part 1 in a several part fic. maybe more parts in Chapter 2. Or not.
rating: worksafe? safe for now. Future? Dunno yet.
Characters- Kaidan, Ashley, Liara, Shepard
summary- Kaidan and Liara make baby steps from being recluses. Varied results.
With Ears to See (part 1)
Scuttlebutt in slang usage means gossip deriving from the nautical term for the cask used to serve water (or, later, a water fountain).
The term corresponds to the iconic colloquial concept of a water cooler in an office setting, which at times becomes the locus of congregation and casual discussion. Water for immediate consumption on a sailing ship was conventionally stored in a scuttled butt: A butt (cask) which had been scuttled by making a hole in it so the water could be withdrawn. Since sailors exchanged gossip when they gathered at the scuttlebutt for a drink of water, scuttlebutt became Naval slang or gossip or rumors.
Kaidan trudged to the mess hall and plopped his tray onto the table. A second tray plopped down across from his and he looked up in time to see gunnery chief Ashley Williams mutter something under her breath.
"Something on your mind?"
Ash looked as tired as he felt., but she smiled nonetheless. "Nothing important, its just-" (and she spooned some glop to illustrate) "-this. This... I don't even know what to say about it. THIS."
Kaidan mirrored her tense smile.
"Kinda makes you wish the navy went back to hard-tack doesn't it?" she asked, illustrating the stretchy viscous texture of the food with her spoon.
"Gluten is a versatile product," Kaidan recited. "Since the advent of gene-mods combating allergies, it can be widely used and distributed. Highly malleable. Able to serve as filler or a staple on its own. Nutritious easily supplented, low calorie, twenty-one grams of protein per ounce and zero cholesterol."
"Mm-hmm," Ashley drawled. She placed her chin on one hand and eyed him. "Of course you'd have that all memorized. Probably buy into the motivational 'team-building' vids, too."
"The production values aren't half bad," he shrugged.
He hadn't meant it to be funny, but Ashley seemed to think it was. She actually laughed. Threw her head back and everything.
"It's not you," she explained. "Oh man, I must be more tired than I thought."
"I thought that was part of the job though- team building and motivation, that is," he huffed.
"Of course it is," Ash said indulgently. "But I prefer to 'team-build' in the field and motivate in person. Its not something I appreciate being force-fed in a vid... I swear the Alliance gets more and more corporate by the day."
"Good point," Kaidan said, as he ate.
"...So," Ashley began tentatively.
He felt himself tensing more than usual at that tone. "What?"
Ashely chewed her food more carefully than the soft gluten deserved. The woman seemed to sense that she could get away with a lot in his presence. She joked, teased and disagreed with him with almost too much familiarity. But ever since their return from the citadel, it had been like she'd smelled blood in the water. If there was the illusion of rank between them before, it was gone after.
She and the commander had been admiring the view of the city, and marveling at the size of the population- the number of races struggling to keep peace and not rock the boat.
Shepard wondered why they wouldn't want to welcome humanity with open arms. Earth had rich oceans, beautiful women- this emotion called love. They had everything to be desired according to their own hype.
"In that case, there's no reason they wouldn't like you- us. Humanity." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, feeling the scrutiny of them both boring into his back.
The way Ash looked at him then was exactly the same look she was giving him now.
She shrugged nonchalantly. "I hear you and the commander have been chatty lately."
"Just debriefing," Kaidan said, raising his hands.
"Mm-Hm," Ash said again. "Oh, speaking of debriefing, what do you think of our new addition- T'Soni? Did you discuss her at all? Because I might be a little weirded out by having her on the team."
Kaidan was formulating a reply when he noticed a lunch tray slide shyly onto the table.
"May I join you two?"
Dr.T'Soni sat down next to Ashley, who smiled as broadly in surprise. He nodded and Liara seemed to relax, sliding her chair closer to the two and digging in to her food with relish.
"Don't tell me you actually like this stuff,"Ash asked, amazed.
Liara was all wide doe-eyes and unchecked enthusiam. "Is this not the proper way to consume the dish? My apologies... I suppose as an asari its been ingrained to try new foods from different planets and cultures." She mimicked Ashley's posture exactly, much to her chagrin.
"Like trying new... nevermind," Ash stammered.
The table was quiet for several moments and then Liara cleared her throat. "So this is 'down-time' as you humans call it."
"Yup. That's us. Living the high life." Ash said, raising her glass sarcastically.
"Down time... High life. I was unaware that humans equated unstructured time with literal direction. Why is the term then not low-time and Up-life?"
Ash and Kaidan found themselves giving eachother an "Are you serious?" look. No way were all asari like this. They had met other asari at the citadel who seemed more... in touch than T'Soni. Either she was a very very sheltered example of her species, or the others had grown out of their... asari-isms.
"The two of you have served under Shepard for a while, haven't you?"
"A little while," Kaidan said, his eyes on the table.
"I joined even more recently," Ash added. She glanced around and fiddled with her spoon. Awkward...
"Oh," Liara said, shifting in her seat. It was almost painful how badly this was going.
Liara cleared her throat after a while and started again. "What do you know about her? I've looked into her records and asked the other crew members, but no one seems to have had contact with her prior to serving on this craft."
Ash's eyes darted up. "You've been asking around... about the commander?" She looked up at Kaidan again but froze. There was a serious chill coming from the Lt. His shoulders had squared, his back was stiff, and his jaw jutted out defensively. He leaned away in his chair and studied the asari with new eyes.
Liara set her utensils down. "I'm curious to know more about Shepard's past- her likes, dislikes, her personality. What has made her into the woman she is now? I've looked at her records and made some conclusions but the information is scant." She raised a hand apologetically. "I didn't do anything wrong, I don't think. I'm merely curious about her. Shepard is an interesting woman, is she not? She survived contact with a beacon- surely an invasive experience. That's impressive... Right?"
"If you've read her records, you know about as much as we know," Ash said. She glanced up at Kaidan, but he had nothing to add so she went on. "War hero up the wazoo, from a colony, proficient in weapons, plays things by the book but she seems to think on her feet too. Not a wordy sort of gal, but if there's anything else you should know I'm sure it'll happen in due time. Just don't listen to the vids about her. They love the backwater hick makes good angle."
Liara stared blankly, possibly overwhelmed by so many human phrases in one sitting. "I'm afraid I've already made quite the fool of myself in our last talk." Her voice was soft. "What about you, Lieutenant?"
"What do you mean?" he sputtered.
"Do you- what is your assessment of the commander? Have you talked to her about personal matters?"
Kaidan sighed. There was really nothing to say about his chats with Shepard. Mostly she listened as he talked about his past. Maybe he'd opened up to her a bit too much. He never opened up to people, so he was unsure of how it happened. Before he knew it, he was telling her about BAAT training and Rhana- the sort of stuff he hadn't thought about in years. The nature of the job kept one's mind almost solely on the job. It was a blessing most of the time, and yet he felt safe discussing things with her. She hadn't said much about herself- just listened as he rambled.
He hadn't noticed how long he'd zoned out until he became aware of Ash and Liara chatting politely, if stiffly about other crew members on board. Ash had particular praise for XO Pressley, and Joker was somewhat of an enigma in her opinion. Liara seemed disappointed but listened with interest about the rest of the crew.
Kaidan was organizing the contents of his locker when he felt someone stride angrily past him.
Ash fumed as she opened her own locker. "What WAS that back there? You didn't talk to Liara at all, and when you did, you stared at the wall or something. I may not have much experience with aliens but even I know that's rude. You left me stranded to make small talk with her. Thanks a lot."
He felt his face heat. "Sorry Chief. I guess I'm just more tired than I thought."
The brunette rubbed the back of her neck thoughtfully. "Yeah, there's a lot of that going around. Sorry I snapped at you. How're your migraines, by the way? I keep forgetting about those."
Kaidan shut his locker. "Nothing to report. Just need some shut-eye, I guess." He felt bad about lying, but the lie was mostly true at least.
"You sure? Maybe you should call it a day. I'm sure Garrus could fill in in a pinch."
He chuckled. "It's fine, really. Besides, I'm pretty much done."
Ash nodded skeptically. She was far too sharp for her own good. "What do you think about Liara? Can she be trusted?"
"Wish I knew," Kaidan said, rubbing his eyes in spite of himself.
"I won't keep you longer," Ash said gently. She lowered her voice and leaned closer. "But if you're curious about what the Skipper and Liara talked about I'd probably ask Joker. Lord knows what he's been listening in on."
"Ash..."
"Its harmless scuttlebutt," she said quickly. "Just saying."