"With all due respect, Commander..."
Shepard looked at her subordinate with her usual calm and open gaze. "What is it?"
"It's just that..."
The commander tilted her head. "Why so hesitant? You know I always keep an open-door policy with my crew. Lay it on me."
Three Hours Earlier
Ashley approached the mess hall, surprised to see the whole team there. They weren't eating. They all looked gravely serious, all eyes staring at Kaiden's white hand clutched around... something.
"Oh man. What happened?" Ashley slumped into her usual seat like a rag doll, waiting for the news. Someone's dead. An entire planet's gone. An entire race is history. She prepared herself for the worst.
Kaiden looked at her almost gratefully, but it didn't take away the shell-shocked look on his face. Not completely. "Oh, Ash. Thank god you're here. We looked everywhere for you."
Wrex handed Kaiden a small, white straw. "Add it to the stack."
"What the hell is going on here?"
Garrus made a face that looked like it could have been a frown. "We ran out of Dimenhydrinate on the last mission. Someone's got to tell her."
"Shitfire." Ashley swore. Kaiden nodded. "Like I don't vomit enough from the migraines. We can't go into battle like that."
Ashley's confidence waned. Even though she was the poster child for the hard as nails soldier, no one was surprised given the situation. "Guys, come on. We're soldiers. We've battled waves and waves of Geth, just us. We can take a few bumps, right?" She smiled weakly.
Wrex, looking dead serious at her, said, "You know I have a lot of respect for the commander but I'd give my bottom left testicle to not have to get into the Mako with her at the wheel again. I can only hope it doesn't come to that. Now draw."
Ashley held her breath. Better to get it over with.
Three Hours Later
"With all due respect, Commander, next time we go groundside, I was thinking maybe I could drive."
Commander Shepard smirked at the Chief. "How come whenever someone says 'With all due respect…'?"
Author's note: I couldn't stop thinking about what the crew said about my driving skills behind my back. This is the answer I finally came up with.