Sorry if these chapters are going a bit slow! It's going to pick up soon, I promise. Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! They mean a lot!

Deception is Deception: I'm glad you like it! I'm still working on finding a good pace for it, so I apologize. Any criticism is welcome

Ulsindhe: Ah, I love Javik. He's such a grump hahaha. But don't worry, there will be conflict! I just wanted to get her settled more or less before throwing her to the wolves

Disclaimer: I don't own anything expect Andrea

Enjoy!


The next week was hell. Straight hell. It was what I imagined people who didn't study for any of their final exams in college felt like. Information about mass effect drives, space travel, armor, and everything in between was shoved into my gray matter. And, hey, I had made it through with only three mental breakdowns and only threw up once, so that was nice. I tried to keep myself busy so that I wouldn't linger on how nothing was the same.

The most fascinating thing I learned was that the guns shot sand grain sized projectiles out. A single ammunition block could produce thousands of these rounds, so ammo was never a problem. The real issue was in running out of thermal clips, so it was almost counterproductive. If there was anything I could improve while on this ship it was probably going to be how efficient the heat sink could be. I had talked to Jacob on several occasions about this as he showed me how the guns worked. I had decided that he was a pretty nice guy all in all. A little too straight laced for my liking, though. Once, he had me shot some of the guns but after I almost shot myself in the foot he told me I wasn't allowed to fire the guns anymore. If it had to be tested it he would shot it.

That was also a bad idea since my first few experiments caught on fire in his hands. It went a lot better by test five, though.

The second most fascinating thing was Mordin. Just everything about him was amazing. At first, it was hard to understand his fast pace talking but when I finally could I had never been so amazed by a person. Back in my time, there were very few people I had admired and fewer that I actually knew. But Mordin was a fucking genius! He was a scientist through and through. And very possibly a mad one. He taught me more in the first week than most of my professors could in a semester. I had never been particularly interested in genetics but he made me want to learn about it. We talked about my machine and helped me with any mods I was trying to make when he had the time. We also taught each other random songs, much to the Commander's dismay. I had taught him the most raunchy and popular songs that I knew.

He also laughed at my science puns, though I had a feeling it was mostly out of pity.

Kasumi had made scaring the shit out of me and other crewmembers a game. Shepard had to talk to her after the fourth complaint.

It took overhearing Shepard teasing Garrus for me to have the courage to talk to him. He was pretty interesting to talk to when he wasn't busy talking to Shepard or in the middle of 'calibrations'. He showed me a few things with the sniper rifles but wouldn't let me actually shot it. Apparently Jacob had warned him.

I avoided Miranda. Even though I wa curious about biotics, she looked like the type that held grudges even over petty shit.

The saddest thing was that pandas were now extinct and that chocolate was up priced almost two hundred percent on any planet except Earth and a few colonies that could support the cocoa trees. Shepard had dropped that bit of information on me and I almost started crying.

By the end of the first week, we had boarded a prison ship and I had managed to make a working prototype for a more efficient thermal clip on the broken SMG that Shepard let me take apart. It finally stopped spontaneous catching fire and now had a thirteen percent decrease in how fast it overheated. It wasn't the best but it was progress. I was sure that I could make more adjustments to it during the next week. A popping noise came from my spine as I stretched in my chair and I took my glasses off, placing them back in their case. I hated the things but they were a necessary evil if I wanted to work without going cross-eyed.

"EDI, how long do you think the Commander will be?" Over the course of the week, EDI had become my second favorite person on this ship. When I had found out that she was an AI I had flipped my shit. Literally. I had been holding a plate of food and had dropped it. I was shown the AI core and it had been magnificent. Joker made it clear that he didn't understand why I was so fascinated by a program. I told him to eat a bag of dicks. Boys wouldn't know beauty if it kicked them in the shins.

"It should be a simple pickup. I estimate that she will be gone for no more than fifteen minutes if all goes according to plan."

"So that means thirty minutes." That was another thing that I had found while aboard; nothing ever went according to plan. Also, Shepard was an awful driver and couldn't dance. That tidbit came from Garrus, though I couldn't say too much since I had never danced before. I was about to get up to go get food when the ship began shaking.

"It would appear you were correct. The Commander is now fighting her way through the prison while the package is running rampant." They still hadn't told me much about this 'package'. All I knew was that it was called Jack. If he was rampaging and in prison then maybe he would be better off incarcerated. The ship rocked a few more times and I decided that going on the elevator wasn't the best plan. I would just sit tight until everything blew over. At least, that what I wanted to do but then my damn curiosity made me hit the button on the elevator. I had found that the third floor had the best view: really it was the only place with large windows. Tremors went through the ship again right as the doors slide open and I ran out, making my way to starboard observation. The distance made it hard to see much and I had to angle myself into an awkward position but eventually, I saw a figure running.

"Damn, that kid moves fast." They looked pretty tiny but that could have been the distance. They had thrown several other blurry figures with what I had assumed to be biotics. And then they stopped before flailing their arms frantically. I waved back, They turned around right as someone was trying to sneak up on them. The sneaking figure fell and the tiny person was approached by three figures. The colors of their armor meant that it was Shepard, Garrus, and Mordin. I guess that mysterious figure is Jack. He sure is skinny. He talked to Shepard for a few minutes before finally following them. I guess they convinced him to join Shepard's little suicide mission to save the world.

I was so engrossed in watching them that I didn't hear the sound of heels walking towards me.

"Why are you standing like that?" I managed not to fall forward. Miranda was standing behind me with her arms crossed.

"Doing yoga, obviously." I knew that I was being an ass. It's just, something about her made me want to be a sarcastic and antagonistic as possible. It was probably the resting bitch face. By the time I looked back out the window the Shepard's group was gone.

"If you're so curious why don't you just find out for yourself?" She had a point; the only way to know was to go and see them. I straightened back out and followed her to the elevator. The ride up was nothing but awkward silence. How in the world did she get in that outfit? How does she even fight in it? Orange light from the Normandy's hologram flooded into the space when the door slid open.

As we walked towards what I called the 'war room' my hands fiddled with the modified heat sink. Anxiety was clawing at my stomach and my mind was filled with 'what ifs'. What if she didn't think it was good enough? What if it stopped working and was unreliable? Until I could have a rate of one hundred percent improvement I knew I wouldn't be happy with it.

Kelly said I had a fear of failure and a maladaptive perfectionism. I told her that I just don't like to half-ass any of my inventions.

By the time, we had reached the briefing room I had decided that the mod wasn't good enough. I would meet this Jack guy later. I gave Mordin a brief hello as he cleaned his gun before returning back to my workspace in the belly of the ship.

Sparks flew as I soldered the last wire on the thermal clip and heavy bass pounded through my headphones. I didn't have service on my phone and had to retrofit it to be able to charge through the Normandy but the music that I had 'legally' downloaded still worked. Music now days just wasn't the same; it lacked the rawness that I was used to. I was so immersed in my own little world that I almost fell out of my seat when a bowl of food was sat down on my table.

"Commander! Sorry, I didn't hear you come down!" I pulled my headphones out so fast that one of them caught on an earring. DAMN THAT HURT! My finger came back with no blood, so that was a plus.

"The doctor is worried. No one has seen you in almost seventy-two hours. Figured you haven't eaten." She pushed the plate towards me again. It looked good but my appetite was long gone.

"I'm fine Commander. Thanks, though." The red scars contorted when she frown.

"I will shove this food down your throat." I went to protest. I had just finished the mod and my body was aching for sleep but the look in her eyes said that it wasn't a threat. It was a promise.

"Fine, fine!" If eating would allow me to finally sleep then I would. I shoveled the food into my mouth. Gross… Grits. I pushed the bowl back towards her when it was empty.

"When was the last time you showered or slept?" Ugh. Dammit, she's prying.

"I don't know, a few days ago? I was about to lay down now that this is as good as I can get it currently." I already knew what she was going to say when I saw her eyebrows furrow. My eyes were rolling before I could even stop them.

"You know what I'm going to say. I'll be honest with you. We can't be babysitting you. If you don't have the ability to take care of yourself then I can't let you stay on this ship. It'll be safer for you on the Citadel anyways." She had a point. I knew she had a point. This mission was suicide for someone like me who had no fighting skills, but some rebellious part of me wanted to stay. It was the same part that insisted that I started college so early and said 'hey, I should dye my hair green'. Must be those teenage hormones that everyone talks about. The taste of blood was the only thing that made me realize that had bitten the inside of my cheek.

"I want to stay no matter the cost. It's not every day that I have unlimited resources for all of my mad schemes. I'm done with this mod. It should reduce how fast the SMGs overheat by twenty-eight percent. With enough time, it could be better. I need more Iridium, though." Not as done as I wanted it to be but whatever.

"You would risk your life… for science."

"I'm a rebel for science, Commander. I just can't help it. Plus, have you seen Mordin's lab? It's gorgeous! I didn't think I would ever see anything like it in my life, yet here we are. And Garrus may be funky looking but he's really cool! Though he does talk about 'calibrations' a lot." The word diarrhea was apparently back. Shepard gave me an amused look.

"Fine. You want to stay. How well can you fight?"

"Not at all. As the kids say, YOLO! Or I think that's what they said."

"… What? You know what, never mind. You start basic hand-to-hand combat and gun safety tomorrow. I should go. Take a shower. You reek." I waited for her to leave before sniffing at my shirt. Unfortunately, she was not incorrect about my smell. It was a weird mixture of soldering flux and sweat. I grabbed a clean shirt and sweatpants, pouting the entire time. I didn't do physical exercise. And I was such a bad shot that the other kids stopped asking me to go paintballing with them. This could only lead to disaster.

Sometimes I hated that I was almost always right.

The gun class went well enough. Don't point your gun at people unless you were trying to kill them. Always assume a gun in loaded. Don't point it at yourself. Simple things like that. I even got to shoot at some targets that Jacob had set up in the cargo hold. Sure, I didn't hit any of them but it was still fun.

I knew hand-to-hand was going to be awful as soon as it began.

It started with Shepard throwing me some padded gloves before covering her own hands. It got worse when Garrus decided that he needed to be here to see Shepard beat the tar out of me.

"Whoa, we're just going to go straight for it?"

"I need to know what level you're at." She said it like fighting was something I should just know.

"I'm level zero! I'm a squishy noob!"

"A what? Never mind, just come at me. Punch me as hard as you can." She raised her arms in a defense manner and I threw a punch as hard as I could. She easily blocked it before giving me a left hook right in the gut.

"Oh god, what the fuck! I told you, I'm squishy!" I clutched at where she had connected. There's definitely going to be a bruise there.

"The enemy won't give you a break, Andrea. And Shepard didn't punch you that hard. You have a good arm, but leave yourself wide open."

"Well, I don't know how to fight, Garrus! Your commentary is not helpful! In all the almost eighteen years of my life, I've never been in a fight!" Somehow, I straightened myself back out. She beckoned me to put my arms up and I did so hesitantly. I did not want to be punched again by her. But instead of swinging at me she repositioned my legs then my arms.

"This is the position you should start off in. Keep your feet staggered and placed slightly wider than the hips. Keep your weight distributed about fifty-fifty between both feet. And stop standing flatfooted. It will make your movement sluggish." I followed all her instructions. She went on to say that I wanted a small amount of tension in my non-existent abs. A hit to a relaxed stomach hurt like hell, as I had already learned. She positioned my arms so that my elbows were close but not touching my ribs then tilted my head down.

" Remember, chin down and hands up. When your opponent attacks don't close your eyes. You have to be able to see where they're trying to hit. I'm going to come at you now."

When Shepard attacked she didn't hesitate, I'll give her that.

"Fuck! Right in the fucking ribs!" Those damn gloves did literally nothing to cushion the punches. Are her hands made of metal or something?! I felt sick.

"Hands up. And try to either block or dodge." Easy for her to say. I brought my hands up anyways and focused on her swing. I managed to dodge her right hook only to get punched with her left.

"Am I being hazed? Cause I feel like I'm being hazed. Beating up a minor is frowned on, you know?" I laid down on the floor to soak in my misery.

"Well, technically you're two hundred."

"One hundred and eighty-six. Beating up the elderly is also frowned upon." She smiled as she helped me back up.

"You're the one that insists on staying on the ship. And if you can make jokes, you can stand up." She went into the starting stance and told me to attack again. I wouldn't be fooled a third time into getting punched in the gut. I took a page out of her book, feinting left then swinging with my right fist. At the last second, she moved out of the way and I quickly brought it back to my body. I tried to avoid her punches. And failed.

She corrected my stance again, told me how to make a fist that wouldn't make my thumb break. Sweat was pouring down my neck and I was positive one of my ribs was broken. After my seventh attempt, I manage to land a blow.

"Now you're getting it!"

"Yeah, it only took getting the shit beat out of me and a broken rib."

"You're rib's not broken so stop being a baby. If Garrus can take a rocket to the face you can take a few punches."

"Holy shit, that's what happened? I just assumed it was simply how you looked!"

"Oh ha ha. Did Shepard tell you to say that? Don't let her lie to you, she loves my good looks." Garrus' tone said 'teasing' but Shepard's face said 'truth'. The scars that had been slowly healing over the past few weeks became red and her ears almost blended in with her hair but if Garrus noticed he didn't say anything.

"That's enough for today. Tomorrow: same time. The day after that, we'll reach the Citadel. We're just getting a few supplies so we won't be there very long. Make a list of the things you need and I'll try to get them."

"Okay dokey pokey, I mean… Yes ma'am, Commander. I'll have it done by the end of the day." I was ready to take a shower, eat, and then pass the fuck out. I had never been this tired or hungry, even after going days without either sleep or food. The shower eased the pain, but already there were red spots cropping up on my stomach and ribs and my gut decided that it was going to empty its contents. At least she stayed away from my moneymaker... I brushed my teeth and decided that I should still probably eat something. The kitchen area was pleasantly empty and I quickly made my food before retreating back to my 'room'. I managed to eat the whole sandwich before I even made it back to the elevator and as soon as I had the covers pulled over me I passed out.