Chapter 13

Estella

"Goddess, Zaeed! What the hell are you cursing about now?"

The old merc had been mumbling and cursing the entire way back to the Normandy from a gun range he had known about on Omega. For the past week, since the Archangel mission had been completed successfully, he had taken me out to the range to practice on the sniper rifle and the assault rifle. My training was going well; at least I had thought so before I caught wind of the merc's constant cursing under his breath. The past few days, Zaeed Massani had been grumbling things under his breath every time he had shown me how to hold the rifles properly or had taken to shooting a target himself.

I had overheard him saying "Goddam' lucky son of a bitch" to "Lucky bastard."

I had no idea why he was cursing those phrases specifically and his grumblings were finally becoming more coherent as we made our way toward where the Normandy was docked. I had stopped in front of him and reached out a hand to stop him from going any further. He had glanced down at me and the look his gaze- that strange mix of brown and milky blue- seemed to snap into focus. His gaze softened a fraction but the frown remained.

He took a step back and huffed. "It's nothin' sweetcheeks. Just complainin' about my lot in life."

I could only blink in response as I stared up at him. "What?" I had no idea how to respond to that. I didn't know this man well so there were plenty of skeletons in his closet that I am sure he had to complain about. A man like this didn't wear his heart on his sleeve.

"Just wonderin' how in the hell a turian of all things could get a lap dance from a man's wet dream," he said before he walked passed me and on toward the ship. "Yet, the ship's crew had seen it, millions of others had seen it by now, and I missed the whole goddam' thing when it happened right in my own backyard. I think I have reason to curse my luck, sweetheart. Just let me know next time you have a drink. I'd like front row seats to the next show."

He left me standing there, staring after him in confusion, until the words finally sunk in and the blush warmed me from head to toe.

"Goddess damn you, Kelly!"

-o-

I stood waiting for the commander's yeoman by the elevator on the crews' deck, knowing she was due to come off duty any moment now. A few of the crew members had eyed me with interest and curiosity as they passed me. I hadn't noticed the looks of interest they had given me for the past week. I had learned to ignore those looks from the crew some time ago. I had thought I had been a normal enough sight on the Normandy since I was brought from the Minuteman station. It was only now that I realized the interested looks were laced with something else. A variety of confusion, amusement, and lust, depending on the man or woman or- sometimes- both.

Goddess, why had I drank so much that day? And why did I think it would be a good idea to give Angel a lap dance of all things? Even back in my time, nearly everyone had smart phones so there was a chance of your ass getting caught on video when you were acting the fool. There was an even greater chance of that video being placed on the internet. I shouldn't have been surprised that a vid of my lap dance would be on the extranet. I was more surprised of the fact that I had been unaware of it until now.

I had found the vid easily enough. It wasn't hard to find if you used the tags turian, human, and 21st century lap dance while searching through the billions of sites on the extranet. The vid I was searching for was definitely of me shaking my ass in front of - and on top of - a very flabbergasted Garrus Vakarian. Based on the angle of the vid, and how such a close shot it was, there was no one else who could have recorded the vid. The large empty table we were sitting at had been separated from the only other large table by a metal wall with gaps to see to the other side. The crew that had been on break on that date and time were nowhere to be seen in the vid save for in the background. Thankfully, you couldn't tell that the vid was taken on the Normandy. It could have been any human ship in any system in the galaxy if one didn't look too closely.

I remembered that shit eating grin on her face the moment I made Angel sit down. I hadn't thought anything of it because I had a nice buzz going and I was so fired up at having Angel all to myself for but a moment. I should have known better...

The moment the elevator doors swished open and Kelly Chambers made her way off, I reached out to snatch her by the arm.

"Ah! Wha-?!"

I pulled her down the corridor toward my room, the door already opening before me once it recognized the signature from my omni-tool. I pushed her in and followed in after her, the door closing and locking behind me. I stood in front of the door, blocking the only way out, as I folded my arms beneath my breasts and frowned at her. "Explain."

"El? What the hell are you dragging me around for?" Kelly had managed to straighten herself out from my less-than-gentle shove into the room and had turned around to glare at me. "If you wanted me to come to your room, you could have just called. I thought we would have a date first but if you want to get right to it-"

"What?! No! That not why I dragged you here!" I was blushing worse than ever as I covered my face with my hands and shook my head. Mother Goddess, grant me patience...

I could hear her laughter and I pulled my hands away to look up at her, seeing the teasing glint in her eyes. I swear to the goddess, I was going to beat the shit out of this redhead. She must have seen the look on my face because she sobered right up and folded her hands behind her back, looking as if she were addressing the Commander.

"So sorry Estella, couldn't help myself," she said with a soft chuckle before she cleared her throat. "Now, what's bothering you?"

I gaped at her for a moment before I let out a huff of breath in frustration and lifted my left hand, playing the vid file for her on my omni-tool. By the end of it, she was laughing so hard she was leaning on my small desk for support.

"Kelly! This isn't funny!" I said with a groan as I moved around her to sit down on my cot. "I don't care that you put it on the extranet if only you would have just asked me or even told me about it first. I wasn't even aware it was out there till I finally heard it from Zaeed. Zaeed of all people! You know how much of a big pervert he is! He kept grumbling and cursing these past few days during my training because he missed the lap dance for himself! The big bad merc gets all pouty because a turian gets an old-fashioned lap dance!"

The moment I finished my rant, Kelly's laughter had started all over again and she collapsed onto the only chair in the room, trying to breathe between the laughter. She was making these choking sounds that could barely be described as human. I could only frown at her until she finally got herself together and straightened herself out in the chair. She held out a hand in a calming gesture as she took in a few deep breaths to calm herself.

"I'm sorry El, I meant to tell you but I hadn't had the chance." She let out a breath, the smile on her face easing the frown on my own. She did look like she needed that laugh. "I wasn't the one who posted it on the extranet. I did take the vid but I had only meant it for my personal training purposes. However, I... did share it with a few dance buddies of mine." She paused at this and a faint blush rose into her cheeks. "I didn't think one of them would post it. I mean..." She sighed and shook her head. "Your type of dance isn't well-known among this generation of humans but it's not as if it's extinct. There are a few select groups back on Earth who still practices it but they are a dwindling number. It wasn't meant to go out past the dancing group I am a part of."

"Well, it obviously did," I muttered as I leaned over and slumped against my pillow. "How in the hell had that vid get listed on so many sites and get well over seven billion hits from the original?"

"Well, considering how so little is known of humans by the majority of the other galactic species," said Kelly, her smile turning thoughtful. "I suppose there would be a variety of other species who would find your lap dance to Mr. Vakarian to be of a... sensual nature." She saw the frown on my face and sat forward in her chair. "Let me explain El and then you can frown at me all you want." She placed her chin in her hand and an elbow on her knee, as she thought about the situation at hand, drumming her fingers against her jaw. "I think... you had shown a side of human females that many had never seen before. Only the asari of the Maiden stage are known throughout the galaxy to be this openly sensual. Perhaps, the sight of a human female acting in a such way- a way that may seem even more erotic than the asari are known to be- toward a male turian of all beings, was appealing. Maybe, even pornographic in its own way for all they knew."

"Porno-?! Ugh," I let out a groan and wished the goddess would be kinder in weaving my tale in this new life. "Whatever. It's done and over. This conversation is done and over," I said as I sat up and rubbed a hand over my face. "I just hope this doesn't bite me in the ass. Remind me not to drink while I teach you this. And, I hope you haven't been recording our training sessions..."

Kelly's smile was bright as she got up from the chair. "No. You have my word." She looked slightly embarrassed as she tucked a lock of her short, red hair behind her ear. "You're still willing to keep teaching me even after this fiasco?"

"No sense in stopping when we've already started," I said as I got up from the cot and walked over to her. "This is a suicide mission we're on. We need all the distractions we can get." I tucked my arm through hers and escorted her out of my room. "C'mon, let's see what Mr. Gardner has on the menu for tonight."

-o-

"Goddess damn you, Solus! I hope you freeze in the foulest vacuums beyond known Council space! Stop asking me for a tissue sample! I said no!" I said as I left the med bay in a rush, crushing my data pad against my breasts as I hugged it tightly, trying my best to put a stopper on my rising temper. I ignored the sound of Dr. Hacksaw's laughter behind me as I heard footsteps following after me.

I swear.

I swear on all that is holy and good on the goddess' sweet bosom that I will never again complain about the perverted comments of Zaeed Massani. So long as this blasted salarian doctor stays the hell away from me and my person, I will be more than happy to take the rude comments and obvious stares from the old merc. This Mordin Solus was a being I had never met in my entire existence, be it in this time line or from my own. I hope to the goddess I will never meet another like him again.

This male salarian was a professor, a distinguished scientist, and much-needed addition to the team that Shepard was building. From what I had gathered from his dossier, he had been a part of the salarian STG force and had helped in many covert studies and missions for the Council.

Why, then, was he so determined to study me?

From the moment we had been introduced, it was as if something had clicked on in his brain. He could tell that I was not quite like the other humans he had met before, let alone like any of the ones who called this ship home. For some odd reason, he was convinced that I was a species of human that had never been met before and he was determined to find what it was that made me tick.

I didn't let him know of why I was so different. I had just met him and didn't know him well enough to trust him to see those files of me. The same was for the others we had met- Zaeed Massani and Garrus Vakarian aka Angel. Save for the ones I called family, the few I called friends, and the ones who had security clearance to my files- such as Kelly- no one here knew of my true origins. I intended it to stay that way unless I was proven otherwise.

Professor Mordin Solus was going to have to stay disappointed in not obtaining a fresh tissue sample from me let alone finding anything about me. At least until I felt I could trust him.

"A blood sample," said the voice that was becoming the bane to my existence these past several days. "Would do with saliva sample if sight of blood causes nausea."

"Leave me alone," I growled, wishing now more than ever that he didn't know where my room was. I could lock him out but he would simply hound me over the comm unit on his spare time from his research at the lab. I wondered if this was my punishment for not giving the lap dance to Zaeed.

No, still worth dancing on Angel's lap...

"Skin sample then," said Solus, still following me toward the mess hall as I closed my eyes and prayed for more patience. I just wanted to finish my studies today. My nursing exams had been scheduled with a set date that loomed ever closer the more I thought of it and I didn't need any more distractions than I already had...

I slammed right into a hard wall of armor and nearly stumbled before a long arm, with a three-fingered grip, wrapped around my waist and held me steady. I had already begun to apologize as the blush filled my cheeks, knowing full well who I had bumped into, when a strange sound reached my ears.

It sounded like... a purr.

Not quite like a feline's but I had no other way to describe it. I had a feeling that the true sound of it was beyond my range of hearing and all I could make out were the dulcet tones and vibrations. It was emanating from the throat of the one who held me. I looked up at Angel and immediately felt the blush in my cheeks deepen. The look in his blue orbs was too intense and the apologies had died away on my lips.

"Estella," he said in that orgasm-inducing voice of his, his grip on my waist tightened slightly, holding me closer for just a moment before he finally let go. His arm had slipped from around my waist and I felt suddenly very confused and disoriented.

Why had I been so annoyed? What was I...?

Goddess damn him and that deep, flanging voice of his! I forgot what I was even doing!

My annoyance was rising higher than ever and the embarrassment from the last time we had seen each other, which had been a week ago, was still fresh. I think it was obvious that my temper was on its last leg because I heard Solus clear his throat.

"Interesting. Unexpected turian reaction to human female. Could it be unique physiology of said female? Will need to research. Moreno, will come by later for request for sample."

He was gone before I could even curse his request for samples to the coldest reaches of dark space. I growled under my breath but not before I felt a light touch against my hip. My blush was instant as I looked up at Angel. "Sorry... about that... He's been driving me nuts..."

I saw his turian smile as his touch lingered over my waist before he pulled his hand away. He didn't say anything in response but I could hear that strange purring sound again before it faded completely. He had taken a few steps back just as a series of footsteps come from the corridor. I turned along with Angel, catching sight of Shepard and Miranda making their way into the mess hall.

"Garrus, glad to find you here. I need you for this next recruitment mission," said Shepard, her smile was welcoming as she greeted her old friend.

Garrus turned his full attention to the Commander as he gave a nod. "Shepard, you know I'm ready when you need me." The tension that I had felt from our strange, intimate encounter was not clear in his voice. How could he sound so normal after that?

Shepard gave a nod in return before she turned her blue-grey orbs to me. "El, how are you?"

I looked at Shepard and, for the first time since that awful battle on Omega, I felt relief. Much needed genuine relief. After all the new people I had met so far, I had to say that they were much-needed help in easing from the shock of that battle. Especially Dr. Solus. I was more than ready to get back to work. Anything to get away from Solus and his incessant requests for a tissue sample.

"Better now that you're here. Please tell me you're putting me back on duty."

Shepard had looked at me in surprise and I could hear Randa already holding back her laughter. She was fully aware of the whole lap dance vid fiasco and still had not let me live it down. It seemed the desperation in my voice was the key to starting to her choking snort.

Shepard glanced at Garrus before glancing back at me, an unsure smile on her face. "Well, we'll be leaving Omega for the next mission. If you feel you're well enough, I don't see any harm in placing you back in the med bay..."

"Goddess, yes!" I said, pulling my data pad from close embrace and hiding my face behind it. I leaned forward with a groan and shook my head. "I can't take anymore requests for tissue samples. I'll go back on duty so long as you keep that salarian scientist from asking me for any more tissue samples!"

Outright laughter at this point and Randa was gone. Her laughter echoing off the walls of the mess hall and I could hear a deep chuckle from beside me, no doubt Angel was amused. Shepard had coughed out a laugh before quickly smothering it.

I didn't care.

I just wanted to work so I could have some sense of normalcy.

Mordin Solus was not normal.

Next time I hear the word tissue sample, I am going to shoot the person who says it.

Goddess, I never thought I would miss hearing the term Sweetcheeks.