[Book Three] Chapter 27: Dreams for the future

Chapter 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. 

His second project, a chameleon armor, was ready. He just needed to actually build the thing. Thankfully, Kasumi came through with him and sent  all the material to the Citadel.

Once greenlighted by Karin, he was glad to be able to exercise again. The work on graphene has become repetitive and tedious and was driving him mad. That also meant that sex wasn’t off the table anymore to the delight of many ladies on the ship. Especially EDI, who had done her research and was testing everything and anything on him. Sex with her wasn’t mechanical anymore and she did simulate reaction properly to Rick’s pleasure.
Speaking of EDI she was experiencing with her emotions a bit. So far she was adapting well to the most basic of them. Out of the seven, she was comfortable with happy, bad, fearful and surprised. The one she had the most difficulty with was anger. Despite the dampener mostly active almost at full capacity, anger was raw and powerful. Rick eating her last slice of bacon as a test ended up floating in the air as organic EDI was holding him by his collar with one hand. The AI had been shocked by the intensity and quickly switched to a 100% suppression of her emotion, apologizing to the man with her action. She talked about what she felt with both Rick and Kelly to try to understand what had happened but the words were failing her.

When he was’t training a bit, working on the graphene or trashing a very determined Traynor at chess, Rick began working on the Shepard VI’s code. The thing was a mess but it was a worthy challenge to make it as close as the original. It became even more important when Liara visited his room (one of the rare times she did) and saw him working on it. It was perfect for her own preservation project just in case the Safeguard bunkers failed.
Just like the Protheans, Liara was making balises to scatter on many different planets so thousands of years from now new species would know about the reapers and be better prepared. She thought it fitting that a VI looking and behaving like the leader of the resistance would guide them through the massive amount of information. At first she settled on Glyph, her own VI she appropriated from the former Shadow broker but the little sphere was far from perfect. Rick pitched the idea of having EDI copy herself into the balise but the amount of data she represented was too big and even if that wasn’t the case EDI had refused.

“Why?” Rick asked
“I do not want to live beyond my friends’ lifetime.”
“... EDI, that’s…” began Liara not quite knowing what to say.
“Very organic of you.”
“I know I could and probably will live forever, as long as my hardware and my power source are properly maintained but the probability of people using me as a tool or see me as a danger is far greater than considering me as a friend like the crew and the team did.”
“... You love us.” Rick said smugly.
“I do not know what you’re talking about.”
“You’ll be sad and lonely with us gone.”
“I would not.”
“Sure, sure.” Rick teased before his room went completely dark. “Point proven.” he chuckled to Liara’s amusement and consternation.

With no light but the sigil on the door,  Liara and Rick exited the room and the former dragged the latter to Jane’s cabin. That was the reason she went to see Rick in the first place.

“What do you want to talk about Liara, and why is Rick here?”
“For once I don’t know.” her brother replied.
“I’m working on making balises, just like the Prothean did. It’s almost over but for two entries. Both of yours.”
“Carrot Top, I get it, but me?”
“You’re like different sides of the same coin. Jane, you’re brave, charismatic and the best leader in the galaxy; Rick; you’re smart, wise and the most supportive. The two of you complete each other so much that you did what people never dreamed of doing, succeeded where every one else would have failed. When one is down the other stands up in his stead to keep things going all the while picking them up. I think it's important for the species in the future to know that one person is not enough and that cooperation is the key.”
“...”
“...”
“I don’t know what to say in response to that.” Jane said.
“Me neither. It’s worrisome that I agree with you. Must be the end of the world. Oh, wait.” replied Rick, making the girls chuckle.
“So our entries are the only ones left. What do you want to know? Because I’m pretty sure you know us well enough to make the entries yourself.” Jane said.
“Can I give my input on her?”
““NO!””
“You girls are no fun.” He said petulantly as he sat next to his sister on the couch.
“Alright. Let’s begin with… Earth’s greatest hero was actually born and raised on a ship among the stars in 2154 CE. She was an extremely talented biotic…” at that Rick snorted and got an elbow to the side, courtesy of Jane. “ And one of the most powerful fighters in the Galaxy. At twenty three she led a hundred men and women to victory against a force of ten thousand slavers on Elysium, despite being on vacation on the colony at the time. For that triumph and her display of bravery she was acclaimed as the Lion of Elysium or the Lion of the Alliance and made a Hero in the eyes of humanity. The Military command of the Alliance chose her to be part of the famous N program. A program reserved for the elite soldiers that was said to be so difficult that no one would be disrespected in case of failure. She reached the highest rank of N7 in a single year with the best grades to date, setting new records for each discipline except driving.” Once again Rick snorted and once again he took an elbow to the side. “She was a soldier and a leader before anything else but always was one to make peace whenever and wherever she could, one to bring order where there was chaos. Her actions earned her the respect of many if not all species be they friendly, neutral or hostile and when the time to fight for our survival came everyone rallied behind her. She had the uncanny ability to inspire people to do better and to fight for the right cause. Jane Rosalind Shepard was the greatest example of a Paragon in our cycle. She was the bravest, the most charismatic and the best leader we ever had.”

Liara stopped talking and closed the entry. Looking at Jane, with embarrassment while everyone kept silent.

“Call me if your head can’t pass through doors anymore, Red.” Rick simply said but was ignored.
“Liara… that’s…”
“The truth. You may not see yourself like that but for many of us that’s how we see you, Jane.”

Silence fell once again in the room and Rick looked closely at his sister trying to know what she was feeling right now, despite knowing that he couldn’t.

“O… Okay. It's his turn now.” Jane said as she put her arm around his waist and pulled him towards her.
“Oh, boy.”

Opening a new entry Liara took a moment to think about what to say about her boyfriend. Much of the information regarding him was officially unknown and painful. Steeling herself she made her decision.

“The galaxy’s greatest mind’s past, just like his face, is shrouded in mystery. Many speculated about his origins but the truth is, much like commander Shepard,  he was born on a ship among the stars in 2160 CE. Rick Wald was not his birth name but a name he chose for himself when he disappeared at ten to parts unknown and to this day no one knows his real name. After a few years of bounty hunting while exploring the galaxy in his late teenage years, he settled down as a simple tech expert on the human colony of Eden Prime in 2180CE. When the first reaper's incursion happened in 2183 CE, Rick Wald witnessed the murder of his wife and unborn daughter by the reapers’ forces. That event lit a raging fire inside of him called vengeance. This was also the day he met Commander Shepard. From this day on, he tirelessly supported her in her quests to stop the Reapers, solving problems that no one else could. His ideas and inventions redefined war as it was known, preparing all species for the War of Survival. He was the greatest human biotic vanguard to ever live and his discoveries took biotics studies higher and farther than anyone thought was possible. While one of the best fighters in the galaxy it was his mind his enemies feared the most. He was the one to discover Saren Arterius’ and Sovereign’s plan to take over the Citadel to start the Reaper invasion and made sure the station held until the Commander would come to help. He toppled a government without firing a single bullet to get the help the galaxy needed against the reapers. To strangers he was a very cold, rational and blunt individual but to his close ones he was the most passionate, dedicated and loyal of friends. His tumultuous working relationship with Commander Shepard at first, was well known but with time they formed the best pair to spearhead the fight against the reapers. His feats were as numerous as hers, the most memorable one being the defeat of a horde of brutes with only his plasma sword before literally punching a Reaper in the face earning him the nickname of ‘Slayer’ in 2186 CE. Rick Wald was to Chaos what Commander Shepard was to Order. While he was many things, he is mainly remembered as the smartest and wisest man in our cycle despite his very young age.”

For the second time she closed the entry then looked at her boyfriend. Once again nothing but silence could be heard in the room.

“...”
“...”
“...”
“You know… If you wanted me to spend the night with you, you only had to ask.”
“I’m surprised your helmet didn’t explode because your head got big.” Jane commented. “There is a bit of bullshit in there though. Rick, the wisest? Nu-huh.”
“Uh-huh.” her brother protested.
“Nu-huh.”
“Uh-huh.”
“No! You’re an idiot!
“You’re kidding, right? If we’re doing so well so far it’s thanks to how wise I am!”
“Well, if the two of you are fighting over it then it’s a good entry.”
“What I don’t get is why this project when Rick’s is already running?”
“My project could fail. Remember TIM knows about it… some Cerberus sleeper agents may have infiltrated the diverse bunkers. Honestly I think it’s a good idea, Liara. Maybe I should create my own VI to go with Gingerbread’s…”
“What are you talking about?” asked Jane.
“I got one of your VI on the Citadel. I’m working on it for fun and…”
“I decided that it would be better than to put Glyph in the balise but only if your VI is close to who you are.”
“That would have a lot more impact for the primitive species.”
“You got a VI of me?” Jane asked, looking at Rick with a knowing smile on her face.
“Yes, I can shoot it without killing it. Great stress relief.”
“Of course.” she replied not believing a word.
“Now if they could make one of your mother…”

____________________________________________________________

Jane had debated long enough if she should lock Rick inside his quarters or have him by her side during the talks with the Quarians’ Admiralty. It wasn’t an easy decision to make considering what happened the last time her brother had confronted them. In the end, she chose to have him there.

When the admirals boarded the Normandy she got the surprise of her life when saw Tali among one of them. It was Admiral Ran who took the lead.

“Commander, a pleasure to meet you again, despite the circumstances.” she greeted Jane, while ignoring Rick.
“Admiral, I had hoped for the Quarians’ support in the war yet you vanished. What’s going on?”
“Exactly thirty seven days ago, the quarians started a war against the geths to take back our homeworld by doing precision strikes on four geths systems.” Admiral Gerrel answered with a bit of pride.
“What?!”
“Turning our back on the agreement we made with the council to  avoid provoking the Geths.” chastised Admiral Koris.
“An agreement that means nothing compared to recovering our homeworld and the advanced AI technology.” defended Admiral Xen.

Jane looked at Tali who kept silent, then turned to Rick. She could feel his urge to bang his head against the wall and to kill Gerell and Xen.

“That was utterly stupid but okay. However, why should your war concern the Alliance and the other species of the coalition? We’re a bit busy with the reapers and the survival of all species.”
“We have a lot to offer to your coalition against the reapers.” Gerrel said.
“I’m aware of what you’re offering. What I do not understand is why you didn’t earlier in the first place when the war began. Why are you bargaining for our help now?”
“They’re losing.” Rick answered after snorting. “I can’t believe it. You were preparing for war in the first place and when the Reapers invaded instead of redirecting your resources for the fight that matters, you went with your original plan to take back your homeworld which is inconsequential at the moment.”
“Taking back our homeworld is not inconsequential!” shouted Gerrel.
“Oh? What are you going to do if you win against the Geths and take back your homeworld? Your army and resources would be severely lacking to fight the reapers. They would wipe you out and you wouldn’t have even enjoyed living on Rannoch for a year. Really, what a smart move on your part. And now, you expect others to help you clean up your own mess? Diverting crucial resources for one world which doesn’t bring any benefit against the reapers when you made our fight even more difficult?”
“What do you mean?” Jane asked, not understanding the last part.
“Which species can the geths ask help from against an organic enemy to avoid extinction?”
“... The reapers?! You think the geths would join the reapers?!” Jane exclaimed after taking a moment to think about it.
“Yes and something tells me that’s why these idiots in front of us are asking for our help right now. The geths got upgraded hard enough to reverse the situation.”
“That’s pretty much it.” Koris confirmed.
“Koris!”
“It’s the truth, Gerrel! I’m not blinded by my desire for revenge to not see or admit it.”
“Or a sociopath that doesn’t care about their own people and just wants to study AI.” Rick added, looking at Xen “ or “someone spineless.” he finished while looking at Ran. Turning to Jane he spoke more. “I say we take Tali back with us and put Koris in charge after killing the others.”
“““WHAT?!”””
“NO. And that’s final.” Jane replied, frowning at Rick.
“In that case, we want more than just engineering help from the Quarians. If we have to risk our lives for you, it’s fair that you risk your lives for us afterward. Basically we want the support of the Quarian military fleet against the reapers.”
“That, I can agree with.” Jane supported.
“It seems a fair deal to me.” Koris said in agreement.

Ran agreed too, understanding Rick’s argument making the votes in favor of the deal thanks to Tali. Gerrel and Xen were outvoted. From there the meeting went to talk about the current situation of the Quarians’ fleet, stuck in their own system because the Geths took control of the area around the Mass Relay forbidding the Quarians the ability to flee. The reason why the admirals could bypass the Geths embargo was because of the stealth system the ship they used was equipped with. Once the meeting was over Rick went to talk not to Tali but Koris.

“I’m surprised you and your people are in this situation. I would have thought, from what Tali told me about you, that you would have tried to open diplomatic venues with the geths after we eliminated all the heretics. The remaining Geths were neutral.”
“I did try but I was outvoted. Tali’s reports on the geth you found on that derelict reaper gave me so much hope for a peaceful resolution of our conflicts. Alas, it is as you said. Xen doesn’t care and does not want peace, nor does Gerrel who thinks that we’re not to blame for our own actions and their consequences and wants revenge. He does care about his subordinates however but won’t hesitate to sacrifice them for his goal. Ran… Ran is… I wouldn’t say spineless that wouldn’t do her justice after all she’s done for the fleet; she has the best interest of our people at heart, unlike the others but she’s indecisive in this particular case. She didn’t know what was the best course of action for our people but when Xen came in with a new tech promising a sure way to get back to Rannoch she went with it. In a way she hasn’t been wrong, the tech worked but it was a short sighted decision as the geths joined the reapers in retaliation and became immune to Xen’s weapon.”
“Ah. Perhaps I should apologize to Ran then.”
“You should if not because it’s the right thing to do, but for smoothing the relations between our people. Your actions during Tali’s trial, while understandable, divided the fleet. Some liked your passion in defending Tali and thought better of humanity while others thought the opposite. You didn’t make any friend of Gerrel that day, that’s for sure.”
“Yeah, I’m not apologizing for that. Nobody messes with my best friend.”
“I didn’t expect you to.” Koris replied with a chuckle.
“Despite the situation, if the geths reach for peace, would you agree?”
“Yes. I always believed in peace, I won’t stop now. We just never had the chance to understand each other and the fact that we were exiled from our own homeworld didn’t help. Resentment and hatred run deep.”

Rick noticed Jane signaling him to join her to the com room with her head. Excusing himself to Koris, he followed her and arrived just as Hackett’s hologram appeared.

“Commander, Wald.”
“Admiral, we just finished the meeting with the Quarians’ Admiralty.”
“And? What do they want?”
“Our help in winning their war against the geths.”
“Their war against… They waged war against the geths?! With the reapers already here?!”
“Not the smartest move but one Admiral only wants revenge against the Geths regardless of the consequences, another just wants to experiment on them not caring about anything else and they roped in a third after some convincing so it’s not really a surprise they are in this situation.” Rick explained.
“That’s not all, their first attack hit the geths hard and they reached the reapers for help in response.”
“This is a mess.”
“Yes.”
“There is a silver lining though. Rick negotiated a better deal, not only do we get engineering help for the crucible but also their military fleet if we succeed.”
“That’s good news but how?”
“I…”
“He played them like he played the council three years ago.” Jane replied, interrupting her brother.
“You noticed? I’m surprised.”
“It was only when you presented the second deal that I understood your game.”
“Commander?”
“I advised Gingerbread aloud to put Koris in charge of their people after killing the annoying ones. They objected of course and so did Red, then I presented a reasonable deal. We risk our lives for them then in return they risk their lives for us. They agreed. Well at least the ones with two functioning brain cells agreed but it was enough for a vote in our favor.”
“And with you objecting to the first proposition, Commander, you’ve shown that you’re open to cooperation and can be talked to and be reasonable. Good job, the both of you.”
“I was serious though. Xen… can be reasoned with as long as she gets what she wants, she is a sociopath after all. Gerrell… I’m probably going to kill him before the end. He’s an old soldier. Victory at any cost. If sending us to hell is profitable to advance his goal he will. He’s the main leader in favor of the war. Without him Koris is the de facto leader and he controls the civilian fleet which is the biggest fleet.”
“What about Ran?” Jane asked.
“She would have followed Koris’ lead. She only followed Gerrel because Xen came up with a way to deal with the geths or so Koris said. It worked but with the reaper upgrades it doesn’t anymore.”
“She must be regretting her decision big time. What about the geths? Could peace be brokered with them?”
“Koris said that he will negotiate if that happens and I think he would have the support of Tali and maybe Ran. Peace is barely hanging on the edge of the table though. Who knows if the geths are still themselves or completely indoctrinated.”
“Keep an eye open. If peace can happen and limit the casualties it will be better for us.”
“Yes, sir.” Jane replied and Hackett ended the call.

“Ready to fight in a stupid war?” Rick asked his sister.
“Not really but it doesn’t matter, doesn’t it?”
“Sadly, no.”
“Have you ever thought about what you’re going to do after?”
“That’s such an out of the blue question.”
“It’s just… First Saren, then the Collectors and now the war with the reapers, the war with the geths. It’s going to end one day. If we survive…Perhaps it won’t be long before another threat shows up but we’ll have a break. I need that break and I was wondering what I would do then.”
“I don’t know. Despite having some recreational moments during the past three years. Preparing for the reapers was my only objective; it’s what kept me alive. I never bothered to think about afterward because to me, there was never an afterward. Sure I intend to build my company with Tali but it’s more for her than for me, I couldn’t care less otherwise.”
“You really don’t have any ideas for your life after the war?”
“My life is empty without them…” he whispered. “I probably won’t commit suicide, not with everyone still around. I’m not that selfish and I doubt you or Kahlee would let me nor the others… Perhaps… Perhaps building a small home removed from everything on a planet with a lot of rain.”
“Rain?”
“Its sound is soothing and the smell of the perichor is delightful.”
“I never noticed that about rain.”
“You missed something. What about you?”
“I think… I’ll retire from active duty.”
“Miss girl scout retiring? I don’t believe it.” he replied, his brows reaching his hairline.
“I’ve been in the army half my life. I gave it everything I had, even my life and it asked me for more and I have enough. No one ever gave as much as I did and it needs to stop. So I think… I’ll retire and spend my days with the man I love.” she said as she took one of his hands in one of hers. “If he wants me.”
“...”

“...”
“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.