A/N: Well, I'm back, thanks to a combination of very encouraging reviews and PMs from The Outlander and ssrobajo (I love you guys! :D) and the return of Mass Effect from my collegiate brother (I guess I love him too. lol ;)). I've always enjoyed Shenko, so I hope you enjoy my first attempt. Though I probably shouldn't be starting another story considering I'm being hounded for not updating JA... But I wanted to get this one started, so there! :P My next update will probably be for TIE, because I miss that story very much... And then JA, I promise! :)

Disclaimer: As much as I wish I owned something as marvelous as Mass Effect, I do not. :(

No Regrets

Chapter One: Explosive Meetings

Shepard reluctantly trailed after Captain Anderson to continue the tour of the ship and its crew, and privately wondered how much longer she would have to stand the endless salutes and praise. Oh sure, she smiled and nodded at all the right times, but in reality she felt embarrassed at all the attention. She just wanted to do her job.

They reached the area around the mess and Shepard mindlessly fired off another salute to a few newer recruits that looked like they would ask for an autograph if they had the guts. While they made small talk, Petra scanned the room, using the fact that she was new to the ship as an excuse to look around without being rude. She absentmindedly fingered the short ends of her dark hair.

Her eyes caught on a tall, dark, muscled figure standing alone at an orange terminal. It may have been her imagination, but perhaps their eyes met, his brown ones with her large, silvery ones. She mentally shrugged as he returned to face the glow of the screen, but she continued to glance over at him. He was, after all, quite fun to look at. Petra briefly recalled a similar situation occurring several years ago in one of those countless space stations. Idly, she wondered if the teen she had gazed at had been as attractive as this particular specimen of male. Probably not, she grinned to herself.

The conversation with Anderson and the rookies soon drew to a close and she found herself following the captain straight to the attractive man at the terminal. Of course, I can never get a chance to cool off my burning cheeks, Petra thought cynically. As they approached, she took the opportunity to appraise him from a closer distance.

His blue Alliance shirt was stretched across broad muscles, but he seemed like he would be quite flexible if necessary—she felt a wicked grin start at the corners of her mouth and quickly stamped it out—no need for those kinds of thoughts if she was going to maintain control. She quickly continued her assessment, as they were getting closer. He had thick, dark hair, slightly longer than most Alliance men's. His skin looked darkish, the kind that wasn't acquired in the field. It was a naturally inherited tone, like Petra's own, but slightly lighter.

"Commander, this is Lieutenant Alenko," introduced the captain.

"It's an honor, ma'm," came his husky voice. Petra found that she rather liked it. Alenko fired off one of the sharpest salutes that Shepard had ever witnessed. She desperately tried to ignore how tight his muscles looked. He was certainly impressive. With an almost visible start, the young commander realized that he was looking directly in her eyes. Most people shied away from her piercingly misty gaze. After all, if the eyes were the window to the soul, then Petra's eyes were probably stuffed to their lids with problems. But the lieutenant met their depths head on. Shepard gave him a curt nod to put him at ease, along with a much more discreet smile. He had her respect and they'd only just met.

Captain Anderson put his hand to his earpiece for a brief moment. Apparently he'd been paged. "I'm sorry, Shepard, but I have to run. Alenko, would you mind completing the rest of the tour?"

The young man nodded. "I'd be glad to, sir."

"Good luck; she's a handful," he said as he turned away.

Shocked, Petra began to open her mouth to protest.

"Don't think I didn't see you roll your eyes at those last two, Shepard," the captain interrupted with the tiniest of smiles.

"Damn," she muttered irritably as he left. She'd thought she was hiding her annoyance pretty well. Alenko gave a slight chuckle.

There was a moment of silence between the two marines—nothing particularly epic, really, just a slight dryness of the throat on Shepard's part. No candid flirting, silent vows of love, explosions of passion, or explosions of any sort, with one exception: her stomach.

"Are you hungry, Commander?" came the wonderfully smooth voice of the lieutenant.

Shepard blinked, and though she heroically resisted for what should be considered an amazing amount of time, her eyes were drawn to focus on his mouth. C'mon, with a line like that, what am I supposed to do? She whined to whatever higher power was toying with her mind at this point. "What?" she finally asked stupidly.

"Your stomach is growling," Alenko replied with a small grin and a tiny flushing of the cheeks.

Although she was relieved that he was a blusher like herself, it didn't completely console her as her own cheeks reddened. "Yeah, let's grab a bite to eat and you can tell me more about the crew," she suggested. After all, her throat felt like a desert. "If that's alright," she added quickly.

"Not a problem," he replied with another smile.

I' m starting to like those, she thought to herself as she followed the lieutenant to the food dispenser. He palmed the console and out popped two trays laden with food.

Petra spoke without thinking, "How did you—?"

"Biotics," he replied with a sheepish smile. "Last week the new regs kicked in and now we get double portions. We tend to eat more, so if you ever get hungry—"

Shepard stopped him with a grin of her own and a glowing, blue hand. Alenko's sweet roll came to rest on her palm. "That won't be necessary." She knew she shouldn't use her biotics to show off or play practical jokes, but it was worth the look on the man's face as his thick eyebrows shot up.

"Uh… So, Vanguard, Sentinel, Adept…?" he asked as Petra sidestepped him to palm the console for her own meal.

She paused before answering to take a gulp of much needed water. "Vanguard. You?"

"Sentinel," he replied as he sat at the table and gestured for her to do the same.

She nodded and joined him. "What's your first name?" she asked rather bluntly. It was strange; usually she liked referring to people with their last names. It gave everything a sort of formal and "badass" look. But she found herself wanting to know more about the man that sat across from her. It shook her up a bit, actually.

"Kaidan." It was a good name, and Petra liked it. She liked it very much.

A/N: There you go! With nifty page breaks and everything! :O lol thanks again to my supporters. You guys are awesome :) Now go click that review button. They made it bigger for a reason, y'know ;)