Firstly, I want to apologize that this chapter didn't get posted as quickly as I had hoped. My dear beta, who is usually the most accommodating person, has yet to give me her comments on this chapter, and she has had it for about a month now. Consider this an apology for both (1.) the time it too for this chapter to be posted and (2.) the likely grammar and spelling errors.

Secondly, I want to thank everyone that had read, reviewed, followed, and favorited this humble story despite its authors slow-writing and grammar and spelling challenges. Every single one is appreciated, and I don't know what I would do without them or how I will ever be worthy of them.

Lastly, the typical 'don't sue me for copyright infringement': I do not own Mass Effect, its characters, its universe, etc, much to my immense displeasure. I did, however, help it sneak out in the middle of the night, and I promise to have it back before daybreak.


Ashley had spent most of her newly acquired free time wondering about the dangers Alenko was facing with no one but a Turian Spectre (look how that last one had turned out) and a femme fatale mercenary-assassin. The planet was hotter in an hour than an entire day in the Sahara desert on earth; he could die from environmental concerns. Joker and mentioned that Geth had been spotted on the planet; he could die from enemy fire. Hell, he could die from "friendly" fire.

But she couldn't control any of that. She could check over all of the weapons, which she had done nearly ten times now. She could clean her armor, which she had done about four times. She guessed she could go talk with some of the crew, which she would prefer not to if at all possible. No, she would much rather stay here in the cargo bay and do anything if it appeared to be useful. She had just lost her whole team; she wasn't sure what she would do if she lost Alenko too.

"No need to worry," she heard the grumpy Krogan say from his position in the middle of the cargo hold. He seemed to have developed an emotional attachment to that particular set of crates, or he just found leaning on them extremely comfortable. "Shepard'll bring him back."

She looked over, but he hadn't moved. Hell, he wasn't even looking at her. Not that she minded being away from him; he seriously needed a bath. Who knew the last time that he had even been out of his armor. "Forgive me if I don't take your word for it," she said turning back to her armor. "She is a ruthless mercenary and assassin after all."

He just chuckled at that. "It always amuses me when Council-affiliated soldiers say that about her. I bet you didn't know that she has the exact opposite reputation in the Terminus Systems."

She glared at him at that last sentence; she highly doubted that. Most of her 'missions' had ended up with the death of every bodyguard that stood in her way, and in several instances, she had blown up the entire building when her target had retreated into a safe-room. Her known body count was extremely high, and there were so many more that they couldn't definitely lay at her feet.

He chuckled again at her expression. "It's true," he assured her. "She might be paid to kill people, but she is the only mercenary who has never lost a man working for her. She pulled my own hump out of the fire more times than I can count."

She turned from what she was doing then. She had to admit that she was starting to get interested in this conversation, but she still wasn't convinced of the Krogan was telling the truth. She was, however, interested in seeing the arguments that he had for his opinion. "You do know that she has one of the highest kill-counts according to all available records."

He just shrugged off her comment. "That just means that she is good at her job," he responded. "You wouldn't have a problem with her kill-count if she was part of the Alliance or a Council Spectre. The Terminus Systems are lawless, and a high kill-count is how people like her and I survive."

"Somehow that means that eliminating all bodyguard is just her being thorough," she argued back. There was no one else in the cargo bay; it had to be meal hours if the Requisitions Officer wasn't at his station. On the upside, that meant she didn't have to worry about ruining her reputation for talking with the Krogan.

He shrugged again. "Pretty much. The bodyguards were doing their job; she was doing hers. It's just too bad that they weren't good enough to stop her, and if they are willing to stand down, she is willing to let them walk. Most people in the Terminus know that it's probably best to stay out of her way and take her up on the offer; I guess Citadel thugs haven't realized this yet."

She chewed on this for a while. She couldn't condone what Shepard did for a living, but she could see that the woman might not be as evil as she had originally believed. "If she's saved you so many times, why is it that you owe her?"

He straight up laughed at that one. "Good mercs like me and her are always being hired to go after the same target; those that can afford our services don't want to leave things to chance so they like to hire two of us and promise to pay whoever brings back the person's head. Once or twice, I've been able to pull the trigger before she did; friendly mercs trade favors when that happens."

"And the unfriendly ones?" she couldn't help but ask.

He smirked again. "The easiest way to insure you get payed is to take out the competition."

All hands embrace for immediate departure! Joker's voice cut in over the intercom. Whatever was going on, he was in a hurry, and she knew that him being in a hurry meant that the ground team was in some serious trouble. Even as her armor started moving across the deck of the storage bay, she pulled out her assault rifle and had it ready incase the ground team needed covering fire when the cargo doors opened. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Wrex step up to her with his rifle out as well.


Garrus followed Shepard to the medbay, intent on lecturing her while the Doctor was tending to her wounds, but he was also ready to reach other and help support her should her steps become unsteady. Even as composed and determined as she was, every so often her steps would waver, and he would reach out to steady her. Before he could even touch her, she would get herself under control and shoot him a glare, but he still stayed within reach of her left elbow.

"What happened down there?" Doctor Chakwas exclaimed when she saw Shepard stubble in. She was immediately out of the chair at her desk and, despite Shepard's protestations that she could walk on her own, moved her towards the nearest cot. Almost immediately, Chakwas's omni-tool flared to life, but before she could even start scanning Shepard, she looked at him over her shoulder. "You will need to leave while I examine my patient, Spectre Vakarian," she said in her authoritative, almost-mother voice. His back foot twitched towards the door against his will when he heard it.

But he wasn't about to let Shepard off the hook that easily. "I need to have a talk with my crew mate, doctor," he said pulling out his best and most intimidating commanding-father tone. Shepard had jeopardized herself and the mission multiple times down there, and he needed to curtail her behavior before it got worse.

Doctor Chakwas didn't even flinch, and he was surprised. Just about everyone he knew hopped to when they heard that voice; he couldn't count how many times he had wanted to run when he heard it as a child. "Then you can do it after I'm done treating her." She was still standing over Shepard running a diagnostic of some kind, and she wasn't budging. The rigidity of her back told him that she was refusing to budge until he was out of the room.

The realization hit him full force in the stomach. He couldn't believe that the doctor was actually willing to risks Shepard's health deteriorating further just because he was in the room. He had seen Shepard struggle under the weight of the heat since she had offered to exchange Alenko's broken cooling unit for her own, and even though the air of the Normandy was within normal Human range, he could still see just how much she was suffering from her wounds. Wasn't that against the doctor's code somehow? He stood there dumbfounded for several minutes.

It was Shepard's voice that broke him from his reverie. "Get the hell out, Vakarian," she said with such force that he couldn't help but taking a step backwards and remove himself from the room. As the door closed in front of his face, he suddenly realized that he was once again falling into his old habit of doing whatever he was told, only this time it wasn't his father.


Liara didn't quite know what to do with herself. She had mostly been forgotten in the chaos that followed in the wake of their escape from the volcano; however, she didn't feel comfortable standing in the cargo bay with nothing to do. She really had no business being here, and there was an intimidating Krogan (even bigger than the one that had been after her) leaning against a couple crates.

Alenko was standing over at the weapon bench cleaning his weapons and armor before storing them away, but there was a mean-looking Human woman talking with him. She didn't feel right interrupting simply because she felt out of her element, but she could tell that the Human crew didn't trust her. She really didn't know anyone else on this ship. Shepard was likely to be in the medical bay receiving treatment for her injuries, and Vakarian had followed her, whether it was to insure her safety or something else, Liara didn't know.

She was just about to work up the courage to enter the elevator and explore the ship when Engineering opened and a Quarian woman walked out; she looked about the cargo hold as if she was just as nervous as Liara herself. "Hello," the girl called as she made her way over to Liara. "You must be Liara, the Prothean expert that Spectre Vakarian, Shepard, and Lieutenant Alenko were trying to find. I'm Tali'Zorah nar Rayya," she said coming forward to shake her hand. It was a Human form of greeting, and Liara was surprised to see the girl on the ship and equally surprised that she was using Human gestures.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Liara said, responding to her handshake even though it wasn't a gesture in line with her culture. "I am surprised to see a Quarian here." Then she thought about what she just said and blanched at the implication; she had just said that the woman didn't deserve to be here simply because of her race. By the goddess, she hadn't meant it like that at all. "Not that I'm saying you don't deserve to me here! It's just..."

Tali just laughed. "No need to worry; I am surprised myself. When I left the Flotilla for my pilgrimage, I had no idea that I would end up on one of the most advanced warships in Council Space. The design of the ship!" she exclaimed holding her hands out wide as if to showcase just how amazing it really was. Even without seeing the excitement in her eyes, Liara could tell from her tone of voice just how awed the young woman was. "It is nothing short of amazing!"

Liara found herself smiling even though she really had no idea what advancements this ship supposedly had. "I am glad that it is under the command of so efficient a Spectre, though I am surprised by the amount of Alliance soldiers. I would have thought that a Turian Spectre would rather have a crew of his own people." An advanced warship that made a Quarian amazed was something that only Spectres had.

Suddenly, Tali started twisting her hands, and it reminded Liara of a former colleague's nervous tick. "You don't really know, do you?" she asked in a nervous manner that instantly made Liara suspicious. "This isn't Vakarian's ship. It's just being loaned to him by the Human Systems Alliance for the duration of this mission."

Now that shocked Liara. She didn't understand why the Alliance had such an advanced ship, let alone why they would allow a foreign Spectre borrow it. Whatever her mother was being accused of, it must be extremely serious, like fate of the galaxy serious, and somehow it had seriously pissed off the Humans. "I see," she said after a long pause as she thought extensively about what the Quarian had told her. "Thank you for talking with me, Tali. It is good to know that not everyone on this ship is suspicious of me."

The Quarian's mask tilted to the side as if she was puzzled. "Why would they be suspicious of you?" she asked. "I mean, they didn't like me at first, but I think they have gotten use to me. Captain Anderson convinced even them that I would be useful in Engineering."

Liara smiled. "Then I guess, I can repay your favor of telling me about the Human crew. I'm Matriarch Benezia's daughter." She wished she could see the girl's face behind her mask, see how surprised she was, because she couldn't tell the difference in her expression. It would only make sense if she was surprised and a little afraid at this revelation, but it didn't appear as if she was.

"That does not mean that you are working with your mother," Tali said after thinking for a minute or two. "I highly doubt that Spectre Vakarian would allow you free reign on his ship if you were." Liara couldn't help but smile at how friendly and naive the girl was, even though she knew that she was likely just as friendly and naive.

"I haven't exactly been given free reign," she responded with a hesitant smile. "I believe I was just forgotten in the chaos of a volcano's explosion." She cast a small glance over at the two Humans who were still in the middle of an intense discussion, no doubt about her. The Krogan still looked bored and nearly asleep.

She could hear the sympathetic smile in Tali's voice when she spoke. "Then I guess you need an escort, and I think I'll escort you to the galley. You look as if you could use a meal." She lead Liara into the nearby elevator and pressed the button to take them up to the next level. "It won't be good food; it's mostly military rations, but it will help fill up the stomach."

Tali continued to talk during the long, slow elevator ride, and Liara let her, occasionally interjecting a "yes" or a nod. She was happy that Tali had come out of Engineering at the perfect moment; it had been a long time since she could remember enjoying a conversation so much. She had friends at the University of Thessia, of course, but most of their conversations usually devolved to arguments about Prothean ruins. It had been far too long since she had a normal conversation about life.

Tali's estimation of the food was correct. Liara eventually settled for a freeze-dried ration pack of a Human food called "macaroni and cheese", and she secretly wondered if the re-hydration machine had gotten the portions correct. It seemed a little dry still to her tastes. Tali, being a Quarian, had to settle for a tube of Turian protein paste so she tried to count her blessings.

Just as they had grabbed their food and started eating, she saw Vakarian back out of the medical bay and stare at the door furiously. She wondered what had happened in there that would cause him such displeasure for just a moment before a feeling of guilt settled like lead in her stomach. Shepard didn't look so well when they had made it onto the Normandy, and it was possible that her wounds had been too much for her to recover. Which would mean that I am responsible for her death, Liara thought. She was protecting me while I cowered.

"Spectre Vakarian," Liara called to him and moved to get up from the table, "is everything alright?" The guilt in her stomach was like a lead weight trying to keep her solidly sitting in her chair, and she found it hard to stand. She needed to know if she had caused the woman's death. Yes, Shepard was a mercenary and assassin, but that didn't mean that her death was deserved.

"Yes," the man said with a roll of his shoulders. It was a Turian sign of annoyance and aggravation, and she instantly started to calm down. She didn't think that the honorable Turian would just be annoyed if Shepard was dead. "I was just kicked out of the medical bay." He then seemed to realized that she was no longer in the cargo bay. "How did you get up here?" he asked, his eyes nothing more than narrow slits.

"No one was paying her any mind, and she looked hungry," Tali said, and Liara was surprised at just how confident she was talking in such a way to a Spectre. They had the right to kill whoever they wanted for any reason. "I didn't see any harm in showing her where the galley was; she is your Prothean expert after all." Suddenly, Liara realized just what Tali's play was in all of this. She was trying to get back at the Spectre for not telling her about the true nature of their Asari guest.

Vakarian looked at her surprised. He certainly looked as if he was genuinely surprised about Tali didn't know who Liara's mother was. "She's also Matriarch Benezia's daughter," he explained, the sneer when he said her mother's name was very evident. He was still aggravated about whatever had occurred in the med-bay, but he also seemed very surprised that she hadn't known that.

"It would have been easier to know that if someone had told me," she said echoing his frustration. "You saw me in the alley with Saren's men; you know that I'm capable of handling myself. I could help you with more than just keeping the engine running cleanly."

"I'm not taking you out in the field," he said quickly and without hesitation. "Neither you or the doctor here have any military experience. You haven't been trained to handle the horrors of combat; you both would be handicaps in any combat encounter." It seemed her freak out earlier with the Krogan had him questioning more than just her own abilities.

"We can always be trained," Liara reasoned, "and to be honest, I would like to meet the person who can stand a Krogan's charge without flinching." She was sure that no one was really dumb enough to not dodge or flinch when a Krogan was barreling at them. Perhaps she shouldn't have just cowered like she did, but only a fool would face a charging Krogan head-on.

Vakarian just leveled her with a glare. "You already did," he responded throwing a thumb over his shoulder. "She's currently being looked at by Doctor Chakwas." She wanted to slam her face in her hand with the realization of what she had just said. It also implied that she didn't appreciate Shepard's actions on her behalf, but she wasn't sure what she should say to rectify the miscommunication.

The silence in the room was deafening.

"Well, I think I'm going to go back to Engineering now," Tali said getting up from the table and taking care of her trash on her way out of the room. Who needed a charging Krogan when all she had to do was to talk? It certainly cleared a room faster, and it was less likely to end with someone dying.

"I didn't mean to imply that I didn't appreciate Shepard's actions on my behalf," she started saying, but the rest of her apology ended with a single raised hand from Vakarian.

When she started speaking, he was still standing just outside the med-bay doors, almost glaring at them, but when he cut her off, he started making his way toward her. "There's no need to apologize," he said with a sigh as he sat in the chair across from her. She could almost see the stress and worry in the slump of his shoulders. "I allowed my frustration with Shepard to unnecessarily land on you; for that, I'm sorry."

She was surprised that he had allowed her to see just how stressed and frustrated he was; she wasn't even sure if he had completely removed the possibility that she was a "possible enemy" yet. It must have taken a lot of courage to show that to her. "I can understand your frustration," she said with a smile. "Shepard can certainly be very... insistent, can't she?"

That brought a small chuckle out of him. "Insistent is certainly one way to put it. Stubborn. Irresponsible. Reckless. I take it you have crossed her path before?" he said once again turning his critical eye towards her. There was something overwhelmingly terrifying about that look, and yet, she also found it exhilarating as well. It wasn't a feeling that she had ever felt before.

She blushed a little under his scrutiny. "There was a dig on Gellix, coldest planet I have ever been to. To work the dig, we had to wear environmental suits that could only protect us from the cold for an hour at most. Just when we found something of importance, some Prothean data terminal, a Blue Suns squad moved in; I assumed they were going after the artifact so I grabbed a handful of security and blocked off access.

"We were holding the room for several days, and just as the last security officer fell, I noticed that they were no longer firing at me. I took the break in gunfire and moved to the medical center. As I was patching myself up, one of the Blue Suns came in, and I hid in one of the medical supply closets. I was so scared; I knew that he had seen me. I knew that this was going to be the end. I heard a gun shot, but I never felt the bullet.

"After several minutes, I looked out and saw the Blue Suns mercenary dead on the floor with this human woman attending her wounds. My mother, knowing Shepard had been active in the area, had sent me her picture and told me to stay away from her if at all possible so I stayed in the closest, but when she left, I followed her. She took the Prothean data terminal and left, stepping over all the bodies in her way. That was the last time I had heard from my mother, and if I hadn't, I don't know if I would have gotten off of that planet."

She had never told anyone about that incident, except for the researchers that had sent her to the site, and she hadn't told them all of the details. They didn't need to know that her mother had warned her about Shepard, nor the identity of the woman who had taken the artifact. Vakarian had just sat and listened to her story from beginning to end. There was no sympathy in his eyes, but there was no judgment either.

Suddenly, Shepard's voice came from the medical bay door. "I was paid to get the artifact, remove the Blue Suns, and save any remaining personnel. I had done my job, and I was getting out of there before my condition grew worse. I didn't have time to come back and hold your hand." She certainly looked as if she had just been through hell, but she was no longer deathly pale. Even Liara could see that she was actively holding herself to keep from further agitating her ribs.

She turned her attention to Vakarian. "I know you have a few words for me," she said looking at Vakarian. "If it doesn't matter to you, I'd rather we take it to your quarters." Whatever Shepard was feeling about this situation, it wasn't showing. She was a blank slate of neutrality other than the slightly pained expression from her ribs not being fully healed.

For a moment, he just stared at her, his expression a mixture of anger and resentment. She could see that he was still angry, but she wasn't sure if it was actually directed at the mercenary. "Sure," Vakarian responded as he got up from the table. Almost as an after thought, he turned to her. "There is a research lab behind the med-bay, Doctor T'Soni. That should allow you to continue your work while onboard, and you are welcome to sit in on the officer's and ground team's debriefing in about ten minutes. If you need anything, let me know."

She was surprised at the gesture; she hadn't known that he had decided to believe her. She was thankful that he had, though she wasn't sure that she truly believed in her mother's guilt. It just seemed so out-of-character for her mother to be involved in something that destroyed galactic peace and wrecked so many innocent lives. On the other hand, this Turian Spectre, Vakarian, seemed like a mostly level-headed, honorable guy; she couldn't see him going after her mother without cause and evidence. She just couldn't understand it. She retreated to her newly acquired lab to continue to think it over.


Ashely and Alenko were talking about everything that happened down on the planet, and she had nearly had a heart attack when he told her about his suit's malfunction. He could have died right then and there due to the heat of the planet, but Shepard had stepped in, at great personal risk. She wondered just why the woman had been willing to do that, but she dismissed the thought that the mercenary was interested in Alenko. She didn't really seem the type to have steady, normal, healthy relationships.

She was also impressed with Vakarian's commanding ability from what Alenko had told her. He had successfully lead them against legions of Geth in the Mako and another one while on foot, including a Geth Armature. He had also kept Shepard's reckless actions from successfully killing all of them and a Krogan from murdering their only lead, but he had also been able to show compassion and worry when Shepard was injured and obviously not doing well as she wanted them to believe.

She wouldn't classify herself as a xenophobic, but she was most certainly xeno-cautious. She just couldn't believe that anyone of another species would be able to put someone of her own at the same advantage as one of theirs. She knew that, if she had to chose between saving a stranger of her own or a member of another, she would probably chose her own. She really didn't think that was all that different from most humans, and she really didn't see how another species would think differently. She was just thankful that she didn't have worry about Vakarian having to make that choice.

Shepard's actions, however, confused her. The woman had taken great pains to protect both Alenko and Doctor T'Soni. Ashley knew no one that would be willing to switch environmental units and risk their own life just to insure the success of their mission and the survival of their teammates. Yes, she knew people that would jump in front of bullets for their team members, but switching out an environmental until was a slow way to go. Most would have just called in the shuttle to take the team back to the ship, tried the mission again after the problem was fixed.

Ashley didn't like how the pieces were fitting in her head. She didn't trust Shepard with Alenko. Then again, the woman had literally stood over Doctor T'Soni and rushed a Krogan to keep her safe. Perhaps her insistence for keeping everyone safe at great risk to herself was nothing more than Wrex's insistence that she was actually a good person. She seriously doubted it, but the thought kept her mind a little at ease.

"Hey!" Kaidan exclaimed as he turned around to put his weapons and armor away. "Where did Doctor T'Soni go?" To be honest up to that point, she had only been half listening to what he was saying; she had gotten the gist of it. He got louder and more animated whenever something important happened anyway.

The only way Ashley could have spun around faster as if her spin was helped by a bullet to the shoulder. "She was standing right there a moment ago," she raged. She had literally taken her eyes off the slight asari woman for a minute, and she had just disappeared. Damn it! She shouldn't have been so preoccupied with Shepard's motives; what Alenko decided to do with the red-headed assassin was none of her business, after all.

"I thought you were watching her!" Alenko exclaimed, his armor and weapons forgotten on the weapons modification table, even his beloved pistol. It was his father's, or something like that; he had used it in the First Contact War. But they had other more pressing concerns just now. They could have an Asari spy wandering the ship.

"She followed the Quarian up to the Mess Hall," Wrex said gruffly from his position at the crates. He seemed completely unconcerned that the doctor had gotten away from them, which rather annoyed her, but Ashley looked over to him and thanked him with a nod of her head. Alenko, however, just glared at the Krogan for his intrusion into their conversation.

"Why didn't you stop her?" he demanded with a glare, and even Ashley was surprised at the venom that layered his voice. Alenko was usually a easy-going and well-mannered guy, which meant that one of his migraines were starting to flare up again. His migraines had a habit of making him more irritable.

The glare that Wrex returned caused Ashley to immediately put her hand on Alenko's arm and whispered, "Easy now, Lieutenant." She hoped that reminded him of his rank would break him out of his aggression and remind him of his real self, which it seemed to do since he shuffled his feet and turned his attention away from the Krogan and to a wall.

The Krogan stopped glaring, but she could see that his muscles were still as tense as Alekno's. There was no way that the two of them were going to be civil until this conversation was finished, at the least; at the worse, they could continue to be at each other's throats until Saren was taken down. "Shepard and Vakarian didn't seemed too worried about her wondering around the ship," he answered, plainly. But she didn't believed him; he was in the conference room when Shepard had told everyone who Doctor T'Soni's mother was.

"No offense," Alenko said but his tone didn't seem to have the same intention as his words, "but Shepard was hardly in any condition to worry about a rogue Asari scientist." Though she knew that he had a point there, she really hated when he said 'no offense'; he never meant that he didn't mean to cause offense. He was just trying to appear to be a nice guy voicing an un-nice observation.

Wrex seemed to humph in annoyance and narrowed his eyes a little. He didn't seem to be mad enough to charge just yet, but his hands were forming into fists even as they were crossed across his chest. She tried to distract Alenko by squeezing his arm slightly; he really needed to back down. "If she was actually worried, she would have told me to watch her, no matter how banged up she was," the Krogan assured them, his voice layered with annoyance and anger, but he spoke with the confidence only personal history could manufacture.

For a moment, she was sure that Alenko was about to stand down. His shoulders had slumped just for a second or two as if the reminder of Shepard's wounds had placed an additional weight on his shoulders. "For being her best friend, you don't seemed all that worried about her," Alenko accused, the static electricity of primed biotics coursing through his arms though they weren't physically manifested yet. The only reason she noticed was because she didn't want to release her hold on his arm until she knew that this 'conversation' with Wrex didn't end with a fight.

"For being a man she just risked her life for, I could say the same about you," the Krogan responded, his voice just as glib and flippant as Alenko's. An uncomfortable silence filled the air. Both men were staring at each other, trying to intimidate the other into backing down and apologizing. The air was getting heavy under the weight of their aggression, and she could swear the static electricity from their biotics was causing the hairs on her arms to stand on end.

Just as she was going to say something to break it though, Alenko once again turned his attention to the nearest wall. "I know the debt I owe her," he muttered, barely loud enough for her to hear; she had no idea how Wrex was able to hear it nearly across the cargo bay like he was.

"Don't worry so much about her, kiddo," the Krogan responded, sounding more reassuring than she knew his species was capable of. His stance had loosed, and she could tell that he no longer had any intentions of attacking the Lieutenant. It was almost as if he was sympathizing with Alenko's plight. "I've seen her pull through much worse without a highly trained doctor and excellent equipment to help her through." She wondered just how banged up Shepard had gotten when she had pulled his hump out of the fire, as he had so elegantly put it earlier.

Alenko just gave Wrex a small nod of thanks and acknowledgement before walking towards the elevator once again. She was still worried about his though, especially if his migraines were flaring up again, so she quickly followed on his heels. She didn't know if he was going to check on Shepard or their new Asari crew-mate, but she didn't want to leave him alone if he was reliving the images the beacon had given him.

It was just her luck that the elevator had just been activated from the second deck when they got there, and they had to wait several minutes for whoever was occupying it to get down to their level. to her surprise, the elevator door opened to reveal the Quarian standing there. "I thought you were watching the Asari," Ashley exclaimed when she saw the woman, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Alenko jerk as well.

She didn't need to see the girl's face to see that she was just as surprised as the both of them. She had instinctively stepped back half a pace and raised her hands in defense of Ashley's demanding tone. "Spectre Vakarian was with her when I left," she explained, her hands lowering so she could twist them in nervousness. For a moment, Ashely and Alenko shared a look that clearly indicated their thoughts about their Turian commander getting too close to the young Asari woman. That was the last thing they needed.

"Thanks," Alenko said to the young Quarian, who quickly retreated back to the safety of Engineering. He turned around to put his things back into his locker, and Ashley followed him. They needed to discuss how to broach the subject to Vakarian without influencing him that the young doctor was actually rather attractive, by anyone's standards.