Iromak found it considerably difficult to find a spot aboard the ship that he could remain undisturbed. Usually he'd take passage aboard much larger ships, where he could often find a quiet corner to sit when there was no work to be done.

On this frigate, that seemed much smaller compared to other ships he'd traveled aboard, he had no work to do. It was a first in a long time, and he had been attempting to get used to the idea of so much idle time for himself.

While Garrus wasn't in the cargo area, he took his chance to start inspecting the Mako. He was unaccustomed to working with land vehicles, surprised to a degree to find an eezo core within the vehicle. Realizing afterwards that it was how the Mako was able to get into the upper atmosphere for pickup by Joker.

He moved on from the core; starting to inspect the thick armor on the outside of the vehicle. He eventually found the underbelly of the vehicle to be horribly unprotected. It wouldn't take much more than a well placed IED to significantly damage the sealed environment of the Mako.

He hadn't been paying attention to much other than the Mako. Currently laying underneath the lifted vehicle. The sound of a woman clearing her throat pulling his attention to the right.

Williams was kneeled down and peering at the Batarian. The suspicion in her eyes was unmasked. Partially wondering as to why he was wearing his armor. Once it was clear he was only going to return her gaze, she finally spoke. "What are you doing?"

He turned all both pairs of eyes back to the underbelly of the Mako. "Checking out your vehicle. It's-"

"Did the Commander say you could work on this?" Iromak stopped working, wondering if talking to her would be worth the annoyance.

Again he would look at her, his top pair of eyes focusing on her before speaking. "I'm sure John wouldn't care at all. In fact, he might want to be told that the under armor plating is thin at best."

"We know that." There was an edge of irritation in her voice. "It's got radar to detect mines. We aren't idiots."

Iromak scoffed slightly and shook his head. Focusing his full attention on returning the armored panels into their proper positions. "It's not mines you have to worry about. A couple grenades or a strong enough IED thrown under it could damage the sealed environment it creates. If the crew isn't ready, the atmosphere that keeps them alive could be gone before they knew what hit them."

"That's what the guns are for, to keep anyone far enough away to avoid them throwing something at us." Williams found it difficult to tell if he was patronizing her or not. His gruff voice covered any real tone that could be discerned.

"No amount of ordnance will cover you from a well planned ambush. If-"

"Why do you care?" Again, she cut him off. For a few moments he was dead silent, staring blankly at the Mako above him.

Why do I bother talking to these people.

Because I should be nice for John's sake.

He turned his full attention to Williams. Who now felt the weight of four eyes bearing down upon her. "Why wouldn't I?"

Her eyebrows furrowed, as if confused by his answer. "You're a Batarian. Don't Batarians hate humans?"

"Yeah, sure, I guess. I don't really stay up to date on what happens between the Alliance and the Hegemony." He pulled himself out from under the Mako with little warning. Williams stumbled back to give him room as he did.

"I care about you being human to the same degree as John cares about you being human." He spoke while collecting the tools he had been using, returning them to the box next to the Mako.

His statement was vague but somewhat clarifying to her, not exactly believing his statement though. Her arms crossed as she watched him still. She wanted to check the underside of the Mako herself to make sure he hadn't done anything, but figured that the Turian would raise a racket if anything was missing from the vehicle. "So, why are you here?"

Iromak closed over the toolbox and slid it back against the wall. Going to the controls on the wall to lower the hydraulic lift that kept the vehicle suspended. "I spend a lot of time in cargo."

"I'm sure you know what I mean." She didn't seem to appreciate him avoiding her question. "Why are you on the Normandy?"

Iromak waited till the vehicle was flat on the ground before answering. "John asked me to join. So I joined."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

She was not exactly satisfied with his answer. Vague and lacking anything to give her context on the Batarian. Her squinted eyes scanned his face. Batarians had natural poker faces that she found difficult to read. Remembering only what Tali told her about Iromak, which was vague itself.

They know each other well? How does a Human and Batarian even cross paths?

He stood with his hand still on the controls to the hydraulics. The bottom pair of eyes watching her, the top pair watching the Krogan who managed to finally bend the table all the way down from simply leaning against it.

Something to do at least.

He left Williams in silence, her stern gaze following him as he went to the Krogan. Wrex claiming that neither the Mako nor the Normandy could hold a Krogan. Iromak eventually got Wrex to move on so he could fix it.

Williams took a few paces towards Iromak to keep an eye on him. Her arms still crossed. "If you fix that, he'll only break it again."

"She's right, you know." The Krogan piped up as he leaned on the bench that Williams would disassemble her weapons at. A stressed groan coming from the table as the armored Krogan quickly surpassed its weight limit.

"And if I don't, you won't have a spot to clean your weapons. So how about you help me fix this instead of doing nothing while things get broken?" Iromaks voice strained while he slowly bent the metal table upwards.

The Batarian struggled with it alone for a few moments. Ashley finally decided to step forward, grabbing the edge of the table to help him. With both of their strengths being exerted upon the table, it folded back up into its original position. It was off balance, but that was only another thing for Iromak to correct.

"Thank you." Iromak spoke after she stepped back. Kneeling down and pulling the support that had crumpled under the krogans weight out from under the table. What had initially been a metal triangle was now a piece of scrap to be melted down if it was ever going to be made useful again.

He held the scrap up so Ashley could see it. "I'm guessing you don't just have one of these lying around?" After a quick shake of her head, he looked under the table. A slight glow appeared as he opened his omni tool, using it to measure where the other support had been.

"I definitely can't make one here. I'll see if someone I know can make one and have it waiting at the Citadel the next time we're there." He looked over at the Krogan who remained seated where Ashley would regularly disassemble her weapons. "Until then, you might want to find a different spot to clean your rifle."

He turned to look back at her, only to see a level of confusion embedded in her eyes that had originally been full of suspicion. Her stance had relaxed compared to her previous rigid poses, but he could tell she was still uncomfortable. "Yes?"

"You don't… I don't think it's necessary for you to do that." She seemed to have dropped the hard ass act and had adopted a calmer tone of voice, something Iromak took note of. "I'm sure the Commander can just put a requisition in for another."

Iromak waved his hand; dismissing the idea from his options. "I'm sure John's got enough to think about right now. A small brace is no reason to bother him." He stood up, testing the strength of the table without the brace. "Besides, I'm gonna have a couple support braces made to give it extra reinforcement. Make sure that they actually stand a chance against Wrex."

The attention of both Iromak and Ashley focused on the elevator door as it slid open. The Turian was inside accompanied by a few chairs pulled from the Mess. Garrus stepped out and pointed towards Iromak. "I got the pilot up for a game of cards, I know you want to join." The Turians gaze passed over Ashley to find Wrex standing where she usually was. "Wrex? Cards?"

Wrex spent a moment deciding whether or not to accept the offer before finally shrugging. "Sure, better than waiting around all day." The Krogan pushed off the table, the table emitting a low groan as he did.

Williams, who seemed to notice the lack of personal invite, started heading to the elevator. "Ashley?" The gravelly voice of Iromak made her pause, wondering for a moment as to how he knew her first name. Finally turning as she reached the elevator to give him a questioning look.

"Poker?" The Batarian pointed a thumb towards the box that Wrex had pulled out next to the Mako. Garrus pulled the chairs out of the elevator. Wrex opted for another box as his seat as he had a tendency to damage the lightweight chairs.

"I don't gamble."

"We don't have to gamble."

Wrex let out a scoff at the idea, shaking his head at Iromak. "Oh come on, I was looking forward to taking the Turians money again."

Iromak turned to look at the Krogan and Turian simultaneously. "Yeah? Maybe next time then." He gave a short wave to Ashley, signaling for her to join them as he approached the makeshift table.

Ashley was hesitant at first, considering just making her exit now before she managed to make anything awkward. The elevator opening behind her and Joker's voice interrupted her idea.

"Ashley, I didn't know you were joining us. Come on, before they deal without us." The pilot hobbled over towards the table to take a seat. Ashley, finding that she couldn't really turn down Joker without feeling bad about it, finally joined the group around the table.

Iromak had already taken up the role as dealer. Shuffling the deck of cards he had brought with him onto the Normandy. It was one of the few things he kept on him during travels.

It took a few rounds for Ashley to get herself accustomed to playing cards with a Turian, Krogan and a Batarian. Staying quiet except for when Iromak would pose a question to different people throughout the group.

In time, Ashley would understand as to how Wrex was able to acquire Garrus' money so easily in the game the guys had played beforehand. It wasn't in knowing when to bet against him, but when not to.

Despite his rigid facial features, the Turian had quite the tell for a good hand. He was silent as could be if he thought he was going to win. She wasn't totally certain about it but she could swear his mandibles twitched ever so slightly when he picked up a decent card.

Wrex and Iromak seemed to have much better control over their reactions. The Batarian had two eyes on his cards at all times, the other pair scanning his fellow players around the table. Wrex sat with a wide, toothy grin throughout it all, no matter how good or bad his cards got, he maintained it.

Joker was a complete wild card with his tells. Just when Ashley thought she was figuring him out, he'd start a completely different habit. After nearly half an hour of watching for his tells, she started to wonder if he was doing it on purpose.

In time they were joined by Kaidan, who had been speaking with Doctor Chakwas in the med bay. After nearly two hours of playing, Iromak finally bowed out. Handing the role of dealer off to Joker before heading up the elevator.

Ashleys curiosity would eventually get the better of her. Leaving about ten minutes after Iromak had, going in search of what the Batarian was doing now.

First he wants to look under the Mako. Next he'll be crawling through the ventilation.

She shook the voice out of her head, reasoning with herself that the Batarian couldn't possibly fit into the thin vents. The elevator doors finally slid open to let Ashley wander.

First she checked the mess hall. Finding her Commander sitting with his legs kicked up, the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest telling her he was sleeping. Quietly leaving the mess hall when it was apparent that Iromak wasn't in there. Her attention turned to the stairs on the left side of her, wondering what he would be doing up in the CIC. Climbing up the steps to find where he went.

It was easy to locate the Batarian from the various turned heads of the alliance soldiers in the CIC that looked towards the bridge. Pressly standing at the stairs that led to the bridge, seemingly debating with himself on whether he should ask Iromak to avoid the area.

Poor Pressly. First a Turian, then a Batarian. He'll lose the rest of his hair from stress like this.

She saw the XO moving towards the bridge, quickly picking up her pace to stop him. "Pressly."

Pressly, who seemed relieved at a reason not to approach the bridge, stopped and turned when called. "Williams, I was just going to…" His sentence would trail off as he looked towards the bridge, not quite certain how to finish.

"I'll keep an eye on him, Pressly." She passed by him, nodding back to the CIC. "And try to relax, the Commander wouldn't bring anyone aboard if he didn't trust them."

The advice given to Pressly could apply to her as well, but she wasn't going to let that stop Ashley from finding out what he was doing. Pushing onwards to where Joker spent the majority of his time.

Iromak was leaned one arm against the chair to the left side of the pilot's seat. His omni tools display glowing around his left arm. Not bothering to look up as she stepped in. "Get bored of cards? Or are you just keeping an eye on me?"

Ashley had not been prepared for the question, she was pretty certain that he knew the answer. Trying to duck the truth anyways. "I just... came up to see what you were doing."

"Right." Iromak dragged the single word out into a lengthy statement. "You're just making sure I'm not gonna take the ship on a joyride."

Ashley turned to look at him, about to argue against it. She could tell from the two black eyes staring at her that it'd be a futile attempt. "I'm just doing my job by making sure nothing happens to the ship."

The answer got a rough chuckle from Iromak. Ashley thought that it may have been the first time witnessing a Batarian laugh. He cut it quickly though, shaking his head before responding. "Sounds a lot like an excuse John would make."

"And would John be keeping an eye on you in the Bridge?" Ashley kept herself in the archway that led into the bridge. Her arms crossed as she watched him.

"As long as I'm not the one flying, I doubt he would care."

"Not much of a pilot?"

"I can fly, but I don't know anything about alliance ships. Nor do I have any interest in flying one."

"Then why come to the bridge when no one's here?" Iromak closed his omni tool, focusing all four eyes on the Gunnery before answering her question.

"To see who would follow."

His answer left Ashley in silence, realizing that she hadn't exactly been subtle with her suspicions. Her lips remained closed tight as she watched him.

Finally, after a solid minute of silence, Iromak would speak. "You don't trust me, that's fine, I'm used to it. But following me around is unnecessary." He pushed gently off the seat he was leaning on, maintaining the spot where he stood. "If you want to put your mind at ease, go ask John why he wants me aboard."

"The Commander is asleep." Her response was much quicker than his own. Leading to another pause from him.

Iromaks arms crossed to mimic hers stance. "So… what? I don't know why he wanted to bring me along."

"So you just hop onto an alliance ship because he asked?" Ashley would finally move towards the right side of the small bridge, turning the chair to sit down.

"I swear we just had this conversation in Cargo, what do you really want to know?" He glanced for a moment at the archway she left open. Looking back to Ashley as she sat down.

Ashley was silent once again, her hands folding together and laying in her lap. Giving it a few moments thought before finally speaking. "I want to know why he trusts you so much."

"It's a rather long story."

"Then give me the short version."

Ashley saw the corners of his mouth twitch slightly, as if he suppressed a smile. "A short version?" She could hear what sounded like amusement in his gritty voice.

"Hell, why not. I'll keep it short." Iromak turned the chair he had been leaning on around to face Ashley. Taking a seat and leaning back slightly as he thought about what to tell her.

"I don't know how old we were when we met, maybe seven or eight years old." Iromaks fingers began to rhythmically tap on the arm rest as he spoke. "He got shoved into my cell-"

"Cell?"

"A cell, for slaves. I had been in that place for as long as I could remember." He paused for a moment; backtracking in his mind to what he'd been saying before she interrupted. "As I was saying, he got shoved into my cell one day, that's when we met. We didn't talk much, silent acknowledgements of each other, kept to our separate corners.

Ashleys eyebrows were furrowed slightly, her brown eyes studying his rigid expression. Her lips just barely parted as she listened to the Batarian intently. Most of her knowledge of Shepard was limited to the information she gleaned from his personnel file. Due to its restrictions though, it hadn't been much help other than to tell her he grew up on Terra Nova.

"Fast forward a couple years, we were to be sold. The buyers must've been trying to trick them though, it wasn't long till there was shooting." Iromak pulled all four eyes up from staring at the ground. Seeing Ashley leaning forward slightly, curiosity evident in her eyes. "John pulled me by the shirt till we got intercepted by some Alliance soldiers. They couldn't send me to Hegemony space in good conscience, and because neither John nor our old man would let them."

Ashleys gaze wavered underneath the weight of four eyes from the Batarian. Looking instead at her hands, noticing that she needed to clip her nails soon. "They didn't have much choice but to make me a citizen of the Alliance, we grew up together, went through school together. I obviously differed from his choice of Alliance life, I'm sure you can guess why."

Ashley quietly began to realize what Tali had meant; wishing the Quarian had given her just a bit more context to the closeness of Shepard and Iromak. "He dropped from the Alliance because I asked, we killed a lot of slavers. He returned to the Alliance, now here we are."

Ashley sat in silence for a few moments, trying to figure out how to respond. Wishing that she curtailed her abrupt behavior with Iromak earlier. "Happy?"

Iromaks comment got her to look up finally. Bringing her right hand up to rub her chin, her left hand sitting on her knee. "I-" She stopped to clear her throat before standing up. "I didn't realize… I'm sorry. For how-"

Iromak held a hand up, shaking his head as his eyes closed. "Don't be sorry, you didn't know."

Ashley was about to excuse herself from the bridge, stopping in the archway before speaking. "If… uh… you could avoid mentioning me being an ass to the Commander, I'd really appreciate it. I'm pretty sure I've already pissed him off before, and I'm kinda looking to improve my record."

"Stop calling him Commander."

His comment made her pause again, turning to look at him with a hint of confusion in her eyes. "Why?"

"He prefers name to rank. Just call him Shepard like everyone else does. He'll forget he's your Commander long enough to be your friend."

This only built upon her confusion, turning around to face Iromak. "Do you have a guide to how his brain works or something?"

"He's not so complicated… Most of the time." Iromak grabbed one of Jokers magazines that had been left open. Waving his hand to shoo Ashley away. "Go on, I need some silence to think for a while."

Ashley would oblige to Iromaks request, giving him a short nod before going to speak with Pressly.

Shepard had awoken early in the morning, eating in the darkness of the night cycle. Tali apologized profusely for falling asleep in his bed, to her relief Shepard didn't mind. He used that topic to quickly segue into giving her his bed, to which she had difficulty accepting. Shepards insistence won out though, and she would finally accept.

With that in order, Shepard would go to get ready for the day. It was a long, slow approach to the Fedele, that was still giving out it's distress call long after it had been answered. The Normandy would finally be close enough to board the ship that was suspected of belonging to Doctor Saleon.

The ship they were attempting to board had the ability to extend a docking arm for ship to ship transfers, the problem was that the other ship had to enact the docking process. Shepard spent half an hour and several failed attempts to get someone from the other ship to respond on any frequency. Eventually deciding to board the ship manually.

Shepard, Garrus and Iromak all left via the airlock. All sealed safely within their personal suits atmospheres, they set out. Shepard taking the lead on the jump, Iromak following close behind. The two had evidently done this several times before from their confidence in their lack of weight. Garrus followed after a moment of hesitation, the idea of getting Saleon urging him onwards.

The three got the outer airlock open with minimal difficulty, entering and sealing it behind them. The three opened the inner door, only to be met with a blast of putrid air. It made Garrus pull his head back in surprise, shaking his head a bit in disgust.

A guttural shriek made Garrus snap to attention. The source was a pale, gaunt human who had several tumors of varying size spotted around their body. Their hair was almost completely gone save for a few long strands hanging from their head. The person slowly stumbled through the doorway leading to the long hall towards the three boarders.

Shepard stepped up, his weapon raised at the approaching figure that slowly stumbled towards them. "Sir. I need you to stand still." The figure seemed to show no indication of following the order, so he spoke again. "Stop where you are or I will open fire."

They came to a stop halfway down the hall that led to the airlock. Their head leaned forward as far as possible, like the person was intently staring at the ground. Shepard didn't trust it for a second though. Holding his left hand up with two fingers in the air, flicking his fingers forward twice.

Garrus was clueless as to what he wanted. Iromak, however, opened a small pouch on his leg and pulled out a piece of metal. Tossing it down the hall, the loud clattering got the figure to look up. It's hollow expression and sunken eyes showed that the person that once made up the form before them was no longer there. A second guttural shriek emerged from the figure before it started sprinting towards them.

None of them wasted a second in dispatching the rapidly approaching figure. Garrus delivered the finishing blow by taking the top half of his head off with a before he took four paces. The trio started down the hall, Shepard leading, Garrus taking the back.

They cleared out the main cargo bay, which was the majority of the ship, with little effort. The half dead, and seemingly feral targets didn't prove to be much of a hazard for the three of them. The sight of each grotesque victim made Shepard quite disgusted. Glad to have a strong stomach or he would've lost his breakfast in the search for Saleon.

The small group eventually cleared the majority of the ship. Iromak and Shepard cleared areas out as Garrus provided cover, making sure nothing got the drop on them. Many of the Doctors victims had not survived the horrific things done to them. Most of the bodies were to disfigured or decomposed for Garrus to identify from the last group the Salarian had kidnapped. The final door opened as they approached it, a Salarian exiting. His rather clean looking lab coat looked almost out of place in the decrepit ship.

"That's him Shepard." Garrus' words sparked Shepard into an almost autonomous motion. His pace picking up to meet the Salarian who had began to greet them, cutting him short with the butt of his rifle slamming into Saleons stomach. Iromak passing Shepard to check the room Saleon had exited from.

Saleon had attempted to draw a pistol to defend himself, but Shepard was quick to put an end to his attempted retaliation. Dropping his own rifle before slamming the Doctors head against the wall with his right hand. His left hand nearly breaking the Salarians thin arm from bending it behind his back. "Doctor Saleon. A pleasure to meet you."

After making sure that the Doctor had no other weapons and removed his omni tool, he pushed him towards Garrus. Saleon, who had been quite stunned from the initial greeting, was trying to find a place to start with them. He didn't get the chance though, Garrus giving him a hard right hook before a word got out.

"Doctor Heart." Garrus brought his right foot up and kicked the Salarian back. The full strength kick from a Turian was sure to break something. From the agonizing shouts the Doctor was giving, Garrus certainly delivered a hard blow. "It was kind of an obvious cover now wasn't it?"

"I-I don't-"

"Shut it you worm. Garrus, do what you have to, but don't take too long. Just being in this place makes me want to go through decontamination." Shepard cut off the Salarian before he had a chance to make any defense. Having a fairly good idea of where this was going. Going to Iromak after getting waved over, the two spoke in hushed voices as Garrus pulled Saleon into the cargo.

Iromak had been inspecting as to why the ship couldn't fly. Speaking to Shepard as he tapped through the display. "He let the core gain too much static electricity. Dumbass would've-"

Iromak was interrupted by the sound of a single gunshot from the doorway behind them, continuing soon after. "Fried himself alive if he tried to move the ship."

"So the ship just needs to be towed to a planet and discharged?"

"Well… it also probably needs to have a thorough cleaning. Alliance would probably want a whole deep cleaning process done on it. So that will take a while."

Garrus returned from the cargo, pistol in hand. Looking between the two for a moment. "Come on, we're done here."

Shepard looked at Garrus for a moment, his head turning to the left slightly. "What do you want to do with the ship Garrus?"

The Turian had not been expecting that to fall on him, his business had been finished when Saleon was done. Shrugging and turning to walk away. "I don't want it, so it's up to you. I'm gonna go get the arm extended so we don't have to jump ships through space again."

Garrus left the two to their quiet discussion. Both Iromak and Shepard spent time figuring out how to get the SOS to shut off. The pair joined Garrus to cross to the Normandy. Garrus and Iromak heading to put their weapons away. Shepard stepped aboard the bridge to find Joker in his usual seat.

The pilot was thumbing through a magazine. Only giving a short "Hey." In greeting.

"Joker, we're heading to the Citadel." The short comment got the pilot to look up at him, his left eyebrow raising up. "Again? You know we can get necessities at Arcturus station if you really want to stay topped off."

Shepard shook his head, not enjoying having to make so many pit stops there. "I kinda have to now. Got something to give to Udina and have to pick up some group for the Council."

"Are we a taxi service now?" The pilot spun his chair around. Tapping at the displays before him. "And are we just leaving that ship out here?"

"I'm going to have it towed to Terra Nova, get it cleaned. Then figure out what to use it for." Shepard turned and started walking away. "And the group is to keep an eye on me, don't pay them any mind when they come aboard. If they give you any trouble, just let me know."

"You got it."

Shepard left the bridge, double checking that Pressly was aware of their next course. Afterwards he used his omni tool to have a tow arranged to haul the ship back to Terra Nova. Moving on to take his second shower of the day, wanting to wash away the gritty feeling that being aboard the other ship had given him.

Glad to feel clean once again. He left his bathroom wearing jeans and a t-shirt that had a small alliance symbol on the left side of the chest. Somewhat surprised to find Tali standing at his desk, both her hands on the large data storage he had left on his desk.

"John, what is this?" Talis question was innocent enough, but it made Shepard pause all the same. Tali eventually looking to him when she noticed his lengthy pause.

"It's the storage of data I picked up from Luna. From what I know, it's got some sort of V.I that the Alliance has been developing." He stepped forward, snagging his small, metal drawing pad off the top of it. Going to slip it back into his footlocker.

His answer didn't seem to satisfy Tali. She watched him with slightly squinted eyes for a moment. Turning to look back at the box. "Just a V.I? This is big enough to hold a backup of every system in the Migrant Fleet, and then some."

Shepard closed his locker back over, looking over at Tali while she examined the storage. "And? What are you getting at Tali?"

"Storing V.I's is an easy thing to do since they're just automated routines. You shouldn't need this much storage for just a V.I." Tali turned again to face Shepard, his left eyebrow was raised slightly as his eyes studied her.

"So you think it's more than just a V.I?"

"Don't you?"

Shepard stood up from his locker, shrugging slightly as he walked over to it. "I don't know anything about these Tali, if it was up to me, I'd have deleted the thing when I got there. But I have orders from up the chain to deliver it to Udina."

"The human ambassador? What does he know about V.I?" Her question was more rhetorical, she could tell from the first moment she had met Udina, that he was not someone Shepard enjoyed speaking with.

"He doesn't know anything, I'm sure he's got his reasons. Perhaps he'll present it to the Council or something." Shepard shrugged once again, heading towards the door. "As stupid as Udina is though, he still has to answer to the Alliance. And the Alliance takes a lot of precautions to not piss off the Council to a certain degree. He won't be able to lay a hand on it without a hundred signatures."

Over exaggeration or an estimate? He wasn't sure. He was sure about pulling Tali into a game of cards. Up until she didn't know how to play poker, which surprised Shepard, but didn't stop him. Taking the next step and simply teaching Tali himself.

He spent the rest of the day showing her the basics of the game. Somewhat surprised at her attentiveness to learning the game. Tali picked up the rules of the game with ease. First, just the two of them played. Eventually getting joined by Iromak, Garrus and Wrex. The five of them played late into the night.

Eventually, Shepard would notice Tali was half dozing while playing. Her head occasionally pulled up as she tried to fight the weariness. It didn't help that they were sitting so close to the core, the hum of it pulling her closer and closer to sleep.

It didn't take much more than a quiet suggestion from Shepard to get Tali to start stumbling towards the elevator. Shepard decided to accompany her to make sure she didn't fall asleep on the way. He found her quiet mumbling while half asleep to be quite endearing. Guiding her to his room before returning to play cards for another hour or so before going to sleep himself. Taking his spot in the mess hall once again to sleep.

I hope you all are having a wonderful day.

See you in a couple weeks.