Glen awoke the next morning lying against the oak tree in the common room. She was somewhat surprised to see she was wearing a dress with intricate green and silver designs, as well as Headache. Kasumi was huddled against her side in a blue and black dress of a similar design. Even with a splitting Headache, Glen found herself thinking the thief's short, dark hair was cute … as was the small tattoo of a bunny with a unicorn horn.
Her memories of the previous day were fuzzy; she, Liara, Tali, and Kasumi took the door to Muonsol, capital of Ircandesta and home to the idestan people. There had been shopping … a lot of shopping. So much shopping that Kasumi and One snuck away once or twice to grab a drink at nearby pubs until Kasumi suggested that they deserved to get something nice as well. Glen didn't remember meeting up with Liara and Tali after that … she didn't remember much of anything after that, to be honest; only dancing, drinks, and for some reason, kittens.
Kasumi stirred for a moment before opening her eyes. "Glen?" she asked, sounding as surprised as Glen felt. "Where … What-"
"Yeah, that sums it up," Glen said, helping the thief to her feet. "I don't suppose you remember anything about last night?"
Kasumi shook her head and immediately winced. "Not after that round of … what was it called?"
"Crystallic cider." Glen straightened her dress. She wasn't much for fancy wear, but she thought it was rather fetching … and certainly quite comfortable. Headache kinda ruined the effect, however.
She finally got around to wondering why she was wearing Headache with her dress when she heard Kasumi ask, "Um, Glen? Either I'm still a bit drunk, or that's a cat … with wings."
"What?" Glen spun about to see a calico-furred yulias sitting primly in a doorway that Glen couldn't remember being there the previous day. It did appear as a cat with wings, though Glen knew from experience that was just the tip of the iceberg.
It watched her with the intensity of a feline for a few moments before bowing its head. "Good morning, Miss Glen. I was hoping I'd have a chance to thank you."
"It's talking." Kasumi said, rubbing her eyes. "The winged cat is talking."
Ignoring her friend, Glen said, "Thank me for what?"
The yulias turned, rubbed against the side of the open doorway, and then walked into the room beyond. Mystified, Glen followed, Kasumi following in turn behind her.
According to the schematics, the area beyond the wall was for a planned expansion to the recreational facilities, specifically for a pool. Glen hadn't the chance to build it yet, what with the arrival of Liara and Javik, and the upcoming arrival of Garrus and Doctor Michel … Doctor Vakarian now, Glen supposed. In any case, there should have been very little outside that door, which is why what actually was there caught her completely by surprise.
A field of grass, dotted with the presence of several trees Glen recognized as Noktal, a species native to Vinta, stood within the rounded walls of Glen's expansion. A small lake, easily the size of the swimming pool, stood in the center, its clear water inviting even from a distance.
This, however, was nothing as compared to the occupants of the room. Dozens of yulias inhabited the container, their furry tails wagging as they sat on the branches of the tree, in the sand surrounding the lake, and among the strange platforms throughout the room that Glen realized she must've built for the cat-like avians while she was still intoxicated. Kittens playfully wrestled each other and chased butterflies in the tall grass without a care in the world.
The calico yulias led them to the largest of the trees, where several other adult yulias were waiting.
"Ah, our benefactor awakes," said a fluffy white yulias.
"Benefactor?" Glen asked, still trying to make sense of it all.
"Your offer to give us a safe home was most timely," said an orange tabby. "And the home you built for us is lovely. Once the rest of the terraforming is complete, the yulias will again have a true and safe home."
"The rest of the …" One's eyes fell on another door, this one on the outer wall. She hurried through it, only to find exactly what she feared. Where there was once only the arid plains of Rannoch, now there was green: green grass, trees full of green leaves, even a few apple trees filled with green apples. Plant-life from both Earth and Vinta were visible, not just outside the yulias sanctuary, but all round the entire house.
"Oh, lord." Glen muttered, rubbing her eyes. "Shepard's gonna kill me."
"I dunno," Kasumi said, walking up behind Glen with a small black kitten in tow. The young yulias was purring contentedly as Kasumi scratched behind his ears. "It looks nice, and the yulias are cute. Besides, talking cats that can fly? Bet they'd find easy work as couriers."
"Yeah, but, this is still his and Tali's house." Glen said. "It's one thing to grow a tree, or some plants in a garden; it's another thing altogether to let a biome loose. Tali just got her homeworld back, and now I've made it look like some weird congolomeration of Earth and Vinta."
"Actually," said a voice that made Glen freeze in place, "You did it because we both gave our permission."
Glen spun about to see John approaching her, an amused grin on his face. "You were drunk as hell, but you still managed to do a good job pointing out the needs of your little friends-"
"I'm glad, but still, I wish I'd waited to-"
"… to the Admiralty Board."
Glen's face went pale even as Kasumi started laughing at her expense. "I called the Admiralty board?"
"Oh, yes. Made quite a passionate plea on their behalf. Koris was in tears, or so I heard."
"I can imagine." Glen said, trying to ignore the burning sensation in her cheeks.
John chuckled and gave her a friendly pat on the back. "Don't worry; I'm the one who suggested they stay here while the terraforming sets in. It's only about fifty-square miles, more than enough to give the Yulias a home and give us extra land to farm."
"And Tali's cool with it?" Glen asked.
John smiled. "Very. Let's face it; this place was pretty much a desert. Now, just look at it; trees, grass … life. A real paradise."
"Oh." Glen said sheepishly. "Well … I'm glad. Say, where is Tali anyway?"
Glen was amused to see John's cheeks grow red. "She's sleeping. We were … up late."
"Oh?" Kasumi grinned widely at the former Commander. "Liked the dress, did you?"
John let out a chuckle, clearly a little embarrassed. "Sorry if we kept you up."
"I doubt it." A jaunty little electronic tune made her jump. She looked at Headache's display, her eyes widening when she saw who was calling her.
"It's the Cygros of Muonsol." Glen said, frowning. "Wonder what he wants."
She picked up the call. "Heya, Jyle, how's it-"
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Adams?!" said the enraged idestan.
"Uh …" Glen rubbed the back of his head. "My memories of yesterday are still a little fuzzy."
"Well, let me give you some cliff notes; last night, you and an unknown accomplice snuck into the Center of Knowledge and made off with a very rare and expensive prototype meant to help stabilize part of the Cleftan ecosystem. If that wasn't bad enough, you then proceeded to break into my palace and steal half of the damn royal garden!"
Kasumi sidled quickly out of view as a very surprised Glen digested this information. "Half of the garden, huh? Did I get my old tree?"
"Glenda!"
"uh, I mean …" Glen hesitated a moment before putting her hand over the receiver and making a shushing noise, intermittently stopping to say, "Communications channel … malfunctioning … in dangerous location …"
"Oh, no you don't!" the Cygros said as Glen reached for the disconnect button. "If you don't get over here in the next hour to explain yourself-"
"Can't hear you … reception bad, line insecure … will call back … later." After a final spray of fake static, she cut off the call.
"Ouch." John said, grinning nonetheless. "That sounded bad."
"Bad? Oh, not bad." Glen said, "My stay here just might be longer by a few decades … or centuries."
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