Chapter Eleven: Do It for Her

"I can't believe how stupid you are!" yelled the young woman in the pink headdress. The volume of her shout caused the Normandy crew to look away. Some of them snickered, seeing the quarian she was yelling at. "How could you go off on your own like that?"

"I'm sorry!" squeaked the quarian, "I just wanted to help! How was I to know they'd send Commander Shepard to rescue us?"

"Oh, you're in for it now, boy!" Crux the krogan sat by the mess hall table, roaring with laughter as if the display were a show made for him. "Somebody get me a drink!"

"Be that as it may," she snapped, "it was a reckless, stupid, and crazy thing to do!"

"I know. That's… that's why I did it!"

"Neekos'Parha, what is the matter with you?"

"After everything that happened, and with all the good you and Crux did, I figured only something completely crazy would make up for all that I did! I had to try, you all deserved to get off that planet, and be safe! And if it meant I got hurt… or whatever, then it'd be worth it!"

"Neekos…" the girl in pink sighed, her scowl melted with his words. But with a shake of her head, she raised her opened palm and slapped it against his visor. The hard smack of skin against metal caused her hand to coil back in pain. "Ow, that was so stupid! Why did I do that?"

"See? You're no better! You're as crazy and stupid as I am!" she gave him a fiery glare, and he squealed, "Er, no, I didn't mean that!"

"It is NOT the same thing," she said, massaging her hand with the other. She gave the lanky quarian a fiery grimace, but again it withdrew at the sight of him, his fingers kneading the air. "But I guess… you wanted to make up for all the stealing and help the kids. That should count for something, I guess, so…"

Ashley had been watching from a distant corner, trying to contain the growing smirk as the teenagers argued. When the girl in pink planted a kiss on the quarian's visor, causing him to squeak a victorious, "Yes!" she giggled.

"Ah, kids," she said to herself, "they're so cute and stupid."

"Come on, now, this way," Ashley turned and found Tali lugging Kal'Reegar by the arm; Shepard, Liara, and Doctor Chakwas not far behind her.

"I'm better now, Tali," he said, trying to stand on his own. His visor had been replaced and suit patched up, but he still coughed and wheezed between words. "You have… enough to worry about."

"Enough to worry about? Kal, I thought you were dead! Then we find you in the middle of nowhere and… those other marines were turned to… there were… and YOU were…!"

"Reegar," interrupted Shepard, "there were turian parts everywhere. That soldier we found, he looked like he'd been fused with some of it. I think they were going to do the same to you. If we had shown up a minute later, who knows."

"I know," said the quarian marine, "and I'm grateful. The last thing I remember was being on Palaven when a bunch of those turian things swarmed us. I got no problem giving my life so this war can end, but to be turned into one of them is…"

"Is just insulting?"

Reegar chuckled. "Exactly. So thanks for saving my sorry ass before that happened." He then spotted Ashley leaning against the wall. "And thank you, ma'am, for taking down Ixan before he hurt anyone. He was a good soldier."

"I'm sure he was," she said with a respectful smile and nod. "It was the very least I could do. You know, Tali's spoken VERY highly of you."

"Oh, has she now?" said Reegar as he turned to Tali. Ashley could swear she saw a glimmer of blush underneath her purple visor.

"Yeah. You against a whole squadron of geth with just a rocket launcher? Didn't think quarians even had that kind of… guts."

The quarian marine laughed. "You'd be surprised, ma'am."

"Yeah, I would." The soldier smirked as Tali handed Reegar over the doctor and escorted him to the med bay, studying the way his body—broad by quarian standards—shifted. When he was out of the hall, she gave Tali a playful nudge on her arm. "Hey! Not so sorry, if you ask me."

The machinist shook her head and hands about. "I, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Aww, come on, Tali. No need to be embarrassed. It's me! I'd say he's got an eight-point-eight! Good job!" Ashley looked around and saw wide, vacant faces on her. Even some nearby crew hands began to stare. She shrugged it off. "What? A nice ass is a nice ass. I don't discriminate. I don't know where you people are getting the idea I'm some human supremacist, but it's got to stop."

"Hey, Ash," Shepard chimed in, "is mine still a nine?"

"Oh, I don't know, Skipper," she answered playfully, making a squeezing motion with both hands, "it's been a while. I'll have to reevaluate."

"You know, Tali," Liara said in a singsong tone, "I just realized. Despite all the hysteria, you recognized Reegar by his face right away. Doesn't that mean…"

"Hey, yeah!" snickered Ashley, "Doesn't it?"

Tali slapped both her hands against her helmet. "Oh, Keelah, please someone just throw me out the airlock…"