Bear's Beauties: Existential Crisis 70 (Patreon)

[center]<<Kara Zor-El>>[/center]

I spared a glance towards Diana as the two of us joined a group of half a dozen others moving rubble out from a ruined building. We weren’t using our super strength, merely what would make sense for human women of our size and builds. The Family didn’t need the scrutiny that us showing our full capabilities would produce. In all honesty I’d probably been a little too gung ho in destroying the slavers’ ships, but hopefully any amateur videos would be dismissed.

As we began working, there was a brief exchange, and the two of us fell silent, focusing on the work. At least, until the foreman called for lunch, and the two of us went over to the tent that had been set up, getting in line. Diana was in front of me, and when she reached the front of the line, she made a surprised sound, and I looked past her to see what had surprised her.

Turns out that both Luna and Taylor had volunteered to help with fixing meals for the workers. The meal that was being served was also a lot more complex than I'd been expecting. I was honestly thinking it would be a bunch of sandwiches or a stew, something that would be easy to make in large batches and serve to a lot of people. Instead, it was lasagna. I could vaguely remember Taylor saying something about her mother having a specific recipe, maybe this was it?

Luna caught my eye and winked, while Taylor looked around Diana and smiled at me. As we got our plates, I followed Diana to where we were sitting down, the two of us taking a seat with three others. There was a brief exchange of pleasantries, and we started eating.

“So, how's your work going?” I asked.

One of the guys, a muscular man named Jason, replied, “It's a good thing I didn't bring the kids. This would've been too dangerous.”

“Oh, you have children?” Diana asked.

“Three. A boy and two girls. My wife's back home with them,” Jason said, a proud grin on his face.

“That sounds wonderful. How old are they?” Diana asked.

“The oldest is six, the other two are four. The two littlest are twins,” Jason said.

I ate my lunch while Diana continued to talk to the locals, the lasagna was really good, and once I was done, I helped myself to a second serving.

When we were done eating, the two of us returned to our assigned area. There were a few other conversations that Diana and I participated in, mostly talking about an edited version our families (the fact that I was an alien and Diana was sculpted from clay before an ancient deity breathed life into her wouldn't be believed in this universe), and when the work day ended, we returned to the hotel, having decided to take a quick shower and change, before meeting the others in the dining hall.

When we got there, Diana and I joined Taylor, Luna, Cameron, Rhonda, and Shepard at the table. Most of the group had been introduced to Shepard just before the start of the battle, I was the only one who hadn’t met the woman until after. Shepard still looked an unhealthy level of thin, but better than she had at the end of the attack. As we sat down, Rhonda spoke, “How was your day?”

“It was fun, we got to help people, meet the locals, and eat Taylor's mom's cooking,” I said.

Taylor gave a wry smile, “Yeah, the only thing that Mom could cook was lasagna, but it was delicious.”

“So, how did everyone else's day go?” Diana asked.

“I was given a number of lectures about overusing my biotics,” Shepard began, “and then told that there would be a medal in my future for my part in thwarting the invasion.”

The conversation drifted in and out, mostly about the recovery efforts and how we’d participated in them. There were a few things that we talked about, the possibility of the colony deciding to cancel the Highland Games chief among them.

Shepard had snorted into her meal at that. Once she got herself under control, she said, “The fact that you are even suggesting that makes it obvious that you guys aren’t locals. The only way the Games would be canceled would be if all of the competitors had been taken or were injured to the point that they couldn’t wake up for it. There was one year that Jeremiah had broken his leg the week before and he still tried to compete in the Caber Toss.”

Diana raised an eyebrow, while I tried to remember what the Caber Toss was. I think it was some sort of log throwing thing?

“Did he win?” Rhonda asked, looking a little incredulous.

“Hell no, but it took two of the guys who did compete to drag him away before he could damage his leg even more. The locals take the Games seriously here,” she said wryly.

“Something I wanted to ask,” I began, pausing briefly as I noticed something pass through Shepard’s eyes. Putting that aside, I continued, “You called them the Highland Games, but from everything I gathered, there’s a lot of rodeo type stuff going on here as well.”

She nodded, “I see the mix up, in practice it’s both. The first few were set up by predominantly Scottish colonists, so they got to name it. The major rodeo events didn’t come in until the third year, and by that point there were already tourists coming in to see them, so the name stuck despite a lot of grumbling.”

The others engaged Shepard in further conversation, but I didn’t chime in, my mind on the look Shepard had given me. Like she was trying to make sense of something about me. I was fairly sure that I hadn’t been recorded during the attack, but maybe someone close to Shepard had caught a few frames on their omni-tool?

Hopefully it wouldn’t come to anything. I had no desire to be the center of a galaxy wide manhunt. We had enough problems until Cameron got the Yamato fully repaired.

[center]<<Rhonda Weasley>>[/center]

Miss Shepard was right that the Highland Games weren’t canceled, but they were delayed a week. Considering how bad the damage could have been, and the fact that they didn’t have magic to make the clean up easier, I was shocked that it was being delayed so little.

Regardless, if we stuck around that long I’d definitely watch. While I’d love to compete, I wasn’t sure if I’d be allowed, and once I’d taken the time to stop and actually think about it, it would probably be a bad idea. I was competitive, and the urge to use magic to make sure I won would be really, really strong. We’d had enough risking attention during the battle and in the aftermath.

Bear and the blue lady were meeting with Miss Shepard today, but she’d told me who to talk to last night to get myself some tickets to the delayed games. A friend of her cousins’, a former competitor and now a judge, would be able to get me in.

There was a large part of me that felt guilty that I was thinking about entertainment while there was still a lot of recovery to do, but a bunch of ships had arrived this morning bringing volunteers and resources. Honestly at this point most of the clean up was done, so there wasn’t a whole lot else I could do. I couldn’t cook worth a damn, despite Mum’s best attempts to teach me, and I didn’t know enough Muggle medicine to help that way.

So here I was, meeting with the bloke that Miss Shepard had mentioned. His name was David Kerry McLeod, I was pretty sure. I hadn't seen him the day before, but when I had asked a few of the locals, they had directed me here, saying that the judge was likely helping organize the Games.

I walked into the room and saw a group of five people seated around a table. The man that Shepard had described, stocky with graying red hair and a beard, was facing me, while the other four had their backs to me. As I walked over, the man looked up, and a smile broke across his face.

“I recognize you, Miss,” he said as he stood up. He walked around the table, and took my hand in both of his, shaking it firmly. “I saw you helping our sons and daughters, fighting off those alien bastards. Is there anything I can do to help you, Miss?”

I could feel a blush on my face at his praise, but I straightened my back regardless. This wasn't the time to act like a kid, not if I wanted him to respect me.

Clearing my throat, I said, “Actually, a friend of mine recommended you. Said that you would be able to get me tickets to see the Highland Games. Miss Shepard, I mean, and I can pay.”

“Don't worry about the cost, Miss,” Mr. McLeod said. “You've more than earned your ticket. For a visitor who risked her neck helping us, well, let's just say that I won't be charging you. I couldn’t look myself in the mirror if I did!”

He motioned to the table, guiding me to a seat and in a few minutes there was a plate with a slice of the best smelling shepherd’s pie I’d ever smelled. Even better than Mum’s or the elves at Hogwarts!

[center]<<The Illusive Man>>[/center]

I took a pull from the cigarette, considering it for a moment, before setting it aside as I continued to review the data on the multitude of screens in front of me. The company had gone down in quality in recent years, but that was a secondary concern.

The batarians had gotten bold, even if they used a turian as a proxy to organize the attack. Though the attack itself wasn’t the most interesting part. Tapping a few keys on the arm of my chair, I pulled up one specific screen. There was an image, badly distorted, of a woman.

Human in appearance, with blonde hair to go with a body and facial features that would make any young man stop and gawk. But the image, taken from the databanks of one of the many destroyed pirate ships, had her floating in the void of space, without any sort of space suit.

That was what had captured our interest, but further investigation into her and those she traveled with had resulted in a growing mystery. Their entire group first appeared just a few weeks ago, purchasing a large shipment of raw materials, but before that: nothing. No matter what files Cerberus looked into, it was as if they manifested out of the ether when they made that purchase.

Despite that, not only had they been in the perfect location to have a profound impact on the attack on Elysium, even befriending the Alliance soldier that was already being called the ‘Lion of Elysium’, but they had made inroads with one of the most influential Matriarchs in the Asari Republics. If the suspicions were correct, the sole male among their group had somehow managed to charm the Matriarch, and the timing of the human hating turaian Spectre was… convenient.

I sipped my bourbon as I considered how to proceed. Henry’s girl was eager to prove herself, and had done quite well in the time since she’d turned to Cerberus for protection. They would be staying on Elysium for at least another week, which would be enough time for her to arrive and make contact.

Compiling the orders, I sent them to Lawson. The exact details for how she went about the assignment, I would leave to her. She’d proven able to achieve results best when given a direction and set loose. In the meantime, I reviewed the funding report that McLeod had sent. Despite the damage the attack had done to Elysium…