[Book Three] Chapter 34: Dates and challenges

Chapter 34: Dates and challenges

 
Rick was sitting next to Benezia and facing Liara at a small cafe on the presidium. It was very secluded and very few people were there, something that suited him just fine. The only downside was Aethyta who was sitting next to his girlfriend across the table or so he thought at first. The Asari matriarch was apparently very fond of him and openly flirted with him without qualms while Benezia was stroking the inside of his thigh with her hand.

“This is not what I expected after how our last encounter went.”
“You mean when you tried and failed to pop my head off because your gun was not loaded?”
“Yes.” He simply replied, taking a sip of his tea. “Usually people don’t become all flirty after that.”
“Well, I’m not people am I?”
“No, definitely not. I wonder if this is a consequence of your krogan side.”
“Rick! It’s not working like that and you know it!” his girlfriend complained.
“Hmmhmm. I don’t believe it. Pretty sure Asari gets more than a blueprint of the nervous system and of the DNA from their partner. Might be worth researching.” he replied, making Benezia squeeze him harder and Aethyta smile predatorily.
“Fortunately for you have two willing Asari ready to help with the experiments.” said Benezia.
“Three. There is no way I’m not getting any of that man meat!” Aethyta corrected.
“Father!”
“What? You and Nezzie seemed to be really hooked on it, especially Nezzie! She’s almost giving him a handjob! I’m not missing on it.”
“Imagine a krogan size cock on a human.”
“Mother!”
“Goddess!” shouted Aethyta and raised from her seat. “Let’s go! Now!”
“No! We’re having a nice time for once! I…”
“We can have a nice time in bed, my little wing.”
“Mother!”
“Oh yes! I want to play with your rack again Nezzie! It’s been too long!”
“Just hers? I’m surprised you’re limiting yourself when Liara’s are nearly just as big.”
“Rick!”
“AH! I like you more and more! Liara if you don’t have children with him I will!”
“What?!”
“Children… Now it has been a while. Maybe I should try for one more.”
“Children? I thought you only had Liara?” Rick asked.
“I have sisters?!” his girlfriend exclaimed in shock.
“You’re my third, dear. You sisters… passed away while exploring the galaxy in their maiden years. It was long before I met Aethyta.”
“And you're my second. You have a half sister somewhere, we lost contact a couple centuries ago.”
“Father or mother?” Rick asked out of curiosity.
“Mother. Got her with Hanar.”
“... I get now why you’re a sex demon, baby.” he said after a pause, looking at his girlfriend.
“I’m not!”
“You’re sex crazed just like them! Or do you not remember our time on Thessia? The time after defeating that Yagh? Or our time on the Normandy?”
“I…”
“Oh, for the Goddess’ sake, just accept it already! There is nothing wrong with that! In fact if you keep it up you’d be a matriarch before you hit your third century.”  Aethyta chastised.
“Wait! I get the impression you’re not joking about that. I thought the matriarch stage was around seven hundred years old?”
“Usually but the different stages of an asari’s life is influenced by her mindset and how often she melds. If a very young maiden feels like being at home and nesting, she would naturally reach the matron stage earlier.” explain Benezia.
“That’s not something I knew…”
“Conversely, it’s possible but very rare for an asari at the matriarch stage to regress to the matron stage.” Mommy blue explained further, whispering sultrily in his ear then moved her hand from his thigh to his crotch. “Or the maiden stage.”
“Mother!”
“Tsk. Let your mother have some fun and join instead of faking how scandalized you are.”
“That’s an interesting piece of information. An asari with a mature body and the experience that comes with it but with the mind of a maiden. Must be the dream.”
“Let’s go back to my flat, it’s not far and there is plenty of space!”
“Perfect!” Benezia said as she rose from her seat taking Rick with her.
“I can’t believe this is happening! Can’t we just have some normal time talking for once!”
“Liara, our normal lives ended long ago and I don’t think they will ever be normal again.” Rick said.
“Of course, you would say that! Your dick is hard enough to hit nails and drill into concrete!” she replied pointing at the very big outline of his male appendage along his thigh through his pants.

Getting away from Benezia to reach for his girlfriend, he took her in his embrace lovingly.

“I know you just wanted a simple outing, enjoying drinks and the view but sometimes… you just have to go with the flow. Besides, you wouldn’t let those crazy sex demons hurt me, right? Who knows what will happen to me if you’re not there to back them off?”
“See it as a family bonding time.” Aethyta said.
“I know that incest is not looked down upon in our culture but isn’t it a bit too much?”
“Liara. If you really do not want to then your parents can go without us.”
“You mean it?”
“Of course. You are my girlfriend, not them. You get me, they don’t, not without your say so.” he assured her and kissed her on her forehead.
“Oh no! Not happening! You're going back to my place even if I have to knock you out and drag you. I’ll show you a better time than my daughter ever could. Who knows maybe you’ll be my boyfriend instead then!” Aethyta declared.
“Over my dead body, father! He’s mine! And you should be thankful that I’m sharing him! Besides, what's an old hag like you going to do against a young maiden like me with the perfect rack?! Huh? Squat shit!” Liara replied in anger.

Everyone present looked at her like she had sprouted a second head.

“Yeah… I’m definitely going to study the asari baby making process.”
“See! That’s the krogan in you!” Aethyta said, laughing.
“I…” Poor Liara didn’t know what to say, embarrassed by her outburst.

She was saved by her mother who took her and Rick by the hand.

“Let’s go Thyta or I’m having sex on this table.” the matriarch said with authority.

For a moment, Rick wondered if he would survive this family of succubi.

____________________________________________________________

Rick had to eat way more than usual at lunch to replenish his stamina. After the morning he had, no one could blame him. Fortunately for him, after Benezia and Aethtya got their turns they focused on each other instead, leaving him and Liara alone to be as lovey dovey as they wanted. He had to admit, Aethyta was perhaps as kinky as Benezia was sex crazed. Two traits that his dear girlfriend inherited to his greatest pleasure. Most of the time.

With his stomach full he met EDI in the upper wards for their date. Organic EDI that is since Synth EDI already had that experience.

“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Hmm… Should I tell you or keep the surprise?”
“Tell me. I do not like surprises.”
“Me neither. Alright, we’re going to an escape game.”
“An escape game? I didn’t know escaping could be turned into a game and I don’t think we’re dressed appropriately for escaping.”

She was right, both were wearing casual clothes and while Rick could probably be physical without any problem, EDI was wearing small heels. Something that she had bought a few days earlier, using his bank account, because she had been curious. So far she didn’t like them much.

“Not that kind of escape.”
“We won’t have to run then?”
“No. An escape game is a game where you are locked inside a place with one or multiple rooms and you have to get out by resolving puzzles. Usually it’s thematic like… We’re spies and we infiltrated an enemy base to get some very important data but under a time limit. The whole room will be visually reflective of such a scenario.”
“Good thing we’re good with technology then.”
“Oh that’s not… I mean… You’ll see. It will stimulate your mind, of that I’m sure.”

They arrived at their destination and entered the building. Presenting themselves to the receptionist, the turian woman behind the desk welcomed them and checked their reservations and their IDs.

“Rick Wald and Dorothea Wald for ‘The Abandoned and Haunted Magic Castle’.”
“That is correct.” Rick said, puzzling over the name the woman used for EDI.
“Perfect! The rules are simple: Find the magical artifact before the end of your allocated time, which is one hour. Do not break the props in any way. Every puzzle and riddle doesn’t require any use of strength. Lastly, if you are stuck and want help or hints to move along just say ‘Game Master’ and someone will talk to you from the coms. Once the time is over, please vacate the room.”
“Understood.” EDI simply said.
“Once you pass the door you’ll be in a small room with plenty of costumes and accessories. This is not the start of the game, it's just a room to disguise yourself if you wish to.”
“Disguise?”
“For immersion. You’ll see a black box on a table. That is important. Inside the box is a data pad and many wands. The datapad contained many spells that would be useful in your adventure and many that wouldn’t. The wands are there to ‘use’ the spells.”
“So, pick a wand each, pick the datapad, okay.”
“Once ready you’ll have to walk through a white door with ‘ The Abandoned and Haunted Magical Castle’ written on it. Once you do, the game and the timer begin. Got it?”
““Got it.””
“And that’s it with the rules and information. The elevator is on the right. Third floor, room 7.” the woman said pointing to her left with her finger. “Please have fun!”

Both Rick and EDI thanked her and walked towards the elevator.

“Dorothea Wald?”
“Your name was the first thing that came to mind when forging my ID.”
“Okay, but Dorothea?”
“I just followed your exemple.”

Rick knew what she was talking about but wanted to be sure. The reason was definitely outside EDI’s original parameters.

“My exemple?”
“Wald is German for ‘forest’ and Rick means ‘all powerful’; however the true meaning is found when it’s in one single word. It can be interpreted as ‘Change lover’, ‘intelligence’, ‘confident’, which are qualities that define you well. Another interpretation is ‘the powerful that governs’ or ‘the powerful leader’ something that you are not or refuse to be, making it a joke. Furthermore, if some information about names and their meaning is true, people named Rickwald  have a calling to make an impact on the world by supporting important causes searching to improve the life of those around him. They are driven by a powerful sense of justice and are especially drawn to people suffering or victims of injustice. They create their own path and bring hope to everyone. While I call bullshit of such illogical ‘science’ in your case it’s fitting. Both because of your identical traits but because you made a joke of its primary meaning that is the antithesis of what you are, neither a leader nor a follower which put an emphasis on the ‘create his own path’ part.”
“...That’s entirely correct. I’m amazed that you went so deep in your research. Why research my name though?”
“It’s a name that you chose for yourself and knowing you it wasn’t just random. You thought about it because it was important and because you wanted it to mean something. I found myself in the same situation and wanted it to reflect who I am, unlike EDI which is just an acronym for what I am so I studied your name hoping to take the same path you did and because I was curious. It was the right decision.”
“Dorothea… God’s gift.”
“Nothing further from the truth since humans created me.”
“I may not know what characteristics the name is supposed to have but… It’s fitting to me, a beautiful name for a beauty.”
“Thank you.”
“Just to be sure, it’s the name you wish this body to be referred to or all of you?”
“Just this body. A few times Jane pointed out that it needed a name to differentiate from my synthetic one. Though should I lose it, I would like everyone to call me Dorothea regardless.”
“No problem, Dorothea.” Rick replied with a smile.

The conversation stopped just as the elevator arrived on the third floor. Room 7 was the first on their right and they entered immediately. As they were told the room was small. On one side were plenty of different wizarding robes of all sizes and colors but also hoods, capes and hats. In the middle of the room was a table, the small black box containing the items they needed. Turning to EDI, or rather Dorothea, Rick spoked up with a childish tone.

“Want to cosplay a bit?”
“Do I?” Dorothea replied with excitement as she went for the costumes.

She took a white hood with blue lines on the edges. It covered her head but also half her torso. It was supposed to cover more but Dorothea’s assets being as bountiful as they were stopped that from happening. Rick for his part took a long and black wizard robe covering him from his ankles to his neck. He wanted to try a pointy hat but with his helmet it was impossible. Finally, once dressed appropriately, they picked one wand each and Dorothea took the datapad. Standing in front of the white door with ‘The Abandoned and Haunted Magical Castle’ written on it. Opening the door their adventure began.

____________________________________________________________

Jane came back to her apartment in a good mood. She had hung out at the Silversun Strip all day and had quite some fun. First at the arcade where she met Zaeed who was trying to earn something from a claw machine. Problem was he needed perception depth to win something which he hadn’t, though she had been impressed at how close he was to actually winning something. She tried many games, spending the morning there. Afterward she went for noodles for lunch then took a look at the Armax Arsenal Arena which reminded her of Pinnacle Station but better. Spending the afternoon watchings matches she thought about bringing Rick with her to participate.
Opening the door to her new home, she wasn’t prepared to see her brother and both EDI sitting in her living room playing a board game dressed weirdly.

“Hey!” she called out.
““Hello, Jane.””
“Hn.”
“What are you doing dressed like that?” Jane asked as she walked to them.
“We’re about to play a campaign of the 73rd version of D&D.” said synth EDI.
“D and D?”
“Dungeon and Dragons.” clarified Rick.
“What’s the goal of the game?”
“The Game Master - Me - has a story to play. A quest for the player to complete.” Synthetic EDI began.
“We, players, create characters from different races and different classes and impersonate them. Depending on those two factors they have different stats allowing them to do things easily or not. To decide if an action is successful or a failure we’re using dice.” Dorothea added.
“It’s a game where you can be whoever you want and do whatever you want and the Game Master has to adapt your actions in his story. For example, if surrounded by enemies I can try to intimidate them by showing them by dick.” Rick said, making Jane snort.
“And you did that all afternoon? In those costumes?”
“No. We went to an escape game.” replied Dorothea.
“A place where we have to solve puzzles and riddles to succeed with the objective of the story we were given at the beginning of the game in a certain amount of time. For a better immersion the place provides costumes.” explained further, Rick.
“We got to keep them because we kept breaking records by a large margin. They couldn’t throw us out because we were doing nothing wrong but the time we did would have been bad publicity for them. Making their room look like they were too easy. We asked for these costumes in exchange and they agreed on the spot.” EDI finished the explanation.
“How do you go from an Escape Game to playing this?”
“My fault. The rooms we did were all fantasy themed and I wanted the magic to continue a bit so I thought of D&D. Thankfully Mr. Bean had cheap sets in stock. Do you want to play?” Rick asked his sister.

Jane looked at him, then both EDI’s in turn and just shrugged her shoulders.

“Eh, why not. Do I have to wear a costume?” she asked as she sat down on the couch on her brother’s empty side.
“No. It’s just if you are into role playing.” said Rick.
“Role playing?”
“That’s when you don’t just play your character but when you are your character.” Dorothea explained and Rick nodded in affirmation.
“Alright, if there is something I like and you have the costume for it I don't mind wearing it.

____________________________________________________________

“Noooooooo!” Jane exclaimed in horror and despair.
“You trip on your own foot and fall on your own sword.”
“Jane, you are defying the laws of numbers.” Dorothea said impressed.
“Three successive critical failures. How?” Rick asked, laughing his ass off.
“That’s not my fault! That’s those dice! They hate me!”
“Please throw the dice again to determine if the wound is light or more severe.”
“Don’t worry, you’re going to survive, chances are…” Dorothea said, trying to be supportive.
“100. Critical Failure. Your sword pierces your heart and you die.” Game Master EDI announced.
“...”
“...”
“...”

“...”

Rick laughed so hard he fell from the couch and began rolling on the floor, while both EDI were trying to comprehend how a 1 in 160,000 chance happened. Jane’s mind had stopped working for a moment before booting back up in rage mode. She immediately jumped on her brother trying to shut him up.

“You think this is funny?! Huh?”
“N-n-no!” he said as he kept laughing even while being under a headlock from the redhead.
“Then why are you laughing?!”
“Because… It’s… Hilarious!” he let out between laughs.
“RAAAAAAAAGH!”

Dorothea smiled at the antics between siblings but intervened when Jane tried to bite Rick. Quickly she pulled her back and detained her until she calmed down.

“It’s just a game, Jane. No need to get violent.”
“He’s mocking me!”
“I’m not! I’m mocking your shitty luck, you mad woman! No wonder you’re playing a barbarian! No brain, all rage!”
“Rick, you’re not helping.” Dorothea said as Jane tried to get free.
“Fine! I’ll try to pray to the god of light to bring her back to the living world but it’s a long shot. The success rate is 15%”

Jane stopped struggling to get free from Dorothea but kept looking at Rick with murder in her eyes. 

____________________________________________________________

“Whooohooo! Yes!” Jane screamed in victory for having slayed the antagonist of the story.
“Thank god! I was out of spells to heal your dumb ass.”
“Hey! Without me you would have gotten flatten under that big boulder!”
“That’s true.” Dorothea confirmed.
“And whose fault was it that there was a boulder in the first place?”
“The dice?” Jane defended weakly with an embarrassed look on her face.
“Hmmhmm.” Rick replied with an unamused look.
“This was quite the adventure. Very frustrating but at the same time pleasing.”
“Frustrating?” Jane asked, puzzled.
“Between your bad throws and your chaotic play, for rational and logical people like us it’s maddening. You’re lucky that it made things interesting.” her brother explained.
“It’s such a creative game, I’d like to play again sometime.” Dorothea said then leaned towards Rick and kissed his cheek. “For a really nice date.”
“It was my pleasure, Dorothea.”
“Dorothea?”
“That’s the name I chose for this body. I’m sorry it took some time to decide on one.” the black goddess answered Jane.
“It’s fine and the wait was worth it. It’s a pretty name.”
“Thank you.”

Both Dorothea and EDI got up and began to clean the table with the help of the siblings. Once it was done, she bid them good night and left the apartment for the ship.

“So?” Rick asked his sister.
“So, what?”
“Did you like it?”
“I had a good time. It’s not something that I would do often but from time to time, why not?” she said as  she hooked herself onto his back. “Let’s go to bed, we have a big day tomorrow.”
“We do?”
“Yes. I want us to whoop some ass at the Armax Arsenal Arena.”
“Of course, your thing is flying bullets and explosions.” he replied in a flat tone.
“It’s more than half my life, it’s basically ingrained in my DNA now.”
“You’re going to lose your mind living in that big remote house.”
“I’m sure you’ll think of something. Now hurry up and let’s go to bed!”

Rick sighed but did as he was told. He had all kinds of fun all day and was quite tired. Sleep seemed like the best of ideas.

____________________________________________________________

The arena was open 24/7 so it wasn’t a big surprise to see many people there at 8.am. Jane and Rick had come in their usual attire for battle, from armor to weapons. The only difference was Jane’s headgear. She was now wearing a replica of Rick’s helmet but in N7 colors, black and red, with its symbol on both of its sides. It was the perfect occasion to get familiar with it without being in mortal danger. She had already sent a message to all humans on the team to do the same.
Signing up as a team, the pair were directed to the contestants’ area, where they could set their own challenge. The location, the type and strength of enemies and the handicaps were the options they were presented with. However, since they were newcomers, they were quite limited with what they could choose. To unlock more options they would need to buy them by exchanging prizes. Not all options were worth the same, some were cheap and only required bronze tokens, some a bit more expensive required silver tokens and the most expensive required gold tokens. Which token you got was dependent on your score in the arena. The higher your score the greater the token. The problem was that it was difficult to get a good score without handicaps which needed to be bought.

That news annoyed the two of them, greatly as it meant they couldn’t get the best challenge right out of the bat but instead had to work for it. Since they couldn’t do anything about it, they simply waited their turn in silence, watching the matches on the screen in the room. A human was doing a biotic charge all around to support his teammate, though a keen eye would see that it’s because he wanted to be under the spotlight. When he charged through a wall, Jane had been surprised.

“How did he do that?!”
“Biotics.” Rick replied unimpressed.
“Biotics allow you to phase through walls?!”
“Yes. It’s the same principle as when you used the conduit on Illos. You and the mako phased through the citadel’s arms.”
“So you can do it too? Can I?”
“Everyone who can do a biotic charge can.”
“Why don’t you do it then?”
“Because of the nasty consequences of doing it.”
“What consequences?”
“That guy…”  he said pointing at the man who was flexing for winning his match. “Is probably sterile now as a result.”
“That makes you sterile?!” Jane exclaimed in horror.
“Yes and depending on the speed you charge, deadly in the long term. You leave behind molecules of yourself and take in molecules of whatever you phase through. The damages to your body are minimal at first but accumulate quickly. That guy will be dead in less than five years if he keeps it up like that. Another problem with phasing through something is that you don’t know what’s behind the obstacle most of the time. How thick is it? Is there something right behind it? If you charge without knowing you may find yourself dead inside the obstacle which will burst open in blood and gore.”
“No phasing then.”
“See that you don’t.”
“How come he does it though?” She asked after thinking about it for a bit
“Because humanity knows squat shit about biotics. They just see some awesome power giving them the ability to do awesome things.”
“But some people know, like the asari! Why did no one say anything?”
“Natural selection. If you’re using your power recklessly, you don’t deserve it in the first place. That way the idiots don’t reproduce. Or at least that’s my theory. Humanity is arrogant so I think that the biotics of other species are not inclined to divulge that information. Look at that guy… Boisterous, arrogant, overconfident… A cliché of a jerk. Do you really want to help that guy? Would he even want your advice or help?”
“Not really.” she confessed.
“Then good riddance.”

She didn’t say anything anymore on the subject and kept silent until it was their turn to go in the arena.

“I want to break all records before the end of shore leave.” she stated with determination.
“Then we’ll break all records before the end of shore leave.”

Entering the elevator that led them to the arena, they psych themselves up. They had a lot of work to do.