Jaws that Bite, Claws that Catch 3b
anonymous
October 12 2012, 15:25:14 UTC
Much later, back on the Normandy after everything was over, she found Vakarian in the cargo hold, sitting in a quiet corner, contemplatively cleaning his gear. She watched him for a moment from a distance, thinking. It had almost been a shock when he’d taken his helmet off after the fighting was done. In combat, it was easy to work with him, easy to treat him like any other soldier, easy to forget about his plates and mandibles and sharp teeth.
It was easy, but it was dishonest.
She walked up and settled down beside him at the bench at a respectful distance, reaching for her own gear.
“Vakarian. Nice work today.”
He regarded her for a moment before replying. “It was good to get out in the field again.”
“You a glutton for punishment, or just an adrenaline junkie?”
His mandibles flared briefly outwards. She determinedly kept her eyes away from his teeth and mentally cataloged the movement. Was he amused? Annoyed? Something else entirely?
“Neither. At least, not more than any other soldier.” There was that flash of dry humor again. His voice sobered and he continued. “That was an ugly situation with the colonists. I’m glad we could do something about it. A lot of times, something like that happens and you only find out after it’s too late.”
“You see that kind of thing often in C-Sec?”
“Yeah. Not on that scale, but more often than you’d think.” She couldn’t tell anything by his expression, but it was easy to read the bitterness in his voice.
There was a short quiet for a while, both of them cleaning their armor.
“What do you think about this business with Saren?”
She’d already asked the others for their opinion. She needed to know where her team stood, if they would follow her into this. And for better or worse, it looked like Vakarian was on the team.
“It sounds crazy. But so does the Thorian.” He paused momentarily, tightening a fastener in his shoulder guard. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think Shiala was lying.”
Her lips tightened. “I don’t either.” She swiped the rag over her greave and eyed him critically. He held himself a little stiffly, she thought. “You been to the medbay yet? Seem to recall you had a close encounter with a charging krogan back there.”
He rolled his right shoulder, mandibles set forward and down. “No lasting damage done.”
He hesitated a moment before speaking again. “What about you? With the…” He trailed off and tapped a finger against the side of his head. “It looked pretty rough.”
“The Cipher?” She grimaced. “Got a headache the size of the Citadel, but nothing I can’t sleep off.”
He nodded, and they finished their work in silence. And while it wasn’t quite companionable, neither was it as uncomfortable as she’d thought it would be.
Re: Jaws that Bite, Claws that Catch 3b
anonymous
October 14 2012, 21:11:04 UTC
This is absolutely wonderful. Looking back, a lot of Shepard's wording in the first game does imply a certain... caution regarding the alien races on occasion. (Not even taking into account the full-blown racism of the renegade path.) Your story offers a pretty unique interpretation of what might have been going through Shepard's head at the time, and I'm really enjoying the insight into her thought process. Can't wait for more!
Re: Jaws that Bite, Claws that Catch 3b
anonymous
October 15 2012, 05:39:44 UTC
Looking back, a lot of Shepard's wording in the first game does imply a certain... caution regarding the alien races on occasion.
Not to mention complete unfamiliarity sometimes. I know it's for the player's sake, to help introduce them to the universe, but still I can't help but facepalm whenever Shepard's like, "Hey, Mr. Hanar! You sure do talk funny! :B "
It was easy, but it was dishonest.
She walked up and settled down beside him at the bench at a respectful distance, reaching for her own gear.
“Vakarian. Nice work today.”
He regarded her for a moment before replying. “It was good to get out in the field again.”
“You a glutton for punishment, or just an adrenaline junkie?”
His mandibles flared briefly outwards. She determinedly kept her eyes away from his teeth and mentally cataloged the movement. Was he amused? Annoyed? Something else entirely?
“Neither. At least, not more than any other soldier.” There was that flash of dry humor again. His voice sobered and he continued. “That was an ugly situation with the colonists. I’m glad we could do something about it. A lot of times, something like that happens and you only find out after it’s too late.”
“You see that kind of thing often in C-Sec?”
“Yeah. Not on that scale, but more often than you’d think.” She couldn’t tell anything by his expression, but it was easy to read the bitterness in his voice.
There was a short quiet for a while, both of them cleaning their armor.
“What do you think about this business with Saren?”
She’d already asked the others for their opinion. She needed to know where her team stood, if they would follow her into this. And for better or worse, it looked like Vakarian was on the team.
“It sounds crazy. But so does the Thorian.” He paused momentarily, tightening a fastener in his shoulder guard. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think Shiala was lying.”
Her lips tightened. “I don’t either.” She swiped the rag over her greave and eyed him critically. He held himself a little stiffly, she thought. “You been to the medbay yet? Seem to recall you had a close encounter with a charging krogan back there.”
He rolled his right shoulder, mandibles set forward and down. “No lasting damage done.”
He hesitated a moment before speaking again. “What about you? With the…” He trailed off and tapped a finger against the side of his head. “It looked pretty rough.”
“The Cipher?” She grimaced. “Got a headache the size of the Citadel, but nothing I can’t sleep off.”
He nodded, and they finished their work in silence. And while it wasn’t quite companionable, neither was it as uncomfortable as she’d thought it would be.
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Not to mention complete unfamiliarity sometimes. I know it's for the player's sake, to help introduce them to the universe, but still I can't help but facepalm whenever Shepard's like, "Hey, Mr. Hanar! You sure do talk funny! :B "
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