Celestia channels all her magic into healing Shepard for the third day in a row, connecting to the L3 biotic implant in his head.
Unicorn doctors in another area of the infirmary do the exact same to the other two, connecting to some odd magical aura around Wrex, and to Garrus’s omni-tool. They pump all their magic in, acting like medi-gel to the aliens. Their wounds are finally healed after a while.
The doctors then call in someone known for her ability to take care of unknown creatures. Their physical wounds may be healed, but they will not be rested when they wake.
———
The fourth day dawns, sunlight catching itself within Wrex’s eyes. He sluggishly moves his arm to try and block the light to no avail. His memory then kicks in after his primal instinct to sleep longer.
His eyes open, and he shoots up, as fast as he can being so tired. He looks around the room, it reminds him of one the Normandy’s medical room. Only not in space and a lot less bright, but a lot more white. He glances around until he sees a odd quadruped sleeping on a nearby chair.
He immediately draws conclusions to the only other quadruped race he knows. Though quite odd colored, he shouts out to the figure, “Hey, elcor!”
Fluttershy is shook awake by the force in Wrex’s voice. She sits up, and smiles as she sees Wrex sitting up, “Oh, your already awake? That’s very good.”
Wrex hears her voice, and instantly locks onto something, “You’re not an elcor.” His hands grasp around his hip, only to grasp not even a single holster, “My guns! What’d you do to my guns?!”
Fluttershy is almost blown back by the force of the krogan’s voice, and she tries to smile calmly once more, “We had to remove all your equipment for you to lay evenly in your bed.”
Wrex growls, “You creatures stole my guns? You’re dead.”
Fluttershy shrinks into her chair as Wrex gets out of his bed. His massive form can easily cast her in it’s shadow, even from across the room. She shrinks further and further, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you needed them...”
Wrex cracks his knuckles, “I recommend you get them for me before I wring your neck with my own hands.”
Wrex is stopped by a hand on his own shoulder. Garrus shakes his head, “Wrex, please, just sit back down. Frightening our doctor is not a good first impression. If you did kill her, they might not heal Shepard.”
Wrex thinks for a second, before plodding back to his own bed. He slams down on it, “I want my guns. And food.”
Garrus turns and smiles at Fluttershy, “I apologize for Wrex. He isn’t good in peaceful situations. Now, I will ask you kindly where he failed to. To the guard putting his ear against the door to listen in; we want our guns. Oh, and some fish would be lovely.”
Garrus smirks as he hears the guard in the hallway scramble away. Fluttershy slowly stops her cowering, “I’m Fluttershy. Who, and uh, what are you?”
He nods at Fluttershy, “He back there is Wrex, a krogan. I assume that the Commander is around here as well. Commander Shepard, human. I am Garrus Vakarian, turian, C-Sec officer. I can see you are the same shape as a creature on Earth. Might I assume your race are ponies?”
She nods, “Yes, we are ponies. I, specifically, am a pegasus.”
He smiles, “Wonderful. Now, onto the more important stuff. What system are we in?”
Fluttershy scrunches up one eye, “System? Like, solar system? Oh, well, sorry. I don’t exactly know. If you wait, though, I’m sure Princess Luna will know.”
Garrus absorbs the fact, “And Shepard? What’s the situation with him?”
Fluttershy smiles, “The Princesses have been healing him to the best of their ability. He was a lot more injured than you two though, so it might take a few more days. I am here as a caretaker for the three of you.”
Garrus nods, “Okay then. Thank you for the information.”
He then turns back to his bed, and lounges out on it.
———
Fluttershy looks up from the magazine she is reading, and looks with curiosity at the glowing orange arm on Garrus. After getting back their weapons and eating, he’s just been messing around with the glow.
She smiles, “Mister Vakarian? What exactly is it you are doing, if you don’t mind?”
He looks up at her, and smiles, “It’s a human game called ‘Chess’. I’ve always enjoyed it.”
Fluttershy lights up, “Oh, Chess? I love that game.”
Garrus smirks, before rising to walk over to her. He pulls a chair in front of her, and creates a glowing orange chess board, “This is different than regular Chess though. It has the same structure, but different rules. They call it ‘Max Effect’ edition. It is based off the Geth invasion of the Citadel.”
Fluttershy smiles, “What exactly is different?”
He creates some holographic dice, “The game starts off with each player rolling a die. It determines whether Shepard’s mission was successful or not. If the Citadel player rolls higher than the Geth, they get Shepard and Alliance reinforcements half-way through. If the Geth player rolls higher, than they get Saren to spawn right next to the Citadel. If they tie, then the Citadel starts with reinforcements and Shepard immediately, and the Geth get Saren and more ships. There are many win conditions. If Saren and Sovereign reach the Citadel, than the Citadel player loses. If Sovereign is destroyed, then the Geth player loses. Each ship also has a different use. The Destiny Ascension moves like a Queen in the original, but if destroyed, then the two nearest pieces will flee with the exception of the Alliance reinforcements. Saren is the same, and if destroyed, then the Geth have to destroy every other Citadel piece instead of going for the Citadel. Saren and Sovereign can also merge into one, giving the movement of Saren to Sovereign, and if hit then Saren will die first.”
Fluttershy backs her head away slightly, “Oh, that’s quite a lot to remember.”
Garrus smiles, “Don’t worry, it will tell you how each piece can move on the board. Why don’t you go ahead and play as Geth first? I’ll take it a bit easier to begin with since you aren’t all that familiar with he rules. I’ve only played five times, myself.”
———
Fluttershy looks over her moves, the best move made obvious to her. She moves her Saren/Sovereign combo forward, right into the exposed Destiny Ascension, causing two other ships to flee and leaving the path to the Citadel clear. She smiles, “Check. You just got rid of your best piece.”
Garrus smiles, “Sometimes, sacrifices must be made to achieve victory. Even if valuable, the Counc- Ascension is a sacrifice that must be made.” He taps the top of the Normandy, “You forgot that the Normandy can kill both Sovereign and Saren at once. Now, you just moved right into it’s vision.” He taps on top of Sovereign, and a cutscene plays of the Normandy loading the dreadnaught full of every ammunition imaginable. It ends with a huge explosion, signaling the end of the game.
Fluttershy shakes her head, “But was it really worth it? Sure, you won this war, but what about the next? Without the Destiny Ascension, your entire fleet would fall flat.”
Garrus counters, “And without Sovereign or Saren, your fleet falls flat. If he were to get to the Citadel, then it would bring around the end of our civilization. The Ascension was a trade for two more valuable targets.”
Wrex yawns from his bed, “You make a game about killing sound so boring. Who cares about the morals, you killed the enemy, you won.”
Fluttershy smiles, not noticing the setting sun behind her, “Do you have any game you would like for us to play, Wrex? Maybe you could join in?”
He rubs the back of his head, “Well, there is one thing.”
Fluttershy smiles, “Yes?”
Wrex pulls out a data disk, “It’s called Tombs and Protheans. It’s something I played back when I was young.”
Garrus smiles, “Tombs and Protheans? I never thought you would enjoy that.”
Wrex frowns, “You get to be a krogan warrior and kill bad Protheans if you want. There is nothing wrong about that.”
Fluttershy smiles, “It sounds fun. Why don’t we try it?”
Wrex marches over, pulling up his own chair, “If you tell Shepard about this, you’re dead.”