Re: The Perfect Bait - 5
anonymous
June 29 2015, 01:14:36 UTC
Shepard drew the trembling turian child tight to her chest. She shook her head when Dr. Chakwas tried to coax her to talk. There were no words. Shepard hugged Janix close as doctors, nurses, civilians, and security personnel flooded the hospital foyer. Her shoulders wilted as she wept.
“Mala!” cried Janix.
His desperate flanging plea roused Shepard from her grief.
“Shush”, she soothed as she gently rubbed his back. “It's all right, Baby”.
“Mala!” sniffled Janix.
He curled into Shepard's sternum, seeking the warmth and reassurance that only she could provide. The gentle repetitive stroking on his cowl and fringe placated him. His flanging whimpers quietened. He was very upset, terribly frightened, but calmer now that his Mala was there to comfort him. Tiny Janix would change two lives forever.
“Shepard”, gasped Dr. Chakwas. She was astonished by what she'd heard. “He called you the turian word for mother”.
Shepard sucked in a shaky breath. She nodded wearily. “I know, Karin. Spirits. I know”. Shepard looked down at Eni's slack face, the tears welling anew, as she considered the tragedy that had unfolded.
Eni had foiled the attempt on her life, only to die in her stead.
It was so terribly wrong.
“The shooter was after me!” hissed Shepard. The guilt sliced her heart to ribbons. Jona Sederis had sent a message loud and clear. Shepard hated how another unarmed civilian had been caught in the crossfire. Eni was a paediatric nurse not a soldier.
“Spirits!” cried Shepard. “Eni died to protect us both! This is all my fault!”
Dr. Chakwas hastily shook her head. She grasped Shepard's chin. Her grip firm. She glared at the woman she considered a colleague, a friend, and a daughter. Only Shepard would shoulder the burden of another's crimes.
“I heard what Eni said!” scolded Chakwas. “This was the work of Jona Sederis! Not you, Shepard! So don't you dare go blaming yourself for what happened!”
Shepard inhaled a single shaky breath as she hastily wiped her wet face.
She didn't believe the doctor, nor could she accept her reasoning.
“Shepard!” growled Dr. Chakwas. “They have Eni's daughter! You need to focus on getting her back!”
Shepard answered with a swift plea, hoping to derail the uncomfortable conversation.
“I will, Karin, but first. I want you to call, Garrus”.
“Shepard”, warned Dr. Chakwas, her brows furrowing. She knew that tone. Shepard was on the verge of taking command again. The situation in Huerta Memorial Hospital would soon become a Spectre-led operation.
“Please, Karin”, implored Shepard. “I need your help not the attitude. We've just witnessed an attempted murder. I'm the only Spectre in the vicinity. It's my responsibility to secure the premises until C-Sec arrives”.
“You're in no condition”, protested Chakwas. “To be giving orders!”
“Eni took the bullet for me!” snarled Shepard. “Me, Karin! And all because of Jona fucking Sederis! If that homicidal asari bitch wanted my attention! She's got it!”
Shepard's eyes narrowed. Her lip curled into an ugly snarl. “This is personal, Karin!”, spat Shepard. “You can either get behind me or get out of my way! What's it going to be?”
“Damn your stubbornness, Shepard”, grumbled Dr. Chakwas. She sighed in defeat, knowing that an argument was pointless. Shepard had the undisputed authority, as a Council Spectre, to oversee Huerta's security personnel. “All right”, she agreed reluctantly. “I'll contact Garrus”.
“Thank you”, growled Shepard. She shook off the helping hands of an orderly. “I'm fine”. Shepard was just as tenacious when another paediatric nurse reached for Janix. The asari tried her very best to avoid looking at the cooling corpse of her colleague.
“Janix is a ward of Huerta Memorial Hospital”, explained the nurse. “He belongs in the crèche with the other children”.
Re: The Perfect Bait - 6/6
anonymous
June 29 2015, 01:16:23 UTC
Dr. Chakwas saw how Shepard reacted to his flanging cry. The turian word for mother was repeated in a higher frantic pitch. Shepard embraced Janix as if her were her son, pressing him close to her chest, her arms secure around his fringe, back, and bottom. She glared at the asari nurse. Dr. Chakwas recognised that dangerous glint in Shepard's eyes.
This woman had destroyed the Collectors, dismantled Cerberus an agent at a time, and decimated the Reapers so utterly that not a trace of them remained in the galaxy.
Trying to separate her from the turian child in her arms was an invitation for dismemberment.
Shepard wasn't in the mood to compromise.
Dr. Chakwas was relieved that she was unarmed.
Shepard could turn a toothpick into a weapon.
“That won't be necessary”, assured Dr. Chakwas.
“But doctor!”, protested the nurse. “It's hospital protocol to relocate the children to the crèche during an emergency”.
Dr. Chakwas winced when Shepard roared like an angry Krogan.
“Fuck hospital protocol! He's staying with me!”
Dr. Chakwas discreetly shook her head when the asari tried to argue. She pressed a single finger to her lips in the universal sign for silence. The nurse, despite being well-meaning, had never crossed paths with a fuming Spectre. Dr. Chakwas doubted that she would survive the encounter unscathed if she persisted. Shepard was ready to track down Jona Sederis and put a bullet through her skull.
Anyone trying to stand in her way was guaranteed to suffer.
“Y-Yes, Commander”, the asari nurse stammered anxiously. “I meant no offence”.
Dr. Chakwas was relieved when Ke'sa M'Jaro capitulated gracefully.
Asari were smart enough not to piss off their own justicars.
Shepard was neither an asari nor a justicar, but she did have a reputation for neutralising her enemies.
Ke'sa knew better than to risk her own neck.
“You should go, Shepard”, urged Dr. Chakwas. “The Head of Security is on his way over. I can oversee things from here”.
Shepard's eyes narrowed. She did not trust the asari nurse, especially after her run-in with Eni. “I'm on my way”, she said coldly. She extricated herself, as delicately as she could, from the corpse of the deceased. Janix was still in her arms when Shepard rolled to her feet.
She strode across the foyer to meet a brown-plated turian with grey colonial markings.
“Shush now”, Shepard murmured to the child she carried. “It's all right, sweetheart. You're safe. Mala will chase away the bad people. Once and for all”.
Dr. Chakwas sympathised when Ke'sa sighed warily.
“She's terrifying in person”.
Dr. Karin Chakwas nodded. “Shepard always is when she's angry”. She regarded the nurse pityingly. “Let me give you a little piece of advice, Ke'sa”. She nodded when the asari gasped in shock and surprise. “While Shepard is here. Don't get in her way if you can help it”.
“Surely she wouldn't harm a civilian!”
Chakwas grimaced. “She wouldn't harm an innocent, but Eni conspired with Eclipse”, she said coolly. “If she hadn't sacrificed herself to save them”. Chakwas nodded to the woman chatting amiably with their turian Head of Hospital Security. “I can guarantee you”, she cautioned. “That Shepard would be raking her over the coals alongside Jona Sederis”. ------------------------
“Mala!” cried Janix.
His desperate flanging plea roused Shepard from her grief.
“Shush”, she soothed as she gently rubbed his back. “It's all right, Baby”.
“Mala!” sniffled Janix.
He curled into Shepard's sternum, seeking the warmth and reassurance that only she could provide. The gentle repetitive stroking on his cowl and fringe placated him. His flanging whimpers quietened. He was very upset, terribly frightened, but calmer now that his Mala was there to comfort him. Tiny Janix would change two lives forever.
“Shepard”, gasped Dr. Chakwas. She was astonished by what she'd heard. “He called you the turian word for mother”.
Shepard sucked in a shaky breath. She nodded wearily. “I know, Karin. Spirits. I know”. Shepard looked down at Eni's slack face, the tears welling anew, as she considered the tragedy that had unfolded.
Eni had foiled the attempt on her life, only to die in her stead.
It was so terribly wrong.
“The shooter was after me!” hissed Shepard. The guilt sliced her heart to ribbons. Jona Sederis had sent a message loud and clear. Shepard hated how another unarmed civilian had been caught in the crossfire. Eni was a paediatric nurse not a soldier.
“Spirits!” cried Shepard. “Eni died to protect us both! This is all my fault!”
Dr. Chakwas hastily shook her head. She grasped Shepard's chin. Her grip firm. She glared at the woman she considered a colleague, a friend, and a daughter. Only Shepard would shoulder the burden of another's crimes.
“I heard what Eni said!” scolded Chakwas. “This was the work of Jona Sederis! Not you, Shepard! So don't you dare go blaming yourself for what happened!”
Shepard inhaled a single shaky breath as she hastily wiped her wet face.
She didn't believe the doctor, nor could she accept her reasoning.
“Shepard!” growled Dr. Chakwas. “They have Eni's daughter! You need to focus on getting her back!”
Shepard answered with a swift plea, hoping to derail the uncomfortable conversation.
“I will, Karin, but first. I want you to call, Garrus”.
“Shepard”, warned Dr. Chakwas, her brows furrowing. She knew that tone. Shepard was on the verge of taking command again. The situation in Huerta Memorial Hospital would soon become a Spectre-led operation.
“Please, Karin”, implored Shepard. “I need your help not the attitude. We've just witnessed an attempted murder. I'm the only Spectre in the vicinity. It's my responsibility to secure the premises until C-Sec arrives”.
“You're in no condition”, protested Chakwas. “To be giving orders!”
“Eni took the bullet for me!” snarled Shepard. “Me, Karin! And all because of Jona fucking Sederis! If that homicidal asari bitch wanted my attention! She's got it!”
Shepard's eyes narrowed. Her lip curled into an ugly snarl. “This is personal, Karin!”, spat Shepard. “You can either get behind me or get out of my way! What's it going to be?”
“Damn your stubbornness, Shepard”, grumbled Dr. Chakwas. She sighed in defeat, knowing that an argument was pointless. Shepard had the undisputed authority, as a Council Spectre, to oversee Huerta's security personnel. “All right”, she agreed reluctantly. “I'll contact Garrus”.
“Thank you”, growled Shepard. She shook off the helping hands of an orderly. “I'm fine”. Shepard was just as tenacious when another paediatric nurse reached for Janix. The asari tried her very best to avoid looking at the cooling corpse of her colleague.
“Janix is a ward of Huerta Memorial Hospital”, explained the nurse. “He belongs in the crèche with the other children”.
“Mala!” squealed Janix.
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This woman had destroyed the Collectors, dismantled Cerberus an agent at a time, and decimated the Reapers so utterly that not a trace of them remained in the galaxy.
Trying to separate her from the turian child in her arms was an invitation for dismemberment.
Shepard wasn't in the mood to compromise.
Dr. Chakwas was relieved that she was unarmed.
Shepard could turn a toothpick into a weapon.
“That won't be necessary”, assured Dr. Chakwas.
“But doctor!”, protested the nurse. “It's hospital protocol to relocate the children to the crèche during an emergency”.
Dr. Chakwas winced when Shepard roared like an angry Krogan.
“Fuck hospital protocol! He's staying with me!”
Dr. Chakwas discreetly shook her head when the asari tried to argue. She pressed a single finger to her lips in the universal sign for silence. The nurse, despite being well-meaning, had never crossed paths with a fuming Spectre. Dr. Chakwas doubted that she would survive the encounter unscathed if she persisted. Shepard was ready to track down Jona Sederis and put a bullet through her skull.
Anyone trying to stand in her way was guaranteed to suffer.
“Y-Yes, Commander”, the asari nurse stammered anxiously. “I meant no offence”.
Dr. Chakwas was relieved when Ke'sa M'Jaro capitulated gracefully.
Asari were smart enough not to piss off their own justicars.
Shepard was neither an asari nor a justicar, but she did have a reputation for neutralising her enemies.
Ke'sa knew better than to risk her own neck.
“You should go, Shepard”, urged Dr. Chakwas. “The Head of Security is on his way over. I can oversee things from here”.
Shepard's eyes narrowed. She did not trust the asari nurse, especially after her run-in with Eni. “I'm on my way”, she said coldly. She extricated herself, as delicately as she could, from the corpse of the deceased. Janix was still in her arms when Shepard rolled to her feet.
She strode across the foyer to meet a brown-plated turian with grey colonial markings.
“Shush now”, Shepard murmured to the child she carried. “It's all right, sweetheart. You're safe. Mala will chase away the bad people. Once and for all”.
Dr. Chakwas sympathised when Ke'sa sighed warily.
“She's terrifying in person”.
Dr. Karin Chakwas nodded. “Shepard always is when she's angry”. She regarded the nurse pityingly. “Let me give you a little piece of advice, Ke'sa”. She nodded when the asari gasped in shock and surprise. “While Shepard is here. Don't get in her way if you can help it”.
“Surely she wouldn't harm a civilian!”
Chakwas grimaced. “She wouldn't harm an innocent, but Eni conspired with Eclipse”, she said coolly. “If she hadn't sacrificed herself to save them”. Chakwas nodded to the woman chatting amiably with their turian Head of Hospital Security. “I can guarantee you”, she cautioned. “That Shepard would be raking her over the coals alongside Jona Sederis”.
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COMPLETE - Sequel in the Works
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British English writers do use punctuation outside the speechmarks. What you've read is correct for the UK.
It's not for US writers.
They punctuate inside the speechmarks.
As for the capitalisation of the P, in a title, it's relevant.
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If I'm wrong, I have yet to see any book or media involving direct speech that has used punctuation outside of the inverted commas.
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NZ for example.
They also use punctuation inside the speech-marks too.
Neither example is wrong.
Both are right, they're just different for different parts of the world.
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I hope they, Bioware, have an exciting 'Garrus' like LI for ME4!
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