[Book Three] Chapter 27: Dreams for the future

[Book Three] Chapter 27: Dreams for the futureChapter 27: Dreams for the future

When the team got back on the ship, Joker warned Jane that Hackett had called and wanted to talk with her. Not wasting any time she directly went to the com center to call him back.



“Admiral, you wanted to talk to me?”

“Yes, commander. A few hours ago I received a message from the Quarians fleet. They are willing to offer aid against the reapers.”

“That’s good news, though from experience I’d say it’s not free?”

“Correct. They wanted to meet a representative of the Alliance in the Far Rim but didn’t say for what.”

“At the border of geth space? That doesn’t sound good.”

“No but we can’t pass up on their help.”

“I wished people would understand that their needs came second in a war of survival. So far only Aria T’Loak did. Aria T’Loak!” she punctuated her frustration with a tired sigh.

“I understand your frustration, commander but it is what it is.”

“We’re on our way Admiral.”

“Good. On an unrelated note, Wald's explanation and help on the area shield has been invaluable. Our engineers got the theory working and are currently modifying their prototype accordingly.”

“That’s great.”

“Yes, though I would prefer if all of them working on the project weren’t dosed with antidepressants.”

“... Really?” Jane asked for confirmation.

“Wald makes them feel either inadequate, incompetent or stupid the more he gives us to work on.”

“That’s... I... I don't know what to say.”

“There is nothing to say, I'm just venting to you when your plate is already full, my apologies.”

“No, no. It’s fine. I understand. To tell the truth, I know I shouldn’t but I can't help but find it hilarious. An entire team of engineers with plenty of masters and Phds under their belts are reduced to that state by a man who didn’t even finish elementary school.” she explained with a barely contained smile.

“...I never thought of it like that but I can see why you find it amusing. Good thing none of them are in the room, I think they’ll just keel over.”

“Thank God for small blessings. Speaking of shields, I read the original idea he had. That’s an interesting concept but did the engineers find it applicable?”

“For big ships the idea has been deemed impossible. Too many different types of vessels. However, one of them proposed to adapt the idea to shuttles as they are more uniform and smaller. They will get to work on that once they are done with the area shield.”

“That could be useful when deploying massive troops. By the way, I asked him about his lightsaber.”

“And?”

“It’s an impasse. The main component is an eezo crystal, he said that...”

“They are incredibly rare and costly; I’m aware.”

“Yes, furthermore, it’s not an easy weapon to handle with how dangerous it is. Training in fencing or sword fighting is definitely required to not just maimed or kill yourself with it.”

“He’s trained in sword fighting? That’s new.”

“He began practicing a few months ago, enough to not hurt himself. The sword is not all powerful though. A good shield or barrier could block it otherwise it’s deadly against armor and flesh. In the end too many factors are involved for being viable.”

“A shame.”

“Before I go, we encountered a new type of reaper troops.”

“A new type, you say? What are you talking about here? More like the husks or more like the adjutants?”

“More of the latter. In fact I’d rather battle an adjutant.”

“That’s worrisome.”

“We call them banshee, because of their blood curdling scream. They are asari modified with reapers tech. I’ll send you the file once the compilation of Rick’s and my data is done.”

“I’ll wait for it.”

“Sir... You need to know, some information on that file is a very well kept secret. A bit like Rick’s identity but for the asari in terms of damages if it came to be known.”

“I understand. I’ll redact the file before sharing it.”

“Thank you, sir. Xenophobia is making things difficult for the rallyment of all species, no need to add to it more for no fault of innocent people.”



Hackett saluted Jane and ended the call. As Jane made her way downstairs she told EDI to give Joker their new destination. Going down to the Crew Deck, she intended to eat something to replenish her stamina. As she was biting on an apple, she saw Karin working on a topless Rick in the med-bay. Without even thinking about it she went there.



“What happened?”

“The very first banshee I met gave me that. I charged her and shot her with my shotgun but her barrier stopped everything. That shocked me and she tried to impale me with her claw which I didn’t dodge completely. I used all my medi-gel to stop the bleeding and close the wound but during our last fight it opened again a bit.”

“The wound was deep but nothing serious was damaged. It will leave a scar though.” Karin said as she pulled her back straight after tending to the wound. “No exercise for a few days.”

“Noted, doc.” replied as he hopped off the bed and put his bloody shirt back on. “Need something, Gingerbread?”

“Not parti... wait, yes! Can you compile everything we know about the banshees and send the file to Hackett?”

“Sure, it won’t take much time.”

“I have news too. We’re going to meet with the Quarians, they promised to help in the war but I’m sure they want something.”

“They all want something and with how dumb the Quarians’ admirals are, it won’t be anything good.”

“Probably. Anyway, I also have news about your shield project that you passed to Hackett...”





____________________________________________________________





The meeting location with the Quarians couldn’t have been farther away from their departure point. The trip would take almost three weeks, giving plenty of time for Rick to share his knowledge with Kaidan a bit. Just like Jennifer he had some difficulties with the control tricks but since he didn’t use them as often because of the L2 he had he was able to practice them with difficulty. The curve shots were easy to master for the spectre, the use of his biotics with his feet however was more complicated and not suiting his fighting style so he didn’t bother. He did take to meditating like a duck to water, getting his original control back fully and even making it better.



Rick never admitted it but he enjoyed the no exercise warning that karin gave him. That gave him more time, to either sleep more or focus more on his new material project. Still corresponding with Mordin, he learned that his Salarian friend had discovered in his free time, biological cells from an animal the STG had studied that could fused back together small parts of its body. However a deeper study of those cells were needed to see if that was helpful or not. For his part, Rick found that multilayers of graphene would answer his problem of shock absorption. With the data he had on the material he began to make different simulations to see what worked, what didn’t and how it could help with his idea.

“...”

“And what if... what if... he doesn’t?”

“Then I’ll just be his roommate and content myself by being at his side because I’m not letting him go. Never again. Been there, done that and it wasn’t worth the shirt I got for it.” she replied sadly while looking at her joined hands.

“...”

“...”

“I hope... that your wish comes true.” he said then removed his hand from hers and went to apologize to Admiral Ran.



Jane looked at his retreating back with a small smile on her face. His words have been a confession to her. He wanted the same thing, that was an admittance that made the butterflies in her stomach active and her heart skip a beat. It was a huge leap in their relationship and in the right direction. The fact that he was hoping for her wish to come true made her realize that he wasn’t there yet, that he returned her feelings but couldn’t act upon them. It was the last obstacle she had to overcome and perhaps the hardest. Getting him to trust her completely. But she had come this far and tried so hard so there was absolutely no way she was stopping now.





____________________________________________________________





After apologizing to Ran and talking with her a bit smoothing their relation, Rick left the com center to his quarters and waited. Less than five minutes later, Tali entered the room and jumped into his open arms. They hugged tightly in silence for gods know I long before the quarian spoke up.



“I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

“I tried, you know....” she said in a mournful tone.

“I know. It’s alright. The team is there for you. We’ll win this war, either through peace or through violence. But I promise you, you’ll get to walk the soil of Rannoch.”

“Thank you.” Tali responded, full of hope.

“Soooo... Admiral, huh? That’s one step closer to being the empress of the Galaxy, Miss ‘I’m not a leader and I don't want to rule the galaxy’.” he teased and she punched his chest in protest.

“It wasn’t my choice! They named me because... well I’m the best expert on geths they have.”

“You’re selling yourself short. You got the job because you’re fit for it.”

“But I don’t want it! Not with the responsibilities that come with the title.”

“Well, it’s only temporary. Once Rannoch is back into Quarian hand, let Koris and Ran run the show and do your own thing. But enough about your rise to Admiral, look at this workshop! I got everything!” he said as he released her and moved to the side so she could see what he had built.



“Keelah’... It’s perfect for work. Terminals at the back to work on the theory and a workbench on the side to apply it.” she exclaimed as she walked towards the workbench to look at the different tools available. “They’re all the latest tools on the market.”

“Yep.”



Looking around more she saw that the workshop was designed for two people. A thought came into her mind and she hesitated for a moment to voice it but in the end, did.



“It’s for us.”

“Yes. When the reapers came, I knew that somehow you’ll be back on the team so I prepared in advance.”



Turning around to face him she walked towards him and grabbed his helmet with her hands.



“I love you, you know that?”

“I wasn’t sure.”

“How can you doubt it?”

“You left before I woke up and without cashing in the second night of sex you were owed. I thought that my stunt at the Collectors base was the last straw and that you had enough and simply moved on.”

“There is nothing further from the truth. I stayed as long as I could but I was called back. After their stupid trial, I couldn’t tell the admiralty to stuff it.”

“So I’m still your high minion sex slave?”

“Of course! If you thought that I was done using you for your body, you couldn’t be more wrong.”



They both laughed at that and hugged again.



“You feel so good in my arms...” he said then lowered his hand to grab a good handful of her ass. “And in my hands.”

“I didn’t give your permission to touch my butt, slave.” she said as she slapped his hands away and got out of their hug.

“No, but I took it anyway, too hard to resist it.”

“It’s not the only thing that’s hard.” she teased as she grabbed his hardening member through his pants.

“All for you.”

“With Ashley and Liara on board, I sincerely doubt it.” she replied, squeezing his third leg.

“Okay, you got me.”

“Anyone else that you add to your collection?”

“You’re saying that like I’m building a harem.” was said with an offended tone.

“Are you not?”

“No. Ash will one day find herself someone who will marry her ass and give her children. Liara will too but much later and she’s free to date whoever she wants. And you will probably have to fight off all suitors and start a family someday. I can help you with the former, not with the later.”

“I won’t. I don’t...”



She was interrupted with the door to the room opening and Jane coming in.

“Am I interrupting something?”

“Yes” / “No.”

“No, you’re not interrupting, Jane.” repeated Tali.

“Okaaayy. Do you have a moment to catch up in my cabin? Ashley, Liara and EDI are already there.”

“EDI?” the quarian asked, confused at why Jane included EDI in the mix since the AI was all around the ship.

“Oh, right, you don’t know yet. You’re in for a surprise.”

“What surprise?”

“You’ll see.” Jane replied, dragging Tali outside and leaving Rick alone.