We are going to make a run to the casino very soon. This is like Las Vegas style of Casino which means new games for me to play. I love getting the bonus rounds and spinning the prize wheel or getting extra draws in keno. I don't need the money. I need the happiness of getting free dough. While everyone changing, someone rings the door. I stroll over without a care in the world.

Garrus yells for me to stop "we don't know who that could be."

"It's Jacob. I asked him to get the dextro steaks and chicken breasts since we didn't have time." I open the door and thank Jacob for getting the supplies. He carries with him different colored grocery bags. Paragon and Renegade colors.

Jacob hands me the blue plastic grocery bag "I hope I got the right stuff. I trust the staff since I didn't know better. Blue is dextro meat and Red is real meat."

"Thanks Jacob. Tali and Garrus won't be picky and my excellent cooking skills will make most things taste awesome. I'll start prep right away." I take the bags from him.

Jacob asks "Isn't it a bit early to start cooking?" It's not even 1500 hours."

"I have to slow cook it for at least four. It will be fine." I take the bags and lay them on the island. I love islands. It's the place where I put my supplies while the countertops are where I work my magic. It takes me a few minutes to find the sandwich bags. I have two large pots filled with water and attached is a wand. This device will control the heat to just above the temperature needed to kill any bacteria or parasites. I set them for an additional five degrees Fahrenheit above just in case. The blue pot will be the dextro meat and the black one is… or this is funny… they labeled the steaks 'earth cow."

I wash my hands with liquid soap and proceed to remove the meat from its foam packaging. While Sous Vide takes a long time, the benefit is the most tender meat you can make and does not require constant monitoring. The hard part is submerging the plastic bags in the water to create a vacuum seal. If a little bit of water gets in, that is ok. I'm not marinating these so it will be ok. Always be sure the meat is below the water's surface as I do not want to cause anyone food poisoning which reminds me "Edi? What internal temperature is required to safely cook dextro beef and chicken equivalents?"

Edi answers "The commonly purchased meat products of dextro meats can safely be cooked at 120 degrees Fahrenheit."

I have to double check "Really? One of these looks like chicken and that has to be cooked to 165 degrees to be safe. Are you sure?"

Edi says "Yes. it will be alright."

I extend my gratitude "Thank you future Alexa."

Edi says "I understand the reference. That is funny."

Time to finish my prep. I cheat by using the wooden stirring spoons over the pot and potato chip clips to hold the bags under the water. I like having gaps to make sure the water comes into contact. I set my devices to the appropriate temperature and just need to wait. The longer in the pot makes it more tender, but too long denatures the muscle fibers and ruins the texture in my opinion. I can't wait to see Garrus's reaction to eating this stuff. I normally never Sous vide cook chicken because it makes it taste somewhat raw. It's safe but my stomach doesn't want to risk it.

Just in case, I wash my hands again. I don't want dextro proteins getting onto levo steaks and causing someone an allergic reaction. Better to play it safe and not give chance a vote. Shepard pesters me to finish so we can go. I tell him to give me 10 minutes to finish and clean up. While I do, Liara and Ashley, who both look fetching, come over to witness the gestation of my creations.

Liara asks "Are you boiling the meat?"

I explain "No. This process is sorta like pasteurization."

Ashley is very interested in invading my cooking space. I hate it when people do that. I'm going to put boundary tape on the floor of my future house. Not even Tali will be allowed to cross it. I love her to death, but healthy relationships have lines that are not crossed.

Ashley asks "Are these things expensive?"

I said "They can be. I went on auction sites and found it for cheapish."

Liara asks "cheapish?"

I respond, "I bought it during the post covid economy but before hyperinflation and purchasing power was so weird in those days."

Ashley scratched the back of her ear "Hey before we head out, I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

Liara says "Yes I wish to express my apologizes as well."

I'm so touched. Adults beings real adults doing adult behavior when they mess up "I forgive you but get out of my kitchen."

Liara asks "you're kitchen?"

"The kitchen always belongs to the chef who is me at the moment. Ash I should apologize to. I know I was a hard ass for yelling at you. I did it because you are a grown, military trained woman, with a mature mentality, and not an overgrown toddler. I expect you to take care of yourself because you are going to have to after you cross over because I'm not going to be there. And Liara, I owe you a debt I can't repay. Wait, why are you apologizing? I never snapped at you."

Ashley says "This isn't about that."

Liara nods "This was about declining your and Tali's request."

I ask "What request?"

Ashley asks me "Didn't Tali tell you?"

"No. She didn't tell me anything. What is this about?"

Liara explains "Tali loves you very much and she inquired about our possible willingness to…"

Ashley blurts it out "She asked if we would be willing to have your child for the two of you to raise and we said no. I hope you understand."

I have never been so horrified in my entire life. I can't believe she did that. My hands cover my face and nose. I reply "I am so so so sorry she did that. This is my fault. I was teasing her about forgetting I can turn into a quarian and we can have our own biological kids. I let it get too far. I would have never asked either of you two to do that."

Tali finished changing into her new fabric pattern. She came to show it off to me. "I was saving this for a special occasion. Now seems as good a time as any. ********* why are you looking at me like that?"

I tell my love "These two just told me you asked them to be incubators for us."

Tali rolls her head back "Oh Ancestors… I forgot about that. Yeah. You wanted to be a dad so bad and I thought you would love to have your own kids, so I asked. Then you surprised me that we can have our own kids. That was after I asked Liara and Ashley."

My embarrassment gets the better at me. I shout "I LIVED WITH YOU FOR MANY MONTHS! We did things. How did you not notice?"

"I kept this image of you as a human in my head and it slipped past my mind. Keelah I'm such a bosht'et."

Liara smirks and shakes her head side to side. Ashley is laughing up a storm. "I've never seen you this red. You look like a tomato" she said.

Liara says "I'm sure you will be an excellent parent to your children. I'm curious how would you raise them?"

I answer "Tali and I haven't talked about this, but seeing how my generation turned out, I'm not risking it and doing both carrot and the stick."

Tali asks "Why would they need those?"

I explain "It's a metaphor for rewarding good behavior and punishing bad behavior."

Tali asks "Was that not obvious?"

I lower my head "Apparently it wasn't."

Ashley asks me "Just to clarify. You wouldn't actually physically hurt them. Not that I think you would, but from what I heard how they used to treat kids in the past and the clown fest you came from."

I turn to her "I'm more the psychological warfare type. My plan is to buy black rice and put it around their toys when they refuse to put them away, claiming it's mouse poop, and threatening to throw them out to prevent disease from spreading."

Ashley chuckles "Oh my God. That's horrible."

I reply "Hey, it worked on Grunt."

The krogan in mention says "You made me believe it was Shepard's pet hamster."

I ask Shepard "Are we leaving soon?"

The Spectre replies "Hang on. Brooks is taking her sweet ass time. The line up to heaven has a faster wait time than this."

Ashley lightens up "Oh I totally forgot to ask. *********? Which one is right?"

I play dumb "one what?"

Ash tries to goad me "You know. Which religion was right?"

I reply "What makes you think the question is multiple choice. It could be in essay format."

Ashley gives me the puppy eyes "Please? I want to go to a good place. There are so many religions. Which one should I be following?"

I ask her "What makes you think only one is right?"

Ashley asks "I… isn't there only one correct answer?"

"I think whoever told you that just wanted you to only subscribe to them so they can charge a larger tithe."

Ashley asks "Ok… so if multiple religions are correct… which ones were right?"

I ask her "Are you ready? Here is the answer and it will blow your mind. TA DAH TA DAA! Drum roll…

All of them."

Liara utters "What?"

Ashley rubs her head "I didn't mean in all of realty. I'm guessing there is a universe where the greek gods are real. I mean who is right in our universe?"

I repeat myself "all of them."

Liara asks "How can that be true?"

I explain "Ok not all of them. Those believing death is eternal sleep are wrong. They enter soul dormancy until some dick wakes them up from their nap. The ones who believe we become worms might reincarnate as worms. How should I explain… so you know how our bodies are actually incredibly limited to what we can sense. Only a narrow range of light, temperature, and sound we can perceive. Wouldn't it be smart if our filters carry over, so our consciousness doesn't get overloaded? Christians go to heaven or hell, Hindus reincarnate or achieve liberation, atheists tend to be open minded and get to see the big picture and explore the astral planes. Liara, what do asari believe?"

Liara says "Our spiritual practice consists of several deities, but the core of it is we believe we are one conscious being experiencing itself."

I said "That is actually very accurate but not exact."

Ashley asks "wait… so we just go where we believe?"

I correct her "Not quite. Your energy is the determining factor, and your beliefs are a large chunk of it, but it's not the end all be all. Those evil people believing God will forgive them… well he might but they dug a lifetime of negative energetic channels in their bodies through their choices or actions and they will be pulled to where they belong. You send yourself to hell. Ashley, do you want to go to heaven?"

She thinks for a moment "Now that I think of it… could I go to other places? Liara I was raised to believe you either go to heaven, a place of peace where God resides or hell where there is eternal torture, I definitely want to avoid that, but to be honest I always thought Heaven would be boring. I need action. Could I go somewhere else if I want to?"

"You might like Valhalla. That is where viking warriors who died in honorable combat go to practice their skills until Ragnarök, the last war. Since you are now aware that everything else exists, if you are willing to learn to attune yourself after you pass, it should be possible."

Ashley asks "will God be mad at me if I do?"

I tell her "You don't have to worry about that."

Liara asks "Could I be with Shepard?"

I say "That possible if you have a strong emotional bond."

Ashley says "I kind of want to go see what your universe is like. It's mind blowing that such a place actually exists. Was it really that bad as you said it was?"

I confess "I have exaggerated however I didn't like that place, because it was fucking nuts."

Liara says "It couldn't have been that bad. There must have been good parts. Shadow can't exist without light."

I think back "The Diversity Wars were hilarious to watch. KAIDEN! YOU'RE TEAM WINS."

Kaiden bents over the balcony rails "What!" He floats down over and runs to my side."

He excitedly asks "The Biotic Beavers will finally beat the Thessian Matriarchs at the biotic ball galactic championship?"

"No. I was talking about you swagger dagger suckers win the war."

Kaiden blinks... unsure how to respond, then it hits him "Well of course. We're awesome."

Yay! He's going with the flow. That's how you do it. "Yeah, your people can be fun. See, it started out with the 8th wave feminists deciding randomly one day, they didn't want to work anymore and intended to force men to do the jobs while they were 'entitled' to universal basic income to make up for 'reparations for historical misogyny' or whatever bullshit the social engineers invented. Well, the gays didn't like that for obvious reasons. The transgenders hated it because either they were originally men and thought it was unfair or became men and didn't want to be taxed higher. The corporations hated the idea of halving the workforce, but the board member's and CEO's wives were feminists and they wouldn't risk condoning them publicly or lose flesh sheath access, so they secretly supported homos and trannies, but the MGTOWs, which society hated, had lots of money they saved by never getting married and investing, decided it was time to get their revenge for the screwed up dating markets and financed protests which caused quite a stir. The governments and media lost their fucking minds trying to figure out who they were supposed to support for social validation points. When black people got involved, the diversity house of cards fell over. Rainbows were everywhere. It was the most chaotic event I have ever witnessed." (This is the craziest paragraph I will ever write!)

Ashley says "I didn't understand half of that."

I say with a flatface "It makes complete sense where I'm from."

Brooks finally gets dressed and shows off the tight blue dress. "I found it in Captain Anderson's closet. Thank God we are the same size and taste." Jacob turns around. The view makes him get off the couch. He swags walks over and says "Ella tiene todas las curvas y yo no tengo frenos" which translates to "She has all the curves and I have no brakes."

I pretend to be shocked "Anderson's a crossdresser? I KNEW he needed something to counteract the overflowing masculinity to keep it from becoming toxic."

Shepard says "It belongs to his ex-wife."

I snap my fingers and point to the clever man "That's a good cover story Shepard."

Tali asks "why does he have his former bondmate's clothing?"

Shepard "He has this weird on again off again with Cynthia. They've been doing it ever since I've known him. They're together, they take a break, they are back together, work pulls them apart, reunions, divorce, remarried, divorce again, and finally being casual. I think they just like mixing it up. They never date anyone else."

I take my love's hand "Tali I don't want to end up that way with you."

Tali squeezes my fingers "That won't happen. We won't let it. Keelah that sounds like a headache. I don't know how he does it."

Shepard says "You and me both. EVERYONE GET OVER HERE! Liara and I examined the pistol, and it belongs to a casino owner named Elijha Khan. He's suspected to be a weapons smuggler and he made a very suspicious call after I was attacked." Liara plays the tape.

Garrus asks "Who are the mercenaries?"

Liara says "They are a private military organization called CAT6. An alliance nickname for dishonorable discharge. Many have a history of drug and abuse and other charming features."

Shepard says "Whoever Khan is working for, he's nervous."

Liara says "my files on him mention he has a panic room inside the casino. A good place to hold up. Edi can give us programs to hack the door, but the cameras and guard complicate things."

Brooks says "Yeah Khan could disappear or worse his guards open fire. Normally people could get hit. Like I did."

Shepard says "She's right. We can risk spooking him. We go on quiet. Small team no gun play."

Glyph appears "Dr. T'Soni, this evening the casino is hosting a charity event to assist war refugees."

Liara tells Glyph "Purchase some tickets, Glyph, then call up a layout of the building."

Joker slams his hands together "Score! So how close can you get? You don't usually put a back door in a panic room?"

Edi highlights the holographic display of the casino for us "This air shaft bypasses the security gate and ends up in storage. From there, the panic room's door camera can be disabled."

Ashley says "Too convenient. There's going to be alarms all over the shaft."

Liara turns to Shepard "I believe I have some countermeasures that may help. I'll know more once we're inside.

Javik asks "Who will go in the shaft? They need to be small in size."

Wrex says "yeah, that's not me. Too many snacks of roast varren leg."

Everyone looks at Tali who says "I suspect my suit's built-in tech would be picked up by security sensors."

We all look at EDI who responds "My presence in the casino would arouse suspicion. Mechs are not allowed since they can have cheating software."

Brooks says "What you need is somebody trained in zero-emissions tech. No electronics, no metal, just undetectable polymers. We had a course back at Op-Int, disabling a bomb with these little tweezers, see the bomb was filled with shaving cream…"

Shepard makes the smart moves and interrupts her "All right. You're in."

Brooks takes a step back "What? No. What?"

Shepard reminds her "you said it yourself, we all got too much tech."

Brooks tries to weasel out of this "But… I managed to get shot just coming to talk to you! Now I'm supposed to hack my way into a safe room?"

Shepard assures her "We'll be backing you up. The second you hit something you can't handle, we'll cover you."

Liara says "If that is settled, it looks like there's one last hurdle to get us inside."

Shepard asks "Which is?"

Liara ominous voice says "Black tie required." The Horror!

Shepard dismissed everyone. Before we go, Shepard pulls me aside "Did any of this happen in the campaign of your game?"

Bonus content isn't considered campaign.

"Nope. Now let's go win big."