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Quarian Directives	By : NakedOwlMan Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 56175 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Mass Effect and all the characters in it are owned by people that are not me. I have not made a cent off this work of fiction

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
- 19
"Damn," Jacob muttered, as he blearily opened his eyes. Did he oversleep? As he sat up in his bunk, he let out a loud yawn. A sound which pretty succinctly summarized the current state of affairs on the Normandy.
He never thought he would miss the days of preparing to fly into the mouth of hell itself, survival uncertain. But ever since they had blown the Collector base to pieces, Jacob felt like he was back on the Lazarus Project: day after day of attending to his duties, going through the motions, bored out of his mind. Back there, he made regular visits to the firing range, just to make sure he still remembered how to shoot a gun when the time came.
But the Normandy didn't even have that particular amenity, so Jacob was reduced to cleaning a room full of weapons that weren't being used, and keeping his body in shape for some major fight, date TBD.
His bare feet hitting the floor of the crew quarters, Jacob yawned again. Arching his back, he stretched, putting his bare, rippling abs on display. Shit, why the hell did he hurt all over this morning? Reminded him of the night after he'd been accepted into the Corsairs, when the rest of his new team had taken him out for drinks to celebrate. "A clandestine party, with plausible deniability," they had joked, but there was nothing funny about how he'd felt the next morning. Head pounding, entire body hurting like a thresher maw had chewed him up and spit him out.
This morning felt even worse, and he hadn't even been drinking last night. Or had he? Thinking back, Jacob tried to remember the events of the previous evening, but everything seemed fuzzy, like...
Do you understand my instructions?
"Yes," he muttered to himself, and then blinked. Why had he said that all of a sudden? "Damn, boot camp days coming back to me," he said to himself, remembering those arduous weeks of following orders without hesitation. The Alliance drilling into the notion of compliance, of acting without thinking. A good lesson to learn, but didn't make it a hell of a lot of fun to go through.
Strange, though, that those memories would come back to him now. Shepard wasn't a damn thing like Corporal Barnes, his old drill instructor. Shepard was a lot less formal about protocol and procedure... and had a hell of a lot better body, to boot.
"Bah, put it out of your mind, buddy," Jacob thought to himself, as he pulled his uniform out of his locker. Still, it was hard not to be a little disappointed that Shepard batted for the other team. She was definitely one of the most attractive soldiers he'd ever worked with, and he would have jumped at the opportunity if she had made a move. But he supposed it was better this way. Things could have gotten complicated if he and Shepard had gotten together and it hadn't worked out. Working with one ex on a ship was bad enough.
And that got him thinking of Miranda. Those nights on the Lazarus Research Station, when she'd come back to their cabin after a long day of working on Shepard. While she told him all about their progress in raising the dead – using a bunch of technical terms he'd probably have to study for decades to understand – he'd peel her out of her clothes and massage the tension out of her shoulders. It turned into a game after a while; Miranda would try to hold out as long as she could, but it would take ten minutes at the most before the two of them would be under the covers and...
Jacob shook his head to dispel the memories. No time to dwell on these things. He was running late this morning, and while Shepard didn't crack the whip on her crew, probably wouldn't be a good idea to start getting lax in his duties now. Tossing on his uniform, Jacob was heading out the door just as somebody else was entering.
"Oh! Good morning, Jacob," Gabby Daniels greeted him. She was looking particularly cheerful this morning, and the sight of her refreshed smile made his head hurt even worse.
"Morning, Gabby," Jacob greeted her. "Anything going on?"
Gabby shook her head. "Nope, just came from the showers before going on duty."
Jacob nodded, but thought to himself, "Weird. Her hair's bone dry. Must have bought one of those extra-strength driers or something."
Out in the hallways, the Normandy was humming along as usual. Jacob turned to the lift just in time to see Jack dart inside and close the door. "Wonder what's got her in such a hurry," he thought to himself. An image of the dangerous biotic came to mind, her down there in that hold by herself. Wonder what she did with all her time alone down there. Maybe she'd like some company or something...
There he went again. What the hell was with him this morning? He'd never been the type of guy who felt like he had to get laid on a regular basis. Sure, he'd had his fair share of women in his time – both long-term like Miranda and the occasional one-night stand – but he'd always been the type to treat sex just like any other off-duty activity: enjoyable, but not something that preoccupied his mind all that much.
But as he rode the lift up to Deck 2, Jacob found himself mentally listing off the female crew of the Normandy, and wondering what the odds would be that one of them might be willing to spend some together with him. Shepard and Miranda were out, of course. Gabby could be interesting, but everybody knew that she had eyes for Ken (well, except for Ken himself.) And Jacob doubted he'd be able to feign much interest in long discussions on the power outputs of the Normandy's engines, and how adjusting the plasma intake valves to a .852 variance would reduce energy leakage to .04%. It'd be like talking to... to... well, it wouldn't be much fun.
Jack? No way. Jacob would be lucky to survive the encounter, even if she was into it. And even though he was quits with Cerberus, Jack seemed like the type to hold a grudge. If he made a move, chances are he'd end up being bounced like a ping-pong ball against the walls of engineering.
Kelly? Nah, too weird. He'd worked alongside the yeoman long enough that he'd almost come to see her as a younger sister of sorts. And while he wasn't the time to traffic in ship gossip, even he'd heard enough about Kelly that he didn't feel like being just another notch in her bedpost.
So his prospects weren't that great. But even as he arrived in the armory and began his daily duties, Jacob's mind was still on the ladies of the Normandy. His thoughts started mundane, wondering what certain women would like to do on a date, but became increasingly explicit as the morning went on.
Two hours into his shift, in the middle of imagining that one cute bridge ensign using her mouth on him like she was playing a harmonica, Jacob made the decision that, when they arrived at the Citadel, he needed to go hit a bar or two and check out the prospects. Just a quick fling before shipping out again, something to get his mind off whatever had come over him lately and let him focus back on his duties to the Normandy.
Trying in vain to lose himself in mundane tasks and get his mind off more vulgar activities, Jacob finally checked the time on his omnitool and decided it was time to grab a bite. After reassembling the rifle he had completely stripped and cleaned twice without realizing it, Jacob went to the lift and headed down to the mess hall.
The place was crowded, everybody a little more trusting of Gardner's meals since Shepard had picked up some new ingredients from the Citadel a while back. Gardner had even been forced to pull a few spare tables out of storage to accommodate the influx of diners. The room was filled with lively chatter, the crew still feeling that relief of being freed from the clutches of the Collectors. Grabbing a tray, Jacob scanned the room for a free seat.
Then his eyes locked on a free seat at one of the smaller tables. There were two chairs across from each other, and one was currently unoccupied. Moving quickly before anyone else could claim it, Jacob dropped down in the chair. "Busier than usual, huh?" he said to the other table's occupant.
"Oh, uh... yeah, guess so," said Kasumi, her eyes hidden underneath her hood. "I can take my food back to the lounge, though, if you'd rather be by yourself."
"No, that's okay," Jacob said to the mysterious thief. "I wouldn't mind the company, actually."
Funny, Jacob thought to himself. All morning he had been dating, fondling, and ravaging all the ladies of the Normandy in his head, and somehow Miss Goto had never sprung to mind. He supposed he didn't really spend that much time around her: Shepard had never paired them for any missions, and she tended to keep to herself in the lounge when she wasn't out fighting with the Commander. But as he enjoyed Gardner's latest exotic concoction, he found himself sneaking glances at his dining companion between bites.
She was staring down intently at her plate, taking nervous bites of her salad and refusing to look up, so it was hard for him to get a good look at her face. But from what he could see, she was definitely attractive. Weird that he'd never really thought of her in that way before. Now, though, suddenly it was all he could think about.
"So, any big scores in mind for when we touch down at the Citadel?" he asked her, trying to get her attention up to his face so he could get a better look.
"Scores?" Kasumi nervously repeated, her attention snapping up to Jacob. He was surprised to notice that she was actually blushing. "What do you mean?"
"Any big heists, I mean," Jacob said with a laugh. "I imagine this ship must be getting pretty boring for you by now. Probably itching to get back out there and take down some big targets, huh?"
Kasumi fidgeted, hiding her deep blue eyes again by looking back down at her meal. "Not really. I mean... uh... you think I should leave? I mean, if that's what you..."
Shaking his head and chuckling, Jacob raised a hand to cut her off. Damn, all these years, and he still sucked at talking to women. "I didn't mean it like that. Just saying that I've read your file. I know all about the jobs you've pulled off. Even some of the stuff they didn't catch you for, Cerberus knew about. After all those years of high-risk thefts, pulling off jobs that shouldn't have even been possible? Gotta imagine that spending all this time just sitting on a ship staring out the windows has to be a bit dull for somebody who's done the sort of stuff you have."
"I dunno," Kasumi said, and Jacob was glad to see her loosen up a little, a touch of a smile coming to her lips. "Considering all the crazy stuff Shep found out about those Reapers, I kinda want to hang onto 'dull' for as long as possible. Get the feeling that we'll be missing it before we know it."
"I hear that," Jacob agreed. "But forget about the Reapers. Back to my question: you doing anything when we get to the Citadel?"
"Sitting on a ship, staring out the windows," Kasumi said with a shrug.
"Ah, come on," Jacob admonished her. "Weeks spent crammed up in this ship, how can you not want to get out of here for a bit?"
Kasumi wryly smirked. "Well, you said something earlier about "the stuff they didn't catch me for'? That doesn't mean they aren't still looking, you know."
"Seriously? C-Sec knows who we are by now, and they know we're working for Shepard. Don't think we need to worry about the law getting up in our business." He gave her a grin. "Hell, I could probably strip down and run naked through the Presidium, and they wouldn't dare touch me."
"I would."
Jacob arched his eyebrows. "Would what?"
Kasumi's eyes went wide, and her blush grew deeper. "What I meant was, uh, I would go somewhere while we're on shore leave, but I've only been to the Citadel a few times. I wouldn't know the first thing about where I'd want to go."
"Well, hey, that's no problem," Jacob said. "I know this place on the Citadel. Serves up a steak to absolutely die for." Looking down at the salad in front of her, he quickly asked. "You do eat meat, right?"
Kasumi hesitated a moment. "Uh... yeah. Yeah, of course I do," she finally answered, nervously playing with her fork and staring at him nervously from under her hood.
Just as he was about to make the proposal, Jacob felt like someone was watching him. Glancing over, he saw Miranda walking past, staring at the two of them as she went. For a second, Jacob felt a bit ashamed. Sure, he and Miranda were done, but was it insensitive of him to be making eyes at another woman while she was working beside him?
But then he saw Miranda smile, a genuine one that told him all he needed to know. He nodded back in gratitude, and she turned to walk away without a word.
"So, Miss Goto, what do you say?" Jacob turned back to ask Kasumi. "Would you allow me to be your escort when we arrive on the Citadel?"
Kasumi smiled back at him. And just kept smiling.
"Kasumi?" Jacob said, trying to get her attention after thirty seconds without an answer.
"Oh, sorry," Kasumi blinked. "I just... I wanted to take a second to... I mean yes. I'd love to."
"It'll be fun, I promise," Jacob said. Grabbing his fork, he started back in on his meal. After a few bites, he looked up to see that Kasumi was still staring at him. He gave her a questioning look.
"I just, um... I feel kinda stupid for asking this, but... is this just a friendly sort of thing?" Kasumi said. "Like, two comrades hanging out together? Or is this... like... a date?" Seeing Jacob's expression, Kasumi quickly added. "I mean, I don't really care either way, I still want to go. I just ask because I want to know what to wear, is all."
Seeing Kasumi's hand shaking slightly, Jacob grabbed it in his, and then brought the back of it up to his lips. "Tell you what," he said, kissing the smooth leather of her glove. "You dress however you want, and we'll see where things go from there."
"Okay!" Kasumi said, and suddenly bolted up from her seat. "I gotta go. Get dressed, that is." She said, looking extremely flustered.
Jacob gave her a confused look. "But we're still twenty hours from the Citadel."
"Well, it takes me a while to get dressed. I, um..." Kasumi struggled for words. Finally, she just said, "I'll see you when we get there!" and dashed away, knocking over several crewmen on her way out.
Smiling to himself, Jacob continued eating his lunch. "Sometimes, buddy, you've just got it," he thought to himself.
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Quarian Directives