Chapter 17:  Kids gloves are off

“How long do we stay on the Citadel?” Rick asked Shepard as he sat down on the couch in her quarters.
“A few days. Long enough for the ship’s new shield to be installed and properly tested.”
“Is it R&R or…”
“Yes and no. Thane and Garrus have some important things to do and have asked for my help. Tali, you and I, have a meeting with the higher up of the Alliance for your AR system.”
“Who will be there?”
“People you’re already familiar with.”
“The usual then, Anderson, Hackett, Müller from N7, all the others whose names I can’t bother to remember and the butcher.”

Shepard flinched insidely at her mother’s moniker. She knew it was well deserved but she didn’t like it being used. That was something she had noticed when talking with Rick the rare times he mentioned her. He never referred to her as “mother” or “mom” but by her infamous nickname and she wondered why.

“The others as you call them, won’t be there. Don’t ask me why, I don’t know.”
“So except for half a day at best I’m free. Good.”
“Actually your free time is a bit less than that.” she said.

“Oh?”
“Team building at the nightclub.”
“Well team build all you want but that’d be without me. I don’t have a gunnery chief to watch over, so I’m not going.”
“You do have a cute quarian to take her place though.”
“... That’s low.”
“But effective. I guess I’m spending too much time in your company.” she replied with a smirk.
“Seems to me like you don’t need me anymore as you’re all grown up then. I’ll pack my bags when I go down and leave for Omega.” he said as he stood up and made his way out of the room.
“Wait! No! I need you!” she said before closing her mouth, realizing how her words have sounded.
“Eh!” He said turning around looking at her with, she was sure, a smug smile under his helmet.
“You know what I’m talking about!”
“Oh I know, believe me, I know.” he said while rearranging his pants around the crotch area and exited the room leaving her with a few last words. “ A thousand years too early fire crotch!”

Her scream of frustration was heard back two decks below, so was Rick’s cackling.

____________________________________________________________


Instead of going straight to his quarters in the engineering deck he made a stop at the crew deck. Or rather a stop at Miranda’s quarters. Passing the door he saw the allegedly, but with lots of credits, perfect woman working on her terminal.

“Hey!” he greeted.

“What can I do for you, Rick?” the brunette asked, not looking up from her work, recognizing the man by his synthetic voice.
“Was checking with you if you were free.”
“Does it look like I am?”
“I meant on the citadel. For friends with benefits, we don’t really behave like friends nor do we see any benefits.”

That caught her attention and stopped what she was doing. Raising her head to look at him she was silent for a moment.

“That’s true. What are you proposing?”

“Dinner.”
“Dinner?”
“What, do you really think I’d just bring you to an hotel room and fuck you senseless just like that?”
“Yes. It’s a transaction after all, there is no need for anything else. That would be a date.”
“Oh there is a need, okay. Because I want to see you in a very sexy black cocktail dress, covering very daring black lingerie that would make me wish to take you right there in front of everyone. It’s to build anticipation after all, foreplay is important.”

Taking a minute to think about it, Miranda nodded. If a highly horny Rick was on the menu, there was no way she was saying no to it. The last time had been magical and she wanted a repeat. She didn’t dare do anything on the ship as it was her place of work making it off limits and she was nothing but professional. The citadel on the other hand was free game.

“I’d have to do some shopping.”
“Fine with me. I know a store that has exactly what you need. I’ll gladly take you there. You’ll see, they make real dresses, not the filth you can see everywhere today.”
“You intend to shop with me?!” she asked, clearly shocked as the one time they went shopping he hated every second of it.
“Well, you’re the one trying outfits this time. You’ll need feedback.”

Looking at him with an unimpressed face, she didn’t say anything in retort and let it go, returning to her work and ignoring his existence.

____________________________________________________________

“Everything’s ready?” he asked Tali.
“We’re just missing some cases to store the weapons in.”
“Then we’ll buy some after shopping.”
“Shopping?” She asked, dubious at the notion to go shopping with Rick.
“We already had two successful deals with them. You’re rich now you have to look the part, to show that you’re a serious business woman. Can’t really build your empire while looking like the run of the mill quarian to them. In other words you need to show that you’re climbing the social ladder.”
“That’s going too far for a joke!”
“What joke?”
“My quarian empire!” she exclaimed, making him laugh.
“I know. And I know that you would prefer working inside a ship’s engine room…”
“But?”
“Is it wrong to want more for you? You can do so much more than being a tech expert working on a random ship, Tali. You’re in a unique position, to spearhead a change for the quarians, to put your people back on the galactic stage as an important species and not just the pariah they currently are despite having the biggest fleet. And no c-sec asshole will ever look down on you or any other quarian pilgrim again. No one from the fleet will take what belongs to you because you’re too young or too inexperienced or I dare say it, because you’re a woman. They wouldn’t dare. On the other hand you’ll be at the top, free to do whatever you want, like creating a company specialized in ships and heading the R&D department without any one to report to. Is it wrong to wish all that for you?”

Tali didn’t say anything, she couldn’t in truth, too moved by what he had said. Even her own father didn’t wish that much for her. True he wished to take back Ranok, the quarian’s homeworld, from the geths for her but that endeavor had for consequences to make him distant from her, ever since her mother died when she was just a child. Having a world to live was great, but what after that? What about the future? Having a homeworld will not magically help her people raised from their social situation or solve all their problems. All quarians are raised to put the fleet, the needs of the many, before their own. That didn’t mean they didn’t have their own dreams but they were secondary to the fleet and never really thought about them.

And here she was, in front of a man who wanted the best for her and by extension her people. The latter because of her, she has no doubt about that. She found it quite funny that despite not liking people in general because they were ‘dumb’, he was working for the good of everyone.

“That’s not like you.”
“Wanting the best for you?”
“Wanting the best for everyone. For people you don’t even know.”

Rick looked at her for a moment  in silence this time, pondering her statement. She was not wrong, for the past fifteen years he only had his best interests in mind along with Aria’s then the few people he had come to care for along the way. That was only a result however, a byproduct of the hand he’s been dealt with. Before that, before coming to Omega, when he was still traveling the galaxy aboard alliance’s ships, he wanted to search for the truth of things to help people. People let him down so he gave up on them. Yet he was here, wishing the best for her and her people, something he wouldn’t have done two years back. He would have helped Tali anyway he could have, sure, but he wouldn’t have cared one bit for the rest of their species. Neither would he have cared for the fate of the krogan for that matter. It was like he was reverting back to who he was before he took his life in his own hands. The thought puzzled him a bit; he was not sure if it was a good thing or not. He knew however from where the change came from or rather from who. And he didn’t like that one bit.

“Rick?”
“Yes?”
“What are you thinking?”
“Too many stupid things not worth mentioning. Anyway, are you in or not?”
“I…”
“EDI, back me up please.”
“Alright, alright! I’ll do it! Keelah, did you have to bring EDI into it?”
“You should know by now, I don’t play fair to get what I want.” he answered, linking one of his arms with one of hers and dragging her out of their room.

____________________________________________________________
A couple hours later and the Normandy docked on the Citadel. It was mid morning and each member of the crew went their own way. Shepard took a cab to the presidium to meet with Anderson. The admiral was glad to see her again after a bit more than a month, almost two, if only because it allowed him a break from his usual duties. Inviting her to sit down he waited for her to start the conversation. He didn’t have to wait long.

“There have been new discoveries about Wald.”
“Really? Such as?” the man asked with a brow raised. He was in agreement with Hackett to leave Rick alone, knowing his true identity. They didn’t even keep an eye on him worried that he could retaliate and because his existence was a well kept secret in the alliance. Putting a watcher on him may have raised questions and made some noise. They didn’t want that though they welcomed any news concerning him, or rather any news about his time between his departure from his family to Eden Prime.

“Before ending up on Eden Prime he had spent four years roaming Asari space and the border with the traverse more or less bounty hunting.”
“Is it how he earned his secret funds?”
“No but the money was a starting point for him to amass his fortune. I don’t know more about that.”
“You said four years… That would have made him what? Sixteen?”
“Yes.”
“If I didn’t know what he did after your death, I wouldn’t believe he would have been operating as a bounty hunter alone.”
“He wasn’t. Very early in his journey he met a justicar and struck a…”
“A justicar?”
“Some sort of Asari paragon of virtue. A bit of a mix between a samurai and a knight with harsher training than any N7. They are revered by the rest of the asari.” she replied and Anderson whistled at the description.
“He has a knack to meet people out of the norm.”
“That he does. The fact that he was partnered with one for four years gives credit to the fact that despite his association with Aria T’Loak he’s not a bad guy, otherwise she would have killed him. I don’t think the Alliance has to worry about him, except maybe money-wise.”
“Yes, Hackett has been grumbling about money ever since I told him about the anti-recoil system.” he said, chuckling a bit.
“Regarding Aria, she has been aware of who Samara was regarding Rick. This confirmed my idea that they’re close and that their relationship is not professional or not only at the very least. I believe that before he was sixteen the two of them were already acquainted.”
“I see… Anything else?”
“He’s having sex with the illusive man’s right-hand woman, though it’s purely physical. He does hope to turn her away from her boss though.”
“That… is a surprise and it begs to ask turned her way to where or who?”
“It was for me too but they are both really rational people, I wouldn’t be surprised if they both rationalized their physical needs. As for turning her to what direction? I don’t know. If I had to take a guess, I’d say he didn’t care about it.”
“So taking away the best element of the illusive man is the goal itself then…”
“I think so. He’s not really a fan of Cerberus.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“There is one more thing but… it’s more of a personal situation. Not related in any way with his activities but it can be considered a weakness.”
“Related to Aria?”
“No, his daughter.”
“His.. The one he lost on Eden Prime or…”
“The very same.”
“I’m hesitant to know more, Shepard. It’s his private life. Yes, I know what you’re thinking but after the attack on the Citadel, Hackett and myself agreed to let him be, as the current relationship the alliance had with him was a good one and we didn’t want to jeopardize it, knowing what he can and would do.” Taking a moment for himself to think, he voiced his thoughts. “Does his personal situation impair or could impair his judgment?”
“... Possibly.” the commander replied, making the admiral sigh and signaled her to go ahead.
“Ever since meeting the justicar Samara he has not been sleeping well. His nights are plagued by nightmares. While he’s still functioning more than adequately for now I’m worried it will not last.”
“Bad experience with… Samara?” he said the name tentatively and received a nod from the redhead. “... coming back to haunt him, I gather. Not unheard of. What I don’t see is, what’s his daughter's role in that?”
“Samara was supposed to be her name.”
“Oh… It makes sense now…”

“Any idea about what I could do?”
“I supposed therapists are out so…”


____________________________________________________________

“I looked…”
“More gorgeous than usual.”
“Ridiculous! I looked ridiculous.”
“That’s not true and you know it.”

The nerd duo were back to their quarters on the Normandy and were dropping the weapon cases and clothes they had shopped. Tali was embarrassed by what he had bought for her. A fine embroidered shawl and jewelry. The quarian was not used to such luxury and felt silly wearing them. Rick vehemently denied it.

“I’m not wearing that for the meeting this afternoon.”
“Yes, you will.”
“I will not.”
“You will and you’ll show them who’s the boss.”
“I’m no boss, I’m no leader! I’m just…”

He took her in his arms to calm her down.

“Amazing you? You just have to play the part for a bit, not actually be it. Not even for one hour. Afterward we’ll celebrate in any restaurant in the presidium that catches your fancy.”
“Any restaurant?”
“Any restaurant.”
“Ugh… Fine. I hate that you’re so good at persuasion.”
“I’m not that good, otherwise my hands would have known the feel of your ass a long time ago.” he joked.
“Cut short that meeting successfully as fast as you can and you will.”

Thankfully for Tali, her face was hidden and her embarrassment at saying that didn’t show. She didn’t know why she had said it, that wasn’t in her temperament to be bold. This was the second time that had happened, the first time being when she cuddled with him instead of just spooning. All she knew was, she wanted to feel his hands on her body and she just took the opportunity he had offered.

“Now, who’s good at persuasion?” he said slyly.
“Oh, shut up!”


____________________________________________________________

For the third time Anderson, Shepard, Tali and Rick met in the now familiar shooting range at the c-sec academy. The quarian woman was wearing a luxurious and classy but intimidating black shawl with light purple silver embroidered on the edges and with a very sophisticated pattern that gave a vibe of mysticism. It served as a hood and as a scarf that was wrapped around her arms. Her neck was adorned with a large black shocker with a dark purple gemstone in the form of a hexagon in the front. On each of her wrists rested two lustrous bracelets one black and one silver, intermingling.

“Miss Zorah, I have to say,  what a sight.” complimented Anderson after exchanging greetings.
“Yes, you look fantastic.” Shepard agreed while nodding her approval.
“R-really? Rick didn’t ask you to…”
“Say a good word? No.”
“As if I needed to do that!” Yelled Rick from the other side of the room as he laid down on the tables the weapon cases.
“I… T-thank you.”
“Come on! No need to be embarrassed, Tali.” the redhead tried to cheer her up.
“Easy for you to say! You’re not the one wearing this… this… You’re not the one in my situation! That’s so embarrassing! That’s not me! Keelah what if…” she began mumbling out of nervousness, her hands twirling between each other.

This was a sight that Shepard had not seen in a while. It was a sign that Tali was still that shy little quarian that she had met two years ago and that warmed her heart a bit to know that some things haven't changed and perhaps never will. It was a proof of normalcy that she desperately needed and had had in so few quantities since her resurrection, mainly from Rick.

“Tali, it’s going to be alright. You already did it twice, and everything went more than alright. There is no reason for this meeting to not go the same way.” the commander reassured her by taking the quarian’s hands in hers as a show of support.
“He’s reason enough!” she said, freeing one of her hands and pointing at the helmeted man who yelled a ‘Hey!” in protest.
“And what do you do when he acts like an idiot?”
“I smacked his head.”
“And then you stir him in the right direction. It’s a routine at this point between the two of you, Tali. Have faith in your muscle memory.”

Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, she thanked the commander. Soon enough the expected member of the Alliance came through the door. As Hackett was greeting everyone. Hannah Shepard went out of character and shoved him out of her way to get to her daughter who felt every bone in her torso crack as a result of the deathly hug she received. Hackett let it slide considering the reason for his subordinate’s action and the entourage but she would receive an earful later, no matter the amused smiles people had on their faces. At least the face he could see clearly.

“I suppose we should begin this meeting?” Hackett proposed.
“Yes.” Rick replied.
“No bottle of lubricant this time?” the Admiral joke, trying to diffuse the tension that he felt from the man. That made him wonder why he was tense to begin with as it was almost a done deal.
“Why? Did you finish the other? That makes me think you’re either a poor negotiator or a very kinky man Admiral.”

Hackett wanted to break the tension and he did at the cost of a joke on himself. He could already feel the migraine that he was starting as he saw the other members of the alliance trying their best not to laugh. Thankfully before Rick could say anything else he received a smack on his head from Tali.

“Go bring the weapons.” she said in a no nonsense and authoritative tone.
“We’re just jok…”
“Now.”

He looked at her in silence for a couple of seconds before doing what he had been ordered but not before muttering low enough for only her to hear.

“I’m no boss! I’m no leader! My ass!”

Resisting the urge to laugh and acknowledge Shepard’s discreet thumbs up before turning towards the Admiral.

“My apologies, he was… dropped one time too many on the head as a child. As a result he’s a genius but with no sense of social property.”
“That’s quite alright. A bit of humor never killed anyone.” Hackett replied accepting the apologies.

Not waiting for Rick and to be done with the awkwardness she activated her omni-tool and presented their work, which seemed to please the soldiers presents.

“Those are the final designs for each weapon...” she said as she showed a 3D representation of the said weapons. “ Unfortunately as we didn’t have the correct tools to work properly on the Normandy we had to make up with what we have, the models that we will present to you now, are nothing alike and are rather… ugly. They do, however, do what they were designed to do.”
“It’s fine, functionality is more important than look and the Alliance has the right resources to build them like in the file.” Hackett said in understanding. “I admit though, I’m surprised you created six new models from scratch.”
“That’s because we intended to have the monopoly of not only the AR system but the gun that went with it. Sadly we do not have the resources or the time for that. Yet.” Rick replied as he returned with the pistol and SMG in hands.
“And because we couldn’t find a way to apply the system as a mod that would fit every weapon in circulation nor could we make it work for every one of them software wise. By creating similar models it was easier to apply the mod.” Tali explained further.
“I see.”

Rick let Helena Müller choose the weapon she wanted to start with.

“I’ll start with the pistol, thank you. Anything I should know?”
“... Don’t forget to have fun?”
“Oh I won’t!” she said as she went to take position for the test.
“If you could look at the terminal display, please.” Tali said inviting them to look at a screen showing a frontal view of the target and another view of Helena.

“Miss Müller ready when you are. Take your time shooting at first then as fast as you feel comfortable.” Rick said.


The N7 woman nodded and much like Shepard did during her own test, shot once to get a feel of the weapon then completely emptied the thermal clip as fast as it could.

The results satisfied the soldiers watching.

“Impressive. I’ve never seen such precision with a gun while maintaining a fast fire rate.” Hackett said liking the numbers he saw on the screen. “Helena, any feedback you’d like to share?”
“It felt weird at first.” said the woman as she came back with the empty gun which she handed to Rick. “My body expected to resist and fight back the strength of the recoil which never came. In fact I put so much strength in my hands that I lowered the gun a bit. I could still feel the power of the shot and the resulting vibration but there was no strain on my hands. It’s… really a peculiar feeling.” she explained, not really satisfied with the demonstration
“We can update the gun parameters to fit your personal preferences.” announced Tali.”
“What do you mean?” the soldier asked.
“That by tweaking the numbers we can make the gun more adapted to you. It’s currently in its basic settings. It’s an easy thing to do, let me show you.” he said as he hooked the pistol to the terminal through a cable.

Opening a program, everyone saw a picture of the gun with numbers on a side menu. There were four categories: power, recoil, anti-recoil and number of shots. It was very easy to understand.

“You want to feel the gun more, I gather?”
“Yes.” Helena replied, curious at where this was going.

Rick adjusted the number in the power category from 37.2 to 85.4 and confirmed the change. Automatically the numbers from the other categories updated themselves.

“What just happened?” Shepard asked as she was never presented with anything like that.
“The power of the gun was set to the M-3 Predator model which is the standard in any army. I increased it to match the one of the M-6 Carnifex. Naturally with more power, the recoil is greater hence the anti recoil greater too. So is the heat production, reducing the number of shots possible before needing to change the clip.” Rick explained.
“You never showed me that. Why?”
“The program was not yet ready.”

Rick disconnected the gun from the terminal and handed it back to Helena with a new thermal clip. She went back to her shooting position and did the test again with the same results.

“Oh yes! Much better.” she said after coming back to the group.
“I supposed that you’re used to powerful pistols and didn’t feel you had anything in hand the first time?”
“You just put into words how I felt. I felt actual power in my hands like I would any other gun and at the same time I felt no strain.” she replied with a smile.
“I don’t see the point of this. What good is it to change the power of a weapon yourself?” Shepard senior asked.
“Efficiency. Weapons are standards in general with locked parameters. Everyone is different. Another person would have been fine with the numbers akin to the predator while Miss Müller wasn’t. There would be no need to spend as much money on R&D since you have a weapon that you can update yourself to your own preferences. Miss Müller, or anyone else for that matter, would be more efficient in a fight with a gun tuned to herself. The program is easy enough to understand and use for the average grunt. There is a lot to gain with this.”
“Won’t that make your model generic with no need for other models?”
“No, as the parameters have a limit. The model in the file is made of relatively cheap materials that can only take so much in power. The gun Miss Müller is holding can sustain up to 110 in power. 0.2 more than the M-5 Phalanx. Any more and the gun would fall apart or blow up in anyone’s hands, the AR mod would not be able to deal with the power either. A new model would have to be designed, from the shape to the material.” Tali explained.
“So basically you created a system to deal with the recoil but along the way created a business out of it that would crush any competition and save loads of money on R&D from who gets the rights to manufacture your work.” Anderson stated.
““Pretty much.””
“I’m not going to like the number on the contract, am I?” Hackett said with a sigh.
“You could always not finalize the deal but I’d have to use the magic word.” Rick replied in what anyone knew was a smug tone despite the usual monotonic and synthetic voice.
“Just to be sure, what is the contract about? What does it entail?” the Admiral asked.
“The AR system, the weapons’ model, the program to update the specs. And just so you know I’m still working on a short wireless way with ID synchronization for that, of course it would work on an omni-tool. Nobody wants to work some update for their guns on the gun belonging to the guy next to him inadvertently.” Rick said.
“There is also a clause about the manufacturing rights of course” added Tali.
“The only thing left to discuss is the price and the time, but we can do that later. Right now we still have four types of weapons for Miss Müller to test.”

Helena was delighted to hear that and went to test away. Meanwhile Shepard voiced a question she had for a while now.

“How come I didn’t feel the way Helena did during my own testing?”
“Because the gun settings were set on the Carnifex. The predator had not enough power to create a noticeable recoil.”
“Why set the gun on the predator’s settings then?”
“To introduce his program and business smoothly.” Anderson answered.
“Correct.” confirmed Rick.


Helena came back with the sniper rifle, the last weapon she tested, with a smile on her face. Clearly she had a good time.
“The fast reloading system, the thermal clip, now this… The both of you are really popular among the N7 you know? I won’t be surprised if some of them tried to poach you to work exclusively for them. I know I’m tempted.”
“They would fail. I don’t work for people.” Rick stated. “ And she doesn’t either.” he pointed to Tali who was answering some question to Hackett.
“A shame.”
“N7 can work for me though. Or rather retired ones.”
“Really? On what?”
“A special project I have on the side among others. Nothing concrete yet but I think you fit the bill. You’ll be the first to know if something happens.”
“I’m holding you to that.”

Rick nodded and went to put back the sniper rifle back into its case before joining the group.

“Any other ideas you’re working on that may be of interest.” Hackett asked.
“Two. Biometric reconnaissance and improving shields.” Rick answered.
“Biometric reconnaissance?”
“Yes. Basically anyone that uses a gun without the right DNA would not be able to use it or get his hand blown up along with the weapon.”
“That would strike a huge blow to the arms traffickers’ business.” Anderson said.
“For new weapons? Yes. There are still enough guns in the galaxy though so the setback would only be temporary. Now, shall we talk about credits?”

____________________________________________________________

No contract has been signed in the end. Not because they didn’t come to an agreement but because they couldn’t. The AR mod and the weapons models were not the problem, neither were the rights for their production. The problem was with the fact that soldiers would have to be trained to  tailored the gun to themselves. That was not difficult in itself but it was a change in the Alliance military training and Hackett alone, or with Anderson’s support, couldn’t take the decision to implement that change. He needed the approval of the politicians and the other Admirals, which he didn’t think he would not get but still had to ask nonetheless.
Another problem was the price, Hackett was authorized to negationate in the millions range. Considering the situation with the reapers and Rick’s desperate need of money, he had stopped playing mind games and went full force. The business value was in the billions range, way above Hackett prerogatives. Only then did the alliance members in the room really understand how generous Rick had been with the thermal clip when it’s now the standard in the whole galaxy. They were aware of it but it really hit home during those negotiations.

As what was now a ritual everyone, minus Rick and Tali who had left, gathered in Anderson’s office, including Helena who had been invited for the first time.

“So that’s what you do after each meeting with them? Gather in this office and drink?” asked the N7 representative, taking a sip of the bourbon she had been served.
“More or less, Helena.” Hackett replied.
“It allows Steven to vent.” Anderson joked.
“That too!” the aforementioned said bottoming up his own drink.
“The question is, why am I invited this time?”
“Because of your conversation with Wald.” Anderson said.
“About his special project? You know what it is about?”
“What special project?” Shepard Senior asked with a frown on her face.

Hackett and Anderson looked at each other, then at Shepard junior who just shrugged.

“Helena, what do you know about the reapers?” Hackett asked.
“That they are an old synthetic race, killing any spacefaring organic species every fifty thousand years and that they are coming soon. Is that what it is about, the reapers?”
“Good, you got your hands on the file then and yes it is about them. Rick Wald is heading a special project whose purpose is to ensure the survival of every species currently roaming the stars in case we lose the war.”
“Him? Why him? Isn’t he just a weapon engineer?” she asked, confused.
“David if you would, please.”

Anderson leaned down on his right and opened his safe, from there he picked up a datapad which he handed to Helena.

“This is Rick Wald’s file, updated as of this morning. It’s the only one in existence, so take your time.” he said as Hackett refilled the woman's glass to the brim to her puzzlement.

She looked at both men expecting an answer she didn’t get and began to read. She frowned at first then reading more her eyes went wide in astonishment. Her facial expression kept changing and changing until she was done with her reading. She put down the datapad on Anderson’s desk, who promptly put it back in his safe, with a blank face and a far away look. Snapping out of it she took her glass, drank everything straight and put it back down delicately once it was empty.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” she exclaimed prompting Anderson, Hackett and the commander to snort. Hannah Shepard was still frowning.
“Is anything true in this file?”
“All of it is.”
“That’s insane! He got spaced, survived then defeated Saren for good?”
“Yes. I have to say I couldn’t believe what I was seeing at the time, not after watching his body floating among debris, unmoving.” the young redhead answered.
“Do you know how much the alliance missed on him? N7 would have taken him in a heartbeat! From what I read, he may have blown your scores with his biotics and if he was a better driver than you!” Helena said, looking at Shepard junior for the last part.
“First off, from what the other members of the team said, he is a worse driver than I am. Personally I think he drives well.”
“Yeah, he’s a complete danger to everyone behind a wheel then.” Helena interjected with a smirk but was ignored.
“Second, I'm a biotic too.” she said, looking at her mother to see her reaction, which was more a display of surprise than anything.
“You are?! How?”
“When Cerberus reconstructed me, they just gave me an implant. From what they said they were surprised to find out that I had a latent potential in biotics. No one knew because I never did the test.” She kept looking at her mother. “Anything to say about this development?”
“No. I made that mistake once and it cost me dearly. I’m not doing it again.” Hannah replied in a painful tone, leaving Helena the only one puzzled at that exchange.
“Anyway, I do admit that I would be no match for him in regards to biotics. In fact, he’s the one teaching me, and his knowledge and experience with them is ridiculous. The Alliance’s training makes our own biotics look like children playing around.”
““““Really?”””” said everyone else in the room at the same time.
“Yes. He was trained by the justicar Samara and I suspect Aria T’Loak.”
“Justicar?” Hannah asked.

“The best of the Asari fighters. Their own version of N7 but with lower success rates. The ones who survive however are not to be trifled with. They’re so good that they roam asari space alone.” Helena explained, well aware of what a justicar was after meeting one during a mission years ago.
“That’s not all. We have to take into account his own brain as well. I’m pretty sure he knows things about biotics that even asari themselves don’t. The kicker is he kept making new discoveries as he’s secretly training during the dead end of the night.”
“Any chances he could share?” Hackett asked.
“Not likely, but again he seemed to like you fine Helena, so who knows? Maybe he’ll do a class for N7, maybe he’d be interested in teaching at Grissom academy for Project Ascension. I seriously doubt it because, while he’s an excellent teacher and seemed to enjoy teaching…”
“It would be working for the alliance and under someone.” Anderson finished her answer and got a nod from the commander.
“Who the fuck is his mother?” asked Helena, crying bitterly on the inside at the wasted opportunity because of an unfit mother. How she wanted to rip the bitch apart, she would have loved to train him. So much potential.
“We don’t know.” Hackett quickly said.
“We just know he ran away when he was a minor. Nothing else.” Anderson added further.

Both men had been careful to remove any information from the file about that period of Rick’s life. That way, in case the file had to see the light of day, his identity would be preserved and de facto the Alliance. There was not even mention of him having a sister.

“Anyway, we diverged about why we invited you here Helena.” Hackett said taking back control of the conversation.
“Wald has already built three bunkers which can accommodate half a million people each. Five more are in construction and…”
“He’s building a contingency plan? We lose the war but our people, our culture still live and they have fifty thousand years to prepare? Is that it?” deduced the N7 representative.
“Not our people. Every people. It’s a joint effort between myself, the asari and salarian councilors.” Anderson corrected.
“I’m pretty sure he contacted Urdnot Wrex too.” Shepard said.
“The krogan?!” scoffed Hannah.
“Wrex is not the usual krogan, he understands his people's mistakes and does not wish to make them again. While he is a krogan and will forever be a warrior, he knows that diplomacy is important. He’s intending to… I was going to say pacify his people but it’s more like educate them? Anyway, regardless of their tendencies, at the end of the day they are incredible fighters that will be needed in the war. This one or the next.” Shepard junior said.
“I still don’t see what that has anything to do with me.”
“I think he’s looking for people he can trust to supervise the project or can find the people who can.”
“So he wants me to go underground and what? Train the new generation? After three meetings?”
“I believe that is the case, yes. And he probably found out everything he needed about you.” Anderson said.
“Why me?”
“I think you fit what he’s looking for as a person to participate in the project.” ventured Shepard.
“As a person?” asked Helena for further information.
“The criterias are really strict. One has to be an expert in their own field but above all have to be open to cooperation with other species. Anyone with xenophobic tendencies no matter their resume is passed over without exception.”
“So it’s less about what I can do and more about who I am…Eh, I’m finding myself liking him more and more.” she said with a smile.
“Are you interested or not?” Anderson inquired.
“Yes. I will help find the right people for the project but I will not hide away when the time comes.”
“That’s good enough. I’m not going to lie, Helena, the project is going well but not fast enough. We need to delegate some tasks but the need for secrecy is too great. The government doesn’t know, neither does the asari ‘s and the salarian’s…”
“What about the turians?”
“Out of the loop for now. We don’t know if Quentius believes in the reapers or not. It’s too risky to inform him until we know for sure. However we do, and by ‘we’ I mean the other councilors and myself, are fully behind the project. Make no mistake Helena, we’re going behind the government’s back.”
“Treason, then.” she declared saying the word.
“Yes.”
“I’m alright with that. It’s not like I will live long enough if we lose the war anyway.” she replied and received an appreciative nod from both Anderson and Hackett.
“Hannah?” the councilor said.
“Yes?”
“Are you in or not?”
“Of course I am. Can’t believe you’re asking me that.” she said with a frown.
“I… don’t think Rick would want your participation in the project.” junior said.
“And why is that?” her mother asked.
“He loathes you? The rare times he refers to you he uses your nickname.”

Hackett briefly looked at Anderson who looked back. On the side Helena didn’t miss this exchange but held her tongue.

“Then he loathes me. That won’t stop me from doing what needs to be done for the sake of our survival.” Hannah replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

“I don’t know about you but I’m famished!” Hackett said quickly putting an end to the meeting and looking intently at Anderson.
“Me too. I know a nice little restaurant I discovered two months ago in the upper wards, the food is really something else.”
“Great! Let’s go then.”

Both Admiral stood up and left the room followed immediately by Helena who quickly cornered them in an empty office on the side.

“Okay you two, spit it out.”
““Spit out what?””
“What you both omitted to put on Wald’s file.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking…”
“David, don’t think for a moment that I didn’t catch your little silent exchange or that I’d believe the file is complete and that you did not leave out things.”

Both men looked at each other and sighed.

“You were always too smart for your own good Helena.” Hackett commented.
“I got that from my mother, uncle Steven. You should know.”
“Oh, I know. Don’t think I forgot about how smart my older sister was. She kept reminding me.”
“Now… Spit. It. Out.”
“We can’t.” confessed Anderson.
“Sure you can, and you will.”
“Helena, we omitted that information to protect the alliance if it was to…”
“It’s about his identity isn’t it? And his mother.”

This was less of a question and more of a statement from her. Sighing in defeat Hackett nodded to Anderson.

“You’re right on both counts. Rick Wald’s real name is…”


___________________________________________________________


Back into Anderson’s office mother and daughter were looking at each other in a heavy uncomfortable silence. Shepard junior was the one to break it.

“You really have no problem with me being a biotic?” She asked with suspicion.
“None.”
“Since when did your opinion change on them?”
“Fifteen years ago.”
“When John disappeared?”
“Yes but it really sunk in a few months after I was saved by a barrier from a biotic assigned to my team.”
“I find it hard to believe.”
“I…When John… It was a slap to the face. A wake up call. That I was so bad a mother that I lost my one and only son. And for what? Because of how special he was? That wasn’t his fault nor was it mine. He was just born like that. How I reacted to it was because he was different, a potential danger, a mutant and whatever other reasons that didn’t fit what I’ve been taught. I remembered how happy I was when I held him for the first time. He was perfect, just like you were and unbeknown to me, a biotic. He didn’t change, I did. It took me losing him to understand that he was still the same perfect little boy that I gave birth to, that I was the monster, not him.”
“...”
“So you being a biotic, doesn’t bother me one bit. I’ve always been proud of you when I didn’t know you were one. Actually knowing it doesn’t change a thing.”

Hannah Shepard stood up and offered her hand to her daughter who grabbed it. Pulling her to her feet they exited the room to join the others.


____________________________________________________________


She has been so dazed by the conclusion of the meeting that Tali never saw the many looks she got, as she sat down in one of the presidium best restaurants. She didn’t even choose, Rick did it for her, as she really was out of it.

“Keelah… Billions Rick… As in multiple thousands of millions.”
“That is what a billion is, yes.” he replied but went unheard.

She only went back to normal when he pinched her hand.

“What was that for?!”
“To get you out of whatever state of mind you were in. I mean you’re missing out on the food of one of the best restaurants of the presidium.”
“What?”

He pointed at her plate with his head prompting her to look down. When she was faced with the unfamiliar dish she raised her head and looked around.

“You were in no state to choose where to eat so I did.”
“And they let me in without protest?” she asked bewildered.
“Oh, they protested, for me. You? They just had a long look at you to verify that what they were seeing was real and let you in without problem.”
“Really?!”
“Uh-huh.” He grunted as he ate a piece of steak. “Look around, most of the people are looking at you in amazement. I wouldn’t be surprised if the shawl you’re wearing becomes a new fashion soon.”

She did as he said and saw that he wasn’t bullshiting her. That embarrassed her to no end as she wasn’t used to being the center of attention. At the same time she felt good with herself more than she ever had in her entire life, all thanks to the man in front of her.

Curse you, Rick Wald! Curse you for making me fall in love with you a bit deeper everyday.

____________________________________________________________


That night was movie night. Tali, Rick and EDI were watching Monthy Python and the Holy Grail (after Tali received a bit of lore, so she could understand what was going on) when the AI passed on a call from Shepard.

“What do you need?”
“We need information on a guy named… Bailey, what was his … Elias Kelham. How quick can you…”
“Just reminds him of the first rule of Omega and that Omega is not happy with him.”
“How will that…”
“Bye.”
“Wait…”

He cut the communication off and went back to bed with Tali.

“Go ahead, EDI.” he said as the quarian was pleased that her cuddle time was back in session.

____________________________________________________________

“What did he say?” the Drell asked.
“He just said to remind Elias of the first rule of Omega and that Omega wasn’t happy with him.” the redhead replied dumbfounded by Rick’s action.
“Is that all?”
“Yes.”
“I guess we’ll have to do it the old fashion way then.”
“It’s still worth a shot.”

Shepard nodded and they entered the room where Elias was tied to a chair.

“Who the hell are you two ?”
“You broke the first rule of Omega Elias and Omega is not happy with you.” tried Shepard.
“Oh shit! I have the money! I have the money, I swear! I swear I have it! I just had a delay because of the new restrictions put in place by the council! In fact, the transfer is ready to be made by the end of the week! She doesn’t have to send him! I- I’ll pay double, no triple the price we agreed on! Please tell her that it’s just a misunderstanding, please!”

Thane and her shared a look of surprise. They didn’t expect Rick’s advice to be actually useful. Not wasting the opportunity they rolled with it.

“You see Elias… She’s ready to forgo any punishment concerning you.” the redhead began.
“R-really?!”
“As long as you pay what you owe and do her a little favor.”
“A-anything! I’ll do anything!”
“Good.”
“What she needs from you is the name of the Drell’s target.” Thane followed up.
“Joram Talid! His name is Joram Talid!”
“Perfect!” She said in a joyful tone and clapped her hands in front of her.

“A-am I g-good now?”
“Your favor is paid, now you just have to send the money.” she said and as she left the room she added a few words. “Better not be a next time Elias because HE will be the one coming.”
“There won’t be! I swear I’ll never be late again with my payment!”

Exciting the room they quickly went to find Bailey who was surprised to see them back so soon.

“Already?!”
“It was perhaps the shortest interrogation ever.” commented Thane.
“What did you do to him?” asked a worried Bailey.
“Nothing, we just told him that he broke the first rule of Omega.” said Shepard.
“His mind did the rest and he was ready to sell his own mother to get out of his situation.” explained the Drell.
“Jesus Christ, I probably would too if I had Aria T’Loak’s cleaner on my back.”
“You know about him?”
“Heard the rumors here and there from some of the guys who’ve been in the Terminus recently. I dread the day he actually comes here.”

Shepard wanted nothing more to say that he was already here but he noticed the fear in the captain’s voice so she kept her mouth shut.

What exactly did he do to have this reputation?

____________________________________________________________

Thane had stopped his son for committing murder and thanks to Shepard he only got community service time. A lot of it but considering it could have been a lot worse it was alright. Rick has been ready to offer him a ticket to Omega and find him an honest and proper job, but it hasn’t been necessary.

Rick was practicing his biotics in the cargo bay waiting from the appropriate time for him to go to sleep. He didn’t like it, in fact he hated every second of what he was going to do, but he needed it for his own peace of mind.

“Her body’s data shows that she’s deeply asleep.”
“Thank you, EDI.”
“You seem to dislike doing it.”
“I do…”
“Why do it instead of looking for professional help?”
“Because I don’t trust any of them. Because I’m ashamed.”
“This is not healthy, Rick.”
“No, it is not but it’s the only thing I have that works. God knows I wish I didn’t.”
“I understand. I think.”
“Thank you for not saying anything.”
“Only because she never asked. If she does…”
“I know, EDI. Don’t worry I’ll take the blame, spin a reason and twist words to leave you clear.”

He took the elevator and entered Shepard’s quarter. Ever since his first night here he kept coming back but made sure to leave before the commander woke up. The first time, he had been so exhausted that he didn’t time it well. However since he was rested, he could sleep on a five hours schedule no problem. The plan was simple, cuddling up to Shepard once she was asleep, waking before she did and going back to his quarters before Tali awakened.

EDI was the only one aware of his doings and had been assisting him of her own volition, seeing as he wasn’t hurting anyone. She didn’t understand why only Shepard could help him. She knew that she was missing important data to understand it but she knew Rick needed it so she helped. Her first friend. The one who looked at her with wonder and not worry, who considered her as a full fledged living sentient being and not just a tool. She liked the difference between the way he was interacting with her and the other’s interactions. Those interactions had dropped in quality since he began to have bad dreams and she didn’t like it so she helped and will keep doing so as long as she could.