----------

  "…and the right side fore brightlance turret requires some balancing. The turn rate to the right is faster than left." Ashredar reported.

  Seraphiel concentrated for a moment, making the necessary adjustments with her mind, as she sat on the bridge. “How about now?”

  A few moments passed as the new AI tested the effect of the changes. “It feels better. I don’t think it’s quite perfect yet, but I’ll need to run some thorough tests to know for sure.”

  Seraphiel leaned back in the rather comfy chair while pulling her legs up to her chest on the chair. These kinds of adjustments were extremely necessary, but they were also rather dull and time-consuming. Most of the crew was doing recruitment on the Citadel. Even Yoruichi and Rangiku had returned to Soul Society to report and to see if they could shake loose some interested new parties. Seraphiel had not gone with either group, mainly because she didn’t want people to join just because they were attracted to her.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by something she sensed. With a small smile, she jumped up from the chair and made her way towards the crew quarters. She found the room she was searching for quickly but didn't enter right away as she sensed the magic being cast inside and allowed the spell to finish and settle before knocking. “Come in!” The surprised voice of Teclis could be heard from inside.

  The room she entered was significantly larger from the inside than the outside. "I see you're dabbling with spatial expansion magic. I didn't know you could cast the necessary spells.” She commented with a pleased smile.

  “I couldn’t before now," Teclis admitted. "But it's really useful magic, and I observed you using it on the ship’s cargo hold a few days ago. I decided to do some testing.”

  “You know, you could’ve just asked. I would’ve happily shown you how to do it properly.” She promised. “It’s useful to have more people with the skill but doing it wrong can be a bit dangerous.”

  “You know me. I can’t help researching new magic when presented with the opportunity. And most of my life I’ve been at the forefront of magic, without the ability to ask anyone for help. I’m just used to figuring things out myself.” Teclis shrugged a bit bashfully. Seraphiel realized it was also a matter of pride. Magic was his thing. His crutch.

  “Do you mind if I check your work? I could give you feedback and suggestions at least.” She wanted to make sure the spell wouldn’t collapse in the middle of her new ship.

  “Sure.” Teclis agreed easily now that he’d succeeded in replicating the basics of the spell at least.

  She allowed her magical senses to circle the entire area affected and even beyond. It was pretty good work for a first attempt. “Not bad. The spatial expansion itself is done well and in a relatively stable manner. You can improve the expansion ratio, but that’s something that comes with experience. Hmm, the only iffy part is the way you tied the spell off. The expansion is relatively stable, but the way you tried to make the spell permanent is slowly fraying, so the expansion isn’t exactly long-lasting. You would need to repair the expansion rather regularly, or the spell would slowly start coming undone.”

  “Oh, we wouldn’t want that. That could be dangerous.” Teclis sounded a little worried.

  "We?" Seraphiel noted the use of the word and didn't think Teclis was referring to her, or using a general we.

  Teclis looked a little bashful. “It’s Shen-Zoo. She has expressed a desire to have our quarters combined.”

  Seraphiel grinned happily. “Oh, Teclis you sly dog! Well done. I didn’t see this one coming, although you two have been spending a lot of time together, so maybe I should have.”

  Teclis cleared his throat. "Now, don't make this a bigger deal than it is. We're taking things very slowly, and neither of us is very sure of what this is yet, if anything more than a close friendship. But yes, I’m just as surprised. I’m used to my brother being the one getting all the female attention. This is a new experience, and I really have to thank you, since I’ve really noticed a change after you removed the curse from me.”

  Her grin turned into a gentle smile. "Well, it does help that you no longer look like a strong wind will break you in half. Still, you do know it's not all about appearance, right? I know plenty of people who were a lot less attractive than the old you that had gorgeous partners. Confidence and personality go a long way. As does seizing opportunities when presented. Being in the right place at the right time and taking the chance is half the battle."

  Teclis looked at her a little wistfully. “I know. I remember.” When she’d visited their world the first time, she’d met Teclis first, but it had been his brother that she’d gotten involved with. It hadn’t been a matter of looks either. Even though she could appreciate attractive features, she’d never been too picky about the looks of her partners.

  She smiled again. “I’m happy for you. I hope things work out between you two. Shen-Zoo is a wonderful girl.” Using the term girl for someone thousands of years old was quite telling. “It would be wonderful if the two of you got along well, and I genuinely wish you all the best.”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Thank you, Seraphiel. That…means more than you think.” Teclis admitted. Like most she’d gotten close to, Teclis too had carried a torch for Seraphiel for a long time. Forgetting her was not easy.

  She clapped her hands loudly to change the mood. “Now then. If you want Shen-Zoo to move here, you need more rooms and not just enlarge this one. Let’s get some walls moved and doors created. We can easily connect these quarters with the neighboring ones.” She decided cheerily.

  ------

  “Sephy, I have a surprise for you.” Shepard’s raspy sing-song voice came over the comms.

  “And you’re not going to tell me, are you?” She knew right away. “You’re going to be cruel and withhold the surprise until you arrive.”

  "Damn right, I will!" Shepard declared before laughing.

  “Oh well. Have your suspense.” Despite her slight annoyance, she smiled at her friend’s antics. Besides, she could make educated guesses.

  "Bah. I was hoping for a little more effort on your part." Shepard complained.

  “Shepard, honey, despite how it may seem sometimes, I do have patience. What’s a few hours compared to eons?” Despite her claims, her patience wasn’t quite as strong as back then. She used to have infinite patience, but her recent life being more active had worn on that, and her patience wasn’t quite what it used to be. She still wasn’t impatient, but it was still a downward trajectory.

  "You're taking all the fun out of this," Shepard complained, though Seraphiel could hear the smile in her voice.

  “I simply refuse to give you the satisfaction you seek. You should be used to it by now.” She teased, knowing what Shepard liked.

  Shepard just cut off the comms with an amused and frustrated huff.

  Seraphiel turned back to Wrex who was appearing inside the ship via the teleporters they had installed. She aesthetically liked the ring-style teleporters that a certain race called the Goa’uld used, so she’d just copied that. It wasn’t the most efficient system, but it had character and a very satisfying aesthetic. And Seraphiel could appreciate both. Besides, a proper teleporter allowed them to forgo shuttles, as they certainly couldn’t dock on the Citadel with a ship of this size.

  Wrex appeared with a trio of Asari wearing the typical black Asari commando armor. The armor was focused on mobility over protection, as the Asari usually favored their biotic barriers and shields over heavy armor. They were all heavily armed though. They all had psionically enhanced weaponry, similar to Wrex, and of course their rather formidable biotic abilities.

  Wrex chuckled. “Well, I promised you some commandos. Here we go. Three Asari commandos, as promised. I can vouch for each one of them. None of them is going to fold under pressure, and they’re good enough to actually push me if all three of them work together.”

  That was rather high praise. They were all between levels 650 and 750, showing just how experienced they were. Two of them had very professional and solemn expressions, while one was clearly amused and more cheery. The two serious ones had rather light-blue skin and looked similar enough to pass for twins, while the amused one had a more purple tone and clan markings tattooed on her forehead.

  “Ladies, this is our glorious leader Seraphiel. Don’t pick a fight with her unless you want to get trashed. Badly.” He turned to the Commandos.

  “I’m Iryssa.” The cheerful one waved at her.

  “And we’re Dahlenn and Tyvoss.” One of the sisters introduced herself and the other sister.

  “Glad to meet you.” Seraphiel shook their hands. She noticed them looking above her head, as if trying to read her level and failing, which obviously made them frown, though they got over it quickly.

  “I didn’t know people other than Champions had such strong identity protection.” The cheerful one pointed out directly.

  “And what makes you think I’m not a Champion?” Seraphiel playfully asked back, before addressing Wrex. “Show them where they can bunk up. We’re starting to have enough people for two effective combat teams. I assume Yoruichi will drag back one or two more, and we’ll likely run into some more of my old friends eventually, so we’re good. If Chachamaru really wants to recruit a junior squad from the academy, then we’ll have a third. Now all we need is the non-combat personnel.”

  “Yeah, can’t help with that.” Wrex shook his large head. “Not my forte. Though I think I heard something about Shepard finding someone. Or at the very least, I think I heard her squeal in the Presidium, which means it’s an old friend.”

  “I think I can guess already. It would be very nice, even if somewhat unexpected.” She smiled fondly.

  “Wanna take a bet on which one?” Wrex asked.

  “No. She wanted to surprise me, so let’s let her have her fun.” Seraphiel shook her head.

  She didn't have to wait long though. The teleporter sang again only an hour later, and a very familiar environment-suit-clad Quarian was accompanying Shepard. "Tali!" Seraphiel threw her hands wide, pulling the slim woman into an embrace.

  Tali had clearly grown and aged. She’d been very young when they’d last met, the youngest member of Shepard’s crew aside from Grunt. She’d filled out a little more and had grown a bit taller, probably thanks to the System as well. “You look great. Still using the enviro-suits. I would’ve thought the System solved that issue.”

  “It did.” Tali’s voice had grown lower and more mature as well. “Nowadays we use them mostly due to cultural reasons. It’s no longer a death sentence if the suit breaks, and we do get out of them more. I suppose the older generations simply grew used to them. The younger ones are more rebellious of course.”

  “Well, as long as it’s by choice and not necessity. You really look good.” She gave Tali another quick hug before letting go. “How are you here? The last I heard, you were supposed to be part of the Admiralty Board.”

  “My term actually ended last year. The Board has become more of an advisory role with Rannoch and everything. Anyway, with all of us living potentially much longer due to the System, the Conclave decided to limit the terms of the Admirals to avoid someone gathering too much power. I served more than the maximum already, as I was given special dispensation due to everything. I was gently but firmly retired and told to find something else to do. What better than to go along with some old friends?” Seraphiel could see Tali’s happy smile even through the purple visor of the enviro-suit.

  “Well, you’re certainly welcome. Still a genius engineer?” She asked with a slight teasing tone.

  "I'm not sure if I could call myself a genius, but yes," Tali responded with surprising confidence. "I'm a very good engineer, and Shepard here promised me lots of fun new things to play with as an enticement."

  “Oh, I think you’ll find what I’ve done with the ship quite interesting.” Seraphiel grinned at that.

  “I almost forgot. You’re a real bag of tricks. Where’s the engineering?” Tali demanded to know.

  “That’s part of the fun. There isn’t one.” Seraphiel teased.

  “N-no engineering?” Tali’s glowing eyes blinked behind the visor. “What sort of sorcery is this?”

  "Well, let me tell you all about it…" Seraphiel flung her arm around her old friend and started guiding her towards all the exciting parts of the ship.

  ------

  Despite her arrival with only Tali, Shepard and the others had actually managed to recruit quite a few non-combat crew in addition to Tali. Just simple things like having a cook and a quartermaster made things simpler. The quartermaster, a member of the Volus race, also doubled as the one in charge of finances, as the rotund but short beings had rather brilliant minds when it came to matters of finance and organization. They also had a dedicated doctor, or in this case a healer, as well as many others.

  Their ship quickly jumped back to Mahora, and they had barely arrived when Tatsumiya and Kaede ran towards the ship while leading a small gaggle of students as well as Seraphiel’s mother in this life, Ophiel, and her brother Raziel towards the ship.

  “Seraphiel, we need to leave. We received news while you were gone. Another world is under attack. This time it’s your homeworld.” Kaede reported as soon as she was onboard.

  “Under attack by who?” She asked. The world of the Angels was sort of a Core World, and less defended than most, so maybe she should’ve seen this coming.

  “Multiple parties. I caught wind of at least Chaos, but I know there are others. We need to get there now. Our people have issued a general recall for all Angels and Draenei capable of putting up any sort of defense.” Ophiel hurried to add. “The sooner we get there, the better.”

  Most of the students had been in the form of Draenei now that she thought about it. “Well, it’s a good thing I have a fast way to travel then.”