Chapter 20: Trouble with the wife
“Daddy! Bad language!” Shouted Arianna accusingly at her father.
“I’m sorry, sweetie. I may have just found out where the bad man that hurt Auntie Ashley is and that made upset.” He apologized as he walked around his desk to give a kiss on his daughter’s head.
She was currently doing so exercise he had given her to verify if she got her lessons of the morning right.
“... You’re forgiven. This ti!” she said with a frown.
Rick found her absolutely adorable. She had no problem with Jennifer swearing but him? He was held to a higher standard. He didn’t know why and honestly didn’t care. While he was very familiar with his manner of speech he rarely swore so that wasn’t much of a deal for him to watch out for his choice of words.
“Thank you. You worked hard this morning, you can either stop and go play or finish what you’re doing.”
“I’m done!”
“Already?”
“HmHm.” she nodded as Rick checked her answers. They were all correct.
“Good work.”
“Can I go help Auntie EDI prepare Lunch?”
“You can ask her if she needs help but don’t you want to go have fun?”
“I’m always having fun with Auntie EDI. I’m learning sothing new with her every ti.”
“Then go ahead.” he replied with a smile.
Both exited his office and she ran straight to the kitchen calling for EDI. He couldn't help himself but feel pride for her. She was advancing very fast in her studies and entering university level at eight was not an impossibility.
Coming out of his thoughts he contacted Jane and the rest of the crew (plus Anderson) and told them to et in the control room where long distance communication was done. In less than fifteen minutes everyone was there and his mother and Hackett were connected.
“I think I know where their base is.”
““““Where?”””” they all asked in unison.
“Quaji.”
“Where is that?” asked Tali.
“Styx Theta, Erebus cluster.” replied Rick.
“The mother… he took over your bunker?!” exclaid Jane.
“Probably. Beyond their initial purpose, they have no value. And the planets on which they are built are not really hospitable.”
“Are you sure?” Hackett asked.
“No. But it’s the only Bunker in the Traverse. Very close to the Terminus systems, can only be accessed through the HorseHead Nebula Relay that can only be accessed through the Serpent Nebula or The Exodus cluster.”
“And the Exodus cluster can be accessed easily by the Batarians.” said Hannah.
“It’s remote enough and in the right location.”
“How did they find it out?” questioned Garrus.
“Probably one of the people from Safeguard. But it makes sense that it would be this one. After all, it’s technically a fortified city with everything at his disposal to live for a long ti there. It’s the perfect Headquarters.”
“That could make that warlord difficult to take out.” said Hackett.
“Possibly. Or not. I have special access to those bunkers. If they didn’t dig too deep into the code of the infrastructure I could take care of every pirate in one go.”
“How?” Jane asked.
“By taking control. Lock them in the area they are in and cut the oxygen. Nasty but effective. That could be problematic for the kidnapped people if they are in the sa rooms. Doubtful everyone could be saved and I would have to infiltrate the bunker to begin with.”
“That is, if you’re right to begin with.” asserted the grizzly Admiral.
“Yes.”
“... We can send Alenko to scout for any suspicious activity.” proposed Hannah.
“Good idea. Depending on his findings we’ll plan out a plan of action.”
They spoke further of the matter, notably how to save everyone and evacuate them back to their hos, before ending the eting.
Jane walked hand in hand with Rick back ho in silence for a while until she spoke up.
“I’m not going back to active duty.”
“Okay.”
“Okay? I expected more than just an okay.”
“I’m delighted, Jane. That ans you’re staying by my side… like you promised.”
It was a moot point for any foreseeable future as Jane was five months pregnant but in the years after their son’s birth? She could have put back the uniform on. Hearing that she would not, put Rick in a happy mood.
“The finale is this Saturday.” she noted aloud.
“It is… Not a particularly good mont. I did include the post Thessia on the ship to not end on such a bad note.”
“That’s better, I suppose.”
This season of Mass Effect started imdiately with the Cerberus coup attempt. The public had the displeasure of knowing Kai Leng and the pleasure of watching Act!Rick accidently kill Udina. The new going around was of him with his hands raised in defense as if surrendering with the caption ‘Not my fault this ti, I swear.’ used most of the ti. The public had found the scene hilarious. He beca another with ‘There is no…’ and the picture of him pointing downward to Han'Gerrel’s body (that had been cropped out of the picture). Jane’s unamused and ready to kill him face, beca a too.
One thing the public was screaming about was Guys’ night after brokering peace between Quarian and Geths. They only saw the beginning around the card ga and the results the morning after. Rick explained with a simple ssage.
“We don’t rember, so we couldn’t film sothing.”
That was a bullshit excuse and many pointed out that EDI must have footage of it and asked her for it. Her answer was cut and dry.
“No.”
The public still whined but that wouldn’t change a thing.
While what happened on Oga was glossed over for security reasons ( Aria didn’t want to and the Adjudants needed to stay unknown), the public understood as for why. The part that was included however was the whole affair with the clone. The public loved the music, Rick having done his very best to find compositions that fit to a T the action. Jane once again made the talk of the extranet when a replica of her dress during the Casino was used by Act!Jane and so did Rick in a more modest asure for the sa reasons. Probably everyone gasped when the clone made its appearance and held their breath when she hit Act!Rick where it hurts the most. The chat even had a friendly betting pool (with no reward) about how fucked the clone was for that and not unsurprisingly no body bet against Rick not winning. Seeing CAT-6 sent flying and dying on impact through Rick’s rampage was oddly very satisfying for the viewers.
“Don’t worry, the nightmares don’t last long.”
That was the ssage Tali posted with her special privileges in the chat when the viewers comnted on Rick riding on top of Wrex and killing pretty much everyone on their way.
When it was ti for the confrontation with the clone and Brooks. The sa simple but smug music that plays when Rick was outsmarting soone or that any opponent of the crew in an advantageous position was about to get wrecked was heard and the public knew that soone was about to get fucked royally. To their surprise it was Jane that made the explanation (sothing that Rick usually did) showing that she was smart herself but with Rick by her side she was outshone. Brooks' head exploding had been a shock to everyone.
Finally, Jane effortlessly defeating her clone in a biotic battle, made everyone realize that there was only one Commander Jane Shepard and not even a clone of her could take her down. Not even the oldest Reaper could, so a clone… But they didn’t know that yet.
Rick beating the clone to death was the most brutal scene in the whole series by far. So loved it (the krogans of course) so were horrified. Most understood. They all knew how taboo a subject talking about his late wife and daughter was after that fateful episode and the clone twisting the knife in the wound… No one had been surprised or felt an ounce of sympathy for the clone (not like it got any in the first place) and what happened to it.
Of the whole season people had been happy to see the familiar faces of forr crew mbers, like Thane (for whom many lit a candle for him in the chat) and Samara. Rick had changed the monastery story for a secret lab with Samara intercepting the SOS signal and going there to help her daughters who were scientists working there. The forr Justicar had been pleased by that story and agreed to it. The na and location of course had been changed to protect the monastery and the secret of the Ardat-Yakshi; sothing that Tevos and the current matriarchs in charge had thanked Rick for.
All that was left was the Thessia mission.
____________________________________________________________
When they arrived ho they saw Ashley sitting on a couch with JJ in her arms, while she watched Adam, Sandra and Laura (who was present almost everyday) play a board ga for small children. TK and AJ were sleeping in their room that was being monitored by a cara whose feed was displayed on the room’s screen on the wall.
Ash had gotten accustod fast to her new arm. The skin to cover it had been grown but there was still so work to be done. It was made from her skin of course but without the rest of the body the skin would have rotted quickly so the scientists that made the skin were trying to find a solution. So far they were at an impasse, but Ash didn’t care. She had a functional arm and that was enough for her. She could pick her twins at the sa ti and that was all that mattered among other things.
Her artificial eye however was taking ti, so she was just wearing an black eye patch.
“How’s my beautiful wife doing?” he asked, letting go of Jane’s hand and going to Ash to deliver a heartfelt kiss.
“Hmmm... Better, now. So… what was that eting about?”
“Hell next residents. All supposition, Kaidan is on it.”
“I…”
“Want to be there when they’re sent there.”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t even need to ask. I’ll even let you push the buttons.” he said in a joking manner.
“Best husband ever.” she said and pulled him down for another kiss.
“Don’t you want to play with Adam?”
“Yes, but he’s having fun with Sandra and Laura. No point for to ruin it.”
“...”
“...”
“I wonder if he even wants here.” she answered sadly looking at her eldest.
“He does, he loves you after all. He just doesn’t know how to ask you things, so he’s behaving as usual. Playing with Sandra and Laura and sotis Arianna when she’s free.”
“I’ve been here for two months and…”
“Did you ask him if he wanted to do sothing with you?”
“... No.”
“Did you tell him you wanted to spend so ti with him?”
“...”
“Ash… Our boy is five, he doesn’t see you often but what he knows of you is that you love him and that you are a badass soldier who’s not ho because she protects the galaxy from bad guys. That’s super intimidating. Then you co ho with a robot arm and an eye patch making it even more so. I’m sure he has plenty of questions but if you don’t take the first step…”
“LUNCH IS READY!” ca Arianna’s voice from the kitchen.
“Alright kids. Girls, let’s go wash our hands. Adam, your mother wants to talk to you.” Rick said as he picked JJ from Ashley’s arm who glared at him.
Whispering an ‘I love you’ to his wife he followed the girls to the kitchen. Obediently, they did as they were told while Rick put JJ on his seat. Maria ca in with both TK and AJ and did the sa. Once the girls were done, Rick washed his hands himself, kissed EDI who was putting the finishing touch on the al and began to set the table.
“Daddy?” called Sandra.
“Yes, pumpkin?”
“Auntie Tali and Leeha are not eating with us today?”
“No. Leeha is at the nursery with Balden and Auntie is making an important call to her howorld.”
“Why aren’t TK and AJ at the nursery too?”
“Because their mother is ho for once and she wants to spend ti with them.” he answered then added in a fake whisper a few more words. “And their grandmother would kill if I put them in the nursery.” making his daughter and her friend giggle.
“I would not. I would think about it, though.” denied Maria but joked too.
“I call that progress.”
Finishing to set the table, he took the al which EDI was done with and set it down. He had been right all this years ago when he had said that EDI was simply perfect, even more now with her cute little appro. She was lucky that they weren’t alone.
As he thanked her and sat down. Ashley entered the kitchen with Adam in her arms, a big happy smile on her lips. She silently said ‘Thank you’ and put Adam down on his seat and sat beside him.
Looking right and left, Rick could only see happy faces and that made him happy in turn.
____________________________________________________________
As expected, the fall of Thessia was difficult to watch even for the viewers that were not asari. The sight of the commandos fighting with everything they had and losing was hard to stomach. The music didn’t make the mood better. It was an upbeat the good for any kind of dire and important actions on a battlefield but the predominant single violin contrasted severely with it. It played slowly and in a low tone; a sad lody making people understand that there would not be any miracle for Thessia and that the fight was already lost or at the very least the most desperate. On and on the music went, looping indefinitely as the team made their way through the reapers’ troops, watching asari die as they did, watching powerlessly, without being able to help or arriving too late.
Only when they reached the temple did it stop. To just start again as the fight with Act!Kai Leng happened. For the viewers, seeing the team fail for the first ti was shocking though so had a good eye and saw that sothing was wrong.
“Not_Hamlet: [Dubitative] I don’t believe Kai Leng defeated the slayer.”
“°Rick
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