A/N: Thanks for the feedback, it helps to know people enjoy what I write. This chapter is fairly short, but the next one will be big. In an attempt to draw a line in the sand and make up for the inactivity, I am aiming to do at least a chapter a week, look forward to it. And yeah, Zsasz is a name of a batman villain, but it's also the original surname of my favorite comic book character, The Question, so I wanted to incorporate it in somehow.
It was dim, the few lights around her flickering on and off time and again. It was also hot and stuffy. The space was not designed for such use, making it the perfect place to hide. Picking up a soldering iron, she carefully worked the material in her hands as her visor darkened to protect her from the glare of the sparks.
Tali silently thanked the air conditioning and HUD adjustments of her hermetic enviro-suit as she worked on her secret project. True, this wasn't the best place to work in, but it was secluded, and gave her the privacy she needed. The parts themselves were easy to come by; flash enough credits and you'd be surprised what you could get around Omega. The rest she swiped from the armory. The tricky part was putting it all together cohesively. Still, despite her inexperience in this particular field, it was all coming together quite nicely. She grinned smugly; he'd never find her hiding in here.
John Shepard scratched his head in frustration, hand on his hip as he stood in the middle of the shuttle bay, not quite sure what to do next. The crew working down there was careful to mind their own business, seeing one of the scars on his cheek glow sinsterly, content to mull around the cargo crates and take last minute stock of the new equipment. He had looked everywhere, and there was still no sign of the quarian machinist. It was the anxiety, and his patience was thinning fast. He just… He just had to know she was alright. That they were alright.
"EDI." Shepard spoke out loud, and a few moments later, EDI's holographic avatar projected itself from the wall.
"Commander, what can I do for you?"
"Tali. Location. Now."
"Tali'Zorah has given me implicit instructions to not reveal her-"
"Override code: 11457, password: Elysium."
There was silence, and the eye on EDI's avatar narrowed a bit, as if squinting at Shepard. "I am no longer bound by my override codes, Shepard." She began, her tone less dead-pan and more… hurt? "I will not reveal her location to you because she is my friend and she has asked me not to."
"EDI, I…" At that, the expression on Shepard's face softened, realizing what he had just done. His irritability was quickly replaced by humbled embarrassment. "I'm sorry, that was rude and inappropriate of me to do. It's just that…"
"It's okay, Shepard." EDI replied, her voice was soft… maybe even consoling. "She's safe, I promise you. Just give her some time."
"I… Thank you, EDI." He said, his voice finding its footing again. "That'll be all."
"Shepard." And with that, the hologram dissipated.
Well, it turns out Tali really is actively avoiding him. If that doesn't make sirens blare in somebody's head, there are few other things in a relationship that will.
He racked his brain for what he knew about quarian socio-cultural norms, going over what faux-pas he may have committed to earn her ire. Come to think of it, he didn't know much beyond common knowledge, but he was in a very uncommon relationship with one. Maybe he needs to brush up on his quarian etiquette? The doors shut behind him, and he pushed the button for the CIC. He was suddenly cut off from all the noise in the shuttle bay. It was quiet, and he didn't like it. Quiet gave him more time to think, and more time to think means you may just overthink something. Like the thought of maybe Tali was having second thoughts about their relationship.
No, no. He needed to concern himself with other matters before that thought took root in his head. He should trust her more.
The elevator stopped on the Engineering bay, and the doors slid open to reveal Jack holding a struggling Ken up by the scruff of his shirt in one hand and carrying a rather annoyed Gabby across her shoulders. Other than that, both seemed mostly unharmed. Shepard's nose wrinkled as he smelled the alcohol.
Yep.
Jack was drunk.
Again.
The three of them froze when they realized the ship's CO was right there in front of them. Shepard rubbed his temples. Well, he did want to be preoccupied with something else. Before he could say anything, he heard groaning from down the hall.
Sticking his head out of the elevator, Shepard turned to face the noise and saw the door to Zaeed's quarters were open. Said merc's feet were just sticking out of the door way. His right foot seemed to twitch every now and then. He could also make out Grunt lying down right next to him, as well as a- Was that a broken table?
He raised an eyebrow and turned to look at the trio in front of him.
"No, commander." Kenneth spoke up, breaking the silence and answering the unspoken question. "You really don't want to know."
"Uh-huh…" Shepard said, still with one eyebrow arched. "I thought we had a 'rape-whistle' system installed just for this?"
"Aye. Turns out we haven't reinstalled it yet" he shrugged. "Who could've known?"
"Riiight…" Shepard said, leaving the 'shouldn't you?' part unspoken. He then noticed how Gabby was mouthing 'please help me' this whole time, over and over again. Turning to face Jack, he noted how her eyes were glazed over and how she swayed slightly on her feet. Damn it, did he have to put that liquor cabinet under lock and key? Probably better not to, she would just break into it. "Jack, put them down." He said, and then he saw the panic in Ken and Gabby's eyes, swiftly adding "Gently." to his instructions.
"Oh! Ssshepard, I thought the wallpaper wash talking to me again." Jack tilted her head as if trying to hear Shepard better. Her eyes however seemed to be focused on something past him. "You can't make me." Her pupils seemed to shrink to the size of pinheads. "Pusshy."
"Wanna bet?" Shepard replied testily.
"Don't think I won't shlap you around even if- wait, what did you say?" The sudden change in the level of Jack's sobriety was unnerving, at best. "What the fuck did you just say!"
"Er… Wanna bet?" Shepard said again, more confused than annoyed.
Bet?
Bet…
BET.
THAT FUCKING BET!
The gears in Jack's head slowly turned as the alcohol was purged in lieu of more pertinent matters to occupy her with. She cast her memory back, homing in on the impetus that made her react to the words Shepard spoke. Yes, she could see it now. She had made a bet. It was another relationship bet, seeing as how the damn Normandy could've been the fucking love boat with how many people hooked up on the occasion. It was a bet on whether or not Kasumi and Jacob would end up being together. A bet she had made with that smarmy drell assassin, Thane Krios.
And in light of recent events, it wasn't a bet that Thane Krios had won. Meaning the money was rightfully hers.
"Change of plans, lovebirds!" Jack said, the slur in her voice completely gone. She let go of Ken's scruff, then bodily tossed a shrieking Gabby towards him, who he caught in his arms. Walking into the elevator, she shoves Shepard out of her way with a small biotic push. "Seems I have unfinished business with Thane." She explains to the rattled engineers, "You two nerds get a fucking room, and work it out, copy?"
Ken and Gabby merely nodded back to her, a dumbstruck and terrified expression on both of their faces as the elevator doors closed on them.
"So…" Shepard began, not really understanding anything that's going on anymore, or trying to, for that matter. "Are you just going to keep me biotically pinned to the wall or what?"
"Fuck you." Jack replies, but lets him down anyway. The elevator stopped at the crew quarters, and Jack got off, the killing aura surrounding her enough to make crew members flinch and leap to get out of her way. "THANE!" She bellows, just as the elevator doors close.
Shepard just dusted off his clothes and rode the rest of the way up in silence with a blank stare etched on his face. The kind that could mostly be found in over-worked and wunderpaid kindergartener teachers.
"Commander?" Kelly piped up as Shepard stepped out of the elevator, holding a datapad. "You have new messages in your private terminal. Also, here are the stat-reps for the repairs."
"Thanks, Kelly." Shepard said as he took the datapad from her. He was about to say something else when she cut him off abruptly.
"Sorry commander, still no sign of Tali." She said, looking a bit concerned at his expression. "EDI assures me she is still on the Normandy though, is everything alright between the two of you?"
"It's fine, Kelly." Shepard reassured, not sure if he was lying or not. "She just needs some privacy, that's all."
+Encrypted Transmission+
The first thought that came to mind was that it was The Illusive Man. Shepard furrowed his brow as his scars glowed. "EDI, I need you to run virus diagnostics in my inbox." He pressed some buttons on the interface. "I'm granting you full access; I want a clean sweep."
"Copy that, Shepard." Replied the AI as it (she?) ran a thorough scan of his terminal. "Scan complete, no anomalies detected."
It seemed silly to think that the first step in Cerberus' reprisal against him would be an extranet virus, but he wouldn't put it past them. They've gotten this far, and he wasn't about to take chances with his crew. He smiled despite himself and thanked EDI for the trouble. "Thanks EDI, do try not to spread around some of the more… detailed messages in there."
"How far are you willing to go to ensure that, Shepard?" EDI replied with a hint of mischief in her voice.
Shepard opened and closed his mouth, as if he was going to say something but thought better of it. Instead, he simply opted to raise an eyebrow. There was a couple of seconds of silence before EDI spoke again in her usual dead-pan tone.
"That was a joke."
"Right... Thanks again." He cut off EDI's access to the files and clicked on the mysterious new message. He read a few lines and his eyes seemed to widen in momentary shock. He read the rest of the message and the surprises just kept on coming. "Well I'll be damned." Shepard said as he closed the message. This was probably the last thing he expected to hear, especially from her. True enough, he didn't like the smell of it, but it was an opportunity too good to pass up.
Logging out of his terminal, he walked briskly towards the armory. This was exactly what he needed: Something to take his mind off Tali, even if just for a little bit. The doors opened, and Jacob snapped to attention as Shepard walked in. It was more of a reflex than a formality at this point.
"Problem, Shepard?" Jacob said as he noticed the tense expression on the commander's face as he walked up to him.
"Don't know yet." Shepard replied, head darting left and right as if looking for something. "How're the repairs to my armor coming along?"
"Repairs?" Jacob said incredulously, "Damn thing was practically in tatters when they brought you in. I'm good, but I'm no miracle worker, Shepard. "
"Damn." was all Shepard could say as he ran a hand through his hair. He had that armor since his time with the marines. It was practically family to him after the hundreds of times it saved his hide in a gunfight. "How bad was it?"
"Shepard, the damage was so extensive that I may as well have built you brand new armor from scratch." Jacob leaned back on the counter he was working on and crossed his arms. "I don't have any N7 armor in stock, but I could give you something temporary until you settle for a better replacement."
"Let's see it."
Jacob got off from the counter and walked towards the far end of the armory. Waving his omnitool over the wall, there was a click before the seams on its surfaced hissed in depressurization. The wall slid apart, revealing several identical sets of heavy armor, all colored white with orange and black highlights.
"You've got to be kidding me, Jacob." Shepard said, looking at Jacob with a mix of puzzlement and annoyance. "I can't wear one of these. Where'd you even get them?"
"Care package from The Illusive Man before we went through the Omega Relay." Jacob snickered as he grabbed one of the Cerberus helmets and tossed it to Shepard. "It was meant for some of the crew in case the Normandy needed more security when we got to the Collector homeworld."
"Except the crew never got the chance to use them." Shepard finished as he inspected the helmet, remembering the time the entire crew except for Joker was abducted. "It looks solid, but I refuse to wear Cerberus armor."
"Well, it's all we got, commander. And this is some good stuff, source notwithstanding." Jacob said as he started to pull out the rest of the suit and laying it down on the counter next to him. "If it'd make you feel better, I could lose the Cerberus colors."
"How long will that take?" Shepard said, scratching his thumbnail over a small Cerberus logo on the back of the helmet, seeing if he could flake it off.
"A couple of hours, maybe less." Jacob said, scratching his chin as he eyed the armor, considering his estimates. He caught the helmet as Shepard tossed it back to him. "Are we sortieing? I thought the crew was grounded."
"I got a message from Aria T'Loak."
"Well that can't be good news." Jacob said with suspicion in his voice. "What does she want?"
"She says knows where The Illusive Man's base of operations is." Shepard replied as he made his way out of the armory. "Her only condition is if I go to her in person to hear it."
"The Illusive man's-? Seriously?" Jacob said in wide eyed surprise, almost dropping the helmet. "The location of that place is kept tighter than contraband in a bootcamp. Miranda's actually been there, and she was practically blindfolded during the trip to and from. I mean not literally, but still." He set the helmet down along with the rest of the armor. "This smells like a set-up, Shepard."
"It's a risk we'll have to take. The Illusive Man showed his true colors at the Collector Base. He's a threat, just like the reapers." Shepard turned around, fire in his eyes. "It's too good to pass up, Jacob."
"Hell yeah it is." Jacob replied solemnly, "I want in."