Update 52

 Rolling over for a moment, Nathan quickly became restless.  It had been about two hours since he laid down and his thoughts were beginning to wander around the various people under his protection now.   Trusting Zephyr to watch over everyone in the main lobby and knowing that Slacker Jack and his two ‘women of the night’ would be alright, Nathan stretched slightly.   Garrus wasn’t going to show up for another day or two, Nathan had already acknowledged that fact and Lily arrived an hour after he had.   She walked in without saying a word and shut herself into the bedroom portion of their little abode; the captain hadn’t bothered to try getting a word out of her.  What she needed right now was time, that had made that clear and it now served as doubly evident with their attacker now with them.  

                Lifting up his head and raising up bare-chested, Nathan would wrap his hand around his mouth to hide it while he thought.   He never understood it, but the position calmed him down and allowed him to think on a much deeper level than he usually would.    Realizing that he still didn’t know where Tesla and Ludma were, the captain would stand up would pull his shirt back on and begin to walk towards the lobby.   It seemed in the time he had napped and allowed himself a moment of solitude; the crowd had cleared out leaving only Zephyr and the old man in the shop.   Both of them were now situated around two cups of hot tea, some form of Russian Caravan from the smell of it. The old man was flicking through the newspaper and occasionally he would point to something about politics, which would prompt Zephyr to laugh.

“So what?  Your leaders are fat pig-dogs. Their power is little more than the might of the people too stupid to stand against them.   Generations upon generations of idiots too bound by the concept of monetary gain and lost to the ‘rules’ that those in charge put upon them. “As the Yor’zvin stated this, the owner of the hotel would chuckle for a moment and flip the paper again to continue reading before he responded.  It was clear that the pair were engaged in some kind of game; maybe to see which of them would crack first.

“They may be fat and lazy, but they are in power for a reason.  Generally because they happen to be intelligent enough to know how to manipulate the masses; your people play with brute force, we play with the power of the mind.”  He retorted before offering Zephyr a crumpet, which he took and dipped into his tea before chewing on it slowly.

“You’re over simplifying the Yor’zvin people, we know the purpose of mental acuity; however, we tend to favor the physical aspects over it.  This in turn keeps our leaders in check. Those that are intelligent know to chisel their bodies and hone themselves into weapons; you used to complain about an obesity problem in the past, yet your answer was to encourage more intelligence?”  Zephyr would pause for a moment pushing the rest of his crumpet into his mouth and chewing on it slowly.  “The problem here is that everything in your society is hypocritical; on one hand, you say that such and such trait is bad, but either make it impossible to fix the issue without great sacrifice or continue performing the action.”  Both of them laughed for a moment as the old man buttered up another crumpet before cutting it in half.

“I suppose your right, but at least we’re known as the region with our heads on our shoulders and continue to thrive in a prosperity rarely seen anywhere else.”  Chuckling again, he handed the half of the crumpet to Zephyr whom declined it respectfully.

“Ahh, you can keep your prosperity.  I’ve seen how corrupt and lazy it makes your people; it is a justification to kick the weak while they are down.   At least my people give them a place in society to eke out a living or place them as members of houses to expand themselves.   Your people, they just throw them out to die on the streets.”  At that point, the older man just looked up for a second almost startled, but smirked.

“My, my…”  Neither said a world after that as the owner folded up his newspaper and set it aside completely, leaving both of them to sip their tea in the late hours of the night.   Both looked toward Nathan as he moved closer, but then turned back to each other as if they were locked in some sort of mental duel.   After turning back around and wandering down the halls, he could hear that Lily was talking to someone in their room.   Pausing, Nathan moved his head around the corner to see that Arachne was sitting on their couch and Lily was sitting a nearby chair across from her.   From what he could hear, Arachne was talking to Lily about her past; which intrigued the captain.  Pausing and leaning up against the wall, he just listened for a few moments.

“I came from a moon around the planet Vos, home was actually a pretty place.  There were a lot of trees if I remember correctly, but there wasn’t actually a lot of water; my parents put me on a ship with my grandparents so I could study in one of the Universities here.   What I found though was that it was difficult to….”  Arachne paused for a moment and shyly looked up at Lily, the young woman fidgeting nervously as she had trouble finding the right word.  “Sorry….my….common is not so good.  At time, it ok, but others….you see.”  Blushing for a moment, Nathan tried to make out what Lily was doing; however, he did not hear her answer.  Rather, he just saw Arachne’s reassurance for a second before she continued to speak.

“Well….the university it was….kind at first.   Then, money issues.”  Arachne began to poke her fingers together slowly, and then looked down as she started to cry.  “No options, grand parents couldn’t pay, needed money.   My body became all good for, I do to stay alive.   Been doing for six years, Mr. Jack showed me how to survive.  I’m too ashamed to go home….not now…not after what happened.”  After that statement, Nathan knew not to intrude any further and walked back down the hall as quietly as he could.  Only to walk by moments later trying to make it sound as if he hadn’t overheard anything.  

                Passing through the spacious hall-ways, he eventually heard the sound of Ludma’s voice; it seemed to be addressing Tesla which meant that the two were at least on speaking terms.  When he rounded the corner, Nathan was surprised to see them leaned up against opposite walls and neither one trying to strangle the other.   Ludma was still in her turtle neck and Tesla had managed to at least find something that wasn’t too provocative or a trench coat.   Clad in a pair of bright pink short-shorts, she looked toward Nathan with some minor irritation but softened a second later to adjust the form-fitting top she was wearing.  The fabric reached all the way to her wrists in a honey-comb network of black hexagons, though Nathan’s thoughts were more on where Tesla got the outfit rather than why she was wearing it.   Realizing it was Tesla and she had her lap-dog with her on the way back, the answer was fairly obvious.

                Ludma on the other hand was glaring at Nathan as if she was going to kill him.  “What.”  Her statement was flat and shot directly at him; hiding most the heat that was present in her eyes.  Glancing back at her, the captain’s amber colored eyes met the seriousness of Ludma’s false green ones before he rose his shoulders slightly.

“I got worried about you two and came looking.   Just wanted to make sure everyone was safe and sound, after the fiascos we’ve been through, it would surprise me if a convey of soldiers suddenly kicked down the door to this place.”  Tesla snorted out a laugh before shaking her head back and forth; it seemed the statement struck a chord with her.   Ludma, merely let out a little sigh before leaning back against the wall and began to mull over what all had happened a bit more.  “So, what did I interrupt?”

“Nothing for the most part,”  tesla answered before Ludma got a chance to respond,  “Ludma and I decided it would be in the crews best interests to get whatever conflict was in the way out of it.   So, we were having a little conversation to get to know each other better.   If I’m not mistaken, Lily is doing that with one of the little harlots you brought along with us.”  Ludma sneezed shortly after that, but she rolled her eyes and looked back at the red-head.

“You’re hardly one to call anyone a harlot.” 

“Oh on the contrary, I don’t sell my body for sex nor do I seek gratification from partners that I do not know or do not see a valid gain to be made from my actions.  Fucking Nathan was beneficial in numerous ways, especially after my months inside of that box.  When you consider the lack of physical activity that occurred while inside of it, sex can be considered a way to rejuvenate the atrophied muscle tissue.   Not to mention the fact that on a political level, I am indebted to our captain and for a lack of a better way of putting it; he owns not only me, but everyone who happens to be subservient to me as well.”  Ludma only shook her head out for a second, throwing her arms up in frustration, while Nathan looked at Tesla raising an eyebrow for a second.

“Yor’zvin bylaws are a confusing mess of dominance and submission; it’s like every sado-masochist’s dream come true.   No wonder no feminist groups started out there; they’d like be forced to fuck under the system of law.”  As Ludma said this, she would cross her arms under her breasts and huff before staring back at Nathan whom was contemplating the issue for a moment.  Placing his hand on his chin and just letting the two women talk over him.  “Not going to tell your slave to bend over so you can fuck her, Mr. Rapist?”  Both Nathan and Tesla jolted upright at the statement, though Tesla did so more as a way of getting ready, while Nathan was more experiencing a cold chill going down his spine. 

“Eh,”  the captain stammered for a moment before relaxing again,  “Ludma I know that isn’t going to go away, but you bringing it up isn’t going to help our situation.  I don’t know what possessed me to do it and apologies have already been done; my actions earlier may have been in poor taste, but considering the fucking attitude after everything that had just happened I’m a little more than justified and pulling a low blow.”    Tesla by this point had leaned back against the wall and was doing nothing more than watching the two talk.  

“Right, right, I’m sorry your holiness.  I forgot that your evil side just happens to seep out of your ass from time to time; do you have any idea what you did to me?  Do you know the damage you’ve done?”  Ludma asked this, while poking Nathan in his chest forcing him to take a step back as she bared her teeth at him.  “No and you never will because you believe that you get a free pass because you ran off to save someone.  Sin is sin you idiot, it doesn’t wash clean because you did one thing.  It cakes on and it takes time to wash off, yet you keep coming around and rub mud over what is starting to wash away!”  Ludma shouted for a moment turning away to march off before Nathan caught her arm and looked down; his eyes hidden as he clutched around her wrist and held tightly.  “Let me go, Nathan.”  Ludma responded with ice in her voice and murder in her eyes.  

Just as Tesla was about to interject, Nathan pressed a small bottle in Ludma’s hand and let go.   After that, he turned away from the pair and began to speak.  “While I was a the hospital, I walked by another member of your race by the looks of it; apparently, she had taken a human lover and was worried about her libido getting out of control.   The doctor prescribed that drug to calm down the effects before and after intercourse, I stopped in a drug market on the way back and got you a fifty pack of the stuff.   So, yeah I found out what damage I did physically.  Whatever is fucking with you mentally, that’s your own problem and we’ve got someone here who can help you through that damage. “  Just as Ludma was about to speak again, Nathan turned his head towards her and smirked.  “You’re part of this crew and as captain, I can’t just ignore your needs now can I?”  Walking away, he disappeared down the hall, leaving Tesla and Ludma looking dumb-founded at each other.

“Well, he was wrong about everything till that last bit.”  Ludma finally said with a small sigh, popping one of the pills dry and swallowing it after reading the box’s instructions.  “There is more damage done that just some mental scars and an allergic reaction to sperm, but I’ll let fuck-face figure that out when something isn’t trying to kill us.   For now, this is….eh….not even a start really but it makes being around the asshole a little more tolerable.”  Tesla only snickered for a moment as she wagged her finger at Ludma teasingly.

“You enjoyed it didn’t you?”

“You’re a whore.”  She snapped back in response and drifted towards one of the darker corners of the hotel.

When Nathan returned back to the room, Arachne and Lily were still having a conversation; though they looked up at the captain when he approached.  Lily looked towards Arachne and gave her a sweet smile before patting her hands gently.  “We’ll talk later ok?  It’s been a rough day and everyone needs to get some rest.”  The younger woman only nodded and moved past Nathan, looking up at him timidly before retreating to another part of the building.   “Sweet girl, it’s sad that she is stuck in the prostitution business.”  Lily said calmly before looking at Nathan for a moment and shaking her head.  “Still, we can’t keep taking in strays, our survival is dependent on being able to make money.”

“I…uh…cut a deal with them.”  Nathan responded slowly before sighing and rubbing his wrist for a moment, then staring back out the window.

“What did you do this time?”  Her voice was disjointed, not entirely there and already assuming the worse.  “Did you agree to worse me, Tesla and Ludma out?”

“I’m not that cruel,”  he answered his eyes already drooping and his exhaustion starting to kick in,  “No, their kicking us the majority of their income so long as we provide food and shelter.   It isn’t what I imagined doing, but at this point any sort of chance to make money is appreciated.”  Lily would only nod in response before walking away and stopping in front of the door. 

“Good night Nathan.”  At those words, she closed the door behind her and the captain knew better than to intrude any further.  Wandering towards the fridge, he opened it and could see that there was some food inside of it.  Opening the container and sniffing at it, Nathan could tell the food was still good and it was nothing more than a half of a club sandwich.   Chewing through it and at least getting something on his stomach; he would stare out the window watching vehicles go by for some twenty minutes while sipping water before heading to sleep.  

Five hours later, he was brought slightly back to consciousness by a weight against his body actually two weights.  Murmuring for a second, he was curious what it could possibly be.  At the same time though, his body was numb and ached all of the soreness finally coming through.  Sleep seemed like the better option and would likely prepare him for the day ahead.

A:  Look and See who is lying on top of Nathan

B:  Ignore it and go back to sleep.

Current Credits: 1,256

Next deduction for consumption of party:  400 in 2 Updates

Totals:

Tesla – 50   Contentment: 4/5   Mood:  Mischievous   Wants:  More control/More information on Gilarose

Zephyr- 90  Contentment: 5/5  Mood:  Paranoid    Wants:  A more secure location/weapons

Lily – 50    Contentment:  2/5    Mood:  Confused and Shocked   Wants: Medical books and crew analysis

Ludma – 50  Contentment 2/5  Mood:  Angry, but less so   Wants:  Computers

Slacker Jack – 10  Contentment 4/5  Mood:  Unreadable   Wants:  More customers

Gilarose – 70  Contentment 4/5   Mood:  Promiscuous    Wants:  Cleaner facilities/Respect

Arachne - ??  Contentment 4/5   Mood:  Curious    Wants:  Tranquility

Garrus – 80  Contentment 1/5   Mood:  Irritated   Wants:  A ship

Update 51 and Repost of 34

A moment to actually think about something was rare in Nathan’s life today; yet, he found himself actually enjoying one.  At least, he was now that the hospital guard had managed to toss him head first back into the streets, leaving nothing but a smug looking orb; that immediately shot away into the darkest recesses of the hospital the moment Nathan looked its direction.   Having already dusted himself nonchalantly and walking away with his hands tucked into his pants pockets; the captain was busily pondering over the sorry state of affairs that he had managed to craft from nothing.   A broken crew, several new mouths to feed and all of it had occurred in a few moments; throwing his head back into the air, Nathan began to laugh uncontrollably.   Doing so, his entire body rocked back and forth, the lines of his mouth stretching wide as he finally felt himself snap a little bit. 

Letting his eyes droop down into a tired display, he began to walk down the street, no longer caring about anything around him.  Battered, bruised, scratched up and now being looked down upon by nearly everyone and everything; the brown haired human had just found his new purpose for the moment, someone was going to have the same shitty day he just had.   Keeping his head down and his eyes strolling over the bodies that encompassed the crowd around him; he began to search around.  

Nathan was on the prowl, hunting for a prey that wasn’t of the fleshly design, but rather one that was bloated in a different manner.   Continuing to cut his eyes back and forth, he would recognize some small signs of wealth on people:  the glint of a personal network on their arms, others with cybernetic implants on their faces or possibly on their legs and still others had a walk that just signaled it to him.   It came naturally, he had seen the struts and signs on Earth; however, he had never acted upon it till now.  Soon, a small grin was encompassing his features causing him to slide into the darkness of an alley way just as man walking with enough swagger in his step to fill a rap video came striding by.  

Snatching the overly confident male into the shade, Nathan put an end to his confidence by slamming his head against the metallic substance of the building they were beside.  Slumping to the ground unconscious, Nathan got a slightly better look at his victim.   He was short with black hair in dreads and no signs of intelligence on his face.  Shaking his head, Nathan would begin to pat down on his blue pants legs and over his grey shirt before finding a small horde of credits in his front pocket.  Prying them away from him and tossing down a chip worth twenty onto his frame; he would pocket the rest of it and slip back into the crowd, his deed unnoticed.  

It was another twenty minutes before Nathan arrived back at the hotel, not really wanting to bother with any business transactions or possible bullshit that the manager might pull.   Much to his surprise though, as he walked in everything seemed to have already been settled away as Slacker Jack and Arachne were busily playing chess on a holographic projection.   Neither acknowledged Nathan’s presence as he came in, nor did Gilarose whom was passed out on the bar drooling slightly with an empty bottle of liquor in front of her.   Nathan examined her for a moment, watching how her rotund ass formed a heart shape on the barstool and looked to be one of the best pillows one could hope for, till they saw her breasts.    Across the room, the manager had lit up a stogie and was flipping through a few credits as he contemplated the same thing that Nathan did.

No one was saying a word to each other, meaning that Slacker Jack or someone else had managed to square away the deal without the need of help.   Merely pulling up a seat next to Gilarose, the Captain began to play with the contents of the only glass left by her.  It was about half full and smelled oddly pleasant for alcohol, making him inhale for a moment before he felt Gilarose’s head up against his arm.  “You’re cute, but not cute enough to take my alcohol from me.  Buy your own.”  She growled at him before shooting him a small wink and rolling her head back to a semi-upright position.   Afterwards, she would yawn and the stench of consumed alcohol hit Nathan hard; making him recoil a little bit and causing the darker skinned female to chortle for a moment.  “Never met a woman who could drink you under the table I assume?”  She teased playfully at which point Nathan merely shook his head and walked away, noticing that Zephyr was crotched in the corner beside the door.   

The Yor’zvin male had made himself as small as possible and was hard to notice due to the dark color of his clothing; even so, his face had to be turned completely away for someone not to know he was there.   Making eye contact, he waved slightly, then went back to looking through a peep hole by the door most likely keeping tabs on who was coming and going.  Being a good little lap dog it seemed, Tesla on the other hand was nowhere to be seen and that was actually what Nathan preferred at the moment. 

Stepping into the room he would be sharing with Garrus or someone else when the time came to decide, Nathan walked towards the couch and slammed himself down onto it.   Pulling the credits out of his back pocket and beginning to count them all slowly; watching the tickers on the side of the chips diminish as he inserted them into his transactor.   When it finished, he looked over his account and read the balance at 1,256 credits.    Huffing a small sigh, he rolled over and faced the side of the couch, pondering what to do next.

Current Credits: 1,256

Next deduction for consumption of party:  400 in 3 Updates

Totals:

Tesla – 50   Contentment: 3/5   Mood:  Mischievous   Wants:  More control

Zephyr- 90  Contentment: 5/5  Mood:  Paranoid    Wants:  A more secure location

Lily – 50    Contentment:  2/5    Mood:  Confused and Shocked   Wants: Medical books and explanations

Ludma – 50  Contentment 1/5  Mood:  Angry   Wants:  The fuck out of here.

Slacker Jack – 10  Contentment 4/5  Mood:  Unreadable   Wants:  More customers

Gilarose – 70  Contentment 4/5   Mood:  Promiscuous    Wants:  Cleaner facilities/Respect

Arachne - ??  Contentment 4/5   Mood:  Unreadable    Wants:  Unreadable

Garrus – 80  Contentment 1/5   Mood:  Irritated   Wants:  A ship

Option A:  Get up and speak with the new comers.

Option B:  Get up and talk shop with the manager

Option C:  Get some food and a night of rest.  -10 credits

Option D:  Hunt down Ludma and Tesla.

50th Update!

Unimpressed with the orb-like creature’s statements and actions, Nathan would barely register the high-pitched squawking that it issued to him.   Taking it all as little more than lip-service, he would restrain a growl in the back of his throat; making sure to keep his cool in the situation, the last thing their group needed was more attention after the recent string of events.   Huffing out an irritated sigh, Nathan would carefully begin to pick and choose his words, while at the same time motioning with his hands to punctuate his sentences and give an extra bit of pungency to them.  “Don’t misunderstand me…,” unable to verify the gender of the alien by eye sight nor by any visible name-tag, the captain went through an awkward pause.  In turn the orb to turn its three eyes towards him in both surprise and mild disgust.  “I respect the station that you hold and the authority of the hospital at this time; however, I need to see my friends.   Lily just recently lost her only real family and has been under my care since, Garrus is under my supervision as well as he is a co-worker and has no means to contact his family right now.”  As Nathan said this, the orb spun around slightly; grey eyes dilating and realigning as it flipped through the clipboard for a moment.

“Mr. Blackholm,”  the alien announced much to Nathan’s confusion has he had not introduced himself, “but our patients health and safety are our utmost concern.  I can assure you that both of them are in the most capable hands Mr. Arkhum’s considerable budget has allowed him to purchase.”  At the final statement, his fists would clench tightly before he rose his hand up and squeezed the orb tightly.  Its body was no bigger than a softball and easily fit into Nathan’s outstretched hands.  Infuriated, he started to wind up to throw the alien; however, stopped and released it, watching it dip a little in the air before speaking.

“It has been a long day, I would very much like to just know my friends’ conditions and possibly see them before making my way back home.    Honestly, if that isn’t too much to ask, could you please see to it that the information I require is relinquished before I end up using a certain round object for a game of Freeway Hacky-sack? “  Saying this with a rather disarming smile, the alien would only shiver for a moment before letting its eyes expand in horror.

“I….understand Mr. Blackholm, please forgive the rudeness.   Mr. Arkhum is being outfitted with the latest cybernetics; his internal organs and bones were almost all completely destroyed.   More than half of his brain along with it upon impact; so the information that he held is being reconstructed using a team of specialists who are using the recorded information in his ‘black box’ to recreate his entire personality, memories and everything else about him.  It will completely restore him to how he was before the accident, along with the knowledge of what happened and how he was turned into what he is now.”   As the creature finished this statement, Nathan would carefully pick up its clipboards and pins, passing them over to it before raising an eyebrow slowly.   “Oh….your other friend was just released, she was in the room next to Mr. Arkhum’s, she should be completely recovered aside from a small scar on her stomach now.  If you’d like to see her, her room number is C-42.” 

“Thank you, have a nice day.”  Nathan responded after the end of the orb’s explanation, at which point he made his way down the hall to an intersection that read:  “C-block, in dedication to Dulok R. Catch, a Tresadorian of many ideas, inspirations and four hearts full of kindness for those in need.”  At the sight of the sign, Nathan would turn and start walking down the path; letting his eyes roam over the light blue and green tiles that somehow managed to make his eyes feel uncomfortable.  It was clear that the hospital was more designed for aliens that humans, as much of architecture and design was inspired in ways that made humans feel uncomfortable and often unsafe.   Abstract paintings hung from the walls, confusing the eye; meanwhile, overly bright lights constantly made Nathan hold his hand up to shade them.   All of it was disconcerting to him, making him feel as if he was in a psyche ward rather than a normal hospital.

Taking a little walk around the area, he eventually came to the room that he was searching for.  Taking a hold of the handle and passing through the white door, he found Lily sitting alone inside.   The blonde girl’s head turned toward one of the barred windows and looking out of it longingly; while the yellow walls of the room seemed to cage her in that much more.   Pausing, Nathan would let himself lean against the door, realizing just how exhausted he was, not to mention beat up from his earlier encounter.    “Hey.”  He finally stated before stepping into the room, Lily turned her head and nodded to him slightly before bunching up the fabric on her legs.   At the moment, she sounded distant as if she was deep in thought and wanted no interruptions; even if they were coming from Nathan.

“Hey.”  She replied and let her emerald colored eyes twist over to Nathan’s face, outstretching one hand, she motioned for him to come closer.   As he did so, her gentle, feminine fingers began to curl against his cheek; before she leaned forward and kissed him softly.   Her brief peck soon became slightly more intimate, as Nathan let his now full beard of his scruff rub against her face.   God, I really need a shave, he thought to himself and it just became more abundantly clear how bad he needed one as he could feel her pressing against his face.   After a moment, she pulled back before looking out the window once more, letting her hands curl up into her lap once more.  “You weren’t there to protect me again….You keep getting hurt and all I can think is that….this time you won’t come back or this time I’m actually going to die.   That stupid dog, Faulkner and now this new one….Nathan….I can’t keep doing this; I’m going to have a heart attack if this keeps up.  Look at us…we’re in a hospital and Garrus….Garrus isn’t even alive anymore; oh sure, they say he is, but they’re in there basically completely reconstructing him.  That’s not Garrus…it is a shell programmed to act like him!” 

“Lily…I.”

Lily cut him off again, pressing one finger up to his lips before shaking her head slowly.  “Look…Nathan, you and Garrus and though I’m loathe to say it, Tesla.   Are the only family I have left, Ludma over time could become something, but right now….I only have a history with you three.   Every time we go anywhere now, I’m terrified…because I know something is probably going to try to kill us; because you’re going to do something stupid or Garrus is going to say something insulting.   Nathan….I can’t lose you two….I just can’t.   Knowing Garrus might as well be dead just made this all too real.   I need to be alone, Ludma sent me a message with where we’re staying; I’ll go there when I get released, but for now…..leave me alone.    It hurts just to look at you.”

At this, she abruptly turned her back on him, starting to weep a little.   Nathan paused at this point and just pulled back; giving Lily her space.   As he stepped out of the room, he walked towards the next one over; leaning his head against the door as he could hear the operation going on through it.   Just standing there, he knew the door would be locked and that there was no way in aside from waiting for one of the doctors to leave.  Pressing his hand up against the door next to his head, he took a step back and sat down on a nearby bench; just staring at the door until he eventually collapsed.   

After some three hours of sleeping against the walls of the hospital, Nathan would be roused from his slumber by one of the nurses shaking him awake slowly.  Yawning and looking back up at her, his eyes blinking constantly as they adjusted to the light; he could see that Garrus’s door was slightly ajar.  Standing up slowly, Nathan could see the nurse leaving, while he walked through the door to his friend’s current room; as he walked in, he could see the pilot laying there with his head turned to the window.   His body looked just like any other human’s; however, there were clear lines running across his arms, legs and chest where he had been pieces together.  Small flashes of LED’s would fire off in light blue as he exhaled, illustrating the flow of his ‘bodily fluids’.   Parts of him were still flesh and bone, used to be a support for the system that was he currently attached to.   His head being a glaring example of this where most of the back had been replaced with a storage unit and had been constructed to look just like the older parts.   Yet, his face was almost completely intact aside from some metallic sections running across his jaw and cheek bones. 

“I figured you would have barged in here during the operation.”  Garrus stated, being the first of them to speak as he awkwardly moved his new cybernetic appendage to examine the construct of his arm.  

“I thought about it, just wasn’t willing to screw up your operation.”  Nathan said with a short, but nervous laugh as he walked into the room and stood next to the window.   Garrus acknowledged him by nodding for a moment, then casually began to examine his chest; running his hand down the almost solid plate of metal. 

“Never thought this would happen to me; always figured I would just stay out of trouble and end up dying of old age in obscurity.   Now I look like a fucking lawyer.”  Saying this, Garrus would drop his hands down to the sheets of the bed and begin to squeeze at them slowly.   All of the motions he made, just as silent as they would have been if he had been completely human. 

“There is nothing we can do about it….we’re just lucky we had the money to pay for it.”  Nathan said almost coldly, not knowing what else to say in that moment.

“You know…there are times I wonder what luck really is anymore.”  As Garrus said this, he would turn his head back towards the window, both he and Nathan being silhouetted by the cascading beams of light.   Night was setting in and the small cracks of sunlight that they were getting were being drowned out completely, leaving almost absolute darkness out on the streets.   A few street lights whistled to life, but Nathan and Garrus hardly noticed; instead, they tried to meet each other’s eyes but were unable to.  “So, what happened to our attacker?”

Nathan bit his lip, not wanting to answer the question as he huffed out a brief sigh and finally shoved his hands down into his pockets.  His head leaning back against the wall, before he finally stated.  “It turns out that he is Tesla’s husband and….as a penitence, is going to be traveling with our crew and working his ass off to repay the now massive debt he has managed to build.

Not responding, Garrus blinked a few times then turned his head looking towards the door; shaking his head, the red-locks spun around for a moment.   Inhaling, then exhaling heavily, Garrus would look back at Nathan with his mouth set in anger.  “You let that fucking monster into our home…our lives….into everything without so much as asking us first?   What the fuck is wrong with you….?”  As Garrus said this, he clutched his sheets hard enough to drive his fingers through the fabric creating holes for each of his fingers. 

“I wish I knew at this point Garrus, I wish I knew.    I saw the begging in his eyes and in Tesla’s….I beat the man down, fought with him on a rooftop and battered him around.   We almost fell to our deaths and he ended up saving my life….yet, I still beat him to a bloody pulp, but in the end I couldn’t kill him.   I just…I couldn’t fault him for wanting to get his wife back.”  As Nathan said this, he looked away from the rage that was surging in Garrus’s eyes before he had to duck under the flower pot that the pilot flung at him.

“HE WENT ABOUT IT IN THE WRONG WAY AND PUT THE ONLY FAMILY YOU HAVE IN THE HOSPITAL, THEN YOU JUST LET IT SLIDE!?  GET OUT!”  Garrus screamed at Nathan as both of them could see his heart rate starting to accelerate rapidly on the screen; until, the red-head finally slammed his head back down in the pillows.  “God damn it, Nathan….at least tell me you at least made him bleed at least.”

“Enough that he was vomiting it for a while, not to mention he got a knife through his back.”   Sighing, the captain left the room, looking back at his friend whom was now rubbing his face slowly.  As he continued to walk, he could see Lily looking wide-eyed towards the wall as a nurse walked in to check up on her.   His conversation with Garrus obviously being overheard and now, she had gone into shock from the news; continuing to walk away, he knew that he wasn’t going to be welcome by either of them for a while.