She says, not at all careful about keeping her voice down.
"Yeah come on Corporal, say something." Another voice says. God Dammit! Do I really have to?
"Come on, as Ash said: you can't be that bad."
Great…
Slowly, I get up, looking around. Most of the people in here are looking straight at me, while a few are still hunched over their breakfast. I remember that I'm supposed to say something, noticing the stares. Oh dear…
"Uhm… hi… Yeah, I'm Thomas Fisher, though most of you just seem to know me as Fisher… or, actually it's Fisker, but… let me just start over, alright?" I say, scratching my neck and feeling the boiling feeling rise in all body parts;
"Okay, so yeah, we convinced the council that the Reapers are real, and that Saren is trying to bring them back… and that Sovereign is a Reaper, and… now we have the council on our side, I mean, more than we did before, and… well, I haven't been on the Normandy for as long as I would want, and my time here has, without a doubt, been the best in my life. And, that is actually counting in all the times I've been smashed to crumbs. I've been reunited with my best friend, meet a woman like none else, and to top all of that off, I've met some of the most fantastic individuals I'll probably ever get the honor of working with. I've even had the chance to fight alongside Shepard, both of them, and both of them have saved my life at least once. If anyone ever tells me that there is something better than this job… I'd tell him to lay off on the booze." I say the last part with a grin, and there is laughter around me, as well as an applause or two, and a 'Hell yeah' somewhere out there. Okay… where the hell did all that come from? I actually did quite well. I think as I sit down again, receiving a peck on my chin from the side.
"Not bad. You sure you've never done speeches before?" Ash says, snuggling into me. We've kinda become the couple on the ship, next after John and Tali, because, well he is the commander, and she is the cute engineer everyone loves like a little sister, even me… despite the fact that I think she's at least one year older than me… and is probably still a little bit annoyed over the fact that I knew about the ambush in the back-alley, yet still carried through with taking her there.
Still, I think she may be warming towards me, if slowly. I don't think it is in her nature to have a grudge against people. Looking back at Ash, my mind slowly pushes out less cheerier thoughts. Hell, I've got it made here, so no need for moody thoughts. Not yet at least. Still, Virmire is coming closer with each day, and I have still not gotten to the part where I have the engines from Kasumi. Speaking of the devil, where is that little Asian now? I haven't seen or heard from her since we took off from the Citadel.
"Sure, unless you count in presentations in classes back home… other than that: never." I say, continuing to scratch her back, with the occasional shivers as a result.
"Hmm… well, speech or not, you've made a difference here, ya know?"
"How so?"
"Well, I'm obviously not talking about the fact that the council will now be preparing for the Reapers…"
"So, what then?"
"Well, you've made sure this ship is more prepared as well, and that we will soon have better than state-of-the-art weapons… and, I suspect that, if not for you, we wouldn't have the clone-guys onboard now."
"Sure, that's something… but don't you think you or Kaidan or Jane could have stopped a firefight from breaking out as well?"
"I'm not talking about the stand-off. I'm talking about the fact that we even got them onboard." She says, gesturing towards the four commandoes sitting to themselves. Sev has somehow found the time to start disassembling a hand-pistol, spreading the parts out on the table. I briefly look at them, before turning back towards Ash.
"Well, that might have been an unexpected bonus…"
"Whatever, are you ready to head down to the gym?" Ash says, slowly getting out of the embrace. Reluctantly, I let her go, not really wanting to end the cuddling, but at the same time, she's right. And, I have to give her credit for wanting to spar now.
"Yeah, yeah sure… you go on ahead, I've gotta ask Nicolai about something." I say, slowly getting up from my seat. Ash follows, heading towards the lift. Having dumped my dish in the dishwasher, I head back towards where Nic is sitting, apparently trying to talk Tequila into something.
"Hey Nic, can I ask you about something?" I say, making him aware of my presence. Turning to face me, he adapts the best Godfather-pose I've seen in years;
"So… you come before me, on this day of my friends promotion… what can I do for you?" Dear God, he would only need the orange to make it complete. That, and the gray hair and a moustache.
"You remember that Journalist from yesterday?" I ask, taking a chair. It looks like there is a degree of fear in his eyes, but it quickly passes.
"Oh fuck… did C-Sec call?"
"What? Why would C-Sec… what happened, exactly, when I left you alone with her?" I somewhat hope he didn't kill her… you know, because that would be bad. Or, I think it would.
"Well, when you left, she started questioning me. At first it was innocent enough, my name, job and so on and so on… then she asked about you and Ash, and I replied that was none of her business…" He says, giving a faint smirk.
"Okay, but why should C-Sec call because of that?" Tequila asks, entering the conversation.
"Well… then she suddenly showed me this film where Tali and I were walking around inside the Tea-shop. I Swear, that angle… she would have to have been standing outside the window facing the fly-roads… but… we were high above the roads… how the hell did she get those films?" He says, throwing out a hand, almost hitting Wrex in the process.
"Well, then she started insinuating that I was having an affair with a 'suit-rat', something 'degenerating' for humans, knowing that she is with Shepard. So, not only did she imply that Tali was cheating on John… she called her a suit-rat!" I sigh. This was exactly what I had been both fearing and hoping for.
"What… did you do to her?"
"Well, I can imagine she might be on a hospital somewhere by now… oh don't look at me like that, I didn't maim her or anything." He says, taking his hands up in a defensive form.
"Well, than what?"
"I slammed her camera to the ground, then punched her in the face and when she tried running, I threw the drone after her. I… might have broken her arm, but I'm not sure." He says the last part with a bit of regret, but I suspect it's regret that he might not have broken it after all.
"Jesus Tengberg, that's extreme!" Tequila says, looking at him with a mixture of appall and excitement.
"Hey, she was a total bitch! You should have met her Teresa, I'm pretty sure you would have done the same."
"Maybe, but seriously, you threw her own camera after her?"
"Well, normally Shepard would have punched her, so…" He says, shrugging her verbal attack off. I leave the two of them to bicker, thinking to myself that they will either end up with a gun pointed at each other, or together… or maybe both.
Leaving the elevator from the mess-hall to the crew-deck, I can see Ash has actually changed into a training outfit, consisting of shorts, a black t-shirt and a pair of indoor-shoes. Her forms are… somewhat noticeable through the shirt. Noticing me, Ash bows down, picking up a white bag and throws it at me. Catching it, I look at the contents: A pair of indoor-shoes, a white sports T-shirt, a pair of gray shorts and a sweatband. It's workout clothes. How the… did Ash buy this for me? When? Wait, she spent her free-time before the cinema being out shopping, didn't she?
"Go change, I've got a nice long program for you." She says, inspecting one of the machines along the wall. Seven minutes or so later, I'm dressed up in my new sportswear. Walking back towards Ash, I can't help but notice how much easier it is to move in this dress-up, instead of in my everyday clothes.
"Alright Ash… what have you gotten in store for me? Lift the Mako?" I say, a small smirk crawling across my lips.
"Nah, not yet. I think we'll start with something a bit easier. Know this thing?" Ash says, pointing at the contraption next to her.
"Yeah, it's a… what's the word in English? Bench-presser?" I say. Oddly enough, I've lately found that some words are not translated when I speak them, resulting in some odd shifts in my voice when the translator glitches.
"Close enough, but you've at least got the idea. Now, since we have a couple of them, I'll throw you a little challenge."
"Oh?"
"Take more than me, and you get to decide the next place we go one a date." Ash says, a coy smile on her lips. Damn woman… how can you even exist? You're just too… too good to be true.
"Well, the rules of your old dimension may not play in here"
"Not what I meant… but thanks."
"So… you actually meant what you said, that you had fun?" I ask, a little less secure than her.
"Of course, I had a blast. Especially at the bar. Why?"
"Oh it's just that… well, it was the first date I've ever been on, and for some reason I was sure that I'd managed to fuck something up." I say, scratching my neck. I can't help but do it; it's kind of a reflex, something involuntary.
"Nah, I think you did quite well, although it was obvious that you were a bit insecure at times."
"Thanks, really. I… you know I'm not good with… the softer stuff in… when I'm talking, but… I don't think I would have ever been this happy if it wasn't for you Ash." Fuck, I can feel the lump pressing on again. Why does it have to do that every time I express my feelings?
"Awww, thanks. Now, before we both end up crying from sheer emotion at by the wall, how about we get that bench-press going?" She says, a mix between the warm smile and the coy one. I snap a salute which, I'm sure, must look really weird with me standing here in shorts and all.
"Aye, Aye ma'am." I say, joining her at the machines. When we're both laid down, in the right position, we started out simultaneously.
"One" She says, obviously feeling secure enough on her victory to actually spend air on speaking.
One
"Two"
Two. I think, not wanting to waste precious energy on words.
After what feels like an hour, but was probably only a few minutes, my entire body feels like it's on fire. I can't keep this…. Thirty-nine… up for much… forty… longer! Stealing a glimpse at Ash, I spot a few pearls of sweat on her face, but she looks nowhere near as pummeled as I am. I'm absolutely destroyed, but there is this little sushi-place that I saw on our way to the meeting with Valern, and I love sushi.
"Fifty-one" What the- how the hell did she get that far ahead?
Forty-five!
Forty-six!
Forty… Forty… come on body! Forty-seven!
"Fifty-three" I can hear the strain in her voice, so she must be reaching her limit as well. I hope.
Forty… Forty-eight! I can't… I can't do this… Forty-nine! Just one more!
"Fifty-five" Ash groans.
Fifty! Not… one…fucking…more! I groan, falling down on the bench;
"A… A… Ash… I…no… more…" I manage to get out a few words, but she just keeps going;
"What's the… matter Tho…mas? Tired al… ready?" She says between the crunches. Seriously, she can speak at this point? What the hell is she?
"Seriously Ash… how… the… hell… can you… still speak?" I gasp.
"Well… when you've… been in… the Alliance… for as…huh… as long as… I have… you work up… a good… get a… good shape" She says. She looks like she can just go on and on.
"Seventy, Alright…" Ash says, finally stopping her killing-spree, so to speak. My stomach feels like it's about to rip itself out.
"How… the… Hell?"
"Well Thomas, looks like I won."
"Fine… kick a… the man lying down, I won't… mind…" I say, rolling off the contraption and landing on the floor with a heavy thud. Looking up at the ceiling, I can't help but notice how the hot air is creating a beautiful flimmering light. Almost like there's a cloaked sniper up there, just waiting to blow my brains out.
"Oh, that's not really in my nature. How about helping him up instead?" Ash asks, extending a hand.
"Sure… I can… cope with that…" I say, grasping her hand with my artificial one. Despite everything I knew about it, being short-circuited and all, the hand actually works perfectly. Even the thumb, the one finger that was completely fried, is working like it should. What the hell? What is this arm anyway?
"Don't ask me, I'm no tech-expert."
"Well that's a first...Remind me to ask Emhart about it…"
"Thomas…"
"Later, remind me later."
"Alright, we'll take a short break, five minutes, and then we'll head over to push-ups. And for your own sake, don't use the new arm to cheat, the biological one will suffer from it." Ash says, gesturing to my cyborg-arm.
"Then why do people in movies take one-armed push-ups?"
"Because, they are stupid. If you only take one-armed pushups, the shoulders, as well as the joints, will take damage, no matter how big your muscles are." Right… I guess that makes sense…
I head over to the bathroom to get freshened up a bit, mainly to have some water. I think I might just have sweated it all out.
God, that is… that's the stuff…. I moan to myself as I pour a few tankards down the drain. Mara, that was… I needed that. My body is still burning, but I'm not that bad off anymore. It does strike me as a little odd, actually. Earlier, I would be half-way dead by now, having endured that kind of exercise. I wonder why not now.
"Yeah, you can thank me later, when it's saved your life."
"Are you the one doing this to me?"
"Well, some of it. I am not the one that made you do all those crunches, but I'm helping you rejuvenate by redirecting some inner flows of energy."
"What flows are we talking about?"
"Well, the majority are the ones that would normally give you a boner from seeing Ashley in a tight outfit like that. The rest is just hair-growth."
"Oookaaayyyy… that wasn't disturbing at all…"
"Hey, you asked."
"Alright Thom, ready to get your balls pounded again?" Oh Gods, that just sounded wrong in context when it comes from her. At least, it does yet. Okay, can we NOT have those thoughts right now?
"Sure, let's… let's get on with it." I say, moving to where Ash is sitting on the floor. We both drop down on all four, and assume the traditional "I'm going to rape your arms!" stand.
We both start at the same time, dropping to floor level and raising ourselves again. Some people might actually see this as being a date, but right now, I think Ash is more of my superior than my girlfriend. Oh well, can't have it all, can I?
"One!"
…
September 25th
Illium
Dry-dock D-47
The big door to the garage-like room creaked and screamed when opened, but Magnus paid it little heed. His mind was still in turmoil, screaming one thing one moment, another the next moment.
Tara accepts my story… does she count me as insane, or is she herself- no, no I don't have the right to… but what if… no, I have to remain… but… all else in my life… Jane, Tali and Garrus, hell even Kaidan, that sappy son of a bitch… wonder what the hell Ashley saw in… no, I have to…
His mind wouldn't shut up, screaming one thing one moment, another the next. While watching the gate slowly slide open, he couldn't help but comparing the sight of the rust-bucket of a ship to when he had seen the Normandy for the first time, standing alongside Jane, his new commander, and greeting David Anderson, their new CO. It had been the start of a new life, or at least, a new chapter in his already commenced one with Jane, the, even that far back, undisputed most perfect woman in the world, despite all her flaws and faults. Despite what she had done in her past, despite what he had witnessed. They had both done things neither were particularly proud of, Jane especially. He could still, with almost perfect clarity, recall the scene where she had collapsed on the ground on Torfan, starring at her blood-soaked hands, horror in her eyes.
She just sat there, numb and oblivious to the entire world. The bodies and parts of said, littered the ground around her, intestines and bones, limbs and heads spread out before her like some macabre show at a bizarre market. The survivors, those who had been lucky enough to stand at the very far end at the mob, were still scrunching for safety, running and screaming, while the less fortunate, those wounded but to seriously to be survive, let alone be able to run away, were slumped against the buildings, or were lying on the ground, screaming while clutching at their spilled entrails, or grabbing at their non-existent leg, now gone, erased from reality by one of the waves of biotic energy the red-haired woman had sent flying around, like waves, washing away at the banks of sand in Rio. She had not just torn off their legs, heads or other body parts. She had erased all else. If a head or a limb was to be found somewhere, it meant that the rest of said person had been warped to a non-existent molecular level, completely gone from this world. Slowly, as the survivors made the distance between themselves and the crazed biotic even greater, the screaming fell in intensity.
Looking back at Jane, he had seen how the woman had taken off her helmet, tossed it on the ground as if it was something foul. He had only been able to stare in horror, as well as the two other remaining in their squad had, while she unleashed her in-human powers upon the populace.
He had seen, how she had stared at her hands, the biotic light fading away.
He had seen the horror on her face as reality came back to her.
He had even seen the tremors, the tears and the half-way insane look upon her face. A look brought from realization of horrible acts.
"Jane!" He had screamed, running at the now bent-over woman. He had not known what to do, how to react, only that he had to be there, not sure if it was being there for her, or to ensure she didn't lose it and hurt more colonists. When he had reached her, he had all but thrown himself to the ground next to her, taking both her hands in his. It had been a mix between the type of grasping that one would do with a person in deep inner turmoil and sorrow, as well as the kind you would do before clasping them in iron.
He did no such thing, however. He had taken her hands, and looked into her face. What he had seen there had scared him more than anything he had seen so far: Streaming with tears, red with guilt and the snapping of a mind, were two empty eyes. There had been nothing inside of them, as if the woman belonging to them had got up and left the body before he had reached her. It had been like starring at one of those figures you would see in the shopping-malls. It was a dead figure, like what he had been looking at right then and there.
"Jane! Jane look at me God Dammit! Jane!"
"Magnus?" A voice suddenly said, pulling him out from his memories of darker days, memories of events he would rather had never taken place. Looking to the source of the voice, he could see Tara standing a few meters ahead, looking at him with what could have passed for a worried look in what he could see of her eyes.
"Mmm?" He said, not sure how to react, if she had noticed his fading out, or if she had just asked him something.
"You… you look like you were deep in thoughts… is it still the, you know, issue if I think you might be insane?" She said, voicing the anxiousness he had carried since being let out of the hospital. Frankly, he was surprised they had simply let him walk out from there that easy. He had feared they would start calling security for all sorts of reasons the second Tara asked the nurse if they could leave. Somehow, ever since he had met Tara, most things had started going the right way. With the exception of the moment she had broken the news to him, it had been a walk in the park, compared to what he had been used to until that.
"No… no, just… I was just… never mind, it's not important." He dismissed it, trying to shove the ugly scene from six years ago from his mind. Jane wasn't here anymore, actually she had never been.
"Well, if you're sure… we need to start getting to work on getting the Ashanti space-worthy… I've only got this place for six more weeks."
"Sure… sure. So… what do we need? What should I do?" He asked, shifting between looking at the relatively small freighter, being no more than twenty meters in length, at most, and ten meters broad, at the very most. It wasn't designed to carry a tank, or ore enough to supply a factory, but it could easily manage the supplying of colonies by bringing stuff, such as food, materials or just everyday necessaries. Still, it needed a serious overhaul. Walking towards the ship, Tara rubbed her neck, giving the whole craft a quick once-over;
"Well, before I met you, I got most of the materials, including the plating for the places where the hull is unstable, as well as a ship-grade shield generator, to use against… you know, the occasional unforeseen trouble." Tara said, giving him a light shrug. If he hadn't known any better, Magnus would have sworn he could hear a smirk in her voice.
"How about armaments?"
"Armaments?" Tara asked with a slightly confused voice.
"You know, guns, GARDIAN-lasers and such?"
"Oh… well, that… I didn't actually think about that when I was getting the materials… didn't think I would need it since, you know, I wasn't planning on going to active war with someone… I should have gotten them, right?" He could practically hear the way she was looking at her toes, as if she had just failed the driver's license test. I probably have to get a new one myself by the way… He thought with a slight smile.
"Well, you are right in one understanding: We're not going to active war with someone, so I guess we can manage with minimal weapons, as long as we avoid the places with low security, as well as try and stick with convoys and such. By the way, what do you plan on using this… Ashanti for?"
"I… was thinking that I could make money by running cargo between the colonies… I think Mindoir is still rebuilding from the Slaver-attack a few years back…" Tara said. She couldn't possibly have known it, but that one word, Mindoir, struck a chord within the human next to her. Magnus could feel his heart almost kicking his ribs out;
"What… a slaver attack on Mindoir?" He asked her, his normally casual voice now being very, very quiet. He could still remember how Jane had told him about the attack, how she had seen her parents gunned down in front of her, at the age of eleven, how her friends had been either chained up, or, as it happened to her idolized sixteen-year old friend, a girl named Alex, taken to an empty house to be gang-raped by one Batarian after the other, to the point where she had been begging for them to just kill her, while the screams from the building had made her mother throw up, while her dad had been kicked in the head when he tried getting up to help his daughter. Jane had seen them both gunned down a little while after, when the Batarians had started leaving the building, all of them a smirk on their faces, some with blood on their clothes and most of them sending looks towards Alex's parents, one even nodding. That had also been the point where both the parents had been shoved in there to retrieve their daughter… or, what was left of her. He remembered Jane's exact words from the day she told him;
"I… that's when I stopped crying long enough to notice that they hadn't come out again… I thought… hoped that they would come out, maybe helping a crying Alex walk between them. I was young… even at that point, I couldn't fathom the evil in those men… no, not men… animals… no, not that either. Animals, not even Hyenas, don't rape their victims… their prey… they just say 'snap'" Jane had said, idly gesturing with a hand, like a jaw closing around the throat of an unlucky animal; "And that's it. What they did to Alex… a few minutes after her parents entered the building… I don't know if it was because it took them that long to find her, or… or to recognize her… but that was when the screaming started…" Jane had looked like she suddenly became physically ill, remembering that part of her childhood.
"What… happened then?" He had been stupid enough to ask her.
"They just kept screaming… like… no, I don't think there is a way to compare it to anything else. It was like hearing the sound of a heart torn out, over and over. I… I don't think there is another way to describe it. When the screaming finally stopped… I realized that I had thrown up, and that… that…"
"Would you… rather not talk about this Jane?" He had asked. Of course, since he cared about her, Magnus had wanted to know the truth in order to help her, even though he had never told her the truth about him. It didn't matter though, as that would have only served to push her over the edge.
"No… No I want to finally talk about this to someone not trained as a shrink."
"So… what was it that happened then?" Magnus could have slapped himself at that point, and in all the time following, he mentally did so every time he remembered that conversation.
"They… the slavers, they went inside the building, shots were fired and they dragged out their bodies, as well as a… as a… a… a girl. I… don't even know what they had done to her, to twist her body in that shape, like that… but… she didn't even look human anymore. I… I don't remember what happened after that, only that I could feel… anger… when… when I came to, I was surrounded by dead Batarians, and colonist, my friends, relatives and such… they looked at me, with fear in their eyes… like I was the monster… like I was something inhuman. I was only eleven, how was I supposed to know what had happened? I thought the Alliance or something had arrive d and killed the bad men… the slavers, but… that's when I noticed the still warm, wet feeling on my hands, and… and I screamed, when I discovered that my hands were covered in blood, black blood. There was one of the slavers alive, lying only a few meters away… he said… said… he…" Jane had slowly been starting to let the tears emerge, not even caring to wipe them away until they reached her lips, and she had used a sleeve to dry her face.
"Jane… it's okay." Magnus had learned in, pulling her into a strong, yet gentle embrace. She had resisted the first few seconds, then given in.
"He said… he said: 'What the… what the hell are you?" And looked at me like one would look at a monster, or something that… that hides under your bed." She had said the last part with a small sniff, as well as a faint chuckle at the last part. It wasn't a happy chuckle though. Magnus had long since learned to tell the difference.
"Jane…" He had said, forcing her face away so that he could look her in the eyes. Those beautiful green eyes.
"Am I… a monster?" She had asked him in, what actually had astonished him the most, all seriousness. He had kept his eyes locked with hers;
"Jane… how long have we known each other now?"
"About… two years, I think."
"That's about right. Listen Jane: You may be many things: a hardass, a charming woman, compassionate and ass-kicking, soft and hard, sometimes even scary… sexy as hell, on a personal note, and above all, you are faithful to those under you. When the order to evacuate came, you didn't leave Vega to die under those debris, you told command to go fuck themselves, where after you saved his sorry Latino ass… no wonder that guy has looked up to you since. And people don't look up to monsters." He had said the last part with a smirk on his lips. Lips that were soon met by her tear-wetted ones. When she broke away, she had said one word only;
"Thanks"
"Magnus, you are doing it again." Tara said, once again causing him to snap out his memories. Looking around, he noticed that his arm was extended in front of him, currently searching the extra-net for cheap small-scale ship-to-ship weapons, lasers preferably, but they tended to be expensive, plus demanding one hell of a power output. Still, they pretty much ignored the shielding on ships, no matter how strong it was. Can't beat flying photons… he thought to himself.
"I know… just… thinking about things lost… old times, you know." He said, trying to sound casual, but it was still weird as fuck to talk to her about these things.
"Hmm, no I don't… which I guess means I should count myself lucky… but… you just kinda snapped away when I mentioned the attack on Mindoir… do you know someone living there?"
"Don't… I don't think so… at least, not anymore…" He said, closing the browser. They couldn't afford any of it. At least, not with the two-thousand credits Tara still had left. She had somehow been able to hide that much in her boots, just in case of an assault. Which strangely enough happened later the same day.
"Anymore?"
"Well… Mindoir was where Jane was born. She saw the Batarians slaughter her family, her friends… rape an older girl… I don't expect you to understand, not this early at least." He said, apologizing. He could still not wrap his head around the fact that some things were actually the same in the two different universes. Not only were the places luckily the same, but for some reason, the same events took place again.
I hope to the Gods that doesn't mean there is a now fifteen year old Jane Shepard out there who had to go through the same shit…
"Well, that's a surprise… that's where Shepard met the Alliance soldiers he joined. Coincidence?"
"I hope not… I don't know what that would even mean… look, can we stop talking about this?"
"Hmm… okay, but before we start… there is one thing I've been curious about with humans. It… may sound silly when I think about it now, but… well, most humans I've talked to have been more open than any other race I've met so far, and… I noticed something that kinda repeated itself when I talked to couples… Keelah, why did I even start this conversation? It will only end bad…"
"Alright, now I'm intrigued… what is that you have noticed?"
"Well… among Quarians, we have this tradition where the Inszels…the… what's the word… partners in life? Where they give each other an amulet, to keep near the heart… I noticed that most human couples have something similar… or, sort of similar."
"Oh, you mean rings on a finger?" He asked, a curious frown on his face. This was not the type of question he had expected from her.
"Well… ring? No, I didn't notice that… it was… ah, what is it called? A skin-paint?" She asked with a nervous voice. Magnus couldn't help a small smile. Ah, I think I know where this is going… wonder if I should…
"You mean a tattoo?"
"Ehm… yes, that's the word. Anyway, I noticed that most of the couples had something like that, with each other's names written in them…"
"Yes, that is a fairly common thing amongst humans. It is permanent and shows that our bonds are meant to be the same… although I wouldn't call it a tradition on the same scale as the Quarians giving each other the… Pal'tec vis curdes? Isn't that what those medallions are called?" He tried to remember just what Tali had said at that time, but it was starting to get damned hard to remember. He was certain he had gotten it all wrong. The startled sound Tara emitted didn't help either.
"The… the Pal'tec vis surden? How do you… who told you that name?" Tara asked, her voice filled with disbelief. So, he had gotten it somewhat right.
"Well… I spent a lot of time with Tali. As I said, she was always eager to teach us about Quarian society and culture… but, you asked about the tattoos?"
"Ehm… ehm yeah, that was… sorry, just a bit surprised, that's all… but… even though it doesn't have the same meaning, or significance as our medallions… most human couples get them, right?"
"Yes… why are you asking?" Even though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer, it would be fun to watch her try and ask him, without falling over her own words. Oh, I'm a bad man… He thought to himself.
"Well… did you and Jane have one? Or, one each, I guess?" And there it came, part one of an embarrassing question. So far, she was doing quite well.
"Yeah, we do… or, did, I guess… well, I still have mine, of course." He said feeling a bit of pride that the die-and-be-reborn thing hadn't erased that part of him. It also gave him a small ground for joy, knowing that he would at least never be able to forget her name.
"Well… I know this is going to end badly, but… can I… see it?" Tara asked, wringing her hands and almost jumping where she stood, rolling on her heels as she had the habit of doing when she became nervous. Magnus had a hard time suppressing a grin.
"Are you sure? It may… be a little weird." He said, forcing his hair back from his face.
"You don't want to? Sorry if I came off as intrusive or…" Tara hastily said, obviously believing that she had messe up somehow.
"Oh no, no no… you may just be a bit… surprised, is all…" He really had a hard time keeping himself from chuckling now, observing how Tara was pretty much the essence of anxiousness and social awkwardness. It amazed him actually, how quickly he had been able to regain his good mood.
"So… I can see it now?" She asked. Magnus smiled, finally letting the chuckle out;
"Well alrighty then… here you go." He said, turning his back towards her and pulling his pants down to expose a small sentence written in black just above his crack. Bending his neck to observe her, he was not disappointed. A look of sheer horror, mixed with what almost sounded like a chuckle as her translators told her what the words on his bum meant:
'Property of Jane Shepard'
Well, that last one was something that came to me while discussing the story with Magnus, the real one, that is. I tried to see if I could piss him off, you know, on a friendly basis, and he said the only thing that would piss him off, would be an ass-tattoo. So, hence the tattoo. Also, because I thought it would be absolutely adorable to give him that.
Right right, this is where I ask you to remember to review and all the other stuff... you know, I've seen a few writers (good ones, I'll admit it) who seemed to be... more than mildly annoyed that they recieved less than fifteen or so reviews per chapter. I'm not sure how to react to that, seeing as my highest number of reviews on a chapter is eight... still, I consider it a good thing that the reviews aren't THAT plentyfull. Gives me time to answer the questions, or remark on the comments in the reviews I do get. Also, it seems that it kinda gives me a small core of reviewers. Which I guess is fine. Makes it a bit more personal, like writing to friends instead of writing to the millions of people following stories like "Warrior Ethos", or "The First War". Actually, that last one is probably one of the very best ME-fanfics I've ever read. Each chapter that guy writes manages to give me almost non-stop chills :)
Okay, there was one last yhing I was supposed to say... what the hell was it? Oh, right now I reember:
Reviews are of course appreciated, but it would be even nicer if people, even those who don't review, would spend a few moments to go take part in the poll. It's still open.
Alright, I think that was it. Read yaa later... or is it Write ya later? Hell I forget... just... till next time.