A/N: Whelp.
Disclaimer: I don't own Mass effect or Halo :(
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Chapter - 17
Interlude III
The Normandy had arrived very late to the Citadel during the night cycle, so most of the crew who worked the most recent shifts decided to rest first in the Alliance barracks where they would get lodging for the duration of the shore leave, with the exception of those who had home anywhere else on the Citadel.
The first thing that Rookie did as soon as he had dropped off his belongings that he brought with him at his quarters in the barracks was heading out into the wards and finding the nearest shop and buying some decent clothes for himself, since walking around in uniform attracted attention and he preferred blending in with the crowd for as long as he intended to just explore the station by himself, that and he had no idea where Shepard and other senior officers were right now. Pressly had sent them a map of areas of the citadel that they were confined to which was a small section of the presidium ring around the embassies and the citadel tower and also a small portion of the upper and the lower wards. They were instructed to stay at these locations for the duration of the shore leave.
The Citadel wasn't such a bad place to spend shore leave after all. It was just because of the last time they had been here that Rookie didn't really had the time to explore and appreciate the beauty of the place with all the running and gunning that they did before. In fact, it was almost ideal except that the majority of the station was filled with alien population, but he didn't let that bother him too much. That, and when he thought about spending vacation in some exotic location far away, this wasn't exactly what he had in mind. But given his current situation, he couldn't do much about it anyway.
Visiting the Embassy lounge was out of the question as he knew that Fredricks and other greenhorns would be hanging around there, so he decided go to the wards, just sit on one of the benches and do some people watching…or rather alien watching.
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Alien watching wasn't as interesting as he had initially thought it would be, all he had heard so far was just small talk amongst the crowds, he had observed various aliens and humans together just hanging about as friends, in idle conversation, some even spending a romantic time together (Something that still disgusted him). He had remembered what Alenko told him about them, that they were just like humans with a few differences in mannerisms, but it was quite hard even now to imagine the alien species as simple pedestrians who don't want to just slaughter or enslave the human race (At least not the majority of them) even now, after spending so much time aboard in the Normandy with the alien squad mates.
Rookie decided to go to the presidium to avoid the crowds for a while, he reached the embassies and sat on one of the benches near the lake. He had spotted a few of the crew members along the way, blending in with the crowds and avoiding them instead of meeting up with them. It was almost sad, he had thought, that he had been spending the shore leave all alone. Had he been back at his 'world' with the guys, he would have probably been caught up in various shenanigans and what not. He had been getting messages from Shepard almost ten minutes after leaving the barracks, but didn't bother reading them. He didn't really had any problems with Shepard, Alenko or Williams, they were nice enough people, but he didn't felt like he would fit in with them. Working as a professional was one thing, but spending downtime and shore leave was completely different and there wasn't much to relate with them. They were different and had completely different experiences in their respective military careers and probably lifestyles too while he couldn't even figure out how his Omni-tool worked. They belonged here, he didn't.
He felt like an outsider even though he had to pretend to be a part of the crew, even when they treated him like it. He didn't even felt any loyalty or any real attachment towards the Alliance, the only reason he had for staying as long as he had was because he owed Shepard and the others for helping him, that and he had no idea what he'd do if he left Alliance. He was proud of what he as and did not like lying about himself whenever someone asked him about his personal background. He had heard that over-thinking was bad for you, but what could one do when they had too much free time to eventually ponder about their lives? What was its purpose and where were they headed? Especially when everything that they ever knew was just gone? Like it never even existed?
He often wondered whether Shepard and the others took his story seriously, because he probably wouldn't if he was in their shoes. He didn't had much time to consult with anyone about finding a way to get back to his world, what with his spur-of-the-moment decision to help out with the Saren situation. He didn't even know who to consult about it, the only person he knew who could probably help him out was Dr. T'soni since she was some kind of expert archeologist, but he did not trust her.
This is some messed up plane of existence.
Rookie was so engrossed in his thought that he didn't realized that he was staring straight at a woman across from his seat the whole time, she stood up and walked away, giving him a disgusted look. Embarrassed, He awkwardly looked around to see if anyone else noticed and decided to get away from the area before he got into any trouble. As he crossed the bridge across the lake back towards the embassies, he saw Captain Anderson waving at him from the balcony of the human embassy, so he made his way towards him.
"Hey, Rookie! Hold up!" a familiar voice, Fredricks' came from behind him, he saw that the private run up to him, out of breath, "Glad I found you, I need your help with something"
"No"
"C'mon! I can't find the elbow grease or the headlight fluid anywhere!"
…
"Everyone just keeps redirecting me", said Fredricks, "So, I was just about to go back to the barracks and contact the higher ups about this thing"
That's a REALLY bad idea.
"Yeah, definitelydo that"
The private went his way, and so Rookie continued towards the Human embassy.
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The door opened for him, he made his way towards Captain Anderson who was still standing near the balcony, facing outside. To his surprise, Shepard was there as well and luckily, Udina wasn't.
"Son, I don't know how they court women in your world but staring at them like that is frowned upon around here"
Someone please kill me right now.
"Uh…", Rookie cleared his throat, "Sir, did you need something?"
"Nothing much, just wanted to check up on you", replied Anderson, "You don't look too well"
…
"I see, I can't really imagine how you feel about all this", said Anderson, "But you shouldn't waste your downtime over it"
"…Sir, is there any progress?"
"Actually, I was here for the same thing", Shepard spoke up as she walked up to them, "Did you manage to find anything about the artifact, Captain?"
"No, we didn't", Anderson sighed, "And you must understand that we can't make an open inquiry about this or devote much of the resources to it"
"I'm assuming that a simple video clip and our account of the situation isn't evidence enough to pique anybody's interest?" asked Shepard.
"Yes", replied Anderson, "That and there aren't many people out there who we can trust to keep this a secret"
"So, are we out of options?"
"Not yet", Anderson turned towards Rookie, "Corporal, can you leave the artifact with me later? For now, go and enjoy your Shore leave, that's an order"
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"So where were you?" asked Shepard as she and Rookie walked out of the embassy office, "I've been messaging for you for an hour now"
…
"I've could've used your help running some errands"
"Why?"
"It could've involved some shooting and I assumed you were the only one not too busy with anything or with anyone"
"Why?"
"Well, were you?"
…
Good point.
"Anyway, I'm done with it and Alenko and Williams are waiting for us in the Flux", said Shepard, "You're coming with me"
Rookie didn't object, so they began walking towards the nearest when he spoke up.
"Do you think I'm crazy?"
"In what context?" Shepard smirked.
"I mean, regarding my story"
"Oh", She sighed and turned away from the rapid transit terminal, "Let's just walk"
They walked through the embassies and entered the elevator to the wards access where Shepard spoke up as soon as the doors to the elevators closed.
"Let me tell you something, after hearing your account of the events, Anderson and I looked up everything we possibly could about you. Searching about your armor or weapons manufacturer turned up nothing, the only guns that use bullets are kept in museums and the models don't even match with yours. Face or identity recognition with recent prison and insane asylum escapees from nearby systems didn't return anything either…"
Wait, what?
"You don't exist…well, didn't existed in the Alliance database before now. So, the only conclusions that we came to was that either you are here on behalf of some third party who came to infiltrate and sabotage or you're really telling the truth, but that artifact was probably your saving grace. That's why we decided to keep you around until we could confirm your story…and honestly? The things that you've told me couldn't me made up, call it instincts but at least I'm inclined to believe you"
The elevator door opened as they reached the wards access area, they took another elevator that lead to the upper wards.
"So, what are you thinking?" asked Shepard.
"…Thanks"
"For what?"
"For going out of your way to help me so far even after hearing my story which would seem really ridiculous to you", said Rookie giving a small smile.
"Well, if you need to talk about whatever's troubling you, don't hesitate to talk to me later", said Shepard clapping him on the shoulder, "For now, let's just try to enjoy yourself. It was a long day today and I really want to blow off some steam"
"Fine, let's get shit-faced"
"I thought you didn't drink", stated Shepard raising her eyebrows.
"I don't…often"
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"I can't believe that they started without us!" said Shepard frowning.
They finally reached the table the others had taken only to find that they were already half drunk.
"Roooookieeeeee! Liking the new civvies!" said Ashley waving at him with a blissful smile on her face.
Rookie looked down at his clothes, 'These aren't that goo-'
"Now get me that drink you promised"
Oh, very subtle.
"We shouldn't drink anymore…Commander, please don't let her dri-", Kaidan suddenly belched, "Excuse me!"
He stumbled towards the men's room bumping into a few patrons along the way.
Wow.
"Go, help Alenko", Shepard smiled at them, shaking her head, "I'll get the drinks"
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A/N: So, yeah. I don't have any excuse for keeping this on hold other than ALL THOSE SWEET GAMES THAT WERE RELEASED SO QUICKLY IN SO SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME! That and one of my friends made sure that I didn't touch Assassin's creed 3 before I played the rest of the series and if you've played it, then you'd know how long can it take to complete just one on them if you do all the side quests, I was pretty busy.
But all those reviews in my absence and the Citadel DLC was probably what pushed me to finally get into writing again. Also, it's probably really late but since I couldn't get this out any sooner…I'm that weirdo who's okay with the endings, that's all.
I'll probably start working on the next chapter after I finish playing Tomb Raider and FarCry 3. In the meantime, I'll try to reply to every review if I can :D
Till next time.