Attraction

"Human." Vyrnnus called out as the human in question, Jane Shepard, tried to make herself less noticeable. She had been hoping to get to her room without any trouble but it seemed like that was not to be. She liked to take her showers later in the night cycle, when there was more privacy. Shepard just happened to be outside the cafeteria just as Vyrnnus was leaving it. It was late, for humans anyway. Turians apparently slept for about four hours to their eight so him eating a meal around this time was likely normal.

"Yes, sir." Shepard responded. She resisted the urge to tell him she had a name as that would only anger him. She and the rest of her classmates would have to deal with him tomorrow so making him mad was not in their best interests. He was already harsh and unforgiving and was much worse in a bad mood.

Of the five Turian instructors on Gagarin station, Vyrnnus was the worst. Every student would say the same. It was not as if the other biotic instructors were nice, they were all terrible in their own way, but they were not as harsh as the Commander. All of the Turians were mercenaries, hired by Conatix to train the first generation of human biotics. Why they hadn't hired Asari, Shepard would never know.

The students of the station were split up into five groups and had a day of training with every instructor. They had to deal with Vyrnnus twice a week so that left them with only one day off. It was usually spent sleeping or recuperating from the rest of the week.

"Come here." Vyrnnus ordered, snapping Jane out of her thoughts. It sounded like he was commanding some varren. Though Shepard wished she could just ignore him and go back to her room, she did as he asked.

The young biotic approached Vyrnnus cautiously, wondering what he wanted. He didn't seem angry so that was a bit of a relief. Maybe her instructor would just insult her capabilities a bit or order her to do some task for him. Vyrnnus had been making her do a lot of that in the last few weeks.

Shepard had been commanded to clean the classroom whenever the Turian thought they were dirty, been repeatedly used as a subject for his demonstrations to the rest of the class and been told to fetch him water and anything else he decided he needed. The young woman still had the bruises from Vyrnnus's biotic assaults from those demonstrations. It bothered her that he seemed to be on her case lately. He watched her more often than the other students, looking for anything he could call her out on. Even her classmates had noticed she was being singled out.

Jane had found herself spending more time around Vyrnnus that she would have liked. He was harsh and reprimanded her often. There was rarely a time and insult wouldn't fly out of his mouth. It made her angry but also so helpless. She had no choice but to take it. If she failed this program, there wasn't really much she would be able to do.

"How old are you?" The Commander asked, staring at her rather intently. He eyed her like she was prey, which considering his treatment of her and everyone else, he probably did see them as nothing more than that.

"18." Shepard responded.

"An adult among your species." He mused. "But still weak and naive to the world at large."

Shepard said nothing in response. She wondered why Vyrnnus was even bothering to talk to her.

"What do you plan on accomplishing here?" Vyrnnus abruptly asked. Jane was a little startled at the question. She hesitated before answering.

What did she want?

Jane wanted out of here. She wanted to be treated like an actual human being and not some freak. She wanted to be able to make something of herself.

"To become an N7." The young woman finally said. When she thought about it, that really was it. She wanted to become strong. To be able to control the powers she was born with. She wanted to do something good with them. To show the people that had been afraid of her that she was not a monster.

"Hmm, a worthy goal for a human, maybe. Let us see if you will be able to make it that far." Vyrnnus glanced back at omni-tool. "Now return to your quarters. It's almost past curfew."

Shepard did as he asked, feeling his eyes on her as she walked away. The encounter was a little odd. He always treated her, and every other human on this station, like dirt. He didn't have much love for humankind and he showed that easily enough. Him even asking her anything about herself seemed out of character for him.


As Shepard lay in bed that night, she thought back on her encounter with the Commander. The anger she held for him was always there. He was a monster. He was cruel and mistreated his students as much as he could. He said it would help them become more powerful but Shepard knew a big part of the reason was really because he enjoyed it.

There had been times that Jane and others were left so exhausted that they could barely move. He would still order them to continue his training regimen and if they could not, he would leave them where they collapsed. No one was allowed to help them to their room or the infirmary. There had been a time she passed out during training and woke up hours later, all alone. She stumbled back to her room and passed out again until the next morning. Sometimes, the young woman felt like she would not be able to make it another day. But she vowed to succeed. If only to rub it in that son of a bitch's face.

Shepard fell asleep with these thoughts in mind. However, she found herself jerking awake a scant hour later. The dream fresh in her mind, the young woman groaned in disbelief.

Again. She had that dream again. Shepard closed her eyes tight and wished it would stop happening. It was so wrong. She shouldn't be dreaming of these things! Especially of Vyrnnus. The same Turian that treated her like a pyjack and thought little of her and every other human. He had caused the mental breakdown of several students already. Others had begged to be taken out of the program and were by their parents.

And it wasn't some innocent dream. Shepard blamed her raging hormones. And her friends.

Shepard hated Vyrnnus. She was sure of it. Yet… The young woman could not stop the dreams. They didn't start until a year into the program. She had gotten drunk on stolen wine with her friends. They were laughing, joking and just enjoying themselves as they sat in the empty training field. Curfew had long since passed and even the Turians were supposed to be asleep at that time.

The girls had eventually started talking about boys. A female friend had suggested that maybe trying a Turian would be interesting. A boy mock seriously suggested Vyrnnus to the girl. They all laughed at the absurdity of that. But then another girl began to describe how she felt Turians like Vyrnnus would be like during sex. Dominate and powerful.

Drunk as she was, Jane laughed and began to picture it, however briefly. It was soon pushed out of her mind when they heard the sound of someone approaching. Their group of friends scrambled to pick up their mess and escape to their rooms.

That night was the first dream Jane had of the Commander. And from there, curiosity had gotten the better of her. She imagined a few scenarios and the first hints of attraction began to form. Now, she had no choice but to admit that she felt something for her instructor. And it was both distracting and embarrassing. Especially during his classes, where she would have to face the Turian after having fantasized about him. There had been a few times she had almost been caught staring at him.


"You are to stay behind at the end of class today." Vyrnnus stated simply as Shepard finished her exercises for the day. Covered in sweat and breathing hard, the exhausted young woman sighed. She wondered what she had done to earn the Commander's ire today.

The biotic felt she had done well during training, at least in her own opinion, but for Vyrnnus it seemed nothing was enough. He pushed them hard and past their limits as often as he could.

At the end of class, Shepard stood and waited. She saw the pitying looks of her classmates as they walked away from the training field. She found herself envious of them. Why was that stupid Turian only after her? There were rarely any complaints with the other instructors. But maybe it was because they didn't really care all that much and were only here for the credits. They didn't go out of their way to be cruel to the students but they were still arrogant, rude, and overall condescending to the humans they taught.

After they were all gone and Shepard was left alone, Vyrnnus spoke.

"Do you know why I have asked you to stay behind?" The Commander asked.

"No sir." Jane responded, a small spark of anxiety rushing through her. Was Vyrnnus going to tell her she was not fit for the program? Was that why he was watching her lately?

"Will you hazard a guess?" The Turian asked.

"I assume I have not done as well as you wanted, once again." Shepard tried to guess as the Turian headed towards her.

"You humans can never meet my expectations but that must be an issue with your species as a whole." Vyrnnus mocked. "But that is not the reason today."

Vyrnnus was uncomfortably close to her now. He once again seemed to be looking at her intently, as if looking for something.

Shepard tried hard not to react. She was scared of this Turian but she had already admitted to herself that she was also a little attracted to him. She did not want to show fear, but she also did not want to show hints of anything else!

"I've heard an interesting rumor about you." Vyrnnus continued, his voice becoming lower. "I didn't think it was true so I kept an eye on you. And what I found surprised me."

Jane's heart dropped. What did he hear? The biotic racked her brain for anything people would have said about her that would have caught Vyrnnus's attention. There were some stupid things she and her friends had done, but they were kids and why would Vyrnnus care unless it affected him?

The way the Turian was staring at her, looking both triumphant and amused, made her fear the worst. Had he noticed her staring at him sometimes? Or maybe… Michelle wouldn't have said anything about that, would she? Jane's friend was the one person she had told about her attraction to Vyrnnus. Michelle herself had tried to proposition another one of the Turians, only to be rejected. The Turian had laughed in her face and told her he'd rather have a threesome with and Elcor and Vorcha.

"Do you wish to know what I learned?" Vyrnnus asked, his mandibles slowly flaring. He could see and almost feel the shiver in the woman's body before him.

No! Shepard's mind screamed. She prayed that Vyrnnus hadn't learned about her attraction to him. But her prayers yielded nothing. The Turian spoke before she could formulate a response.

"Humans don't seem to do it for you, do they?" Vyrnnus mocked. "I overheard another student talking about your xenophilic desires. And it was quite a shock to hear just who you seem to lust after."

"I don't know what you're talking about." The young woman said quickly, eyes wide. Shepard turned away, attempting to make a quick getaway. She could feel her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Michelle! Why did you have to say anything?!

"Don't lie to me." The Turian growled. His hand shot out, talons gripping her arms tightly. "I've seen how you react to me. I've been keeping you rather close, if you've noticed. Your reaction now tells me everything."

"Stop." Jane struggled to free herself from his grip, but to no avail. "Let me go."

"Have you pleasured yourself to me?" Vyrnnus asked as he finally let her go. Shepard took a few steps away and turned towards him. He didn't try to grab her again. He just watched her, looking even more amused as he continued to speak. "Do you dream of me fucking you?"

The young woman closed her eyes, wishing she could just disappear. Shepard wished this was all just a dream. Being mocked by the object of her unhealthy attraction was too much. She felt her eyes mist up from the embarrassment of it all.

At her body's reaction, the woman felt anger. She was stronger than this! She would get through this! Fighting with herself, she almost missed Vyrnnus's next words.

"I don't know whether I should be flattered or just insulted." Vyrnnus laughed. "As you are human, I lean towards the latter."

His words cut. Jane felt the level of humiliation rise. But she forced herself to be strong.

"However… You are not as weak as the rest of your classmates. You show some promise. You may be inferior but sex might be one thing you can at least be useful for." Vyrnnus's words caught Shepard's attention. "There are unfortunately no females of my species aboard and I do have needs that I want met."

"What?" Shepard could not help but utter in shock at what her instructor just said. Was Vyrnnus actually considering? He'd basically implied she'd only be good as a whore… But in her mind that was actually better than being outright rejected. She didn't move as Vyrnnus neared her again.

"If you are serious in your desire. If you are brave enough to try..." The Turian leaned closer, until his face was right beside her ear. "Come to my quarters near curfew. I promise to give you exactly what you want." His voice rumbled in her ears and Shepard closed her eyes once again, suppressing a shiver.

The young woman didn't move as Vyrnnus turned and left her standing there on the training field.


It had been two weeks since that encounter with Vyrnnus after class. Shepard hadn't known what to do. She had almost been too embarrassed to go to his training days but ended up forcing herself to attend.

Vyrnnus acted no different than he usually did. He treated her the same, just like every other student. But Jane could not do the same. She found herself much more distracted and making plenty of mistakes. When her instructor caught them, he would call her out on them and insult her in front of the class. Shepard found herself still too confused about everything to even grow angry at that.


Jane woke up with a gasp. She instantly rolled over and groaned into the pillow when she realized where she was. Stupid dreams. They had gotten worse since Vyrnnus talked to her that day.

Shepard lifted herself a bit to look over at the holographic clock and realized it wasn't all that late yet. It was 10 and curfew was at 11. The young woman sighed and slipped out of bed. The heat of the station left her soaked in sweat. The Turians would turn up the heat often, liking warmer temperatures. The humans, not so much, especially when they wanted to sleep.

Shepard exited her room and headed for the showers. Once in, she stripped and spent a long time under the water. She needed time to think. Vyrnnus's words echoed in her head. If she wanted… She could go to his room. Right now.

After her shower, the young woman dressed in fresh clothes and left to head back to her room. In front of the cafeteria, Jane stopped. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. A few moments later she exhaled and then turned around to walk in the opposite direction of her room. Thinking ahead, she hid her bundle of clothes in a janitor closet.

Shepard hesitated when she found herself in front of her instructor's door. She could turn back, change her mind. But why? She was an adult. And Vyrnnus was willing. At least she hoped he was and it wasn't some trick to embarrass her further.

Heart pounding, Jane raised her hand to knock. Before she could an electronic voice spoke up to ask her to confirm her identity. Taking another deep, calming breath, the biotic spoke her name. And to her surprise, the door slid open for her.


Vyrnnus was at a desk in the corner, studying a data pad. He did not look at her as Shepard entered his room. She waited there awkwardly for him to say something. He did not, making the woman feel like an intruder and fairly uncomfortable.

Jane knew that's probably what he wanted.

"Commander Vyrnnus?" Shepard finally broke the silence. The Turian looked up, his eyes locking with hers.

"You have made your decision?" The Turian did not hesitate to get to business.

"... Yes." For better or worse, she was here.

Vyrnnus grinned, his mandibles flaring wide. He placed the data pad on the desk and then stood up. He walked towards her with purpose, the sight causing a bolt of fear to shoot through the woman. That look usually meant trouble for her or the other students.

Instead of the usual threats or physical violence, the Turian gripped Shepard's chin firmly and forced her to look up at him. His talons were rather sharp, the young woman noticed.

"Have you been with a Turian before?" Vyrnnus asked.

"No. I haven't... Not with anyone, actually." Shepard admitted.

The second part of the answer surprised Vyrnnus but it did not matter in the end. All he needed from her was a little bit of pleasure. The thought of being the first to defile the young woman did excite the Turian more than he would have thought.

"We will be changing that tonight, won't we?" Vyrnnus chuckled. The sound sent a jolt of pleasure through Shepard. Her breath quickened, both in fear and excitement. This was so wrong. What she was doing was so wrong… But why did that make things much more exciting?

"One last thing. You will not mention this to anyone. Understand?" Vyrnnus ordered. "I've made sure that girl will not longer spread rumors around. If I hear you have told anyone about this, I will make life extremely... Difficult for you. It would be in your best interests to stay quiet about this regardless. I can easily find other work. You will not be so lucky. Biotics, especially untrained, are not looked favorably by either of our species. Especially ones that like to fraternize with the enemy."

"I understand, sir." And it would be. What a scandal it would cause if it turned out Turian instructors were sleeping with their students. The program might fail and then she would be back on Earth. There was still hatred for Turians because of the First Contact War. It would be harder to join the Alliance if she was known to bed Turians. This was something that would follow her forever.

"Good. Follow me then." The Turian let go of her and turned towards one of the two other doors in his room. It seemed the instructors, or at least Vyrnnus, were given much more lavish rooms than the students. He had a separate living room, bedroom and bathroom. Her own tiny room could barely hold her bed and one set of drawers for her stuff. Each student got a room that was identical to every other.

Shepard trailed after Vyrnnus, nervous about what was about to happen. But it was too late to back out now. Not that she truly wanted to. Mixed with her nervousness and hesitation was both excitement and curiosity.

This would just be a one-time thing just to sate a few desires, Shepard vowed. Then she'd focus back on her training. No one would have to know but her and him. She'd never make the mistake of trusting someone else with something like this again.

Now inside his bedroom, Shepard glanced over the room. It was spacious, with a large bed in one corner. There was a seating area off to the side with a window looking out into space. Jane found herself rather envious. The bed in her room did not look that comfortable.

The young woman shook these thoughts out of her head as the door slid shut behind her. This was no time for worry about petty things. Jane was here, with Vyrnnus, about to do something she knew with every fibre of her being that she shouldn't. It could cost her everything she wanted to be in the future… But even despite that, she was going to go through with it anyway.


Tried something different this time.

This fic, like 'Ally' was also sort of inspired by 'Shepherds and Butchers' by Steinbjoern.