Out For Karma: Mass Effect

[Book Two] Chapter 10: Life on the Normandy

Chapter 10: Life on the Normandy

Tali was currently unloading her stuff in Rick’s room. She had been uneasy about sharing her sleeping quarters with Cerberus members and her best friend had come to the rescue offering her a place in his. She didn’t have to think about it and accepted instantly. She knew what kind of man Rick was and knew he wouldn’t do anything untowards her. That had been the right decision as his bed was big enough for two people if not a bit more. When she asked how he got such a big bed he replied that he bought it on Omega and loaded it on the ship. He also promised her to buy everything necessary to make the room sterile if she wished for it. She was moved by that but answered that she was fine. He let her have the desk and would work from the bed, using the giant screen against the wall instead of the terminal. When he began to show her all the ideas he began working on she felt her head spin a bit. There was a lot. From a simple boost of fire power for a pistol to an anti-recoil system. Clearly she would not be bored. 

The quarian also marveled at the new Normandy, notably its new eezo reactor and couldn’t wait to have a closer look. All in all, she was mostly happy. She had a small fight when Rick told her that every other day it was movie night with EDI. She hadn’t been happy when she learned that he spent a lot of time with an AI, even less when he said that EDI was nice and that just because she was synthetic didn’t mean she was evil. Not insisting on the subject she didn’t think any less however.

The most surprised by this development had been Shepard. She always saw Rick as an awkward, cold loner, needing his space but seeing share his quarters with Tali showed her a new side of him she didn’t know. She knew he was very fond of her, even loved her platonically, that he would go any distance for her but sharing his personal space? She didn’t think he would. She had not been surprised that Tali had no problem sharing however as quarians lived on ships and sometimes space was a luxury.

Currently, the captain of the Normandy was in the Cargo Bay area for her lesson in biotics, teached by both Jack and Rick who couldn’t let it slide that she didn’t know squat about what she could do with hers. Miranda was on the side observing perhaps in the hope to find out how she had done that curve trick back on Horizon.

She certainly could not spy on her training in her quarters, not now that Rick found a way to disrupt what the bugs could hear and see. Shepard had asked him but he just laughed and went back to what he was doing. It was Tali that filled her in. The only thing the bugs would hear was Mordin’s singing in a loop and she had heard him sing and never wanted to experience that again. As for the images… Apparently he still had some of those Zetabytes of porn from the first Normandy. Learning all that, she felt sorry for Miranda but laughed nonetheless.

Now was not the time for laughing however.

“What exactly do you think biotics are?” Rick asked her.

“Eh… Telekinesis powers thanks to the mass effect?” she answered prompting Rick to helmetpalmed and Jack to look at her like she was already so done she was about to leave. She didn’t dare to turn her head to look at Miranda’s expression.

“Look, I didn’t even know I was a biotic before I was brought back! There was no reason for me to understand how it worked, just what it could do!” she said, trying to defend herself.

“Biotics is the ability of some life forms to create mass effect fields using element zero nodules embedded in body tissues. You access them and enhance them by using a bio amp installed at the base of your neck.” Rick explained.

“Except if you’re a blue bitch.” Jack interjected.

“Yes, asari are natural biotics, they don’t need a bio amp. Anyway there are three categories of biotics: Telekinesis, Kinetic field and Spatial distortion.”

“What Dickhead is saying is you either lift or hurl shit up, immobilized shit or rip apart shit.” Jack explained in simpler terms at Shepard’s noticeable confusion.

“Okay, I get it. Throw and Pull belong to the first category, Warp to the third with Singularity and the second… Barrier?”

“Can’t believe she understood your explanation but not mine.” Rick murmured by Jack’s side.

“Too many big words for her.” the woman answered a bit too loud for Shepard to hear.

“Hey!”

“To get your body to move faster, hit stronger or jump higher you use the first category. It’s all about Newton’s laws…”

“Yeah no. Just shut up and I’ll do the explaining.” Jack interjected again.

“You want to run faster? You use your biotics to weigh lighter. Jumping higher? When you push on the ground you make yourself heavier, then lighter when you release the tension in your legs to do the actual jumping. Hitting stronger? You make your fist heavier on impact.”

“Okay. I think I get it.” She said as a blue aura began to surround her body.

She bent her knees again and jumped. Unfortunately she put too much strength in it and darted upwards hitting the ceiling before falling down. Thankfully Rick made her float a bit before she hit the ground but was laughing hysterically alongside Jack who was doing the same. She was quite embarrassed by her performance.

“EDI, please tell me you recorded that!” Rick asked when he could finally stop laughing.

“As instructed.”

“Why are you recording, EDI?!” Shepard asked outrage.

“Data for your progression, to do a better analysis and maximize your progress. At Rick’s request.”

Looking at Rick chuckling she knew it was bullshit.

“Let’s start with running. Run towards the end of the room and back as fast as you can without biotics. EDI please time her.”

“Understood.”

Shepard began to run from her position and did exactly as instructed. For the distance she did, her time was not bad and she was rather proud of it.

“Alright, now with your biotics.” Jack ordered.

“Remember, it’s not about strength but control. Use a small amount that you feel you are comfortable with and maintain it.”

She nodded and again followed her instructions. This time she has been faster by a whole four seconds.

“Now, you just have to train it to do it naturally and find a good amount of power that keeps you grounded but not on the ground with your face kissing it.” Jack said.

“It’s that simple to be a biotic? Just using the right amount at the right time?” Shepard asked bewildered.

“You hear that? That simple?” Rick said to the bald woman by his side.

“That’s the basics that snotted brats learned in a week.”

“There is much more to biotics. Notably choosing which skill to use against what.”

“Which powers are primers which are detonators which are both.”

The redhead looked at them completely lost.

“Welcome to biotic boot camp, Red.” Rick said.

“Prepare to die.” Jack added using her biotics on her fists, ready to throw something at her.

Shepard felt a chill run down her spine. She really may die again.

____________________________________________________________

Tali had begrudgingly accepted to be a part of his movie night with EDI but only after Rick told her that she was quiet and spoke only after the movie ended, but just to talk about it. They were currently on Rick's bed, with food and drinks adapted for everyone.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to sterilize the room? You could get more comfortable and not eat from those.” He said, indicating to the dextro food tube she had on her side.

“Yes, I’m fine with that.”

“If you say so. EDI, what’s the result of the lottery?” 

“ ‘The thing’.”

“What is it about?” Tali asked.

“It’s a horror movie.”

“Members of a research team based in Antarctica discover that an alien life form survived its ship’s crash. Quickly it demonstrates its ability to parasite and assimilate all organic life forms. Isolated from the rest of the world, the team doesn’t know who’s infected and who isn’t, leading them to be afflicted with fear and paranoia.” EDI said, quoting word for word a synopsis she had found on the extranet.

“If I scream it’s your fault.”

“Meh, it’s going to be fine.”

____________________________________________________________

“YOU BOSH’TET!” Tali said, hitting him from the side.

“It’s a horror movie! What did you expect? To see rainbows?” replied her target trying to defend himself by blocking the hits.

“NO! But not… that! It’s the scariest movie I’ve ever seen!”

“You didn’t watch many scary movies then.”

“I’ve seen plenty!”

“It’s more than two hundred years old! You can see how fake the puppets are!”

“That’s not the point! Even horror vids are not that scary nowadays! You humans are crazy!”

“Why do you think I watch old human movies? They’re way better.”

Stopping her assault on him, she laid back on the bed.

“Humanity really has a lot of imagination. You’re really sick in the head though. Those poor… dogs? They’re dogs right?”

“Yes, dogs.”

“How can you hurt something that cute? I’m glad that… thing is dead. It deserved it.”

“Eeeeeh…”

“What?! It blew up! Burn to ashes! There is no way it’s still alive.”

“Actually, the reunion between MacReady and Childs proves otherwise.” EDI intervened for the first time since the beginning of the movie.

“... What do you mean? They’re sharing a drink to celebrate their victory.” Tali replied after a moment of hesitation to speak to the ship AI, she was too curious.

“Isn’t it weird that Childs suddenly shows up out of the blue?” Rick asked.

“Not really, he was searching for the other guy in the blizzard.”

“Everything with Childs is wrong. MacReady’s breath is clearly visible because of the low temperature, yet Childs’ isn’t. Furthermore, MacReady nervously laughs without any reason when Childs drinks from the bottle, the same kind of bottle that MacReady used to create bombs by putting gasoline in it. Had Childs been human he would have spit it immediately instead he drinks it with no problem. The alien wouldn’t have known that humans can’t ingest gasoline, and with the adaptability of its biology would not have any problem ingesting it. Lastly, the disquieting music begins to play when Childs takes the bottle. Everything points to the thing having taken Childs’ place.” explained EDI

“NO. WAY.”

“There is more, the scene is a direct copy of what happened in the beginning of the movie. When MacReady is playing chess, he plays the whites and the computer the black. The computer wins but MacReady drowns it in alcohol. At the end it’s almost the same.” Rick added.

“I didn’t think of that. That’s quite the foreshadowing.” remarked the AI.

“Show it to me again! The scene.” Tali ordered.

EDI complied and the quarian watched attentively every point the former had made. At the end she couldn’t do anything else but agree that Childs was the thing.

“That’s… That’s…”

“Quite clever bullshit?” Rick tried.

“Yes! I mean no! I mean… The dogs have not been avenged! That’s not fair!” She yelled, making Rick laugh heartily.

____________________________________________________________

Shepard was relaxing under the hot water; tired beyond belief. It’s been three days since the biotic boot camp of hell started and she already regretted that Miranda had given her a bio-amp. Jack was merciless. Always sending a Throw her way when she was a bit slow to do things. Not because she was slacking off but because she was exhausted. She was being pushed beyond her limits. She didn’t mind, as it was good for her but the process could have been better. Jack was enjoying bullying her too much and Rick was a bigger slave driver with an authoritative streak she only had seen glimpses of before.

Thinking deeper about it, it wasn’t only good for her but also for them. Jack’s participation was indirectly integrating her more into the team. She had been distant from everyone, which with her past wasn’t surprising, and only talked to her sometimes. Now, the amount of insults and hostility has decreased a bit and she was talking to Rick while still being wary of him.

For his part, Rick was trying to translate the scientific babble to explain things to her, especially for the academic side of her training. Had she known that at thirty one she’d be back to school figuratively, she would have laughed her ass off at the insane person who said that.

It was at the same time the best and the worst for her. The worst because there was so much to learn to use her biotic effectively. The best because Rick applied practice to the theory to make her understand thoroughly. She saw from every angle the use of biotics; she even believed that he taught her things that he had discovered himself and that very few actually knew. Spending time with him was also part of the best, even if she didn’t understand anything he was saying, just hearing him talk with enthusiasm about the subject made her fascinated and somewhat happy. There was no fight, no sass flying back and forth. A really good time that she almost loved more than her time with Jack. At least only her head hurts with the man.

“Commander, Rick is at your door.” EDI said from the com.

“Tell him to wait a bit, I’m finishing my shower.”

“Understood.”

She quickly cleaned her body, got out of the shower then dried herself.  Going to her drawers she picked up some underwear along with a shirt and pants as the ship’s time was rather late. There was no need for her to put her uniform on when she was about to go to bed. 

She went to the door and opened it, letting Rick enter inside. As if it was a habit, they sat on the couch.

“What is this late visit about?”

“Two things. One, it took me time but I hacked Henry Lawson's private message box. He did receive information on mini-Bubble location on Illium. Not just that but her whole situation, family, money, grades, the university she had just been accepted into, anyth…”

“Wait a minute, university?”

“Mini-Bubble is nineteen.”

“Miranda told me she saved her sister when she was a teen. She took a baby?”

“From what I understood, Bubble wasn’t born but genetically created and from her DNA her father created mini-Bubble. Does it matter how old she is anyway?”

“No, I suppose not.”

“I found no direct link with the Illusive man, which I’m not really surprised about. Without access to Cerberus’s servers that’s impossible for me.”

“I guess we’ll have to keep our eyes open. What’s the other thing?”

“This concerns one of the two recruits on Illium.”

“Which one?”

“The justicar. Be very careful with her.”

“Why?”

“... because she’s a justicar?” he replied, confused at her question before understanding that she didn’t know what it was exactly.

“Justicar are… asari who have forsworn everything but their weapons and armor. Family, children, worldly possessions, everything.”

“What for?”

“The Code. With a big C. It’s their way of life. The Code tells them what to do and what not to do. A Justicar is like… an errant knight or a samurai if you want.”

“So, honor, justice, fighting against evil? That’s my kind of people, what’s wrong with that?”

“The Code is unwavering and they follow it to the letter. They… in the way they are like me. They do what’s necessary even if what they do can be considered bad. Killing someone innocent to put an end to evil? They will, not would but will do so without hesitating for a second. If she joins you will have to be careful of the decisions you make. Even if they are understanding of the situation they will do their duty.”

“So they’re like perfect, elite soldiers?”

“No! They are perfect, elite grunt! Not an ounce of thinking for themselves.”

“Why have I never heard of them before I read the file?”

“First, because not many want to give up everything to right the wrongs. Second, they mostly stay in asari space, though sometimes they travel outside of it. Third, the training is so hard and dangerous that the mortality rate is very high. And even if they pass it, their life is a succession of danger and combat.”

“So it’s the asari version of the N7 program where trainees die instead of failing?”

“Worst, the N7 has a reasonable amount of success in comparison.”

“More than half trainees fail!”

“Eight out of ten for the justicar training.”

“That’s… a lot.”

“Yes but the asari coming out alive from it are really, really strong.”

“Well with that mortality rate, I hope so.”

“There is another thing you need to know.”

“There is more to them?”

“No, just this one. I … know her.” he said after a bit of hesitation.

With new questions popping in her head she knew that she wasn’t going to bed anytime soon.