The ground rumbling is the only warning the squad has before the thresher maw violently erupts from the ground beneath them. Tali and Ashley are thrown closer to the MAKO, while Shepard is wrapped around the wreckage she was examining seconds earlier. Shepard recovers quickly enough to dodge the first blast of acid, but is hit by the splash back. Reacting purely on instinct she popped all the clips on her armour watching it melt on the ground.

"Fuck!"

Luckily the communicator was attached to her ear, and she could instruct them to drive away. The maw mindlessly started tracking the larger target. Shepard rolls left grabbing her assault rifle, which is miraculously acid free. The Mako fires its main cannon, she winces as the shot goes wide.

"Hey Chief, you think maybe we should have taught Tali the controls?"

"Probably Skipper."

"No worries Chief, just make for those hills. I got this."

Shepard sprints in firing at the eyes, with surprising accuracy. The HWMA X is spewing out incendiary rounds at an incredible rate. Time begins to blur as she ducks and dives around the maw. She winces as some acid catches her on the exposed thigh. All she can do is keep shooting and hope the beast dies in time for her to get medical help.

Another round thunders in from the MAKO this one actually hitting the thresher maw dragging its attention away from the unarmoured wounded Commander. It dives back underground emerging directly under the MAKO, Shepard watches as the vehicle is smashed apart. Tali and Ashley are thrown clear both of whom are still moving after they hit the ground, albeit sluggishly. Shepard snags a high ex grenade off her Gunnery Chief's back pitching it perfectly into the beasts mouth. Finally there is quiet.

"You look like a teenage boys wet dream."

The quiet doesn't last long. Shepard also concedes that Ash has a point. All she had under the armour was underwear so the medical interface can work more efficiently. She is standing in the desert wearing bra and panties. Oh and the sweat glistening off her perfect abs probably isn't helping the fantasy set up.

"Not yours Ash?"

Tali starts giggling. The young quarians giggles intensify as Ashley flips her Commanding Officer the bird, she learnt that hand symbol from the humans quickly.

"Screw you."

"Screw you ..."

"Ma'am. Now come here so I can check your leg. That looked like a nasty hit."

Ashley is astonished to find the thigh in question is barely damaged. "Shepard?"

"Yes Chief?" She is startled by the closeness of the Commanders voice. One hand is holding hers on the bare leg and her their lips are almost touching. Ashley panics and rolls backward making her feet clumsily. Looking closer she can see the hugely diluted pupils that indicate medi-gel overdose.

"You took your suits entire supply of Medi-gel before ditching it didn't you?"

"All the immunity too." She is grinning sloppily and tries to embrace Ashley again.

"Damn."

"I don't understand." Tali is watching the exchange with her head cocked to the side.

"Shepard is high as hell, we have no way to contact the Normandy and our only supplies are scattered around this plain."

"What about," Tali trails off and gestures towards Shepard who has managed to get her hand on Ashley's ass during the short conversation.

"No." Shepard's hand is slapped away, "Well to be perfectly honest I have no idea. At most all the overdoses should do is lower inhibitions. Ohh." She steps away again. "Damn."

Tali is giggling again.

Ashley has managed to scavenge a singlet and cargo pants from MAKO wreckage for Shepard. Currently the Commander and Tali are picking through electronic trash for usable parts for fixing a communicator.

"So Shepard I was unaware your people had markings like that."

"Oh it's a not natural marking, that is a gang tattoo."

Ashley sneaks closer to hear the story, but makes sure to stay out of groping range.

"A gang tattoo? I had heard that those were generally for degenerates."

"Oh they are. But check this out." Shepard shifts the back of her singlet to expose a dirty brand.

"Keelah that looks painful."

"Yea it was. Stupid bloody slavers." She looks sad for a second, "But I managed to get myself sold for being too hard to deal with so all good yea?"

At the touch of Ashley's fingers on the ridged slavers brand, she spins instantly happy.

"Oh Ash, I love you too." The hand is jerked back as though it was on fire.

"Noo, I just wanted to know why you have what looks like a Reds' tat, a slaver brand and somehow managed to join the Alliance by 18."

"I think I was 17, maybe. But yea. I'm awesome which is why when we get back to the Normandy you should totally think about moving into my cabin."

Tali starts giggling again, "She has a bit of a one track mind doesn't she."

"We are going to sit in this shade while Tali gets some kind of communicator working. So why don't you sit on the other side of her, no the other side and tell my why you were in a gang."

Shepard leans against one of the tires with her legs splayed in front of her. "Well they feed me, mostly. And taught me where I could sleep without freezing to death in the winter." Without her usual heavy armour Shepard looks smaller and more vulnerable than normal.

"Shep?"

"Yea, so maybe I stole and shit, but I quit after they got in a pitched fight with the Cops. I didn't really mind killing other gang members, or street orphans or yea. Just not cops."

"What age did you join?"

"So I didn't really join as much as they found me in a bin and used me to get sympathy food. I guess it doesn't matter because the Police didn't mind shooting a 14 girl when they raided the headquarters I was sleeping in. I managed to stagger to the local space port and get an Alliance ship to land on me."

She leans back and smiles, "That's when I met Dr Chakwas. She patched me up and dumped me on Mindoir. I guess you could kinda say she way like a mother figure. I got like some fluffy white things to watch and the colonist taught me to read. It was a good deal."

"Wait are you telling me that you were actually a Shepard? Is that where your name came from seriously?"

"No I just watched the fluffy white things and stopped the varren from eating them."

Tali and Ashley are laughing their heads off now. Shepard's story had gone from tragic to hilarious.

"Shep, the fluffy white things are sheep. You herded sheep, as in a sheep herder. Hence Shepard."

"Damn it. Fuck you guys, you don't get the rest of the story."

Shepard crosses her arms and sulks, Ashley leans past Tali to rub her shoulder, "Aww don't worry Skipper, you are so high you probably won't remember this."

Night has fallen by the time Tali has communications to the Normandy up. Shepard is sleeping on the ground having finally crashed. As the ship lands Ashley finds herself unable to wake the Commander, she sighs and lifts her bridal style to carry her in. After checking with Chakwas Ash tucks Shepard into her own bed in the Captain's cabin.

"Stay?" The hand on her wrist has none of brash attention it had earlier in the day, coupled with the near pathetic look Shepard gives her Ash feels means just pushing it away.

"Not tonight Skip."