Thessia
Kelice Medical Centre
Gallia was dying of boredom. She glanced at the window of her room. There was nothing much to see but the lights of skycars flitting across the night sky. At this time she would usually be back in her apartment, kicking off her hardsuit or uniform, getting a shower and settling down to some baking or reading or gaming or whatever. Now she was stuck in bed. With a grumpy sigh, she flipped through the entertainment channels without actually seeing what they offered. There wasn't much she was interested in when she's locked in bed for a month. Four freaking weeks!
She felt her legs twitched in response to her restlessness. There was none of the terrible pain that racked her in the beginning. The painkillers toned down most of it but she had felt the tearing of her nerves in muted nightmares. Now they felt normal and itchy. Very itchy. She glared past the screen to her legs. Encased in regeneration casts, they looked like blocky armor leggings and boots. She muttered a litany of curses because she couldn't relieve the itch with much needed scratching.
The opening of the door of her room cut the stream of profanity short. The itch was forgotten when Pulchia stepped in. The sight of her friend made her thank the cosmos once more for Pulchia and Nervia. She would have gone mad if it were not for them taking it in turns to visit her after their shifts. Her squad mates had dropped in on her but not as often as her gals. Pulchia most of all. Her ears perked in curiosity when her friend mumbled something to someone outside. A guy, from the muffled low reply. The door closed.
"Who was that?" she asked as Pulchia approached the bed.
"A pick up on the way up." Pulchia lifted the paper bag and wagged it invitingly. From the delicious smell wafting from it, Gallia knew it was something good.
An unexpected jolt of resentment hit Gallia. "Pick up? You mean a date?"
Pulchia gave her an odd look before laughing. "Is that what it means to humans? I saw a familiar face when I took the lift up. He happened to hear me muttering to myself and kindly supplied the answer to my question. He was on his way to his shift and we talked along the way."
"What question?"
"I saw Dr T'Soni." Pulchia handed the bag to Gallia.
Gallia frowned at her. She felt she should know who that was. "Dr..."
"Shepard's bondmate," Pulchia said helpfully as she hitched herself up slightly to sit on the bed.
Of course. How could she have forgotten? "If she's back on Thessia, that means..."
Pulchia nodded. "There's no official news of Shepard's return which is odd. Pubnews is always on their toes about that."
"Doesn't mean anything." Gallia opened the bag and grinned. "You baked fruity ropes." She took out a hand size fruit pie and bit into it with relish, quickly catching bits of fruit and pastry crumbs before they tumbled off with her free hand.
"She could be on something hush hush." Pulchia grabbed some paper towels from the bedside cabinet and spread them under Gallia's chin. "Dr T'Soni was looking very worried. The kind of worry over someone close to her."
"Did you speak to her?" When Pulchia shook her head, Gallia said skeptically, "How can you tell it's not about someone else?"
Pulchia pursed her lips doubtfully. "There is that. I automatically assumed it's Shepard since..." She shrugged and looked at the leg casts. "So is there any update with your booties?"
"They come off tomorrow. I can't wait," Gallia mumbled through a mouthful of pie. She began to cough when bits caught in her throat.
Pulchia hurriedly took away the half eaten pie, poured a glass of water and gave it to Gallia. "Don't talk and eat at the same time," she scolded.
Beating herself on the chest and coughing, Gallia nodded and sipped the water carefully. "They said it'll take at least a week before I can walk out of here but I know they're guessing. I'm not going to stay another week. I'm going crazy in here."
"You have to pass a fitness test before you can go back to the academy."
Gallia flicked a hand dismissively. "That's easy to work on."
"Think you'll be assigned there permanently?"
"What, the academy?" Gallia frowned. "I don't know. It doesn't seem like the brass is going to assign another officer with more metal to take over. Maybe they'll stick me there for a year. After that.." She shrugged and put the glass on top of the cabinet. "My unit is still here, I'm not sure when we'll be pulled back home."
"What're you going to do when you get back to Earth?" Pulchia eyed the half-eaten pie in her hand.
"Try to look for somebody who's breathing on this side of the family." Gallia made a face. "I don't think there're any left. I didn't get a single peep from the RFLS (restore family link service)."
"After that?" Pulchia looked up and caught Gallia's eyes.
"Er.." Gallia blinked when Pulchia slowly ate the remaining half of the pie, eyes fixed on her. The look in the asari's gaze was somewhat unsettling. Intent. With an air of question in it. She looked away and wondered why she was feeling a little hot and why her heart rate seemed to have picked up.
"Yeah, staying in with the Alliance..." There was a crawling itch in her back. She wished she was somewhere else. Hastily she snatched up the bag of food and held it before her like a shield. "More fruit ropes?" she asked brightly.
T'Soni Estate
"So this is London."
Liara stared across the landscape blanketed with dusty grey broken buildings, vehicle wreckage and debris. A cold breeze rolled across, bringing with it a familiar acrid stench of soot, burnt taint, battle and death. It reminded her achingly of Thessia and other homeworlds ravaged by the Reapers and their armies.
"Definitely not at its best," agreed April, leaning on a bent elbow against the sill of the windows. "I've thought of visiting after reading so much about it in classes but never did quite manage to." She shrugged. "Thought I'd get a chance to drop by after graduating from OCS (officer cadet school) but I was bounced to a posting so fast whatever plans I made pretty much went the way of the dodo."
"Dodo?" Liara frowned.
April snorted mirthlessly. "A flightless bird wiped out by human influence hundreds of years ago. Stamped out before humans understood anything about it other than it's food. One of my schoolmates loves nature so much he spent all his free time digging into the archives and often announced that humans are a hopeless ravaging savage species. He would regale us with stories of our sins at every opportunity."
"What happened to him?" Liara asked curiously.
"I've no idea." April shrugged. "I was bounced to another base when the old lady received a new posting. He often said he'd come back to Earth. He'd worked as a conservationist. Maybe he did. Or maybe he changed, who knows."
Looking down into the street, Liara tried to imagine what it was like before but couldn't. Not with the presence of so many soldiers, the parked Makos, the defense barrier stretching across the street and the unseen looming Juggernaut beyond.
"We could come back here after the war," she said tentatively. "When they have finished rebuilding."
"Yeah, we could." Running a hand through her short hair, April sighed. "It wouldn't be the same but it's better than having nothing to return to."
"London cannot have been the only place you wanted to visit."
Smiling, April turned, sliding her hands over Liara's hips and pulled her closer.
"No. I'd like to scope out every continent, every island on this planet, poke into every nook and cranny. Growing up on outworld colonies made me curious about the place where my kind spawned from. I'd like to find out how they live, taste the cultural festivities, the seasons and most of all, having a go at real food for once."
She watched Liara's pensive face as she ran fingers ran over her hardsuit.
"So food is what you really miss most?" Liara traced the N7 logo distractedly; there was little time left.
"I guess. I heard plenty that colony cuisines are phonies compared to the real thing so I've been meaning to try the so called genuine stuff. Something like curry, heard it can really blow the mind."
"I guess we can both find out." Liara turned her head at the sounds of movement from the street below. Soldiers were gathering at the Makos. Her heart thumped faster at the sight.
A finger under her chin turned her head back to brilliant blue eyes. "Hey, it's going to be fine. It's not as if I'm going in with cannons blazing."
"No, but you will have no backup..."
"We had no backup either when we hit Ilos, remember? Nor when my team and I took down the Collectors. It's no different this time round except that I'm going to piggyback on the enemy than the Mako or the Normandy. I sneak in, I sneak out. Those Reapers will be dead before they know it," April said confidently before leaning in. "I expect to see you at the end of it so you better be there," she whispered next to Liara's lips, breathing in her scent.
"Speak for yourself..," Liara managed to say before speech was denied her. Warmth suffused her and she held on tightly, not caring that anyone who walked into the room would see them.
I love you April. April.
Blinking bemusedly, Liara stared up at the ceiling before realising she was in bed, in their bedroom on the T'Soni estate. A pillow was clenched tightly to herself. It was a dream. A recollection of that moment before April departed for the mission to get on to the Citadel. Glancing at the empty space beside her, she sat up, struggling not to feel the rush of lost and emptiness.
Goddess, how long have I been asleep?
Panicked, she twisted around to look at the chronometer on the nightstand and threw the pillow aside. Sliding off the bed, she hurried into the bathroom, ran through a quick shower and was at the wardrobe in no time. She pulled on underclothes, under shirt, a long tunic, trousers and boots before stepping through the door. Down the winding staircase she sped and fetched up abruptly against someone who was turning the corner of the newel post. Both of them staggered back from the impact.
"I am sorry, dad," Liara said when she saw who it was.
Aethyta waved aside the apology and took hold of Liara's hand. "You are in time too, save these legs of mine."
"In time for what?" Liara cast a look at the front door, desiring to rush to the skycar and to the medical centre.
"I know what it is you want." Pulling Liara firmly behind her, Aethyta headed for the kitchen. "You are not running off on an empty stomach."
"But..."
"You have been at her side for a whole day and half the night." Aethyta nodded to Effia who was waiting in the kitchen and pulled out a chair at the dining table. "Sit," she commanded, "or I can get the commandos to help," she added when Liara hesitated.
Sitting down reluctantly, Liara murmured her thanks when Effia set a steaming bowl before her. The aroma that drifted to her nose sparked off hunger pangs that she was not aware of. Picking up the spoon beside the bowl, she dug into the thick stew.
Seated opposite Liara and dipping with less speed into her own bowl, Aethyta observed her carefully. There were still shadows around the eyes but the tightly wound up tension was considerably reduced. Nothing like a good rest to boost the spirit. She frowned. There was something else. A greyish tint in Liara's aura. How should she interpret it? She made a note to check with Liara's obstetrician.
Liara finished the stew and asked for another which Effia dished up swiftly before depositing two glasses of tea before them.
"That Prothean of yours gives me the creeps," Aethyta said conversationally, sipping from the glass. "I couldn't decide which pair of eyes I should be looking at."
Liara chuckled. "He is not my Prothean. He has a name. He can be quite intimidating to most but he should be quite plebeian to you."
"Plebeian?" scoffed Aethyta. "My dear girl, he is at the top of the food chain. So..," she paused dramatically, "aristocratic. I can see why his species had the run of the galaxy."
Liara eyed her suspiciously. "What have you been saying to him?"
"What do you think I've been saying to him? All he does is stare at me out of those predatory eyes of his." Aethyta shuddered. "That and spending all his time dipping in the fountains at the garden room."
"Dad, he is a Contact Sensitive." Liara paused as a thought occurred to her. "You have not been railing at him over what they did to us, have you?" She sighed when Aethyta said nothing but she knew it must be so. "Dad."
"I simply asked him several questions which he apparently didn't feel like answering." Draining her glass, Aethyta set it carefully back on the table. "There are so many things we could learn."
"Dad, he was born on a world that was already engaged in the struggle against the Reapers," Liara said earnestly. "He was brought up to fight, that was all he knew. If you are expecting esoteric revelations, you are not going to get it."
"I was merely trying him on for size."
"Dad, really." Liara rolled her eyes. "If you want to dig that deep, you should try Vigil at the Ilos Archives. Speaking of which," she added anxiously, "is there any new development?"
Aethyta nodded to the half finished glass before Liara. "Finish that and let's get over to the medical centre. The Prothean...Javik," she corrected at a chiding look from Liara, "went there early this morning."
That was no answer but Liara knew better than to wrinkle out a definitive statement from her. Swallowing the remnant of the tea in large gulps, she wiped her lips quickly with the napkin before following Aethyta down the hall to the foyer. The two commandos waiting by the skycar opened the doors when they saw them. Aethyta took the back seat with Liara while the commandos seated themselves at the front. The vehicle lifted smoothly and flew in the direction of the city, slipping into a designated side lane before joining the main traffic vein.
With no further distractions, questions and fears came crashing in once more on Liara as she stared unseeingly at the stream of skycars through the window. Aware of her inner turmoil, Aethyta reached out to grasp her hand in her own, patting soothingly. There was not much she could say to alleviate her offspring's anxieties but she could offer empathetic support. The pressure from Liara on her hand tightened, a painful vise-like grip, as the skycar approached the medical centre but she said nothing. Without attempting to disengage, she drew Liara after her once the skycar set down at the entrance on the upper floor leading to the wards.
One of the commandos followed after as her companion drove the skycar to one of the parking lots. They wound through the crowd of medical personnel, patients, visitors, janitors and all sorts of equipment in the corridors. To Liara's surprise, instead of heading for the isolation rooms where April was admitted, Aethyta made for the lifts to the administration offices. Who were they seeing? In the lift, she realised that she had a death grip on Aethyta's hand and let go, flashing an embarrassed smile when the matriarch looked sympathetically amused.
They got off on a floor that was familiar to her and turned in at the Director's office. The accompanying commando seated herself outside. The secretary showed them into Telienos's office with apologies that the matriarch was away for the moment but would return soon. The offer of refreshments was politely declined. They settled themselves down on the couch to wait.
Closing her eyes, Liara tried to center herself and failing miserably when memories kept returning to assail her. An arm went around her shoulders and she leaned gratefully against Aethyta, concentrating on her parent's comforting presence. How long they sat there, she had no idea but she sat up when the soft hiss of the door announced Telienos's presence.
"My apologies," Telienos said as she clasped hands of greeting with them before turning to sit in one of the armchairs. "I was paying sergeant Gallia a visit."
"How is she?" Aethyta asked curiously.
"In high spirits and ecstatic over getting rid of the booties."
"Booties?"
"Regeneration casts on her legs," Telienos explained. "She was understandably not very happy she was bed bound for a month."
"Who is?" Aethyta snorted. "She is lucky that your barrier mitigated the worst damage she would have suffered."
Telienos nodded. "She saved my life and I saved hers. I thank the great consciousness I'm spared the burden of her death. To see her make a full recovery is beyond any words of thanks I can give her."
Aethyta leaned forward to tap Telienos on her knee. "I've an excellent vintage to go if you want."
"Who can resist such an offer," Telienos accepted with a smile. She turned her gaze on Liara and her face became grave. "About Shepard..."
"Do you have any idea what is wrong with her?" Liara cut in quickly, quivering with anxiety as she leaned forward. "What can we do?"
"Slowly..." Aethyta patted Liara's knee to calm her. "I presumed the physical examinations turned up nothing."
"The possibility of a physical injury is eliminated." Clasping her hands in her lap, Telienos sat back in her chair. "So that leaves us with this Cypher you spoke of. The cache of memories."
"What?" Aethyta prodded when Telienos fell silent and remained so for several minutes.
"The problem here is Shepard herself." Telienos closed her eyes as she shifted her thoughts. "Bear with me for a moment. Every asari is assessed for biotic abilities the moment she is born. This results in a separation of two groups. The biotics and the nulls. Those with biotics begin their basic training when they start schooling. Putting up a protective shielding, elementary skills, etiquette on mind melding, along with the abuse and dangers of this ability. Every asari starts out with this grounding."
"The humans do not have a comprehensive program for biotics," Aethyta noted, seeing where her friend was heading. "They are not natural biotics and their biological makeup preclude melding ability. They lack the mental and physical training requisites we have developed over the millennium."
"That is correct." Telienos opened her eyes. "The intermediate training comes after. Those who desire to enlist in the military or further training, go on the advance course. By then, shielding and memory discipline is ingrained and strengthened. This is usually the time most maidens leave Thessia to begin their Journey. Those who return would mature into matriarchs who can opt for the esoteric course."
"That would be..." Liara wondered if Telienos would be willing to divulge the information, affirming what she had long suspected about the matriarchs.
Aethyta shrugged when Telienos looked at her. She knew her offspring knew more than what she was letting on.
"To name some of the disciplines. Emphatic, analysis, healing capabilities. There is also the extremely rare few, like the Prothean Javik. A contact sensitive. They are given the most intensive training trials. Planetary security is always their bulwark. There have not been one in generations."
There was a mild hint of distress on her face that Liara couldn't help but suspect she might have linked with Javik. Though for what reason she couldn't guess. Javik was adamant on not touching people and the environment if it could be avoided. Did he do it for April? Telienos's next statement confirmed that suspicion.
"He came in early this morning, at my request, because I wish to know exactly what he is capable of. If we have to resort to using his abilities, I have to know the effects."
"And?" prodded Aethyta with a frown.
Rubbing her brow, Telienos said faintly, "It is bad business to be his prey. He was trained to fight, to be the vanguard against the threat to his people. What do you suppose he would do if any spies or TI crosses his path?"
Liara did not hesitate. "He breaks into them."
"That is correct." Telienos shuddered. "I put up my strongest shield against him and he breaks through it like it doesn't exist," she flicked a finger in the air to make her point. "Tried as I might to push him out, I couldn't and it's a terrible feeling. I tried to get past his shield...," she trailed off and flung her hands open to gesture the futility of the attempt. "I doubt any of our top commandos can do what I failed to do. I'm not sure what would happen to a subject who put up the fiercest resistance."
Aethyta nudged Liara. "Lucky me. You warned me in advance never to shake his hand, he would have scrambled my head worst than a hangover."
"You couldn't read him, could you?" Liara muttered, half to herself, and then shook her head as she came to a conclusion. "But no."
"What?" asked Aethyta.
"When he first awoke on Eden Prime, he touched Shepard and their exchanges were mutual. That should have been impossible but then it occurred to me that he was disoriented and in shock so his mind was opened to her at that instance."
Telienos nodded. "He has the strongest mind reaching ability I've ever encountered. But he may not be suitable. Any attempt to rouse Shepard requires a subtle gentle emphathetic touch to encourage her inner awareness to manifest itself. Given what I've laid down of our training, you can see the difficulties. Without the innate abilities and the training we have, Shepard is extremely vulnerable since she does not know how to erect a conscious mental barrier to protect herself. At the most, I expect she would put up an instinctive flimsier resistance of her own resolve that would not last long. From what you have told me of the Cypher, it is very likely she is lost within that memory bubble."
Liara remembered April's odd behaviour. "I think she suspects such an outcome."
"Suspect?" Telienos queried.
"I sensed fear from her before she attempted to link with the Cypher. I think she knows that there is a chance she could lose herself in there if she searched deeply." Liara wished April had spoke of it. If she had, they could have found a solution to deal with it.
"How do we get her back?" Aethyta looked expectantly at Telienos. Liara tensed.
"In such cases, the one closest to the patient holds the key to recovery. In Shepard's case, it's paramount." Seeing their bemusement, Telienos clarified further, "I asked for her files from counselor T'Fiorie. The stress she was under had gone on for far too long. It resulted in cumulative intensive psychological problems that affected her seriously after the war. If she has doubts of the reality arising from fear of indoctrination, it is vital that the one who makes contact with her is the one she trusts the most but..-" she looked at Liara, "you are with child."
As swiftly as it came, Liara's relief disappeared at that statement. "But..," she said, dismayed by the thought that her pregnancy would prevent her from helping April.
Aethyta cut in quickly. "What's the alternative?"
"Get the best empathetic healer to try to get her out." Telienos regarded her old friend sombrely.
"Isn't that you?" Aethyta stared at her but Telienos looked away.
"I'm not sure I can," Telienos murmured, eyes shadowed.
"Why not? No." Liara began to ask and corrected herself. "No, I am the closest to her. I am her bondmate."
"Liara.." Aethyta put her hand to Liara's shoulder, not wishing her to take the risk.
"I am her bondmate," Liara emphasized adamantly, "without her...I..." She tried to put forth words to how she felt but couldn't get them past a throat swollen with suppressed tears.
Before either of the matriarchs could come up with a response, Aethyta's omni-tool beeped. "Yes?"
"Isheirae, Admiral Shepard has arrived and is on her way to the medical centre," said Effia.
Telienos's eyes widened at that. "Admiral Shepard, her mother?" she asked. When Liara nodded, she said in a musing voice, "How very remiss of me. I've forgotten she is on her way here. In which case, we have the solution..."
Liara knew what she was about to say and cut in. "No, she...Goddess forgive me but she is the worst choice. Their relationship is cordial but not warm. April will never believe her mother."
Telienos exchanged a glance with Aethyta.
"Then you will have to convince her," said Aethyta. "Without her cooperation, there will be a diplomatic incident should she choose to go that far."
"How much time do I have?" Liara was certain the clock was ticking for April. Like all illnesses, the longer it took to apply the remedy, the worse the illness would turn.
"It has been eight days. The faster she comes out of it, the better." Telienos did not envy Liara the task she faced but seeing the fierce determined light in the young asari's eyes, she doubted Liara would give up until she had the matter in her favour.
Local Cluster
Unknown location
"Dr Hyanes is dogmatic and biased. That is the most wholesome denotative I can think of," Chakwas said dryly, "I doubt he understands what he is dealing with."
"So you think T'Soni did the right thing." Miranda laid aside the datapad and eyed the doctor on the vidcom.
"I know Liara. She knows what she is doing," Chakwas's tone was firm and assured. "Funny, when I think of the time when she first came onboard the Normandy, she was such a green stripling. One hundred and one years old and so apprehensive about herself and everyone else around her. And then Shepard did her magic and got off the shell that she was hiding behind. Of course she had to fall in love with Shepard," she chuckled, eyes misty with recollections.
"I guess we shall be hearing from Shepard soon enough."
"That we will." Chakwas glanced at the chronometer. "It's getting late so I'll end here. I'll update you if there is any further news. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Karin."
Miranda closed down the console as the vidcom darkened. Gathering the datapads on her desk, she deposited them into the top drawer before enabling the security lock. She got up and absently pushed in the chair behind the desk before stepping out of her office.
The corridor was quiet with the occasional staff and guard drifting through, on their way to unknown destinations. She rode the elevator two floors above and stopped by the wide windows that gave a grand view of the landing pads in the distance. There was a hustle and bustle around the shuttles and freighters parked there. Forklift trucks hovered, spun to and fro, offloading materials onto flatbeds. Fully loaded flatbeds trundled away in the direction of the cold rooms. Marines and turrets stood watch over the entire operation. A scene all too common a sight to her.
She turned away from the windows and strolled down the corridor, taking various turns before ending up at the security doors of the life sciences laboratories. Ignoring the lights running over her, she pressed a button on the door panel and waited as a scan was taken of her eye. The doors snapped aside. She stepped in to a quiet constrained atmosphere. Techs scurried to and fro from station to station, absorbed in their world of systemization and formularization. She spotted the tall thin figure at the holotank at the center of the room and made her way to him.
"Dr Accosi."
"You're on time," he said without looking away from the console before him, fingers tapping away. "Several relatively intact specimens were recovered and moved to secured storage. The bits and pieces are in the technical workshop, the lads are looking through them now. And over here.." he gnawed his lips absently as the holotank blinked into life, "we've this baby to look into."
Crossing her arms, Miranda stared at the image of the oculus. The first time she encountered an oculus was during the assault at the galactic core on board the Normandy SR 2. There were more of them during the war. All of them tough and difficult to kill. The powerful beam weapons from those red 'eyes' took many lives. She was nearly dissected by one in her bid to provide cover for a wounded soldier. The gun port of the beam weapon on the specimen was inert but it remained an ominous visage to her.
"Let's see...," Accosi muttered as the holograpic image rotated slowly. "This one has mostly retained the outer shell...atmospheric vanes...maneuvering ports...gun port...it's similar in design to the Reaper Oculus."
"There shouldn't be much difference in components," Miranda said as she read the scanned data.
The oculus was held securely in the cold room. Every reading indicated it was 'dead' but she couldn't stop a shiver at the thought of any of the oculus specimens coming live and breaking loose.
"I concur," Accosi murmured distractedly as he stared intently at the oculus. "There's only a through and through, no other damage." He highlighted the hole on the shell.
"Lucky pilot, it's hard to put them out with one shot," Miranda observed.
"If I were that pilot, I'd take a run at the casino while the luck holds," he said as he called up the haptic controls of robotic arms. Tapping with his left hand on the console, he jabbed his right hand into the glove and enabled the cutting tool. "I'm going to take a guess that the driver of this contraption is no Collector drone," he said as concentrated beams began to cut into the oculus.
"Doesn't take a genius to figure out what they'll be using," she said dryly.
"That is not aim at me, is it?" Accosi said plaintively, eyes intent on his task.
"You know you have my outmost respect."
"But not enough to have dinner with me?"
The Miranda of old would immediately put the man in his spot, freezing him off at the core for his delusions, but she didn't. She wasn't the old Miranda any more. She could blame Shepard of course for starting the thaw. No one else had managed to get that close to her for years. Helping her to save Oriana twice from their father and willing to lend a listening ear, her ice shield couldn't last. She did not regret it one bit. Not when she and Oriana forged a bond she never thought she'd find. However, she didn't think she was ready for a relationship. Accosi had been after her ever since she stepped foot on the research facility. He was a nice man, dedicated and passionate with his job but she wasn't sure she wanted to go anywhere with him.
She pretended to rub an itchy spot on her nose as she tried to find a less cutting reply. "Have you seen the menu for this place?"
"Is that all that is?" he said incredulously, turning to look at her. "You should have said so. Look, I can rustle something up at my place."
"You're saying you can cook?" she said in amusement. "You've been eating at the canteen as far as I know."
"Why would I be eating the stash I brought in by myself? It's a special stash, cost me an arm and leg." He held up the fingers of his left hand as he mentally ticked off the points. "Negotiating with the freighter captain and the cargomaster took a lot of work. They begrudged every little space my stash took up, complaining how much fuel the weight takes up. Then there's security, they want to put the lot under intensive scanning. Can you imagine the amount of damage that does? The entire stash would have been garbage by the time they finished with it, further..."
"When did you bring in the stash?" she interrupted. If it was fresh food, he could keep it in stasis. Still, she wouldn't like to subject herself to food poisoning since she had no idea what it was he brought in and where he bought it.
"Um...," he flushed and fidgeted. "A few days ago...I was..um...you know," he shrugged uncomfortably. "Trying to...um...well, trying to figure out a way to ask you," he said in a rush when she stared at him. "So what do you say?" he looked at her hopefully.
The shrill of an alarm from the console cut across her reply.
"Oh shit," he cursed when he saw he had forgotten to shut off the cutting beam while he was talking to her. His fingers flashed out, shutting it down immediately. "Damn, this will cost me more than an arm and a leg," he muttered as he examined the extent of the damage.
With no directional impetus, the beam had bore a hole through the outer and inner shell of the oculus and straight through the other side. The alarm sounded when the cutting beam hit the floor.
"Uuoch, that's no good," he muttered, wondering if anything vital within was destroyed and ran a scan.
After determining that the beam had not done any extensive damage, he resumed cutting and removed the outer plating. He sent in a probe through the opening and watched the holo display as more details began to appear.
"Armament, power core in all the same places as the Reaper oculus. In which case." He directed the probe to the amorphous pouch nestled amidst a web of coils that snaked in and out among the hardware. "It's not complete," he said in disappointment when the image revealed a torn fleshy-like end.
"The one shot killed it. That looks like a spine." Miranda pointed to where the white tip of bone was showing and turned back to read the updated data. "And it's human."
"Poor bugger," he sighed and cocked his head at her. "So...dinner on the loser?"
"I'm not aware we had a bet."
"You're a hard woman." He turned back to his console with a woebegone expression on his thin face.
"All right, dinner it is," she sighed and hoped she wouldn't regret it.
A huge grin split his face. "Trust me, I'll whip up the best three course dinner you'll ever have." His brilliant blue eyes twinkled merrily at her and she couldn't help but smiled.