(HK)

"DID YOU KILL HER? DID YOU KILL HER?" Abby screamed through the earpiece, running towards the apartment; I could hear her footsteps in the hallway. Supposedly, Shepard and Miranda were right behind her, but she was first, anxious to get in here.

I was still reeling, so I couldn't exactly respond. I stared at the dead corpse right in front of me; I didn't know what to feel. Had I done the right thing by killing her? Or did I make a grave mistake? I still felt so conflicted, despite the decision that I made just moments ago. I did it for myself, which almost felt selfish, but it wasn't. I had to do it. Someone had to go.

We both turned when we saw Abby enter. "Uhh, hi," I slowly said, still exhausted from all of this.

A split-second later Shepard and Miranda burst into the room. They had their weapons drawn and they each wore a determined look on their faces. Then they looked at me, then Abby, and the surviving asari, and then their eyes locked on the dead woman on the floor. It was a gruesome sight to behold: her body lay at an awkward angle and her neck was twisted in an unnatural way. It looked as though pure energy itself had erupted through her throat and chin, leaving the flesh torn and scarred.

"It is done," Samara said in a low, almost reverent whisper. She stared down at her daughter's limp and lifeless body for a long moment. Something between wariness and relief seemed to settle about her like an invisible cloak draping over her shoulders-her very expression seemed to whisper, "It's finally over."

Abby's eyes sharpened, and she shot me a harsh look. "Is it over?" Abby demanded.

"Yes, Morinth is dead," I assured all of them with a hard swallow. "No more lives will come to harm because of her defect, and Samara can have peace."

Killing Morinth had not been easy, and I had barely been able to come to the decision to kill her, but as I thought about what she told Shepard, I also remembered that Shepard died after Morinth soothed her with those words. It was then that I realized that, despite my growing fascination with her, the same thing would happen to me. And so I had to kill her, for myself and everyone else, including Samara.

She had called me 'heartless', and it stung slightly, after all of that time we had spent talking, after how attracted I was to her. However, as more and more seconds went by after her death, I felt her spell wearing off. And, although I could not deny the fact that Morinth did have a lot of 'sex appeal' as Samara termed it, I just felt creeped out and disturbed. That woman had played me like a puppet, and I barely resisted at all.

It showed how much actual control and resolve I had, which was disappointing.

Shepard moved towards Samara, extending a helping hand and placing it on her shoulder. "You three wait outside," she informed us. We exited obediently. I threw a last glance back at Morinth's dead body before the door closed behind us.

Abby's arms were vice-like around my shoulders. "I'm so glad you didn't die!" she squeaked. "When I heard you on the radio I thought you were going to-I thought you might have-"

"I know," I stated sadly, a frown growing on my face. I still felt so...icky from all of this. "I didn't like any of that. Well, actually, the thing that I didn't like was that I did like it. Morinth totally got me under her thumb. We're lucky that Samara came out alive."

"She had the charm on, all right," Abby stated with a frown, withdrawing from the hug. "I could hear her talking to you... Her voice made me want to come over and join you. I wanted her to feel the same way about me as she did to you. It was really, really hard for me to resist, and I wasn't even around her."

"We're just lucky you both came out of that alive," Miranda said, glancing down the hallway. She placed an unexpected gloved hand on my shoulder and nodded sharply. "You pulled it off flawlessly. That's what we train for. You've learned a lot."

"Yeah," Abby said fervently.

I blinked in shock. That was an unexpected complement. "Why...thank you, Miranda. That means a lot to me," I told her sincerely, with a nod. "I am not quite sure what to think, or what to feel right now. I think that entire thing exhausted me in ways that physical combat doesn't."

Miranda nodded. "Samara owes you one. You've gained the Justicar's undying loyalty now, you know. That would be a useful resource, considering her power. It would have been better if Shepard had been the one to secure it, however."

"Samara will still be loyal to the cause - to us!" Abby interjected. "HK didn't make a mistake about that. He did the exact right thing."

"I intended for Shepard to secure it. Our visions showed us as her being the one that did, bit circumstances changed everything," I explained with a heavy sigh, though Miranda knew this. "Once Morinth approached me, I couldn't turn her down. I was her target for the night; I highly doubted that I could say 'No' and she'd immediately turn her attention to Shepard. I had to roll with it, and now she's dead. Samara should be okay."

"Still, it was a horrible situation," Miranda remarked. "You did well, but we were wrong to bring you both in there. If you aren't seducing the Ardat-Yakshi, then Abby is putting a man into an armlock."

I would have laughed if I still wasn't so shaken up after the Morinth incident. "I don't know whether it was a good idea or not for us to go in there," I admitted with a sigh. "I...I don't know. All of this was just too crazy and weird for me."

"Too many strippers," Abby muttered. "Too. Many. Cojones."

I simply agreed with a shudder. "I don't think I want to see this place again for a long time," I muttered.

"I'm going to stick to regular old human nightclubs," Abby agreed.

"Well, I definitely don't mind all the asari and-wait," I said, something suddenly hitting me like a cold splash in the face. "Did you just say cojones?"

"Yes!" Abby said with a shudder. "It was bad. Bad, bad, bad."

"Okay then," I said hesitantly.

"Do you even know what cojones are?" Abby asked.

"Yes, Abby, I do," I replied simply, not wanting to explain what they were right here on Omega...or anywhere, for that matter.

"I think one guy had an infection," she grumbled, turning away from us with a shudder. "Either that or the thong was cutting off circulation to the important parts."

"I don't need to have those thoughts!" I snapped.

"Well too bad!" Abby shot back. "You're not the one who had to watch! It was like a bad car accident waiting to happen."

Miranda bowed her head, a small smile on her face. "I've never had much time for strippers myself," she said. "A loathesome profession, to be honest."

I nodded. "I agree, but I guess there are some who enjoy it. Male and female alike. However, not to worry; I doubt we'll run into any more on our journey to stop the Collectors."

"Good," Abby said, turning back around to look at us. "But I like whatever that dirnk was that I had. A... White Russian? I think that was the name."

Miranda sighed. "Your lucky that Shepard didn't kill you. It was a necessary cover, but that doesn't mean that you'll be drinking one any time soon."

"I think it had rum in it," Abby said.

"It probably did. But how do you know?"

"Because rum always makes me tired. Vodka doesn't, though."

"And how, exactly, do you know this?" Miranda asked with a few furious blinks.

"Whenever I get a sore throat, I would get hot tea and put vodka in it," Abby stated. "We ran out once and put rum in it, and it would put me right to sleep. Is that normal?"

"...lets get back to the Normandy," HK said.

"We're still waiting for Shepard and Samara," Abby said, who, thankfully, looked ready to let the subject go. "I wonder what they'll do with Morinth's body..."

"Cerberus could use it," Miranda chimed in. "The study of an Ardat-Yakshi would-"

"No," I suddenly interjected. "Whatever Shepard does with it, she doesn't need to give it to Cerberus."

"If Cerberus wanted to know more about the Ardat-Yakshi, they could go buy an asari medical book," Abby agreed.

"I believe it would be best to incinerate the body," Samara's soft voice chimed in, seemingly out of nowhere. Her voice was even quieter than usual; almost like a soft echo. I turned around-apparently the door to Morinth's apartment had opened quietly behind us.

I nodded. I then lowered my voice very low, so that no one would hear it and report it back to anyone connected to the Pirate Queen. "Good idea. We shouldn't let Aria's people get ahold of it, either."

Samara simply nodded. Then she walked over to the twisted, broken form of Morinth's body. She regarded it coldly for a moment, almost as though she were analysing a discolored lump in the floor. Then she smoothly bent down and scooped the dead asari up into her arms and held it, cradling it a little.

She held her head-and especially her eyes-up high, refusing to look at what she now carried. "I shall think about the time when Morinth was born... and treasure those memories," she whispered. Then she moved toward the door, matter-of-factly carrying her daughter's corpse as though it were merely a log.

(Sarah)

It wasn't long before I learned the details of how the mission went. Hey, it wasn't every day that a few people set out to attract a perverted stalker for the sole purpose of taking her down. Who wouldn't want to know the details of that? I also couldn't help but think that this would be a very juicy story for that racist reporter on the Citadel if she'd ever gotten wind of this somehow.

I heard all of the details when I shared lunch with HK and Abby a couple of hours after they got back, and I was pretty dang creeped out about the entire thing. Who would have imagined that Morinth would want HK of all people? Nevermind the fact that it spooked me that one of my friends had been made a target by her, but it was just... I couldn't really see her going after him for some reason. Abby, maybe. But... HK?

But apparently it had happened. It actually took my nerves a few moments to settle down after hearing about that. It did unnerve me... not to mention it really creeped me out.

Unfortunately we didn't have a chance to hang out for long. HK went off to take a shower, (I might want to take one too after THAT kind of experience) and Abby went off to see Jacob or Zaeed or... whatever it was she was going off to do.

So that left me alone with the responsibility of cleaning the kitchen floor and washing the dishes. Of course, washing dishes merely consisted of rinsing them off and putting them into the dishwasher.

Within a couple of hours I had everything finished in the kitchen area-I even dried off the dishes and put them away. Then I spent the next fifteen minutes doing a thorough job of sweeping up the floor around the tables and chairs-apparently there had been a few messy eaters in there this time-and I had to scrub one area to get something up off the floor. I don't know what it was, but it looked like somebody had spilled something down there.

Then again, we were in orbit around Omega. Who knew what kind of things people could buy down there? Plus I had heard mention that we were staying in orbit for a little while in order to pick up supplies. I really didn't care much though what was going on... unless it effected my work. It wasn't like I would ever set foot off this ship again, after all.

Then of course I needed to clean the bathrooms-that wasn't so bad though, because they were mostly clean anyway-and then I needed to clean the medical bay. For the most part it wasn't too bad either, but I did have to dust and mop.

And by the time I'd finished cleaning all of the areas I needed to clean, it was almost time to start cooking the third course of the day. I began by scrubbing my hands thoroughly, and then I began to cook the assortment of foodstuffs that Rupert had left out for me.

During all of this, I felt as though everything was going by very slowly. When you got right down to it, I really didn't want to be here right now. I just didn't feel like doing any work. I wanted to be back in "my" room sitting on the edge of my bed and listening to music. I didn't want to be out here around people.

But the evening went by as it always did, with everyone eating and chatting at the tables, with me cooking food and serving it, and then having to collect all of the dishes and wash them all over again after they were all done. At least the floors weren't quite as messy this time in the mess area.

When I was finally done with the cleaning, I simply plopped down in a chair at one of the tables that was out of sight. It was one of the ones in a position where you had to walk into the mess hall and be looking right at it in order to see it. I just felt moody and like I didn't want to see or talk to anyone. I hadn't even made any form of eye-contact during dinner. I felt like I simply wanted to avoid people and just get through the day. Then I could go listen to music for a while and then crash in bed...

...Just for the sole purpose of getting up again tomorrow and doing it all over again, I supposed. I sighed heavily and rested my head on the table, wrapping my arms around them.

Well if nothing else... Thank GOD HK had survived his encounter with Morinth. Frankly, what happened on Illium was enough. I didn't think that he or Abby would be threatened quite like that again in any way. I definitely owed Shepard and Samara a lot.

"Surprise."

I just about jumped out of my skin. I twisted around, a squeak of surprise building in my throat, just to see Kasumi standing there next to the refrigerator, arms crossed. Her lips were curved in an amused smile.

I stared at her for a long moment. I wondered what she was doing here. "Uh... hi," I said a bit blankly, although some of my sour mood began to fade. At least she was talking to me, apparently.

"Don't worry about getting in trouble," Kasumi said. "Shepard and I talked. I want to see if I can fix things."

I slowly rose from my seat and slowly walked toward her. I stopped about four feet from her-then I moved and leaned against the counter, resting one elbow on the edge of it. "Yeah um... I'd like to do that, too," I finally said.

"So the way I'd like to say this," Kasumi said, "is that... I get it. I forgive you. You did a crazy thing, you had no respect for us at all, and you're getting your punishment for it. You deserve it. But you don't deserve me holding a grudge over it."

In a way I couldn't believe it. I'd almost completely resigned to the fact that she wasn't going to talk to me, now she wasn't just talking to me-she said she forgived me. "Thanks," I blurted, before my throat could completely close up from shock and relief.

Kasumi almost looked disappointed. Her mouth opened, then closed. "Good," she said, turning around and opening the refrigerator. "I would appreciate it if you stayed out of my room, though," she added almost as an afterthought. "I don't stay secluded in there all of the time, so no worries about not being able to talk if you need it."

I cleared my throat, trying to get my voice to work again. I just felt awkward in these kinds of situations at times. "No problem," I said quickly. "And um... can we talk for a few minutes? At one of the tables, please?" I looked at her earnestly. I knew I had to say something if I didn't want her to simply walk away again.

"Sure, that's why I'm here, after all," she said with a kind smile.

"Okay," I smiled in return. "Can we sit over here?" I asked, already moving toward the slightly secluded seat I'd been in a few moments ago.

Kasumi shrugged and led the way, taking a seat in the corner that would give her the best overall view of the mess hall. "Okay," she said, placing both elbows on the table. "How are you?"

I actually chuckled a little. "Been better, been worse," I murmured. Then I clarified, "Well... it sucks being stuck on this deck and knowing I won't be able to go anywhere off the Normandy anytime soon, but... I guess I made my bed and so I have to sleep in it." I ran a hand through my blue hair... and for the first time since I'd gotten it dyed, I actually felt a little silly and self-conscious with it. "How're you?" I asked.

"Doing good," she said. "Shepard's been very good to me, and so has the rest of the crew."

"Yeah, Shepard is awesome," I agreed with a nod. "Though I think I've pissed her off pretty good... more than once." I narrowed my eyes thoughtfully. "Part of me doesn't get why she doesn't just throw me off the ship... or lock me up altogether, so to speak. But she just keeps me confined to this deck."

"Well, I think it'd be pretty obvious," Kasumi stated matter-of-factly. "You already know why."

"Heh yeah, because I know so much." Why was I beginning to re-hash this, anyway? I'd already been over this with HK and Abby. Perhaps in some ways, well... I just had this flaw or weakness where I wanted attention. Maybe that was one of my main problems, and something I really needed to work on.

I sighed softly and placed my hands on the table in front of me. "Well, I've made a promise not to do anything stupid or crazy until all of this is over," I told her sincerely. "I'm just going to stick with my chores and such. And hopefully come out of all this alive."

"If you know so much, it should be a no-brainer," Kasumi said offhandidly. "My advice is: stop worrying about living or dying on this thing. Extend the first bits of trust to us, your team, and we might begin to do the same for you again. We all know we're probably going to die, and quite frankly I'm expecting to lose people. I'm not expecting to make it out alive, either."

"Yeah, and I know everybody knows it's probably going to be a one way trip," I said. "But the fact is, I know that there is a definite chance all of you can survive. It's just... myself, HK and Abby I don't know about. But I'd say HK and Abby have a better chance than I do."

"I don't know," Kasumi said. "From what I've observed it seems pretty straightforward. They don't know if they'll die or not on ground missions, right?" I nodded. "Then if they stick to Shepard, they'll be okay. And you should stick close to somebody you know will survive, and then you'll have a better chance."

"Joker," I murmured aloud in spite of myself. I hadn't meant to say it aloud; I simply did. Once again, I was thinking ahead to a specific attack.

"So stay close to Joker," Kasumi reasoned. "It's not exactly rocket science, Sarah," she said kindly, as if realizing that her previous words may have been slightly cold. "And if you dwell on it all the time you'll only be depressed."

"Yeah," I said with a nod. Then I leaned forward a little, looking at her. "So... can you tell me something?" I asked. "You notice more about the crew than anybody else. What do they think of me, and what are they saying?" I grinned a little.

Kasumi pursed her lips into a thin line. "Why so curious?"

I leaned back a bit and shrugged casually. At least I hoped it looked casual. It might have looked non-so-casual somehow, though. "Just wondering... it's just something I'm always curious about," I answered truthfully.

"Why?" she asked curiously.

"Just curious about the thoughts and opinions of others, is all," I said, still smiling-though my smile was starting to feel more sheepish than anything.

"Worrying about what other people think isn't the best way to go through life, you know," she said lightly. "Everybody does, once in a while, but it's best to just go your own way. The thoughts and opinions of others shouldn't shape your life-unless they're people you want to allow. Parents, family, best friends, those are the people whose thoughts matter. Everybody else? They don't. You have to build up some confidence for yourself."

I just looked at her for a long moment, considering her words. Finally I said, "Yeah, I guess." I paused for a moment, then decided to change the subject altogether. "So what have you been doing for fun?"

"Everything," she said with a grin. "Jacob's been helping me out a lot with the finer aspects of ranged weapons, I've been talking to Kelly on her down time, Mordin sometimes, too. I go downstairs to help Tali sometimes. She's teaching Thane and I about shield overlays in case something goes wrong and she's not there."

"That sounds awesome," I replied, feeling a little envious once again that everyone else could go everywhere they want on the ship. "Just curious... do you think Shepard will ever lift my ban?" I asked on impulse.

Kasumi sighed. "Honestly? I don't know. You deserved it, there's no question of it, and since we've gotten back you've made it worse by mouthing off to us in the office, then to Shepard just the other day. So... I'd say, don't expect anything. She's a military commander, not a kindergarten teacher. I know it sounds harsh, but that's how she is."

Right then for some reason-maybe it was because her words had a ring of truth that hit me in an odd way, or because there was just something overly amusing about comparing Shepard to a kindergarten teacher, but... I cracked up, right there and then. I turned my face away, trying to conceal and contain my giggles without much luck.

"What's so funny?" Kasumi asked warily. I must have looked like a mental patient to her.

I managed to get enough control of myself to blurt out between breathless pants, "Just... the thought of... Shepard... being a schoolteacher... and the Normandy... full of children!" I laughed again.

"That's what it probably feels like sometimes," Kasumi muttered, still watching me suspisciously. "Nobody's really making it easy on her."

I quickly sobered and leaned forward on my elbows. "Yeah and I know I haven't been giving her-or anybody-an easy time. I've been kinda... self-absorbed, I guess." I looked at her seriously. "I came here-I mean, when I first showed up here and HK and Abby, we actually wished that we were here, and then we did get here. And um..." I shook head my head. "Nevermind, you'd probably think what I'm thinking is stupid." I couldn't exactly tell her that all of this was just a game where I came from, could I?

Kasumi must have learned from Commander Shepard-she was silent, and I could've sworn she was giving me the Shepard Eyebrow.

"Never mind," I finally said with a shake of my head. Then I decided to change the subject-and I said the first thing I could think of quickly. "So uh... what do you think?" I ran my fingers through my hair, indicating the blue color.

"It's certainly vivid enough," Kasumi stated. "Why blue?"

"Because it's... probably the weirdest color out there," I said with a shrug. "Next to green or something, I guess."

"So you wanted something to symbolize you being weird?" she guessed.

I snorted a little. "Read it that way if you want, but I was trying to symbolize a... change."

"What kind of change?" she asked curiously.

"That I'm going to at least try to accept the way things are and not cause as much trouble," I replied with a small shrug. Somehow I felt almost... irritated that I had to spell it all out like that, but then again I kept forgetting that Kasumi was observant but she was no mind-reader. She determined some things by the way people said them, most likely.

Kasumi chuckled. "Well, that's a start," she said. "A good one."

"I guess I'm sorta having second thoughts about it being blue, though," I muttered. "But I guess it's too late now, right?"

"No," Kasumi said. "You used Kelly's stash, right? The only reason she even brought those is because Shepard might have to go undercover. If you wash it with the dye remover, everything will go back to normal. Until then... it'll be blue until the day you die."

I blinked several times. "You're kidding," I blurted. "I thought that the blue hairs would just shed like normal hair does and then brown hairs would grow back."

"That's so outdated," Kasumi said with a laugh. "You have to be kidding."

I stared at her in shock. "Uh... b-but where I come from..." I shook my head furiously. "You mean this is PERMANENT?" I touched my hair and flinched slightly at the thought. I was going to-but how did that even WORK?

"Yes..." Kasumi said with a frown. "Wait a moment, did you even read the bottle?"

"No I didn't, I just assumed..." I shook head again, trying to absorb this information and figure out what to do with it. "I don't get it!"

"When you want it to wash out, you remove it by washing it with the conditioner Kelly has," Kasumi said gently. "It's for undercover missions. Shepard could go underground for a year with green hair and come back as green as ever. If you don't like it, you can remove it whenever you can."

"Yeah well... I'll definitely think about that," I replied dully, still feeling stunned. "Just... wow, I had no idea such a thing even existed!" Just then, a sudden thought struck me.

"Hey..." I said curiously. "What color is your hair?"

Kasumi raised a hand to touch the brim of her hood. I hoped for a moment that she would reveal her entire face for the first time, but she lowered the hand just as quickly. "It's... dark," she said. "The only people who probably know now are Keiji and EDI. And since Keiji is dead..."

I squinted slightly, thinking back to a youtube video I'd seen back home. There was actually a video that showed Kasumi with her hood down. It was actually from a game mod or something, I think... that someone had made before the Stolen Memory DLC had been made ready for purchase/download. It made it clear that Kasumi was in the game regardless, in a way.

"I think... you have short black hair," I said, focusing on the memory for a moment. "Like... it's kept short-perhaps shorter than mine-and brushed back."

Kasumi laughed. "Nice try. I plead the Fifth, Counselor."

I grinned. "That's still not denying it!" I accused.

Kasumi snorted. "It's not," she assured me.

I leaned back in my seat and sighed a little. It was nice to be talking to Kasumi again, and to know she wasn't mad anymore. At least one thing was definitely going better. I also chose to forget about my... blue hair for the moment; I could always talk to Kelly about that later. And since I was the one who'd insisted on making it blue in the first place, I had to live with it for the moment.

I thought briefly of the Collectors, then decided to shove that thought aside, too. Seriously... if I kept dwelling on it or worrying about it... I would miss out on renewing-and possibly deepening-a perfectly good friendship. Instead I decided to think ahead a bit.

And then I thought of something really random.

"Hey," I said, "suppose we all do survive this. Like... we blow up the Collectors and then return with nothing more than a few burn marks on the Normandy's hull. Do you think Shepard will let me off this deck... maybe even off the ship?" I chuckled.

"Not on any important planets," Kasumi said, "and definitely nowhere with krogan."

"That was pretty stupid, wasn't it?" I muttered, thinking back to Tuchunka. "I'm... not sure what I was thinking, to be honest." Hey I figured... we probably did need to talk about it a little, just to make sure we had it behind us.

"You wanted to make a difference in the exact wrong way," Kasumi said. "Either that, or you just wanted to die... or secretly hope that Shepard would save you."

"Yeah well... I won't do that again, definitely," I said earnestly. "And... I'm sorry again for... you know. Pointing a gun at you."

"I know," Kasumi said dryly. "That was probably the dumbest thing you did out there."

"Well at least now I don't feel quite so bad about what happened during my first week here with Shepard and the crew," I said with a forced chuckle. "Shepard actually took me out on a mission that first time she set out with one of us. And... I went into Afterlife with her-because Shepard needed to talk to Aria-and I drank some ryncol. Left me sick for a few days, I think."

Kasumi blinked. "You do have a death wish."

"I just... like to take risks sometimes and see what happens," I said off-handedly. "I still remember when I slapped Jack because I was... well, trying to get out of going somewhere. She knocked me out."

"Trying to get out of saving your two friends," Kasumi said. Her voice held a hint of disgust... or was I imagining it? "I heard."

"Oh yeah. Um, yeah." I swallowed, suddenly unsure if that was really the best thing to bring up. "I could explain, but um... well I'm not sure you'd understand." I was also thinking she might think it was just an excuse, but I didn't say that aloud.

"I may." Her tone said that she understood a lot of different, more diverse things than a janitor's issues.

I decided to simply tell her what I had told Thane, back on that shuttle when I left the Citadel with him. I mentioned how I had never fit in very well... except as a janitor. Of course I left out the part about how I could get captured by Collectors, because I could not warn anyone of the Normandy being boarded later on. But I did make a vague reference to it, like I sometimes did around anyone other than Abby or HK. I mentioned how it was easy to take everything for granted... HK and Abby ALWAYS came back from the missions. But I was the one who couldn't fight or defend myself. I mentioned that I was able to convince Shepard to take me on just ONE final mission... Haestrom, and it nearly killed me.

"I never told anybody," I whispered. "But what happened there haunted my dreams for several nights... I never mentioned it and even tried not to think about it. It seemed like... I was-am-the most fragile thing on the ship. I was useless on a mission and I also knew that when I finally do encounter the Collectors... I might get captured or die."

I paused for breath. Kasumi was listening intently, I could tell-and she never took her eyes off me. I took a couple deep breaths, then continued.

"Like I said, Haestrom was a nightmare for me. I tried to... focus on other things to keep from thinking about it, even if it meant dwelling on the fact that I might get captured by Collectors or die elsewhere. I actually managed to forget that it happened, but this other crap I had filled my mind with lingered because I'd dwelled on it for so long, I guess." I let out a breathless, humorless chuckle. "HK and Abby actually told me recently that a lot of this crap that happened might have been avoided if I'd talked to them more instead of just... bottling it up.

"But anyway," I went on, "I just... um, I guess I got so... pre-occupied with the thought of dying. I don't know, maybe obsessing over the idea of becoming a good fighter like Shepard gave me something to focus on so I could shove aside all the other crap that I just didn't know how to deal with. But then I started to LIVE it. I think that's what happened on Tuchunka, when I... pulled that stunt."

I felt my voice catch in my throat. I knew I was getting a little off-track. I wanted to explain everything to her so she would understand, but I also wanted to explain my actions when I... well, didn't help HK and Abby as much as I should have.

"So yeah, back at Illium... I tried to get out of helping. Because Shepard wanted to drag me off the ship and put me on another mission. And then she wanted me to sit on the bridge and watch through her eyes as she and the others went to rescue Abby and HK. I was trying to keep what happened on Haestrom OUT of my mind. But she wanted me to sit there and watch through her eyes as she was fired upon and fired back at enemies. I... didn't want to relive that, not again."

A soft gasp escaped my throat-or maybe it was a gentle sob, I wasn't sure. I felt embarrassed by the noise and I felt even more embarrassed when I realized how close to tears I was. Not to mention how... emotionally drained all of this left me. In a way I'd just told Kasumi more than I had told HK and Abby, and more than I had told Thane. I was... sort of getting all of it-or most of it, at least-out.

Then again... somehow it was always easier to talk to HK and Abby when we just talked on msn, back when we lived normal, everyday lives. I missed those days... things were so damn different now. We didn't have the luxury of simply sitting down at our computers with a snack or some music and simply goof around in msn convos, co-writing stories or talking about everyday things. Right now, Abby and HK were a couple of fighters and advisors in a war, and I was the janitor as well as a fellow "psychic".

"Ugh I miss the normal days," I muttered. Why not? Might as well keep going while I was getting it out. "You know, me, HK and Abby used to just... talk, live normal average lives, and goof around. I think something big changed when we ended up here. Something I wasn't expecting or ready for. I think... our friendship changed, too. I wasn't sure how to talk to them anymore in some ways. They seemed like different people and I just seemed different, too. Our whole lives are different, now."

I swiped my eyes with my sleeve. DAMN IT, I did not want to tear up in front of her. I didn't like to tear up in front of anyone. "I probably sound pathetic," I finished. I half-rose, sniffled a little and trying to blink back the moisture I felt in my eyes. I thought about simply slipping back to "my" room.

"I think I can understand," Kasumi said when it became clear I wasn't-couldn't-say any more.

I'd managed to get ahold of myself a little more. But I wasn't entirely sure what to say. I just looked at her in silence, feeling... grateful. I was glad she understood where I was coming from, or at least seemed to.

"Sarah," Kasumi said leaning forward, "you're not going to die."

"How do you know?" The question escaped my lips before I could stop it.

"Well you're not stupid!" Kasumi said with a laugh. "You know what's going to happen. I don't have that luxury!"

"Well... yeah," I said lightly. I couldn't say this out loud, but that was actually the problem in some ways. That I knew so much, yet didn't know-

Oh geez. It was starting to get really old, rehashing that over and over again in my mind. And like I'd already told Kasumi, that was a big reason why a lot of this... trouble, so to speak, had happened.

"Maybe after all this is over I should see a therapist or something," I muttered out loud. I meant it as a joke... well, sorta.

"If that'd make you feel better," Kasumi said. "I could refer you to that asari I told you about." But her tone said she was joking.

"Oh God," I laughed. "Just... please tell me that that's not the asari Consort on the Citadel." I sure as hell hoped it was not the same person.

"The Consort is still on the Citadel the last time I heard, I hear it all" she said. "This woman is on Omega... recently she got on article in Fornax, talking about her interesting... job."

"Oh I see," I said with a little nod. Of course I'd forgotten that the woman Kasumi had mentioned was on Omega, not the Citadel. "Have you ever seen the Consort?" I asked curiously.

"She's a very unique person," Kasumi confirmed.

"Wow," I gushed softly in spite of myself. "I know Shepard's met her, too. I believe she even helped her out, and then the Consort gave her a gift of words."

"And a trinket to unlock Prothean ruins on an uncharted world," Kasumi finished. "Shepard told me."

I blinked. Somehow... I never knew that. Come to think of it I believe HK and Abby mentioned that to me, but... I didn't realize that it was THAT trinket they were talking about, when they mentioned some Prothean ruins being unlocked. "Wow, so THAT'S what that trinket was for," I murmured.

"The ruins never really unlocked," Kasumi said. "Apparently they just gave off some strange vision or something. Different from the one on Eden Prime and Virmire."

"What kind of vision?" I asked curiously.

"She never told me," Kasumi said wistfully. "I don't believe she's told anyone except Kaidan and Ashley, actually. They were with her."

"Oh," I said, disappointed. I sat there silently for a moment, then I decided to change the subject. "So uh... what kind of music do you like?"

"Everything," she said happily. "Well, everything but salarian jazz." She gave a playful shudder.

"Hey I never even thought about what kinds of music other species' make," I said thoughtfully. "I have a CD player that keeps me amused by my bed, but all of that is Earth music." I sighed thoughtfully. "I'd love to hear some turian music... or even some krogan music," I laughed. "But hey, have you ever listened to Lady Gaga?"

"Heck yes! Who hasn't?" she asked. "I liked the music video for Telephone. I thought it was cute."

"What do you think of Bad Romance?" I couldn't help but ask. "That's the one that I first heard from Lady Gaga."

"She had issues," Kasumi stated truthfully.

"Yeah I guess she did," I chuckled. "You know... I wonder if her videos could be compared to Vaenia at all." I just couldn't resist asking. "Not that I've ever seen Vaenia," I added quickly.

"Neither have I, actually," Kasumi said. "Heard it was a hit, though. But I'm determined to get Grunt to watch The Lion King before everything goes down." She laughed.

"Oh... my... gosh," I breathed, amused at the thought. "I'd love to see how that goes." I grinned. "You know, I almost wonder if it might be fun to have some sort of movie night-or even a few movie nights, somehow, before we go after the Collectors. That might be fun and it might help take people's minds off things." I thought back to some Star Trek: Enterprise episodes I'd watched where the crew actually did have movie nights, even a lounge set up as a theater. Although I knew the Normandy didn't have anything like that. But perhaps something could be set up...

"There's an idea," she agreed. "Maybe we could tlak to Shepard about it. I have a collection of vids."

I grinned. "When do you think would be a good time to talk to her about it?" I asked. I was liking the idea more and more.

"I'll mention it to her next time I see her," Kasumi promised. "I like this idea. It'll do wonders for moral, too."

"Definitely," I agreed. "Hey, have you seen Alpha and Omega?"

"No," Kasumi said with a frown. "Is that an action movie?"

"Um... well I've never seen it or anything, but it's about some wolves," I said. "I guess there's these two main characters who are from opposite sides of the social class, and they fall in love."

"Animated," Kasumi guessed. "And... let me see... Disney, right? If it's mushy, it's Disney. Talking animals, it's Disney."

"Yeah pretty much," I said with a nod. "So how many Disney classics have you seen?" I wondered aloud.

"Not many. I like the older ones better, but around 2008 they began to get really boring," Kasumi said wryly. "You?"

"I've seen all of the old classics," I replied. "Bambi, Snow White, Cinderella, Fox and the Hound, Robin Hood, you name it." I frowned slightly. "In some ways I don't like some of those movie anymore, though. Like Cinderella and Snow White especially."

"I liked the Lion King," Kasumi mused. "That's always been my favorite one."

"What did you think of the sequel?"

"Didn't see it," she said with a light laugh. "I didn't really have time for movies, though I've seen some of the classics. Star Wars was a great series - ever hear of it?"

"Oh man," I grinned. "In a way you could say it's because of Star Wars that I met Abby and HK in the first place."

"Really?" she asked, curious. "How so?"

"Well, first of all... did you know that there were games in the Star Wars franchise too?"

"Knights of the Old Republic," Kasumi said with a nod. "Blame Keiji, he was such a Star Wars nerd. Apparently Knights was one of the first Star Wars RPGs out there... not that I have been indoctrinated by him at all. I haven't! I just pick these things up."

"Yeah, that game was the one that we all played," I said with a nod. "Then we met at this forum that was devoted to talking about it and writing fanfiction for it. Sometimes we would waste hours and hours doing stuff at that website, even staying up until 4:00 in the morning." I shook my head slightly at the memory. It seemed like we had way too much free time on our hands back then... and no lives.

Kasumi opened her mouth to say something, but her omni-tool beeped. Holding up one finger, she accessed it and read whatever had alerted her. "Sorry," she said, closing it down. "Just an update on the flight plan." She stretched back nonchalantly. "Okay, so obviously you guys aren't stupid enough to have your names on the internet. So did you have strange usernames or something?"

"Oh yeah," I said with a chuckle. I figured there was no harm in sharing. "Abby was Starwars Chick, ArenKae, ForceFlow... HK was... well, HK47FAN, which is why he goes by 'HK' around us. The nickname stuck. And I was Walruseater-though I later had my name changed to Crystal001."

"Walruseater?" Kasumi echoed. "What made you think of that name?"

Now I laughed. I'd been asked that question before. "It's kind of silly," I admitted. "That was one of the very first usernames I ever came up with. When it came time for me to choose a username, for some reason my mind thought back to this book summary I'd read somewhere, where someone was describing the violent content in a book. I don't even remember the name of the book now, but one of the parts in the review said that the book went into great detail about how a couple of people ate a walrus, picking out the eyes and everything. So I just randomly typed, 'Walruseater'." It had been so long since I'd gone by that name, or explained the name, it felt funny to tell the story again.

Kasumi laughed pleasantly. "Nice," she approved. "Seems kind of gross, though. It's crazy to think of what people write sometimes."

Abby came around the corner and reached for some food in the refrigerator. She glanced back, saw us sitting there, and paused in the act of opening a can of a fizzy orange drink she'd taken a liking to early on. Kasumi waved cheerfully and Abby, her brow furrowed with concern, returned the wave and brought the drink to her lips. I hoped that she wouldn't come over here. I kind of liked having Kasumi to myself now, to be honest. This was the first time I'd talked to her since... well, outside Doctor Chakwas' room.

Abby didn't come over, instead raising her drink to us in a kind of salute and left back the way she came, a very confused look on her face.

Kasumi chuckled.

"I still can't believe Morinth chose HK," I murmured as an afterthought after Abby left. "I mean... that's just gross and unnerving. In our visions," I added quickly by way of explanation, "we saw Shepard being the one who got hit on by her. And you know, Shepard is a grown woman. It's just creepy that she chose one of my friends."

"Shepard's disturbed," Kasumi said quietly. "She was worried. She doesn't show it, but I sincerely think that if Samara hadn't called her off she would have rescued HK early on and allowed Morinth to escape... You guys really have her wrapped around your fingers. That was closer than even HK knows."

"No kidding," I shuddered. "And you know... I really love Shepard, too. She's definitely like the crew's mother... sorta like Captain Janeway of the Starship Voyager." I grinned, wondering if Kasumi had ever watched that show or heard of it.

"Shepard looks out for us," Kasumi agreed. "She's a solid woman. A good friend." Her lips twisted in a grin. "A moral compass."

When she mentioned a "moral compass" that made me think of something in spite of myself. "Hey Kasumi," I murmured, leaning forward a little, "tell me something... do you believe there could be such a thing as a mirror universe?" I had seen the concept in several episodes of Star Trek-basically an alternate universe existed where everyone was the opposite. So that good people were bad, and bad people were good. I figured... if the Mass Effect universe really existed, maybe a "mirror universe" version of it also existed.

I had to make sure she knew what I was talking about, though. "You know, sort of an... alternate reality, that exists in an alternate universe." I just had to tell her something. But I needed to be careful and do it in a way that didn't just scream, "Oh, all of this is a game where I come from!"

"Not particulary," Kasumi said with a shrug. "I believe that we're a pretty small galaxy compared to some others out there. There are things that we can see, we can't see, the whole thing. But I'm just a sneaky person, not a particulary educated one. You'd probably want to ask Mordin, he's the resident genius."

"Yeah he definitely is," I agreed. "But well... what if I told you-" I leaned forward just a little more, planting my elbows on the table and lowered my head a little, then I began to whisper-heavily implying that this was something she NEEDED to keep secret. "In our visions... we've seen a kind of alternate reality like this, where Shepard is... different?" I stared at her, wondering if she was curious or intrigued. I was dying for her to ask me about it.

"Different?" Kasumi asked. "Oh, this sounds fun."

"Yeah," I said, then I had to remind myself to keep my voice down. "Can you imagine a very different Shepard, one who does whatever she needs to do to get the job done even if people get hurt? Even if they die? Someone who let the Citadel Council die instead of saving them, who killed Wrex on Virmire, and treated her entire crew like they were just things under her command to be bossed around?"

"That's not very nice," Kasumi said. "Glad it turned out the other way. It's like one of those choices Shepard makes that decides the rest of your visions, right?"

"Yep," I replied with a nod. "Trust me... she could be a real jerk to everyone if she chose to, here. And she could still get the job done, defintiely, but... she would rule by fear and intimidation, not... charm and diplomacy." I actually shuddered as I really thought about it. "If she was like her bad version... I probably would have been thrown off the ship and given to the Illusive Man a long time ago." The thought actually scared me a little.

"It's good she's not," Kasumi said. "Though I could see if happen a different way... she'd probably just keep the three of you locked up. If she still got the job done, then she would still need you."

"Yeah," I said. "Hey," I said, leaning back a bit in my seat but still keeping my elbows propped on the table, "can I ask a favor?"

"That depends on the favor," she said lightly.

"Well... first I want to say thanks for listening to me and whatnot," I began. "I think I feel a lot better now. And... I do want to try and think positive and hope for the best. But just in case something does happen to me in the end... I was wondering if you could promise to just... remember me? Please?" That sounded so silly, but it felt important somehow.

"I don't think any of us could forget you," Kasumi said gently. "And you're not going to die."

I chuckled. "Let's just keep that positive thought in mind," I said. I still had some doubts or skeptisim, but I chose to push it away for once. It was easier to do so now. "But hey, also..." I sighed. "I noticed Tali and Garrus... really seem to like each other." Hey, it was a good idea to get all feelings out in the open while I could, right? It was probably a good chance to clean out the closet, so to speak.

"You're asking more in a romantic sort of way, aren't you?" Kasumi guessed. "Yeah, I thought so... But I doubt it. Garrus and Tali are just good friends. They're both what's left of the old crew. Everybody else just went off in their seperate directions, but Tali and Garrus both tried to keep the crew together."

"Yeah, without Shepard... I doubt there was much to keep everyone together," I murmured. "But you know, on the subject of Garrus and Tali... I almost wish they would try it."

"A lot of people on the ship would be happy to see them together," Kasumi said.

"That's nice," I smiled humorlessly. "I guess it's just... I want them to get together because then I'll be able to accept that Garrus would never be interested in me like that, you know? If he's with someone else, I can let it go. It'll hurt, but I'll get over it. But while he's not seeing anyone... part of me keeps hoping, I can't help it."

"I can't force him to be with anybody," she reproached softly. "Besides... I'm pretty sure he's got his eyes on the Commander; he's got competition to worry about, though."

In spite of myself I laughed. "Is it just me or do a lot of people have their eyes on the Commander? Jacob, Garrus, Thane... Kelly." I almost rolled my eyes at that last name.

"Kelly's... Kelly," Kasumi answered. "But she understands that it wouldn't happen."

"Yeah," I said. "Though... I kinda think that Shepard still has a thing for Kaiden. I might be wrong though, of course. And um... of course that is her business."

"Too true," Kasumi agreed. "Shepard is her own woman, and she gives everything she does a pretty good comittment."

"Heh yeah. And this may seem silly, but... sometimes it's almost too easy to forget that, I guess. Like... maybe that's a problem with our, erm, 'visions'. It's almost too easy to think-at least for me-that it would be such a simple thing to try and take control somehow, you know?"

"I'd like to think I... kind of understand, but I honestly don't," she said with a laugh. "But knowing what you do is kind of normal for what the Commander would usually know. Sometimes it's too easy to slip into the take-charge role."

"Yeah," I acknowledged. I found that I couldn't say anymore though, not without this conversation turning weird. I couldn't simply say, "Oh, this has been a weird experience because in our so-called 'visions', we actually controlled Shepard directly." Nope, that would simply not work here.

"By the way, I know you really like Jacob," I said teasingly. "I even know you wrote a poem about him and how perfect he is." I grinned. "Have you watched him in the shower at all?" Oh God did I REALLY just say that? Then again... considering some of the pictures I'd seen her take of Garrus, I wouldn't put it past her.

"Oh, no!" Kasumi cried, ducking her face into her hands. "Don't say that too loud!"

I sat back in my seat, suddenly feeling embarrassed. I really didn't mean to put her on the spot or spit out something private. Maybe I just felt like, well... since we had talked about Garrus in her room once, and she had agreed to take pictures back on that day, maybe this would be like an okay-subject. Then again, when I put myself in her shoes... well, I would have been thoroughly embarrassed if, say, she had gone out of her way to point out that I liked Garrus and that I'd done something goofy because of it.

"I'm sorry," I said blurted out quickly. "I promise I won't tell anybody. And I'm really sorry I didn't mean to embarrass you. I probably shouldn't have said that."

"I didn't even save the haiku to my hard-drive," she moaned. "How could your visions tell you that?"

"Uhhhh..." I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly. "I'm not sure how to explain that."

"Just remember, I still have the pictures you asked me to take," she threatened. "Don't tell Jacob I won't tell Garrus. Deal?"

I blinked a little, and I wasn't sure but I think I paled a little at the thought of Garrus knowing. Oh yes, perfect blackmail. "I promise," I said. "And well... don't worry. I've already been blackmailed by Abby." I winced.

"I kind of figured she'd do something with that information after Tuchanka," Kasumi said wryly. "Just be glad that the Commander didn't find it that day."

"Yeah... I wouldn't have wanted you to get into trouble or anything, too," I said honestly. "Honestly I'm sorry I ever asked you to do that in some ways, but..." I grinned mischievously. "I guess it was worth it." I put a hand over my mouth, trying to curb the stupid grin.

"It was fun sneaking around with an actual purpose," she agreed with a light chuckle.

"So I guess I'd better be a good girl from now on, definitely," I said. "Abby said she'd show the pictures to Shepard if I did anything stupid again. And right now, if this got out... I'm not sure who I'd fear the most." I certainly didn't want Kasumi mad at me again, but... there were worse individuals to deal with than her. I'd probably die of humiliation if Garrus ever found out... and I didn't even want to imagine what would happen if Miranda and Shepard caught wind of it.

"I'd say Garrus," Kasumi said wryly. "No I take that back - I'd be afraid of Shepard. She may not think of Garrus in the same way he thinks of her, but she still has a soft spot for him. But none of the pictures I sent were actually... well, porn! They were just teaser images."

"Haha yeah," I laughed. "You know... Garrus is kind of like a big teddy bear. He's good in a fight, but... there's something about him that just makes you want to hug him."

Just then I noticed Rupert coming into the mess hall. He glanced in my direction and then called out to me. "Hey Sarah, I need your help with something."

I glanced at Kasumi. "Well, duty calls," I said to her. "But hey, thanks for talking, I've really enjoyed this."

I saw her smile. "I've enjoyed it too," she told me as we both stood up. Then she lowered her tone and stepped toward me. "Just remember what I said," she added, most likely referring to our "deal" about me not telling Jacob anything.

I nodded. "Yep," I said, and then I went off to join Rupert. I was then very busy for the next few hours, but I had to admit... it felt as though a great big weight had been removed from my shoulders somehow. I felt... more content, and more at peace with everything. I hoped that the feeling would last.

And I was looking forward to seeing Kasumi again sometime.

(HK)

"Tell me you want me. Tell me you'd do anything for me," Morinth ordered in a seductive, sweet tone. We sat on her couch, and she was right up against me. I was amazed by her, and just couldn't break away. "Tell me you'd kill for me."

"I-I would...I'd do all of that for you," I promised, leaning up against her.

She smiled. "Embrace eternity, HK..."

I shot up in that instant, breathing heavily. I looked around at my actual surroundings, and realized that it was nothing more than a nightmare. Some nightmare about Morinth, of course. I shuddered.

This shouldn't have still been haunting me, but it was. It still nagged at me; how I let myself fall for her, how I was ready to do anything for her. And I could tell that I wasn't going to get back to sleep for awhile after that.

Quietly slipping on my boots as to not disturb Abby or Sarah, who were both sleeping quietly, I proceeded to slip out of the room. Most of the crew was asleep right now on this Deck, so I didn't want to do much here.

Maybe I should talk to somebody. Maybe that would get my mind off of things. But who would be awake at this hour?

I sighed. "I know who," I muttered to myself, almost in a frusterated way. Though, she was far better than Morinth.

Getting on the elevator, I headed down to Deck Four once again. I stepped out and then went down the stairs that I had gone down so many times now, only to find some weird incident awaiting me...but nothing could be worse than getting seduced by Morinth.

Sure enough, Jack was awake.

"Hey," I greeted softly and nervously, approaching the woman.

Her head turned in my direction. She raised her eyebrows at me, then scowled. "What do you want?"

"Once again, I'm just wandering down here," I explained. "No one else is up, except for the crew members who are on a night shift or something."

"Whatever." Jack finished whatever she'd been doing at her table-it looked like she was going through a few datapads of information-then she turned to look at me and folded her arms. "So are we going to Pragia soon, or what? I want to get this shit behind me as soon as possible." She sounded annoyed and agitated.

I thought for a moment. We were staying on Omega for just a bit to re-stock on supplies, but I was sure that we'd be gone soon. Heck, maybe we had left already, I wasn't sure. But, now, Samara's loyalty mission was down. Only Zaeed and Jack were left. "Don't worry, you'll be there soon," I assured her. "Shepard only has to help you and Zaeed out. Everyone else is done."

"She better help me with this," Jack muttered. "I don't know how much longer I can take this." She began to pace back and fourth in the space between the table and the bed. "Every moment I spend thinking about that place, the more I want to blow the shit out of it. I NEED to go there." Her hands clenched into fists at her sides.

"She will. You know that Shepard has helped every single other person on this ship with their problems if they needed it," I told Jack. It felt like I was slipping right back into that 'advisor' personality that I had with so many of my friends over the years. It hadn't come into play too much here, but it was now. To Jack of all people. "She'll do the same with you, I'm sure."

"Yeah well... she better." Now Jack stopped pacing and turned to look directly at me again. "So, I hear you had a little fun on Omega," she said, then sneered a little.

I should've known that she would bring that up eventually. Word had likely gotten around to the whole ship by now. "Unfortunately, yes. I got seduced by some sex-crazed woman," I explained to her very matter-of-factly. "Then I helped her mother kill her."

"From what I hear you fell under her spell," Jack mused. "I guess you actually do have some primal urges in spite of what you said, hmmm?" Her voice sounded slightly taunting.

"Jack, of course I have primal urges. Everyone does," I snapped. I did not need her to start going on about that again. "Just because I refused to sleep with you doesn't mean that I don't have primal urges. I'm not so blunt about it."

Now she actually laughed. "You're so defensive about it," she said. "Is this a sore subject with you, or just an uncomfortable one?" She still sounded a little like she was teasing-only now she seemed a bit curious as well.

"Neither...well, maybe. I don't know," I replied, actually admitting that it may be. "Not for the reasons you think, though. Just...after today, it may be."

"Ha! So the little goodie-twoshoes is finally growing up!" Jack chuckled and went to sit down on the edge of her bed. "Well HK, this sort of thing changes you for life-it helps you stop being niave, for one. Too bad it couldn't have gone all the way, though; you could have learned a few things."

I glared at her. "If I went all the way, I'd be dead."

She snickered. "I know that. But if she'd been a regular woman you would have learned something." She now looked at me with a keen interest. "Must say I'm surprised, and impressed. I heard some things I never would have thought you would have the balls to do."

I sighed. "Not sure if that is what I want to hear. Morinth made me want to literally worship her, yes, but it isn't a good thing. It shows that I didn't have enough resolve to resist it. And all of it is just disturbing," I explained to Jack, though she probably wouldn't even understand.

"That's not all I heard," Jack told me. "Apparently Samara was watching you when you stood up to that krogan. She mentioned she'd almost been tempted to step in and help, but she couldn't risk Morinth catching wind of her."

I actually did chuckle when I recalled that. The Morinth fiasco caused it to slip my mind. "I tried to be a tough guy because I didn't want anyone to come and save me. It was vital to kill Morinth, which was why I went to sit with her in the first place," I said. "So I had to stand up to that krogan. He didn't seem to like my insults very much."

"Doesn't take much to get under a hot-headed krogan's skin, but it does take balls to stand up to one like that." She smirked. "I thought you were just a whiny little girl when you rejected my offer, but now... I think you're just a mama's boy who's finally starting to take some intiative in life. Up until now it seemed like Abby was the man out of the three of you; now you're becoming more of a man yourself."

"...excuse me?" I shouted in pure shock. "That's a little harsh."

She guffawed. "It's so easy to get a reaction out of you!" She stood up and stepped closer to me. "Did your mother keep you indoors all the time and teach you how to knit and sew stockings?" She gave me a playful punch in the shoulder.

"No," I replied simply. "You and some others think that just because I didn't accept some offer to have a one night stand that I am a girl or some wimp. I'll have you know that is not true; I'm just being me, and that kind of stuff is not in my taste. May be in yours, but isn't in mine."

She seemed to study me for a minute. "Can't say I ever met a guy like you before," she finally said with a slight shake of her head.

"Well, now you have," I told her.

Jack snorted. "Well if nothing else you've been amusing to me tonight," she said. "And you've taken my mind off of, well..." She glanced toward the table where all of her datapads were scattered. "It's not often that somebody can actually make me stop thinking about the things I'm after. So," she said as she moved to sit down on the edge of her bed again, "fuck you. And thank you."

That was probably an indication that it was time for me to leave.

"Um, goodbye," I said, once again turning and awkwardly leaving this strange, crazy biotic woman behind.

"Yep," I heard her say as I started to climb the stairs.

Abby was waiting for me by the elevator, a smirk on her face. "Talking to Jack?" she asked innocently. She looked tired, her hair was tangled, and she still wore the clothes she'd gone to bed in. Obviously she must have followed me down here when I left.

...how many times can this girl stalk me and me not notice a thing?

"You know, you really need to start getting other things to do in the midst of the night," I remarked, stepping into the elevator and motioning for her to follow me. "I think you'd get a little bored with following me around by now, even if we are lovers."

"Yeah, no," she said, stepping next to me. "Actually, I didn't follow you, but you woke me up when you left. It's this weird thing I have. I'll sleep through everything, but if somebody twitches in their sleep or gets out of bed or something I automatically wake up. Bad for sleep-overs." She laughed. "So I was wandering around. What woke you?"

"So instead of going back to sleep, you decide to follow me?" I asked, blinking. "And, uh, well nothing too much...just an, um, nightmare about Morinth."

"That lady's gotten into your head," Abby said with a frown. "And before you start accussing me of following you, I could tell something was wrong when you left. I wanted to see if I can help."

"You know, if one night I wake up to find my bladder full and have to use the restroom, I hope you don't detect something 'wrong' and follow me in there," I commented as I pressed the button for Deck Three. "And yes, she has. It doesn't surprise me, just...disturbs me. I want her out of my head."

"I have a better 'Something-is-off' detector than you give me credit for," Abby grumbled. "And I was right, therefor, you can shush up about it." She sighed tiredly, and I realized that she has gotten just as little sleep as I had. "Morinth's never going to get out of your head," she said. "The way I see it. It's a bad memory and it's going to follow you around for a while. Just... I wish it wouldn't. Maybe we could ask Samara if she could help out. Make a mind-link with you or something."

I shrugged. "Maybe. I don't want to make a bigger deal out of this than is needed, though, but I appreciate you wanting to help," I told her, smiling lightly. "Everything just still gets to me. The fact that Morinth got into my head in the first place, and how great she seemed...it's just insane. In the dream, she and I were together again, about to have sex. All of it gives me the creeps."

"Well... you could always go for Miranda." She turned her head away, hiding a grin.

"No," I bluntly refused.

Abby snorted. "Fine, fine, fine," she said. "I wouldn't want to do that, either, if I were you... Sarah told me that Miranda's sheets had varren scale itch on them."

My eyes went wide, even in my slightly tired state. "Ew, ew. Okay, don't want to know what was going on in her office."

"Two random crew members, a dare... I'll ask Ken tomorrow. He's the man of shipboard dares."

"Are you saying that he and Gabby...?" I trailed off.

"No!" Abby objected. "No, no, no. I'm saying that he's the one who would dare somebody to do something... like that."

"I see," was all I had to say to that.

"Yeah, well, I hope you don't see everything," Abby muttered.

I snorted, and the elevator came to a stop at Deck Three. I stepped off of it with Abby in tow, and yawned. "Right now, I think I just need sleep," I told her.

"Have fun," Abby sighed. "I think I'm going to wander around for a while... take a shower or something."

"Alright," I told her with a nod. "And...thanks for stalking me."

"No prob," she replied tiredly.

With that, I went back into our joint quarters, and immediately plopped down on the bed, ready to drift off into a nice, deep sleep.