Hey, everybody! Sorry for such a long delay but life... you know. I hope everyone is enjoying the story. Please read and review. Enjoy!
The party for the end of the tournament was not like most would expect. The other teams kept their distance from Claire and the rest of the Normandy crew. Admiral Ahern had praised them in his commencement speech and talked about how he was not surprised that a multi-species team had won the tournament. But that was really an understatement.
The Normandy team had dominated the score boards. Garrus was ranked first in accuracy, with Claire in second, Ashley in third, and Mallory in fourth. The rest of the Normandy crew was in the top 15 places with Liara bringing up the rear in fifteenth place. (Considering she had no formal training and there were over 60 competitors, that was a great accomplishment.) For every category, the Normandy crew was in the top twenty places and with only a couple exceptions (and only by a very small margin) held first place.
The team was talking about their respective matches and their victory, congratulating each other and making jokes. Garrus kept insisting that the rankings proved that he was a batter shot that Claire, but the commander refused to concede.
"I'm telling you Garrus, you would not be ranked number one if you had been in more simulations." Claire said folding her arms.
"And whose fault is that hmmm?" Luke said nudging his sister. He quickly turned to Garrus talking loud enough for Claire to hear him but still in a hushed tone. "I got your back big guy."
"Oh yeah, you have my back. Get me in trouble more often than not." Garrus retorted. Luke smiled and patted his friend on the back.
"That's what I'm here for. To keep things interesting and lively." Luke said up ending his drink.
Claire watched her brother make his way back over to Ashley and greet her with a kiss. She could not help but smile seeing him like that. He was happy not just with the world, but with himself. It was like his past could not touch him anymore and all he had was the future.
That was not the only change she saw in him. During the simulations, Luke had been using his biotics. He needed a lot of training, perhaps years worth, but he was doing well for a beginner. His ability to throw biotic energy was sloppy and unrefined but there quite a bit of power behind it for a human at least. It was strange that he had gone from barely having any power to being very strong so quickly. She made a mental note to ask him about it later.
"Claire, can we talk for a bit?" Mallory said coming up beside her. Claire smiled and winked at Garrus before turning to her sister and nodding.
"What's on your mind?" Claire asked once they were out of earshot.
"I'm sorry about what I said on the way here, about this not being a real shore leave. This was a really great vacation. I owe you big time." Mallory said embracing her sister. Claire returned the embrace partially puzzled by Mallory's statement. Mallory and Kaidan had spent most of the week's tournament in their room in or in the restaurant.
Claire suddenly realized what her sister was thanking her for and blushed slightly. Mallory and Kaidan had spent nearly two days in their room uninterrupted and Claire knew that they were beyond close.
"Yeah, no problem…um…just you know…helping my sister out." Claire said patting her sister on the back. She was feeling a little bit uncomfortable with thinking of her sister and Kaidan in that way. True, she was happy that Mallory had found someone that made her happy, but the last thing that Claire wanted on her mind was the thought of her with Lieutenant Alenko. Referring to him as the Lieutenant seems to help me deal with it.
She watched Luke sat down next to Kaidan and pushed over a glass of whiskey. "I hear you like the Canadian stuff." Kaidan chuckled and accepted the glass. Luke was making an effort to be friendly.
"Thanks." Luke took a small sip of the whiskey and leaned back in his chair.
"Kaidan, you and I have never seen eye to eye on really anything and I don't see that changing at any point in the future, but I can tell that you truly care for Mal and she cares for you." Kaidan smiled looking down at the glass in his hands. He did care for Mallory even more than Luke would ever know.
"I do." Alenko admitted shortly. Luke nodded. He knew Kaidan cared for her, but for how long?
"You break her heart and I'll kill you." Luke said offering his glass up for them to make a toast. Kaidan saw the seriousness in Luke's face. He figured Luke was just trying to be a good brother but he was did not like the way he was speaking to him like he was a teenager with his first girlfriend. He understood Luke trying to make up for lost time while he was missing, but Kaidan felt like he was being targeted.
"Like you did?" Kaidan shot back. Luke knocked his drink back and looked over at Kaidan. He wanted to reach across the table and beat the biotic senseless, but this was a party. Fighting had to wait until even the guards were too drunk to stop it.
Luke stood up slowly and leaned over the table. "I made the wrong choice. You better not."
Kaidan watched Luke as he stood back up and walked away. At least he admitted that he was wrong, but was that because he already knew he was wrong, or was it because of what Kaidan had said?
Luke leaned against the wall as Garrus came up next to him. "You look like someone just trashed your evidence in a three year case." Luke looked up at his friend as the turian glanced sideways at him. "What's going on?"
"Just ready to be back in the mission. Spending so much time around Alenko and Mallory is a little…well, I don't particularly enjoy Kaidan's company as a person and Mal is always so judgmental. I feel like I never do anything right. I just want to be back where I can bury all this in a fire fight." Luke said taking another drink off of a tray as a waiter passed them.
The pair of them watched as the party got more and more lively. Some of the guards were even getting tipsy. The pair of former officers watched as the soldiers laughed, danced, and drank the night away. Luke could not help but laugh when Ashley ended up on a table dancing. He made his way through the crowd and stood behind her enjoying the show, but keeping an eye on her to make sure that she was alright.
"Come on!" Ashley shouted upon spotting him and offering her hand.
"I kind of this thing about dancing on tables." Luke said taking her hand anyway. She immediately pulled him up on to the table with her.
Claire watched as Luke's face turned a deep shade of red. "Go Luke!" She screamed. Her brother immediately turned to look at her grinning from ear to ear as he turned even redder, though Claire was not sure how that was possible.
"Excuse me Commander Shepard. I have a message here from your helmsman." An orderly said handing her a data pad. Claire accepted the pad and opened the message. As her eyes ran through it, she sighed. Yet another progress update for the council. She half wanted to ignore the message and take care of the flack later, but she really did not want the council getting any more irritated with her than they already were. Releasing the Rachni, destroying the Prothean ruins, and going the extra mile to save the Zu's Hope colonists all seemed to put them in foul moods.
"What's that?" Tali asked as she fed a straw into a small slot in her mask.
"Council asking to have a little chat. Probably just to yell at me for not moving fast enough after Saren." Claire said handing the pad back to the orderly and dismissing him. "Might as well get this over with."
000
"Commander Shepard, we may have information crucial to your mission." The asari councilor said. Claire raised an eyebrow. This was not just a progress update call. They had a lead.
"What kind of information?" Claire asked looking over at the turian councilor. Surely it was just another dead end, but might as well have a look. Yet to her surprise it was the Salarian councilor that spoke next.
"We have a number of infiltration units scattered across the galaxy. One such unit was sent to find information on Saren." Claire eyed the councilor. Enough with the buildup, just tell me.
"We believe that the unit found something but the message we received was nothing but static. They must be in a situation in which they cannot set up proper communications. But the call was sent on a channel reserved only to priority messages and critical situations." Claire interest was starting to peak. This might actually be a decent lead.
"What kind of unit was this? What was their strength?" Claire asked. If it was only two or three men, then a critical situation could rise out of something small. But if it was a large unit that could handle most situations, there might truly be a great threat.
"The unit was based off a small cruiser, but the entire crew were part of the unit, and they had a full crew. Most were Salarian STG members." The salarian councilor informed her.
This could be it. The clue I have been looking for. They could have even found the conduit. But a full STG unit had anywhere from a hundred to three hundred members. They are their own small army. If they can't handle the situation they are in, it is a major threat. Claire straightened up and looked back to the three councilors. "Please send me whatever data you have. My crew and I will be departing shortly. What planet was this unit sent to?" Claire asked.
"Virmire." The asari councilor answered. "We wish you the best of luck in your mission. We usually do not get directly involved in the activities of Spectres but we thought you should know so that you can evenly weigh all the options."
"This is the first real lead we have had in the past few weeks. It may have nothing to do with Saren but it is worth a look. Over and out." Claire ended the transmission and opened the intercom channel tot eh bridge. "Joker, plot a course for Virmire and send word for everyone to report back to the ship. We have a mission."
"Roger that commander. Prepping for departure, we should be ready to go as soon as everyone stumbles back on board. I'll have some nice heavy rock music ready for them for tomorrow morning." Claire smiled and was very glad that she had not drunk enough to have a hangover in the morning.