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Post by Marishal on Aug 7, 2010 20:59:21 GMT -5
(Sarah)
I knew that HK and Abby were going to be okay, although they were going to be in the medical bay for a while. I didn't want to bother them too much while they were recovering, so I chose to simply tend to my usual duties. It had been a while since I'd gotten around to them anyway. It simply felt good to know that I wouldn't be the only "psychic" aboard anymore, and it was even better to know that my friends were going to be okay. Even if it would take a while for them to get back on their feet.
Plus I knew that Rupert was starting to feel the burden of responsibilities building up since I hadn't been helping as much. So we made a deal; I would handle most of the cleaning that needed to be done, and he would handle the cooking.
Besides, that would also help quench some of the rumors going around that he rarely washed his hands before cooking. Apparently sometimes, when he used some of the ship's rations, there was an odd, unexplainable taste. I assumed it was just something to do with the food itself, but... apparently some people wondered if it was something on his hands.
Right at the moment, I was currently waiting outside of the men's restroom in order to clean it. Someone was apparently in there, and I had to wait until they came out before I could do any cleaning.
After about ten minutes of waiting, I finally decided I would just go somewhere else and come back later. I didn't feel like waiting around forever just for someone to come out of the bathroom. With my luck, it was probably Zaeed hogging it anyway. And I had no desire to see him or talk to him.
As I headed in the general direction of the kitchen with the intention of cleaning the mess hall while it was scarcely occupied, I noticed Garrus walking toward me. I smiled at him, half-expecting him to just get something to eat or walk on by me. But to my mild surprise, he actually walked straight toward me.
"Ah, Sarah," Garrus greeted. He sounded glad to see me, but at the same time, a bit...nervous, perhaps. Or something like that. "We need to talk. I've been looking for you."
I looked at him carefully for a moment, then set down my mop and bucket, being careful not to spill it. I also made sure it was out of the way so no one else would trip over it or knock it over. "Okay," I said hesitently. "Wanna talk in the gunnery?"
Garrus nodded. "Sure, that'd probably be the best place," he said, turning around and motioning for me to follow. We walked down the path to the gunnery, and once inside, he turned around with a sigh. "Its about Sidonis. I think we need to change our plan."
I blinked, then I slowly moved to sit down on the edge of one of the crates against the wall. "What do you mean?" I asked. As far as I knew, we didn't really have a plan yet, except that he'd promised to take me with him. I didn't think we'd really had time to discuss a plan in details yet.
"Well, I really hate to say this after what we agreed on, but I've been doing some thinking...when I've actually had time, that is. After what happened on Haestrom, I...I don't think you should come with me. It may be too dangerous, and I'm not going to get another person killed," Garrus explained, looking away for a moment.
I stared at him. I felt... conflicting feelings springing up inside me. On the one hand I knew he had a point, and I knew it probably would not be a good idea for me to go into the heart of danger. I'd probably allow Harkin's goons to harm us, or allow him to get away somehow. Either that I would get killed, or someone who was trying to protect me might get killed--perhaps Garrus.
At the same time I felt... disappointed. In my own way I had been looking forward to seeing the outcome of what happened between him and Sidonis, and maybe even helping it to go the best way possible.
I glanced away from him, staring at the weapons' systems as I tried to process everything I'd gone through since coming here, and everything he had just said.
"I know you probably don't want to hear this, but if we encounter a lot of danger, then you're a risk. You are lucky you survived Haestrom at all, and I just feel it'd be safer if I go after him with Shepard, or even Abby and HK after they recover," Garrus continued.
I simply nodded a little by way of acknowledgement, glancing at him briefly. I felt my heart sink because... well, in a way it was like he was saying that the others--my friends, and especially Shepard--were better than I am. Then again... in a way, they were. At least in certain... fields.
I resumed staring intently at the weapons systems, still absorbing the news. Well, one thing was for sure... I didn't want to get killed out there. Garrus was doing me favor in that way.
"Uh, are you alright?" Garrus asked.
"Yeah," I said simply, rising. I turned to face him. "And yeah, probably for the best," I shrugged dismissively. "Now, I need to get back to my cleaning." I turned to move toward the door.
"Listen, I don't like it either, and you've been a big help to me by telling me all of this, but I can't have more blood on my hands. I was an idiot for telling Shepard that you could go out on Haestrom, and I'm not going to do something like that again. It's just how it has to be," Garrus told me.
I half-turned to face him as he spoke. When he finished I said, "Yeah I know. And just so you know, I'm not going to bother anyone anymore; I'm just going to stick to my cleaning duties and to my quarters. If anyone wants to talk, they can come to me." I turned my back on him and walked out.
I kept walking, even as I heard the doors hiss shut behind me. I knew I was being a bit huffy, at the very least. But at the same time...
Well, seriously, who was I kidding? I highly doubted Garrus would ever really be interested in me romantically, and well... I'd also done a pretty good job of pissing off a few of ground team members, including Shepard.
I figured... maybe it was time to just get over turians, stop making a nuisance of myself, and just... focus on my duties. And try to survive the Collectors. If that meant keeping to myself and not talking to anyone much, I could live with that.
I continued walking, but I hadn't gotten far when I heard someone call out for me. "Sarah! Its about time I found you," Miranda said coldly. "We have an emergency situation going on here, and the Commander needs to see you immediately."
I sighed. "Yeah, okay," I said simply with a wave of my hand. "Where is she?" I asked evenly.
"Deck Two. She just finished speaking to the Illusive Man," Miranda replied, walking towards the elevator. "Follow me."
I nodded dully and followed her without a word. I wasn't going to say anything; nothing at all. But you know, in some ways... I was getting tired of all of this. But perhaps this was merely my response to all the stress I'd been under lately. And being disappointed by my favorite turian was just icing on the cake--even though I had to agree he did have good reasons.
Maybe the commander was just gonna give me a stern talking to about leaving my post during a battle. Perhaps after that was done, I could just go to my quarters and sleep for a while.
It didn't take long for us to stop at Deck Two, and Miranda led me right into the briefing room, where Shepard was standing. She looked like she had been in deep thought. However, she snapped out of it once I walked in.
"Sarah, I'm glad Miranda found you," Shepard said. "I've just gotten some...interesting information from the Illusive Man. He's found a disabled Collector ship."
I looked at her for a moment. Ah yeah, the Collector ship... wonderful.
Would this perhaps be a good time to run down to the medical bay and scream "ABBY WAKE UP, WE NEED YOU"? No, not really. But she was a lot better at handling these situations when they came up, I had to admit.
I really didn't want to. But in a way, I was still the only "psychic" left at the moment. So... the responsibility rested on my shoulders right now, right? Even though I was not exactly in the best frame of mind.
"Yeah, okay," I said quietly, giving a nod of acknowledgement. I propped my elbows on the edge of the table, leaning forward a little. I suppressed a yawn and tried to stay focused.
"Don't just stand there, tell us what you know about it," Miranda snapped.
Oh yeah, that's right. They wanted me to pick my brain and tell them all about it. "Well," I said, shoving away from the table and stuffing my hands into my pockets, "ummm..." Okay, what exactly was I going to say? Should I just make everybody around me happy and satisfied once and spill everything I knew about it, or should I try to be more reserved like Abby would? And what exactly would Abby--or even HK--say in this situation?
I didn't want to think about it. I just wanted to go listen to some music for a few hours, or even sleep for a while.
Have I mentioned that I'm not really cut out for life on a military ship? It's a good thing I never went into the military back home. They'd reject me within ten minutes of seeing me.
"It's... big," I finally said, quite simply. It was my way of stalling for time while I could gather my thoughts while my brain was full of cobwebs.
"Thats all you have to say?" Miranda said, scowling. She looked at Shepard. "Shepard, she's useless."
Shepard ignored her second-in-command. "Any other details?"
"Yeah, a few," I said, leaning forward against the tabletop by crossing my arms in front of me and leaning on them. I stared down at the table's surface, not looking at either of them. "They're gonna hit Earth, for one. I mean, that was/is their original plan." Hey, they were gonna figure that out soon enough anyway.
Miranda and Shepard looked at each other for a moment. It seems they were slightly surprised, but it didn't come as a huge bomb to them.
Shepard looked at me again. "And what about the actual ship?"
"Well... you're gonna encounter..." I stopped, biting my tongue. I knew that the Illusive Man was keeping Shepard in the dark about this whole thing being a trap. Would it effect things much if I told Shepard about it? Would it throw off the Collectors? Ugh I really wish Abby was handling this instead of me.
Miranda and Shepard stared at me, waiting for me to finish.
Ah screw it. Abby and HK aren't here right now, I wanted to try and get on Shepard's good side again, and well... for once I just really didn't care about the consequences of giving out too much info.
"I'll tell you," I said, looking straight at Shepard. "But...." I indicated Miranda with a slight tip of my head. "I'd rather tell you... in private."
"What is wrong with me being here? I'm Shepard's second-in-command, I-" Miranda started.
"Miranda!" Shepard snapped. She shook her head. "It is not going to take long for us to get there. We don't have time for all of this arguing...just step out for awhile."
Miranda sighed. "Fine," she said. Glaring at me, she exited the room.
Yeah, like I was gonna risk saying anything bad abotut the Illusive Man while his top operative was present. Even though she would probably be hearing about it later.
"Thanks," I muttered, leaning forward against the table again. Man I really wished there were chairs in here.
"Like I said: We can't waste time. So I need to know now," Shepard told me firmly.
"Watch your back, because it's a trap," I said bluntly, with the slightest shrug of my shoulders.
Shepard raised an eyebrow. "What kind of trap?"
I sighed tiredly. "Everything will seem fine and hunky-dory for a while when you step onboard, but when you get to the terminal where EDI can begin the download, you'll get ambushed, big time. And after that you'll have to fight your way back. Also... you may want know that the Illusive Man knows it's a trap. He just kept his mouth shut because he doesn't want to risk tipping the Collectors off, because he knows that we NEED the information from that ship. But... since we DO need the information, you may not want to tell anyone. You really don't want to risk tipping them off... do you?" I looked at her curiously.
Once I mentioned that tidbit about the Illusive Man, Shepard's eyes lit up in what looked like possible anger, or at least irritation. "Okay...I'll keep quiet," she said slowly, like she was mulling it over. "Just until we investigae this. Anything else?"
"Yeah. Remember that... big huge thing that you encountered on Horizon, that was extremely difficult to kill? The thing near the defense tower?" I knew that Abby knew what it was called, but I could never remember it or even say it right.
Shepard nodded, and just stared at me, waiting for me to continue.
"Yeah, there's another one on the Collector ship, so watch out."
Shepard didn't say anything, and just looked like she was heavily thinking that over, probably recalling what it took to kill it last time. "We'll have to be prepared, then. What else?"
I thought for a moment. "Oh yeah!" I blurted, nearly smacking myself in the forehead. How could I forget one of the more interesting things they found out on the Collector ship? "There IS something else!" I sorta grinned in spite of myself. Nothing like a big juicy secret to reveal.
Shepard just stared at me. It was like a glare of death.
I glanced downward, feeling a little sheepish. "You're gonna find out that the Collectors were once Protheans," I blurted. I coughed a little.
For the first time, out of all the big things I had told her within the last five or ten minutes, I saw a look of shock briefly cross her face. "Al...right. I am guessing we'll find out the details of that onboard?"
"Yep... you'll know the right time to have EDI run a cross-genetic check," I said simply.
Shepard nodded. "Is that all?"
I was silent for a moment, thinking. "I think so," I finally said.
Shepard looked away for a moment, and she was probably trying to come up with a battle plan for all of this. "Thanks for the information. I need to go figure out how to handle all of this, because we'll be there soon," she finally said, heading towards the exit.
"Want me to do anything?" I asked before she could head out the door. I had a feeling the answer was probably no. At least, well... part of me still wanted to just go retreat to my quarters. But if she had something in mind for me to do... I would rather know about it now, so I could mentally prepare myself.
She shook her head. "No, you've done all you can for now. If we ever need you, I'll contact you," she said, proceeding to leave.
I watched her go. Well... maybe she wouldn't need me anymore.
I glanced around the briefing room one final time, then I headed out. I then headed to the elevator and quietly rode it down to the level where my quarters were.
Once I was there, I simply plopped myself down on my bunk and grabbed my headphones. "Angel of Darkness" began to blare loudly in my ears, and I grinned.
(Abby)
I groaned, sitting up in my bed. Doctor Chakwas looked up immediately and stood, hurrying over. "How are you feeling, Abby?" she asked, examining the readouts on the monitors attached to me. Her steel-gray hair formed a curtain over her face.
I didn't answer, rubbing my temples. My skin still felt very warm to the touch, and I felt sick--really, really sick. I'd had swine flu last year when it was kicking up all over the place, but this felt even worse.
"You're lucky you made it back at all," Chakwas said conversationally. "Don't worry, we're going to take care of you. You'll be well on your way to recovery soon."
I groaned. That was all the answer the kind doctor was going to get. The bright light of the medical bay hurt my eyes and I could only squint as I looked at the neighboring beds. Finally, my eyes rested on HK, who was unconscious two beds down.
"He'll be fine," Chakwas said. "You both had an interesting adventure on Illium. Now, try to go back to sleep."
"Water," I croaked.
She went to the dispenser by the door and filled up a small plastic cup. She brought it to my lips, but I insisted--nonverbally--on carrying out the act myself. I would have dropped the cup if Chakwas hadn't been holding it at the bottom, tilting it into my mouth like some weird, overgrown baby. I drank it with gusto, though, loving it.
My vision began to fade, and I slid back, my eyes closing.
----
The next time I woke up, HK had beaten me to the punch. I felt slightly better and didn't groan when I sat up this time. "How're you?" I asked, pleased that my voice sounded slightly more normal.
"Ugh, I feel...okay, I guess. A little sick and beaten up, maybe, but overall I'm fine. Just glad to not be strapped to that table," HK said, sitting up slightly and rubbing his face as well. "How are you?"
"I think I need to get the plate number of whatever bus ran me over," I joked lightly, leaning back against my pillows. "How long have we been here?"
"Just over fourteen hours," Chakwas said from her seat at the desk. She was typing away on the computer, but she looked tense, like something was wrong. "If you both had any doubts about surviving before, they should be gone. What they injected you with was a... menegerie of illegal liquids and brain enhancers. They did it quite carefully, hovering just an inch from destroying your bodies in the process. It'll take a while for them to clear your systems... you should begin to feel like you're recovering within a week."
"A week?" HK repeated in shock. "Will we have to stay here the whole time?"
I groaned. "We're staying here longer than that, aren't we?" I asked in a horrified voice.
Chakwas nodded, confirming my worst fears. I'd kind of hoped she was joking, just pulling the legs of the sickly patients, but nope. "If there are any... adverse reactions to the drugs they were giving you, we'll know within that timeframe," she said. "You already had visitors while you were asleep."
"Who?" I asked, interested.
She picked up a small plastic bag and began to sort through the contents. "Apparently when Commander Shepard made her stop on Illium, the rest of the crew did their shopping, too." She pulled out a novel--a real, paper one I hadn't seen in this universe before at all--and a datachip. She crossed over and handed the book to HK, the datachip to me. "Courtesy of Ken and Gabby, from Engineering," she said, smiling. "Apparently you... did something to Grunt down there?"
I looked at HK guiltily. "We, er... taught him how to play Go Fish."
Chakwas looked at us with a mixture of strained amusement. "You taught a krogan how to play a children's card game?"
"He thought there was fish involved," I said, grinning despite myself. I felt weak, weaker than I ever had before, but this memory brought back some energy into my limbs. "Ken and Gabby came by to play because they could hear us laughing, and then they taught us how to play Skillian Five Poker. But don't worry, they said we didn't have to take our clothes off like they do in the real matches."
Chakwas was blinking rapidly. "Oh... my. That's almost too unbelievable to be true. And how did Grunt react to that, exactly?"
"He doesn't like the rules of Go Fish. He kept trying to make a krantt and spy on our cards," HK said, reminiscing.
"Poker was more fun. He and Ken played against us and Gabby... but I'll admit, I don't think that he enjoys card games too much."
"I was going to win," I said, "but I had a feeling that Grunt might... rip my arms off or something." I laughed. "When we left, he was talking about getting Jack to come out of her hole and play. That is so a match I didn't want to stay for."
"Ken and Gabby ran off, too," HK said, chuckling.
I held up the datachit. "So what's this?"
"Gabby said it was a collection of art and comments from various multi-species artists in the galaxy," Chakwas said. "Kenneth picked up the book for HK. He didn't say much about it, except that he seemed to enjoy 'old' things like that."
We looked at each other and quickly looked away. "Nice!" I said. "Can you hand me a datapad, ma'am?"
We spent about an hour or so looking through our gifts when I saw Garrus exit the gunnery station from the windows overlooking the mess hall and angle straight for the medical bay. He opened the door. "Good to see you're up," he said.
"Hey, dude!" I said.
"Garrus, it's good to see you," HK said kindly.
"I'm just glad to see that you two are alive and conscious. We've all been worried. How are you feeling?" Garrus asked, taking a seat beside me.
"Uh, we're doing okay...more importantly, how are you? How is the crew?" HK inquired curiously.
"Well, we just got out of one crazy mission. The Illusive Man found a Collector ship, and...ah, you probably know about this already, don't you?"
"Oh NO!" I said, shocked. "I promised Shepard I would tell her about the Praetorian--is everybody okay?"
"Calm down," Chakwas said sternly. "Don't overexcite yourself."
"Sarah told her all the major stuff," Garrus replied, probably trying to get me to not worry about it. "Including that. Everybody's okay, but it sounds like it was one hell of a fight. Samara and Miranda are great fighters, though I think Miranda's a little angry about the Illusive Man tricking us."
"She shouldn't be," I said, frowning. "In our dreams, she was trying to justify it--or maybe she was angry about it while she was trying to rationalize it? Yeah, I think it's that. Miranda's a great woman and a good person, but she's still Tim's top agent. Not being in the loop isn't something she's used to. It's too far out of her comfort zone... and I'm guessing Shepard didn't tell her what Sarah said about it, either. She probably feels betrayed and hurt, but she'll understand. She does understand, and she knows why it had to be done. You can't really live on a ship with us three idiots and not... well, not get used to not being in the loop."
My long monologue had exhausted me, and I was nearly panting by the time I was done. I sunk deeper into my pillows and Chakwas went and got both HK and I some water.
"Thats all it is. I think not knowing about it surprised her, and the whole situation was very tense, but she'd never betray the Illusive Man. Jack's weird and blunt about things, but some of what she says is true: Miranda is Cerberus's biggest cheerleader," Garrus explained. "Everyone made it out with little to no injuries, though. It was a narrow escape, but it was still an escape."
"Thank goodness. In the g-in the visions, the ship was one of the things that annoyed me the most, because it was so...weird and hard," HK said, shuddering slightly. "But at least its over now. That's the last you'll see of the Praetorians."
"What do you think about the Protheans, though?" I asked, grimacing.
"Protheans?" Chakwas echoed.
Oh yeah, she wouldn't know yet. "The Protheans aren't extinct, ma'am," I said softly. "A large gorup of them were harvested by the Reapers a long time ago. A lot of genetic mutations later, well... They aren't Protheans anymore, Doctor. There is no thinking, no mind, no... individualness. There's only the hive. And the Reaper in charge of this entire operation, Harbinger? He controls the Collector General from dark space, and through him he can control individual Collectors." I looked at Garrus, who seemed stunned by this new information. "We're not completing the genocide of the Protheans. The Reapers already killed them all and just happened to make a new species out of it."
"That's horrible!" Doctor Chakwas exclaimed, covering her mouth. "That's... repugnant. Unethical!"
"But it's true," Garrus said. "The Commander told us when she came back... but there was nothing on the ship about Harbinger or how the Reapers control the glowing Collectors."
"I know," I said. "Somehow you guys found out--in our dreams. It's pretty obvious, with the words Harbinger yells during fighting, I guess... but that's his name."
I thought about the ending scene of Mass Effect 2, and that army of Reapers, and grimaced.
"There's no way to stop it. Unfortunately, Harbinger is something you're just doing to have to deal with along the way, but his Collectors aren't too hard to stop," HK explained. "And you won't see them again for awhile."
"We have to go get an IFF in order to pass through the Omega 4 Relay," Garrus remarked. "But I think the Commander wants to do a lot before then. We have one more person left to get, and there's more and more...unfinished business popping up to deal with."
"Believe me, it is best for everyone to get their last issues sorted out before we get the IFF. We can't tell you why, but trust us. A lot of people don't even know yet, but everybody on the ground team is going to have something come up one way or another," HK agreed.
"Who has stuff cropping up now?" I asked. "Grunt looked like he was about to go into his, and you and Sarah talked about yours... Miranda's is done, and Jacob's is in waiting."
"Mordin heard that a friend of his had been captured on Tuchanka. Whenever we go there to help Grunt, we'll help him, too," Garrus answered. "That's about it, I think."
"Ahh, yes, we remember that," HK said, glancing at me.
"Wrex!" I said happily.
"Wrex?" Garrus repeated.
"Wrex." I grinned.
"To explain," HK said with a laugh. "Wrex reigns supreme over clan Urdnot, which reigns supreme over all the other clans. He's not that merc that doesn't know what to do about his people anymore."
"Wow, thats a change," Garrus commented, a little surprised.
"So, where are we going next, now that the ship is out of the way? Do you know?" HK asked.
"The, uh, Citadel," Garrus said, looking away for a moment. "We've got a lot to do there."
"Ahh, I see," HK simply said, knowing that Garrus would finally face Sidonis there, and that was probably why he wouldn't say much on the matter.
"Ah, Abby, HK!" a voice yelled, and we both looked up to see Mordin enter the MedBay. "Wonderful to see you alive and well. Knew that you'd make it out alive. Glad that situation is over...oh, and don't worry, I retrieved your items from Illium!"
I blinked. Oh dear. "Oh good!"
Garrus actually chuckled, which was saying something since his mind was just on his mortal enemy. "That story has been making the rounds," he commented.
"Oh...oh boy," HK said with a gulp.
"Am curious, though. Why buy an elcor jockstrap?" Mordin asked bluntly.
HK and I exchanged a glance... I wasn't even sure if WE knew. "Figured Grunt could use one?" I said.
"Elcor and krogan shaped differently, it would no-"
"Mordin, too much information!!!" HK exclaimed.
"You ever have a moment where you look at something and just know you have to get it?" I asked him, giggling. "We had a moment with it."
"She had a moment with it," HK corrected. "I was the one to think it, but she was very avid about buying it."
"But the look on the clerk's face was priceless!"
"Okay, thats true," HK said, chuckling.
"Would you like me to deliver it to your quarters?" Mordin wondered.
"Uhhhhhhhhhhh..." I was giggling madly now. "Up to HK!"
"Well it sure as heck isn't mine," HK snapped. "Uhh, but....I guess if you want to put it there, you can?"
"Actually, we bought it on Shepard's card, so it's technically her's," I pointed out.
"You bought an elcor jockstrap with the Commander's card?" Chakwas asked, her mouth opening in a comical 'o.' "Does she even know yet?"
"Ummm....depends on if someone told her," HK replied, looking to Mordin and Garrus.
"There hasn't exactly been time, and its not been on our minds too much," Garrus said with a shrug.
"Oh, I would pay to see her reaction," Chakwas said in an eager, out-of-character voice for her. She began to laugh.
"And now the evil doctor is laughing. I'm afraid now," I muttered.
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Post by Marishal on Aug 7, 2010 20:59:50 GMT -5
(HK)
The week had been a rather slow one. Abby and I had been in the Medical Bay that entire time, recovering, and every day we had gotten closer and closer to being back to normal...finally, now, we were about back to what we were, and Dr. Chakwas was even letting us go a little early.
It had also taken a week to travel to the Citadel; we were about to dock there now, and I was ready to get off the ship. I'd been stuck inside of it for way too long.
Pretty much everyone had come to visit us at one point or another in the MedBay, but you could tell that some of them were on edge. Grunt was still having anger problems, and Jacob was still tense over his father...luckily, though, I heard that we were heading for Aeia right after the Citadel.
Garrus was also getting more and more intense, too. He knew that the time to face Sidonis was coming up, and that had to be alarming. Strangely, though, it sounded like the plan to have Sarah go with him was off...in fact, Sarah had visited us, but she'd been rather reclusive lately. There were no more stories about her crazy incidents, she just went on about her duties and that was it.
We were also going to get Kasumi here, which I was really excited about. When I entered the Mass Effect universe, I didn't know much about her...but in real life, I had this feeling that I had gotten some DLC awhile back, and knew her and Zaeed as well as any of the other crew members.
Shepard was going to see Anderson and the Council, which was good, even if they wouldn't listen to a word she's going to say.
However, there was one pressing issue on our minds: Thane. Thane's loyalty mission had not popped up yet, and it happened on the Citadel. Now, since we were operating in a much more real world now, in real time, Shepard wouldn't want to go back to the Citadel for a second trip, and we were on a schedule, so we really couldn't.
And that meant it was probably time for Abby and I to do what we had discussed a few times before: Initiate it ourselves. Maybe we were meant to do that? Hopefully, we were, and Kolyat would be there and about to kill the turian politician.
If he wasn't...then I had no clue what to do. But hopefully he was.
Abby and I walked up to the entrance of Life Support. I turned to her. "Okay, ready to do this?" I asked her.
She nodded. Thane was one of the guys who had come to visit us in the medical bay, but he hadn't stayed long. Partly because I thought he was just unused to keeping humans--or anybody in general, really--company for a long period of time, and partly because I thought, somehow, that we scared him. Abby and I had talked about it a little bit and agreed it was fishy, but there was really nothing you could do about that.
He'd asked us multiple questions about our visions, how they worked and whatnot, and only when he was satisfied with the answers he received did he leave. I wondered if we were about to go through a repeat of that again.
Abby was still pale and had purple bags underneath her eyes, but otherwise she was as healthy as a horse. She looked apprehensive as we neared the door. "Ready, Freddy."
I snorted, and turned back to the door. We opened it, and stepped inside...like always, Thane was sitting at his table, with his hands folded.
"Thane, hey," I said slowly, trying to sound as kind and gentle as possible. "We're out of the Medical Bay."
"Congratulations, I am glad to see that you two have recovered from that traumatic incident," Thane said, not looking at us. "Do you need something?"
Abby looked at me and gave me a reassuring look. She stepped in front of me... and went to sit down right in front of Thane. "Your son is on the Citadel, Thane," she said gently. I winced at the bluntness of it. "His... body is disconnected from his mind. He's an assassin for hire now."
Thane turned to look at us. "What?" he asked in surprise.
"Its difficult to explain, but its another one of our visions," I replied, trying to figure out how to explain this. Drell still confused me, slightly. "He's taken up a job as an assassin, and he's going to kill someone. We can't say too much, but you have to stop him."
"This is...surprising news," Thane said, reeling. "And moreso, disturbing."
"The last time you saw your son was when you avenged Irikah's death," Abby said, "and then you disappeared from his life. That was very traumatic for a boy. He's angry, Thane, just like you were. Don't let him spend the rest of his life in bitterness. We'll help you find him. We have to stop him from killing his target and you have to talk to him."
I nodded. "Yes, we will help, I promise."
"How much time do we have?" Thane asked.
"Uhh, that...I'm not sure of, but if he's there already like we suspect, then we really don't have much time," I answered, looking at Abby.
"This is very short-notice, but if you are correct, then we must hurry," Thane said, standing up.
"Wait, we going now?" Abby asked, alarmed. "No, Thane. Not yet. Talk to Shepard about it. You'll need her help."
"When I say we don't have much time, I mean that we probably don't have days or anything...again, we're not sure, but I don't think its all going to happen right now. There is still a bit of time...but yes, talk to Shepard," I said.
"This is about my son. One who I have not seen for many years. I can't wait for long, but I will trust your judgement. I will speak to Shepard before we leave the ship," Thane said, starting to walk past Abby and myself.
The door opened before Thane could reach it, revealing Commander Shepard. She took in the situation with suspiscious brown eyes. "EDI said it was an emergency," she said. "What did you two say to Thane?"
"They have informed me that my son is here, on the Citadel, planning to kill someone. I wish to stop him," Thane replied calmly.
"They said what?" Shepard repeated, her jaw dropping.
Abby sighed, annoyed. "Okay! I'm only going to say this one more time, because repeating these things over and over for people just... ain't doing it for me! Okay? Thane's son is on the Citadel because he was contracted to kill somebody. Thane hasn't seen his son since he avenged Irikah's death, and Kolyat is slightly pissed and he's not exactly doing the right thing. So we have to stop Kolyat from killing somebody who's a bad person and probably should be sent to jail so his soul will be saved!"
"Thane, I have been talking to you about some drell things lately, but I think all of that was a little too much to take in," Shepard said, looking to him.
"I understand what she's saying. I can explain it more later," Thane told her.
I just sighed. "Okay, basically, we just need to stop Kolyat from killing a guy sometime soon. When are we going to be docking?" I asked.
"Soon," Shepard said. "Why don't you two go and get ready? I'll stay here and talk with Thane."
"Awesome idea!" Abby said. She pulled me out of the room, and the door shut behind us. "Thanks for the save, EDI," she said to nobody in particular.
I exhaled a breath. "Okay, that was interesting...maybe Thane can explain it better than us," I said with a sigh, walking away from the room. "So I guess we just head up and get our armor on while we wait for them to finish?"
"I can't wait to wear my new clothes," Abby said excitedly. "Maybe we can get some more things on the Citadel... or just look in stores. This sci-fi stuff is REALLY cool to look at."
I nodded in agreement. "Yes, that'd be a good idea...as long as we don't buy anymore elcor jockstraps," he said, walking towards our quarters.
"We might have to," she muttered, grinning.
Somebody had stolen it from our quarters, apparently, and framed it in a piece of heat-resistant glass. The jockstrap now hung in the male crew quarters for some odd reason. When Jacob had visited a few days ago he said that some of the men were having a drawing contest to see who could make the best alien in lingerie picture. As far as we knew, it was still going on.
And I had no interest in finding out the results, whenever they came in. I could always participate if I wanted, but I sure as heck didn't want to.
"So, I wonder how we're going to handle all of this," I pondered aloud. "We have Thane, Garrus, and the Council to deal with...plus shopping and anything else that we want to do on the Citadel."
"I vote sticking close to Shepard," she said. "I don't want some crazy krogan and asari kidnap me again."
"Thats true...I never want to go through that again. It'll teach us to run off to places that BioWare didn't design," I said, half-seriously. "You know, its weird...aside from Tuchanka and the Migrant Fleet, if they even count, this is pretty much the last civilized place with shops and homes and all that that we'll be visiting."
Abby pulled at her hair with a grumpy expression on her face. When Tali had saved her, she'd chopped off nearly half of it with the knife she carried in her boot. It now hung just above her shoulders. Originally it had looked choppy and uneven, but Kelly had come to the rescue with a pair of scissors. Now it looked prim and proper, but Abby still hated the new look. "True," she said, flipping the hair out of her face with an annoyed flick. "Though I wouldn't call Tuchanka civilized."
I nodded in agreement. "I know, and thats my point. The Citadel is the last place thats going to be like this...and it makes me start to feel the pressure. We have a heap of loyalty quests to do, sure, so it'll be awhile, but its getting down to the wire, you know?"
"It'll be fine," she said. "Erm... hopefully. Have you thought more about the... thing we were talking about earlier?"
I sighed. Earlier Abby had brought up the fact that if something happens to the three of us, the story may still go on. Though we didn't know that for certain, Abby was insisting that we leave behind some kind of instruction manual or something for Commander Shepard to peruse when she needed to.
"I think we need to do it. That little adventure with Nyxeris, which we know does not happen in our visions, taught us that anything can happen now. We could very well die, so we need to be prepared," I explained.
She nodded. "Yup... and that's why I've already started!" I gave her a Look, which she ignored. "I'm writing down everything I can remember about everybody's quests on my datapad, plus the IFF mission, some side-quests, and the suicide mission. The only one I have done so far is Jacob's mission."
"Which Shepard pretty much already knows about, thanks to us," I said with a smirk. "But yes, good. Overall, there's not too much left to do. Just the stuff here, some loyalty quests, then the final missions. So it shouldn't take too long, and I'll help, too."
"Good!" she said. "You can take half, and I'll take the other half."
Abby and I had changed clothes, and after awhile, we left the Normandy. We boarded a speeder and headed for the Zakera Ward, like always. Garrus, Grunt, and Thane were with Shepard and the two of us, and I wasn't sure exactly what we were going to do first.
Then it hit me: Meet Kasumi.
The speeder landed, and I had barely gotten time to examine the place in person before I heard her voice calling out for Shepard.
"Enter your password, Commander Shepard, and receive a free gift!" Kasumi smiled on the ad.
Shepard went to talk to it, but Abby held her arm. "What? A trap?" Shepard asked.
"No... I wanna hear everything she says."
Kasumi reappeared. "Have problems with collectors? Try Kasumi's credit services!" "Commander Shepard, we have the finest of companions waiting for you. Perhaps something petite, smart, and Japanese would be your style?" "Just enter your password for a fabulous prize package worth millions of credits!" "Okay, really? How many times can you walk by without stopping?" "Shepard... you do have the password, right?"
Abby leaned forword, but Shepard beat her. "Silence is golden."
"Congratulations, Commander Shepard! Kasumi Goto; I'm a fan."
"Wow, its even more strange in real life," I commented, almost laughing.
"What's with the password and all the secrecy?" Shepard asked. "Are you in trouble or something?"
"I'm the best thief in the business, not the most famous. Have to watch my step to keep it that way," Kasumi said smugly. "I also had to make sure this one was legit. But I have no doubts, now. You're Commander Shepard."
"What makes you so sure?" she replied, crossing her arms.
"There's a certain... aura about you. Like you've seen things that no one else has. Even without knowing what you look like, I knew it was you."
Abby and I exchanged a happy look.
"Has Cerberus filled you in on the mission?" Shepard asked, cutting right to the chase.
"Honestly I'm shocked that they didn't come to see me sooner. My fault for being hard to find, I guess."
"So what brought you to Cerberus?"
"Now there's a long story. Short version: they were looking for me, so I trailed them to find out why. Turns out they were looking for somebody to join you on a big mission... and were offering a serious signing bonus." The corner of her mouth quirked in a half-smile. "I had a thing I needed help with, so I made them a deal... and here we are."
"I suppose this deal is something I should know about?" Shepard asked.
"Yeah, I guess it slipped their minds," she said wryly. "I'm looking for my partner's greybox. A man named Donovan Hock took it, and I'm planning to get it back."
"What do you know about Donovan Hock?"
"Mister Hock is a well-respected businessman. Arms dealer, murderor--generally not a great guy. His mansion's famous for being hard to crack, but I have a way in. And I think you're gonna love it."
"Hock's not going to take kindly to people sneaking in his house," Shepard said.
"I always expect trouble. That's why you're here."
"And I assume the greybox is valuable?"
"It nables a neural implant." Kasumi's image flickered, and the blue headband beneath her hood flickered to life. "Illegal in most places. It stores memories, deals, illicit information, you name it. This one in particular belonged to my partner, Keiji Okuda. We worked together for a long time, before Hock killed him." She turned off the neural implant.
"Tell us about your partner," Shepard said.
"He was the best hacker on the extranet I'd ever known. Unfortunately... he slipped up and made himself infamous. He stole something he shouldn't have, something that was bad. He warned me it could spark an interstellar war if it got into the wrong hands. That information... got him killed. He didn't say what it was, and only that if it got out, humanity would be in trouble. He encrypted it in his own memories. To get to it, you have to sift through all the times we've spent together. Now those memories are the only thing I have left of him."
"I can see why you'd want to get it back," Shepard said, and I heard a small note of understanding in her voice.
"Getting it back will be easier with your help, Shepard," Kasumi reminded her.
"Tell me more about the plans for the heist."
"Not here, Shepard. You'll get a briefing, trust me. I just need some more time to nail down the details, anyway. I've taken the liberty of getting you some evening wear, though. You'll want to look presentable."
Shepard cracked a smile. "Well, if that's what Cerberus promised you to help me, we'll get it done."
"Don't worry; it'll be fun! And if we're lucky, you won't even have to draw your gun." The ad terminal with Kasumi's face suddenly lowered, and a voice spoke from behind us. "We should probably wrap this up." Kasumi stood on the top walkway, looking down at us with an amused smile on her face. "You look pretty silly standing there talking to an advertisement. See you on the ship, Shepard." She raised a hand to her forehead and disappeared down a back hallway.
Silence. Then: "Did I mention she's my favorite person on the ship?" Abby asked wryly.
Shepard didn't bother to acknowledge that little remark, and for that I was glad. "So..." I asked. "Where are we going now?"
"I need to meet David Anderson on the Presidium," Shepard said, "but you probably know that already. I'll get you through security, but then you're going to stay put until Sarah arrives."
I nodded. We had invited her to go shopping with us in the Wards, but she hadn't been able to get away from her duties on the ship until now. She was taking a seperate transport in, and Grunt was going to be accompanying us as an escort--a stipulation from Commander Shepard.
"Nothing like shopping with a krogan in puberty," Abby muttered as we walked off, out of earshot. I smirked.
(Sarah)
I had to admit... when you were given half a million credits, it could really begin to burn a hold in your pocket after a while. So to speak. So when I heard that Abby and HK were going shopping, and when they asked me if I wanted to come along, I was all for it.
Besides, I figured it would be a prime opportunity to get off the ship for a while. I knew for a fact that Shepard was never going to let me go anywhere again, not unless it was somewhere really safe.
I also felt a little... nervous about the idea of going shopping, considering what happened to HK and Abby when they tried to go shopping back on Illium. So I was a little relieved when I heard that Shepard was going to send someone with us as an escort--
Until I learned that it was Grunt. Seriously, why the krogan? The back of my head throbbed slightly upon remembering what happened the last time I saw much of him. He was still going through his... coming of age thing, or whatever.
Then again, who knows? Maybe the sight of an unruly krogan would keep everyone away from us. Heh well... if nothing else, I suppose that maybe it would help us get through longer lines more quickly. People would tend to give a krogan a wide berth... right?
A crewmember who's name I did not know gave me a ride to the Citadel's docking ring in a shuttle. Apparently she had some purpose for coming to the Citadel as well, although I wasn't sure what that was. She didn't seem too talkative, and I wasn't going to pry. Perhaps she had some sort of personal business to take care of or something.
Anyway once we docked, I thanked her and we parted ways, and I began to scan the area with my eyes, looking around for HK and Abby.
I also knew that Grunt was going to be arriving soon, too.
Within a few minutes, I saw the menacing krogan approach. "Damn, it feels good to be off that ship. I want to crunch something so bad..." he commented, slamming his fists together.
I take three large steps back and pressed myself against the nearest wall, staring at him with widened eyes. Okay, I realized after a moment, maybe moving myself against the wall really wasn't such a good idea. I was more or less allowing myself to be cornered.
"Just stay over there, and we'll be fine," I murmured aloud, never taking my eyes off him.
"Sarah!" a voice called, and both Grunt and I turned to see Abby and HK approaching, both of them looking pretty happy and content overall.
"About damn time," Grunt muttered. "I can't stand around forever."
"Shepard just got Kasumi, and she's going to go talk to Anderson now," HK continued. "And so she sent us to meet you two."
Ah, Anderson. I felt a twinge of regret about the fact that I wasn't going on that trip. Then again... when you get right down to it, THIS is more along my lines of a good time, and how I wanted to spend my day. Let me go shopping with my friends any day.
I cast a wary glance toward Grunt. Well... this should still be fun, regardless.
"Hey, Grunt," Abby said cheerfully, "we'll make it up to you. Do you like fish? There's a place on this Ward that sells them."
Grunt chuckled. "It'd sound good to devour something," he replied.
"Okay..." HK said slowly, blinking at the krogan. "So what are we doing first?"
I glanced at my companions, looking them each briefly in the eyes--and glancing away from Grunt quickly. "Well... shall we just wander around a little, and see if we see any interesting stores to go in?" I had a tendancy to follow whoever I was with on a shopping trip. I did find some stores boring, but at the same time I wasn't a picky person.
"Wherever you guys wanna go," Abby said, shrugging.
"Well, let's just wander," I said again, shrugging myself. I just wanted to get going somewhere. Plus Grunt was starting to look restless again.
"Alright then," HK said, turning around. We all began to walk, heading out into the Zakera Ward. It was a very crowded place; people were coming and going out of shops and corridors constantly.
I glanced toward a large section in the middle of the large hall, where a salarian was standing behind a counter. He was speaking in a loud, clear voice to several potential customers, about the kinds of games he had available. He mentioned something about role-playing games, and I found myself peering more intently in his direction. Ah, the irony. If only he knew.
I glanced briefly toward my friends--and Grunt--to make sure I hadn't lost sight of them. And while my head was turned, I caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye. I saw the salarian raise his hand, holding up some sort of game. My head turned sharply in the salesman's direction and my eyes widened--did I see what I THOUGHT I saw?
There was no way to tell, now. His hands were below the counter and he was talking intently with a small crowd. But for a moment--just a moment--I could have sworn I saw him holding up a game that said "Mass Effect" on it.
No way. It had to be my imagination. I shook my head as the four of us pressed onward.
Meanwhile, as we were walking, Abby was striking up a conversation with Grunt. "So that Claymore is really your favorite weapon, isn't it?" she asked, pointing at the weapon slung across Grunt's back.
"Hell yeah. Kills the best," Grunt replied.
"Don't you talk about killing in GOD'S UNIVERSE!!!!" a woman shouted, hopping forward and whacking Grunt himself on the head.
All of our jaws nearly hit the floor.
"Hey, what the hell, you bi-" Grunt started, his rage growing, before we heard more voices.
"After that crazy nun!" a C-Sec officer shouted, darting towards us.
"You won't bring down a servant of the Lord!" Sister Ethea yelled, running off.
The officers shoved their way past us, charging after the crazy woman.
"What in the world?!" HK asked in shock. "We're seeing her everywhere..."
"She's lucky, I nearly smashed her head. Would've been fun, too," Grunt growled.
Abby had a mysterious look in her eye as she followed Ethea's progress. "Go get her, Grunt!" she said suddenly. "Let's see if she can get away from you."
I blinked several times. Was she serious? Was she REALLY serious? I turned to look at Grunt... and I could see a fire in his eyes.
Grunt cracked his knuckles, starting to laugh. "I think I'd like to," he said, turning to chase after the lunatic and the C-Sec officers.
He was just about to take off, when HK interrupted. "NO!" he shouted. "If we get into anymore trouble, Shepard is going to have our heads on a platter. We'll be mounted in her room in place of those toy ships."
"She kills people all the time. I'm just going to kill one little person, Shepard won't care," Grunt said, still looking blood-hungry.
HK blinked at the krogan. "I know you like...murder and all, especially right now, but she's being chased by the law, so its not just her that you'll be fighting. And not to mention, a fight with Sister Ethea would not be your run of the mill fight."
"He can take her!" Abby said unhelpfully.
I wasn't sure what to do. I knew that Shepard would kill us if we got into trouble. "Hey um... should we try to find something to drink?" I said out loud. I was feeling a bit thirsty. I glanced around, although I couldn't tell if there were any stores nearby that sold beverages.
Then I noticed a trash canister nearby. I peered into it out of sheer curiousity. There was nothing inside of it... well, almost nothing. There was only a single, paper cup inside that had a plastic lid and a plastic straw in it. I also immediately recognized what it was, when I saw the picture of the slushy puppy on the side of it; it was one of those slushy drinks that you could get. I could also tell that it was cherry... my favorite flavor.
I was surprised that they had these on the Citadel. And it still had a little bit inside of it, and the cup was sitting right-side up, in the center of the trash can. I glanced around, making sure that no passers-by were paying me any attention. I then turned back to regard the cup inside the trash can. Well... what were a few germs? I doubted that a turian or a quarian had it; probably a human or a salarian.
I bent over the can and grabbed the cup, and tried to be discreet as I took a quick drink from the cup.
It was delicious.
"Sarah....what are you....how could you..." HK said, horrified and stunned.
"I'm going to go kill her," Grunt announced, not caring about what I just did.
"Everyone stop!" HK exclaimed. We all looked at him, even Grunt. "Can we stop acting like we're mentally incapacitated and just find a store?!"
I glanced around sheepishly, then dropped the cup back into the trash where it belonged.
"Mommy... I'm scared," a six-year old human whispered loudly from the bench a few feet away from us.
Grunt looked at her. The parent took the child and, with a frightened look at the krogan, darted away.
Abby started snickering.
"Mean teenagers who laugh at children, with a young adult and a krogan. What a lovely reputation on the Citadel," HK scoffed. "But uhh...lets go before we cause anymore trouble."
I actually found myself leading the way toward the nearest store, just so we could... get out of the open space. If this went on much longer, C-Sec might come after US, after all.
The store I ducked into appeared to be some sort of gift shop. My eyes widened as I noticed an assortment of polished stones and natural rocks inside of a glass showcase. Most of them appeared to be for sale.
"Hey Abby," I called out, assuming that the others had followed me in, "didn't you once tell me you'd love to have a celestite?" I pointed to a particularlly beautiful rock within the glass.
Abby stood behind me, peering over my shoulder. Her eyes went wide. "That's so pretty!"
"I'd love to stomp that into the ground. I doubt any human could..." Grunt remarked with a chuckle.
I gave him a look. "Come on, these are so beautiful and it probably took a long time to polish them!" I stated firmly.
"It takes a long time for parents to make a baby and care for it, but I'll kill it thirty years later anyway," Grunt retorted.
I pressed my lips into a thin line but said nothing. What was I supposed to say to that?
Abby burst out laughing. The owner of the shop, a turian, glanced at us concernedly. "Nice," she said appreciateivly.
I cleared my throat a little and leaned forward. "Could I take one of those?" I asked politely, pointing to a large cut diamond. I was pretty sure that we needed to re-assure the shop owner that we were here to shop, not to wreck the place or stand around talking. Besides... I was pretty sure I could afford it.
Abby wandered away towards the other side of the shop, admiring some stones from the asari homeworld of Thessia.
The turian shopkeeper bent down to reach inside of the display case and took out the cut stone. It was about an inch in diameter, and it glimmered like a shining star in the light of the room. "That will be five-thousand credits," he said. There was something about the way he said that that suggested he was thinking, "I want you to pay up before I'll let you touch it."
I handed over my newly aquired credit chit, so that he could withdraw the correct amount. He took it, studied it for a moment, then nodded. After a moment or two he handed it back to me. He then wrapped the diamond in a small, plastic packaging and slid it into a small bag, then handed it to me. "Pleasure doing business with you," he said, then glanced in the direction of the others.
Abby came back to the counter with a silver ring intricately threaded with shots of blue stone I didn't recognize. She handed it to the turian without a word and passed her credit chit over. The turian, even more thoroughly confused now, swiped it. Instead of handing it back to her, he studied the numbers on the card and manually typed them in, as if double-checking. "Do you have ID?" he asked.
Grunt leaned over the counter, fixing the clerk with a menacing glare.
"On second thought, here you go," he said, wrapping up the ring. He handed her the card and she stuffed it into her pocket, grinning. "Will you be... making any other purchases today?"
I chimed in in spite of myself. "Got any nice stones from the turian homeworld?" Hey, I couldn't resist.
The turian brought me to a special display case, watching closely by the krogan, who seemed to be enjoying it. The clerk was breaking into a metaphorical sweat, torn between protecting his back and making a sale to three high-rollers who obviously felt like spending some money. He pointed out a few larger, nicer looking stones, and gave me a brief history on them and how they were made. None of them had price tags, which I was automatically suspiscious about.
I eyed them carefully for a moment. I was intrigued by the stone in the center that he'd pointed out; it was kind of an odd shade of red, and appeared to be mostly crystal. Curious, I pointed to it and asked, "How much is that one?"
He wrote down a number and showed it to me. I blanched.
"Why the hell is it THAT much?" I couldn't help but blurt out.
"It's a precious stone," said the clerk, "and a rarity."
"Is it really rare?" I asked, feeling somewhere between awed and suspicious. If it really was rare... maybe it would be worth the price and it would be nice to have. Especially since it from the turian homeworld.
Abby appeared behind me and gazed at it. "It's okay-looking," she said nonchalantly.
The clerk's facial expression twitched ever so slightly. "It's a supreme rarity, I assure you. The carats in there alone--"
"Yeah," she said, "but what can you do with it? Are there any special properties?"
"It is extremely hard, having been made deep within Palavan's crust nearly three-hundred thousand years ago."
"Of course." She grinned when the clerk bristled.
"Lower the price on that crap or you die," Grunt threatened.
The clerk definitely twitched this time. "But I can't! And I can have security on you as quickly as you can pull out that shotgun, so you better not be making threats!"
"Grunt," I said, "please be quiet and let me handle this, okay?"
"If you want to be stupid and fall for this shit, then fine," Grunt growled with a shrug.
I just didn't want us to get into trouble. Of course I didn't say that aloud, though.
I turned to look at the stone again. I mulled it over in my mind for a moment, then I finally said, "Maybe I'll come back another time."
"Yeah, let's leave before we get arrested," Abby muttered.
The clerk glared at us with a mixture of fear and anger.
I stuffed my diamond into my pocket and hurried out through the front door, ushering the others to follow me. I figured we had caused enough trouble in that one store for one day. Maybe if we were lucky... that turian would forget about us within a few days or something.
Yeah right... that probably wasn't likely, considering what an odd group we were.
"So Grunt... anywhere you want to shop?" I asked over my shoulder, in spite of myself.
"Uh," HK interrupted before Grunt could say anything. "How about we go eat something first, before we continue our little trip across the Citadel?"
"Yeah, I'm starving," Grunt agreed.
"I wonder if I can get a fresh, puppy slushy," I commented aloud.
"Foooood," Abby agreed.
"So where should we go?" Grunt asked.
"Um...hmm," HK said, thinking for a moment. "There is that ramen place downstairs, in the lower Zakera wards."
"I like ramen noodles," I said positively, with a nod of agreement.
"Raaaamen," Abby agreed.
So it was more or less agreed by all of us. Grunt didn't really comment, although I wasn't sure if he even knew what ramen was.
A few minutes later we arrived at the place, where the Italian sounding human was positioned behind the counter. I noticed that he had a few helpers in the back, a couple of humans and even a turian. In some ways I sorta wondered if the turian felt at all repulsed to be working with human food... then again, for all I knew, maybe they served things that were okay for turians to eat, too.
As we gathered near the counter, I saw Grunt sniffing the air intently. There seemed to be a scowl growing on his face.
"I'll eat anything, but that just looks disgusting. Like worms," Grunt scoffed. "And I will eat almost anything, but not worms."
That sort of surprised me, because I thought that krogans might like worms... apparently they didn't mind eating raw fish or whatever. Unless maybe he just had... personal preference or a unique taste.
Or maybe he truly thought this stuff was worms, and it was turning him off of worms. I don't know.
"It's pasta," I told him, trying to clarify that fact.
Grunt just shook his head in complete disgust.
"Would you like it if we ask them to put some meatballs with it?" I asked with a little shrug.
"Hell no. I won't have any of that crap," Grunt answered.
"They have fish," Abby said, pointing to a few items on the menu. "It's raw. Would you like that?"
"Yeah, that'll be something worth tearing apart," Grunt nodded.
"So fish for the krogan, and what will the rest of you have?" the chef asked, approaching.
"I'm fine, just some water," HK answered.
"And you two?" the chef inquired, looking to Abby and I.
"Plain ramen noodles," I said simply, then looked at Abby. "And do you have... a rootbeer float?" I added after a second.
He shook his head. "Uh, no," he replied.
I frowned slightly. "Water then," I shrugged. "Please," I added quickly.
"I'll have the Pad See Ew, with beef, please," Abby said, pushing the menu away. "And some water, please."
I had no idea what she just said. Then again I was hardly an expert on pasta. I glanced over at Grunt, who was simply standing there... but I swear he had the glare of death in his eyes. He still seemed restless.
"You okay?" I asked him quietly. I wanted to know if we were at risk of him going on some sort of rampage through the Citadel halls... or whacking me on the head again. I scooted myself a couple of stools down the row at the counter, just to be on the safe side.
"I want to kill some dumbasses, but yeah, I'm fine," Grunt simply replied.
"You're... not gonna whack anybody on the head, are you?" I muttered aloud.
"If someone pisses me off, then hell yeah, but not for any other reason. I'd like to, but I don't want Shepard to get her panties bunched up if I happen to off some stupid bystander," Grunt answered.
Well, that was re-assuring... I guess.
A few minuntes later our food was served. It smelled delicious. HK sipped his water while Abby and I began to dig into our meals. I glanced toward Grunt... and I was mildly surprised to find that the dish of fish he'd been served was actually kind of... small. Well, I was certain it would fill me up, but for a krogan it would probably only be a small snack.
I glanced around me. "That gonna be enough for Grunt?" I commented out loud, to no one in particular.
"Yeah, lets get out of here," Grunt replied.
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Post by Marishal on Aug 7, 2010 21:00:05 GMT -5
I raised my eyebrows, surprised. Then I looked at Abby. "Um... should we take this to go?" I gestured at our half-eaten food. I was really trying my best to simply not piss off Grunt.
Abby held up one finger and hurriedly shoveled a quarter of the meal into her mouth. Sucking in the noodles, she nodded, mouth too full to speak, and gestured for me to talk to the cook.
I blinked at her, then I looked at the cook. "Um... here's my credit chit." I figured I would handle paying for the meal. I probably wasn't going to be able to spend all of these credits during the course of this mission anyway, even if I saw a ton of things I wanted.
Once the meal was paid for, the three of us moved away from the counter. I double-checked to make sure my chit was in my pocket, then I smiled casually at my friends--and Grunt. "So... where to next?" I asked.
Abby was hurriedly eating her meal out of her box with a plastic spoon, so I figured she wouldn't have a real answer. However, she took such a large swallow that I winced just hearing it and said, "We still need to get you some clothes!"
"Clothes?" I said, glancing down at myself. I decided it was more polite to ignore Abby's... present eating habits. "Guess I could use some." I never really stopped to think about it all that much, but... pretty much I just had a few Cerberus outfits, and technically, most of them were borrowed.
The clothes I was wearing right now were the ones that I had been wearing the day we showed up on the Normandy. The others I had borrowed from... well, Kelly. Not that she seemed to mind all that much.
"Yeah, sounds like a good idea," I finally said.
So we got some clothes, but decided to call it an early day when Grunt's temper nearly got the better of him and he pressed a small, human man against the wall of his store when Grunt decided he was too infuriating. Honestly, the man did kind of bring it on himself by pretending Grunt didn't exist while he fluttered around me, trying to sell me stuff I absolutely didn't need. In the end, I ended up with a few bags of clothes (all with a discount, surprisingly) and we were on the way back to the transit terminal when Shepard commed Grunt.
I didn't have a communicator on me, so I didn't hear what was said except that it made Grunt slightly more joyful than before. Thane, Shepard, and Garrus met us there.
"We're heading to find Sidonus," Commander Shepard said with a glance at me. "Grunt's with us, and Thane will escort you back to the ship."
That sounded good to me. I didn't want to spend any more time with Grunt anyway. And I really did like Thane a lot.
"Hey, Garrus?" I said suddenly, my mind taking note of the fact that they were going after Sidonis.
Garrus gave me one slow, unfathomable look. He shook his head. "No."
I scowled at him. "I wasn't going to ask to come," I stated, my tone dripping with irritation.
Garrus didn't seem to be in the mood to play games. He was about to confront the man who nearly cost him his life, and he was tense. "Sorry," he apologized. "Then what were you going to ask?"
I could tell he wasn't in a mood to talk much, and he was in a hurry. So I decided to be totally up front and blunt. "First of all I think you should take either HK or Abby with you. Maybe they can help you find a way to get in and out of there without having to fight too much... or maybe they can warn you what's up ahead, at least. And second..." I glanced down at the ground for a brief moment, feeling a little sheepish. Okay, so I still cared a lot about what happened, sue me. I quickly looked up, meeting his gaze again. "Once it's all done, promise me you'll tell me how it all went." I swallowed. "Please," I added quickly.
Garrus looked slightly taken aback by my request, but he offered one small nod. "Yeah... sure, I'd tell you. You deserve to know the outcome. There will only be one, though: Sidonus is going to die."
I slowly turned to look at Shepard, giving her a meaningful glance. "Maybe, maybe not," I said, still talking to Garrus. In some ways... I was trying to give Shepard as much of a hint as I could.
His facial things twitched in agitation. "Commander," he said, looking at Shepard, "is it possible to bring one of them with us?"
"Yes," Shepard said. She looked at us. "You both have your sidearms on you?"
Abby and HK nodded. I frowned. Where the heck were they hiding those?
"And the shield overlays?"
Again they both nodded. I was confused, now--was Shepard expecting them to get attacked again?
"So uh... who's going?" I slowly asked, looking right at Shepard.
"They are both capable," Thane said, enunciating his words slowly, measuring them carefully. "But they aren't fully recovered from their ordeal, neither of them. Their reactions are slower, their walk more shuffled comparing them to the videos you showed me of their training, Commander. I would recommend patience."
"No," Garrus said flatly. "Sidonus is out there now, Commander, and if we wait we're only allowing him to escape." He threw a wild look at Abby and HK. Taking a deep breath and calming himself, Garrus said in a marginally more controlled voice, "We'll cover them, Commander. They won't be in any more danger with us than they would be if they were fit to fight."
Abby threw me an apologetic glance at me, then HK. She took a step foreword. "I'll go," she said, biting her lip. Her jaw was working. "I can do it."
Garrus nodded. He seemed satisfied.
Commander Shepard, though, was not. "I don't like this," she said, frowning deeply. "Your heart is in the right place, but I can't trust you to hold your own yet. I'm sorry, but the answer is--"
"Commander," Garrus said urgently. "Please. For me. Just this once--please."
Shepard exchanged a look with Thane, pursed her lips, and finally said, "Thane... take Sarah and HK back to the Normandy."
"Uh, I'll go, too. We can balance each other out in the fighting department. It'll be like having one of us at full health...I guess?" HK said, sounding not totally sure of what he was saying. "But if you'll have me, I'll come along, too."
Abby frowned--apparently she'd only volunteered so he wouldn't. Shepard sighed. "Okay," she said, sounding defeated. "Tactically, this fails," she said. "But if this works... well. Thane, Sarah: see you on the Normandy."
"'bye," Abby said wryly, looking at me with a guilty expression. She hurried after Shepard, who had begun to walk away towards the rental car station.
HK followed them as well.
I watched them go. Part of me still felt bad that I wasn't going, especailly since I'd spent so dang much time talking to Garrus about Sidonis, and... whatever the heck else.
But this also made me think about something else. It was something that I had been contemplating in the back of my mind for a while now... ever since, well, what happened nearly a week ago.
I glanced at Thane, who simply made a "shall we?" gesture toward the shuttle. Either that or it could have been a "ladies' first" gesture for all I knew. Either way, I simply nodded and moved inside the shuttle, taking a seat. He sat down in the seat across from me. I couldn't tell if he wanted to talk or if he simply felt like meditating. But he was looking at me, so I figured that it might be a good opportunity to talk.
"Thane," I said aloud, making certain I had his attention--his gaze locked onto me, although I was pretty sure he had been looking in my general direction anyway. "Can I say something?"
"Certainly," Thane said, inclining his head.
"Well," I murmured, sitting back in my seat a bit. I heard the sound of the engines powering up, and the shuttle shifted just a bit under our feet as we began to pull out of the docking port. I had no idea who was flying, but... it was probably the same person who flew Garrus and Shepard down in the first place.
I was silent for a moment, trying to gather my thoughts. "I'm sure you... heard about how I left the cockpit of the Normandy during that mission to save HK and Abby," I began. I then looked at him intently. I was trying to gauge how he felt about what happened, and what his thoughts were. Or if he said nothing much, I would just press on with what I wanted to say. Either way... I just wanted to get this out, somewhere. And Thane seemed to have a good, listening ear.
Thane merely sat, waiting for me to continue.
I cleared my throat softly, then went on. "Well yeah... I didn't really leave the cockpit because I had a nosebleed. I mean... yes I did have a nosebleed, but at the same time..." I pressed my lips together in a thin line, looking at him again.
He simply continued to sit there, obviously intent on listening, but silent. So I simply decided to launch into what I wanted to say.
"Frankly, when this mission first started--I mean, when we first got yanked into this whole adventure, the day me, Abby and HK ended up on the Normandy... it was so scary at first. And I was sure that I was going to die. I mean, at least HK and Abby could defend themselves. And I even acted like a jerk for a while until I found a purpose on the ship; I began to clean and cook.
"So," I continued, "well... I was kind of looking out for myself a whole lot. I was nervous when people went out on missions, but they always came back okay. Sometimes they were not in the greatest shape in the world, but they were alive and Dr. Chakwas could always patch them up." I paused, thinking briefly of that scar Abby had on her face. Where did she get that again? Was it during Jack's recruition mission? I shoved the thought aside; it was irrelevent. "So I guess I have been taking for granted that people are gonna go on dangerous missions, but they'll keep on coming back... more or less in one peice, because it's always happened so far.
"Anyway," I went on, "well... let's just say that one of my... visions showed me a possible future; I could get captured by Collectors, and die. So I decided to go on another mission, and Shepard let me go to Haestrom, but that went so terribly. So it feels like... I might die one way or another. Because I almost did on Haestrom."
I paused for another breath, taking a moment to gather my thoughts again, then I proceeded with my speech. "But you know... when Abby and HK got captured? That was NOT supposed to happen. And when everybody left the ship to go rescue them..." I pressed my lips together again, inhaling deeply through my nostrils. "I had almost been able to forget what happened on Haestrom, when I almost died... and Shepard was making me watch everything, and it was sorta like being on another mission. I guess part of me felt... scared, even though I was on the safety of the Normandy the entire time.
"And," I went on, "well... this was the first time that... nothing in my 'visions' could tell me what was going to happen. I was worried that you or Shepard or one of the others would get badly hurt, and I was afraid that HK or Abby had been badly hurt. I didn't want to see that. I wanted to see you guys when you came back to the ship, safe and sound, or under Chakwas' care. I didn't want to see one of you DIE right in front of me. So when I got a nosebleed... I used that as an excuse to leave my post. Because... I didn't feel like I could handle it."
I leaned back in my seat again, not realizing I had leaned forward toward Thane. I felt a little embarrassed by that, and sheepish about... well, pouring out my heart so much. But... there, I said it. And I did feel a little better about it.
"There is a tale among my people," Thane said softly, breaking his silence for the first time, "about a male. We never knew his name because records were not kept that well such a long time ago. When we lived on our home planet, in the beginning, before the hanar uplifted us, this man was invisible. He was timid and afraid, though his heart was in the right place.
"I won't say that we are the peaceful people your species tend to think we are--we've had wars. Plague. Suffering equal or even surpassing the kind you're ancestors endured on Earth. This man was called upon to fight, but as soon as he saw the action he would run away. Hide in fear, waiting for it to be over. And then...
"Then he saw the carnage and destruction of war firsthand. He journied to the Sunset Seas and knelt upon their shores. It was a very holy place for us, where we would contact Kalihira, goddess of the ocean and the afterlife. He asked her if she may spare those around him from the carnage of war, and Kalihira replied that he must prove that he is worth listening to, for he was a coward and she does not take kindly to those who shirk from their duties.
"And so this man prays to Arashu, the protector, and asks her if she would watch over his actions. Arashu did not answer his prayers, because she agreed with Kalihira. The man prayed to the rest of the gods, but there was no other answer. He had only Kalihira's word to go upon. And so he took his spear and he took his supplies and rejoined those who called upon his help. They paid no attention to him and would not talk to him, and he knew he had disappointed them. He wrote down his story in a journal, detailing his plans to help win this war, and left.
"Until then he had been a coward, afraid of death and battle. He simply cared too much about those around him. Instead of leaving the army as he did before, he rejoined at another location. He trained and trained and put his skills to good use. He was never a mighty warrior, never somebody as smart as those who ranked above him, but he made up for it with committment and passion. Because he cared, because he accepted the risks that were upon him just like the others had. Because he had learned never to ask somebody to do something that he wasn't willing to do himself."
Thane leaned back in his seat, still staring at me with those strange, glassy eyes of him. "He enabled the hero of the story, Lenot, to win the war. He was never mentioned until after his death, not even by Lenot. Only when his journal was uncovered did we realize the role he had played in the entire war. And so his name still is not known, Lenot and all who fought with him are dead, and his story is one of the most well-known among our children today."
Thane wasn't done speaking, yet. I'd never seen him talk so much. "Humans have a saying... 'Rise up and rise up again, until lambs become lions.' If you give up now, while we all still depend on you, even if it is a minute dependance at best, you will continue to stay a lamb for the rest of your life until the end, when all of your various mistakes come crashing down on your shoulders and grief takes your heart so suddenly it is hard to breathe."
Thane bowed his head, and was finally silent.
I stared at him for a long moment. I had a feeling that I was probably going to be thinking over--and trying to process--everything he'd just said for hours, maybe even days.
Finally, I decided to speak again. "Thanks for telling me about that," I said genuinely, giving him an inclination of my head--somewhere between a bow and a nod. "You know... there's always been something that I've struggled with. It's like, well..."
I paused, wondering if I should even say it. But he seemed like a wonderful listener... and it seemed like it was my turn to talk again. I guess.
"I hate making mistakes and I hate disappointing people," I finally blurted. "And I'm not sure if I'll ever stop feeling that way because I think it's just part of my nature. But when it happens, I feel like I just want to wipe it away somehow or make it so it never happened. But that's impossible because it did happen, and everybody will always remember it. So," I shrugged, "I guess I'm not really sure how to move past some things, so to speak."
"Letting go of the past is something each of us struggles with on a day-to-day basis," he said. "But those mistakes shape us and mold us into the being our gods had always envisioned us becoming. Embrace every mistake as proof of your existance in this life... you're..." His lips shaped around the word with difficulty. "Humanity. Use them to become aware."
I shook my head slightly, gazing downward at my shoes. It was then that I realized our purchases had been tipped over by my feet. I bent down to put them back into their parcels, and I made a mental note to put everything we had bought in the room that me, HK and Abby shared as soon as I got back to the Normandy. "You make it sound like making mistakes is a good thing," I finally said as I finished straightening the bags and carefully shoving them aside.
"Mistakes in everyday life are common," he said. "That's why you train yourself. Over, and over, and over, until your reactions become so much a part of your muscle memory that a mistake to you would not be a mistake to anybody else. For example..." His lips quirked in a small smile. "I have difficulty adjusting to dining in the mess hall among others. Recently, I took my food into my quarters, preventing me from building the strong social relations that are needed for the completition of the mission. A mistake anybody could make, but it seems larger to me than it would to you, perhaps, or Shepard. I also accidentally put the dishes in the trash, thinking it was a hanar version of a dishwasher. I expect that is why you took so long in arriving. But when I fight, I fight as I train--hard, accurate, and relentlessly. When I fight... when I kill, the mistakes I make are so tiny that nobody would notice them but me. And so I correct it and move on. Mistakes are nothing but a learning experiance. About yourself and your mandate in life."
I thought over his words, then nodded a little. "Yeah, makes sense," I agreed. "Though sometimes I wish mistakes didn't have to happen. It would be nice if we could just be perfect from the start." I laughed a little, though it wasn't very heartfelt.
"Some would argue that it is the pursuit of knowledge that gives meaning to life," Thane pointed out. "Being perfect from the start of creation would be unnatural."
I was too tired to get into a religious or philosophical discussion, so I simply chose to nod. "Yeah, makes sense," I said simply, and gazed out the window.
Thane simply looked at me, then closed his eyes, sliding into meditation. It seemed to be all he would say on the matter.
I peered at him for a long moment, then I rested my head against the back of the seat. I guess I would just relax too, until we got back to the Normandy. Shouldn't be much longer now anyway.
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Post by Marishal on Aug 11, 2010 19:14:03 GMT -5
(HK)
After leaving Sarah and Thane behind, we had gone about the usual routines of Garrus's loyalty mission: Go to Bailey and talk to him about Fade, then start to head down to the lower levels where Fade was.
And throughout all of that time, my mind couldn't stray from how Garrus's emotions were right now. It was very similar to in the game: He was more bent on revenge than ever before, and was ready to kill Sidonis. The Garrus we all knew and wanted to change.
However, it seemed so much more in-depth, being right next to him. I could see the fire in his eyes when he glanced at us. The hurt, the pain, the anger, the need for blood. It almost matched up to Grunt's thirst for death and action.
Almost.
I wondered if Shepard would let Sidonis die or bring Garrus back to his senses and let the turian live; maybe I was biased, but letting Sidonis die was a cold choice that cemented Garrus's outlook on life and death for eternity. Since ME3 has yet to come out, we won't know what he'll be like there, but I doubted that it would be any different if you killed Sidonis and went on your merry way.
When we made this bizarre wish, we wanted Shepard to be a Paragon. And all things considered, she had been. Renegade Shepard would have flayed us alive or held us captive for days after we bursted on to her ship. However, some of what she did and said was still unexpected, especially because she was Shepard. We didn't control her anymore, we could only guess at what she would do.
And she had ignored Billy on Purgatory. She let Daniel die on Omega, though to her credit, she did try to save him. It just wasn't enough. I hoped that letting an old friend murder a turian, no matter how cowardly he had been, crossed the line for her.
We can focus on that after we deal with this. Before the choice comes, we have to get through Harkin and all of his thugs and mechs.
All five of us walked through the door that led into that storage area, or whatever it was, in the lower Zakera Ward. We looked around, and saw two krogan just standing there, watching us. A few seconds later, that volus contact approached.
"Fade? You're not quite how I imagined you," Shepard commented.
"Looks can be decieving," the contact retorted. "So, which one of you wants to disappear?"
"I wish you would make someone reappear," Garrus replied.
"Ah...that is not the service we provide."
Garrus pulled out his rifle within an instant, like it was nothing new. And, in truth, it wasn't. "Make an exception. Just this once."
The volus began to get alarmed. "Damn it! Quick, shoot them! Shoot them you lumberi-"
Shepard and her two party members opened fire on the two krogan, sending them down within seconds. The volus stared at them for a moment in shock, then turned back to us. "Why do I even bother?"
Well, I see they enjoyed handling this the Renegade way.
Abby was looking at the corpses of the krogan with detached amusement. Since our capture I'd noticed she'd had less patience with krogan than ever before, even though Grunt was an exception. Her lips quirked in a small smile.
"We're looking for someone. A client of yours," Shepard continued, walking up closer to the volus.
This was always where the volus reached his limit and was ready to confess. "Not mine! I'm not Fade! I just work for him, sort of."
"I knew it," Shepard said, stepping back and looking at Garrus.
Garrus walked up to the contact, and crouched down. "Well then maybe you'd like to tell us where to find him."
Garrus grabbed the volus by the collar, and the contact began hurriedly speaking. "Y-Yes, of course! He's in the factory district, works out of the old prefab foundry."
"I know the place," Garrus told the rest of us.
He released the contact, and he turned to walk away. "Uh...he's got a lot of mercs there. Blue Suns. Harkin thinks they're protecting him."
"Harkin? What's he doing in all of this?" Shepard asked.
"I'll explain on the way," Garrus answered.
Sarah.
That was all that needed to be addressed about that.
"So I..I can go?" the contact asked.
"Sure, but if we don't find Harkin, we'll be back for you," Garrus coldly answered.
The volus turned away. "Oh, good," he stated.
"Harkin's an ass," Abby stated, "but he's got a lot of hired muscle. Some heavy mechs, LOKI mechs, Blue Suns. The whole menegerie of troops. It'll be fun."
"Why yes, getting into another near-death incident will be tons of good fun and laughing," I sarcastically remarked, as we all whirled around and began to walk out of the room.
"Whatever the case, Sidonis will soon be dead," Garrus vowed.
------
After getting on a transport cab, or speeder, or whatever they were called, we headed right for the Zakera factory district. The ride was silent and solemn; Garrus just seemed to want to kill Sidonis, Shepard looked to be getting more concerned for him, and Grunt was probably just waiting to murder all the people that worked for Harkin.
Garrus didn't bother asking us about the mission, either. Sarah had likely told him every single detail about it.
The cab landed, and we all jumped out to see Harkin up ahead, with a few Blue Suns mercs.
"There he is," Shepard said.
Harkin looked at us in confusion and shock. "Shepard?" he said aloud. He looked to his mercs. "Don't just stand there, stop them! Stop them!"
"Run all you want, Harkin, we'll find you!" Garrus shouted.
We all darted for cover, and I made sure my rifle was loaded, before peeking back up. I took a shot at one Blue Suns merc, and he immediately fired back, but luckily I dodged it just in time.
Grunt charged out, Claymore in his hands, and ran over the nearest man. "Raaaaaaaah!!!" he yelled. I didn't bother to see how that played out, because there would only be one ending to that story.
Garrus squeezed off a few rounds and the other man did a stuttering dance, falling to the ground in a limp mass. "Wooohooo!" Abby yelled, grinning. "Good one!"
"Well, that took care of that," I commented, standing as we all prepared to enter the next room.
We did so, and at first, everything seemed calm. Shepard grabbed a few supplies off random desks and tables, but as we prepared to round a corner, a mech carrier opened, and shots were fired at us.
I felt a couple piece my armor, but thankfully, they didn't hit me anywhere. I darted for cover, like everyone else, and took several good shots at the mechs. One went down, while Grunt smashed another into pieces. Abby took out the last one on her own, but there wasn't any time to stop and breathe, because more mercs approached from the front.
Shepard did not say a word or look at one of us, but quickly threw her rifle behind her back, and the next thing I knew, her grenade launcher was out. She blew the mechs up within four or five seconds, using that heap of firepower.
"You're gonna need that," Abby said loudly, taking cover behind one of the many cargo boxes. "Save that ammo for the heavy mechs!" She flinched, covering her ears, when Shepard unleashed a shockwave of pure biotic energy. Three more LOKI mechs were taken out, but the aftershock of energy acted like a strong shove, sending Abby to the ground.
"Incoming," she said calmly, staring up at the ceiling. I glanced up, too, and noticed that small cargo-carriers were dropping more mechs on our position.
Grunt barked out a laugh. "Is that all he's got?" he bellowed, raising his Claymore.
Abby sprinted for cover across the small path made by the cargo containers, taking up position beside Garrus and I. "Grunt, take point," Shepard said, reloading. She appeared next to us. "Garrus, take the rear."
I thought Shepard might have been trying to stop Garrus from making irrational choices, but when he took out his sniper rifle I understood--he was a better long-range fighter than any of us.
Shepard and Grunt charged on ahead, systematically taking out the resistance. Abby and I followed behind.
We fired a few shots at the mechs, or the few mercs that were around, that we could, but it was mostly everyone else doing all the work. Before we could even fire at a mech, one of the three others had taken it out.
They were almost better than they were in the game.
It didn't take long at all for this group to be devoured, and we all pressed on, into the next area.
"Harkin's in here somewhere. I can smell him," Garrus declared.
"Good to know," I muttered.
We rounded another corner, and the mercs up ahead spotted us. The mechs started calling out attack protocols, while missiles and biotics and bullets were all launched at us. I ran up onto an upper platform, taking cover behind some boxes, and when there wasn't a barrage of various attacks coming at me, I came out of hiding and shot furiously at a few mercs.
Grunt charged once again, literally devouring our opponents in a number of ways. Garrus continued his snipering tactics, while Shepard pretty much performed every kind of attack you could think of.
We pressed forward as more fell, but there was still chaos going on all around us.
We slid into cover behind Shepard, who was taking a quick breather while Grunt and Garrus took care of the rest of them. "Tell me, off the record" she said in a low voice, "just how bad is this going to be for him?"
Abby shot me a questioning look. I just nodded. "There are two ways this can go--you can kill Sidonis or not. Personally, I think that if you killed Sidonis it would be worse for Garrus in the long run. Let him live, and Garrus finally begins to forgive himself."
"Indeed," I agreed. "Killing Sidonis won't do much for Garrus. Not as much as letting him live will. It'll be behind him, either way, but if Sidonis lives, Garrus will finally come out of this strange state he's been in, about killing and all that."
Shepard nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."
She stood, making an upward motion with her hand, and the six or so cargo containers offering shelter to a group of Blue Suns rose in the air, giving grunt ample oppertunity to sate his bloodrage.
-~-~-
"Aw, crap." Garrus didn't sound happy, and Abby and I immediately knew why. "Two heavy mechs incoming!"
Abby turned right back around and climbed on top of the higher cover, motioning for me to do the same. "Shep," she said, activating her communicater since the Commander wouldn't be able to hear her over the gunfire, "we're going to stay up here, there's not enough room for all five of us down there."
Shepard nodded, looking at us from down below, and said something to Garrus. He ran to the other side of the pack, staying low. I could see the heavy mechs taking aim. They opened up with their automatic weapons, and I saw a few glance off of the turian's bullets before he slid smoothly into cover. At the same time, Shepard had run off in the complete opposite direction, jumping up the small ledge and hitting cover before the two mechs could so much as compute the problem.
Grunt, being Grunt, stayed right where he was.
Abby activated her omni-tool, a gift from Mordin before her mission to Purgatory, and typed in a command. She stood, exposing herself to enemy fire for a few minutes while her omni-tool made the connection. I had to fight the urge to pull her back down into cover when she stumbled back a few steps, reeling from the kinetic weight of the bullets pounding into her shields.
She knelt back down, pale and unsteady. "Left guy's shields are down, Shep!"
"Whoa. Maybe I didn't pl-see enough in my visions, but I thought only Kasumi could do that," I commented, shocked, while Shepard pounded into the left heavy mech.
Abby still looked pale and unsteady on her feet, breathing heavily. We both hadn't fully recovered from our ordeal yet, and I felt weaker and more fatigued than I was used to. "Mordin had an upgrade for me. Kind of like a bad-ass Overload, it short-circuits the shields or something, I don't know. It works pretty well with the heavy mechs."
"Are you alright?" I asked. I didn't feel well, but she looked a little worse off. "I can't have you falling unconscious right in the middle of a battle like this, or you'll be scrubbing the floors with Sarah until the suicide mission."
"Oh please," she grumbled. "You're talking to the lady who stayed up playing games with an idiot boy the night before her blackbelt test at 5AM the next morning." She peeked over cover. Shepard seemed to be making short work of the heavy mech she'd stripped the shields off of. "Fun fun."
I looked over as well, and saw Garrus and Grunt turning to the other mech. It wasn't letting up, throwing missiles and firing it's machine gun like everything. We continued to wait, making sure we were down so the mech didn't spot us. It wasn't long before we heard Shepard join in on the second fight, after an explosion was heard.
"This is the worst part of his mission," I muttered to Abby.
She nodded fervently. "Time to hit Harkin, then we can rest."
We both stood once Shepard and the two finished off the mech, and she looked up to us, motioning for us to follow them. We immediately ran after the group, and I could tell just by his body language that Garrus was getting more and more tense; more and more ready to beat Harkin to a pulp and kill Sidonis.
I cringed.
"You'll never make it!" Harkin shouted, as we approached the center of his lair.
That still doesn't make sense. We beat two heavy mechs with no problem and he thinks small LOKI mechs are a problem?
Everyone, including Abby and I, opened fire on the LOKI Mechs. A minute went by, and they were down for the count. With that, Garrus glanced at all of us, and Shepard just nodded at him.
"I'm going around to intercept him incase he tries to run," Garrus simply said, before darting off.
I sighed, looking at Abby again. "Oh dear."
"Hurry," she whispered, jumping down the small cargo platform we'd been using as cover. She followed closely behind Shepard, and after a moment I did, too. She, Grunt, Abby, and I climbed up the various platforms, silent except for our heavy breathing, and it was Shepard and Abby who reached the top first.
They moved in on the open door, their weapons already aimed; a small heat haze seemed to wrap Shepard's body, which I instantly recognized as a biotic charging their powers up.
Just as I climbed the last platform, behind Grunt, I heard Harkin snort. "You were close, Shepard," he said, and I knew he must be preparing to run. "But not close eno--ung!" There was a commotion, and then Garrus spoke:
"So, Fade, couldn't make yourself disappear, huh?" he hissed. I walked into the room, my pistol drawn, in time to see Garrus slam Harkin to the wall, pinning him there by his throat.
"Come on, Garrus," Harkin said, a small smile on his face. It didn't hide the fear we could all see in his eyes. "We can work this out. Whaddya need?"
Garrus observed him for one second, then let him go. Turning around, he glanced at us, then at the wall. Abby and Grunt, on Shepard's silent orders, moved across the room to stand guard over the only other exit. "I'm looking for someone," Garrus said.
Harkin stretched out his shoulders, popping his neck "Well... looks like we both got something the other one wants."
Garrus turned right back around and got in his face, his expression hard. Then, in one swift movement, he plunged his hard, armored turian knee right into the man's testicles. I winced automatically; Grunt chuckled appreciatively.
"That had to hurt," Shepard said dryly. "Maybe you should just tell us what we want to know."
Harkin struggled to his feet. "I still don't know what you want to know!" he growled, slightly hunched over. I was kind of impressed--he'd taken that knee hard.
"You helped a friend of mine disappear," Garrus stated. "I need to find him."
"I'll need more info than that."
"His name is Sidonis, he came from the--"
"I know who he is!" Harking snapped, "and I ain't telling you squat."
"Is that information really worth all the trouble?" Shepard asked sweetly.
"I don't give out client information, it's bad for business." Harkin's back was against the wall, now. He wasn't going to be going anywhere.
Garrus moved faster than I had imagined, gripping Harkin's head with both hands and kneeing him in the stomach. Harkin dropped to the ground, groaning, and Garrus placed one foot on his throat. "You know what else is bad for business?" he demanded. "A broken neck!"
"Uggggh! Urrrgh! Get off me, you crazy turian! All right, all right, get the hell offa me!"
Garrus and Shepard exchanged a look, and then they both looked at me. I nodded, and Garrus released his hold.
"Living out there in the Terminus really changed you, huh Garrus?" Harkin whispered, sitting up.
"No, but Sidonis... opened my eyes," Garrus muttered. "Now arrange a meeting."
Harkin was left to stumble to his feet, and I watched, feeling just a little bad for him. I knew exactly what a strike from Garrus felt like thanks to our training sessions, and it wasn't a forgettable feeling. I glanced at Abby, but she was looking intently at Harkin, a frown on her face.
"I'm going," Harkin muttered. He limped over to the communications relay and opened up a link. "Hey, it's me," he said in a morose tone of voice. "There's a chance your identity may be compromised. That's why I'm calling. I'm sending an agent. Where do you want to meet?"
Garrus had taken out his pistol and was looking it over with a benign expression. He exchanged a glance with Shepard, who looked at him impassively.
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry, I got it covered," Harkin said. He clicked out of the link and turned to look at Garrus. "He wants to meet with you in front of Orbital Lounge, middle of the day. So if that's all, I'll be going..."
"Oh I don't think so," Garrus said, gripping the front of Harkin's shirt and pulling him closer. "You're a criminal now, Harkin. I can't just let you run free."
"So what, you gonna kill me?" he challenged. "That's not your style, Garrus..."
I cringed as Garrus spoke again. "Kill you? No, but I don't mind slowing you down a little," Garrus said, taking out his rifle.
Shepard, please stop him.
Shepard jumped forward and grabbed Garrus's arm. Garrus looked at her in shock.
"You don't need to do that," Shepard told him firmly. "Let C-sec handle him."
Garrus scowled, then shook her off. She took a couple of steps back, eyeing him warily. Then Garrus turned back to look at Harkin. "I guess this is your lucky day," he told him dryly.
Harikin appeared relieved--until Garrus's knee shot up and kicked him firmly between the legs.
"Come on," Shepard said to all of us, turning her back completely on Harkin and pointedly walking away. Her movements and her body language all said the same thing without her having to say it: Let's go, we're done here.
"I didn't shoot him," Garrus said in dry amusement as he followed after Shepard.
Abby and I exchanged a relieved, happy look. I walked behind Shepard and Garrus, feeling pretty good, when I heard a grunt of pain and a chuckle from Grunt. I twisted around, looking back, and noticed Abby standing over the prone figure of Harkin. He seemed to be knocked out. "And that was for flirting with Shepard two years ago," she said, grinning, but he was beyond hearing.
"I like this one," Grunt rumbled.
"Abby!" Shepard's voice was sharp. "What do you think gives you the right to kick the man while he's down?"
Abby blanched, surprised. "If we alert C-Sec they'll catch him," she said, sounding slightly hurt. "Okay? I'm just trying to help--"
"I don't care," Garrus said, walking past us all. "I just want Sidonis."
~-~-~-
Grunt and I followed Garrus right to the catwalk. He was carrying his sniper rifle, and was fully prepared to off Sidonis. It had been a very intense ride over here. Abby and I knew what was about to happen, and that Shepard had to save Sidonis. Shepard had also spoken to Garrus, explaining how this wasn't him, and she wouldn't let a situation like this change her too much.
"Ga-Garrus," I began slowly. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"I have to," Garrus replied coldly, setting the sniper rifle up. "For my men."
"No, you don't have to," I told him. It was Shepard's place to convince him not to do this, but I felt the desperate need to try. "Sidonis can live, if you just let-"
Garrus turned to glare at me. "Don't start in on me," he told me in an emotionless, but very firm, tone. "I already have Shepard and Sarah on my ass about this fiasco. I just want Sidonis dead, and there's been a whole mess of trouble before it. You two don't need to get any more involved, either."
"Yeah, just let him kill the guy," Grunt encouraged.
I frowned. "If you wish..." I trailed off.
Abby was conspiciously absent, and when I turned around to look for her I noticed that she was behind a car a few rows down, stroking her chin. I gave her an inquisitive look, and she shook her head, holding up one finger. I followed the finger and saw that she was pointing at Shepard.
She slowly came up to me, still watching Shepard make her way through the promenade, and Garrus had already begun to set up. "Told Shep not to let Garrus take the shot," she muttered to me, too low for Garrus to hear.
Garrus finished setting up his rifle, making certain that the nozzle and the sights were extended properly. Then he leaned over the railing with his skilled hands touching the weapon with ease. He peered through the scope, aiming the weapon like the pro he was.
"There he is," Garrus said softly into his commlink, alerting Shepard. His left eye, which was peering through the scope, remained on his target. "Wave him over and keep him talking."
I looked out in the direction where Abby had pointed a moment ago and I saw Shepard. I couldn't see her as clearly as Garrus could through his scope, but I could make out her armor. I saw her raise her arm, gesturing for a turian--one seated on a nearby bench--to come toward her.
The green-skinned turian came closer, stopping just in front of Shepard. There was no way I could hear what they were saying.
"You're in my shot," Garrus whispered. "Move to the side."
I looked out toward Shepard and Sidonis, knowing that Abby was doing the same. Shepard did not move.
A moment later, Garrus's eyes widened with outrage. Apparently he had heard something through the commlink--something only his ears could hear. And it had angered him. "Damnit Shepard!" he said angrily. "If he moves I'm taking the shot!" His hands tightened around his sniper rifle.
I glanced out again--I could see Sidonis begin to move, but Shepard reached out and grabbed him. Sidonis flinched away, then stood perfectly still. Apparently he had been adequately warned by Shepard that his life was in danger.
"Oh dear," Abby muttered.
Garrus was more tense than I'd ever seen him before. I thought I saw a hint of something on his face--he might have felt a little betrayed, but it was difficult to tell with his head down and his eye pressed against his scope.
I looked out and saw Shepard and Sidonis moving. Actually Sidonis was moving, but Shepard was moving along beside him to continue blocking the shot.
"Everyone has a choice!" Garrus snapped suddenly into his commlink, obviously responding to a conversation only he could hear. "Let me take the shot, Shepard. He's a damn coward!"
Another moment of silence passed. Shepard still seemed to be talking. Sidonis was still talking too, apparently.
Then all of a sudden, Shepard backed away, and she almost seemed to look directly at Garrus, somehow locking her eyes with his through his scope, perhaps. She was obviously saying something.
Garrus stared through his scope. He had a clear shot of Sidonis now. His mandibles tensed and he blinked a couple of times, then lowered his head. His resolve had faltered, and he seemed... unsure of himself. He also seemed frustrated and angry.
"Just tell him to go," Garrus finally said into his commlink. He hadn't lowered his weapon... much. But he was no longer looking through the scope. It was almost as though he couldn't bear to keep looking at whatever he was seeing through it at the moment. And I had a feeling it was more than simply Shepard's eyes.
In response to his words, Sidonis glanced up, in our direction. After a moment he turned and walked away. Shepard cast him one last look, then turned and walked in the opposite direction--back toward us.
She was coming back.
"Ah crap, you didn't kill him. Wuss," Grunt commented.
Garrus shot him a look, then turned back to look in the direction that Sidonis had gone. He stared straight ahead until the other turian's retreating form vanished from sight. "There was still good in him," he finally murmured. It sounded like he was talking to himself more than to anyone else. "And Sarah was right," he added, in an even quieter tone.
"Um," I muttered, looking to Abby for a moment, then to Garrus. "What did Sarah say, exactly?"
"That whatever the outcome, I'd be satisfied either way," he muttered. "But I'm not sure... I don't think I'm satisfied yet. I'll never forgive him."
"I...I see. I understand, but you'll be glad that you didn't kill him. I promise," I told him.
We headed back for the shuttle, and Shepard was already arriving there. Garrus rushed towards her, and the typical game conversation began.
"I know you want to talk about this, but I don't. Not yet," Garrus told her.
Shepard sighed. "I know this didn't go the way you planned, but I think it's for the best."
"I'm not so sure..." Garrus said uncertainly, glancing at us.
"Give it time," Shepard said to him.
"Yeah, maybe that'll be enough," Garrus said, looking to Shepard again. "I want to know I did the right thing. Not just for me, but for my men. They deserve to be avenged, but when Sidonis was in my sights...I just couldn't do it."
Which is confusing, as you have no problem doing it in the Renegade playthrough. But ah well, good to know at least.
"The lines between good and evil blur when we're looking at people we know," Shepard explained to her close friend.
"Yeah," Garrus agreed. "There was still good in him. I could see it. It's so much easier to see the world in black and white. Gray...I don't know what to do with gray."
"You've got to go with your instincts," Shepard said.
"My instincts are what got me into this mess."
"Don't be too hard on yourself," Shepard told him, giving him a brief pat on the arm.
"Thanks, Shepard, for everything," Garrus said to his old friend. He looked to Abby and I. "And to you two, too. And even...Sarah."
"Oh I'm sure it was no trouble," I told him.
"Lets get going. I need some distance from this place," Garrus said, walking past Shepard.
"I'm with you," Shepard said, following him.
I just shook my head, as Grunt brushed past us, and followed as well. Abby and I walked to the speeder, too, and I felt some relief. This loyalty quest was finished, and had come to the right conclusion, no doubt. Garrus was more whole again, and Sarah probably wouldn't reveal quite as much to others as she had to him.
Overall, this was a success.
(Sarah)
I was one happy beaver when everyone returned to the ship. It meant that Garrus was finished dealing with Sidonis, one way or another, and we didn't have to worry about that anymore.
Somehow... I didn't really care anymore that I had not been able to go on that mission myself. Knowing how things usually went when I was around, they probably had a much higher chance of succeeding without me anyway.
I greeted everyone warmly as they came through the airlock. Shepard simply gave me a nod and walked off, no doubt intent on getting back to the business at hand--or maybe she had something she needed to do. I couldn't tell. I did want to talk to her, but it was a private matter anyway. I did not wish to speak to her here.
I glanced at Garrus for a moment. He looked at me, then simply nodded and walked off as well. I couldn't be sure but I think he had a "we'll talk later" look. Maybe he just didn't want to talk out here in public... or maybe he still needed time to process what happened. Or maybe both.
So I focused on both HK and Abby. I grinned at them, then hugged them both. "How did it go?" I asked, looking from one to the other. Frankly... I did want to hear it from them first before I went to talk to Garrus about it.
Abby gave a thumbs up and winked. "Paragon, baby."
"It went the good way, like it probably should," HK assured me. "And like usual, Garrus is just a little shaken after the entire thing, but I think he's grateful. To all of us, including you."
I found myself smiling. I felt... glad and relieved that Garrus had not shot him.
I... kind of wanted to just give Garrus a chance to think things over or whatever, so I asked my two friends if they wanted to get something to eat.
Once we were down in the mess hall, we got some lunch and I listened as Abby told us the finer details of everything that happened down there, including how she took down a mech's shields all on her own. HK filled in any details that needed to be filled in. I simply sat, listened, and ate my food for the most part. I was more in a mood to listen than to talk. Plus you couldn't really eat your food if you were spending a lot of time talking.
After about an hour or so, we parted ways. I think HK and Abby each wanted to take a shower or whatever, and well... I did have some stuff to do. I had finished most of my chores aboard the ship, but I still had a few things I needed to do.
But... I decided that those could wait, just a little bit. There were a couple of people I wanted to talk to first. And one of them was Garrus.
So I made my way down to the gunnery, and simply walked in through the door without announcing myself. Garrus had his back turned to me--he was standing over the console. I couldn't tell if he was intently working on something or if he was simply lost in thought. I stood there quietly for a long moment, waiting to see if he would notice me on his own.
Garrus turned around, and finally saw me. "Ah, Sarah. It's, uh, good to see you. I guess you've heard how the mission went?"
I nodded. "Yeah, HK and Abby told me all about it. And I want to say that I think you did the right thing." I smiled. "You did exactly what I was hoping you'd do, actually."
"So that was what you meant, then," Garrus deduced. "I never thought of Sidonis living. For all that time, I just wanted him dead. Even when I spoke to you, even when I hunted for Harkin, I wanted him dead. The thirst got bigger and bigger, but now...I don't know."
I went over and sat down on one of the crates, then folded my hands in front of me. "Like I said in one of out talks... you can never seem to stand it when someone gets away from you," I commented. For some reason it felt... important to talk about this. At least to me. And well... it would be good just to have my say on the matter, I guess. "Think about Dr. Saleon. It wouldn't have mattered what Shepard said; if you had been alone when you found him, you would have wanted him dead, no matter what. Because he got away from you and it hurt your pride. And now with Sidonis... you only backed off because Shepard showed you he still had a good side. And it wasn't all his fault."
I shook my head a little. "I don't like it when I see people getting away with things either, trust me. I mean... well, there's nothing I can say that can compare to what happened to you and your men, but... let's just say that I had to put up with some crap from some people, and I'm pretty sure most of them have the high and mighty attitude that they did nothing wrong, or they just don't really know. But... I guess I figure that there's nothing I can do. If I did anything, I would become just as bad as them, or worse. So I figure... just let them go their own way as best they can; somehow or other they'll end up punishing themselves, either through self-torment or because they pissed off the wrong person."
I stopped. I guess somehow... listening to Thane back on the shuttle inspired me to make a speech of my own.
Garrus nodded. "I understand, and in some ways, you're probably right. It's just difficult for me. It is, and it always has been. Maybe it always will be, but I do see what you mean. I see what Shepard means, and maybe I let my hatred and vendetta get in the way a little too much."
He paused for a moment. "And I know you didn't go on the mission, but I wanted to thank you. You've been a big help throughout this whole thing, throughout my whole stay on the Normandy, despite your many...ah, oddities. I know you mean well."
"Yeah well... can I tell you a secret?" I said, smiling at the compliment.
"Sure," Garrus answered.
My smile turned sheepish and now I looked away. "Out of all my... visions... your little, um, mission there has always been my favorite." I coughed. Did I really say that?
"Sarah, I figured that out a long time ago," Garrus said with a snort.
I turned away from him completely now and let out a nervous sound, somewhere between a cough and a... girlish giggle.
"Nonetheless, thank you," Garrus finished.
"Yep," I said, not caring how Jack-like that sounded.
I pretty much took that to mean... we were done. Unless I wanted to say something, maybe. And I had nothing to say, really. So I simply smiled at him again, then slipped out through the door.
I heard the sound of the door closing behind me. I stood still for a long moment, then decided to go talk to the other person I wanted to talk to. I proceeded toward the elevator... specifically, the captain's quarters.
Taking a deep breath, I mentally prepared what I wanted to talk to Shepard about. I felt as though I had some... important matters to discuss with her. And one way or another, we were going to settle them... even if I had to take intiative in some ways that I wasn't used to--and in ways I didn't really like.
I stood in front of Shepard's door, sucking in another quick breath. Okay, time to quit being a chicken. It was now or never. I banged on her door, rapping my knuckles against it several times.
The door slid open of it's own accord, just as noiselessly as the rest of the doors aboard the Normandy SR2. Commander Shepard was not at her desk, like I'd kind of been expecting, but instead standing beside her bed, staring at me with an impassive, but interested, expression. Armor plates lay beside her; she was obviously in the process of taking them off. A small part of me wondered what the heck she'd been doing for the past hour, but I figured that it wasn't my business. "Sarah," she said.
I cleared my throat, then I tried my best to shake off any nervouness or meekness I felt. Then, clinging to the memory of Thane's words back in the shuttle for support, I forced myself to step forward and look directly into Shepard's eyes. Then I spoke in a firm, clear voice. "First of all, I just want to know where I stand on this ship now, Commander. Do you want me off this ship after what I did on the bridge?"
"I don't want you overseeing missions anymore, if that's what you're asking," she said, pursing her lips. "Everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses--yours just isn't on the bridge of a warship. Leaving or staying, though, is up to you."
I felt both surprised and relieved at her words. I was definitely glad that she didn't seem to be holding what I did against me. And hell, everybody on this ship probably knew well by now that I wasn't any good at going on any of the missions, or having anything to do with them.
So I guess the things I had come up with to say in my defense weren't necessary to say. I didn't even need to tell her what I had told Thane. Who knows... maybe she already knew, in her own way. At least to some extent.
"Okay then," I finally said with a tip of my head. "Thanks. Anyway... there's another reason I came here." I forced myself to look straight into her face again, meeting her eyes.
She merely looked at me, waiting.
"I want an implant." There, I said it. The one thing I had been meaning to talk to her about, yet had not gotten around to it for various reasons.
"An implant?" she echoed. "Explain."
I forced myself to keep my gaze matched with hers, although I began to fidget a bit and shuffle my feet a little. "I just want something to give me an edge, somehow or other... in case I ever get into a position where I HAVE to fight or defend myself. I know I'm not going on missions anymore, but you never know what will happen." Oh of course I knew what was going to happen; Collectors were going to board the Normandy, eventually. But I couldn't tell her that.
"No, I don't, but you do," she said, raising one delicate eyebrow. She looked away, unbuclking the bracers on her forearms, and placed them side-by-side on the bed. One seemed slightly more diagonal than the other, so she adjusted it slightly so they were both perfectly parallel. "So the Normandy will be attacked in the near-future, and I'm assuming that it'll come as a complete surprise. Yeah--I don't like that. Nice job trying to keep it from me, but you're as easy to read as an open book."
Shepard moved to the desk on the other side of her bed and straightened the N7 helmet laying there. She tapped her fingers on the hard surface, apparently deep in thought. I hesitated to break it. "Any implant that Mordin would be capable of doing would only work if you already had one installed. And despite his qualifications as a doctor, he's not as familiar with human neuro-surgery as an experienced doctor on Earth would be. Right now, I'll have to say no."
I glanced away from her, peering into the giant fish tank. It was full of water but I didn't see anything in it. I didn't pay much attention to it, merely focusing on my own thoughts.
Well, it seemed like this had been a complete waste of time, then. I had been so sure that Shepard would give me an okay or a permission slip or something so that I could get an implant. And I assumed that either Mordin or Chakwas would... put it in me. Okay... somehow the thought of an actual surgury on my brain to put something in it kind of creeped me out anyway. Maybe I was actually glad that Shepard had said no.
But also... now I had more or less told her that the Normandy was going to be attacked, apparently. What was I supposed to do now? Simply leave, or try to lie to her, or what? Better yet... what if I could somehow try and save the crew before they were captured? Then again... I knew it was dangerous to try and... tamper with events. There was no way to tell how things would go if we... spilled the beans.
"Well thanks anyway," I said with a sincere smile, turning back to look at her. "Oh and, don't worry. The Normandy is not going to be attacked." Yeah, that was the truth... sorta. It wasn'g going to be attacked YET. Not until we got that IFF thingy, which wouldn't be for a long while yet.
Shepard just stared at me with those X-Ray eyes of hers, and I had a feeling that my little white lie hadn't fooled her one bit. She'd dealt with the worst of the criminal scum, survived two encounters with a Prothean Beacon, and had the Cipher in her head--a janitor lying wasn't going to faze her in the slightest. "I'll go on thinking that way, then," she merely said.
My eyes darted around the room nervously for a moment. Then, just to try and change the subject... I blurted out the first thing that popped into my head. "Just curious... do you love anyone on this ship?"
Okay, so I was still a sucker for the romances in some ways. In my opinion... Shepard should ALWAYS end up with someone.
Her eyes flashed, and I shot a small glance towards her desk. Kaiden's portrait was turned down. "Normally," she said, "I would tell people it isn't their business and mind their manners... but..."
Shepard visibly relaxed and bowed her head, a small smile on her face. She sat on her bed, leaning down to unbuckle the plates on her shins. "No... nobody."
Suddenly, an impish impulse passed through me. Maybe it was because she turned down my request for an implant, accompanied with the fact that I couldn't tell her anything about the Collectors attacking. But... part of me just wanted to... talk about one area I might be able to get away with. Besides... what harm could it do to have just a little fun?
"My visions tell me that--depending on how things go, and who you grow closer to... there are four people who you could possibly become involved with," I said.
She began to list them: "Kelly, Jacob, Garrus, and Zaeed--correct?"
I blinked several times, sinking into a nearby chair without bothering to ask for permission to sit. "Uh... not Zaeed, Thane," I corrected dully. "But yeah... how did you know?!"
Shepard rolled her eyes--it was the first time she'd shown any human emotion in front of me since my screw-up on Haestrom. "There are subtle hints everywhere," she said, "you just have to look for them. Kelly happily told me she was bisexual three weeks ago. And with the rest I just know. Except for Thane... though I suppose that is very likely. He's a lonely man, reaching out for a friend. I know exactly how he feels. But the bottom line is this: I can't let any relationships get in the way of our mission. No matter my... feelings on the matter."
"Yeah well... everybody deserves a little happiness," I found myself saying. I guess in my quest to take more intiative... well, now I found myself giving life-advice. Or romantic advice. Or whatever. "In my visions... you seem very happy with the person of your choice."
"The mission comes first. It has to. Everyone deserves to live, first and foremost," Shepard told me. "We can't get caught up in romantic entanglements in a time like this. It's out of the question."
Well, at least I knew she wouldn't touch Garrus, then. I had to turn my head away to hide a slight smile at the thought.
"And don't worry, there is nothing going on between Garrus and I. If that is why you wanted to know, then you can breathe easy."
My outward confidence faltered. I felt embarrassed and I knew it showed on my face. "Yeah, okay," I muttered simply--it was an automated response.
"I need a little more....time," Shepard told me, staring right at me. She sighed. "Sarah, I just got my life back. I was dead for two years, and had to be revived. And the minute I was, it was up to me to lead an all new crew on yet another life-threatening journey. All but three of my old friends are gone from my life, and one man that I did let myself care about refused to listen to me for more than five minutes. I can't jump into something else after all of that. Not yet, anyway."
I leaned back in my seat a little, feeling a bit stunned. Everything she said made perfect sense, and I felt a little bad for even getting into this discussion. It also made it all the more evident that this was a real, flesh and blood Shepard right in front of me, more real than the one that existed in the game. In Mass Effect 2, Shepard was more or less ready to jump in and start flirting with anyone at any time the user felt like it. But this Shepard... she had the mission to focus on, and she was still trying to cope. And she probably still hurt over what happened between her and Kaiden.
"I'm sorry," I finally said, softly. It was all I could really say. I couldn't exactly erase this conversation.
"There is no reason to apologize," Shepard said, raising an eyebrow. "You did nothing wrong. However, I am just trying to make a point. I am not one to give some kind of big emotional talk, especially in a time like this, but what I said remains. You and your two friends are decent people, all of you with decent skills. However, every single one of you slap these revelations, and these questions, on us like it is some kind of game. I understand that we were only in your visions before this, but you tell us these things like they are common, everyday things. Some of them are personal subjects, and while I do ask on occassion for the answers, it still can be shocking. We are real, breathing people."
I felt myself pale a little. Part of me had ALMOST laughed a little when she mentioned the word "game", considering the irony of it. Then she pretty much slapped the cold hard reality in my face--this wasn't a game, and these were real people with real feelings. Of course I knew that very well, especially after talking to them so much, and after nearly getting killed on Haestrom.
"Sorry," I said again. I meant it a little more this time. "Maybe in a weird way... this is just my way of coping. I mean... I won't speak for the others or anything. But maybe part of me just wants to... goof off sometimes, because it helps keep me distracted from the danger. If I don't focus on it too much, I'm fine. If I do... I stress out. I'm just not a military person, as you know pretty well."
Shepard nodded. "I know, and I wouldn't have any of you any other way. When you are yourselves, that is when you're at your best. Most of the time. And I've grown accustomed to your random comments or questions, but I just had to explain the position that we are sometimes put in."
"Yeah I think I get what you're saying," I said with a nod. Of course I would never have heard her say anything like this in the game. There were not three, weird "psychics" in the game. "And this must all seem pretty weird for you," I added quickly.
"Not as weird as it was. My casual reaction to your comments on my romantic life just showed that. I have grown used to everything around here, but I don't know whether I will get involved with anyone or not. I have more important matters to deal with."
"Yeah, I understand," I said with a nod. I had also relaxed quite a bit. "Say, while we're talking... can I ask you something?" I leaned forward intently, resting my elbows on my knees and resting my chin in my hands.
Shepard nodded.
Now I started to feel sheepish again. "What do you think... Garrus thinks of me? Has he said anything about me?"
"He doesn't have romantic feelings for you, if that's what you're asking. He hasn't said much about you, but I don't think he thinks badly of you. Not anymore. He seems to think you are alright, and is grateful for how much you've tried to help him," Shepard answered.
In spite of myself, I actually chuckled a little. "That's uh... good to know. Though um..." I shook my head a little. I really did not need to let her hear THAT unfinished thought spoken aloud. "Nevermind. Can I go now?"
Shepard raised an eyebrow, but just gestured to the door. "If you want to," she answered.
"Thanks for everything," I said simply. Then I got up and left.
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Post by Marishal on Aug 15, 2010 20:36:04 GMT -5
(Abby)
When I wasn't in my room, the Med Bay, or down in the cargo hold training with Jacob, Zaeed, and Miranda, I had no idea what exactly to do with myself. You could only draw so much until people started to think you were a little, well, not all right in the head. So after I took a shower, changed into some new clothes, and got some much-needed nutrition in my body I decided it was high time to visit my favorite pilot. After all, Sarah had long talks with Garrus, right?
I snuck around Kelly, not exactly willing to hear "Hey girl, good job!" right now, and made my way up the bridge to Joker's cockpit. Part of me was afraid that he might have been sleeping or something and wasn't up there, but he was. And he was pretty vocal, too.
"Because that's how I did it before, EDI!" Some of the crewmen were shooting him hurried, amused looks from their stations, and I saw one of the men lean over to nudge another guy with his elbow. "And if you take a look at my record you'll see it hasn't exactly been much of a problem before, so just drop it and take my lead for once, okay?"
EDI's soft, authoritive voice replied in a somewhat reluctant tone, “Very well, Mister Moreau. Though I will point out that the--”
“I know!”
"Sounds like you two are getting along well," I said wryly, coming to stand behind him with my hands in my pockets.
Joker glanced over his shoulder, did a double-take, and sighed. "What do you want, kid?" he asked, sounding annoyed. "I'm kinda busy here."
I glanced away, a little stung. "Well, so-rry," I muttered. "Talk to you later, then."
I turned around to go, but I heard a sigh and slowed down. "Look, you can stay if you want," Joker said, "just don't--touch anything, okay? No touchie the techie stuff."
I raised one eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure I can figure out the rules," I said dryly.
"Well, that makes one of us," he muttered. "EDI, you streaming the data or what?"
"It has already been confirmed and sent," she said, reprimanding him in her way of hers. "If you had checked, you would have seen it."
I took a seat right next to EDI, folding my legs up close to me and resting my chin on my knees. "So what do you think about the mission so far?" I asked curiously. "About the Collectors and the Reapers and it all."
"You should know that, right? You are the resident psychic."
I frowned. "You don't believe us?"
"It ain't my call, it's the Commander's. Just because I trust her doesn't mean I'll be all warm and lovey-dovey to you, so don't get any ideas."
"I guess I can understand that," I said cautiously. "We're a bit out there, aren't we?"
"Do you really need me to answer that question?"
"Mister Moreau, fostering hostilities among crew members is not your primary function," EDI said reapproachfully.
"So you made some good guesses so far," Joker said, ignoring her. "Maybe you're legit, and maybe you're not. But just because I know the Reapers are out there doesn't mean I'll just go and accept that you three can see the future." He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Look, I'm just stressed right now, okay?"
"Hey, we are, too," I said. "Don't think you're the only one."
"Yeah. . . you guys took a beating down there," he said quietly. "That didn't make Shepard too happy."
I looked up, my interest perked. "Shepard was actually worried for us?" I asked, blinking. "I thought she might have. . . well. . ."
"Rescued you just so she could use your information? Keep the stuff you know out of that asari lady's hands? Well, yeah, that's part of it. What, you didn't know she cared?"
"She. . . doesn't really display her feelings a lot," I said quietly.
"Trust me. She likes you three for some odd reasons, I don't know. If she didn't, you could tell. You go on all those missions with her, don't you?"
"Yeah. . ."
"And you're getting beat up by Jacob, Garrus, and Miranda all the time downstairs, for your own good," he pointed out. He gestured to the monitor beside him. "I watch sometimes, y'know, when there's nothing to do up here."
"Oh wonderful," I muttered, chagrined. "How bad we look?"
"Actually, not as bad as you first were," Joker said. He still hadn't turned around in his seat and was still talking to the console in front of him, but he did throw a glance at me over his shoulder. "And you guys're still alive. Good job."
"Mister Moreau is telling the truth," EDI reported. "You both have advanced significantly far throughout the past few weeks under their instruction."
"Thanks," I said quietly. "So. . . what did the rescue mission look like? Back. . . there. I heard something about you controlling the Hammerhead?"
Joker laughed. "That was just great. Cerberus doesn't shirk their duty when it comes to their tech--I had full control, could see everything."
"The whole team was involved?" I asked.
"Shepard split us up into three teams," Joker said. "You had the Infiltration team, which were Tali and Thane, and then you had Shepard's team: Jacob, Mordin, and Samara. The rest, Zaeed, Miranda, Grunt, Jack, and Garrus, were pretty much outside giving the Collectors a taste of their own medicine."
And before I knew it, Joker launched into full story recap.
"I took the Hammerhead out and patrolled the perimeter, letting their scanners pick me up so Shepard could sneak in safely. Liara already put out a false beacon about a group of biotics in the area, so these guys were prepared. I had to stay back for a while so Grunt could take out the mortors, but I could see everything, right?
"So Garrus was laying back up in the mountains, maybe about a mile, two miles away, sniping. Miranda and Zaeed didn't give them any time to focus on him, just whacking everybody in sight, and then Jack and Grunt were basically at the head of the little army. Jack would clear a way with her biotics and Grunt would come charging through with that big shotgun, bam-bam-bam!
"Once the turrets were down they let me in," he continued, a smile evident on his face even from my angle, "and I helped out... you know, a bit. Some of those motherfuckers just wouldn't die, though, and that was the problem--uh--"
He threw a hasty glance at me, apparently alarmed by what he just said. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
"Relax. What happened next? They wouldn't die, and then...?"
"Well, Tali was inside trying to find you all. Apparently she and Thane had split up to cover more ground, I don't know. Anyway, there were some gunships we had to worry about. EDI had picked up an entire fleet of them on the other side of the base, near their hanger. I was going to have to bang out fast with the rest of the crew, but Shepard took care of them. Spliced the lines or something, I don't know."
"Mister Moreau is leaving a few parts out," EDI supplied. "The beginning, to be exact, when Tali'Zorah infiltrated the base to gather their floor plans and hack into their security mainframe--"
"--yeah, yeah, not important," Joker said, waving her down. "We knew she could do it."
"Tali's the best infiltrator on our team," I agreed. So far, I added to myself. "Just like Jack and Samara are the best biotics, or how Miranda, Jacob, and Garrus are the best at controlling a battlefield--well, besides the Commander."
"So anyway, the gunships are down and I'm running around the place, lighting their asses up--and I mean up. There was this one guy who wasn't wearing a helmet, right, and he had this giant grenade launcher. No wait, it was a missile launcher. Anyway, I ran him over. Not enough to kill him, because I saw him stumbling around dazed behind me. " Joker laughed. "He had the funniest expression when his face hit my windshield. I think he used to have a big mustache too, or something, I dunno, because half of his face had hair on it and the other didn't. We probably attacked in the middle of a shave or something. Idiots."
I found myself laughing. "Did he die?"
"I'm pretty sure Jack took him out. Jack..." He shuddered. "Crazy lady. I'm not getting on her bad side. So we're running around fighting all these people, then Zaeed notices that the layout of the base is almost exactly like the layout of some other place he ransacked hundreds of years ago. He and Grunt took a small break while Jack's running around with Miranda, I'm still whacking people, and next thing I know they're giving me different targetting data."
"Is this where they take out the septic tanks?" I asked shrewdly.
"Yup! Ha, it was hilarious. A few missiles up the chute and--well, the explosion was pretty nice."
"I could hear something that sounded like thunder in the distance," I recalled, frowning.
"Shepard said the inside started flooding almost immediately. Just the clear water at first, nothing too germy until maybe a few minutes after we got you all picked up. By now the place is probably rotting." He shook his head, still smiling. "You gotta hand it to Zaeed, he can pick the weak points."
"He's like Shepard, except he takes checks," I repeated.
Joker stiffened a little in his seat. "Uh... yup. So what was it like down there? Shepard told me you guys weren't awake, y'know, during most of it, but... okay, nevermind, forget I said anything. I don't want to know, and I don't wanna make you talk about it."
I fidgeted uncomfortably. "Is flying the Normandy hard?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah, pretty much," he supplied. "Why? Wanna learn to fly it?"
"I'd love to see how the computers work," I said, standing so I could peer over his shoulder. "It's all so confusing, I wouldn't know where to begin."
"Easy enough. You know the basics, right?"
"Uh... no."
"Have you ever touched a computer before?"
"Mordin gave me an omni-tool," I said, shrugging. "But the only thing I know how to do on it is overload the shields of a mech, and that just isn't going to help me, y'know, on the Collector base. They have heavy armor and biotic barriers, but no shields. It's frustrating. Normally I'm not technically retarded."
Joker gave me a look, raising one eyebrow. "You're fourteen years old and you've never learned to use an omni-tool before? Didn't you ever watch those vids on them when you were three or something?" I shook my head and he looked at me with a horrified expression. "Do you even know how to overload something, or did Mordin--"
"--he hotkeyed it for me," I muttered, abashed.
You would've thought I'd told him that I'd never heard of an Xbox before. "Okay, well.... I can't right now, but when I'm off-duty you and I are going to sit down and I'm going to show you how to use it." He shook his head. "Can't even use an omni-tool..."
"I can shoot, does that count?"
"You'd have better hand-eye coordination if you'd ever played a video game in your life. Ever hear of--?" And he rattled off a few futuristic video game names. Blinking, I shook my head in a mute no, promising myself to look them up later.
"EDI, is she lying?" Joker asked suddenly, turning to the blue holographic Death Star.
"No, she is not," EDI answered.
Joker's jaw went slack. "Shit!"
"Does EDI have lie-detecting software in her?" I asked, sprung by a sudden thought. "I noticed when we first got here that she did most of the interrorgating."
"Yeah..."
"I am equipped with it, yes," EDI answered. "You are disturbingly honest."
"Disturbingly," I echoed with a smile. "Alrighty, that works! Look, I'll let you go so you can do your work, but thanks for talking."
"Yeah, uh-huh. I'm off in three hours. Meet me at the mess. Hasn't even heard of 'Marks of the Sky'... I mean, really..."
-~-~-~-
I went down to visit Zaeed next, ecstatic now that Joker had promised to spend some time with me. I took the elevator down, aware that I should probably head to bed soon for a small nap or something before I had to learn more technical nonsense, and entered Zaeed's room. "I'm heee-eeere!" I sang, tossing a piece of chocolate at him I'd nicked from Rupert's private stores. "Enjoy."
"About damn time," Zaeed remarked with a laugh, catching the piece of chocolate and throwing it into his mouth. After swallowing, he spoke again. "Thought you weren't coming for a minute there."
"Was talking to Joker," I said, taking a seat on a few crates next to his workbench, where Jessie, his prized assault rifle, lay. "Garrus's mission went well," I told him, sticking my own piece of chocolate into my mouth. "He ended up not killing Sidonis, thank God. Now I guess we'll take care of Kasumi's business and get out of the system."
"Didn't kill that traitor? Why the hell not?" Zaeed asked, raising an eyebrow. "He deserved to die for what he did to Vakarian's men."
"The difference between Sidonis and Vido is that Sidonis felt bad about what he did," I said calmly. "Vido, on the other hand, is a bastard. He deserves to die. Sidonis just deserved a chance to make things right."
Zaeed shrugged. "Whatever Vakarian thinks is right, but I would've killed him without a second thought. I'll kill Vido without a second thought," he remarked. "Hope Shepard hurries her ass up and gets us there soon."
"Don't worry about it," I said. "Vido's staying there for a good long while, but you have to think about the people he's exploiting in there, too. It's so sad."
"Vido's exploiting everyone. That's why the bastard has to die," Zaeed said.
I nodded thoughtfully. "I'm normally not the type of person to... well, casually think about killing people. Ever since I joined up with this ship of lunatics I've been killing every time I go outside. What's a fight you remember the best?"
Zaeed snorted. "I'd say that fight to rescue you and HK was a pretty damn memorable one. I wasn't getting paid for it, and I was fighting more damn bugs," he replied. "But, next to that and Horizon, there was this one time that I was hired to track down some stupid nun..."
"Sister Ethea?" I asked, dread settling into the pits of my stomach.
"Fiesty bitch, that one," Zaeed replied. "Not surprised that you know of her. Crazy lady went to Thessia and led a riot against the asari, because of them worshiping a lady instead of a man. She assaulted many and trashed some worship center, then managed to escape with barely a scratch. I think she scared the asari a little, so they hired me to go catch her. Some of these aliens take their religions too seriously, especially since most of it is a pile of shit."
"Let me guess... she's also the one person you've failed to capture?"
"Unfortunately," Zaeed answered with a growl. It probably still upsetted him to admit it. "So I'm on my way to find this lunatic, and next thing I know, I get a call from a hanar saying that she assaulted them and tried to defile some site of that extinct species they worship. So I know that this bitch is wanted badly, and if I capture her and both species try her for the shit she pulled, I'd get twice the money. I get this lead on her, saying she was heading to Tuchanka to preach to the damn krogan of all people."
"T-Tuchanka..." Oh, HK, HK, HK. "You, er, didn't happen to pull up any files of her daughter, did you? Erin?"
"I did, and her daughter is just as crazy as she is. Apparently she's done a lot of crime in her life, but she wasn't my target," Zaeed replied with a shrug. "So the krogan don't really like off-worlders on Tuchanka, but somehow, Seer snuck onto the planet anyway. They let me stay on there just so I could get her off, and I found out that she was last seen charging straight towards the home of one of the most ruthless clans."
"Sister Ethea won't die," I said, shaking my head. "And... neither will Erin. If you really want to know, I think Erin deserves it more than she does." I shuddered. "You should have seen some of the things she's done..."
Erin was also HK's character, created before Ethea, believe it or not. She was a dumb blonde who always mispronounced everybody's names, was drop-deap gorgeous, and had no sense of morality whatsoever. As long as she got her cute boy Erin was very, very happy. And I mean happy-happy-happy. HAPPY. And if she wasn't shopping for clothes and getting in trouble like the crazy lady she was, the cops were probably trying to bring her to the loony farm for her own safety.
Unfortunately, Erin never stayed captured for long. A trait she seemed to inherit dimly from Sister Ethea, albit at a small scale--Sister Ethea had never been captured before, period.
Zaeed nodded. "Her track record is worse than her mom's, but her mom was still a pain in the ass," he said. "So I get to the base of that clan, and shit has already hit the fan. There are fires, and krogan on guard everywhere. How they didn't capture her, I'll never get, but she was still on the loose, preaching about God and all that crap. Apparently this clan hadn't gotten the memo about me being after Ethea, so they start shooting at me once they see me. I had varren and krogan coming at me before I even got inside! It was one hell of a fire-fight, but I did get inside, and I knew she was beating alot of krogan within an inch of their life. That chaos continued while I fought through more damn hords of krogan."
"Was she beating them with a Bible?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I was grinning openly now.
Zaeed nodded. "Yes. Never seen someone do that much damage with a book in my life," he answered. "Then, finally, with only a portion of that clan left thanks to her and I, I find her at the center of the base. She didn't seem surprised, told me that some lady called Miss Jinkins told her about me, and that she was ready to deliver the Word of God or something to that effect."
"And what did she tell you?" I asked. "Get on your knees and pray for your soul after killing all these krogan? And pray for their souls, too, for being as demeted as they were?"
"Yeah," Zaeed answered with a scoff. "Instead, I came at her, but she was ready. We got into a fight, using books and guns, and it was one of the longest fights in my whole damn life."
I giggled. "Ethea is... a piece of work. But trust me, at least you weren't chasing Erin."
"After a long time of a crazy duel, the bitch escaped. She got away from me, and it pissed me off," Zaeed continued. "I wasn't about to give up that easily. I followed her out into the fields of Tuchanka, and saw that a battalion of the remaining clan members were after her, too."
"So it's you and a giant gorup of enraged krogan... chasing after the nun?"
Zaeed nodded. "Almost funny when you think about it," he commented. "But we both chased after her, and she was a damn good runner. She didn't even seem nervous, either, just continued to shout out about the Lord. Then that thresher maw attacked, and it was a whole new game of hell."
"...of course the thresher maw attacked."
"So we're out in the middle of nowhere, and we've got this huge thing attacking us. They say that krogan have to face those during their initiation test or something, for a specified amount of time. Well, there was no time limit on this, so this battle went on for quite awhile, and those krogan were all picked off. It came down to just me and her fighting it. I was going between trying to take spare shots at her, and trying to dodge the maw's attacks, and get it down for the count. This went on for awhile, until the next thing I know, the nun is hopping all over the damn thing, and it's dead! The bitch managed to kill a thresher maw! After that, she disappeared before I could go after her again, and I couldn't get anymore leads on her. I had no choice but to just give up on the mission, as much as I hated it."
I shook my head sadly. "There are... unexplainable things in the universe," I said dryly.
Zaeed nodded in agreement. "She's sure as hell one of them. That's definitely a top tale of mine, though. Fun story to recap from time to time," he said.
I laughed. "I wish I had cool stories like that," I said, shaking my head. "The only thing I can say that really sticks out is me taking on a krogan with Rupert's kitchen knife."
"That's something I don't think any of us will ever forget. You're a very resourceful girl for your age," Zaeed told me. "Which is damn good, considering what kind of mission we're on."
I laughed, pleased. "Thanks."
"I don't usually give compliments, but I think you're the best out of you and your weird vision trio. You have a better handle on everything, but aren't a hardass," Zaeed explained to me.
I blinked, shocked. "They're good, too," I said, uncomfortable with the flattery. "I'm just... more motivated in the combat area, I think. I like the challenge. For me, training is like... well, drawing. It's something that takes forever to master, but you never master the entire thing. You master a particular style, which is different from anybody elses. I think fighting is kind of like that, you know, when you master something you only master a variation--your own variation. They're two sides of the same coin."
"You're right," Zaeed agreed. He looked to his side, and grabbed the krogan helmet. "Here, take a look at this. Probably one of the more interesting things you'll see."
With that, he tossed it to me.
I still had a piece of chocolate in my hands, and I'd been munching on it throughout the conversation. I stretched over to my left, trying to grab it with my free hand, and knew immediately something bad was about to happen. The helmet glanced off my fingers and hit the table with a loud thump, jarring Jessie, Zaeed's priceless assault rifle.
We watched in slow motion as Jessie slipped off of the edge of the table... and hit the ground.
Zaeed's face lit up with horror. "SHIT!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, rushing towards the rifle. "Damnit, Abby, you were supposed to catch that! Shit!"
I backed away, horrified at what I'd just done. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry! Is she broken?"
Zaeed looked up at me furiously. "You'd better damn well hope not!" he yelled.
I jumped backwards, hitting the wall with my back. I felt my shoulder blade depress a button, and suddenly a high-pitched noise blared over the loudspeakers. I covered my ears, turning around to see what I'd done, and moaned in horror.
I had just broken Jessie. Now I'd pressed the fire alarm.
"EDI, EDI turn it off!" I yelled. "Turn it off."
"I do not have control over that function of the ship," EDI informed me in the same calm tone she normally used. The only difference was that she'd merely turned up the volume.
And then the doors opened, exposing the last person I wanted to see right now: Jack.
"What did that turian-loving bitch do now?!" Jack screamed over the harsh rings of the alarm. "I'm going to rip her damn head off for this!"
"It wasn't her, it was her!" Zaeed yelled angrily, pointing at me.
The alarm turned off and the ringing in my ears finally began to cease. "Zaeed," I said, "I am so, so sorry--"
And then Commander Shepard showed up, dressed in Cerberus-issued fatigues, her hair wet like she'd just gotten out of the shower. "Took the stairs," she said, her eyes sweeping over the room. Zaeed was on the floor, cradling Jessie, Jack looked pissed, and I was standing with my back pressed to the wall, looking terrified, right next to the fire alarm button.
It probably hadn't taken long to figure out.
And then...
Commander Shepard's eyes saw the chocolate wrappers on the table where Jessie had previously been. She took a deep breath. "Zaeed, is Jessie okay?" she asked, not looking at him.
Zaeed nodded, releasing a breath. "She's fine, barely," he said, glaring at me. "So I compliment you, and you return the favor by nearly destroying a treasure?"
"You're all crazy as hell!" Jack shouted. "If Sarah isn't coming to me requesting advice on how to get Garrus to screw her, she's destroying weapons and pulling fire alarms!"
"It was an accident!" I said. "D'you think I do this on purpose?"
Shepard took another deep breath. "No... but what are those candy wrappers I see on the table?"
"Uh... chocolate." I squirmed.
"Weren't you specifically told that no food was allowed out of the crew quarters?"
"...kinda." Not really, they'd just told me I couldn't take it up to the bridge, but I supposed the end was the same. I just wanted to crawl into bed, or turn back time and drop the chocolate, catch the helmet, and stand as far away from Jessie as possible.
"Yes or no."
"...yes. Yeah."
"Just throw 'em off the ship, Shepard. Visions or not, these dumbasses are useless," Jack said.
My right hand curled into a fist at my side... which I quickly relaxed. Jack was just being Jack. I tooka steadying breath and retrieved the candy wrappers, throwing them in the trash can beside the workbench, and left the room. "I miss Earth," I muttered, tears stinging my eyes as I entered the elevator. I wiped them quickly and pressed the button for the crew quarters.
I was just going to stay in my room until Joker got off of work and avoid this lunatic band of misfits as best as I could.
It's just a game, I told myself.
(HK)
"You and your two friends are on thin ice," Miranda told me coldly, looking irritated, from her desk. "We're on a deadly mission, and it seems like all you can do is fill this ship with chaos."
"Okay, so it looks like I'm in a damage control situation here, so I'm just going to say this: It was one incident, and it's very unusual for her to have those type of incidents. I know Sarah has a number of them on her plate, but I don't know of any chaos that she's caused lately on the Normandy. She is getting better, too. It has all been accidents, and I can understand you being upset, but just please know that we're doing our best," I explained to Miranda desperately, hoping that she would listen.
After Abby's little incident with Jessie and the fire alarm, things had simmered down, but Miranda, and to a lesser extent Shepard, were not happy. Oh, and Zaeed was definitely not happy, either.
I highly doubted that Shepard would kick all three of us off the crew, but Miranda was in one of those moods where she was so irritated that she probably just wanted to chew us out.
Correction: Chew me out. Abby had gone to curl up in the crew quarters after that chaos, and Sarah was busy cleaning, so I was the one brought into her office and try to keep her temper to a bare minimum.
Miranda groaned. "Yes, yes, I know it was an accident, but this ship needs to run cleanly and effectively if we wish to defeat the Collectors. We can't have all of this," she told me. "Just try to keep these happenings out of our lives in the future."
"We will try, I promise, but no gurantees," I said.
Who knew what Sarah or Abby would do next?
Miranda glared at me.
"Really, anything they do isn't...too bad," I said, pausing and trying to find the wording. "We got through it, and again, I doubt much more will happen."
Miranda sighed. "Fine. Go. And if any of you ever pull the fire alarm again-"
"We won't." I promised. That much I was sure of.
There were two guranteed things that neither of them would ever do again: Bite a finger or pull a fire alarm.
"-I'll put all three of you through a training session that would make Jacob cry," Miranda finished.
"Don't worry, the fire alarm will stay un-touched by us," I said again, slowly standing up.
I turned to walk out of the room, but Miranda spoke again.
"Oh, and HK," she started, smirking at me. "You do damage control quite well. I see all of your abilities clearly now: Sarah cleans, Abby fights, and you speak."
I couldn't tell whether she was being serious or making an attempt to joke with me.
"Thanks," I replied with a hint of sarcasm, walking out of her office.
I looked to the mess hall, and saw Mordin there, speaking to some of the crew members like Tali, Garrus, the random people, and some others. They all seemed to be having some kind of nice talk, until Mordin's omni tool began to beep. He answered it, and spoke in a low tone for a moment, before suddenly leaving.
I raised an eyebrow. There was only one thing that could've disturbed Mordin like that.
"He looked upset," a voice said, and I nearly jumped out of my skin when Kasumi appeared beside me. "Maybe you should go speak to him."
"How nice to see you, Kasumi," I replied to the ninja. "And why me?"
"They say that you are one of the 'psychics' on board, and your two friends are occupied, so why not you? I'm sure he'd appreciate it," Kasumi advised.
Abby and I had speculated that we would somehow have to help these people with their loyalty missions. Maybe now was another time to do that.
"Alright," I said. "Thanks."
I left, walking over to the elevator and heading straight for Deck Two. It stopped after a minute or so, and I stepped out onto the Bridge. I walked past Kelly, who gave me a kind greeting, and walked into the lab.
"Hi, Mordin," I said slowly. "Is something wrong?"
Mordin was turned around, his back to the door, looking outwards into the stars passing us by. "Received a distressing message," he said. "But no matter. You already know, correct?"
"If it's about Maelon, then yes, I know," I replied slowly, hesitantly approaching the scientist.
Mordin sighed heavily. "Then you know we must go save him. I will talk to Shepard about it."
I nodded. "Don't get too worked up about it. We're heading to Tuchanka eventually to help Grunt anyway, so it won't be out of the way for the Commander," I told him softly. "Just don't let it get to you too much, if you can."
"Oh, please," Mordin said, waving his hand dismissively. "I have worked under stressful conditions before, but Maelon was my student. I have lost a lot of people and I don't wish to lose him, too."
I nodded again. "I definitely understand," I said.
I wished I could tell him more, but I couldn't. Just like I couldn't go tell Jacob what his father was up to, or tell Thane how high the stakes were when it came to Kolyat. Just like we couldn't tell Garrus that Sidonis may very well live.
I sighed. "It'll be okay, hopefully," I told him.
He chuckled. "Hopefully?"
I had no clue why he was laughing. Only Mordin...
"Well, we may know what potentially happens, but it's up to everyone else to execute it. Again, just don't worry. If all goes well...it should turn out okay," I said. "But I really can't say anymore."
"No matter," said Mordin. "Must get back to work... a lot of things to do. Please let Yeoman Chambers know I need to see the Commander."
I nodded, and turned to the door. "I will," I said, exiting the room.
"Kelly, Mordin would like to see the Commander when she gets a chance," I told her as I walked by her station.
"Alright. Thanks," Kelly replied.
(Sarah)
Okay.... it wasn't that I LIKED it or anything when one of my friends had troubles or went through a hard time. But right now... even though I felt bad for Abby... I couldn't help but glow a little inside. And I could tell it showed on my face--I was smiling, and the people I passed by--or who passed me--noticed it as well.
Why was I smiling so much? Because for once, I wasn't the goofy klutz who messed something up and/or pissed someone off. Maybe this meant that I had a cruel streak inside of me or something, but... right now, I just felt so pleased. Maybe even borderline smug.
I would just try to be very, very careful not to let anyone know WHY I was smiling so much or feeling so smug. I didn't want to hurt Abby's feelings or anything. If anyone asked... maybe I would just say I was high on the cleaning chemicals or something.
It took me a couple of hours to finish cleaning up the mess area. For the most part a lot of the people on this Cerberus ship seemed to be good at keeping things neat and cleaning up their own messes. But there were a few people--who I wouldn't dare mention by name, simply because I'd rather stay alive--who left quite the mess sometimes. Well, it wasn't TOO bad, but somebody needed to take care of it all the same.
When I finally finished, I had to decide what I wanted to do next. So the first thing I did was go into the kitchen and grab a nutri-grain bar, shoving it into my mouth. I then noticed a pile of dirty dishes, but I chose to ignore them for the moment. They could wait until later.
I thought about going up to the quarters I shared with HK and Abby, but well... I figured Abby might want some alone-time for a while. And I wasn't very good at cheering people up. Maybe I would just... stay in the kitchen and give HK a chance to go see her first.
Besides... I'd probably make her feel worse anyway. I couldn't stop grinning, after all.
So I tried to figure out what else I could do. Oh yeah there were always a million little things I could do, like I could clean the bathrooms again, or mop the floors down the corridors. I could even do some dusting. But right now, I just wanted to laze around for a bit.
Then a thought occurred to me. I really liked to go around and introduce myself when we got a new person onboard, just to be able to say I met them all, so to speak. Right now the only person I hadn't met yet was Kasumi.
I shrugged slightly to myself... then decided to go check out her room.
A couple of minutes later I was standing outside of her door, feeling slightly sheepish. I'd never met a ninja before, and I always thought that ninjas were cool. Especially the "cyber ninjas" that existed in the Transformers Animated series. Then again, Kasumi was the real thing--and she wasn't a robot.
I opened the door, then peered inside. I didn't want to bother her so... I waited to see if she would invite me in or not.
Kasumi was every bit as she was in the game--clothed in a dark, form-fitting tunic, hood up, lounging on the couch overlooking the great view of the Citadel's arms reaching seemingly for the heavens. It was dark inside, but that didn't stop her from reading a paperback book by the light of the Citadel's twinkling lights. She looked up, her expression unreadable from underneath her cowl, but I saw her lips twitch in a smile. "Hello there," she said cheerfully.
I took that as permission, more or less, to enter. I stepped inside, not bothering to glance at the door as it shut behind me. I smiled at Kasumi and found that somehow... I felt comfortable around her. I knew she was as dangerous as anyone else on the ship, yet somehow... I don't know, maybe it seemed like... she was a sweet person who wouldn't actually do anything to me.
Then again... that was probably the mark of a good ninja. They could decieve people in a number of different ways. But nevertheless... I felt calmer being around her than, say, Samara. I had nothing against the asari justicar, and I liked her, it was just... there was something eerie about her. But Kasumi seemed... okay. I couldn't think of any other way to put it.
"Just thought I'd say hi," I told her. I cast a quick glance around her room, taking it in, then I focused on her again. After all, I didn't want to appear rude. "How are you?"
"Well, aren't you quick to the point?" she asked, chuckling. "I'm doing very well, how are you?"
"I'm great," I said, and another goofy grin spread across my face. Damn. I was enjoying what happened with Abby just a little too much.
"Great," Kasumi said. "What's your name?"
"Sarah," I told her.
"Do you need anything, Sarah?"
I cleared my throat a little, slightly surprised by the question. Then again, I was probably grinning like an idiot. I fought to wipe the expression off my face--I think I succeeded in minimizing it, at least. "Nah," I said. "I just wanted to meet you. I know about you, and uh... I just think you're awesome."
"Oh... really?" Kasumi asked, sounding a bit taken aback. "Oooh, I suppose you're one of the three psychics the Commander talked about. Am I right?"
"Yep," I said. I smiled again--not the same goofy grin as before, more like my natural, pleasent smile that I used when I was being friendly.
"Has anybody ever told you that you're a very excitable young lady?" she asked, laughing. It wasn't at me, but with me. "Have you ever read a real paper book before, Sarah?" she asked, holding her novel up so I could inspect it from the other side of the room.
I eyed the novel intently with a nod. "Yep, I read a lot of paper books. I was especially fond of Star Trek novels when I was a teenager, and I still like them."
"Good, good. Most people don't read the real, paper ones anymore," she said. "Would you like to sit down?" She gestured to the couch across from her.
"Sure thanks," I said with a smile as I sat down where she indicated. I leaned back against the pillows and looked at her, draping one arm over the nearest armrest. "So uh... I know you're a very observant person. I was just curious... how much do you know about me?"
I wasn't sure what kind of answer I was expecting. I just knew that Kasumi noticed things that no one else noticed, like... who was in love with whom, or who got along the best, or even if Morinth replaced Samara.
Maybe in some ways I was sorta curious if she had already heard that I had a crush on Garrus, because well... stuff like that seemed to pass around fast. I guess I assumed Kasumi was probably the closest thing to a mind-reader on this ship, sort of. Just because of her observation skills. So maybe I was just wondering how much she already knew, even though she hadn't been on the ship very long yet.
"You're standing around like you're either about the steal my stuff, plant a bug, or something else," Kasumi said calmly, "So either you're going to do that or you're just very excited in meeting me. I'm hoping it's the latter."
I blinked at her, then I actually laughed in spite of myself. "Do you think I would put a bug in here or steal something?" I asked.
"Would you?" she challenged.
In spite of myself, I actually had to stop to think about that. There were times when someone asked me something, and I actually found myself pondering it literally. Not because I was necessarily going to do it--not really, at least--it was more like... WOULD I do it, if circumstances were different somehow? Could I do it somehow, if I needed to or really wanted to for some reason?
"No," I finally said. "I mean... I'm sure I COULD do it, but I don't have any reason to. And I doubt I would be able to slip it past you anyway. You'd probably notice it somehow, or catch me doing it."
It was then that I realized something. Kasumi might be very observant, but it probably took her a little time to figure someone out, so to speak. She didn't know anything about me except for what little she'd heard from Shepard, and anyone else she might have talked to. I hoped that she would eventally figure out I was harmless... except for the stupid things that happened sometimes because of me.
Kasumi frowned, pursing her lips a little bit. "Do you always act this way towards the new crew members?" she finally asked.
My eyes widened a little and I presed my lips together as I thought about the time when I first met Garrus...
And Miranda...
...And Thane...
"Yep," I answered simply.
"What do you do on this ship?" she asked.
"I clean and I help Rupert cook whenever he needs a hand," I answered with a smile.
"And do you normally come into people's quarters, waiting for them to ask you questions, or don't you have any of your own?" Kasumi asked. I couldn't tell for sure, but I was nearly positive that her eyebrows were raised.
This.... wasn't going quite the way I had expected. Everybody else had been pretty weirded out by me, or at least intrigued, but... well now it seemed like I was facing something akin to an informal interrogation. I think I had inadvertantly made Kasumi suspicious, though I couldn't be sure.
"Um... I make it a habit to say hi when people first come aboard because I want to meet them," I told her, trying to explain. "And well, I share a room with my two friends. I guess you could say we're like roommates. But one of them is upset right now, and I wanted to give her some space. And I finished cleaning what I needed to, so... I decided to come say hi."
I couldn't help but wonder... would she accept that explanation, (and it WAS true, pretty much) or would she think it was pure BS?
"Aw, why is your friend upset?" Kasumi asked curiously. "Wait--is she the small blonde one with Shepard down on the Citadel?"
"Yep," I said with a nod. I had pretty much sobered by now, so I no longer grinned like an idiot when I thought of her. "She's... had a rough day," I said simply.
"Oh really?"
I shook my head a little. I didn't want to get into how she had had a rough day, because... for all I knew I might just start grinning again. Abby deserved better than that.
"Yeah well... I'm sure she'll be okay," I said with a dismissive wave of my hand. I was trying to cut this topic short. My eyes darted briefly toward the doorway, contemplating a quick exit, but then I looked back at Kasumi again, focusing on her.
"You're a jumpy one," she noted.
Okay, THIS was getting uncomfortable. I had thought that being around someone who could see and observe so much would be fun and cool. But... this was getting annoying--even downright unnerving. How did I go from feeling okay around her to feeling kind of... edgy?
I suddenly realized that somehow... I felt better having that odd discussion with Thane when I first met him. It was... less awkward somehow, at least. I looked at her, simply raising my eyebrows, unsure what to say. Who knows what she might glean out of it next?
Kasumi chuckled. "Scared you, have I?" she asked in a light tone of voice. "Okay, I know what can make you talk: questions, right? So how'd you three end up being on the ship? It seems like everybody here has a unique story."
I shrugged a little, leaning back against the couch all the more. "Yeah well... let's just say my friends and I didn't end up here the normal way. We just kinda... showed up." I glanced away, smiling in spite of myself. Yeah, it wasn't like that could be explained to Kasumi any more than it could be explained to Shepard.
"And Shepard let you aboard? Wow, you must have negotiated pretty hard."
"Um... we already had a few cards in our favor," I found myself saying.
"I suppose. You sold it to EDI you were legit, and I don't think she can be fooled."
"Nah, she can't," I agreed. "But I think it's safe to say I've really pissed off and/or annoyed a few people on this ship." I grimanced as a few... specific memories passed through my mind.
"How'd you manage that?" she asked curiously.
Oh boy. She just had to ask didn't she? Yet somehow... she was right, I just couldn't resist responding to questions for some reason. "Well for one thing... I uh..." I swallowed. "I bit Jacob's finger when he was trying to teach me to fight." I winced.
"He's the tall, dark one on Deck Two, right?" She grinned. "Somehow I can't imagine him taking that sitting down."
"He uh... kicked me in the head. Knocked me out cold for a bit," I told her, staring down at the floor.
Kasumi actually laughed. "Not good," she said, shaking her head, "not good at all. Why'd you bite him?"
I shrugged sheepishly. "Well... I was getting creamed in the training room. So I did the only thing I could think of to do some damage." I sighed. "Let's just say I am not a fighter. Shepard took me along on one mission, and I nearly died."
"No shame in not being able to fight," Kasumi said. "There's always another way for the determined individual."
"What do you mean?" I asked curiously, with a touch of wariness.
"Well, you do whatever you can on the ship. If you haven't noticed, the ship needs a lot of maitnence to keep it up to protocol." She grinned. "Oh come on, lighten up. You're all spun up."
"I am not," I said indignantly, and made a show of lounging against the cushions in a relaxed manner. "I'm just..." I shrugged.
Kasumi twitched her mouth in a smile. "I understand."
"Understand what?" I couldn't help but ask. I always wanted to know what people were thinking about me. It was a habit of mine.
Kasumi rolled her eyes--I could see the glint of them underneath her hood. "Nevermind," she said. "But I understand." I could've sworn she was playing a little game with me.
"Is there something you want to say?" I pressed. I wasn't sure how else to go about the subject, because I couldn't exactly guess what she was thinking. But if she didn't want to say, there wasn't much else I could do.
"Is there something you're not saying?" Kasumi asked. "Girl, I could keep this up all night. Better quit before I get competitive." But her tone said she was joking.
Suddenly, in spite of myself, I began to feel like playing a little. "Heh, is there something you want me to say?" I finally asked.
"Well, you did just come into my room and are expecting me to carry on the conversation. One person can't have a conversation alone you know."
"Okay then," I said slowly. I could see what she was saying. At times I just had trouble sparking up or carrying on a conversation... especially when I just met somebody. Part of the problem was that this really was Kasumi, for real, in the flesh. And I was sitting in front of her, for real. It was the same with anyone else on this ship; I wasn't simply sitting in front of a monitor controlling Shepard's dialogue. I had to intiate my own dialogue.
"How come you conceal your face?" I finally asked, taking on a slightly bolder tone.
"Have to keep quiet somehow. I'm the best thief in the business, after all." She smiled mischeivously.
"Yep I can imagine," I said with a nod. I also recognized that it was my turn to keep the conversation going. "What's the most expensive thing you ever stole?"
Kasumi had to think about that one. "Honestly... it's a tie between ten or so items, I believe. But the craziest one had to be the hanar painting Songhyao. At least, that's how they spelled it. It actually has a different name, but nobody can pronounce it because they speak by biolumenenescance. It was beautiful, the size of a wall. One of the hardest heists I'd ever done, and when the hanar found out they were furious. Thankfully my buyer gave it back to them; Apparently he was hiring the best thieves in the business to test the museum's security." She smiled from ear to ear. "I can't put a price on that painting. It was made by a group of six hanar and six drell, famous artists, all of them, and they all put as much creative talent they had into the piece. And it wasn't just paints and oils or gels they used, either--they used everything, and it all seemed to fit. It was a right sight hard to get it out of the door, though, let me tell you!"
I stared at her with widened eyes as she told the story. I was trying to envision that in my mind. I hadn't even noticed that most of my awkwardness and jumpyness had faded quite a bit. "How in the world did you get it out the door?" I asked curiously. That was something I definitely wanted to know.
"The official story to the public was that the thing was actually created right on that wall, with mass effect fields and the gravity wells in place to protect the artists, but after I did some digging I realized that each artist had completed his piece at their own studio. So that made me wonder how they got it out of the door, too. My partner, Keiji, found an alcove of hidden wires and gears that lowered a part of the ceiling. All the maitnence men had to do was slide it out, have the mass effect fields catch it, and nail it to the wall. Which sounds pretty cool, right?" She laughed out loud. "So anyways, Keiji took care of the security systems as best as he could, and I snuck in. I hid away for two days, believe it or not, in that alcove because the hanar and everybody were chasing after Keiji. Once he'd given them the slip I came out and brought Songhyao up. As soon as I got it down the hallway (which was like specially designed for this huge thing!) I loaded it up in a yacht parked outside, courtesy of Keiji. There were actually fifteen tracking devices in that thing, you know? Every time I would disable one, another one would appear."
At times I had a difficult time trying to visualize what I was being told. Some things I just had to be there to see it for myself before I could know it--words just did not give a very good picture sometimes. But I simply nodded and took her word for it.
"You must really miss Keiji," I commented thoughtfully. "I bet you can't wait to get that memory box back."
"That I can not," she agreed. "Shepard told me not to ask, but I'm curious--do you know how it'll play out?"
In truth, I only knew because of youtube videos, and from what HK and Abby had told me. They had both played their games with Kasumi and Zaeed, but... unfortunately I had ordered my copy of Mass Effect 2 used from Amazon, so... I didn't get to download some of the bonus content. But I had seen the entire playthrough on youtube.
"Yep... and I know that there's three ways it can turn out," I murmured. I knew this only because HK had told me once. 1: Kasumi kept the memories. 2: Kasumi deleted the memories. 3: Shepard deleted the memories.
"Care to spill?" she asked lightly, but I could hear the slight tension underneath.
Once again I found it tempting. Of course I had, well... been tempted at other times too, of course. Surely Kasumi was good at keeping secrets though... right? I knew that she kept it a secret if Morinth came onboard.
"Um... part of me wants to," I finally said. "But part of me doesn't know if it's a good idea."
"I bet one of the outcomes is bad, isn't it? I die?"
"Not if you and Shepard are very careful, which I know you will be," I replied with a shrug. Then I decided to allow one little thing to slip out, because I figured it wouldn't matter TOO much. "They won't let you in, though."
"Won't let us in?" Kasumi echoed. "Why? How can I fix that?"
"No," I clarified. "They'll let Shepard in, under the identity you give her, they just won't let YOU in."
"Huh." Kasumi snorted. "Interesting. Hock doesn't know who I am, though. I suppose he'll just be covering his ass, I except, because after I'm done with Shepard she's going to look fantastic. I'm going to be pretty drab compared to her."
I knew exactly what her dress was going to look like; I had seen it on youtube. "Yeah she's gonna look like the Belle of the ball," I murmured in spite of myself.
"It's a very beautiful dress," Kasumi commented. "I decided to keep it short, though. Believe me, I know exactly what it's like to try and sneak around in a ball gown, and it isn't fun at all. I figured if she had her legs free she could pull it off... except for the heels. I don't care how athletic Shepard is, I need to see that girl in heels. You can't just waltz into Hock's mansion without being properly dressed, you know." She laughed. "Shepard will be gorgeous. She hasn't got that much hair to work with, unfortunately, but it's going to be soft and almost glowing when she uses the shampoo I bought her... okay, I aquired the shampoo, I didn't really buy it..."
I beamed, knowing exactly what she meant. Then I asked something out of sheer curiousity. "Don't you ever feel bad stealing things? I mean... wouldn't you feel better if you got things the honest way, at least sometimes?"
"That kind of ties into why I became a thief, I think. It's not a question of understated morals if that's what you mean. I never, ever steal from people who work hard and earn an honest living. Just because we make our ways in the galaxy a bit differently doesn't mean I should look down on them or anything. But what excites me is the challenge. Most of these high-rollers are jerks, so I don't feel bad stealing from them, you know? Unless I need something for absolute survival, I try to keep it nice and simple like that... though I'm tempted to break into Zaeed's room and steal his rifle, Jessie, when he's not looking. Joker told me all about his fascination with it when I got aboard."
I chose to stay silent about, well, what she said about Zaeed and Jessie. I couldn't even imagine the thought of going into that room and trying to take something... I'd probably end up worse for the wear. Possibly worse than what happened to me on Haestrom. Then again... I was a bumbling buffoon in comparison to Kasumi's grace and skill. Or compared to anyone else on this ship, for that matter.
"But you stole from that museum with that... huge painting by the drell and the hanar," I pointed out, referring to that story she'd told me before. "Was that place being run by criminals or something? Or did you just do it for the 'challenge'?"
"I was hired to," Kasumi stated matter-of-factly. "Basically word was out about some big heist, I tracked down the source, heard the details, and got him what he wanted. I needed to make a living, too. The money I received was put to good use, believe me."
She abruptly got up, all grace and skill, and went to face one of the paintings on the far wall. She delicately plucked a red rose from the top of the frame and brought it over to me, sitting down beside me. "See this here? I used to leave it as a calling card in the place of the thing I stole. Really sentimental, childish even. And it left a trace. Sometimes it's better to be unseen and invisible than having everybody know you're on top of the world."
I studied the rose in her hand for a moment, leaning in just a little to peer at it. I then eyed her curiously. "I guess in some ways I still don't get it," I said with a small shrug. "I mean, why you do what you do, but... I guess you're really good at it, and you're needed on this mission, so..." I shrugged. "It doesn't really matter what I think, or if I get it or not."
"I know what you mean," she said wryly. "I met up with this asari once, a real... innovator, I guess." She giggled. "She worked on Omega, if that gives you any clue."
"Um... what do you mean?" I asked, wondering what this had to do with what we were talking about. "What did she do?"
"She was one of the first-generation asari/humans. Her mother was a stripper... her dad was a stripper..." She looked away, giggling. "I'll never be able to do this lady's job. I can't remember her name, but she was a therapist, of a sort. A sex therapist. Not to make you better in bed like the conventional guys out there, but she believed in resolving issues with, well... sex. She had rules, though. She would sleep with anybody, any way they'd like it, to help them out, but she wouldn't sleep with a married person unless it was just a bad marriage. Crazy lady. I'd never want her job, ever!"
I blinked several times. "Well uh... to each their own I suppose," I finally said, scratching the back of my neck.
"We can't be other than what we're born to be," she said. "I was born to be a thief, so here I am. It's the best job, because the only competition you have... doesn't know you exist."
"I'm not entirely sure what I'm born to be yet," I said, suddenly looking at her with a touch of envy. At least she seemed to have her life mostly figured out. "But... I do enjoy cleaning." I shrugged.
"Just do whatever makes you happy," Kasumi said, patting me on the shoulder. She placed the rose next to the painting, on a small workshop area of some type, and continued, saying, "Now I have to get going. I have Shepard's dress here and I need to take it upstairs. We'll be there in two days if our current schedule holds, and she needs to look like a cultured person instead of a military grunt. She should be able to pull it off--she's got that Shepard charm to her. I think if she plays her cards right, Hock might even try to get to know her better. Wouldn't that be hilarious?"
"Ooooo," I answered mischieviously, nodding at the thought. "I bet he'll definitely like to look at her, when he sees her in that dress." I chuckled a little.
"And don't forget the purse," Kasumi said slyly. She revealed an ornate, leather-covered beaded bag that made me blink. "I didn't actually steal the outfit, so we're good. I have a friend, an elcor, actually, who specializes in the fashionista side of life. I helped him out with a problem a long time ago, and he and I have been good friends ever since. He designed these clothes for me."
"Awesome," I said with a sincere nod. "Say... can I ask a favor?"
"What do you need?"
I began to twirl the ends of my hair around my fingers a little, feeling a little awkward. "Well um... you can sneak up on anyone without them knowing that you're there, right?"
A sly grin flittered over her face. "Yeah. What's the target?"
I wasn't sure but I THINK I might have blushed slightly, especially when she said it like that. "Don't you want to know what I have in mind first before you ask that?" I murmured.
Kasumi just looked at me, and I could've sworn she was raising her eyebrow. "That's why I asked, right? C'mon, girl, what's on your mind?"
I sucked in a breath. "I was just wondering if..." I exhaled through my nose, making sort of a soft chuckling noise through it. "Nevermind it's silly," I finally said, waving a dismissive hand through the air. "You've got better things to do I'm sure," I added.
"Well, if you say so," Kasumi said, shrugging. She went to her closet and retrieved the dress that matched the purse, plus a pair of high heels that made me blanch. How was Shepard going to walk in those? "I need to get these upstairs. It was nice talking to you, Sarah." She smiled.
"Yeah okay," I said with a nod, returning her smile. I hesitated. "Thanks for talking," I added. Then somehow I ended up blurting out, "Think you could... sneak up on Garrus?"
God I didn't just say that...
"Why?" she asked curiously. There was a hint of suspicion in her voice, too, and I wondered suddenly if Joker had mentioned anything about me liking the turian crewmember in the same conversation that included Jessie as well.
I glanced at the opposite wall, twiddling my fingers together. "Well... I was wondering if it might be possible to get a picture of him somehow without him knowing anything about it." I winced. This was really starting to seem sillier and sillier, especially while I heard myself saying it outloud.
"You like him, don't you?" she asked kindly, leaning against her back against the desk chair. "Don't worry, I won't tell a soul. But that's almost too easy. What kind of picture? Toilet? Shower?"
THAT was not the question I was expecting her to ask me. All I knew was that... a minute or so passed, and I was pressed back against the couch as my shoulders and chest shuddered in a mixture of laughter and awkward coughs.
"I'm assuming shower?" she asked playfully. "Or when he's getting ready for bed? Hmmm, that excite you a bit?"
I managed to get ahold of myself and I grinned at her. Honestly... I had not even THOUGHT about asking her that. I was thinking of just asking her to get a good picture of his face as he concentrated over his work station in the gunnery, or perhaps sleeping peacefully after he had fallen asleep in his bed. I would never normally DREAM of having something like... what Kasumi was suggesting done to them.
Still somehow... well.... hmmm. She was the best in the business, right? Able to move about without ANYONE seeing her or ever knowing she was there?
"You decide," I finally said with a shrug. God somebody kill me, right now. "Just... please make sure HK and Abby never find out about this either. If anybody ever finds out... I'll die." That, of course, reminded me that I shared a room with two roommates. "Erm... then again... I share a room with my friends, how in the world am I going to hide it from them?" I mused aloud. Maybe it might be better just to forget this entire thing.
"Why would you need to hide it?" she asked, confused. "I'd just send it to your omni-tool. Just don't ask Garrus to help you with your omni-tool in the future." She set the clothes down, a grin already spreading even wider across her face, and opened up her omni-tool. "Now, what's your email address?"
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Post by Marishal on Aug 15, 2010 20:36:17 GMT -5
"Uh," I said hesitantly, "I don't have an omni-tool. I just... haven't bothered to get a new one." I phrased that in such a way that I hoped she would just assume that something happened to my omni-tool or something. In this universe, it seemed embarrassing to admit that you've never even had an omni-tool. "And I... am not really sure how to use them anyway," I added.
"Wow, really?" she asked. "Okay, then! Let me run these things up to Shepard," she said, picking the clothes up again, "and I'll give you a crash-course in it. It's pretty simple, anyways." She motioned for me to go out in front of her, and i supposed it was time to leave. She locked the door behind her. "Meet you later!" she said cheerfully. "I like this challenge.. it's almost too easy, but I'll spice it up somehow."
I grinned mischieviously. "Sure!" I said, then I slipped out of her room. I guess I would.... go wash those dishes now.
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