Thessia
The gentle play of warmth on her skin woke Liara. Her mind automatically reached out to touch her bondmate's before she opened her eyes. When she did not encounter Shepard's familiar mind touch, she sat up. The cheery bright glaze of sunlight shining through the windows hit her eyes. She raised an arm to block it out. A glance at the chronometer on the nightstand revealed it was past ten. Hours past the time she usually got up. Judging from the cold space beside her, her bondmate had let her slumbered. Sliding out of bed, she peeked out of the window and blinked at the faint white haze. Temperatures had fallen during the night. Snows would be coming soon.
She headed for the bathroom for her morning ablution and then stood at the wardrobe, running an eye over the array of garments. She absently smoothed a hand over her slightly round belly as she reached for a top before changing her mind and took a long thick mid-thigh tunic with a rolled collar instead. A pair of flexible pants completed the outfit. Slipping her feet into soft shoes, she peered at the mirror. Satisfied, she left the bedroom. As usual, Effia intercepted her at the bottom of the stairs. They exchanged greetings.
"She's at the gym." Effia handed her a large mug of stew and a spoon. "I know you won't want to stay in the kitchen. Careful, it's hot," she warned, passing over a thick square hot pad.
"Thank you, Effia." Liara held the mug carefully with the hot pad at the bottom. "Is she alone?"
"Lt T'Enaire has been with her since she dropped in two hours earlier." Effia sniffed before adding, "Aethyta invited Admiral Shepard out on a walk, I think."
"You think?" Liara wondered if she should be worried. The two hadn't exactly been at odds but she sensed Hannah was impatient with Aethyta.
Effia shrugged. "They were standing too far away for me to try extending an ear." She chuckled at Liara's reproving look. "They went off in the skycar. Not coming back for lunch, I was told. Speaking of which I must get back to in the kitchen." She turned away before turning back to add with a stern gaze. "Watch your step now."
"I will."
Liara watched her receding back with a fond smile before heading for the west side of the house, cradling the mug and hot pad with her hands. She skirted around a few of Effia's assistants running the annual survey of the structural integrity of the building in the hallway. Such care ensured the estate remained sound for millenniums. The swirling of leaves against the windows along the corridor drew her attention to the brown carpet over the ground. She slowed down to a stroll as she looked out to the gardens.
The trees stood bare and forlorn with a shrunken look about them. How time had flown. Another end of a season, another year. When the trees and flowers once again stand in full bloom, there would be another to share in the wonders of the world. She hoped it would be a world of peace and prosperity. No more strident alarms of incursions, no invasion conspiracies. Goddess, let it be so. As she approached a pair of large double doors, she angled her elbow to hit the door panel.
The round gymnasium was large and airy. Curved benches were set at intervals along the walls. Floor to ceiling windows at one wall looked out to the gardens, allowing the maximum amount of light into the room. With the drop in temperature, the windows were closed to shut out the chill. Warm air flowed through vents to maintain a pleasant clime. Circling slowly round each other in the center of the room were Shepard and Sanar, dressed in comfortable impact suits and protective head gear. From the sweat on Shepard's forehead and the darkened flush on Sanar's face, they were well into the practise bout.
Liara sat down on one of the benches near the door and put the mug and hot pad beside her. She propped her chin in her hands, watching the two. The three stripes on Sanar's left arm proclaimed her expertise in the art of Se'satein. Shepard had refused to take the grading tests, citing lack of proficiency but she thought her bondmate couldn't be bothered. It was simply an interesting and intensive unarmed combat discipline that she indulged occasionally. Most of the time she practised with Effia's assistants who had given her the initial training. Both came to a stop to stand on the mat, eyeing each other.
Picking up the mug, Liara blew to cool the stew, sipped carefully at the soup and began to eat. She kept her eyes on Shepard. Her bondmate's stance was wary but relaxed but Liara knew she was poised to snap into action within seconds. Neither one took her gaze off the other. Seconds ticked by and still, the two didn't make a move except to watch each other. The point to Se'satein was to fine tune the inner sense and read the opponent's intentions. To stand firm against any attempt of dominance and yet not so steadfast as to break. It was a training discipline developed by asari to hone their mental abilities and their reflexes. It could be said Shepard was handicapped since she did not have the mind sensing abilities of an asari but so far, she had performed admirably.
Liara waited patiently. She could almost followed the train of Shepard's thought as she watched Sanar. Waiting for that moment. She wasn't sure who was the first to strike but it seemed to her they were both moving almost at the same time. Hands and feet snaked out with oiled smoothness, seeking to land that first crippling blow. The protective gear shielded vitals but the force behind the strikes could be felt.
In the split second when she saw the foot heading for her middle when she lunged forward, Shepard turned the blow she aimed at Sanar's chest down onto the leg. The asari grunted at the impact but used the change of direction the blow imparted to her body to swing her right hand to chop down at Shepard's neck. It never landed. Shepard turned and arrested the motion with her left hand. With her leg not having reached the floor, Sanar's balance was slightly off. Shepard tugged Sanar's left hand in one smooth motion to pull her more off balance, a boost with her shoulders when the asari was arched over her and tumbled her over.
"Point," Sanar acknowledged when Shepard bent over her and accepted the offered hand. "You're getting better at this."
Shepard snorted. "At fifteen points to twenty-one?"
"You're too hard on yourself," Sanar laughed. "You're one of the rare few humans to have achieved this much."
"You're so encouraging." Shepard swept back a stray strand of hair. "Another round?"
"I've to get back to the Academy," Sanar said regretfully as she unbuckled the protective gear and moved to the doors. "Morning, Liara."
"Morning, Sanar..," Liara noted with interest the darker blotch at Sanar's cheek.
"Hey, love." Shepard bent to kiss her before walking over to the next bench to pick up the towels draped over the back. She threw one to Sanar who grinned her thanks. A flash of anger streaked through Liara, taking her by surprise. She hurriedly shielded her confusion as Shepard came up to her.
Goddess, what is wrong with me? There is no reason for me to get angry.
"It looks like you've both scored against each other." Liara touched the large bruise on her bondmate's jaw.
"Lucky strike," Shepard said ruefully.
"Yours or hers?"
"Mine." Unwinding the towel at her neck, Shepard sat down beside her. "She let me threw her in that last bit."
"Now Captain, I always play fair," Sanar grinned. "If you hadn't been paying attention, I would have given you a hard thumping. I'm sorry, I've to run," she said apologetically and waved a farewell as she exited through the doors.
"What is her hurry?"
"New batch of recruits to break in." Shepard pulled of her headgear and rubbed her face dry with the towel, "and I was having too much fun that I forgot about the time and kept her."
"Perhaps if you get a teacher you would not accidentally make such an imposition,"
"With the crazy schedule that I have?"
"Your current schedule, as I recall, has nothing more lively than an appointment with Telienos this afternoon."
"Yeah, that's something I want to know about too." Tossing the towel down on the bench, Shepard reached for the shoulder buckle of her padded impact suit. "Isn't it time to stop dancing around the subject? It's been been nearly two weeks." The buckle popped. She reached for the other.
"Telienos feels it is better for you to resume your daily routine before she briefs you on what happened." Liara knew that was not what her bondmate wanted to hear but she did not feel confident to tell her bondmate what was done to bring her back.
"Suggesting that I need to orient myself makes it sound as if I lost some of my marbles in the process," Shepard said jokingly as she unstrapped the waist band and stared at Liara when she looked uncomfortable.
"No." Liara looked down into the mug before meeting her bondmate's eyes. "But you may not be happy with some of the suggestions that were considered to bring you out of the coma."
Laying aside the upper body impact suit, Shepard leaned back against the bench. "Considered, were they very drastic?"
"No. Telienos wants you to be in balance when she discusses your case with you."
"I see. Did the more radical suggestions come from Telienos?" Shepard frowned when Liara looked pensive. "Don't tell me-," she stopped abruptly with a muttered curse. "My mother?"
"She only wanted to see you return to..," Liara began to say quickly.
"At what cost?" Shepard interrupted angrily. "What was it?"
"Shepard, please, let us just wait until we see Telienos."
"This whole thing about getting back into my routine is to get me cosy up with her so I can forgive whatever it was she wanted done, wasn't it?"
"Yes and no..."
"Well, it isn't working," Shepard said bitingly, springing to her feet. "We haven't exactly been getting past the ice age." She snatched up the upper body suit, the headgear and turned to the door. Her shoulders slumped. "Why is she here?"
"Shepard..."
"I know. She wants to help." Shepard turned back to her, raking a hand through her hair in irritably. Every time the subject of Hannah come up, it's an itch she could not scratch. "She wants to get me back on my feet. She wants to mend bridges. Do you see any of that happening in the past weeks?"
"It..."
"What she really wants is to shove me into that tidy little picture she has of me. Fine upstanding Alliance officer, the hero who saved everyone's bacon for the last eight years. If I dump you, marry conventionally like getting myself a square tin soldier for a husband, she'll probably kiss a krogan for joy. Because then she doesn't have to face down the back alley talks about her family. Well," she said heatedly, "it's not going to happen..."
"You are jumping to conclusions," Liara interrupted, holding her tone even. "There is no open channel between the two of you so how can you claim to know what she wants?"
"Liara..," Shepard began to protest.
"The two of you are so stiffly polite every time you lay eyes on the other, how are you suppose to reach a level of deeper understanding?" Annoyance flashed in Liara's eyes when she saw her bondmate's surprise. "It is so frustrating to watch. How can you hope to climb the first rung when you decided you have reached the top?"
"Let's drop the subject." Shepard stamped down on the urge to pour out her resentment. It wasn't fair to rain down on Liara when she was only trying to help. "It's not something that's going to be solved any time soon."
"No, it is not going to be settled soon," Liara agreed, "and it will never get to the first step because you do not want to take that step. What are you afraid of?"
"It's..." Angry denial rose up in Shepard but she forced it away. She raised her hands up placatingly. "Alright, I don't want to stir anything up between us over my mother..."
"You started it," Liara returned tartly.
"Fine," Shepard waved a hand, "forget it, I'll just hear what Telienos has to say."
She jabbed the door panel forcefully and strode out. After a brief hesitation, Liara followed, mug in hand. It was some time before the heated haze lifted from Shepard and realised the furious pace she was setting. Although Liara made no complaint and kept up, the clear sign of her bondmate's pregnancy was an admonishment of her foolishness. She took hold of Liara's elbow and dropped to a slow stroll.
Sorry, love. {contrite}
Has it never occurred to you that you are doing what you are accusing your mother of? Putting her in the mold you conceived without giving her a chance to justify those years to you?
{sigh} I'm really really trying but she's really not making it easy with that...{long sigh} can we drop it?
We will leave the fight for later then. {impish}
Shepard chuckled. "I got word from Dorrin. Said they could be heading for some ugly shoot outs on the Citadel," she said. "Most don't want to be mushed meat in a tin and can't seem to get off fast enough. The rest are not leaving without lugging their ill-gotten gains with them." She glanced at Liara when she remained silent, seemingly not to hear.
Gaze turned inward, Liara said thoughtfully, "What surprises me is the speed of the evacuation. Fifty days do not sound like the Council's method of operation."
"No," Shepard agreed. "Remember the way they hum and haw back in those days when we tried to convince them about the Reaper invasion? I wonder what's the fire lighting them up."
Liara shook her head. "Without details, I do not think we can form a credible premise but I do know one thing." She looked at Shepard with a wry grin. "It is not a matter that requires your attention."
Shepard snorted. "Yeah I guess we can rest easy. Here, let me take that." She took away the mug as they approached the stairs to the upper floor, draping the upper body suit over her shoulder. "Whatever it is, returning the station to neutral territory will cut out some of the raging controversies. You'd think my people would be pleased enough to get that station out of their skies but I'm hearing different."
"If they decide to break the news on the scrambler, I am sure most of the issues will be swept aside. Shepard, I am hardly going to faint or fall," Liara said reprovingly when her bondmate kept a firm hand on her arm as they climbed the stairs. "I am perfectly healthy."
"Hey, I'm enjoying the easy part here. Wait till you're big enough to waddle, I don't think I'll be able to handle you alone."
"What makes you think I will waddle?" Liara was surprised at the notion.
"Well...uh...pregnant women get kind of...big...you know." Shepard extended the elbows of both arms to pantomime a wide body, "They kind of-," she pushed out her flat stomach as she swayed side to side, "move about so."
Dimples appeared briefly on Liara's cheeks as she chuckled. "Would that make me very gross if I really expand that much?"
"Gross?" Shepard shook her head as she opened the door of their bedroom. "Lady-," she took hold of Liara's hand and drew her in after her, "even if you turned into a blimp, everything about you is still beautiful..."
Rosetta Nebula, Alpha Draconis, Aeia
When the ramparts appeared, the marines of Alpha squad open up on them from their positions at the stairs. The narrow aisles forced the mechs to enter at a slow-moving pace. The mechs that fell were pushed forward and stepped on by their fellows from behind. Coglin knew they could hold indefinitely but only if the mechs were coming at them from the cargo compartment. With no eyes outside, she had no idea if there weren't already several ramparts climbing up the hull and attempting to enter through the second deck cargo compartment and the personnel airlock on the third deck. She pulled four of the marines away and posted two at the second deck.
She stationed a marine at the airlock on the third deck and went to the bridge with the last. The hatch to the bridge open readily. Her gaze flicked quickly over the workstations; engineering, communications, sensors, helm.
"See if comm works," she said to the marine with her as she moved to the pilot's seat.
The control panel was dark but she did not touch it. Instead, she searched the magnetically pinned sheaf of hardcopies and pockets on the overhead. When that turned up nothing, she ran fingers under the seat.
"I can't get the board to work, sir," the marine said.
"Look around the other seats for a command wand."
"Would they have left it behind?" The marine was doubtful but did as she asked, peering into corners and checking under the seats around the bridge.
"Freight runners usually have a backup stowed on the bridge," she said. The sound of assault rifles filtered through the deck. "Come on, come on, there should be one," she muttered, unfolding the pocket flaps above the communications console. Her heart lifted when she felt the long slim hard shape among the papers. Pulling it out, she saw it was what she wanted.
Moving quickly over to the pilot's seat, she dropped into it and inserted the wand into one of the ports at the console with a silent prayer to whomever was listening. If the renegades had stocked up the freighters, they had plans to move them some time later. That meant the ships were space worthy, not junk. As if in answer, the consoles on the bridge lit up. In response, the deck below bounced in rapid session. It sounded like several mechs had exploded.
"Take comm and try to establish contact," she ordered as she powered up the engine core. It would take several minutes for the core to tune up to full power but that was not what she was after.
"Sir, we don't have control over the rails, how are we to get out?" the marine asked, one eye on the console before him. Surely the captain wasn't thinking of flying them out of there? It was suicidal. The confines of the rail passage was too low and narrow.
Ignoring the question, Coglin tapped her helmet com. "Alpha1 to Alpha2, report!"
"We're holding them down at the main hold," came the reply. "No casualties."
"Stand by."
She enabled the vid screen that would allow her to see outside the Kaiwo Maru. Her mouth went dry when she saw the surging mass of mechs. The marine's estimate of a battalion was horribly correct, the numbers were more then enough to turn everyone and anything to jelly.
"Alpha squad, pull back to deck three and secure for serious tumbling. Grab hold of anything near you!" she warned before she hit the controls for maneuvering thrusters.
"Sir, are you sure they would work in atmosphere?!" The marine behind her enabled the seat restraints, silently praying.
The roar of firing thrusters was loud. As if surprised, the teeming mechs pushing to get into the freighter stopped and looked around. Shuddering massively, the ship rose ponderously for several metres from the flatbed rail it was resting on. The Ramparts near the thruster ports caught in the intense heat of the thrusters, exploded. Others were blown off their feet and went windmilling into the rest. Those that were progressing into the ship through the main cargo compartment fell off, knocking down those below on the ground. Fingers tapping quickly on the controls, Coglin hesitated for a moment. What if there were volatile materials in those crates in the main hold? What if the core containment broke? Shaking her head, she enabled the sequence. If she did nothing, they would all end up dead.
The freighter glided sideways. As if unaware of their impending doom, the heads of the mechs followed the movement and remained tilted upwards as the bulk of the ship slammed down on them. The lower deck seemed to go mad at once. The massive detonations of so many Ramparts and the aluminum-alloy heat-dispersal sinks of their their weapons tore up the light outer armor of the ship, melting through half the deck plates and the lower stacks of crates. Caught in the fiery mire, the mechs in the main hold exploded, turning more of the cargo around them into slushy junk. Damaged crates tumbled on top of them, rendering the entire compartment impassable.
Forewarned, the marines posted at the stairs had scrambled to the third deck when the explosions went off. The lower stairs began to warp when the chain of explosions caught up to the front line ramparts. The marines were jerked off their feet and went tumbling as the ship heaved in response to the detonations.
The moment the freighter hit the mass of ramparts, Coglin swept her hands across the console, killing the engine core in the hope that containment were not breached and held on, waiting for the upheaval to subside. Behind her, the marine held on for dear life.
"Alpha Squad, sound in!" Coglin said crisply when the ship finally stopped shaking. She was pleased when everyone answered. "Assemble at personal access airlock."
"Baker1 to Falcon1, what were those massive explosions?" came sergeant Chen's voice.
"Sweeping the mechs on our side, stand by for extrication," she said as she headed for the airlock with the marine closed behind. They met up with the rest of Alpha squad at the inner hatch. She palmed open the hatch. "We're going over the top. If we're lucky, the freighter would be right next to the first freighter," she said.
The outer hatch open readily. She peered out cautiously, looking to the right and left for the built-in access ladder and spotted the rungs at once.
"Watch your step," she warned as she leaned out carefully to grab on to the nearest rung.
Reminding herself not to look down, she climbed steadily. The ladder followed the curve of the hull to the top. She crouched down once she reached it. As far as she could see, there was nothing dangerous hovering overhead, nor was there any sign the ramparts tried climbing the hull. She could hear the sound of battle from the first freighter. The collapse of the main cargo hold tilted the Kaiwo Maru towards the first freighter. Close for them to climb to it. Murmuring instructions into the comm, she advanced carefully as the rest of the squad spread out behind her. Despite the slant, she traversed the breadth of the ship easily. The hull of the first freighter rose above her head. Turning, she motioned to the nearest marine to give her a boost up.
As the rest scrambled up behind her, she inched cautiously across the hull. Her eyes gleamed when she spied the mass of ramparts massed at the hatch of the cargo compartment of the freighter, the MSV Bay City. She checked the cavern wall for the mechs entry points and saw the openings they did not see in their initial entrance. Hidden alcoves, damn them. She should have expected it and detailed a more thorough search of the cavern. Let the geth probes do the job. Pushing away her self disgust for that failure, she ran her eyes over the mass of mechs.
There were less of them going for Baker, perhaps a hundred or so. None had diverted to the aid of their destroyed compatriots and none had sensed that they were now outflanked. She signalled to the squad. Spread out in a line, they lay down prone, meticulously prepared their grenades and checked their gunsights as she assigned their targets. If they destroyed enough of the mechs in the first barrage, the resultant backwash would take down more. After another check, she eyed her target through the scope of her rifle.
"Open fire."
The ramparts went up like fireworks when the grenades exploded in their midst, tearing armour apart. As she expected, the mechs' offensive systems worked against them. Packed in such a mass, they could not retreat. With features designed to taken down their foes as they were destroyed, the mechs ended destroying themselves. Only the ones in the periphery of the targeted zone had any ability to return fire but their programmed response was less than adequate. With sensors overwhelmed by the deluge of conflicting data, their shots went wild. Their offensive failure gave Coglin and her squad a free field to take down the unaffected ramparts.
In response to the attack outside, the mechs within the MSV Bay City began to backtrack, only to end up cut into pieces as the marines picked them off when they exited the main hold. When no more mechs appeared active, Coglin ordered Baker to remain where they were. The huge pool of sludge from the mechs was too hot to step on. She went back into the Kaiwo Maru with her squad and opened the second deck cargo compartment hatch. The tilt of the freighter reduced the distance to the ground so they jumped out. Their enhanced hardsuits easily absorbing the impact. They went back to the walkway, finding the occasional random rampart wandering about and took it down.
"Alpha Gumshoe, come in." Coglin tried to contact the marine tech at the office as they went back down the corridor.
"Mechs," the lead scout reported when they turned the corner.
"Fry them."
She brought up her assault rifle. The handful of ramparts went down before the barrage. Leaping over the slowly melting debris, she charged for the door of the office. It was open. Looking in, her shoulders slumped slightly. The rest of the squad said nothing though their postures were just as dejected when they saw the carnage within.
Turning away, Coglin tapped her com. "Alpha1 to Verdun." A faint crackle came over the mike.
"Verdun copy. Signal is not clean, Alpha1. Report."
"Hostile mechs encountered. Ice-niner-four."
A brief pause. "Verdun copy. Exeter-Idris. Verdun out."
Angrily, she switched channels. "Baker1, check out the grounds. If safe, return to entry point, we're pulling out as soon as you get here."
She gazed into the office again. They would have to go in and take out the hardcopies that were untouched. She didn't know if the marine tech siphoned off anything from the databanks, they would have to poke through the remains.
"They better have left crumbs for us," she muttered, itching to get her hands on the renegades. She took a step back. She would grieve later, right now there was a job to do. She contacted the rest of Alpha squad that were waiting topside.
Unknown location.
The air smelled clean. That was the first thing Saracino sensed. How odd. Had it smelled funny before? The other was that he felt good, rested and comfortable. That strange woolly cotton feeling he always had after a bout of illness. A sense of giddiness too. He took another breath. There should be pain, somewhere. His head but he felt nothing. Opening his eyes, he stared up into darken overhead lights. He remembered. The doctor mouthing words he barely heard, the surgical procedure. He eyed the lights with distaste. A rustle sounded beside him. He turned his head. The grey eyes in the long pale face smiled.
"Lance." He was surprised at the croak from his mouth.
"You got it right," Lance grinned. "What do I have?" He held out his hand before his friend's eyes.
"The shortest prick to date?" Saracino said mockingly of the middle finger.
"Yeah, you're back to your sweet self," Lance grinned, reaching out to help him sit up. "How's the head?"
"Bigger than yours." Saracino took a deep breath, slowly working the muscles in his shoulders. "What did the doc say?"
The smile dropped from Lance's face. "She couldn't get it all. The best she can do is install nodules that may deter the impulses."
Saracino shrugged. It was a gamble. He wasn't expecting to win but there was an off chance he just might be able to cheat. "What's new?"
"Nothing much. Our little project is powering up nicely. We're looking at a six month spell to full activation. That's the worse estimate, the best is four."
The news took Saracino by surprise. "Four months? That's faster than I thought."
Lance shrugged. "I was quietly finishing up while you were...previously occupied. Most of our people are already assembled, making their own preparations. We just need to get rest of the inventory fill up. Several shipments should arrive within two to three months."
"Are they safe?"
"There was a couple of perimeter sniffing but we got the heads up to stay silent."
"It's the Alliance, isn't it?" Saracino rolled his arms, flexed his hands.
"You can't expect them not to look when they hear barking," Lance said humorously. He turned away to pour out a glass of water from the flask on the table behind him. He turned back to find Saracino getting off the medbed. "Where're you going? Doc said you have to rest for another day."
"Getting back to work, what do you think?" Saracino stripped off the gown and searched for his clothes in the bedside cabinet. When he found them, he pulled them on. "Speed up the process if you can while I figure out to distract the Alliance."
"Distract them?" Lance said in dismay. "We're doing very well so far, they never caught any sign of us. The situation is under control, meddling may just change it."
"I know what I'm doing, Lance, don't worry." Saracino's cold blue metallic eyes gleamed eerily in the light. He clapped Lance on the back when he looked worried. "Trust me."
Thessia
Gallia never thought her apartment could get that dingy during her spiel at the hospital. The cleaning bots did a great job in keeping the walls and floor clean but the same could not be said of the furniture, the crockery and the dead plants. Her gals had volunteered to keep an eye on it but she wasn't comfortable having other people poked through her stuff. Well, not poked, she didn't think Nervia or Pulchia were nosy but she didn't like to have her things touched so she had politely declined their offers. They were here now to help her clean up her place since her movements were still a little awkward. She tire more easily too, to her dismay, if she did too much walking or running.
It'll pass. The doc said I'll regain my strength. Just need to get those muscles working properly and strengthen.
She lifted the stack of vid sticks from the desk in her bedroom and wiped. She turned and jumped when she found Nervia behind her. She hadn't heard her coming up behind.
"We're done with the living room and kitchen," Nervia said, twirling the cleaning cloth with one hand. "Need any help here?"
"No." Gallia looked around. The bathroom was the first thing she tackled. The bedsheet and pillow covers were already changed, the desk, the workconsole gleamed. "Looks like that's everything."
"Great," Nervia beamed. "It's close to dinner. You want to grab something to eat outside or shall we order in?"
"Eh..."
"Something wrong?" Nervia eyed her closely when she hesitated. "Pulchia's not making you nervous is she?"
"Wha...what?" Gallia stammered. "No, why'd you say that?"
Nervia cocked her head at her. "Where did the two of you disappear to that night? You know-," she leaned forward to poke Gallia in the chest, "the night we celebrated the Wane with our families. You were so drunk that Pulchia insisted on seeing you home and then never came back."
"Din...dinner outside sounds great. I'll pick up the tab, you gals did all the work, I should pay. Can't be said I'm not grateful..." Gallia knew she was babbling anything that came into her head and didn't care.
She grabbed the cleaning cloth from Nervia, tossed it into the recycler bin. She grabbed Nervia's hand and towed her out of the bedroom. She didn't want to answer any questions about that night! She didn't see Nervia hiding her laughter behind her hand as she let the human pulled her away.