[Book Three] Chapter 36: Coming together

[Book Three] Chapter 36: Coming togetherChapter 36: Coming together



The party has been going on for a while now and small groups have formed. The ambiance was calm and relaxed, something that Rick enjoyed very much though he knew that would last. As he walked to the bar he came across Jane who was going there too. They didn’t say anything but listened to the conversation that was going on about Cerberus while unconsciously leaning against the counter, close to each other.



“I miss the days when Cerberus was hilariously incompetent. You know, when the two of you were in charge.” Joker said to his audience.

“Excuse me? I wasn’t incompetent, neither was Jacob.” protested Miranda.

“Yes, we did a pretty good job. Blew up the Collector base remember?”

‘Ah! That’s Jacob.’ Rick thought and turned his head to look at Jane who nodded, understanding what went through his mind.

“As for the only thing I was in charge of, it was the Lazarus project which as you can see is a resounding success.” the brunette said, pointing at Jane with her thumb.

“Debata...Ugh.” was all Rick could sass before his sister put a sharp elbow in his side.

“You were saying?” She asked ‘sweetly’.

“Debatable.”

“I’m amazed that you’re still alive with things like that.” Joker commented before “But yeah... Incompetent: ‘Hey, Commander! We were studying some rachnis/creepers/thresher maw/ biotics kids/ the guy we connected to the geths and they got loose and killed all our guys. Can you take care of it? Pretty please?’” he said in an inane voice making Rick snort.

“At least the body count was from their side.” Jane interjected.

“We knew there were some bad cells but we truly believed we were doing good work.” lamented Jacob.

“On paper you were. Studying the way rachnis communicate and their genetic memory? Rather important. The way it was done? Incompetent. With proper ethics and people, things wouldn’t have gone to shit all the time.”

“Not all the time.” protested again Miranda.

“All the time. Even the most successful project.” Rick countered.

“I mean, the Commander was under Cerberus' watch, got out of it and started killing all of their guys.”

“That’s not untrue... Good one ,Joker.”

“Then there is EDI, too.”

“You’re to blame for her being unshackled!”

“Doesn’t matter. Still the third best decision of my life.”

“I’m glad you did so. I’m enjoying my freedom very much... By killing all of their guys.” EDI joked which made Jane laugh along with Rick and Joker and even Miranda and Jacob snorted.

“I almost wish I had a turn. Getting captured, breaking out, killing all of them.”

“Of course you would, you’re insane.” Joker retorted, shaking his head in amusement.



The conversation went on and Rick slipped away, glass in hand. From the corner of his eyes he saw Samara looking at a painting of abstract art. Wondering how her life was going now, he approached her.



“Trying to understand the art?” he asked, looking at the painting by her side.

“Trying to understand how that could be considered art in the first place.” she replied matter-of-factly.

“...”

“...”

“Damn! You made a joke! About Art! Aren’t asari supposed to worship it or something?”

“Those that have too much money or no skills for anything else.” she replied with a smile and turned to face him.

“How are you doing? And the girls?”

“They are alright and motivated to rebuild the monastery. As for me, I’m doing... fine, considering. I followed the code for so long... To each situation it comes into my mind and taking a moment to not follow it is difficult. I never really realized that I was a slave to it. All justicars are.” she said with a small grimace. “But I understand why, and I don’t regret it. We couldn’t do what we have to do if we didn’t submit to it. It guides us, gives us strength, support and many more things.”

“You’re not really living though.”

“No, I was not.”

“I like to hear you use the past tense.” he smiled saying this.

“You were right. My reason for being a justicar is gone. I fulfilled my duty and while I will probably always follow the code if I see an injustice or crime in front of me, I will only be a mother from now on.”

“Good.”

“Rila and Falere are really happy with the decision. It pains me to have missed most of their lives, surprisingly they do not hold it against me.”

“Of course they don’t. They know and understand why you left. They’re happy that you made it out alive and back to them. You are their mother after all, they love you.”

“I don’t deserve them.” she replied sadly.

“Perhaps, perhaps not. Does it really matter?”

“Yes, because they deserve better.”

“Let this young twenty something year old man give you a bit of wisdom... Life is not about what you deserve, it’s about what you get and what you do with it. You feel unworthy to be their mother? Work hard to be worthy. It’s as simple as that. Play the cards that you’ve been served and try to earn better ones, don’t bother thinking about the cards you wish you or anyone else had because you’ll miss the whole game.”

“Always so insightful.” she smiled genuinely at him.

“Well I say that... but with your lifespan your game is rather long... still don’t take too much time to do things or you will have forgotten to do them when the time comes for you. There is a human saying: ‘Carpe Diem’. It’s from a dead language but the meaning is ‘enjoy the day’ which can be interpreted as ‘live your life as if each day was the last because you only live once’ .”

“That’s rather poetic, I like it.”

“You should speak with Ashley, despite her tough exterior and explosive and blunt temper she loves poetry. I’m sure she’ll be willing to talk about it with you. Perhaps Jennifer too now that I think about it.” he said pensively.

“Jennifer?”

“Jack’s real name.”

“Oh? She found out who she was?”

“Hmmhmm and you won’t believe it but she’s my sister in law.”

“No way!” Samara exclaimed with huge eyes. “Truly?”

“Yeah. It was a shock when I found out.”

“It’s impressive how despite the galaxy being so big it’s at the same time so small.” the asari said as she was looking at Jennifer standing in the living room talking with Jane.

“You have no idea.” Rick whispered looking at his sister. Of all the planets and all the human colonies there is, she ended up on Eden Prime when he was there.



Samara didn’t miss what he said and at who he was looking at. “You and the Commander?”

“... It’s a long story and I’m not in the mood to talk about it.”

“I understand, perhaps one day.”

“On my deathbed, if I can’t help it. Otherwise I’m taking that story to the grave. Not that I don’t want people to know, I just don’t want to say it.”



Samara looked at him for a moment and nodded, then left to join the rather big group in the kitchen who began dancing as music had just begun playing. He looked at everyone moving around in rhythm and took enjoyment from doing so. Dancing has never really been his thing or rather not the king of dancing for this kind of party music. Ballroom dancing was more his things as the elegance, grace, and closeness to your partner was much more appealing. The choreography, the multiple different steps and the somewhat resulting intimacy was something he liked as it allowed him to let his mind on auto-pilot and empty it. That was something he needed the most and that worked the best for him. He had tried fishing which was an activity famously known to empty your head, some research back from the late 20th century even proved that when fishing while sitting around a man’s brain was devoid of thought or rather devoid of activity. In other words they were brain dead for a short time. It had fascinated Rick to learn this when he was searching for a way to just turn his brain off and immediately tried despite the limited environment of Omega. He will always remember Aria laughing her ass off when she caught him trying to catch his clown fish, Nemo, from his aquarium. The memory put a small smile on his face and that caught the eye of Ashley who loudly called him out.



“Come on, Lover! Dance with us!”

“Tempting but no thank you.”

“Scared?” the brunette challenge.

“Don’t worry, Jane is dancing, you can’t do worse!” laughed Garrus to Jane’s protest which prompted the others around to laugh too.

“I am not scared, it’s just not my kind of dance.”

“And what is your kind of dance, Dickhead?” Rick heard from the side where he saw Jennifer moving her body sultrily on the dining table.

“Ballroom dance, like waltz or tango.”

“No shit?!”

“Yes, shit.”

“I bet Garrus is wrong and you’re worse than me!”



Rick turned his head to look at Jane who was moving atrociously her body around like a drunk. He knew she didn’t care about this, she just wanted to see him dance, to see him have some fun. Sighing, he joined the improvised dance floor and began to shake his body with the rhythm of the beat. His feet, well coordinated and the rest of his body moving flawlessly with it.



“Holy shit! You’re good!” Ashley exclaimed, not believing what she was seeing.

“Oh yeah! That bit about growing up around dancers and whores was true.” Jennifer said, dumbfounded.

“Of course it was.” replied Rick dancing the night away.





____________________________________________________________





It turned out that the night away was in fact, two hours. Fed up with moving around he went to the bar and saw the fighting nutcases there, drunk out of their asses and guns in hands. Not wanting to know what was happening and wanting to find a calm place with no people or a few as many around, he didn’t even bother to enter the area and went to pick up a drink at the second bar in the lounge area. There he saw Miranda and Jennifer sitting face to face, looking at each other in silence. Not caring one bit, he went behind the counter poured himself a drink and went to sit on the other side of the room on a comfy love seat in silence where he closed his eyes and let his mind wander.



“...”

“...”

“...”

“The fuck you want?!” Jennifer shouted seeing her brother in law look at them. Or so she thought, since she couldn’t really tell with his helmet.

“...”

“...”

“I’m talking to you, Dickhead!”

“Hmm?”

“Why are you looking at us like that?!”

“What the hell are you talking about? I was resting with my eyes closed.”

“You think I’d believe that?!”

“I don’t give a shit if you do or not. Now leave me the fuck alone and go back to working out a frienship with Miranda or flirting or whatever you were doing here.” he replied and took a sip of his drink.

“Hell, no!”/ “You didn’t just say that.” Both brunettes protested.

“Ugh... Guess I won’t have my moment of peace... What is it?”

“Like hell I’m making friends with the cheerleader!”

“For once I agree with Jennifer.”

“You should, you have everything to be the best of friends or more.”

“How many glasses did you have?” Miranda inquired at the absurdity she was hearing.

“That’s my second.”

“No more for you, lightweight.” said Jennifer as she stood up from her barstool and went to rip the glass out of his hand.

“Hey! Give that back.”

“Not if you’re spouting bullshit.”

“I’m not! You have plenty of common ground but you are different enough to complete each other.”

“I must be dreaming.” Miranda replied bewildered.

“Look. You’re both badass biotic independent women, you’re sexy and gorgeous as hell. People depend on you and you’re very loyal to the people you care about. Best of all? You loathe Cerberus. Now onto the difference, Jen, you’re chaotic and impulsive and a bit of an extroverted introvert. Miranda, you’re organized and thoughtful and an introverted extravert. It’s like the two of you are the different sides of the same coin. Honestly, the way I see it, you have nothing to lose and all to gain by being friends.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“I knew you had some screws loose but I thought it was only just a few, not all of them.” Jennifer commented.

“I don’t know... there is some truth in what he said.”

“What?! Did he fuck your ass so much that he fucked your brain out too?”

“Lovely...” Miranda replied in a flat tone. “We do have similarities and complementary differences, that doesn’t mean we’re going to be best friends forever however.”

“For a moment I thought you were going with his stupid idea.”

“Puh-lease. My idea has merit. If the two of you find a way to work together you’d only be better and greater for it. My advice? Go spend some time as a team in the arena.”

“So not going to happen.” Jennifer said drinking bottoms up Rick’s drink.

“Yes, I’m too busy anyway.”

“Busy? I didn’t give you any work yet. You should get some soon though.”

“I’m searching for Oriana. I haven't had any contact in months, I’m worried.”

“Cerberus?” Jennifer asked.

“Rather my father but Cerberus is on my list too.”

“... She’s... safe.” Rick said hesitantly.

“Safe?”

“You know something? Where is she?” Miranda asked promptly with urgency as she stood up from her seat.

“One of my bunkers. She was perfect for the Safeguard project.”

“Safeguard project?” Jennifer asked puzzled.

“It’s a plan I’ve been working on with the councilors since Sovereign's defeat three years ago. In case we lose against the Reapers, I had secret bunkers constructed all over the galaxy and filled it with people who are expert in their fields, the potential to be and who are open to interspecies cooperation, putting them all in a status that will last a couple centuries. If we lose in this cycle, we won’t lose in the next.”

“And you only tell me now?! I’ve been worried sick for months!” Miranda shouted in anger.

“I... forgot.” was the answer he gave but the wrong one. Even Jennifer was shocked at it.

“How the hell did you forget that, Dickhead!”

“One, because there are four million people involved in the project! Two... Well, since Oriana and her adoptive parents are safe I... kinda put it in the back of my mind. I had more important things to focus on. Now that I think about it, I should warn Joker about his sister, she’s in the project too! Her flying scores are off the charts.”



Standing up, he quickly exited the lounge to go see the Normandy’s helmsman, leaving behind the two women.



“I can’t believe that man!” Miranda threw her arms in the hair in frustration.

“Eh! He is what he is but yeah I agree. Fucking idiot always forgetting important stuff like that.”

“I swear one moment he’s... Nevermind... I need to hit something.”

“Hit something? The cheerleader Ice Queen wants to hit something to vent her frustration?” questioned Jennifer as she looked at Miranda with surprise.

“Do you have a problem with that?!”

“Heck no! You’re finally interesting but that’s something I would do!”

“... Perhaps we do influence each other for the better.”

“Forget I said anything.” Jennifer replied unamused.

“I’m going to the arena murder some Cerberus’ fakeout for a bit, you’re free to join.” Miranda said as she exited the lounge.



Jennifer looked at her go, especially Miranda’s bubbly ass. Thinking for a moment, she agreed that killing some Cerberus guys would make her feel good and pass the time until the party picked up again. Serving herself one last glass of alcohol, she followed Miranda out of the apartment. What did she have to lose anyway? It wasn’t the weirdest shit she has ever done.





____________________________________________________________



Jane simply nodded and Rick began counting again. This time she succeeded in her first try and the couple began to waltz in the living room. To spice things a bit, Rick took some bigger steps and bigger turns so they would move beyond the circle they were revolving in. After a few minutes, they stopped and Jane had a proud smile on her face.



“Now, it’s only practice.”

“That was easy.”

“The waltz is one of the easiest dances to learn, at least the basic version. Turning around can also be done on the first step by simply pivoting your foot just as you make the second step. In that case you’re a bit more free to move around as a unit in the direction you want. You can also alternate to dance in a more or less straight line before making a turn.”



Jane nodded in understanding. Out of the blue, she reached for his helmet and removed it, Rick letting her. Putting the headgear on the kitchen counter, she grabbed Rick by the hand to practice, following his advice. This time however she could look at his bright blue eyes and felt the dance way more intimate. She doesn’t know how long they dance in silence but by the time they stopped she felt like it hadn't been long enough.





____________________________________________________________





Jane had worn the dress back on. She really felt like the most beautiful woman in the world in it despite the scars accumulated after years of service and one resurrection. Her muscles were well defined but not big, meaning she didn’t feel like a bodybuilder put on a dress. The dress wasn’t the only thing she wore again. The earrings, the cross, the shoes and even the gloves. Everything was the same. To avoid a potential scandal Rick did the same. Though she didn’t care one bit if people knew she was dating a member of her team, she still wanted to be just them in the know, Ashley aside. That was why Rick had ditched the helmet for his venetian mask. They had already been seen together like that at the casino earlier in the week, people wouldn’t be surprised. They would wonder who was the tall blond man she had a date with, however. She was fine with that. The only difference for her was the ponytail that she had dropped. Instead she sported a fringe that went to her left. It was simple and she liked it that way.



They had dinner and a very luxurious restaurant on the Presidium, the kind that didn’t have the price on the menu. At least they weren’t on hers. She noticed once again that people were looking at her and could even hear the less than subtle talking about either her, her dress, or Rick. The food was the best she ever had and so far the date was going well. When they left the establishment they just walked aimlessly on the bank of the Presidium in silence. Her arm in his and their hands intertwined. As it was night time, the Citadel lights adapted and the clear blue sky was replaced by a black starry one. Much like any intimate moment since they got together, she wished it would never end. That the reapers would just go back from where they can from and leave everyone alone. That wasn’t going to happen, it was wishful thinking and she knew it. That’s why she cherished this loving moment even more. To make it even better, she led him to a rather deserted part of the Presidium where some couples were enjoying their time together too. Once there, she moved from his side to face him. She felt like dancing to make everything more perfect and Rick obliged her. They never broke eye contact and never noticed the people around, discreetly watching them. Some began to dance with their partner too while others simply took pictures of the siblings, recognizing Jane. When she had enough moving her feet, she couldn’t help herself and kissed him. It was a simple kiss but very meaningful for her and for him. When they separated she had stars in her eyes. Full of happiness and full of love. Complaining that she was cold, Rick put his jacket on her shoulder and embraced her from behind, Jane melting in his arms and they simply looked at the water just below them for a moment. Finally she asked to be brought home and they left hand in hand for the apartment. As soon as they went through the door, she was all over him.



“This night has been perfect so far. You better make it perfect the whole night because who knows when will be the next time if there is a next time.”

“Jane... you better be talking about one of us dying in the latter case.”

“Of course I do!”

“I didn’t go through my trauma and my fear so you could abandon me again.”

“I wouldn’t! I won’t!”

“Good because I will not let you go, Jane. Never. I can’t go through that again.”

“You’ll never have to.” she said as she gently grabbed his collar and pulled him down for a kiss but stopped when their nose touched. “I’m all yours.”

“All mine?”

“Hmm. Mind, heart, body and soul.”

“You won’t mind, if I tattoo you saying that you belong to me then?”

“I’m still an alliance officer, so I can’t have a visible tattoo but I won’t mind. You can do whatever you want to my body.”

“Whatever I want? Are you sure? I don’t think you realize what you’re saying.”

“What. Ever.”

“If I want to put a collar on you?”

“Like Miranda? I don’t mind, it’s hot. It's proof that I belong to you. I won’t be able to wear it in public if there is something written on it, like hers, though.”

“What if I want to... Hmmm... Have your nipples pierced?”

“I’ll just ask you if you prefer rings or barbells.”

“You’re crazy, I hope you know that.”

“I’m kinky, not the same thing. And I’m blaming you and Ashley for that. And mom. We got that kinkiness from her.”

“Ugh.. Please do not talk about...”

“Sorry, it slipped. I won’t do it again.”

“Maybe I should just plug your mouth just to be sure.”

“If you don’t bring me to our bedroom and make me choke on your cock in the next fifteen seconds, I’m bringing her up again.”



Rick had never been that fast in his entire life.