Hello all you beautiful readers, I'm back again. Sorry for the long wait, I went on vacation, my internet crapped out on me, I lost my phone and I had a whole month of writers block but I am back! And I brought a whole new chapter with me! Hooray and all that. Enjoy! Or, you know, don't. Your choice ;)

While Shepard was gone I said my goodbyes and packed what little I owned.

Daniel came back eventually. He told Mordin and I the entire story about how some batarians were going to kill him when Shepard came in and told them they could go free if they let Daniel go and she let them go. She didn't shoot them which relieved Daniel. He had been sure she would shoot.

After a while Mordin approached me.

"Have to ask, why did you volunteer?" He asked.

"My 'One' was in that group. " I answered.

"Which?" He asked. Before I could answer he guessed. "the Turian?" I nodded.

"Yes. The turian." I said.

I had explained 'the One' a while ago when telling him about myself. I had mentioned that I hadn't found my 'One' yet to him in passing because I hadn't known that none of the aliens had a 'One' and he had asked what it was and I had explained. He didn't tell me other races didn't have that reaction. He nodded.

"Understandable. You will have to be careful around the turian, he won't know about 'the One', don't want to scare him." He said. I nodded.

"Ok. Thank you. I will try to hide it." I said. He nodded. He was about to respond but the fans came back online, cutting him off.

"Shepard did it. I'm not surprised, she seems very..." I paused, searching for the right word. My vocabulary in their language was limited. Luckily I'd had Mordin as a teacher and he seemed to have a broader vocabulary then most. I was still working on grasping the grammar but I was reasonably fluent in their language. Mordin nodded, he always knew what I meant, even when I didn't know how to say it.

"She is N7. Elite soldiers." He said.

"Elite?" I asked. The word was familiar but I didn't know what it meant.

"Better trained." He explained. I nodded.

Shepard came back not long after. She told us a little about the mission with the fans and that the vorcha would be less of a problem.

Mordin put Daniel in charge of the clinic while he was gone.

I said goodbye to Daniel and he told me to find him when I had the chance. I told him I would. He hugged me goodbye, which was new for me. I'd never been hugged by anyone but my family before. I almost felt bad for leaving him. Almost. I would have felt worse if I wasn't so excited.

The five of us, Mordin, Shepard, the turian the other human and I, went back to their ship, the Normandy. I learned the human was named Miranda and the turian was named Garrus.

We got on the ship and were shown to the meeting room through a large room with computers in it by Miranda. Shepard left us briefly to talk to the pilot.

I looked around the ship with interest. The outside was much smaller than the ship I'd arrived in but the interior was so much bigger and nicer. It looked like it could be the inside of a building rather than a ship.

The dark-skinned human followed us into the meeting room and Miranda was just starting to talk when Shepard walked in.

A disembodied female voice greeted us as well and told Mordin that there was a fully equipped lab aboard the Normandy that he was welcome to use. Mordin debated with himself over what the voice was eventually he confirmed that it was an AI. I asked what that meant and Mordin responded with

"Artificial Intelligence."

"Mmm." That really didn't tell me anything. I sort of knew what intelligence was but I had no idea what 'artificial' meant.

"Computer that thinks for its self." He explained. I nodded.

"Ok." Now I get it. That didn't sound safe to me but I was realising fairly quickly that I really didn't know very much so maybe they had found a way to make it safe.

"That's EDI, our AI." Shepard introduced her. I nodded.

"We also need to decide where Diamond will stay." Miranda said.

"I will just go to the lab and set up. Meet me there later Diamond. I have some things to discuss." Mordin interrupted.

"I'll show you the way." Jacob said and they left. I turned to Shepard.

"I can stay with Mordin and be his assistant." I said. Shepard nodded. "Ok. I would like to know where to find you." She said. I nodded.

"I'll probably be in Mordin's lab. I don't know. It is possible I'll be somewhere else." I said.

"Do you have somewhere in mind?" She asked. I shrugged.

"I'm not sure." I lied. I didn't want to have to explain my reaction to Garrus. "That's why I said I'd tell you later." I said. She nodded.

"Noted."

"May I leave? Just to settle in I mean." I asked.

"I think we're finished here." She said.

"Katas c'hacta ka'akerra ranaku zeckt terrniko." I said, my language coming back easily after a few years of almost no use, and then bowed out of the room as was the way I left the presence of my betters when I was at home, it seemed appropriate.

I walked down the short hall in the direction I saw Mordin and Jacob walk. I opened the door and saw Mordin.

"Ah Diamond. Good. Hoped you wouldn't take long. I have some questions. First though, where are you staying?" I shrugged.

"I asked if I could stay with you. If that's alright." I said.

"You can stay here, might need assistant. Also, might not. You can wander ship, might have questions when I see you."

"So... you had questions?" I prompted. He nodded. "

Questions about 'One'. Particularly reaction. You mentioned common reactions of your kind. Not your own. Was curious what yours was."

"My legs collapsed, I was dizzy and I could only focus on him. Even when he left I stayed like that. Fortunately my mouth didn't bleed as my heart didn't speed up. It slowed down actually." I said, that last part was more of an afterthought.

"'Mouth didn't bleed'? What? Why would your mouth bleed?" Mordin asked. I realized that was something I hadn't told him.

"Oh, you don't get that? Well if our heart beats too fast and the blood rushes to our heads and then there is too much blood so the roof of our mouths open and some blood flows into my mouth to help drain it." I said.

"Fascinating." He muttered and turned away. I recognized my dismissal. I smiled as I walked quickly out of Mordin's room and to the elevator. I thought he had a few questions.

As I reached it Miranda came out of the armory and joined me at the elevator. I nodded at her. After a few moments of silence the elevator arrived. We entered the elevator and began the descent.

"As you exited the room earlier you said something to Shepard and I, was that your language?" She asked. I nodded.

"It roughly translates to 'may you walk in the light'." I explained.

"Is that religious?" She asked. I considered that for a moment.

"I don't believe so. Where I come from it was a respectful farewell when leaving the presence of your betters. It is meant as saying may you live in..." I paused. "I don't know the word... knowledge? Or it could mean may you be happy." I said. She smiled but it didn't seem to reach her eyes. It's like it froze on her mouth.

"If I were to follow the respectful code I would have greeted you by bowing and saying: Kisre ta'at antrec vek tonresket. Which means 'you grace me with your presence.' But I figured that would be over the top." I explained. I felt like language would be a bit tough here with so many people all speaking the same language that I had trouble with.

The elevator finally dinged open, this elevator was really slow for just one floor. Miranda stepped out and walked away. I exited the elevator as well but I wasn't so sure on where to go. I just felt like going down here. I decided to start at the front and work my way back down here.

I walked down a short, curved hall and into an open room with tables in the centre. There were crew members at the tables eating or chatting. As I walked past I heard conversation stop. I smiled at them and I held my head high. I pretended I didn't mind but really it freaked me out. I didn't like people staring. I thought I could feel their eyes on me, as I walked to the door at the end of a long hall extending from that room, but I knew I was imagining it. I opened the door and entered, not expecting to find anyone there, I just wanted to get away from all the stares.

Turns out it wasn't empty, Garrus was in it. He looked at me as I entered. I felt my knees go all jelly like but I don't want to show weakness in front of him, I grabbed the wall for support.

"Oh!" I said in surprise. "I'm sorry. I didn't know there was anyone here."

"It's fine. Diamond right?" He asked, his voice a double tone sub-harmonic. My hand slipped on the wall but I held myself up.

"Mmhmm." I didn't trust myself to speak, I figured it would probably have come out garbled if I did. I couldn't help it. I didn't want to look like I was supporting myself so I pushed myself off the wall and my legs gave out. I frowned inwardly at myself. Weak. Pathetic. If one alien could do this to me all the time then I was done for. I needed to get over it. I was being ridiculous.

"Are you alright?" Garrus asked concerned. Uh oh. Well, time to bring out the lies. I blinked a bit and nodded.

"Yes. I'm fine. Mordin stuck me with a needle. It was a mild sedative. He said it would make me weak. I got a bit nervous about space flight." I explained. I stood up slowly. I touched my forehead to add to the effect. I took a deep breath like I needed to steady myself. More like calm myself. I was a little over excited. I looked back up at him. "I'm fine." I said. He laughed.

"Ah I wasn't sure what to do. Girls swoon when they see me all the time but not in a one on one conversation." He said. I was surprised by that.

"Girls swoon when they see you?" I repeated as a question. For some reason I felt oddly sad.

"Nah, I was kidding." He said. I sighed.

"Oh, I didn't get that. I still am not good at knowing what's a joke and what isn't." I said, slightly relieved but also worried that he didn't believe my lie. That he had seen the truth.

"Ah, I'll try not to make many jokes then." He said, shifting slightly to the side.

"Oh you can make jokes, just don't expect me to get it." He laughed.

"I won't hold my breath for laughter then." He said. I smiled.

"Good, you'd probably suffocate if you did that." I said. I was enjoying this lighthearted conversation.

"So what made you come down here?" He asked. The sudden change in conversation threw me off but not for long.

"I... I came down to meet the rest of the squad." I said. I guess I was slightly out of practice with casual lies.

"Heh I don't believe that. What's the real reason?" He asked. Clearly my stumble at the beginning of that sentence tipped him off. I didn't want him to know I came to see him.

"I can't tell you. It's a secret." I said with a grin. He sighed.

"That's too bad. You know, you are a terrible liar. I think you just came down to see me." I could hear a subtle change in his voice when he said that but I couldn't tell what it was. Was he revealing that he actually knew my secret? Was he hoping that was true? Was he just kidding? Was that how he usually talked? Was he hinting at an interest in me? Can he even be interested in me without knowing me? I suppressed the questions and responded in a safe way.

"In your dreams Garrus." I said, trying to make my voice sound light and teasing.

"Well I can hope, can't I?" He asked with a chuckle. A beep came from behind him and he looked around, the sudden noise brought me back to reality as I focused on more than just Garrus. He was leaning against a control panel with the orange holos I had come to recognize as computers. Behind that was a huge gun with two walkways on either side, probably for maintenance. I heard Garrus sigh.

"Ah it was nice meeting you but I should probably get back to work. Guns don't calibrate themselves." He said.

"What does calibrate mean?" I inquired. I'd never heard the word before. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm not good at explaining. Uh... it's basically fixing it so it shoots accurately." He said. That helped a bit but not much.

"How do you do that?" I asked.

"Ah I can't really explain it, I'd have to show you." He said. I paused a second before responding.

"Would you be willing to show me?" I asked cautiously.

"Sure. Come here." He said, beckoning me over. My heart rate sped up and my mouth started bleeding. I was going to be so near to him.

Does anyone know what language they actually speak in the game? I know it's English, but that's so we can understand. I just never know if they are actually speaking English or if there is a translator thing on their omnitool or if they just made up a universal language that they all speak. I don't know what they speak so I just played it safe and called it their language. Anyway, the short conversation with Garrus, is it too familiar? I like to know your thoughts :)

-Lindsay