Buried Beneath ch10: A Krogan In A Tank

Normandy, 2185, September 8th 7:34 AM

"So, this is it?" I ask, staring at the motionless krogan. He looks scary enough, at least.

"Disappointed?" Riley leans against a wall, her gaze fixed on me.

"No, he's big and stuff." I glance at her. "They just seem so different when they're not charging at me or accusing me of blowing up their red sand."

She gives me a confused look, her brow furrowing. "Did you blow up a shipment of red sand?"

I shrug. "I mean, yeah." Good times, but she doesn't seem impressed. So I add, "It wasn't theirs anyway. I'm pretty sure they stole it from the Blue Suns."

She shakes her head, a hint of amusement in her smile. "I don't think that's the point."

"When are we opening it?" I change the subject, placing my hand on the tank, I feel like that would be cool to see.

"Once EDI finishes her scans." Her tone suggests it might take a while.

I turn to her with pleading eyes. "Can I watch?"

She stares at me for a moment. "Watch what?"

I roll my eyes. "Opening the tank. Obviously."

"If," she begins, her tone firm. "We open it, you won't be anywhere near it."

"Why not?" I groan. All the cool stuff happens without me.

"I'm not putting anyone in danger." She seems solid in her answer. She won't be easy to crack.

"You let me mess with Miranda, pretty sure she's ready to blow any second." My logic is flawless.

She gives me a blank expression, completely unfazed. "Vex-"

"Come on, Riles." I clasp my hands together. I'm basically begging at this point.

She maintains her composure. "Vex, I said no."

I sigh, feeling almost defeated. "At least let me meet him when you open it."

She exhales through her nose, relenting. "Fine."

"Yes! You're the best." I hold up a hand for a high five.

She rolls her eyes but obliges nonetheless. "Now hurry up or you'll be late for your first official day."

"Oh shit." I dart towards the door. "Later, Riles."

I rush out, heading for the elevator. I can't be late on my first day.

Normandy, 2185, September 8th 11:14 AM

"Twenty-seven, twenty-eight harriers," I mutter, marking off 'Cerberus Harriers' on the datapad. We sure have a lot of weapons on this ship, no wonder Jacob was requesting some help.

I hear the door open. "Are you almost done?" Jacob's voice interrupts, as he strides into the room, hauling a crate.

I glance at the datapad. All weapons, armour, optics, thermal clips, and general gear are accounted for. "Yeah, I just finished. What's up?" I'm kind of curious to see what's in the crate.

"We just received some ablative upgrades for the kinetic barriers on our armour." He sets the crate down on the table. "So, let's get to work."

"Cool." I peer into the crate, lots of grey boxes. "How good are they?"

"They should boost our barriers by almost 10%, but it's going to be a lot of work." He pulls out one of the small grey boxes.

"No worries, boss. I'll start with Riley's." I head for the armour case.

He watches me open the case. "Just make sure you follow the instructions precisely."

I wave a hand at him. "I do my own upgrades, I'll be fine."

"I still haven't seen your weapons around here." He gives me a knowing smile. The man can act coy all he wants, but I won't admit to shit.

Grabbing Riley's breastplate from the case, I place it on the table. "You don't need to worry about them, though they may make an appearance if we get some cool weapon upgrades."

Jacob chuckles and moves towards the armour case. "I bet."

Normandy, 2185, September 10th 2:11 PM

I'm starving, and this elevator is taking forever. Maybe I'm just being impatient, especially since Riley mentioned that she's opening the tank today. The fact that it's a slow day in the armoury isn't making time pass any quicker either.

Finally, the doors slide open on the crew deck, and I dash out, making a beeline for the mess hall. As I turn the corner, I see that the room is empty besides Miranda and Zaeed standing by the kitchen. By the looks of it, it's not a good conversation.

"I'm not writing your sodding report," Zaeed declares, his voice harsh.

Miranda, who looks utterly frustrated, crosses her arms. "Cerberus requires you to-"

"I don't give a shit what Cerberus requires," he interrupts. "I'm here to complete the bloody mission and get paid." Ignoring Miranda, he turns around and spots me. "Ward."

"Massani," I return the greeting. "Causing trouble?"

"Nah." He waves a dismissive hand. "You know Cerberus. Always got a stick up their ass."

Glancing over his shoulder at the visibly irritated Miranda, I shrug. "For the most part."

"Right. Well, I'm getting out of here before she starts again. You should come find me sometime. I'm holed up by the garbage disposal." That explains where he's been hiding, also gross.

"Will do," I agree as he passes me and waves a vague goodbye over his shoulder. I watch him walk off for a moment before approaching Miranda. "That looked tense."

"It would appear that you're easier to deal with than most," she comments, the tension still evident in her voice.

"That's true. I can't imagine Jack writing a report." There's absolutely zero chance of that.

"I'll deal with that later." Miranda sighs, eyeing me curiously. "Why are you here anyway?"

"Oh, I'm just hungry." I shrug casually as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Miss Ward, the Commander would like to see you in the Port Cargo Area," EDI announces, interrupting our conversation.

"I suppose you'll be eating later," Miranda remarks. "Have a good afternoon, Vex."

"You too." Riley has the worst timing.

I wait for Miranda to enter her room before sprinting back towards the elevator. She seems pretty tense lately, I think we all are for the most part.

Normandy, 2185, September 10th 2:28 PM

"Having fun in the armoury?" Riley asks as I approach her.

I shrug. "It's been fun. We finished upgrading the armour barriers and have moved on to improving the medi-gel injection speed."

I like working in the armoury. It makes me feel useful, and I'm good at it. Jacob isn't bad either, a little strict, but good overall. He's not as much of a Cerberus goon as the others, still not trustworthy, but better. Plus, when I request things, they may actually get approved.

"Sounds like it was a good fit." Riley smiles before gesturing towards the door behind her. "Ready to meet Grunt?"

"You named him Grunt?" I cross my arms. "Is that all we are to you?"

Riley studies me for a moment, and when I drop my facade with a smile, she rolls her eyes. "Very funny. He named himself."

I give her a puzzled look. "Why?"

"Ask him yourself." She steps towards the door. "Now, come on."

Following her into the room, I face a towering, intimidating krogan. 'Grunt' is still dripping with whatever he was concealed in. It's kind of gross, but it doesn't seem to bother him.

"Yep," I begin, popping the 'P.' "That's a krogan."

Riley facepalms. "Vex-"

"This is part of your 'strong' crew?" Grunt asks, glaring at me, which I return. His voice is all deep and gravelly, as expected.

Wait, did he say strong? I turn to Riley. "You called me strong? Aww, Riles. I knew you cared."

Riley looks slightly concerned as she looks between Grunt and me, but I pay her no mind and turn back to Grunt.

He's staring at me, his expression stern. I mirror him, looking right into his pale blue eyes. It feels intense like he's evaluating me. It's a little scary, not knowing what he's thinking since he's kind of hard to read.

"I like this one," he finally states, relaxing his gaze.

I blink a few times. "I like you too, dude." I don't know why, but I have the sudden urge to do something krogany for the occasion.

I raise my hand and punch his shoulder. Fuck. My hand erupts in pain, and I quickly pull it back, rubbing it with my other. I'm an idiot.

Grunt starts laughing. "It would be disappointing if this one died."

I laugh nervously along with him. "I agree." Turning to Riley, I give her a quick thumbs-up.

She shakes her head, but I catch a glimpse of her smile.

Normandy, 2185, September 12th 7:31 PM

Riley's bed is warm against my back as I stare up at the spacelight. The room is quiet, broken only by the sound of tapping keys coming from Riley's desk where she's currently working. Doing whatever she does.

We haven't done much in the last few days. Nothing but surveillance and supply runs. We do get to stop occasionally to train our aim, that part is my favourite. I do miss real combat though, it was fun in a life-risky way.

"Riles," I complain, rolling onto my side. "It's been years since we had any leads."

"It hasn't even been a week," she corrects me, casting a glance in my direction. "Why are you even here this early?"

"There's nothing to do." I crawl off the bed and make my way towards her desk. "What are you doing anyway?"

"Just some logs." She doesn't even hide her screen.

I glance at it, not bothering to actually read any of it. "About what?"

"The mission, research, all sorts of things." Sounds boring.

My eyes wander to the picture of an asari displayed beside her. "Who's she anyway?" I point at it.

She turns to the frame, lingering for a moment. "That's Liara."

Liara T'Soni. I probably should have guessed. I know she's some kind of Prothean expert, but outside of what I've read in articles about Riley and her crew, I don't know much else about her.

"Is she still alive?" I find myself asking without thinking.

"Yes." Riley turns her chair to face me. "She made it off the ship."

"Do you know where she-" I begin, but the comms on Riley's terminal spark to life.

"Commander," Chambers interrupts. "The Illusive Man wishes to speak with you immediately."

Riley presses a button on her terminal. "I'll be right there." She rises from her seat and heads towards the door. "We can pick this up later."

I give her a lazy salute as she leaves.

Normandy, 2185, September 13th 7:04 AM

Fuck, I'm so late.

The elevator doors slide open, and Chambers turns to me. It looks like she wants to say something, but I don't have time for this. Not that I would stop to talk to her under normal circumstances either.

"I'm in a rush, sorry," I blurt out, darting past her without waiting for a response.

Turning right, I sprint down the hallway and come to a halt in front of the debriefing room. I fix my hair and take a moment to relax before opening the door.

Riley stands by the table, joined by Miranda, Jacob, Grunt, and Mordin. "I said seven sharp, Vex," she scolds, looking a little peeved.

"I know, I'm sorry." I quickly make my way to the table and slip in between Riley and Jacob.

"Now that Vex is finally here, let's begin," Riley addresses the group, pressing a button on the table to project paragraphs of text in holographic form. It appears to be a mission dossier. "The Illusive Man thinks the collectors will attack the colony on Horizon."

"What makes him so sure?" I scoff. There's no way he just knows that.

"I'm not sure, but he's adamant about it." Riley casts a glance around the room. "I want us to investigate, just in case." She turns to Mordin. "Have you figured out how to deal with the seeker swarms?"

"Yes." Mordin nods, activating another button to display schematics. "Upgrades to armour. Very necessary. Must be installed. Top priority."

"Good." Riley brings up a map of the colony and zooms in on a specific area just outside its perimeter. "That's where we'll land. If there's any sign of collectors, we move in. Diamond formation. I'll take point, Jacob on the left, Miranda on the right, and Grunt covering the rear."

"Where am I?" I ask.

Riley looks at me. "We need you on the rooftops. You'll be our coverfire."

Okay, good plan but- "How the hell am I getting on the roof?"

Riley turns to Jacob. "Jacob?"

"In addition to Mordin's upgrades." A grin spreads across Jacob's face. "We'll be equipping your armour with thrusters."

"Really?" No way.

"Yeah, and if it works out, we'll be equipping most of our units with them," Jacob continues.

Wait. "So, I'm the guinea pig?"

Jacob shrugs. "Pretty much."

Riley holds up a hand to shut everyone up. "Let's focus, everyone." She directs her attention to Miranda. "You're up, Miranda."

Miranda glances around before speaking. "We'll be heading to Horizon within two days. That should give everyone enough time to review the mission dossier thoroughly." She activates her omni-tool. "I'll send each of you a copy. Make sure to familiarise yourselves with it."

I raise my hand. "I have a question."

Miranda gives me an expectant look. "Yes, Vex?"

I lower my hand. "So, we didn't actually need to be here? You could have just sent this to our omni-tools?"

With practised ease, she doesn't break her composure and merely puts her hands behind her back. "We have a standard protocol for mission preparation. The debriefing session allows for discussion and questions, while the information we send ensures everyone is fully briefed. Is there anything else?"

"Will we be graded on this?" I smile at her.

She shoots me a glare, her professionalism momentarily cracking. "No."

"Vex, cut it out," Riley scolds.

'Sorry," I apologise for a second time.

"You're all dismissed," Riley announces. "Except you, Vex."

Fuck.

"What did I do?" I ask once the others have left the room.

"On this ship, Miranda is my second-in-command." She seems serious. "You need to show her more respect. At least when everyone is around," she adds with a smile.

I nod. "I'll keep that in mind."

"That's all I ask." She pats my shoulder. "Now, you better get to the armoury. You have a lot to install over the next two days."

Oh, right. Fuck.

Normandy, 2185, September 13th 6:52 PM

Leaning my back against the cool metal wall, I let out a weary sigh. After almost twelve hours of armour upgrading, I'm beyond tired. But at least it's nice and quiet down here, besides the hum of the engine above us.

Surprisingly, Jack hasn't kicked me out. Usually, she's against me staying and we go to the port observation or something. I guess she really wanted to read through some datapads.

"So," I start, tapping my feet together. "Find anything yet?"

"I thought you said you were going to be quiet." She doesn't even look up.

"Yeah, well, that got boring." I lean my head back against the wall.

"No one said you had to be here," she reminds me.

"Come on." Curiosity gets the best of me. "I genuinely want to know."

She finally looks up. "I haven't found what I'm looking for."

I wish I could help her, but Jack never shares details about what she's looking for in those files. Not a single thing. I haven't tried to look either. I can't betray her boundaries like that. But, what I can do is be supportive or whatever people in sort of friendships do.

"You'll find it," I assure her. "Cerberus keeps records, reports, and other boring shit about everything."

She arches an eyebrow. "And how do you know that?"

I shrug. "I had to write a mission report once."

She scoffs, disdain written on her face. "I'm not doing that." Called it.

For me, doing the report was better than Miranda never shutting up about it. "I don't blame you."

She nods and puts the datapad down. "What's your deal anyway?" Well, that caught me off guard.

"I feel like we could be good friends." I offer a smile. "I don't really have many of those around here."

"From what you've blabbed about your life, it sounds like you had it good on Omega. So why come here?" She actually listens to me?

"I did have a pretty good life, but I had too much freedom." I feel a little sentimental. "I like having a bit of structure in my life. It feels good. Like I'm doing the right thing and not just killing the wrong people."

She stares for a moment. "Yeah, I don't get that."

"That's okay, maybe you will after I hang around more," I say, half as a joke.

She rolls her eyes. "You're not the worst person on this ship."

"Seems like an easy feat." I shrug. "I just have to not be a Cerberus lackey."

Her eyes narrow slightly. "I'm not entirely sure you aren't."

"Let me know when you finally believe me." I'm the furthest thing from a Cerberus anything. They would have kicked me out ages ago.

"Sure thing." She picks up the datapad again. "If that ever happens."

"It will." I stand up to stretch. "Now, have fun reading. I'm going to bed. Later, Jack." I give a small wave and head for the stairs.

"Later, Cerberus," she teases as I walk away.

Turning back, I see her smirking at me. I just shake my head, "Haha, you're so funny."

Normandy, 2185, September 14th 8:26 PM

I enter the bedroom with Riley following behind. She heads for the fish tank, and I immediately make my way to the couch. It took forever to finish all the armour, but it's done, and now I can finally get some sleep.

Kicking off my boots and tossing my hoodie onto the table, I flop onto the couch, sighing in contentment. "So comfy."

Riley chuckles from the stairs. "You know, I never asked you about where you lived. Surely, it must have been more comfortable than this couch."

"Well, yeah," I admit. "I had a huge, comfortable bed in the middle of my room."

Her expression twists into one of confusion. "The middle of the room?"

"Yeah." I shrug, feeling a little sheepish. "It was on a 10-inch platform, too."

She actually bursts out laughing at that. "Are you serious?"

"I am." I join in her laughter. I know it's a little self-centred, literally. "One of my apartment walls was even made of glass."

More laughing ensues. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I liked my apartment. Even with all its faults.

Finally, Riley manages to compose herself, wiping a tear from her eye. "Honestly, sometimes I can't believe you."

With a smile, I sit up. "I used to keep tabs on you for a while. I heard about Elysium, becoming a Spectre, and bits and pieces of the Saren stuff." It was always cool hearing about her. Sad sometimes, but mostly cool.

"I have to admit," she begins, walking over to her bed and sitting on the edge. "I kept tabs on you too. I felt like I owed it to Jay."

"Oh." The mention of his name stings, like it always does.

"I read about what happened to your grandfather. I lost track of you after that." She sighs deeply.

"That makes sense," I agree. "I dropped off the face of the earth, literally."

"You did come up a few times a couple of years later," she continues. "When some murders similar to the one you did on Earth started popping up."

Whoa. Did she just say murders? "Don't call it that, it's not like that." I try to keep my tone calm.

"Isn't it?" She keeps her gaze steady.

"Look." I feel a knot form in my stomach. "When a client hired me, they wanted them dead, not me. I just pulled the trigger."

She nods, her expression serious. "Do you not feel any of that responsibility?"

What the fuck is she getting at? Of course, I don't feel responsible. It's the clients' fault, they want them dead. The target's fate is sealed with or without me. How does she not feel the same when the Alliance does the same thing?

I stand up. "If the Alliance hands you a gun and tells you to shoot someone, do you feel responsible?"

She shakes her head. "It's not the same, Vex."

"Oh, is it not?" I take a step closer. "Cerberus is paying me to shoot things. You're ordering me to shoot things. Are you saying I'm responsible for the things you tell me to do?"

Riley sighs, rubbing her forehead. "Vex, I'm sorry if I upset-"

"You didn't upset me," I cut her off, my voice sharper than intended. "I'm not a murderer."

"I never said you were," she defends.

"That's a lie." I feel anger rising in my chest. "You just did!"

I can't believe that's what she thinks of me. I'm not some murdering thug from Omega. I can't even stand being in the same room as her right now.

Riley pinches the bridge of her nose, clearly trying to maintain her composure. "Vex-"

"I have to go." I turn on my heel and rush out of the room. Ignoring Riley calling my name as the door shuts between us.

Normandy, 2185, September 14th 9:49 PM

Stepping out of the port observation deck, I feel slightly more tipsy than intended. Nowhere near drunk, but definitely buzzing. I couldn't give a fuck about the mission tomorrow, I just needed something to make me feel better.

Now, the problem is where to sleep. Riley's room isn't an option, and the bunks are out of the question. I guess I can worry about that after I get some water to clear my head.

As I head towards the mess hall, Miranda's office catches my eye. Miranda. She hasn't been so bad lately. Maybe she could help me.

Before I can second-guess myself, I'm knocking on her door. Doubt washes over me as I wonder what the fuck I'm doing here. This is a terrible idea.

I consider walking away when the door opens, revealing Miranda in a robe. Oh, how late is it? Did I wake her?

"I'm sorry," I mumble, suddenly feeling regretful. "I didn't realise you were sleeping."

She studies me for a moment, a hint of concern in her eyes. "Is everything all right?"

"Can I come in?" I blurt out, surprising myself.

Surprise flashes across her face as well. "Of course. We can talk inside."

"Thanks." I step through the door as she moves aside.

What am I doing here? I'm upset and maybe slightly drunk. I can just tell her I'm fine then leave and get some water, like I planned. I'll just sleep on the floor next to Jack or something.

Miranda moves to her desk, leaning against it as she faces me. "What's wrong, Vex?"

Is she actually concerned about me?

I close the distance between us, impulsively pressing my lips to hers. My hands instinctively find the edge of her desk. She's soft and warm and what the fuck am I doing?

Quickly, I pull away, taking a step back. "Miranda, I'm so sorry."

She doesn't respond immediately, just watches me with a searching gaze. I feel a ball of anxiety forming in my stomach. It's something I'm not used to feeling, it's making me feel sick.

Suddenly, she steps forward, grasping my shirt and pulling me back towards her. Our lips meet again, and my hands move to her hips, deepening the kiss. She tastes faintly of mint and I wonder what she's tasting. Alcohol? I'm such a-

My thoughts go blank as Miranda breaks away, tugging on the belt of her robe, revealing a red silk nightgown underneath. I don't even know what to say. She's hot and she knows it.

"Come on," she urges, taking my hand. "My bed is more comfortable."

Is this actually happening?

Thank you for reading.