A small respite
Disclaimer
Starcraft is the property of Blizzard entertainment.
Mass effect is the property of Bioware.
Any elements used in this story are used only in order to create a story for no monetary gain nor do I claim any ownership over them, beyond the names and characters unique to this story.
Normandy - In orbit of asteroid X57
Shepard
"Thank you for your report, commander" Admiral Hacket had called for him as soon as Shepard and the bathered team arrived at the Normandy "Thanks to your efforts the colony was saved and the batarians have been stopped while also managing to apprehend the leader of this conspiracy".
"Just doing my duty sir" Shepard said in the empty comms room as the rest of the squad did not need to be briefed on the details of what was to happen "But too many lost their lives because of him" the total toll from the engineering corp and security detail had not been fully tallied but as more and more people turned up dead the commander began to be filled with more gilt.
"And the whole responsibility lies with the batarians. Not you, commander" the admiral understood that the commander had taken this worse than most military personnel would "You did a good job, commander. And thanks to you and your team's efforts, this colony survived".
"I- Thank you, Admiral Hackett" Sheaprd saluted the admiral and in turn he did the same before the feed was cut.
Shepard stood alone in the comms room and after another moment in silence he sighed and went to do some tasks that needed his immediate attention.
As he entered the CIC most of those present began to clap and sheer as they saw their commander finally turn towards them.
Shepard faked a smile and got up to the viewing platform. With a gesture from his hand he asked the crew to calm down "Allright people. That's enough" he turned towards his navigator and nodded to her.
Apparently after they had deployed the quarantine was immediately breached by some civilian freighter who held some cargo that apparently was too valuable to remain in orbit for much longer.
It was Jane who after speaking with the nervous captain of said vessel felt that something was clearly wrong.
They approached the vessel while on stealth mode and disabled the ship as they radioed for more alliance vessels to converge on their position.
A squadron of marines from the SSV Cairo boarded said vessel and found out what had transpired there…
The rest of Balak's crew had made it to the surface of Terra Nova and hijacked this one freighter as they intended to smuggle the rest of their team with it once things had cooled down enough.
Jane's warning of the possible hijack made it so the alliance not only had cut the only rute of escape for these fuckers but they also captured more of Balak's lieutenants for interrogation.
The alliance had achieved a clear victory thanks to both Jane and John.
"You did an excellent job up here and I am proud of your performance…" the room fell quiet as he continued "But our mission isn't over. This venture might have cost us critical time and Saren is still ahead of us" Shepard turned to the officer in charge of the CIC, Jane "Make sure that we are ready to leave the moment Hackett gives us the all clear".
"Yes sir" Jane saluted and began to whip her people into motion.
Shepard knew that until Hackett ended the quarantine they wouldn't be able to proceed with their mission. Until their interrogation of the remaining batarians concluded they wouldn't be able to leave the system. Shepard then decided to make something productive with his time and went down a list he had mentally made after the mission.
Thank the crew, check.
Praise Jane, postponed indefinitely.
Visit Liara and Xiltar, pending.
Speak with Joker, pending.
Speak with the rest of the crew, pending since most were sleeping.
Shepard made his way to the bridge and finally realized that Joker's seat was truly a wonder as he saw the cripled man in so much comfort that it made him jealous.
"Quite the adventure you got, commander" the pilot turned towards him "And here we got the role of playing border patrol".
"More like the easiest part, Joker" Shepard placed a finger on his chin "I would have liked to see what you could do but since the chance didn't present itself" Shepard shrugged "Guess you still haven't proved your boast to be true".
"Low blow, Commander" replied Joker as he shook his head and turned towards the console once more "Tell me when we can leave. I'm gonna take a nap until then".
Shepard then left the pilot to his well earned nap and as he crossed through the CIC, the personnel were too busy with their work to notice him and he was content to leave it at that.
Command of the Normandy still felt off to him.
He left the CIC behind and as he arrived at the clinic he was glad that both of his companions were in a better state…
Mostly.
"Commander" doctor Chakwas saw as Shepard entered the room and her comment made the other two people in the clinic turn towards him as she was between the two occupied beds.
"Shepard. It is good to see you" Liara said to him with a smile as she laid flatly on the bed so she could rest since Doctor Chakwas had managed to save the asari's life and she would now be in the process of recovering.
(Greetings, friend Shepard) Xiltar nodded to the Commander as he sat on one bed without the top parts of his armor. The alien had been given a proper cast after Chakwas had struggled to fashion one of his size from the materials she had available (Is the vessel ready to continue with our hunt?).
"Not yet, ace" Shepard began "And it's not like you are fit for combat. I suggest you find something to do while you wait for your arm to recover".
The protoss glared at the statement and made a mental scoff that even Shepard could understand (One would think that with such advances in medical technology such wounds would be more easily dealt with) Xiltar paused as he realized something (What is an Ace?).
"A nickname" Shepard clarified to both aliens as he also saw that Liara was struggling with the concept "A name you say to somebody you like when you don't feel like calling their name".
(Hmm…) Xiltar thought of something (Like when you think of Doctor T'soni as- AHHH!) the alien was interrupted as doctor Chakwas stabbed his broken arm with a syringe.
"Don't be rude, sweaty" the woman gave him one final warning that was covered behind a sweet smile.
(...Fine) Xiltar relented as he rubbed his right arm with a pained expression.
Shepard shook his head while chuckling as he ignored the protoss and approached Liara who was staring at him with a blush "Good to see that you are awake" he smiled at her "Are you okay?".
"Yes, thank you" Liara smiled back for a moment before a conflicted expression appeared on her face "Shepard, I still wanted to apologize for what happened to us back at the cita-" Shepard decided to be bold and placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her apology.
"I know you are still sorry for that. But after what happened down there I guess I owe you an apology too" Shepard removed his hand and continued to smile "I think we shall call it even… it is how we say that we don't owe each other anymore".
"Yes. My people say the same thing" Liara said with a smile on her face "We are even".
A cough was heard from Chakwas's direction "I think you should allow them some rest" Chakwas interrupted the little moment with some advice to the commander.
But before he departed he asked Xiltar one final question "I believe that was our most hectic mission so far, don't you agree?".
(Indeed it was…) Xiltar replied (I think what your people call luck must have been involved if either Kaidan Alenko or I managed to survive that. Even if I don't still understand how that concept works).
"Sure pal" Shepard made the mistake of slapping him on the shoulder and the alien recoiled in pain "Sorry" he feigned a smile as he saw that the protoss was furious with him.
(Just go) Xiltar pouted.
He did not need to tell him twice.
Shepard just hoped that Xiltar wouldn't reveal to Liara how he felt.
Xiltar
Oh he would have done that in a heartbeat.
But the asari felt something similar for the commander…
Their struggle was entertaining to see.
"If you two will excuse me. I will be taking a nap after my long night of work" the kind Medic said in a carefree manner "Xiltar you are free to go whenever you want…" Not like she could stop him anyway "While you, dear, shall remain in that bed until I am back. Do I make myself clear?".
"Yes, Doctor Chakwas" Liara nodded and remained right where she was.
The Medic then departed and left the two beings by themselves.
…
Xiltar wasn't quite sure what had compelled him to remain behind but he remembered that he owed the asari his thanks for agreeing to work with him on his ploy of deceiving the galaxy.
But there was something else in her focus at that moment.
(I sense trouble in your mind) Xiltar turned to the asari as he stated this (Would you prefer to be by yourself?) he asked politely.
Liara sighed "At the moment? Maybe" so she did not wish for him to remain "Can I ask you something?".
(Within reason) Xiltar allowed after a brief consideration.
"Very well… My people… the asari… we are a long lived species" Liara began "How long does your people live?".
That was a bizarre question.
Xiltar knew that the oldest recorded member of his race died at age 1580. To his honest surprise this individual happened to be a member of the Tal'darim, a former Highlord as he recalled.
He knew of this since the day that his people managed to kill him; The corpse matched its DNA with a severed hand that had been taken from him almost 1000 years before the fact.
And this arm had remained well preserved even as it was left to rot in an uncared archive.
(More than a thousand galactic years, but it can depend) he answered with certainty (Is my lifespan pertinent to your trouble?).
"Certainly. I am 106 this year, a child when looked at by my people" she said with a trace of shame and confusion "I will most likely live to be a thousand years, like you" she turned forwards to see the roof "But my race mostly finds partners amongst other races. Matches between two asari are seen as obscene and detrimental to our race" she said as she tried to explain this to him "But not all races in the galaxy share our lifespan. Only the krogan and your people could even match us".
Xiltar raised an eyebrow (What are you implying, Liara T'soni?).
The asari blushed "It's not what you think!" she adjusted herself to rest on her arms "My thinking was mostly directed at… another".
Ah, those who would live less time than them.
(I understand your troubles) Xiltar's answer surprised the asari (For what little I have seen of your race, most of your people are highly compassionate beings who hold attachment as a high value and your ultimate purpose) Xiltar stated his observations (Am I correct?).
The asari averted her gaze from him "Yes. You are right in your assessment" she laid back down on the bed "So many asari who loved members of other races… I can't count the people I've met that became shells of their former selves after their loved ones were… gone".
A whimper could be heard from the asari.
"I cannot even imagine it" Liara began to cry openly "I don't want to walk the same path if my fate is the same…".
…
Denial
(I… may never understand what you could go through in this) Xiltar began (My race… we have never held this part of ourselves in high regard) Xiltar looked down (Those kinds of thoughts are a shame to my kind).
"A shame?" Liara asked between teary eyes "Your people are ashamed of love?".
(Yes…) Xiltar explained (And it isn't a matter of my tribe. ALL protoss hide and forsake this part of ourselves).
"Why?" Liara asked.
(Because of the enemy of all… time) Xiltar confessed the plight of his people (The great annihilator. The lord of destruction who ends everything that is both sacred and just. That which sends lives now lost to the clutches of oblivion. Their stories to be forgotten) he closed his eyes in shame (My kind feels the loss of those departed more neatly than what your people may witness. There is a palpable vacuum in our souls whenever someone close to us makes the ultimate sacrifice or suffers the greatest of shames…) he opened his eyes and turned to the asari (But like all, we will be unmade by time one day. My people know of this and we try to enjoy every moment we have with our loved ones and kin as best as we can) his dark words over love came with a purpose (So many families lost through thousands of years. So many loved ones that were stolen from us…) he moved his healthy hand to the compartment that once held the crystal that was linked to his existence (To love someone is seen as shameful by my race because the guilt and sadness of never seeing them again is… overwhelming).
The asari remained silent "Have you lost someone?".
(Yes…) Xiltar got up from his seat (I lost them all. My family, my people, the world that I loved… all of it).
"I'm sorry" Liara apologized for no wrong that she had committed.
(Do not see my teaching as pitiful, Liara T'soni) Xiltar said in a calm voice as he shook his head (Even though we are both seen as nothing but children by our races we have to live every second of our long existence) he approached the asari and pointed a finger to her heart (Love each second that you have of your life… with him) Xiltar winked knowingly and stepped back, away from the asari.
The asari blushed before forming a smile "I.. thank you" she tried to divert the conversation from her personal secret "Are you truly seen as young by your race?"
Xiltar scoffed (I am the leader of my race by nepotism, not experience…) he felt frustration from the mind of the asari since he had not answered the question (Yes. Before my people entered our millenia long stasis I was 254 years as I remember. A terran or a creature of a similar life span might place me along the age of somebody in his twenties) if he could smile he would have seen it as appropriate (I lived every second of that time, Liara T'soni. Think as I do and you will learn so much in time).
Xiltar left the poor asari alone since he only managed to add more confusion to her mind…
Along with acceptance.
Garrus
It was over.
Garrus read with tired eyes and a disgruntled expression the report that had been sent to him by one of his colle… former colleague at C-sec.
It was the arrest report for a plain looking fella going by the name of a Doctor Heart, supposed salarian geneticist who was apparently a contractor of Binary Helix.
The arrest had been done by a turian flotilla that was traversing through the Hershel system within the Kepler verge. Citadel command had alerted the hierarchy of a possible security concern within the region of an undisclosed nature.
While on patrol, one vessel of the 79th flotilla detected the presence of a marooned ship that was not responding to any hails nor was its rescue buoy activated.
It was in this vessel that hierarchy troopers found the individual in question and after a fake rescue they apprehended the murderer.
It was over…
But all of this was a load of crap.
Garuss could recognize that particular salarian anywhere in the galaxy and the fact that he had not been the one to apprehend them left him completely frustrated.
Dr Saleon would pay for his crimes… but Garrus did not feel satisfied in the least.
The turian sighed in disappointment and allowed the tablet in which he had been reading the report to fall flatly into the empty table of the mess hall to which he found himself to be the sole occupier.
Most of the ground team had gone straight to sleep after they had arrived since the last mission proved to be extremely taxing to say the least.
To him this would have been a great diversion from their original objective were it not for the sheer number of people that they had saved that day.
After all, he did not have the final say in how this vessel operated. It may have been partially designed by the hierarchy, but he was it's sole turian crewmember as of now and the human element was it's sole deciding factor as per the agreement between their governments.
Garrus had to admit that he found it humorous that the hierarchy had just allowed this advanced technology to be given to the humans despite all the animosity between their species. And the best part had been Shepard's strange reaction at the turian's audible laugh as he had been explaining this detail to Garrus.
Speaking of said person…
The turian watched with a grin how the commander left the ship's infirmary after he had most likely visited the most wounded of their companions with a particular interest in a certain asari.
But then Shepard noticed him watching.
"Hey Garrus, how's it going?" The commander asked with a slightly flustered expression as he approached his spot in the sole table of the small space that served as their mess hall.
"Just fine, Shepard. Considering what we just pulled off I would say that this day has gone perfectly" Garrus began with a grin as the commander looked rather confused by his answer "Well, perfect if not for one thing".
"Oh?" Shepard began as he sat in front of the turian "Something you would like to add on our last mission?".
"Nothing of value if that is your concern, no. It's just…" Garrus glanced at the tablet and after a moment of consideration he looked back at the commander "Well, remember how you found the four of us behind bars the other day?".
Shepard's expression immediately went to one of annoyance at that memory and he lowered his head onto the table "I'd hope to forget all about that… what's bothering you?".
"Well you see I was actually hoping to-" Garrus began but was interrupted midway by Doctor Chakwas as she made her way to the sleeping pods and he waited for her to pass "There was this small matter that popped up during that whole fiasco and I was hoping to attend once we were done with our mission" he crossed his arms and looked at the tablet once more "But now that won't be the case".
"Oh? How come?" Shepard asked with some intrigue and reclined forward to pay more attention to what he had to say.
Garrus sighed and began to explain to Shepard the events that had taken them to that prison in extreme detail.
Glossing over such details as the whole burning down of a bar due to a drunk and stupid decision, the turian explained how Wrex had roped him in a siege of a gang's hideout and what was in it for Garrus.
The escape and capture of Doctor Saleon was not something he was particularly happy to recall.
After some time he finally ended the whole explanation on his opinion of what would have happened with the salarian criminal if it was up to Garrus what was to happen to him.
And Shepard listened through the whole of it.
"I can see where you're getting across, Garrus… but this whole situation ended fairly well all things considered" Shepard answered with an argument that conflicted with his point of view but would be pretty hard to dislodge.
"I suppose it did… but not the way I wanted" he replied with some disapproval in his voice.
Shepard shrugged and gave his thoughts on the matter "Maybe that's what's best, Garrus. Maybe he could have recognized you and hurt you or any one of us if we were to apprehend him. Maybe we could have sent either Wrex or Xiltar to maul him for his crimes and nobody would have batted an eye for this, but that would have been wrong too".
"You cannot know that, Shepard. If I were there then maybe…" Garrus began before his words trail off.
Maybe what?
What would have been different if he were there?
The bastard had been apprehended and was now on his way to a court that would give him the heaviest punishment for his crimes.
His legacy of madness and terror would be over and Garrus would have nothing to do with that case ever again.
Was that what had been frustrating him?
Maybe.
"It's not like it matters now" the words he was thinking came out of the Commander's own mouth rather than his own.
"Heh. Stole the words right out my mouth, Shepard" Garrus replied with some amount of humor in his voice.
"Guess I did, Vakarian" replied the commander before he pointed with his thumb towards the sleeping pods "Better hit the sack Garrus, I don't think you will be too pleased to meet Jane if she gets down here. You know, since you haven't apologized to her for what happened".
"No I suppose I don't" Garrus stood from his seat and paused for a moment to consider if he should salute to what was in essence his superior officer.
The turian shook his head after a moment of consideration and decided to save it for later.
He wasn't about to disrespect the hierarchy by saluting an alien now.
But maybe another day.
Tali
The last mission had left the little quarian very tired… that or her insomnia for all those late nights at engineering were truly catching up with her.
How could anybody sleep with so little noise?
She shook her head "Focus Tali" she murmured this so her coworkers in engineering could not hear her.
"Input seems right" Chief Engineer Adams began "Are couplings 27 and 13 still acting up?" he asked the other people in the room.
"27 has aligned properly" said Marcus, a middle aged man who seemed to be only second in experience to Adams.
"13 is still not aligning, damn!" said Hector, a grumpy person who surpassed Tali in age by about five years.
"Did you check that it was cleaned after-" Tali began but was interrupted.
"GOD DAMN IT, I DID!" Hector exploded in anger as the person who was clearly a junior to him had shown more caution than him while only being aboard the vessel for a couple of days.
"I-I…" she looked down "I'm sorry".
"HECTOR!" the chief engineer screamed at the irate individual and ordered him to come with him so Adams could scold him.
"Better go take a break, Tali" Marcus said as he approached the quarian "Leave the final tuning to us. Go get some rest".
"..." Tali felt conflicted about leaving this task unfinished. But she knew that they really wanted for her to go get some rest since she had not gone to sleep after they arrived like the rest of the ground team "I-I will. Tell Adams I'm sorry".
The pair turned towards the other engineers as Adams just continued to barrate the other human for his behavior.
Tali felt somewhat guilty.
"Maybe if I-" She was stopped by Marcus who grabbed her by the shoulders and began to push her towards the closest exit.
"Maybe nothing" he stopped short of the door and allowed the quarian to go by herself "Go get some rest you workaholic quarian".
The quarian took a step forward and as the door closed behind her she began to rub her hands with some worry.
Tali still felt guilty for leaving her task halfway done and thought that if she remained in the cargo bay for some time and returned after a while, none would mind her help.
She sighed and then entered the cargo bay… the empty cargo bay.
As Tali looked for her companions she was disappointed to find that nobody would keep her company while she waited.
Most of the lights were off so remaining far from the elevator would be a bad idea.
She searched for a spot to wait but found that the only place belonged to…
"Where is Xiltar?" Tali asked no one in particular as she found it curious that even him, who was notorious for never leaving that part of the ship, was also missing "Where could he-".
She paused after realizing her dumb mistake and placed a hand on her visor as she remembered that he had broken his arm and was most likely going to be in the clinic for some time.
"Kheela…" she shook her head and banished her shame as best as she could.
…
Out of curiosity, the quarian approached the workbench and began to inspect what was on it.
She was astonished to see part of Xiltar's armor atop the work bench while completely unattended by the protoss.
Why would he leave them like this?
…
Maybe if she was quick enough then he wouldn't be-.
No.
That wasn't right.
Xiltar had left this behind while trusting that nobody would disturb his stuff or meddle with his technology.
Tali would have been foolish to break the trust of a person she felt indebted to.
Thankfully, there was other stuff she could focus upon atop the inconspicuous table as his armor was by the far side of said place.
And she found something quite curious…
Most of the tools in the alien's possession were missing equipment from the tool boxes of the engineering department but were things that engineer Adams and his team had told her to be lost in the last retrofit.
Apparently this wasn't the case.
Tali examined the rest of his tools and found that most of them showed marks of wear and tear from the effort that Xiltar had put them through…
Or maybe he just didn't know how to use them properly.
Tali chuckled at this notion since the alien did not show any sign of being inexperienced in what little actions he took. But the physical proof in front of her confirmed that the alien could be wrong sometimes.
And then she brushed her hand over the table.
To her surprise, some dust emanated from the table as her hand passed through its surface.
Her breather detected the foreign particles and activated the heavy filters that would not allow them to pass.
"Great… now it's harder to breathe" Tali rolled her eyes at her current predicament. She knew that if she rested in one of the sleeping pods the breather would free itself in time but something else compelled her to remain…
She examined the surface from which the dust had come and looked in surprise at it.
"What is this?" Talk voiced her surprise because as she removed the dust the quarian could see some marks etched onto the table…
The words that were uncovered were written in a language that she did not understand but next to each word she could see some drawings or pictograms without a particular order.
As Tali continued to remove more of the dust she began to see some splendid images being drawn onto the table…
The figures of alien warships facing each other in some strange form of combat…
Drawings of ancient cities similar to the one they had been shown on the homeworld of Xiltar…
Protoss dancing while using weird things that must have been instruments to them…
Tali chuckled as the notion of the mostly stiff and serious Xiltar dancing was a funny idea in her mind.
She continued to see every drawing with a smile until her eyes fell upon a corner of the table.
"What the…" Tali said as she examined a sentence that was written along with five others.
All were written in different languages that her translator could not convert properly but one in particular got her attention.
One that was written in Kheelish… her own language.
The curvy letters of the dialect used by her people were written in a choppy manner as they had most likely been carved instead of etched.
"Mered'tan Ekad Aun?" She said while reading the sentence as it was written in a very broken dialect that said 'Will anything remember?'.
(I was trying to write: Will anybody remember us?) Xiltar said from behind her.
Tali yelped in fright as she did not expect to find the massive alien standing right behind her "Since when were you there?".
Xiltar pointed with his good arm to the still open elevator (I just got here) Xiltar approached the table as Tali had moved to the side (I actually came to sleep. The silence of the bay makes it the only place where I can rest undisturbed) Xiltar moved his hand towards the corner where the sentences were written (I am actually disappointed that I got your dialect wrong… but I couldn't just ask).
Tali approached him on his left and began to look at his poor attempt at Kheelish "Why couldn't you ask?".
The protoss turned to look at her with what must have been a pained expression.
(...) His mind made the sound of a sigh as tapped his uncovered finger over the words (Each battle I cannot be next to my people makes me doubt if I can even save them) he began to explain (Each day that passes makes me question if I am doing the right thing. Is anything I am doing worth the risk?).
This answer surprised Tali in a disturbing manner "But… we have done nothing but win recently. Is that not enough?".
(Maybe... Each victory makes this galaxy a safer place for us all. But will my people ever witness this? Maybe not. Will it be enough for them? I do not know) Xiltar began to scratch the table with his finger and left some small scratches over the text that was written in another language (Will it be worth it?).
…
Tali did not know what compelled her to place a hand in the alien's healthy arm but the fact that Xiltar did not reject it told the quarian that her concern was not unwelcomed.
After she considered what to do to cheer him up, she smiled as an idea popped up in her head "Want me to teach you how to write it properly?".
The alien turned his head to her and then nodded as he moved to the side.
She grabbed one of the termal engravers that remained unused and after inputting the right settings, she began to carb into the table "You got the curb wrong when writing this and you missed two dots that makes the whole sentence that of a person. I mean, where did you even learn to write this?".
As Tali asked this question she turned to Xiltar who was averting his gaze from hers.
Tali grumbled (Did you get it from my mind?) She thought as Xiltar would be guilty if he answered trough this mean.
He instead grabbed a tablet that was with his things and showed through the scratched screen that he had searched for her dialect in the extranet.
The question, who will remember us?, had been translated into that poor Kheelish by the device rather than him.
…
Who will remember us…
Tali grabbed the tool and began to etch an answer next to his question.
The protoss looked over her shoulder with curiosity as he did most likely not understand what she was writing.
"Kheela Mered'an" Tali said after she was done "By the homeworld I promise to remember" she turned to her friend with a smile that he could not see.
Tali saw expectantly as the alien moved his hand towards her writing and tapped it with his finger (Khasrak du'Miram… Amuk).
She was taken aback as this words were not translated to something she could understand trough Xiltar as it had happened before.
"What does that mean?" She asked in turn.
(It roughly translates to 'your answer is a beautiful one, friend') Xiltar replied with some peace in his words (It's been a while since I actually spoke my own language, and even more time since I wrote down an alien script like yours… quite beautiful I may add).
Tali felt some pride bubble up in her thoughts as she was content that something of her people had managed to impress this ancient alien who may have met countless more than her own humble kind.
"Maybe I can show you more of my people's culture through our records!" she began excitedly before she remembered something that would get in the way of that "But… all of them are safeguarded in the fleet. I don't know if I could bring you to see them after my pilgrimage is over".
She really wished to show her friend some of the quarian culture as a way to make an exchange since she also wished to know more about his people.
What could she do?
(...) Xiltar hummed for a moment before he came up with an answer (Then tell me about this pilgrimage of yours. Is it a religious matter or more like some sort of galavanting adventure?).
Tali realized that she could speak with him of that matter instead, and as she turned to look at him a smile formed on her lips.
Jane
Would some praise be too much to ask?
…
Stop being petty, Jane.
The young officer had almost gone twenty two hours straight without sleep which by now was the bare minimum of work she was accustomed to.
But her sleep deprivation was beginning to set in…
"Gonna take a coffee break, be back in ten minutes" Jane said to those crewmembers of the night shift that were working along with her "Better make it fifteen" she corrected herself as she wanted some time for herself.
Jane descended the stairs and made her way to the mess hall to use the coffee machine…
But she did not expect to find her brother sleeping in one of the chairs while resting his feet over another chair.
Jane rolled her eyes and made her way to the coffee machine and made a cup of espresso for herself.
After the machine was done she took a sip from it and stated the obvious "Perfect" as all coffee should be.
Jane finally approached John and with one fell kick, she pushed his feet off the chair and made him fall because of this.
She drank more coffee "Good morning, Commander" Jane said with a smile.
"God damnit, Jane" John said as he got up from the floor and moved his arms to check that nothing was broken. "Couldn't you just wake me up like a normal person?!" The commander glared at her as he said this.
"Where would be the fun in that?" Jane said before sipping a little bit more coffee "Why are you sleeping here anyway? You have your own quartets after all" she hid her jealousy under a cover of smugness as she toyed with her brother.
"Don't worry. After I am done with you I will go and have a good night's rest" Shepard said in an ominous manner "Congratulations, lieutenant Shepard. I think you just got the record for fastest demotion ever achieved in the alliance" he finished with a serious face.
Jane snorted in a mocking way for she did not care what her brother had to say. It's not like he is her boss…
As she was about to take one more sip from her cup she froze in the motion…
He was her boss.
"Lieutenant Shepard?" he stared at her as any superior officer would do to an unruly soldier…
A trickle of sweat was felt by Jane over her eyebrow as she thought that she might have already crossed a line with her superior.
Fuck.
"Em… What do you require of me, commander?" Jane asked in a formal manner to play it safe.
John just smirked and crossed his arms as he was most certainly relishing on the fact that she had screwed up.
"Got ya, bitch" John said with a shit eating grin before he entered into a fit of laughter "You should have seen the look on your face" the bastard continued to laugh.
…
Don't do it Jane.
It's not worth it.
"You got me" she said in between her teeth as she knew that shit like this would continue to occur on their mission.
And he would enjoy every second of it.
John shook his head as his moment of laughter was coming to an end.
"In all seriousness…" he suppressed another laugh "Sorry. I did truly wait for you to come here".
Oh?
"What for?" she asked this without decorum since he had proved that military protocol meant little to him.
"Can't I get to congratulate my little sister for her first day at her new job?" John continued to smirk.
Jane wanted to punch him so badly.
But the black eye from her mother had almost disappeared.
As Jane was beginning to weigh the pros and cons of attacking her superior commander John beat her to the punch…
Literally.
It was a playful punch on the shoulder that had no malice "In all seriousness. I wanted to congratulate you on your work up here" he said with an honest smile "Keep up the good work. Lieutenant Shepard".
John departed to his room to rest and left Jane stunned where she stood.
A small smile appeared on her face before she drank some more coffee.
Quite sweet.
Afterword
I have big news!
I presented my forgeworld's standardized test to become a tech-priest so my schedule has become far more open as of now.
More chapters are inbound.