The purple hue burned through the window, staining the room in light. Val's large form shielded me from the worst of the blinding light, the turian dozing in the early morning hours. Hours after abandoning Khar'shan, a moment of respite hung over the horizon. Yet my mind wouldn't rest, refused to shut down. Lanster assured me Una would bring the Starquake into dock at the Citadel, once the engineers OK'd the damage from the bomb. Now we lay within reach, the crew eagerly waiting for a chance to catch their breath. And yet... And yet my fingers toyed with the duvet, the meagre hours of sleep worthless in retrospect. My eyes traced the metallic plates decorating Val's arm as it lay flung over me, his breathing slow and loose behind me. At least one of us could sleep...
Despite the early hours, my eyes trailing over the furniture. Oh fuck it, I was awake and was not sleeping now. With tender care, my hand lifted Val's laden arm, shuffling out from under him. True to nature, an emerald eye popped open. After a blink or two, the other opened. My head hung. I would never sneak away from this man. With a frustrated huff, his arm dropped to the mattress, standing to stretch and walk. Val turned to the window behind him, blinking against the light. His eyes then turned to the clock.
"Once upon time, getting you out of bed before 8 was nigh on impossible," he chuckled, sleep laden in his voice.
"Miracles can happen, who knew?" I said, forcing cheer into tone. Val pushed himself up, following my progress to the wardrobe and the bathroom.
"So, on a scale of none to 4, how many hours did you sleep?" he asked.
"2... maybe 3," I called back, diving for a cold shower. If only to shake the horrific images in my mind, the smell of fear and desperation still lingering. My skin chilled in seconds, heaving in a slow breath. The water didn't shake all the horror from my system, but it helped bring it under control. It crawled back, however, once the captain uniform slipped on. Outside, my eyes drifted to the purple nebula consuming the Citadel, waiting for the massive station to peer into view. Val shook his head as he finished making the bed, scowling as he watched me slip the hair extensions back into place. My hair was growing... just not fast enough. Dressed and respectable, Marshal zoomed around me, beeping as I tumbled onto the sofa. The datapad screen flew under my finger, Val dipped away for a shower.
It was all the same. Reapers this, Reapers that. My teeth found my lip, nibbling away as butterflies flew underfoot. Part of me wanted to bundle up my family, crew and ship and follow the arks, sleeping away the hundreds of years. But home was here, this was where I would live and die. Whether that happened tomorrow or in 50 years' time... Time would tell, time would judge whom was worthy. We just had to fight. My teeth set, jaw clenched before flicking through the requisitions, refugee drop off and subsequent relocation to a dry dock. The repair and inspection documentation pained my sleep deprived brain. That flew into Shayan's pile to read and assess. Requisitions fell to Indira, Mat'al was dealt everything about supplies and current tip bits leaked from my sources for new experiments, Phentos got the battle reports coming in from the fighting nations. Any of them could hold secrets to destroying a Reaper. Phentos would find it, that I had no doubts. As for Val...
"I know that look, little lady," he scowled. My eyes focused through the translucent Fatso's data pad screen to the turian. "I am not dealing with the Council,"
"Captain's orders," I said.
"Denied, I have my workload to deal with," he said, waving his datapad. "Have you seen my to-do list?" My lips tugged down, navigating through the files to the assigned tasks for everyone. Val's outnumbered mine, albeit mine were more of a pain in the ass to do. My lips pursed, trying to find something on Val's side to do to give him the Council talks. But he had to deal with the running the ship while I tracked down Shepard, he had to verify the requisitions, the repair order, the drop-off of the refugees, sign off all flight plans, get our shuttle back- ok, ok, ok, so he had to do a lot of running around. A quiet moan escaped.
"I don't wanna," I whined, flinging my arms over the length of the sofa. Val chuckled as he leaned over me.
"I'm sure the Council will be more than accommodating considering the situation," he said.
"Fuck em, I know exactly what they will say," I said, glaring. "'Oh you have told us your brother was a Saboteur', 'Should've told us you HAD a brother to begin with' blah blah blah,"
"They are concerned, Dell. They took a great risk with you, I'm not sure they'd be willing to do it again," he said. My hands scrubbed my face. "C'mon, you might as well work without doing your back in while we dock," He chuckled at my moan, taking my raised hand and pulling me off the sofa and onto my feet.
And yet despite all the work piling up around me, my eyes drifted still to the windows, to the brilliant white and purple swirls engulfing us. The Citadel peered through the haze, smothered again as we weaved around the traffic. And it had piled on since our last visit here a week ago. People from Earth and Khar'shan, those who made it, seeking refuge. How many went to other colonies? Well, we'd find out when we land. Speaking of batarians... there was no word on Gunner, not a peep. My eyes squeezed shut. Was he shot and killed, or eaten alive by those things or stepped on a Reaper or indoctrinated? A heavy breath rushed out, the swelling tears building in my chest. We didn't get a good look at those things, the batarian husks, but Gunner's data had more than enough to cause nightmares. Gideon kept true to his word and treated the data with utmost respect, leaving nothing to chance. Even Kala questioned the numerous checks and rechecks. Bless that boy... he deserves better than this...
'Cannibals' as the batarians called them, gorged on the corpses littering the ground, metabolising what they consumed into chitinous armour, healing any wound caused the poor sod they just downed. They preferred to use their own fallen cannibals, but they were not above consuming non-Reaper twisted flesh. The worst part? The more they ate, the smarter they got. Gunner's documents highlighted one cannibal in particular was nigh on indestructible, leading massive bands across the cities. Reapers churned these out by the thousands, using the Leviathan of Dis as a factory. The Reaper was useless otherwise, so they locked people inside to fall to indoctrination and help produce cannibals. My stomach churned, not bothering looking at any of the photos. Kala said she blocked Gideon from seeing them. He didn't need to do this shit in his head at his age. Everything flew Julian's way and the other races' heads of state. They needed every advantage they could afford.
Movement stole my attention from the report in my hand, catching sight of a turian cruiser on its last legs, struggling to port with smoke pouring from the stern. There was little we could do other than sacrifice our docking slot for them. We too were an emergency with a fucked up cargo hold with no door, but we didn't have a fire... My head hung. It spoke of the hardships facing the turian navy. If they struggled, no one else stood a chance. We hovered near the Citadel for hours more until a free slot opened to drop off the refugees. No longer could I hide in the safety of my room. With stiff shoulders, my feet trudged down the hall to the ladders and engineering ducks. Within minutes, the bridge surrounded me. It was blessedly quiet, Val downstairs overseeing the refugee situation. The dry dock would give the engineers time to tidy and install more ladders up and down the ship... A heavy sigh escaped. My mind drifted to smaller things, completely off-topic things. Dammit! My head shook, focusing.
After 10 minutes the ship shuddered from her holding pattern and swooped towards the Citadel, docking on an assigned Refugee drop-off level. With no cargo ramp, the dock workers already had a metal sheet on a hydraulic piston waiting. No doubt broken or missing cargo doors were common these days... The emergency ramp slid into place, my hand flicking up screens around me. Val directed the batarians out, the crew making sure they didn't get smart and try to nick anything to sell. The batarian's eyes wandered, but the armed crew were enough to deter any antics. Once off the ship, the ramp withdrew and the Starquake freed herself from the docking clamps, backing away and flying off to free the dock for another ship. My eyes caught sight of a battered merchant ship swooping down towards our old position as we tracked towards the private dry-docks. The Starquake hovered after flying into a massive dock, the mass effect shield swallowing our ship entirely. The clamps locked her in place, the engines powering down. My shoulders sagged. Time to work... again.
"Mum," Gideon called. My head swivelled, putting on the brave smile. Gideon walked over, Kala by his heel. "We got a few messages in from Khar'shan... I don't think... there is many people left there now," he said eyes dropping. My heart sank.
"Were they genuine?" I asked.
"As far as I could tell. it was a general broadcast to every batarian alive outside the system to fight or flee, but dare not return to batarian space. There... was an emphasis on flee. They know their numbers aren't strong anymore," he said.
"No... no they aren't," I said. Gideon clenched his jaw.
"I should be happy..." he rumbled.
"Why? Why be happy about billions of people dying?" I asked, forcing my tone soft, holding back the balk recoiling in my stomach.
"After everything the race has done... everything they..." he squeezed his eyes shut, grit teeth trembling his jaw. "I thought I would be happier..." My shoulders forced themselves down, the slow breath calming my heart. He had reasons to hate the batarians, many reasons. They locked him up in a tiny cell to suffocate with who knows how many others. He had reason...
"People dying is never a nice thing, Gid. You may have wanted ill on the batarians but after seeing it, maybe you're now imagining what could happen to us, or maybe you're feeling sorry for them," I said.
"I wouldn't take it that far," he rumbled. A smile tugged my lips up. Well, baby steps.
"Mama has to go work now, Gid. Take it easy for, you need to rest too," I said. Gideon's shoulders sagged.
"Walking would do me good, I think. Indira has locked me in the intel room for ages," he said.
"Come on then, we'll go visit people. Maybe we can use your adorable face to keep me from getting ranted at," I said with a grin. Gideon grinned.
"I don't think that's going to happen now, mum. The Council has wised up," he said.
"Shit..." I hushed under my voice. Gideon laughed. "Well, can't hurt to try. C'mon," I waved my hand. "Kala, Val has the deck," Kala perked, the mech's tail flicking up.
"The Captain is ashore, XO Autillin has the deck," Kala chimed, her voice ringing throughout the ship. When the airlock opened, boy and mech following me out onto the deck.
The exterior was worse than I thought. The paint was scratched and burned, the plates worse for wear and the cargo door itself had peeled the port side like a banana. Black soot and batarian blood coloured the explosion area. My teeth nibbled on the inside of my cheek, landing on solid deck at ground level while the ship towered high above me. The engineers were already out, a temporary ramp backing towards the ship to examine the damage. Shayan waved from the cargo door hole, receiving one as we worked our way out of the dock. with the clamour vanishing behind me, my eyes scanned the halls of the docking station. The quiet hum unsettled my skin, hairs leaping to attention. At least 3 other ships sat in dock, one of them looked too familiar. The Normandy lay parked 7 docks away, engineers retrofitting her weapons and plating. No doubt someone on board noticed a ship as striking as the Starquake, especially with her rotary up. A smile lifted my lips. Oh how the docking engineers hated us. We could only come into this dock. Normal docking clamps weren't as effective on ships without wings or flat surfaces. They designed special docking clamps and cradles to take us because of it.
A short elevator ride brought me into the Presidium, the gleaming white structures and tranquil bubbling creaks a world away from the explosions and death of Khar'shan. People milled, unhurried, unworried about the unfolding war. Gideon frowned as he scanned the people, half visor over his eye and Daemon on his back. He went nowhere without it now. Kala kept pace beside us, also watching the calm as the aristocrats strolled through life. On occasion, someone would walk with a hastened pace, look battle worn and dirty, but they were too few. Was no one taking the war seriously here? Billions died every day and yet no one... no one cared?
"And the woman of the hour finally appears," a voice hailed. My hand dropped to the Paladin hidden in my trousers, eyes flying to the voice. Gideon jumped, Kala stepping forward to assess the danger. Councillor Sparatus smiled from a decorative, circular table, the boutique cafe soaked coffee aromas. He sipped the cup by his hand, eyes locked to mine. My heart skipped a beat.
"Nope! Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope," I said, walking away with a hastened pace. Gideon frowned, glancing between the pair of us before launching after me.
"Shaik," Sparatus hailed, voice calm.
"Nope!" I called.
"So you don't want a galactic famous Jadinian Coffee on the house?" he said, a smile in his voice.
"Don't bribe with coffee! I'm not that addicted!" I snapped, throwing my head over my shoulder. Sparatus smiled more.
"With a chocolate and blueberry muffin," he said. My eyes narrowed, stomach rumbling at the thought. Gideon smiled, raising a brow. My shoulders heaved, scanning the area for any sign of the other Councillors. With a hard sigh, my feet skulked back to the turian. Sparatus nodded his head to a waitress, the asari disappearing inside with a smothered smile. Sparatus sipped his coffee as we sat, Gideon not bothering to hide his grin.
"What do you want?" I asked, keeping my voice heavy. Sparatus chuckled.
"To speak with you. After your hasty departure, you've evidently been too busy to talk," he said. My scowl didn't faze him. He knew i was avoiding them, but he was polite enough to hide it in a public space. "How was Khar'shan?" he asked. My arms folded, leaning against the back of the cushioned chair.
"...A slaughter," I said. With heavy hands, my omni-tool opened, camera feeds from the ship's 360 cameras dotting the space between us. Sparatus fluttered his mandibles at the burning, broken cities, the crawling Reapers blackening the lands. Husk ran rampant, any survivors run down for the harvest. Ships tumbled from the sky and yet not one Reaper fell. Sparatus closed his eyes, waving his hand through the screens to disperse them.
"We are doing what we can for what batarians have made it, but we cannot accommodate everyone here. If only we could find safe worlds to take them to," he said.
"Nowhere is safe..." I mumbled. "They'll overrun the entire galaxy in the next few months, we have to get them under control before then,"
"If we can. I can only hope Shepard's wild plan bears fruit," Sparatus said.
"He mentioned that... he's here?" I asked. I knew he was, his ship sat in dock, but was beside the point.
"Somewhere. He is wandering the Citadel, rallying support and helping where he can. Perhaps he is seeking information from whoever will lend their voice," Sparatus said, glancing up as the waitress returned with a tray. A coffee bubbled before me, a decorative muffin beside it. She gifted Gideon a glass of freshly squeezed orange, a strawberry and cream muffin. Gideon frowned at the difference.
"You're allergic to blueberries, don't even try it," I scowled. Gideon sulked.
"Indeed, fortunately it is the only medical issue on his file," Sparatus chuckled.
"I'm sure you enjoyed delving through all of his stuff, Sparatus, what with your little... talks," I said. Sparatus smiled as Gideon flushed.
"There is not much to go through, but the young Shaik is a driven boy with the right objective," he said. Gideon stuck his tongue out. "Shaik, we have things to discuss,"
"Here of all places?" I asked, raising a brow before sipping the coffee. Hot damn this was good!
"Tis the only safe place," Sparatus said, lowering his voice. "The Council have been in discussions since our last talk," My shoulders bristled, the soothing taste of coffee vanishing in a flash. "Can you control him?"
"Define control," I said.
"If he were to turn on us, could you stop him?" he asked.
"Perhaps. Depends on how well he wants to listen," I said. "He's an independent mind, Councillor. I don't point the finger and expect him to do it. He will, if I need it and it's within his power, but these days he has too much to worry about with every Reaper and Saboteur after him," Sparatus clicked his mandibles.
"So long as he stays clear of the Citadel and the homeworlds, I see no issues unless he turns against us. I will expect you to put him to an end," he said.
"You dare-!" My voice trembled with the fire burning in my throat.
"Shaik, we are at war. I can share more than enough images and reports from Palaven to turn your blood cold, I will not stand here and allow a volatile creature with the largest ship in the galaxy to do as he will. Even you understand that we cannot allow something that can turn on us to remain long," Sparatus said. Gideon's gaze diverted to the table, the half-eaten muffin forgotten.
"If he turns," I said, a bubble crawling up my throat. "Then i will deal with him then. I will do my best to keep him under control but you have no fears while the Reapers are here. He is too busy running for his life while fighting where he can to worry about the likes of you," Sparatus' hawk eyes stared me down, unflinching while my resolve faltered. If Julian turned...
"See th\t you do, Shaik. You are our Ace in the war," he said.
"Me? What of Shepard?" I asked, shaking the emotion away. Gideon glanced up.
"We need both of you. He to rally the species together and you to make the reapers sweat. We still have Saboteurs and the Reapers are already ploughing through us. We need you. You are the only one able to make the Reapers hesitate or even pull their attention from our own worlds. You must be our sword and shield, Shaik, while Shepard builds us the foundation and fortress to weather through this war," Sparatus said, sipping his coffee. My eyes dropped to the muffin, using the fork to tear a piece off. My eyes squeezed shut, dragging deep breaths in. They turned to Gideon as he finished his muffin.
"Gid, do me a favour," I said, digging in my pocket. Gid perked. He held out his hand, a credit chit falling into it. "About 3 minutes down the road is a pompous looking sky car dealership called Galloway Skies. A man named Davis Galloway is doing work down there for us," I slid him some paperwork onto his omni-tool. "I need it en route to the Starquake before he heads to lunch. This could take a while," I said, turning to Sparatus. Gideon rolled his eyes as he stood up.
"If you wanted rid of me, mum, you could've just said," he said.
"Might as well use you while I get you out of my hair for 5 minutes. Also, talk to him about piloting lessons, he knows people," i said. Gideon frowned.
"But I have Lanster," he said.
"When did Lanster sit his civil pilot's test?" I asked. Gideon blinked. "Exactly, a long ass time ago. Shoo," I said. Gideon scowled as he and Kala trotted down the street. Sparatus chuckled.
"Not much escapes him these days," he said.
"Especially these days," I sighed. My head shook. "You're asking the impossible, Sparatus," I said. Sparatus raised his chin a notch. "You're asking someone to go from a terrified, oversized child to the hero of the galaxy in 4 years. I don't have the experience, I've never been in a war before and yet you claim I must be the sword to strike down our foes and the shield to defend the weak. What If I'm one of the weak?"
"You are many things, Shaik. Weak is not one. I realise we ask much of you, I realise this will take its toll on you. It's killed you once already and I doubt we'll get a second chance at bringing you back should something happen. We are not asking for miracles, albeit if you could we would very much appreciate it," My head hung, arms resting on the table, staring at the darkened coffee. "I have full confidence in your abilities, as do the rest of the Council. We know you can do this,"
"How? A galactic wide war is a different scale to what I've been doing. Billions weren't dying every day," I said.
"Don't focus on the numbers, Shaik, otherwise it will destroy you. They are just numbers on the page. If you focus on them and realise they are people, all it will do is weaken your resolve. Cold hearted, yes, but necessary. Besides, you've given us little reason to doubt you. Attentive and driven, you sail the stars to protect us from what we do not fully comprehend. You put your life, your family's life, at risk for our sake. We are not unthankful for your sacrifices, we are not oblivious to the pain and the trauma forced upon you. If not you, then few others. You have the full support of the Council and what forces we can muster," Sparatus said.
"And your own worlds?" I asked. Sparatus closed his eyes, drawing a slow breath in.
"Palaven burns, Shaik. I would give you the entire turian fleet if it was within my power, but I cannot. The asari and salarians are the same. Our worlds are under threat and we fear them falling as Khar'shan has. No one has defeated the Reapers thus far, if we mean to be the first we need to try something new," he said.
"Shepard is on it, I think," I said.
"But how long will that take? It's nice to have a plan, Shaik, but we know very little. We're sending Shepard to Palaven to rally the support there, so while I would otherwise plead for you to go there and root out the final turian Saboteur, I cannot. We cannot have our Spectres crossing paths," he said.
"I'm not a Spectre," i said.
"Give yourself a few more years and you may find the offer in your inbox," Sparatus said. "Only your inexperience holds you're from us formally taking you aboard... and keeping you under wraps. Spectres may go anywhere they wish but attract a lot of attention. Your status doesn't pull so many eyes" A soft snort escaped.
"You can offer it, I won't accept it," I said. Sparatus smiled, a coy lift of his plates.
"I'm sure we'll twist your arm... again," he said.
"Bastard," I hissed under my breath. Sparatus chuckled, leaning back.
"We have information and strike points for you, Shaik. We need you there to investigate," Sparatus said. My teeth nibbled my lip.
"Send them, we'll get them once we pick up a few spare RIT machines from Julian..." I said. Sparatus frowned. "As it turns out, Saboteurs can blow them up,"
"Dare i even ask?" Sparatus asked.
"I'll forward the report to you," I said, shaking my head. "Besides, I'm grounded until the Starquake's repairs are done,"
"Then make haste once able. Our reports on Kahje are... worrisome,"
"Not Kahje! Sparatus do you have any idea how much I hate hanar and fish and any aquatic animal!" I moaned. Sparatus shook his head.
"Go, Shaik, the finger has been pointed," he said. He smiled at the scowl on my face.
"Fine, but I'm not happy about it," I said.
"Are you happy with any of our orders?" he asked. After a moment, my eyes narrowed.
"Touché," I said. He chuckled, standing. He cast his eyes to the waitress, passing a credit chit. The waitress disappeared inside.
"I will relay to the other Councillors. We decided it would be best to meet with only one rather than all four," he said.
"Some mercy, at last," i grumbled, sipping the coffee. Sparatus chuckled, abandoning the table to walk down the Presidium. My eyes followed him, watching Gideon and Kala return. Sparatus took his shoulder as they passed, Gideon narrowing his eyes as the two spoke. My finger tapped my lap, wishing I had turian grade hearing. After about 5 minutes, the pair parted ways, Gideon returning to the table to finish his juice. "What did he want?" I asked. Gideon sighed and shook his head.
"Just to keep an eye on you and report back if you need help but are too proud to ask for it yourself," he said.
"Prickly Bastard" I muttered.
"He isn't wrong though," Gideon said with a smile.
"You want to work through your dinner?" I asked. Gideon's smile faltered. "Surprise, surprise," I said, my head shook. "Let's go, little man," I sighed, downing the rest of the coffee. Gideon swallowed the rest of the juice before following me down the road. My finger raised to my ear, frown pinned to my face.
"Shepard, this is Shaik. I know you're here," I said. The ear piece crackled.
"Delly! The crew on board said they saw you pull into port!" he cried. My lips snapped further down.
"Must I repeat this every fucking time? I've got shit to give you and I'm in no mood for your antics," I said.
"When are you ever in the mood for my antics?" Shepard asked with a grin.
"I have the fresh image of 20 people blowing up from indoctrinated suicide bombers, wrecking my ship after a fight with a Saboteur that broke my RIT machine and nearly me. Need I continue?" I asked, voice cold. Silence stretched on the other side.
"I'm in the Edora Centre, Kithoi Ward," he said.
"On my way," I said, cutting the call. "Amazing what happens when you stop fucking around,"
"You ok, mum?" Gideon asked.
"I'm fine, sweet. It's just to shut the man up. C'mon, we're hijacking a sky car," I said.
"Can I drive?" He asked eyes lighting up.
"No. I am not getting into anymore Council meetings if I can avoid it," i grumbled, hailing a cab from a nearby terminal.
High in the sky, the car weaved through the bustling traffic, my eyes on the scene beyond the glass. Gideon sat in shotgun with Kala in the back, both staring out the other side. My eyes closed, fighting the heavy sigh threatening to buckle me. How I wished for this day to end already, or just in general, so I could relax somewhere quiet without the mountain load of work waiting for me on the ship tumbling on my head. The Council, at least, were taken care of for the time being. My hand rubbed my aching eyes, feeling the car drop towards the nearest sky cab park. After a few minutes, the doors popped open, boy and bot in hot pursuit. The Edora Centre stood before me, a massive shopping hub towering to the heavens, all angular glass and flashing lights flooding the land in colour. Not my first choice of visits but if Shepard was here, may as well see why he was here... Actually, I knew why. The massive glass doors parted, decorated in carved designs too abstract to be anything other than asari.
The interior pulled my eyes up, a tiered waterfall cascading through the first circular centre point breaking up the long, square halls. Plants decorated the area around it, mimicking the natural habitat of a base jumper. My lips tugged down as the first set of jumpers leapt, jump jets activating as the screaming thrill seekers slowed after a wild tumble through the falls. Gideon raised a brow, following me around as my omni-tool flashed. Gideon obviously had much more thrilling experiences to be impressed with this. Shepard forwarded me the coordinates for this massive place. My head nodded to a small tram service beside the base jump waterfall, stepping inside a 6 seater pod with the chairs facing each other. The door hissed, sliding from the roof down to cover the hole before lifting and firing off. My eyes trailed over the windows, the hundreds of shoppers going about their business as if nothing was wrong. The atmosphere was light and wistful. It set my teeth on edge. The pod slowed, ducking towards a station to drop us off.
This new area was less focused on entertainment and family fun and more towards those looking for a fight. Weapon shops as far as the eye could see, ship sellers and military pods to sign up in the war to protect your home, as one sign put it. It wasn't light here, it was tough and crushing, hardened men and woman traversing on their way to stock up. Weaving through the long corridors, eyes scanning the upper balconies as far as I could see, there was no sign of Shepard. My teeth ground as little pop-up kiosks in the middle raised their voices, selling their wares for the unruly mercenary. Eyes trailed over the Daemon, to the young boy carrying it and the mech trotting by his side. My fingers twitched to the Paladin. Anyone laid a hair upon Gideon-
"Shaik!" A voice hailed. My head snapped up, to the third floor. Shepard smiled as he leaned over, watching from above.
"Next time tell me what floor you're on! The nearest staircase is 10 minutes that way!" I snapped pointing behind me.
"It's not 10 minutes! ... It's 7," Shepard said.
"Near enough!" I said. "On the one day I leave my grappling system at home," Shepard shook his head.
"I'll meet you over there!" he called, raising a hand as he walked towards the stairs. My eyes narrowed, grumbling before backtracking. 7 minutes later, Shepard trotted down the spiral stairs, myself content to fold my arms and wait for the man to appear before me. On his hip, a new pistol.
"I see you are putting your money to good use," I said. Shepard shrugged.
"As you do," he said. His smile dropped. "Khar'shan bad?"
"It's a slaughterhouse," I said. Shepard's lips pressed into a fine line. "The massacre is almost complete. There wasn't many people on Khar'shan from what we got," My hand dug inside my pocket, slipping out a small silver box the thickness of two credit cards. "Do not mistreat this data, Shepard. Many people died to make sure this got into my hands," Shepard blinked once, solemn, as he took the offered box. An omni-chip lay inside. He nodded, slipping it inside an inner pocket at his chest.
"I will. Let's go grab a coffee and catch up," he said.
"Not here," I said. My eyes trailed around the room. "Too many eyes on my son," Shepard cast his eyes around as Gideon jumped, eyes flying around.
"Well, you have him armed," he said.
"Better to be armed and stared at than dead to a Saboteur," I said. "This place is just as dangerous as Khar'shan, I don't know how many Saboteurs are on here," Shepard swung his jaw.
"Understood. C'mon, we'll go to the food quarter. Breakfast on me," he said. My head shook, unwilling to argue against such an offer. We tramped back towards the bullet pods. "Won't be long before this section is bursting,"
"I've spent my fair share here while mercenary-ing myself out that one time. Wonder if Davin is still in business... he always had the best shotgun heatsinks for a fraction of the price,"
"Wait, the ammo shop on the 6th floor?" Shepard asked as a pod opened its doors. An agreeing soft rumbled in my throat, shooing Gideon and Kala inside. "Damn man keeps trying to rip me off!"
"You obviously pissed him off," I said, smiling.
"What did you do?!" Shepard exclaimed.
"His wife went into labour and was having difficulties, medical centres were still recovering from the Geth and Sovereign attack and it just so happened we had our shuttle here to help carry stuff back to the ship. We ferried them over to a hospital near the point, was the nearest place with a maternity ward still functioning. Poor Mari lost her licence for 2 weeks until we got the medical staff to vouch for her during her trial for breaking 16 traffic laws. He's been helping us ever since. The Council can't get everything," I said. Shepard scowled.
"Think I can drop your name?" he asked. My smile only grew.
"After all the ranting I did about your antics?" I asked. Shepard hung his head, sparking a surprise burst of laughter as the bullet pod slowed and ducked into a parking station. Shepard stepped out first, myself soon after and Gideon hopping out after got our initial scan done.
"Could use a discount for heatsinks right now," he hinted.
"How about a discount on food instead?" I asked, walking down the avenues sprawling with chairs, the air choked with too many scents to count. Shepard frowned as we branched off the main street, down the stairs to the lower floors of the Citadel. Large windows beamed purple stained light across the metal corridors as shops lined the right side. Towering skyscrapers disappeared above us as we ducked inside a small cafe in the middle of nowhere. Shepard shuffled as he followed. A greying haired woman, chocolate brown still staining her hair, looked up as the door whooshed open. Her hazel eyes brightened, dropping the cloth in her hands.
"Oh Dell! Oh Dell sweetie I've been so worried!" she cried. My lips lifted.
"I'm fine, Fiona, don't worry," I said, grunting as the plump woman crushed me with her hug.
"Oh and little Gideon, God look at you! You're so big now!" she cried. Gideon smiled.
"Gotta beat mum in one department somehow," he said. Fiona laughed at my scowl.
"Sit down, sit down! I'll bring over menus!" she said, shooing us to a table near the window. Shepard frowned as he sat down, the little cafe not what he was expecting. He raised a brow.
"This is a nice, quiet little place where the woman who runs it is the sister of a member of my Intel team," I said. "You get mate rates in here, she's always had a soft spot for me and Gid,"
"Ah, does your crew member know?" he asked.
"Oh yes, he brought me here. I wonder if he knows she's been talking," I asked. Gideon giggled to himself.
"Here you are, darlings. How is Seth these days?" she asked.
"Grumpy," I laughed.
"Typical," she grumbled. "Soup is Lentil,"
"Thanks Fiona!" I called as she woman trotted away to deal with other customers. My eyes drifted to Shepard after selecting my food in my omni-tool. "So, Earth..." I asked. Shepard closed his eyes, shaking his head.
"Better than Khar'shan. We're at least trying to organise resistance fighters to push the Reapers back," he said.
"I'm sure the batarians tried that too," I said. Shepard pressed his lips.
"True... but we have the advantage that the Reapers are dispersing. We might use that to our advantage," he said.
"More are still arriving in the galaxy," I said. "We might not be able to move for Reapers," Shepard rolled his shoulders back.
"Then we better not fuck up," he said. He frowned at my glare, eyes scanning as he noticed a grinning Gideon. "Oh..."
"Need I say it?" I asked.
"No... no. Sorry," he coughed.
"Mum, I'm old enough," Gideon shook his head.
"No you aren't, you oversized pina calada," I scowled.
"What does that even mean?" Gideon exclaimed.
"It means you're a spoon!" I snapped, shaking my head.
"What do you mean?!" Gideon wailed. Shepard laughed, tension easing out of his eyes. His eyes fell to the table.
"We may have a chance, Dell. But we need to weaken the Reapers as much as we can. If this Prothean weapon works, then... then maybe we can win," he said.
"Otherwise we are just another forgotten cycle," I said, laughter vanishing.
"Yeah," he said. "But let's not worry about that now. I think we both need some downtime. I had to deal with the Council, they're sending me to Palaven,"
"Sparatus said. Good luck, no doubt I'll go there eventually," I said. Shepard hmmed.
"Yourself?" he asked.
"Kahje. I'm going to drown," I moaned. Shepard snorted.
"I doubt that, pretty sure we added floatation devices when we were re-growing you," he said. My expression froze.
"You what?!" I snapped. Gideon and Shepard burst out laughing, a flush staining my cheeks as my teeth ground. Shepard looked up as the woman trotted over with three bursting trays of food. Gideon licked his lips. This beat military rations any day.
"Here we are, darlings. I'll bring the coffee in a second," she said. My eyes diverted to the window, to the stars beyond. We had so much hinging on chance... my eyes found Shepard as he shovelled the bacon into his fat gob. What luck did we have left, after everything we've gone through already?
The Timeline and Galaxy Map have been updated for this chapter. Please see profile for link to Archive.