Chapter 11

"Ms. Moreno?"

I felt my shoulders slump slightly as the weariness began to set in at the sound of that voice. Ever since I was brought off duty after the Archangel mission several days ago, I was being followed by the Commander's yeoman everywhere I went in the off duty hours. Kelly Chambers was a persistent little thing and it didn't help that she now effectively had me cornered in my room. I really had nowhere else to go and I was too tired of avoiding her.

I turned my chair around to face her, the console on my small desk showing my recent study logs. I reached up to rub a hand over my face as I slumped in my chair. "Yes, Ms. Chambers?" I responded to her inquiry, not even bothering to look at her as I cast my gaze back to my console. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"I'm glad I could catch you," said Kelly, I could hear the smile in her voice. "I was looking for you. It's surprising how hard it is to find you on this ship. I was hoping I could speak with-"

"Stop," I said as I closed my eyes, took in a calming breath, and shook my head. I could feel the headache coming back again, the one that had persisted since I left the communications room several days earlier. The stress and tension since the battle had not weakened and having this yeoman following me around after hours, trying to get me to talk about something I had no wish to relive, did not help in matters. "Stop there." I got up from the chair, abandoning my studies completely, as I moved to a stop in front of her. "I have no wish to talk with you. Ever."

I glared up at her, the frown on my face clear. She was taller than me but seeing the slight fear in her eyes, I wondered just how awful I truly looked. Had the scarring gotten worse? Was it a terrible red glow that failed to disappear no matter how hard I tried to relax and think happy thoughts? I didn't know. I refused to look in a mirror since that day and my dreams were constantly haunted by the scenes from the battles...

I took in another breath and stepped away from her. "Ms. Chambers, I know it is your unofficial duty to oversee the mental health of this crew. I also know that you report all that you have gotten to know back to Cerberus." I took in another breath and moved around her. "I have no sudden need to spill what few secret thoughts I have to you so please- Stop following me around. If I feel the need to talk and share my trouble with all of Cerberus, I will find you."

I walked past her, leaving her standing there in the doorway of my room, and continued down the corridor toward the mess hall. I didn't get very far before Chambers was calling out to me to wait. I sighed heavily, the manners my mother had instilled in me since childhood taking over, as I stopped and turned around to face the yeoman.

Chambers had come to a stop in front of me, her hand held out as if trying to grab hold of me. She dropped that hand to her side as she took in breath. "I'm sorry Ms. Moreno. I know the true reason that I'm here with this crew wouldn't go past you." She paused, looking around to make sure we wouldn't be overheard, before she stepped closer to me. "I actually hoped I could ask a favor of you," she said, her voice lowering slightly as she studied me.

"A favor?" My tone was one of surprise. This I had not been expecting.

Chambers gave a nod as she looked around again before focusing her gaze on me. "This may come off as a little strange and very personal but there's no one else who I could think to ask who would understand."

This caught my attention and I narrowed my eyes slightly, my suspicion getting the best of me. "What is it?" I asked, my tone hesitant.

She studied me a little longer before she gave a nod and typed away on her omni-tool. It took a moment but the sound of drums could be heard, followed by electronic music and sirens, all beginning in a slow beat. After about twenty seconds, it all came together in a rhythmic beat that I recognized as a reggaeton song from my time. Sure enough, a man's voice began to rap to the beat, gruff and hypnotic, his lyrics coming out in Spanish. "Tamo a lo loco!"

On the holographic screen, a dark-haired figure was dancing provocatively with the music, grinding a well-rounded ass against the crotch of a familiar auburn-haired woman behind her. The sight of the bouncing ass of a Hispanic girl against the crotch of auburn-haired Caucasian girl was erotic enough in my time. I was sure it was more than enough to still be seen on the extranet 170 years later. It was surprising to see I recognized that auburn-haired woman.

That was Alice Shepard...

It was the night I had died. The vid was of a time where for one night I was carefree with my best friend and sister. I was happy... and very drunk.

I didn't remember anyone taking a video of us that night in the club.

A blush had deepened in my cheeks as I quickly looked around to catch sight of several of the crew members who were on break looking over at us from the mess hall, the sound of the music catching their attention. I quickly grabbed Chambers by the hand and pulled her back toward my room. I pulled her inside and quickly pressed the console beside the door to shut it and lock it. I then turned my attention to her, the blush still warm on my cheeks.

"Where on earth did you find that?!" I said, my voice coming out in a screeching hiss.

Chambers was fighting back a smile as she cut off the feed to the vid before focusing her gaze on me. "I had run a facial recognition program on some old vids I had stored for personal use. I knew I had seen you somewhere before I just couldn't place where." The red-haired woman's smile was more open now as a soft giggle emerged. "Could you imagine my surprise at seeing you on one of the early 21st century vids I use to practice my dancing?"

"Practice... dancing?" I stared at the yeoman, my eyes slightly wide. I had not been expecting that response from a Cerberus operative.

Chambers gave a nod as she folded her hands behind her back. "You have no idea how constraining it is to work in an environment where you have to follow so many rules and regulations. Dancing is the only outlet I have. I feel... free." Her eyes had grown bright at this and a true smile lit up her pretty features. "That was why I wanted to speak with you Ms. Moreno. You come from a time where such dancing... Not only was it freeing but it was accepted among the everyday people. Not just for strip clubs. The kind of dancing you did... It's just so... erotic."

Queue the blush. My cheeks felt as if they were flaming by now. I was sure it looked like I had one too many glasses of wine.

If Chambers noticed, she didn't say a word and instead took a step toward me. "I'm trying to learn the way women danced in your time. You lived it and you know it better than any vid can show. The way you move your hips, your ass... The way your breasts just bounce with each and every twitch." She was blushing by this time but she didn't look the least bit ashamed. "I want you to teach me. Show me how to dance the way you did in that video. You remember so much of your old life, I'm sure you remember how to dance. I know you've been through such a horrible ordeal with the last mission. I thought this would be a nice distraction for you. It would benefit the both of us." She looked so vulnerable with her pleading eyes and the twiddling of her fingers. "Please."

"I..."

No words could come to mind as suddenly my brain just came to a screeching halt. Of all the things I could have imagined, this was not something I had thought to be what she would have asked of me. On top of everything else I had experienced, this seemed even more surreal. It seemed something in me had snapped and finally given up. I was done with the worrying and done with the anxiety of what I had been through. As far as I was concerned, I deserved something completely normal to offset everything else I had had to deal with since I had awoken into this new life.

"I... need a drink," I said, my shoulders slumping from the sudden exhaustion. "Get me a drink and I'll see what I can remember."

-o-

A couple of hours later, I was feeling fine.

Kelly Chambers was shaking her little ass next to the table I was sitting at in the mess hall, trying to move in time with the music that was playing from my omni-tool. It was off duty hours for her so there were no worries of being inappropriate. Still, that didn't stop the crew members that were passing by from gawking like a bunch of idiots. I paid them no mind as I stopped the music and shook my head, my hands waving out expansively as I got up from the table. "No, no chica, you are thinking too much about it. You're not letting the music flow through you and letting your body move."

Kelly frowned at me before she stomped over and took the seat I abandoned, her cheeks red from the several drinks we both had. "All right El. Show me how it's done then since you know so much."

I let loose a heavy breath as I looked around the mess hall, trying to find something to give good leverage against. I was not going to ask one of the human males standing by to be my dancing pole. They would read too much into that. So would the women actually...

But there were no good poles and the walls were too rounded to feel comfortable...

I think was about to give up on my quest for a good inanimate dance partner when a familiar tall form in cobalt blue armor had emerged from the corridor that led to the room of the Main Battery. The shock of happiness that coursed through my system at the sight of him must have been the alcohol.

I let myself believe it was the alcohol.

Why not? I was tipsy enough.

I let loose the whoop and holler I normally reserved for Joker and waved at the turian like the drunk I most assuredly was. "Woo hoo! Angel! Come over here! I need you for a second!"

Garrus Vakarian paused in mid-step, his gaze focusing on little old me, surprise quite clear in his gaze. "Es-Estella?"

The frown on my face was answer enough as I placed both hands on my hips. "What other human do you see on this ship who's this thick?" I asked, my words coming out a little more slurred than I intended. Oh well... With that damn voice of his, I was sure as hell to slur my words. A woman could get drunk off the sound of that voice alone.

I ignored the sudden thumping of my heart as I moved over to the turian with the hot-as-butter voice and took his hand in my own. "C'mon, I need you now."

"Wh-wha?" he barely got out as he allowed himself to be pulled toward the empty table next to where Kelly was sitting, a shit-eating grin on her pretty features. I ignored her as I turned around and pushed the tall turian back down into the empty seat. He fell back against the seat, the look on his face beyond confused as he looked up at me.

"Don't move. I need you for a demonstration," I said with a smile before I turned my back to him and glanced over at the Yeoman. "Watch carefully Kelly, I'm only gonna do this once." I took in a breath and stretched my arms up over my head. "Play the third track."

Kelly gave a giggle before she nodded and lounged against the table, her smile never fading as she pulled up a music track on her omni-tool. At once the sounds of drums filled the very quiet mess hall, a fast rhythmic beat that kept pace with the trumpets and the vocals. It was like a heartbeat, an adrenalin rush, each pounding drum and trumpet and vocal getting stronger about half a minute in until it all came to a sudden head rush. An accordion was added to the fast beat and the sound of clapping hands, sirens and a pure rush of enjoyment taking me back to my own time. To a life I suddenly missed dearly...

My body was already moving by this time, taken by the sound of the reggaeton song I knew well. A voice was already calling me to move in a way I doing so now, an erotic dance that called for gyrating hips and heaving breasts on the dance floor.

"I wanna see you wiggle it a little, baby!"

I turned around and thrust my breasts up, catching Garrus off guard as I allowed the music to flow through me. My hips moving to the fast beat and my ass was bouncing in a way that made me feel as if I was a mother goddess incarnate. It was the alcohol I'm sure...

"Turn around! Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, just a little bit!"

The chorus was already going strong and with each command to turn around, my body did so, gyrating and grinding against the very prone form of the turian beneath me. An alternative of human breasts and ass were grinding against him but I didn't think anything of it. He wouldn't find my human body at all attractive. In fact, I was hoping I was disgusting him to the point of making me stop. That was why I chose him. No turian male would find a human woman attractive in their right mind. Since I was nice and drunk, my sensibility going out the window, I counted on him to be the voice of reason.

However, the longer the song went on, the longer I danced. The more I gyrated and thrust against him, giving him this impromptu lap dance, the more I decided to lose myself in the music. Well, if he wasn't going to stop this than might as well keep using him as an inanimate dance pole...

I was having fun anyway.

In the back of my mind, a part of me wanted him to speak... Just to hear that delicious voice of his... It would have made this so much for fun.

I couldn't keep the smile from my face as I turned around and suddenly straddled the turian's lap. "Hold onto me Angel," I said to him as the drum beat became more erratic. He barely had time to reach out and grasp my hips to keep me from falling as I began to grind against him. I threw my arms back, my hips and ass gyrating against his lap, his hands now reaching up to grip my waist as I leaned back. I closed my eyes, losing myself in the music, each gyrating motion building to a crescendo with the music until it all came to a final release where the drums beat faster and faster, the music gaining in speed, the vocals crying for more, until finally it all gave out and the music stopped, the last tune being the accordion playing to a halt.

I let loose the breath I had held and pulled myself back into a sitting position. I was met with a pair of shocked blue eyes and a gaping turian mouth. The alcohol in me made me feel braver than I should have been. I reached out to close his mouth and got up from his lap. I glanced at Kelly Chambers, who was now laughing so hard she could barely breathe.

"Hey, chica," I said, snapping my fingers to get her attention. She sat up and bit her lip, a choking sound emerging from her throat. I ignored it and held out my hands, "Do you still want me to teach you?"

"Um... YES," she said, her smile growing bright as she got up from her seat. "When can we start?" She walked over to me and wrapped her arm through my own, dragging me out of the mess hall and toward the crews' quarters. We were both so tipsy that we had ignored the crowd that had gathered to watch the lap dance I had given. We pushed our way through and kept on walking, enjoying a few giggles.

As we walked away, we had left Garrus Vakarian sitting in the mess hall, a slight twitch in his right eye. His mouth was still slightly open, his mandibles twitching every few seconds. I had no idea just how much of an impression I had left on the turian I had personally started to call Angel.

Needless to say, sensuality runs deep. When the call for it is heeded, it bears no mind to whom or what may have brought it about. Instinct rules and where instinct comes into play, it is an insanity that the sensible mind could never understand.