Dialogue Interlude: Virtue

"Do you need any help?" Serenity grinned and helped the woman pick up her packages.
"Thank you," the woman smiled. "I just picked up a few things for a date, and kind of got carried away."
"Sounds like fun."
"We just made up," she said with a little giggle, "and I"m really, really happy. I think I would have been devastated if I had really lost him." She sighed happily. "But it all worked out."
Her words made Serenity think of Kaidan, and she smiled in sympathy with the stranger.
"His ex from like, two years ago or something, came back into his life, and he was really messed up for a while."
"Oh?" said Serenity, not sure if she really wanted to hear the story.
"Yeah, he really loves her, but she isn't right for him. She's not pretty at all, she's the big, manly, soldier type. No offense," said the woman quickly.
"None taken," Serenity smiled her most trustworthy smile.
"But mostly, it's because she's a cheater."
Serenity looked questioningly at the stranger. "How do you know?"
"Oh, we saw her, running around with one of her Asari girlfriends. They were making out at the spaceport and everything."
Serenity blinked. "How indiscreet."
"I know!" the woman exclaimed. "He nearly lost it. Poor guy, he deserves better than that."
Serenity shrugged. "Maybe. I don't have much use for men myself."
The stranger smiled and looked away shyly, not daring to take up the thread of conversation from there.
The elevator finally stopped and they got off at the Residential District.
"Do you need help carrying those?" Serenity offered.
"Um, sure, thanks." The woman was slightly nervous, but she couldn't resist letting someone carry the extra bags. "It's not very far, just down here in the 200s."
Serenity carried the bags easily, and set them down at the door. "Here you go." She didn't bother looking at the number, or waiting for the woman to thank her. "See you around."
Serenity walked until she knew she was out of sight, and headed back to the elevators. The Residential District was not a good place to lose one's temper. She forced herself to breathe deeply and slowly. Everything would work out, she told herself. It had to.
She headed back to Zakera Ward, hoping to find someone she could talk to, someone from her crew, anyone who would understand. Anyone who would listen.
"The same side? Not a chance in hell, Cerberus bitch!"
Serenity grinned darkly at the chance of a fight, and walked up to where Miranda and Jacob were trying not antagonize a few Alliance soldiers, one of whom must have recognized Miranda even in her civilian clothes.
"I ought to have you arrested, you murdering bitch!" the soldier snarled.
Serenity put her hands on Miranda's hips and gently moved her out of the way so that the shouting soldier was facing Serenity instead. "You have a problem with my crew, soldier?" Just to be as provocative as possible, she didn't take her hands away, and let Miranda lean on her. Even without her armor, Serenity Shepard was a very intimidating person. Tall. Lean. Angry, her green eyes narrowed and her face set like cast marble, clearly ready for a fight, for all that she was dressed in common workclothes and facing a trained solder in full armor. He backed away first, and then he recognized her. Serenity grinned at seeing the shock and recognition flicker across his face.
"Uh, no, ma'am. I, uh...." his voice trailed away in something like terror.
"What's going on here?"
Serenity felt her heart sink at the voice. This was not the way she had wanted this meeting to happen. She glanced at the soldier she had stared down, and finally read the ship's name. A sudden anger flared in her heart. Serenity gritted her teeth, and stood her ground. Didn't change her pose, didn't move an inch.
The crowd parted to let Captain Shepard through, and she came face to face with her daughter.
Hannah Shepard was equally as tall and imposing as Serenity, but surprisingly blond and even a bit broader in the shoulders. The same green eyes, and no welcome in either pair.
"So," Captain Shepard snarled, "it is true. You really are working with Cerberus."
"Don't you mean, 'Yes, the Alliance really did turn their back on you and hang you out to dry?'" Serenity retorted.
"How dare you!"
Miranda was very tense, and would have moved away from Serenity's hands were it not for the fact that they were still surrounded by crew from the Orizaba.
"I was raised to be honest," Serenity growled.
"I can't believe this," Captain Shepard choked back her rage. "Fine, you and your father can stay with Cerberus if you want to. Just stay out of my life. Don't ever speak to me again!" She turned on her heel and stormed away from Serenity. The Orizaba crew followed their captain without speaking.
Serenity watched her leave in confusion, but was still too angry to bother asking. "Well, I think we've all had our fun here. Let's get going."
Miranda waited until they were back at the Normandy to talk to Serenity, who still looked ready to rip out bulkheads. "I have no idea what she was talking about. There are no other Shepards working for Cerberus, as far as I know."
Serenity laughed, a harsh laugh that grated on the nerves. "That's my mother's last name. They're not married."
"Oh." Miranda looked at Serenity curiously. "So what is your father's name?"
"Dr. Hiroshi Kimoura. Does a lot of cybernetics work."
Miranda gasped and Jacob looked stunned.
"Okay, no wonder your mom was pissed," said Jacob.
"He never told me!" exclaimed Miranda.
"Would you have let him work on the project if you knew he was just trying to help his daughter?"
"Of course not! That's completely unethical, and frankly, dangerous!"
"Well, that would be why he didn't mention it."
Miranda shook her head in disbelief. "How long have you known?"
Serenity shrugged. "For a while. Dr. Chakwas mentioned his name as one of the people who worked on designing my implants, but no one seemed to know that he was my father. I figured I shouldn't mention it." Serenity looked around. "I need a drink. By the way, Miranda - the part that was making her so angry wasn't that you were from Cerberus. It was the way I was touching you."
Miranda blushed in surprise. "Oh, well... obviously, she had the wrong idea. You were trying to make her angry."
Kelly walked up with a tray of iced tea and sandwiches. "Here you are, Commander. You look like you could use a snack."
"Thank you, Kelly." Serenity hadn't realized how hungry she was.
Miranda realized that Kelly was defusing the situation, and took the opportunity to escape to her office. "I'm going to go put my things away."
"I take it your trip to the Citadel didn't go as you had hoped?" Kelly asked.
"It sucked," Serenity snarled.
"I'm sorry to hear that," said Kelly with genuine sympathy. "Still, isn't Liara coming back tomorrow? That's good, right?"
Serenity handed back the glass and walked away. She took the elevator down to the Engineering deck, picked up Jack and settled down in Starboard Cargo for a night of drinking. Grunt joined them to listen to Zaeed's wild stories, and Garrus and Tali eventually came down to join in.
Kelly came down early in the morning, after checking Serenity's cabin and finding it empty.
"And that's when Willey said, 'Where's my vodka?' You should have seen the look on Preston's face when he realized what he had drunk. And then the vodka hit him! He just toppled over," Zaeed laughed. "It was the funniest thing I've ever seen."
Serenity snorted, trying not to topple over herself. "Oh, hey, Kelly. What are you doing down here?"
Kelly stepped over Jack and Grunt, who were passed out on the floor. "I came to get you. You're supposed to meet Liara at the spaceport in an hour."
"Oh, is it morning already?" Serenity stood and stretched. "I am starving. I could go for some waffles or something."
"It is morning," Zaeed observed. "That explains why we're out of whiskey."
"Have you been drinking all night?" asked Kelly in disbelief.
Serenity walked past her, only slightly unsteady. "I'm going to take a shower. Is Garrus up?"
"Garrus and Tali went out for breakfast already."
"Oh well." Serenity stepped into the elevator. "I'll be leaving for the spaceport in fifteen minutes."
Kelly frowned as the elevator disappeared. She bent down and tried to get Jack to wake up, but it was of no use. "You're not going to go with her, Zaeed?"
"I don't jump in front of thresher maws, and I'm not going to cross Shepard when she wants to be in a bad mood."
"Do you have any idea what she's upset about?"
"Do I look like a caring, sympathetic shoulder to you? When Shepard's ready to talk, she will. Pestering her about it won't help any."
Kelly sighed. Zaeed broke down, and helped her get Jack and Grunt up.

Serenity leaned against the wall, waiting for Liara to disembark. Part of her wondered if Kaidan was watching again, but the other half of her was still hoping it was all just a misunderstanding.
"Shepard!" Liara ran up to her and pounced on Serenity. "Oh, I'm so glad you're still here."
"I said I would be!" Serenity protested. "How did it go?"
Liara pouted. "Terrible. They were tipped off somehow, and I didn't get anything really useful. I did get my hands on some databanks that weren't completely wiped. They seem to have some old encrypted files that I might be able to piece together. Also, I took out two of the Shadow Broker's agents, so it wasn't a complete waste."
Serenity picked up Liara's bag for her and they walked out of the spaceport together, Liara hanging on her arm. "Are you hungry? I could really use some breakfast."
"Oh, breakfast sounds wonderful!" Liara smiled. "I don't get a kiss this time, I take it?"
"You're not heading towards certain death. Just some waffles."
Liara giggled, snuggled Serenity's arm. "A girl can't be blamed for trying."
"C'mon, let's meet up with Garrus and Tali at the IHOP."
"I will never understand why the Volus keep opening those."
"You do know that it was originally a Human concept, right?"
Liara laughed lightly, and continued to mock the venerable breakfast restaurant chain while Serenity sent a message to Tali, letting her know they were on the way.
They walked out of the spaceport, and took a taxi to the IHOP. Serenity carefully didn't look around to see if anyone was watching as they left.
Tali waved to Serenity and Liara as they entered the bustling restaurant. "Over here!"
They joined Tali and Garrus at the table, and ordered some food. Serenity started eating a stack of waffles, and ordered another two more. Her implants had gone into overdrive from the stress and the drinking, and she needed energy.

"I'm surprised you can still breathe, Shepard. I've never seen anyone drink so much," grinned Garrus.
Serenity finished another stack of waffles. "Sure you have. Zaeed does it all the time."
"Hardly an ideal role model," commented Tali. "Bosh'tet, why isn't this going through?"
"What are you doing?" asked Liara curiously.
"I'm trying to send a private message over the Citadel network, but it keeps getting rejected for some reason."
"Why don't you just send a normal message?"
Serenity put down her glass of juice. "Tali, are you trying to send a message to Kaidan?"
"Yes, but it's not working. I don't know what I'm doing wrong."
"Kaidan? Alenko?" said Liara sharply.
"Was there another one I should know about?" asked Tali. "Of course it's Alenko. I thought he could join us for breakfast! It would be just like old times."
"Stop," Liara commanded. She stood up and picked up her bag.
"What the hell are you doing?" asked Serenity. "Sit down."
"I am not staying here if Alenko is coming," said Liara, her lips pressed together tightly.
"Well, he isn't coming, so sit down. Actually, pass me the boysenberry syrup from that empty table while you're standing. I can't believe they ever planned to stop making this flavor." Liara handed her the bottle. Serenity drowned her last stack of waffles in syrup, and began eating them. Liara sat down again next to Serenity, confused and cautious.
"Shepard, do you know why my messages aren't going through?" asked Tali.
Serenity shrugged. "I'm guessing it's because he's rejecting them. Is there any orange juice left?"
"Only dextro." Garrus waved to their waitress, a perennially happy little Volus female wearing a bright red apron over her exosuit, and ordered another pitcher of juice for Serenity. "You want anything, Liara?"
"No," Liara looked curiously at Serenity. "I'm fine, thank you. Shepard, did you ... have a fight with Alenko?"
Serenity shook her head, and finished the last of her waffles. "Nope. He hasn't spoken to me for a while. Or written to me. Or answered my messages."
"I will never understand Humans," Tali muttered, and continued working with her omni-tool.
"But... I got you the address you wanted." Liara wrung her hands. "Didn't you find him?"
Serenity leaned back, in her chair. She could tell she was starting to get a little strange from lack of sleep. "No, I didn't find him." Serenity leaned back in the booth, and stretched out, putting one arm behind Liara.
Liara considered. All she had to do was move over slightly, and.... She decided to change the subject. "I found those periodicals you asked about!" she said brightly. Lifted her bag, and pulled out the glossy special edition data module. "Two years of Vogue, just like you wanted!"
Serenity gasped in joy. "Oh!" She scanned through the cover shots, stopped at a modestly styled, beautiful gold and silver dress. "This would look really good on Tali, wouldn't it? I wonder who made it."
Liara looked at the picture, then at Tali. "Actually, it really would. As an exosuit, of course."
"Let me see that," said Garrus.
"What? We don't wear dresses. Quarians don't do fashion."
"Huh," Garrus looked at Tali, then at the picture. "You have a good eye for this sort of thing, Shepard."
"I like to look at beautiful women in beautiful clothes," said Serenity. "It's more fun than just dressing up dolls." She took back the module and went back to looking at more of the past year's designs.
"I can't imagine you playing with dolls," Garrus grinned.
"Can you imagine me playing with real women instead?"
"I can, but I'm trying not to."
Tali threw a slice of toast at Garrus. "You pig!"
"What!"
"You're not even trying. I can tell."

Serenity walked into the Main Gunnery. "Hey, Garrus."
"Shepard. What's up? You need something?"
Serenity sat down. She still hadn't been to sleep yet. "Tell me what happened with Liara and Kaidan."
Garrus chuckled. "They had a fight, of course. I thought they had made up by now, shows you what I know." Garrus leaned back on the railing, across from Serenity. "Liara is a little tactless, you know? And she's young. They were spending time together after you were gone. Comforting each other over losing you."
"Wait." Serenity held up her hand in shock. "Liara... and Kaidan?"
Garrus nodded.
"You know, you'd think that one of them would have mentioned that."
"I haven't gotten to the end yet. The fight." Garrus sighed. "Liara wanted... more. He wasn't ready for it, and he was too honest to pretend he loved her for herself. So he said they should break it off. And Liara went crazy, said some really childish and unpleasant things. He put up with it until she accused him of never really loving you."
Serenity sat very still. She'd never imagined this side of Kaidan, never dreamed that Liara cared that much.
"He almost killed her, Shepard. I've never seen anything like it. I always knew he was a powerful biotic for a Human, but this...." Garrus shook his head. "I actually saved her life, made him stop. I know he apologized to her later on, and returned all her things. I thought they were over all of that. But, I guess you just have that effect on people, Shepard."
Serenity shook her head. "Great. That's just great. And no one was going to tell me."
"Personally, I was hoping it would never come up."
She dropped her head into her hands. "You have no idea how much being dead is complicating my life." Serenity groaned in frustration. "Dammit, why me? Why do I have to do everything? Why can't the princess kill her own damn dragon, just once?"
"What?"
"Nothing, forget it." Serenity stood up. "It's just ... it's not fair."
"Shepard. Why do you have to do everything?" Garrus asked. "Why don't you just... I don't know, wait and see? For once?"
Serenity stared at her friend. "Um...."
"I mean, really, what's the worst that can happen? You'd have to just save everybody like you do anyway. At least you could take a break in between. Maybe have some fun. Just once."
"I... can I do that? I don't know if I can," Serenity laughed. "What would I do with myself in the meantime?"
Garrus grinned. "Play with dolls or something. I don't know. Just, let them figure themselves out for once. If they still need you to kill dragons, or whatever, they'll come find you."
The idea of playing with dolls made her giggle. "I have," Serenity started laughing, and couldn't stop, "the stupidest idea. I'm going to go talk to Miranda, I'll see you later."

"Creator-Tali. We welcome you. What is your desire?"
"Legion! I need your help. I am trying to get a recording from the public records of the Citadel, but I keep getting blocked."
Legion didn't answer right away. "What information are you trying to access, Creator-Tali?"
"I'm trying to help Shepard-Commander. I want to know what happened -"
"Creator-Tali. We do not think that would help Shepard-Commander." Before Tali could explain, Legion continued. "Creator-Tali. Shepard-Commander is well aware of your capabilities. Shepard-Commander is also equipped with a large support network within the Normandy. Shepard-Commander has chosen not to make use of these resources. It is our understanding that Shepard-Commander is exploring the path of self-determination at this time."
"What?" Tali thought about it.
"Shepard-Commander wishes to let others make their own choices at this time, without interference, and plans to do the same thing."
"That's ridiculous!" Tali snapped, and crossed her arms in frustration. "Why don't Humans ever know what they want?"
"It seems to be a common feature of organic lifeforms."
"Part of me wants to claim this is all your fault, but I know it's not."
Legion was silent.
"Stupid organic lifeforms! Why can't they just go and be happy!" Tali shouted suddenly.
"It is not in their programming," Legion observed.
"Bash'a'den! Why do I even bother trying?"
"Because it is in your programming, Creator-Tali."
"What? Oh, you...." Tali sighed. "Yes, I suppose it is. Well, if I can't meddle in her love affair, what should I do?"
Legion didn't comment on the inappropriateness of Tali asking him for advice. "Research indicates that Vakarian-Officer would be of most assistance in distracting you from the current situation, Creator-Tali. However, four hundred and eighty-five processes believe that it would be best for the Creators as a species if you spent more time preparing for mating with Creator-Kal."
Tali stared at Legion. "Legion, please remind me never to ask you that ever again."
"Creator-Tali, we apologize if our comment was too intrusive. We are concerned with the low birth rate current in the Creators, and your code is too valuable not to be passed on to the next iteration."
"No seriously, Legion. Never bring this up again."
"As you wish, Creator-Tali."
"Well, not never," Tali relented. "Just... oh, Keelah, why am I talking about sex to a Geth? I've gone mad. I'm going to get some ice cream." Tali stormed off.