"So, let me get this straight. Satrino told you if you ever brought together to form some kind of group again, you were to kick up as big of a fuss as you could to see if the Council would release me?" I asked. Val grinned.
"I think we did a good job," he said, puffing out his chest with pride. My snort didn't deter him.
"I think Lanster's barrel-rolling the still-docked Starquake 3 times that did it," I said with a smirk. Val sulked, his chest and shoulders dropping. His sullen expression pulled a laugh free from me. "Although you helped out. Even if you ruined my chair,"
"Oh would you shut up about that bloody chair," Val grumbled. A giggle sounded, joy bursting in my chest, causing Val to hurl a cushion at me. Surprised, a squeal sounded as the bed vanished from under me while attempting to avoid it. His roaring laughter only caused my flushed face to glow even hotter. His smug expression only boiled my blood as he received my hottest glare. He clicked his mandibles with a wide grin.
"Fuck you," I snarled. Damn that alien! "When the hell is Gideon getting back here? The sooner we take off, the sooner you can piss off and do something useful with your life,"
"Not sure, but I'm just enjoying catching up on 10 months of torment," Val drawled. The thrown cushion soared towards him, although he ducked in time and didn't fall off the sofa. "My, you are rusty. Maybe you need an expert to show you how it's done," he mocked. A valve burst within me.
"Security!" I cried. Val's face fell.
"W-Wait, wait, wai- ah fuck!" Val cursed as he leapt off the sofa, a purple drone screeching at him. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" Val squealed as Mar hurtled towards him, electricity sparking over him with a promise of pain. My laughter sounded, my pride somewhat nursed, as the drone crashed into the turian's chest and the pair flew out the room. Satisfied, my pride preened itself back into place, enjoying in the quiet. God, I missed being queen!
The morning was glorious; for the first time in months, muesli hit the table for breakfast – actual muesli and not some cheap military rations – with a good coffee to keep me perked. All the requisition orders were in, the teams now set, the ship was ready for take-off and everything fell back into place. Now all that remained was for the human embassy to return Gideon and we could go! My back strained as my arms stretched above my head, feet taking my weight once more. The bed felt better than the last one, much to my alarm's delight. Someone set the damn thing to 7:30am and the controls locked from me. It was as if they didn't trust me or something. The overall design of my room hadn't changed from the last Starquake; a raised platform in the back with the sofa and bed, the lower floor had the bathroom and the desk which made turning off the alarm even more of a hassle.
Exiting the room, my eyes met a sulking Val sitting on the floor with a scowl on his face, my drone circling above him. A grin spread wide over my face. My chin raised before walking past him. The hall was wider now, a lot wider, and it had more rooms. There were even 4 rooms that pointed towards the elevator instead of towards each other. The Spectres had chosen the bottom rooms, near the elevator. Or forced, more like it. Raisha and Val were up top with me, with Indira and Mat'al one down from them and Shayan and Gideon would be down from there. The final pair of rooms remained empty. Val found his feet before shadowing me, grumbling loud enough to make his stung pride known. Mar bounced behind me. My smile spread just to rub salt in that stung pride. His stuck out tongue told me it worked. Once inside the elevator, my hand touched the button for the bridge deck.
The second floor held the upper crew deck. This was their sleeping quarters with plenty of space, sofas and whatever they needed for the early morning or late evenings. The front of the deck was an exercise area. Weights, a sparring ring, everything we needed to keep us in top form. It also didn't mean we had to clear space in the cargo hold anymore for sparring competitions. They knocked me out in the first round every time, one reason I hated them. The Lower crew deck was Deck 3. The rear of the deck was storage, then the kitchen further up from that – one kitchen for dextro-amino and another for levo-amino with pantries. On the other side of the ship was the laundry room and assembly room for meetings. Then we had the bars and lounges. A recreation room with poker and pool tables, another was a bar. The requisition order told me they had gotten through most of the alcohol on board and needed to stock up. Beyond that was the upper bridge walkways. Lots of places to go during downtime.
Deck 4 was the busiest deck as the elevator delivered me onto the deck. The bridge looked into the cockpit now, albeit with doors between me and them. Everything else was on this deck; Combat department, Intel department – which comprised the Security Operations, Reaper Recon and Data Management rooms – and Science Department. This was the working deck. Down below on deck 5 was engineering. We had engineering itself in the rear of the Starquake with the batteries for the main battery at the front and the secondary cannons on either side in the middle. Sewage, incinerator and fuel and water tanks were also here. It'd keep them busy. The 6th deck was the cargo hold with 3 new shuttles; 2 small and 1 large. An armoury took up the port side with a shooting range on the starboard side. Then more storage behind the elevator. A prison also occupied a stern room on the port side.
"Morning, Shaik," Drutus greeted as my hand reached for the Captain's chair. He eyes stayed fixated on a datapad as he leaned on a console.
"Morning, Bargatus. Any update on Gideon?" I asked as my rear end hit the chair. The elderly turian looked up from the datapad.
"I've heard the embassy is on the way, if they aren't here already," he reported. My fingers drummed on the arms as the chair spun to face the nose of the Starquake. The doors to the cockpit were parted, giving me a clear look into the cockpit.
"Lanster, you better not be playing pong up there!" I called. The turian flinched before spinning in his chair with a pout on his face. His face brought laughter out of me.
"I don't like you being able to look into the cockpit now," he called, grumbling. He received a wink. Lanster sulked before propping his shoulders up. "The embassy is just outside the dock, Captain. Not sure when they are coming in through,"
"Thank you, Lanster. Go back to your pong, I think Mari would kick your ass at it," I said. His short laugh echoed from the cockpit as he turned to the pale asari. His resulting sulk told me Mari agreed.
"Val, tell the crew to prepare for take-off. This will only take a few minutes," I ordered.
"Aye, aye, Captain," he responded, eyes on the dark Spectre.
With a new mission in mind than rechecking the checks, my feet bounced back up, marching towards the corridor door. Val's voice ring behind me as he called out orders, he had the situation under control. He seemed more willing to follow my command now, although whether that was because of the incarceration or his father's attack that did it wasn't all that clear. Even once free from the airlock and onto the Citadel dock, my mind still battled with the choices. Out on the dock, a glass panel near the door to exit the dock showed a group of humans, talking with the dock master– or was it still harbour master? My head shook as my back leaned on the nearby banister, frowning. Gideon wasn't visible among the group of humans. He wouldn't have been hard to miss. 10 months had passed though, how much could a 10 year old… sorry, 11 year old, grow in that time? A tall, dark skinned woman with greying hair noticed me waiting on the dock. A quick word to those around her and they burst out onto the dock. The dark woman and an overweight, pale male with a shoulder back slung over his head strode towards me. My back straightened, pulling my shoulders back when my eyes caught the woman's severe frown. My nose rose a touch to compensate for my lack of height. The pair walked up the ramp to meet me outside the airlock. The male I had no qualms with. He appeared relaxed. I offered a hand as they stopped.
"Good morning, Ma'am, sir," I greeted. The man shook my hand.
"Good morning, Mrs Shaik-" he began. The title caught me off guard, freeing a surprised cough.
"Ah, it's just Miss, sir," I corrected. He offered me a smile. The woman folded her arms, towering over me, ignoring my hand.
"Anita Jenkins and Mark Harrison, Child Support Unit for the Human Citadel Embassy," the woman said. My hackles rattled. My eyes glanced down to her hand propped on her arm.
"Good morning, Mrs Jenkins. Thank you for looking after Gideon these past few months," I said, teeth gritted a touch.
"Well someone had to parent the boy after your so-called attempt," she snorted. My expression blanked, every muscle taut.
"I beg your pardon?" I asked, tone dead. Mark coughed.
"Apologies, Miss Shaik, Anita has been… attempting to foster Gideon for about 3 months now. He has bounced around several foster families but none could handle him. We have discovered some… uh, how best to say this, severe psychological problems," Mark explained.
"Psychological problems? I never encountered such. Sure, he was skittish and nervous but he opened up. What kind of psychological problems?" I asked. Anita straightened, lips compressed into a tight line. Mark patted her shoulder, a hard frown on his face. His expression softened when he returned.
"The poor boy suffers from a severe separation anxiety the likes I have never seen. 10 months and the boy still hasn't settled, no matter whom fosters him, months down the line and he refused to allow anyone near him. There has been nothing but escape attempts since day 1 and he fights us at every turn. Took us weeks before he would eat," Mark said.
"I would have thought his mother would have known about these and sought help," Anita snarled. My still expression crumbled, my jaw to the floor.
"Wait, what?" I gagged. "What's this about being a mother? What?!" I demanded. Anita's expression fell a touch.
"You aren't his… mother?" Anita asked.
"No! I rescued him just over a year ago from the remains of a burnt out batarian slave ship! He may have picked up these problems before we even met! He's displayed nothing like this towards me or my crew! How old do you think I am?! I'm only 26! Gideon is, what, 11 now?" I snapped. Anita stared, dumfounded.
"I ah… see," Mark stumbled for words. "Well that uh… causes-"
"DELL!" A voice screeched.
My eyes tore themselves from the satisfying gawk of Anita's face to the blond terror himself struggling against the grip of another human, a dark haired male. Gideon whipped around and slammed a fist into his jaw. My jaw dropped – stuck between horror and pride – as the man stumbled away and Gideon twirled onto the dock. Within seconds, he bounced onto his feet, charging up the ramp. Mark, more able to respond than Anita, held up his hands as if to stop him. Gideon swerved wide around him, slipping past him. He tackled me to the ground, the boy piled full speed into me. My lungs wheezed as my ribs rattled. It took a few seconds to centre myself, and then another few to realise Gideon still flailed for a tighter grip on me, afraid the humans behind him would tear him off me. My eyes swam up, narrowing at the pair as both made a step towards me. My hand reached for the pistol at my hip, holding it straight in my arm. The pair froze. With one eye on the humans and an arm holding the Predator, my remaining arm pulled the boy close as my head dipped, hushing him in his ear to stop him crushing my ribs.
"Hey, hey, calm down, buddy," I soothed. Gideon pressed into my shoulder, quivering. "It's ok, you're alright, big guy," my hand rubbed his back. He plucked up the courage to look up at me, eyes red and cheeks soaked. "Why are you crying, huh? What's up?"
"I-I didn't think I'd ever see you again," he whimpered. My heart fluttered. My arm tightened, head pressed against his hair in a tight hug. He clung on.
"Silly Gideon, I'm a Shaik, we're too stupid and stubborn to just die or vanish," I said. Gideon coughed on a weak laugh. "Go on. There's three rooms left on the top deck, if you're quick you might get one that isn't blocked by the rotary. Do you want a window?" Gideon hiccupped, nodding. "Go on then, go, go, go!" My hand shoved him to his feet. Gideon scrambled for balance before starting for the Starquake. "And if you see Marruns, kick him in the balls!" I called as he disappeared from view. My attention returned to the two humans gaping at me, putting the pistol away. "Thank you for returning him. Now if you excuse me-"
"Ah miss!" Mark called. My frown grew. "Well ah, the issue we have is that we uh. Well, all of his documentation says 'Gideon Shaik'," My frown spread, eyebrows dropping. "If you aren't his mother then… that means we cannot return him to you-"
"And why the fuck not?!" I snarled. Mark shuddered, aware of the pistol within my reach.
"W-Well the boy isn't your son! All children in our care must be adopted to either existing or new family members. You are neither of these. We would break the law by releasing him to you," Mark stammered. My eyebrows notched down. Mark sighed. "We cannot release him to you, Miss Shaik, it would be the legal equivalent of abandonment,"
"So… unless I agree to sign the paperwork that says Gideon is my son, you would take him away again?" I asked. Mark nodded. An aggravated breath rushed through my nose. "Where did this whole thing stem from, anyway?"
"Uh… w-we were just given the details that Commander Bellium got from the crew…" Mark said.
"The crew…" I echoed, turning the words in my head until my blood bubbled. My eyes scanned the Starquake, clucking my tongue as frustration mounted. Who said Gideon was my kid? Goddam it, did I look like a bloody mother?! Was I even ready for such a thing?! Ah Christ, my mother would do her absolute nut if she was alive. My shoulders sagged. "Fine. Where do I sign?"
"B-But you haven't-" Mark tried. My glare boiled.
"Where?" I repeated.
"B-But you need to go through the adoption process before we can release-" Mark tried again. My feet carried me across the distance between, making the large man sweat.
"It will get sorted," I vowed. "Where do I sign?" Mark's eyes bulged, breath escaping him, short and sharp bursts. He removed a form from a shoulder bag on a clipboard.
"J-Just here," he stammered. My hand snatched the pen off him and read the paper. Content nothing malicious was there, my signature decorated the bloody paper. He flailed with the abandoned document while my attention focused back towards the Starquake. Leaving them stumbling behind me as the airlock closed. My steps down the hallway fell sharp and hard, my blood threatening to evaporate. My shoulders rolled forward upon entering the bridge were Val stood with a datapad as people flowed to and from him. He caught my expression.
"Ah… Dell? Why do you look ready to murder puppies?" He asked. My eyes trailed over him while my body turned to the rear door.
"Commanders and XO to the war room," I ordered.
"Why-" Val began. Rage spun me around, surprised my head didn't snap clean from my neck.
"Commanders. And XO. To the war room. Now!" I thundered. Val's back straightened.
"Aye, aye," he answered. My feet spun me back onto my war path down towards the room myself. Once in the room, a furious pace started up and down the length of the room. On my 3rd pace, Val shuffled into the room with Raisha, the turian using the krogan as a shield. On my 4th pace, Mat'al wandered in. My 5th pace, Indira joined and looked confused, then concerned. By the 8th pace, Shayan appeared. My pace snapped to a stop before them, hand gripping the edge of the table for fear of me punching someone. The five aliens awaited with concern or fear.
"Gideon Shaik?" I echoed. Realisation fell over all of their faces.
"A misunderstanding," Raisha said. My breath scorched my lungs. "At the crash site, Marruns had realised there was a child in our crew. He asked who he was and someone responded with 'He's the captain's'. Marruns assumed Gideon was a Shaik and we did not have adequate time to correct him. When the human embassy removed Gideon, we did not consider the consequences,"
"Is it… a problem?" Shayan asked, tone quiet.
"Yeah, because now I have to go through the fucking adoption process otherwise nothing short of kidnapping him will get him released to us!" I snapped. "26 years old with an 11 year old son? People will think I'm a fucking teenage mother! Do you have any idea what my mother would say if she were here? She'd skin me alive!"
"Then let us be thankful that your mother is no longer with us," Mat'al said. My mouth opened to thunder at him until the words hit me. She couldn't skin me… she wasn't here… she was dead, long dead. My rage vanished. Mourning rose to replace it. My teeth clamped down on my lip until blood dappled on my tongue. My eyes refused to meet Mat'al's gaze.
"…Ow, Mat'al, ow" I said, borderline whimpering, amazed my emotions had 180ed so much.
"Good. I will be honest with you, Dell," Mat'al said, raising a brow. "We all saw this coming. You should have given him to the human embassy when we first got him. But no, someone kept forgetting, or putting it off. You only have yourself to blame. Perhaps you'll look at things in the long term should this occur again. But let me make this clear," he added. His cold gaze held me helpless. "Fuck up with the boy and you'll find no sympathy from me,"
"And why should it matter to you so much? You don't even like Gideon," I asked, nails buried into the palms of my hands.
"Because I had a son once. Once," Mat'al said. My hands released in surprise. The salarian turned then, expression frozen, as he stepped from the room without another word. The silence crushed my shoulders down.
"Uh… i-if it's any consolation," Shayan offered. My gaze brushed past him. "I'd think you'd make a great mother," My lip trembled.
"Thank you. Prepare the crew. I want to take off. Now," I ordered.
"Aye, aye!" the cry sounded. My eyes stared at the wall as the door opened and footfalls faded. A slow breath wished to shove the swirling mess of emotions away. My blood boiled in rage, my nerves danced with anxiety and my chest felt frozen with despair. Dammit, why were women so emotional complicated? With a shake of my head, my focus turned the door, freezing when Raisha stood before me. A short cough freed itself, nervous.
"You are well?" Raisha asked. A shaken smile spread before it collapsed. My shoulders shook out.
"I-I don't know," I said with a shrug, hugging myself. Raisha closed the distance, easing me into a hug.
"It will work itself out, Endellion," Raisha said, assuring me. My body pressed into the krogan.
"I'm afraid of what Nyryntha will do to him, to everyone, when I lose," I whispered, shuddering at the tingle dancing through my head.