Alex awkwardly escorts Liara back to the Med-Bay, where he is immediately pulled aside by Dr. Chakwas.
"Kerber, now let me see how you are doing. You fight like a damn savage with that sword of yours. It's frankly disturbing how stupid and primitive your fighting style is. I can't believe anyone would fight like such a brute, yet everyone who's seen you in action can't help but be impressed," she says.
"I have to agree with those people, Dr. Chakwas. Alex's fighting style may seem idiotic and barbaric, but it has proven quite effective," Liara says in a neutral tone.
"...Way to cheer me up," Alex comments dryly.
"I do not understand. I was merely telling the truth," she responds, looking genuinely confused.
I know of another way for you to cheer me u—
STOP FANTASIZING. Get serious already.
"It's fine," Alex replies with an awkward grin, his lip trembling slightly, barely able to keep his thoughts to himself.
Dr. Chakwas removes Alex's shirt, carefully inspecting his back. "I was told you hurt your back, but I don't see any visible injuries. Are you just making stuff up now to get some female attention? There are other ways to do that, Kerber. If you need help, you might be able to buy some of my time with a large bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy."
"…"
"Dr. Chakwas, he indeed fell down from an elevator. It was an immense height. Even with his suit, he should have severely hurt himself," Liara comments earnestly.
"Really?! I see nothing, not even a bruise. Now put your shirt back on," Chakwas says, gently slapping his back.
"Abuse…" Alex murmurs quietly, quickly dressing himself.
Liara's expression suddenly changes as she begins to mutter, "This is inconceivable. Alex, there is something special about you. I also did some quick calculations, and judging from the size of that sword, your actions are physically impossible. And these tech-powers—they are unlike anything I have ever—"
"Liara… I have some secrets. They don't make much sense, so please don't overthink things, okay?" Alex responds, slightly surprised that Liara noticed his unnatural abilities this quickly.
"...I will try," she says softly, her expression shifting just slightly.
Finally, Alex returns to the crew cabin. He looks around, and to his absolute delight, the cabin is completely empty.
He immediately calls Menchi, deciding to use voice only and not video, keeping things as discreet as possible. Menchi quickly accepts the call.
"Alex! Are you alright? Please tell me you are—Jewel is driving me crazy! She's making me check my omni-tool every ten seconds. I can't take it anymore!" Menchi yells, sounding almost crazed.
Alex smiles, amused about Jewel's predictable behaviour, "I'm fine… Sorry. Jewel, are you listening? Calm down. Anyway, I've already told you what's worrying me. These missions are quite brutal. I wonder if I should risk it. There are plenty of rewards waiting for me, but if I just focus on 'surviving,' I don't have to take these risks, and the only repercussion is that my mission rating will drop."
"It's your call, but I'd almost say you should seek a way out. Risking your life for a few more stat points is hardly worth it. Maybe you should just let a mission fail on purpose. If you're right—if you just participate without actively helping—things will go badly at some point. That'll be your ticket out of this situation," Menchi advises.
Alex sighs deeply. "I know… but somehow… I just can't abandon them. I know this world—this galaxy… isn't real, but Shepard and the others feel… real. It's hard for me to see them as just NPCs…."
Menchi responds, sounding annoyed, "I started out as an NPC as well, even though I dislike that term. You know, every single character in this world could become a real existence if you recruit them as supporters. However, you need to think about yourself. Don't fall into the trap of getting killed for characters who will undoubtedly disappear once your mission is over."
Alex replies, "I know you're right. From now on, I'll approach missions with a new mindset. I'll try to always leave myself an opening to escape. Still, if possible, I'd like to pull through. Anyway, how are things on your end? I mean, it hasn't been that long. Now that I think about it, this mission might end sooner than expected. It seems this Shepard isn't fucking around—she's tackling important missions right away. No unrealistic, time-wasting fetch quests or simple missions to take out a bunch of pirates. This is bad news… I wonder what will happen on Virmire… I have a very bad feeling about this. I might have to try something risky if things go wrong."
"Hey! Stop it!" Menchi complains, accompanied by a strange rustling noise nearby. "Jewel is jumping crazily on my head. She's concerned about Virmire too… be careful. Anyway, we're making good progress! Omnigel and Medigel are fairly well researched—I've understood the basics already. Omnigel should be relatively easy since it's widely used everywhere, even in junk shops. Currently, I'm learning from a mechanic how to extract it from various substances. I'm not sure if the System will allow me to do this simple process outside of this world, but I'll give it everything I've got. If it's not that simple, I'll just have to use my skills and Hatsu to force the process somehow. Medigel is trickier since it's exclusively made by the Sirta Foundation, but I already have a plan. The real challenge is acquiring the ingredients. Either I'll buy a huge supply here so we never run out, or I'll have to find suitable substitutes in the Realm. Anyway, trust me! I'm fully focused on this and only studying food when I have spare time."
Satisfied and genuinely touched, Alex replies, "Thanks, Menchi… I know you'd rather just focus on food, but this is truly helpful. I really appreciate it. Keep me updated. For now, you don't need to return the credits; however, I might need them if we reach Feros or Noveria. Goodbye, Jewel—please behave. I'll see you both soon."
"Take care of yourself!" Menchi says sternly.
As the call ends, Alex can't help but feel the overwhelming need to sleep. Setting an alarm on his omni-tool for six hours, he collapses onto the bed and falls asleep within moments.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Hearing the alarm, Alex slowly opens his eyes, cursing his stupidity for not giving himself a little more rest.
Fine… let's get up and see what's going on.
Alex gets up and heads toward the living quarters. To his surprise, he finds Shepard sitting at the large table, eating what looks like a bowl of soup or stew, accompanied by bread.
Gotta pretend to eat. Shit….
Alex reluctantly walks to the mess area, grabs a portion of food, and sits down across from Shepard.
"Is the food good, Commander?" Alex asks hopelessly.
"Haha, no. Just gulp it down. At least you won't die from it," she responds casually.
Alex tries the food, and surprisingly, it's not as bad as he'd anticipated. He tastes meat, spices, and vegetables. He's unsure if it's genuine flavor or merely artificial aroma, but he continues eating regardless.
"It's not that bad…" he admits quietly.
"Your taste buds must be in bad shape then. You seem to be in decent shape otherwise, though. Chakwas mentioned she almost didn't believe you'd been injured. You're a sturdy one, Kerber. I won't pry, but your body and fighting style are almost inhuman," she says, a subtle seriousness crossing her expression.
"I have some secrets… my unique tech abilities, my strength, and my rapid recovery. If I could share those 'gifts' with you, I would, Commander—but I can't. As you've heard, Aldrin Labs stole my omni-tool, so they already have all the information I have. Still, they won't be able to profit from it."
"It's fine, I trust you. Seems like Aldrin Labs really soured your opinion about corporations, huh? Speaking of corporations—I've already decided on our next mission," Shepard announces.
"Hmm... Feros and the small colony are mostly owned by the ExoGeni Corporation, right? Noveria has multiple corporations conducting experiments there. So which one will it be?" Alex asks, genuinely curious about Shepard's decision.
"We lack detailed information on both, so I have Anderson and the Alliance looking into it. Without sufficient intel, our next mission will be another disaster, I won't accept this anymore. Our consistent lack of intel is the main cause of problems. Anyway, Anderson informed me that Zhu's Hope—the small colony on Feros—survived the attack, and the Geth withdrew. ExoGeni must be involved somehow; they surely know what Saren is seeking there. I believe they know far more than they're letting on. Anderson questioned them, but they acted all clueless, and I don't believe a single sentence. I refuse to walk into another trap or ambush. So, our next target will be ExoGeni's corporate HQ on Mars. We'll arrive there in a few days; Udina arranged a meeting. Only after we have more information will I risk landing on Feros."
What?!
"What's wrong, Kerber? You look disturbed," Shepard observes carefully.
"No, I'm fine. Actually, I thought our recent missions were getting a bit too dangerous, and things could've ended worse. It can't hurt to gather more intel first. Your thinking is smart," Alex replies, attempting to sound calm.
"Let's see them lie to a Spectre in person. If they lie, I'll fucking shoot one of them, surely the next one will talk," she says with a creepy grin.
Fuck, is she serious?
Anyway, this isn't in the game! The ExoGeni HQ on Feros with a handful of scientists is a canon location, and I know about the Feros experiments—but what's this about Mars? I'm losing the only advantage I have… information. This is bad. Well, Mars is at least secure, so this first part shouldn't be too risky. But what could happen next...? I'm getting scared, but also genuinely excited.
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