Of all the new people on the ship, only Tali deserved any attention.
Not because she was a girl, but for the simple reason that I had assigned her as a technician for the ship’s core, and not everyone liked that.
So when I had already spoken with Wrex and was about to talk with Garrus, Adams called me because some of his subordinates were unhappy with the appearance of a quarian.
“A-tenn-shun!”
As soon as I entered the engineering bay, I shouted it in such a voice that the engineers couldn’t ignore my demand.
“Adams!
Report!”
“Sir, the engineers aren’t very happy…”
“I already heard that from you.”
My voice turned cold and ironic.
“But since when does a senior officer care whether his subordinate is happy or not?
Or has everyone in your domain gotten so out of line that they’re going to discuss my orders?”
“No, sir!”
Adams stood at attention, and I turned to the engineers.
“Fine…
I’ll show compassion for the mentally challenged, and for the first and last time, I’ll hold a question-and-answer session, to which I might give answers if I’m in the mood.
So?”
The engineers didn’t react well to my words and now looked at me with some hostility, but no one could open their mouths.
Only Tali in the corner shifted uncertainly from foot to foot.
“Well?
Or should I not just list you all among the sick, but give you the proud title of autists?”
“Sir, that’s going too far!”
A girl stepped forward, looking at me indignantly.
“Did you come here to insult us?!”
“No, for fuck’s sake!
I came here because some hysterics decided to challenge my decisions!
And instead of going around the ship and getting reports, I have to stand here and wipe your runny noses because you, if you can believe it, don’t like something!”
The girl stepped back.
“So, since you stepped forward, you can speak for everyone.
What exactly don’t you like?”
“Well…”
She looked around uncertainly.
“…the frigate Normandy is the Alliance’s newest development, and you let into the engineering bay…”
“He let a space beggar in!
She’ll steal all the secrets!”
“And who’s so smart?
Step forward!”
My loud shout and the look that literally bored into the man who had shouted it made him shrink, but he couldn’t stay put.
“And who are you?”
“Engineer Alex Dow.”
“Is that so, Alex Dow?
Do you have a rank?”
“Corporal.”
“Corporal Alex Dow…
tell me, please…”
Everyone in the engineering bay tensed because my voice had become very, very soft.
“…who built this ship?”
“The Alliance!”
“And who else?
Come on, or do you think that just because I’m from the ground team, I don’t know that this frigate is a joint project?”
“Turians…”
“Come on, the Turians took an active part, but you’re not such an idiot, are you?
You dug up the data and checked who else was involved in its construction before you started shouting and demanding things?”
The man was silent.
“Fine…
Adams?”
I redirected the question.
“The Turians participated and contributed almost as much as the Alliance, but asari engineers and a few salarians were also involved in the project.”
“So…
the Alliance’s secret project isn’t so secret after all?”
Having lost all interest in Adams, I shifted my gaze to Dow.
“They…
they’re…”
“Come on, do you really want to tell me that you believe any of the races that went into space before us just came and gave us their most advanced technologies?”
“N-no.”
“Remarkable.”
I even clapped my hands twice.
“Do you really think that the data hasn’t been passed on to their intelligence services and design bureaus, where they’ll take this frigate apart down to the last bolt and, after analyzing it, be able to create their own analogues, only dozens of times better?”
“N-no…”
“Excellent.
Now, pay attention to the question.
What did you call my guest?
A space beggar?
Do you know that they were a developed race when we were just mastering gunpowder pistols?
And for them, something like this…”
“…is also an old technology?”
“N-no…”
Dow shook his head, fear ringing in his voice.
“Miss Tali’Zorah, tell me, just off the top of your head, how many improvements could you propose for the current ship’s core without giving away the secrets of your people…
well, I mean, something ancient by your people’s standards?”
“Well…”
She took a few steps forward.
“…overall, everything here is done competently…
except that…”
And then she gave a five-minute lecture.
She could have gone on longer, but I stopped her.
“Thank you, Miss Tali’Zorah.
None of that is needed right now; besides, any changes to this ship must, unfortunately for me, be approved by the Alliance.
I asked you to tell them that just to show the alternatively gifted ones who objected to your presence that there’s nothing secret here for you.”
Tali shifted uncertainly from foot to foot and intertwined her fingers, clearly wanting to say something, but I gestured for her to stop.
“So…
we’ve established that part of my ship’s engineers are alternatively gifted, and some are outright autists…
Adams, pass Pressly the list of autists.
During our next visit to the Citadel, if they don’t prove themselves, they will be removed from the Normandy.”
“Yes, sir, sir!”
The chief engineer’s voice made it clear he didn’t approve of my words.
However, I didn’t care, because he was a good specialist.
So I gestured for him to follow me out of the engineering bay.
“Adams…”
As soon as the door closed, cutting us off from the engineering bay, I addressed the middle-aged man.
“…let’s keep it simple.
Frankly, I don’t care how you communicate among yourselves, who is whose brother, matchmaker, friend, or sworn relative.
I’m only interested in the quality of the work performed.
And at the moment, I don’t care who does it.
So if this continues…
and I find out that the quarian is being harassed just because she’s a quarian, I’ll replace all the technicians.
I’ll simply drop everyone off, including you, at the Citadel and hire myself some quarians, who, believe me, will be ready to work for food and will work extremely well.”
“Sir…”
I raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“…I’ll get things in order.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear from you.
Get things in order.
Anyone who gets in the way gets dropped off at the Citadel; anyone who fits into your team keeps working.
Ultimately, it all depends on your decision, not on what I said in there…”
I nodded toward the engineering bay, the door of which opened, and Tali literally ran out.
“Oh…
you’re here…
Captain, sir…
I wanted to…
that is…
talk…”
“Well, if Adams’ presence doesn’t bother you, then go ahead.
If it does…”
“It’s fine!”
The door closed, and she shifted from foot to foot, her fingers intertwining again.
“I…
please don’t punish the technicians…
they’re good…”
I just raised an eyebrow, looking at the agitated girl, whose voice dropped to almost a whisper at the end.
“…it’s just…
my people really do have…
a reputation…
so they…
But they’re good…”
“Tali’Zorah vas Normandy…”
Hearing her full name, she immediately stood at attention.
“…I will take your wish into account.
However, for now, you don’t need to worry.
I just spoke with Adams; my words were mostly meant to scare them.
And only if someone really…”
I knocked my fist on the bulkhead.
“…then I’ll think about transferring him to another ship.”
“Oh…
I see…”
She breathed a sigh of relief.
“…so I was worried for nothing?”
“Well, why is that?”
“You showed that you care about the team, and that can be used to help you fit in better with our group.”
“Okay, Tali, we’re about to land soon, so I hope you’ve had time to settle in?”
“Yeah, I have.”
She nodded.
“Great.
Then I’d ask you to go down to the cargo hold; I think Jane will help you pick out the best gear.
Am I right in thinking you don’t have much experience with ground operations?”
“Yes, but I learn fast!”
She immediately tried to smooth over the impression of her inexperience.
“Don’t worry, I understood from the start that you couldn’t be an experienced soldier, so for the first while, you’ll be kept more in the rear lines, but over time, when you get a little used to it…”
“But I have a shotgun…”
Tali uncertainly touched her hip, where said shotgun was holstered.
“You’ll have to get used to working with other weapons.
A shotgun is certainly a definitive weapon, but it’s still better not to let enemies get within the range where that weapon becomes truly effective.”
“I…
understand.”
She nodded briefly.
“Should I go to Lieutenant Shepard?”
“Go ahead…”
As Tali passed by me, I barely held back from slapping her on the ass.
“…I still need to continue my inspection of the ship.
Adams, you’re dismissed…”
I addressed the last two words to the chief engineer, saying them with a clear smile and in a friendly tone, to which he smiled weakly and, nodding at me, hurried back into the engineering bay.
“So…
I still need to talk to Garrus…”
Thinking this, I headed toward the turian, who should have been preparing his gear for the upcoming landing.
*** Some time later.
***
“Joker…”
I entered the radio room and contacted our pilot.
“Yeah?”
“Get a connection on these parameters.”
I sent him the data on the possible communication channels with Liara and the soldiers assigned to her.
“Um…
okay…”
He was clearly taken aback; however, I didn’t care, the main thing was that he was ready to carry out the order without any discussion.
“Who is this?!”
“This is John Shepard, commander of the Normandy.
Identify yourself.”
“Aliana…”
“Aliana, step back!
John, is that you?!”
“Yes, Liara, how are you?”
“Still holding on for now.
But there are so many geth here, and krogans too…
and they’re all coming at us like there’s honey smeared all over this place!”
“And there is…”
I allowed myself a smirk, which must have been audible in my voice.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t afford a video call right now.
“You…”
Liara was clearly very embarrassed by the reminder of my teasing.
Unfortunately, over the years of our acquaintance, I’d never managed to get her into bed.
Not yet…
I mean, I got her into bed, sure, but the situation was such that if I’d made a move, I’d have been a complete asshole.
So we just slept side by side.
“Anyway, we’re on approach…
according to the data available to me, we’ll be on the planet in a couple of hours, so hold on there.
If you have to, go into full defense.
You yourself, and the soldiers Benezia provided you with, you’re all capable of a great deal, so you could easily hold out in a stalemate defense for a couple of days.”
“Got it…
switching to defense…
and…
John?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for coming…”
“I couldn’t leave my little blue honey drop.”
“You!”
“Okay, kisses and hugs…
Hold on there.”
“We’ll hold on.”
The connection ended, and I smirked smugly.
She was alive and well, and I could definitely get her out of this mess.
It all helps promote the story.
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